people leave

It's been a while because real life always takes priority over things like blogging and the last 2 months have been a lot of real life. So much has happened and sometimes putting things into words is easy and sometimes it's not. Sometimes it's therapeutic and sometimes it feels better to keep it inside and ponder for a while. Sometimes it's easier just to share with the people close to you and sometimes you just need to share it real loud.

This morning I was thinking about life in general as I drove home from a geology field trip up in the canyon and I realized something. For at least a solid year I've been counting down until this moment when in my mind I've decided no one else will leave. All my friends going on missions will be gone and that includes a LOT of people. That moment in my mind is only a few months from now and has been building up for almost two years and suddenly it dawned on me that this moment isn't real.

Sure the friends I have now who are leaving will have left and the friends on missions will begin to come back, but that doesn't mean people aren't going to still leave and that doesn't mean they're coming back to me.

Hopefully I can explain this in words like it works in my head but people are always going to be leaving and the important thing is that we love and enjoy and celebrate the people we do have in our lives when we have them and put forth the effort to keep those we want in our lives in them.

I've met so many new people and been exposed to new things. I've made new goals, new interests, and found new things that I love. I've realized that above everything else relationships are everything. Good friends are priceless and memories, for me at least, aren't nearly as meaningful without friends or family.

I've also learned a lot about being independent. It's important to keep in mind what's best for ourselves.  Along with that it's important to ask for God's counsel in things and let the things that you love and believe motivate and direct you. You can chase down everyone else's dreams for as long as you'd like but it's your own dreams you're going to be passionate about and that passion is a step on the journey to success. That success is measured in a million different ways depending on who you ask but for me right now that success is happiness and peace. That's what is important.

So focus on yourself, your dreams, your goals, your life, but do it in a way that allows you to reach outside yourself to serve. Not judge, not fix, just serve and love.

& here's some pictures because real life has lots of real pictures and people are my favorite kind.

Costa Rica: Pictures of a Day in the Life

A picture depiction of a day in my life in Costa Rica:

not pictured: the cute little children because we aren't allowed to post pictures including their faces because of safety/ government regulations. 

^ in the morning Maren and I would sit out here to read our scriptures and write in our journals and do whatever else we wanted, it was very pleasant ^

^Then I got ready in the bathroom with a mirror so low I couldn't see my face unless I bent down, & even then the light was pretty dim normally ^

^ walked up the street to the bus stop ^

^ more of our street ^

^ while sitting at the bus stop we would sometimes see this man and his cows in the middle of the road, he would smile and say buenos dias ^

 ^ we took a 30 minute bus ride from Barrio Jesús to Heredia^

^ this graffiti meant we were close and for some reason I was always very intrigued by it. It means: here before there was a house. ^

^ this is a block away from our bus stop, we would walk another 5-6 blocks to another bus stop from Heredia to Guarari where our center was located ^

 ^ Guarari ^

^ picture taken from bus, lots of people live here ^

 ^ that fence is the one around the center, Cen Cenai ^

^ the center is a gov't run facility, there was a body guard and we had to check in everyday with our passport number. We were the only ones who spoke English in the center and there were around 100 kids throughout the day ^

^ naptime, Maren worked with the babies 4 & under I worked with the escolares, 8-12^

 ^ Playtime! ^

^ at the end of the day we were all combined and this little guy decided to be my friend^

^ After 6 hours at the center we headed back to Heredia, this is what a street there looks like. Also cars do not yield to pedestrians so I learned how to be an aggressive pedestrian for sure!^

^ We often went to Parque Central because there was an ice cream shop on the corner (mmmm!) & it is very beautiful. I do wish we had squares like this in Utah. ^

 ^ Post office, Parque Central ^

 ^ post office (right) & possibly a museum or school on the left, I can't remember ^

 ^Heredia, Ciudad de Las Flores, Parque Central^ 

^ rad statue of a heart, there were statues or organs scattered around the area of the city ^

^ after an hour or so in the city we would head back to our home in Barrio Jesús, this is one of the few street signs (nobody knows the streets that have names so it's fairly useless) & I don't know who this is but we generally called him the spiderweb man because to the right of his head there are an insane amount of cobwebs^

