They have arrived... Part I

Well Bonnie, Harlow, Keidis & my Mom left on Wednesday and it is now way to quiet around here :-)

It was so fun having them here and they really liked Panama so I am very happy about that. Bonnie & Mom both said they would come back YAAA!

The moment they walked off the plane here in Panama all they could say was "oh it is so hot here" (for the most part it was not as hot as it has been here)

So I asked Bonnie & Mom questions about Panama and I will put them through out this blog as we go. I do have to say that it was great to have our first visitors who really liked Panama. I was a bit worried what they would think and the report is way better than I expected.

I asked them...

What were your first impressions of Panama?
Mom – it is clean and Americanize which I found surprising… Also I was very surprised that the roads were in such good shape, I expected Panama to be more like Mexico.

Bonnie – people really don’t speak much English here like I expected. I was surprised how clean and westernized Panama was way more than I envisioned it to be. I expected the people to be walking down the streets with jugs of water on their heads & they really don't.

How do you find the driving?
Mom - not in a million years would I get behind a wheel in Panama City. I would not own a new car here, you could not pay me enough to drive here. The driving is insane.. I just can't even explain how crazy it is…

Bonnie - It is ridiculous, insane, maniac, while using all of the swear words. No organization, no rules, no lanes, lots of horn honking & yet no road rage.

It is funny to hear them describe driving here because it has became so normal to us. Bonnie asked "how are we ever going to be able to drive when we come back to Canada this summer?" It will be very nice to drive where people use signal lights and they actually stop at stop signs. I think I will most definitely love that there is organization and people follow the rules. Trent most likely will have a hard time driving in a civilized country again, since he as adapted to the Panamanian way of drive a little to well. :- ) Mr. Richards I think you would go crazy in traffic here :- ) I really don't think driving here is that bad, you just have to drive defensively and not be in a hurry.

(Bonnie and the kids cooling off in the refreshing Summit pool)

(mom & emma enjoying the warm rays of sun)

On the road again... I was waiting for Bonnie & Mom to get to Panama before we ventured on our road trip for the weekend to the town of El Valle. A picturesque little town 2,300 feet above sea level in the crater of a gigantic extinct volcano. The drive to the town was a bit eventful but well worth the drive.

We stayed at a little place called CRATER VALLY. It was the perfect place for us with our five little munchins, we had the inn all to ourselves. The service was amazing, we picked our rooms and the grounds of this place were breathtaking... very peaceful & beautiful. The weather in El Valle is at times 10 degrees less than the city because of the elevation, so it was a nice break for Mom & Bonnie from the heat. This weekend was all about relaxing and moving at a snails pace (as much as you can with kids)

(the amazing view from the pool... this place was b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l)

(the pool area where we ate lunch around the pool each day)

(this pool was fun to play in and VERY refreshing (to cold for me)



(Trent teaching the kids the true meaning of CANNON BALL)

(everyone loved chilling out in a hammock by the pool)

(Emma and her little buddy Keidis... the kids took such great care of Bonnie's little ones)



(Bonnie went for a two hour well deserved break for a massage & pedicure. The massage hut was tucked away for peace and serenity)

(I found Bonnie ... very relaxed and enjoying the peace & being pampered)

(All of El Valle is stunningly beautiful)

One of the biggest reasons for our trip up to El Valle was I was waiting for my baby sister to partake in some adventure with me. I have been waiting for months to go on another zip line tour like I did in Thailand. Trent is above the safe weight limit so he could not come with us (a good excuse for him... there is no way he would do it)

A company by the came of THE CANOPY ADVENTURE is a well known company that I checked out prior to our arrival. The president of Panama has used this company so how bad could it be : -) While Bonnie and I hiked 45min through the rain forest seeing square trunk trees and the most beautiful blue butterfly, Trent took Emma, Easton, Everett & Harlow for their own nature hike. Keidis and Mom opted to stay at the hotel for Keidis to sleep and Mom would of been sick crossing over the well worn draw bridges.

Bonnie & I had a guide that took us on our trek up the mountain and pointed out all the natural beauty that surrounded us. We saw seeds from trees that the locals make jewelry out of. Like I mentioned before a HUGE blue butterfly... it was amazing, we also saw cocaine trees... we are not entirely sure how the how process works but I know the leaves are grounded up and mixed with some substance and then who knows from there. That was pretty interesting.

