Hello Everyone!
Mason (Matty's brother) has been here all week and it has been awesome! He's been our first visitor since we've lived in our new house. It was so fun to be around family again!
We were closed at the Yoga Spa for the entire week that he was here so we all got to spend a lot of time together. There was a lot of beach time and lounging for his vacation. Last Thursday we all went deep sea fishing. They took us about 10 miles off shore and the water was 3000ft deep! Within the first 15 minutes of trolling (just learned this word) we caught a Dorado! Mason reeled it in, and our Captain, David, grabbed it with this huge hooky thing and threw it into the cooler! It was so exciting because before we even went out he had told us that it would be hard to find anything more than just "sport" fish... but this guy went straight into the freezer! Matty caught the next fish which was a Sail fish - for sport only. When the third fish caught, I chickened out and pushed Mason up to catch it. I was scared of the following outcomes: 1. The fish would pull me into the water, 2. I would drop the rod, 3. I would fall into the water, 4. I would drown. After Mason reeled in his second fish, another Sail, I told myself that I could not end this trip without catching one. We had been trolling for a while when we all heard the high pitched sound of the dragging reel. Matty practically threw me to the back of the boat to begin my fight - and thank goodness he did, I probably would've wimped out again. Coming from a girl who has shot big guns, thrown 100lb hay bales, and been on all sorts of wild dirt bike rides... this was the most physically challenging thing I have done thus far. They put this belt around my waist that gave me a place to set the rod. My left hand cramped up within the first two minutes. I was holding on so tight in fear of losing the rod that I lost the feeling in my hand. Then my left forearm began to burn! I was using muscles that I didn't even know I had. Matty and Mason's cheering in the background is honestly what kept me going - and the fact that I knew Larry and Derek would be so proud and excited to hear the story! David kept telling me "pull up slow, reel down fast." I got the motion down, but that didn't stop the pain. As I spun my right arm as fast as I could while the ENTIRE left side of my body was burning, the Sail Fish finally began to surface and breach. Every time he would jump I would have to reel super super fast to pick up the slack. I got to a point where I asked any of the guys to take it from me, I truly felt like I couldn't do it anymore. Fortunately they all said "NO" and made me keep going - and I'm thankful they did! Finally, after the longest 10-15 minutes of my life, the fish got close enough for the first mate, Kevin, to grab it by its pointy nose and take the rod from me. Sail fish are for sport only unless you are a commercial fisherman. Kevin held this 200lb (truthfully only 65-75lb) in the water for me to take my trophy photo! I gave the fish a pat on the side and thanked him for the fight, then we set him free. I couldn't believe how exhausted I was, Matty and Mason made it look so easy... I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to visit and enjoys fishing! Such an awesome experience.
At the beginning of the month, I began taking my Spanish classes at the Nosara Spanish Institute. My teach, Zully, is so amazing! She is very enthusiastic and makes learning fun. The only time we speak English is when she is defining a word, otherwise you could think she doesn't know English at all! I go to class twice a week and I have already felt the progress. I know so much more Spanish than I give myself credit for - its truly all about being confident and making a fool of yourself! The Nosara Spanish Institute also does short-term Intensive Programs for touristas! So if any of you would like to come visit us and learn Spanish, you can! I also started attending the yoga classes at the spa! So far I have been enjoying it - yoga is pretty addicting.
Most exciting news... my Mom is going to be here in two weeks!! I cannot wait for her arrival! I can't believe how much I miss my family. I miss curling up into Larry's lap with tweezers to pull out those grey hairs when I was a kid! I miss our daily afternoon Schlitz and burger where we got to talk about all the little things. I miss singing and dancing to Prince with my Mother, because no matter how silly we look, we don't stop! I miss throwing her a wink along with our goofy handshake every time she tells a joke (they get better every time Momma). I miss fighting with my sister over one spot on the couch - I don't know why we fought...we ended up snuggling afterwards anyway. I miss watching Avatar with her too, such a strange show, but each episode is now full of so many memories! I got to spend about an hour on FaceTime last night with Aunt Cheri and Uncle Ivan! I am truly blessed to have such an amazing relationship with not only my parents and sister, but my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. Derek and Tyler are the brothers I don't actually have. I so miss making cat traps in the back of Meme's yard with chicken wire and bowls of milk when we were kids. I miss spending "8 days" at Grammie and Papa's house watering the garden, painting and learning to sew. I miss egg nog ice cream and Tiger's Blood snow cones with Meme. I miss sledding by Wal-Mart with Jeremiah and the kids. With every year comes more and more experiences to be appreciative of. I miss laughing until we cry over a glass of wine or a cold beer. I CANNOT WAIT to see my family in June for Derek and Margaret's wedding. I cannot wait to hold my precious unborn niece, Callie. I am both envious and excited for her to have all of these sames memories that we had - I would love to do it a million times over again. I am so looking forward to showing her how amazing this family is with each year of her life! I miss all of you, I love all of you, and I will see you soon!! Love and hug each other for me!!
