Perfect Day - Part 2: Waterfall

A contender for the letter W in Lily's ABC book... W is for Waterfall. Or wafer, since she was holding one the whole hike.

Ok, so where were we... walk into the jungle... climbed down the hill to the river, ah yes, and when we reached the bottom we weren't sure how to cross without getting wet. I took off one sock and shoe and used that foot on the wet stones, the kids all kept their shoes on. Corey still had Abi, and I was really grateful that Ofi's friend took Lily. I would have lost my balance or dropped her in the river, so she's grateful too. He was a pro at crossing with shoes and not getting wet, no sweat.


Ofi helping Melodie, Joe is ahead


We crossed the river... Wesley was a little freaked out. Nice to see kids sober up and realize their own mortality.

So after going up those stairs you see there above, we went down stairs on the other side, and Ofi was glad he'd gotten our little family to the final destination without incident :)

and we saw this:

It was beautiful. I've already booked in my mind a family road trip to visit Silver Falls State Park in Oregon. We went there for a Bahr family reunion in 1995 and I still remember it and am glad that now I've finally got the commitment in my head to make that happen for us. It will be a blast! So as for the waterfall here, it was beautiful and we were sad we didn't know really what we were doing when we left this morning or we would have brought along our swimsuits. Ethan piped up "I don't care, I'll go in my shorts!" and he did. He is a little adventure man!

The mist on the lense made this one not focus, but I kept it cause I liked Corey's smile and Ethan's victory flex. Joe followed Ethan's lead, just like Laman and Lemuel ;) ...


and they just stood there on the rocks for a while, but then went swimming.


It looked so fun, I decided I had to join them.


Thanks to my sweetheart and the men for watching the little ones. Abi and Wes were a little concerned when I said "Can I go in?" "No, MOM! Don't GO!!" thinking it meant sure death. But we all survived. Joe told me in the pool "It's fresh water!" After catching my breath from my body's shock to the crisp temperature, I replied "It feels fresh!" It felt great, I loved it. After a few more jumps from the rocks, Corey and I gave each other the nod which means we're done, time to head back. We got out

Ethan showing his "muscles" and me ringing out my shirt. The boys asked if they could float downstream instead of climb the stairs. Great idea! It took some bribing (I owe her a $5 Lego set from Auto Mercado), but we convinced Melodie to get in the water too even though she didn't want to get her clothes wet... "Come on Mel, it will be a memory... You won't regret it!"


And we floated downstream. I floated and swam in the current for a bit before I had to help Mel launch off, that was my favorite part.

Hyrum and Wes made it across the river with no help from their mother, who is glad they are alive since I'd dismissed my responsibilities for a romp in the fresh water. They played Tarzan and led the group back up the trail through the jungle and to the car. That was where Lily had the highlight of her trip - putting little rocks into the circles of the dirty tires.

"Oh yeah! This is awesome!" And after that (remember we still hadn't officially entered the park yet) we decided the kids were done, we've had fun, we were done. "We just do little adventures." 2 hour drive, 2 hours at the park, after a stop at McDonald's in Liberia for a late lunch, we headed home and all went swimming - usually Corey and I both don't join, but since I'd already gotten my hair wet and was feeling like a kid I got suited up and did a cannonball into the pool. We had a "biggest splash" contest (Corey won) and Corey kept saying "Isn't this paradise?" and my heart was just filled with peace and contentment of living in the moment. Costa Rica, Pura Vida! We had a simple dinner and after brushing and flossing I read Narnia to the kids,


and for the first time they all came in (meaning the little kids too) and listened, or at least were quiet and they all fell asleep as I read, and I just thought it was so cute to see all these little bodies in slumber on the bed


(Hyrum was sleeping on the floor -he was a gracious host seeing as it's his and Mel's bed). Have you read "The Horse and His Boy"? Chapters 10 and 11 both had several golden nuggets of wisdom that I just loved. I read it to Corey this afternoon and highlighted them in the book - the Narnia tales have lead to precious gospel discussion with our kids. There are things we're learning through those stories that will help us all improve and develop better our character. I'm glad we're making time to read together. As President Hinckley said in this article:

"The observance of four simple things on the part of parents would in a generation or two turn our societies around in terms of their moral values. They are simply these: Let parents and children (1) teach and learn goodness together, (2) work together, (3) read good books together, and (4) pray together." - President Gordon B. Hinckley

See that #3 thing? I'm finally doing it! It's been great to get a taste of this slower paced life style and to enjoy more time together. So that was our perfect day. I love all these little kids and love Corey and am loving being on this adventure. It was a perfect day.