Colombia: Day 4

This was a VERY mellow day.  Esteban and I went to a near by park to work out, CrossFit style.  The park was pretty awesome.  The park had a "work out" area, equipped with a bunch of work out park things... Im sure that paints a great and accurate picture, not!

Anyway, the work out was put together by my "bon bon" of a brother, Esteban.  We did 25 Box Jumps, 20 push ups, 25 air squats and 25 pull ups... repeated five times.  (Esteban did double of everything).  The first few rounds, no big deal.  The last two rounds, KILLED ME!  It was fun and I loved working out with Esteban.  He is pretty cool brother and he gave me some great tips and was encouraging :)

After that crazy start to the morning, Tomi, Abuela and I went to get mani/pedis.  SO FUN! I gave the sweet nail technician a real run for her money. I'm sure her arms were sore after working on my feet.  I'll blame the dry Utah summer on that one :) Tia Maggie stayed home (all) day finishing the dress, bless her magic hands!

Later that night Marcos and Dylan arrived and Chuma serenaded us again, we could never get tired of that.  It was fun to all be together and chit chat and just be together. 

 

Dylan had a rough start in Colombia.  He was tired and I am sure a little nervous.  This was the beginning of a very long trip for Dylan and Marcos, they were going to Argentina right after.  But, playing some games on the iphone made things feel a little better. :) 

 

 

Our night ended VERY VERY late.  The boys went to bed at midnight-ish.  Tia Maggie, Abuela, Tomi and I went to bed after 3am!  La tia was making the finishing touches on the dress and I was putting together the head piece.  We also had to pack our bags so we could leave early in the morning to the hotel where the event was taking place....

Lets just say, we have all been blessed with some good genes, because we felt like we had been run over by a train, yet we looked a lot better than that ;)  Always a good time when you are having fun! 

Colombia: Day 2

Today we woke early and had some breakfast at a little tiny "Fruteria" around the corner from Tomi and Chuma's house.  It was SO yummy!  Oh how I have missed latin food...

We were all excited to be together.  Marcos and Dylan were still not there, but we were ready for today's activities.... hot springs and food :)

Ham and Cheese Sandwich, Fresh Squeezed OJ and a Cheese Arepa... SO GOOD!

Everything in Colombia is little.  The cars are all small and the tires tiny.  Tomi and Chuma don't need a big car, unless Tomi's family comes to visit.  It was quite the sight to see us all piles in that car.  Tomi and I took turns holding our mom and tia on our laps for the 1.5hr ride to Los Volcanes...

The whole bunch of us.  This might be my favorite pic of the entire trip.  REALLY good times!

Colombia is more beaitful than I had pictured.  It is so great and lush.  The people were beyond kind and hospitable.  Absolutely beautiful country!

The girls... 

Esteban looked like a tourist, more so than I did.  Tomi said it was because he wore tennis shoes... jajaja.  I am sure that the fact that he was one of the tallest persons around had nothing to do with it. ;)

We finally arrived at Los Volcanes.  Its a beautiful "resort" where they have three natural hot spring pools and a huge natural steam room.  The water is filled with natural minerals and nutrients for your body.

When we got there we had to walk down about 2.5 blocks down into the 'resort'.  It was a really nice walk down.  Plus we were eager to have some relaxation.

 As soon as we walked into the resort, we saw this TINY tennis court.  Esteban being the tennis fan that he is, insisted on a picture :)

These pool are not warm, they are HOT! They are awesome!

We were surrounded by lush green foliage and the air temp was just right, like a crisp fall morning, all day :) perfection!

This picture was taken from a little waterfall up from the resort.  It is a small 'resort'.  But it left us felling fully relaxed and hungry....

After Los Volcanes, we went to a little city calle Sopo.  There we stopped in a store called Alpina.  They make all sorts of dairy products and some pretty delicious pastries and treats... Tia Maggie had her cart FULL!

This is maybe 1/3 of the goodies we bought and ate there.  Seriously, so delish!

We ate our goodies outside surrounded by more beautiful scenery.  Seriously, I was in awe of the beauty in this country! We had some mate while with our goodies.

Our day ended there.  We were successfully stuffed and relaxed!

On a side note: They have milk that comes in bags there.  Its called "leche larga vida" You can leave the unopened bag in your cupboard and its good until 12/23/12!  CRAZINESS!  I had to take a pic :)

Colombia: Day 1

Esteban and I had purchased our tickets a LONG time ago.  As soon as we had word as to when Tomi and Chuma would be tying the knot, we made plans to travel together.  It had been months of anticipation and FINALLY the day came!

Our day started early on Tuesday.  We hung out at the SLC Airport happy as ever, ready to go :)

First flight to JFK.  We made the mistake of NOT buying some neck pillows in SLC.  So, we bought some at JFK.  I was feeling horrible, stomach bug, and any comfort was welcome, even if it meant buying the pillow at 50% more than it was in SLC.

Fortunately we had a nice comfortable ride on both planes.  No one with us on the first flight and then we each got our own row on the second flight.  SOO NICE!  I needed the room to lay down, I was a mess.  Didn't eat anything all day in fear that i would quickly throw it all back up.  

 

After 11hrs of flying and 2.5hrs of lay overs, we were finally in COLOMBIA!!!!

YAY!!!!! 

 

We waited a about 25ish minutes for Tomi.  Our flight had landed a little sooner than she expected and the lines through immigration where very short.  We tried calling her on a man cell phones and seconds later, she was there :) hoooray!!!! 

 

We hurried home to finally meet Chuma and we were SO very pleased that everything we had heard and seen of him was true.  He is an amazing guy.  Tomi is one lucky girl and Chuma is one lucky guy!