Trent gave both of us big hugs and told us he loved us.... His good-bye was heart felt even when he asked if we had enough life insurance on me. :- )

(Bon & I with all our equipment ready for the unknown adventure)

(the rickety bridge over a river at the beginning of our hike, pretty cool)

(this picture does no justice to the surroundings, all Bonnie said was "this is so amazing, this is so beautiful")

We finally reached out first platform on the zip line. I looked at how long the zip line was and how far down the earth we walk so safely on was... the zip line was long & high. Bonnie kept asking me if I was nervous, I wasn't at the time because of the rush I felt inside... but looking back at it, it looks crazy.

(here is Bonnie a bit dizzy and trying to catch her breath... we were at a high elevation and it was pretty freaky up there)

(here is Bonnie coming towards me on the next plat form... On this zip line we are about 100-150 feet high passing over a waterfall....THIS WAS AMAZING!

(Trent was below taking pictures with the kids. Here is Bonnie... the real scary thing with this zip was that they stopped us mid way to take in the surroundings and for the kids to see us... I did not like just hanging there. Easton was upset he was scared for us)

(as you can see by the expression on Bonnie's face... she loved the zip!)

(here is Trent with the munchkins... Trent took a guide along with him for the hike to have extra hands... smart move)

After our very adventurous morning at the zip line we headed back to our hotel. Trent found this climbing wall and Emma was all over that. For $5 we all climbed and played around for a few hours.... Emma my dear Emma, she was sooooo determined to get to the top of the wall UNASSISTED to touch the sign that said Climbing Wall. Em worked really hard and I am so proud of her for not giving up. It took her many tries but she finally did it and was so proud of herself. The climb was about 30 feet high and I have to say it was not to easy. I needed to climb the wall to show Emma it can be done.

(Emma getting all her gear on)

(the wall Emma had to conquer)

(Em on her way up... way to go babe)

(Everett wanted in on the action, so we suited him up and he went for a ride)

(Ev got hiked way up for a ride... he loved repelling down)

(watch out Easton is now a flying boy)

In El Valle there are natural water springs & mud springs... the locals swear by them. We did a quick tour of the water baths and opted to buy the mud to apply back at the hotel. For a big tough guy my husband loves the finer things in life.. ie.. special mud for his soft skin & lets not forget pedicures for his mammoth feet :- ) Everyone tried the mud and it made the skin feel silky soft.

(here is my DIVA with wet mud)

(Trent was scaring the kids with his mask, they all ran from him but Keidis loves Uncle Trent)



(this is pure beauty if you have never seen it before)

(and the beauty continues with Mom... good thing I am the only one who writes on this blog)

(Ev's & Harlow's very very cute bums at the fish pond... The kids spend hours feeding these fish and watching the lizard dive into the water to steal the fruitloops from the fish... pretty gross I thought)

(this is a cute picture of all the kids... including my overgrown big boy Schmu) : -)

(RELAX * RELAX * RELAX) I don't want too but they make me ...haha

(mom & keidis - enjoying our last day in El Valle)

At the CRATER VALLEY they had a great things for the kids. Lots of swings, a small version of a zip line for kids.. alot of great stuff. It was perfect for the kids to burn off all their energy.

(I LOVE this picture of Harlow... she walks around and says "AUNTIES" whenever she wants something)

(Trent showing the kids what it takes to train - he only fell on his face a few times... JUST KIDDING)

( Harlow & Everett can be so sweet when they are not teasing eachother)

(here is the Sunday market... cute place)

Thoughts on El Valle?

Mom – very beautiful, tranquile, I would hightly recommend it. Would love to go back! It’s a place you see in the movies where you just want to go read your book… the perfect place to do that. At the resort we stayed we were treated like royalty. You know paradise is out there but never thought I would experience it… El Valle is paradise.

Bonnie - I thought the resort was so cute...very unique. The canopy tour, it was awesome! I didn’t realize I was nervous but I was. It went by to fast but I loved it and I would do it again. The zip lining was very professional and safe – I was surprised. I loved the market - it had a big variety of things to look at. It was good.

It has been great to have Bonnie, the kids & Mom here to experience some amazing things together.
This blog is part 1 of their trip down stay tuned for part 2...

Until next time, Thumbs up to all.

Easton our fashion pot of the family is now styling his own hair and dressing himself. Good thing they wear uniforms to school because some of his outfits are just to cool for school : -)
All our love to you all.
xoxoxox Trent * Jody * Emma * Easton & Ev!