Until next time....
Mason (Matty's brother) has been here all week and it has been awesome! He's been our first visitor since we've lived in our new house. It was so fun to be around family again!
We were closed at the Yoga Spa for the entire week that he was here so we all got to spend a lot of time together. There was a lot of beach time and lounging for his vacation. Last Thursday we all went deep sea fishing. They took us about 10 miles off shore and the water was 3000ft deep! Within the first 15 minutes of trolling (just learned this word) we caught a Dorado! Mason reeled it in, and our Captain, David, grabbed it with this huge hooky thing and threw it into the cooler! It was so exciting because before we even went out he had told us that it would be hard to find anything more than just "sport" fish... but this guy went straight into the freezer! Matty caught the next fish which was a Sail fish - for sport only. When the third fish caught, I chickened out and pushed Mason up to catch it. I was scared of the following outcomes: 1. The fish would pull me into the water, 2. I would drop the rod, 3. I would fall into the water, 4. I would drown. After Mason reeled in his second fish, another Sail, I told myself that I could not end this trip without catching one. We had been trolling for a while when we all heard the high pitched sound of the dragging reel. Matty practically threw me to the back of the boat to begin my fight - and thank goodness he did, I probably would've wimped out again. Coming from a girl who has shot big guns, thrown 100lb hay bales, and been on all sorts of wild dirt bike rides... this was the most physically challenging thing I have done thus far. They put this belt around my waist that gave me a place to set the rod. My left hand cramped up within the first two minutes. I was holding on so tight in fear of losing the rod that I lost the feeling in my hand. Then my left forearm began to burn! I was using muscles that I didn't even know I had. Matty and Mason's cheering in the background is honestly what kept me going - and the fact that I knew Larry and Derek would be so proud and excited to hear the story! David kept telling me "pull up slow, reel down fast." I got the motion down, but that didn't stop the pain. As I spun my right arm as fast as I could while the ENTIRE left side of my body was burning, the Sail Fish finally began to surface and breach. Every time he would jump I would have to reel super super fast to pick up the slack. I got to a point where I asked any of the guys to take it from me, I truly felt like I couldn't do it anymore. Fortunately they all said "NO" and made me keep going - and I'm thankful they did! Finally, after the longest 10-15 minutes of my life, the fish got close enough for the first mate, Kevin, to grab it by its pointy nose and take the rod from me. Sail fish are for sport only unless you are a commercial fisherman. Kevin held this 200lb (truthfully only 65-75lb) in the water for me to take my trophy photo! I gave the fish a pat on the side and thanked him for the fight, then we set him free. I couldn't believe how exhausted I was, Matty and Mason made it look so easy... I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to visit and enjoys fishing! Such an awesome experience.
At the beginning of the month, I began taking my Spanish classes at the Nosara Spanish Institute. My teach, Zully, is so amazing! She is very enthusiastic and makes learning fun. The only time we speak English is when she is defining a word, otherwise you could think she doesn't know English at all! I go to class twice a week and I have already felt the progress. I know so much more Spanish than I give myself credit for - its truly all about being confident and making a fool of yourself! The Nosara Spanish Institute also does short-term Intensive Programs for touristas! So if any of you would like to come visit us and learn Spanish, you can! I also started attending the yoga classes at the spa! So far I have been enjoying it - yoga is pretty addicting.
Most exciting news... my Mom is going to be here in two weeks!! I cannot wait for her arrival! I can't believe how much I miss my family. I miss curling up into Larry's lap with tweezers to pull out those grey hairs when I was a kid! I miss our daily afternoon Schlitz and burger where we got to talk about all the little things. I miss singing and dancing to Prince with my Mother, because no matter how silly we look, we don't stop! I miss throwing her a wink along with our goofy handshake every time she tells a joke (they get better every time Momma). I miss fighting with my sister over one spot on the couch - I don't know why we fought...we ended up snuggling afterwards anyway. I miss watching Avatar with her too, such a strange show, but each episode is now full of so many memories! I got to spend about an hour on FaceTime last night with Aunt Cheri and Uncle Ivan! I am truly blessed to have such an amazing relationship with not only my parents and sister, but my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. Derek and Tyler are the brothers I don't actually have. I so miss making cat traps in the back of Meme's yard with chicken wire and bowls of milk when we were kids. I miss spending "8 days" at Grammie and Papa's house watering the garden, painting and learning to sew. I miss egg nog ice cream and Tiger's Blood snow cones with Meme. I miss sledding by Wal-Mart with Jeremiah and the kids. With every year comes more and more experiences to be appreciative of. I miss laughing until we cry over a glass of wine or a cold beer. I CANNOT WAIT to see my family in June for Derek and Margaret's wedding. I cannot wait to hold my precious unborn niece, Callie. I am both envious and excited for her to have all of these sames memories that we had - I would love to do it a million times over again. I am so looking forward to showing her how amazing this family is with each year of her life! I miss all of you, I love all of you, and I will see you soon!! Love and hug each other for me!!
Until next time....
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