 Chuma is a fabulous guitar player and singer, among other things.  We were up until 2am listening to him play and laugh and getting to know each other.  Later, Tomi and Chuma sang the song they would be singing at the ceremony... I bawled like a baby!  The love they have for each other is simply beautiful! I couldn't help myself.

 Esteban pretended to play... Tia Maggie had been sewing all night.  She has made all of the nieces dresses for our wedding.  She is pretty much a genius when it comes to sewing anything.  Its always fun to see her and be with her!

 

True Love....

... SO happy for them!

HAWAII

Dave had to go to Hawaii for work, I know, so hard for him!  He went last year and he promised that if he had to go this year he would take me.  I was able to go with him with his extensive amounts of skymiles AND the two angels that watched our kids while we were there! 

The trip was SUPER relaxing and mellow.  We didn't really do any tourist-y things.  I mostly hung out by the beach while Dave "worked".  I use that word loosely, as it was very mellow work, but thats just the way Hawaii is, mellow and chill and you just have to go with the flow.  I ran a few times, it was GORGEOUS.  I took a few naps a day (on the beach), read People Magazine, ate yummy food and rode our bikes everywhere!

On the plane, ready to take off.  Little did we know that that night the winds would bring such disaster to Bountiful.  When we found out what had happened I wanted to come home, but Abuela told us to just enjoy ourselves and that the kids would be ok.  And they were :)

We made it to paradise!  The beach is literally a few steps from the house we stayed in.  I literally had to hold back tears at the beauty of this place!  What a beautiful world we live in!!!!! 

This is the view from the yard.  The steps are just below my feet here.  

I would sit out here in the morning and watch the surfers do their thing.  

The relaxing sounds of the waves and the cool morning breeze were beyond awesome! 

TED BAKERY!!!! 

We had breakfast here EVERY morning. 

We would ride our bikes the 1.5miles and enjoy every bite.

In this picture I am eating an Almond Danish, SO YUMMY.

Lilikoi.  W.O.W. This is my favorite ALL TIME FRUIT 

and this drink is TO DIE FOR (if you are me).  

I dedicated a post a while ago, to passion fruit.  It is THAT good.  

I drank several of these a day while in Hawaii.  Cold and refreshing!  

Beached Whale... a sight to behold!  :) 

One day I went on a search for a fruit stand.  The lady at this particular fruit stand was AWESOME!  I paid $12 for EVERYTHING in this picture.  If I was to buy 12 Lilikoi at the store here in Utah, it would have been easily $30!  Needless to say I was VERY pleased with my big ol' bag of fresh fruit.  It was quickly consumed and the next day I went back for more :) 

Our mode of transportation.  There is a bike path everywhere.  

It was really fun to just hop on a bike and go.  It felt freeing and I felt like a kid :) 

One day we went to see the Temple in Lai'e.  

Dave remembered that his mission President lived close by.  

Turns out they live directly in front of the temple.  

We got to visit with them for a little while and that was a nice time.  They are SUPER sweet! 

Shrimp Farms are easy found on the island and I thoroughly enjoyed a nice plate of these beauties :) 

Two of my favorite things: Dave and Lilikoi 

The best part of the trip was hanging out with Dave.  Having an entire week with just him was awesome!  He came home a few days after I did and was only here for 24hrs before he left AGAIN.  I feel it was a blessing to have had family and friends that could help us do this! 

Florida Trip

Marcos, Esteban and I went to Florida for a weekend.  It was SO much fun to hang out with my brothers and best of all see Abuela Hilda, who is in Florida for a visit.  We also had the priveledge of hanging out with the Maggiora's. We love them!!!!

There we are.... waiting for our first flight :)  

(horrible picture of me.  I hope I dont' really look THAT fat) 

We got to Tampa at 12midnight and talked for a while.  

Then we got up and hung out for a bit... SUPER NICE! 

After breakfast the boys played tennis and Christian and I ran. 

Running in Florida is miserable!  Its SO humid it kills you!!! But it was nice :) 

 Then we HAD to have  cuban food.  This is not our all-time-favorite place, but it was great company 

 Abuela is 87 and totally with it.  I love this woman! 

 YUM!  Delicious Cuban Sandwich MMMM!!!! 

 Esteban and Christian are GOOF BALLS!!!  

Friday night, our first night there, we had dinner with Maggiora's and Klammers.  It was so nice to see them all!  We have all stayed close on my mom's side of the family.  It has always been easy to do that.  I love my cousins and uncles and aunts. 

Later that night we went to Ybor City and hung out at a bar that had live music.  

We laughed A TON!!!  It was a great day :)

 Saturday we went to the Aquarium and later we went to watch UFC Match.  We watched at a restaurant and ate and chit chatted and laughed some more.  Maria Noel came with us both nigths (friday and saturday).  I am glad she was there so we could have some girl talk and oooooh and aaaaaah about the MMA fighters bods :) 

 Sunday was our last day there.  :(  The trip was short, but full of fun.  

Abuela made us tortas fritas (scones) and there were as good as I can remember :)  That morning her and I had a nice long conversation.  Her mind is super sharp and she remembers everything!  

It was a conversation I will treasure.  

Sunday afternoon we had a late lunch early supper.  It was a highlight for me.  I love sitting around the dinner table and enjoying each others company.  I feel blessed to be part of this amazing family! 

 A few last shots of the trip.... 

Abuela wanted to send us of at the airport and it was great that she did.  We chit chatted some more and off we were.  Not sure when I will get to see Abuela Hilda again.  She is getting old and its difficult for her to move around.  Going to Argentina is not as easy at is might seem.  It was wonderful to have spent time with her.  May God bless her!!!  

Im glad we got to go on this trip as siblings.  I love my brothers!  The only thing that would have made this trip perfect, would have been to have Tomi there (and maybe some beach time :))