 ^ top of our street ^

 ^ there are small bars and shops all over, they mostly sell necessities ^

^ my bedroom ^

^ colones, we had to make sure we had 1000 colones for bus fair everyday ^

^ this wasn't a daily part of our routine, in fact it only happened twice the whole trip forcing us to go buy underwear the second to last day..haha! but that is a story for another day. I did think it was interesting though, there was no lid and you fill it up with a hose, then in the humid air and rainy season it takes several days for the clothes to dry ^ 

^ in the evening we would sit on the porch again until it was dark because our lights would attract giant flying beetle things and sometimes HUGE spiders like this one, but our host mom killed it, the next morning when there was one across the wall from us at breakfast though nobody said a word and I tried to pretend I had not seen it there...we really hate spiders^

^ Maria Paulette (8) took this picture of us and a ton of others that night :) ^

 ^Our cute host family! Rosemary (mom), Jose Isaac (10), and Maria Paulette(not spelled like that but I don't know how she spells it, 8), now you know why the mirror was so low ^

^ beautiful sunset, barbed wire & all ^

some of these pictures I took & some Maren took, thanks Maren! :)

Costa Rica: Playa Ballena, Beach Camping

While we were in Costa Rica there was a holiday, the Annexation of Guanacaste, which meant we had one long weekend! We had a connection with a man who lived in the area from my Dad's business and he invited us to join his family and 10 other families to go camping on the beach! Literally on the beach. We didn't have to plan hardly anything, we didn't have to worry about transportation or planning activities, and we could spend time with his wonderful family, we were so up for that! So here are some pictures and descriptions of the activities you do while camping on the beach. 

Not pictured because the pictures didn't turn out: 

x bbq with all sorts of meats and grilled tomatoes and corn (so yummy!) + wonderful company

x watching lightning storms at night on the beach, they light up the whole ocean so beautifully

x star gazing in the sand, goodness gracious that was beautiful!

x seeing whales & dolphins! They were too quick to photograph

x swimming in the middle of the clear, bright blue ocean...in our clothing. (story below)

Enjoy! XO

^ Welcome to Parque Nacional Marino Ballena 

Those marine currents are real and if you sit in the sand too long they will get sand into parts of your swimsuit you didn't know they could go. Like between the liner and fabric of your swimsuit giving you an extra pound of weight in your bottoms..awkward.. ^

^ Playa Ballena: Whale Beach it literally shaped like a whale's tale! & we stayed right on the side of it. During high tide the tail if covered, but during low tide people say it is like Moses because the water just parts around it. It is really neat! ^

^ Our tent ^

^ The view from our tent! I'm telling you we were steps away from the ocean, and this is low tide ^

^ Costa Rican version of a "snow-cone" including carmel, cream, and dehydrated milk ^

 ^ Day two we went whale watching...in that tiny little boat..!! ^

 ^ Island ^

^ My, I'm seasick, I hope I don't fall out of this boat, everyone is speaking Dutch & I can't even figure out Spanish, but I've always wanted to go whale watching face! ^

Quick story: When Maren & I went whale watching we were thinking it would probably be in a big boat. Like a really bit boat. So I didn't even think it'd be necessary to wear my swimsuit, & remember what I said about marine currents & sandy swimsuit bottoms? Yeah we had to cut little holes in our swimsuits to get all of the sand out, it was insane. So we both had soaking wet sandy bottoms and decided to just wear shorts (Maren was wearing full on clothing but I had my swimsuit top on). After a couple hours of whale watching and sight seeing the driver...sailor? asked us if we all wanted to get out and swim. The water was so clear and beautiful and the boat was so rocky (I was getting super nauseous) & so we jumped in the ocean still clothed and loved every second of it. Our clothes didn't dry for days but it was so worth it! You could see your feet below you because it was so clear. I'm sure the people from Costa Rica and the Netherlands were judging us Americans for swimming in our clothes, but hey we owned it!

^ Sunday ^

 ^ This little guy just let me get that close ^

 ^ Oh hey future roommates... quick shout-out! ;) ^

 ^ Watch for falling coconuts, I'm not even kidding ^

 ^ Carlos & His family ^

 ^ Campsite ^

 ^ we can pretend Maren's eyes are open :) ^

 ^ Pura Vida! ^

(but for the sake of Maren and myself I must disclose to you that nobody actually said that to us outside the tourist area or Arenal)