Up in the hills - G & G visit...

April 2010.  I love this time of year and right now I am feeling a bit home sick for the sweet smell of springtime.  We have beauty all around us everyday but I miss the excitment in the air of no more snow and warmer days.  I remember loving those crisp days of spring with my truck window down and great songs on the radio.

Spring break has come and gone.  The kids had a week off school so like true form to us, we headed out on an adventure.

A few fun pictures!

(the kids all dressed up for the annual Royal Ball at the church.  The boys are to dress as knights and the girls as princesses.  We mixed - matched - and pieced together some items to create our Knights and Princess. It is always a great time at the Ball)

Field Day @ CCA

A fun event at school.  A mix of swimming games at the pool, relay races and food eating contests.

(Everett with his buds from school.  On the left we have Noah. Everett. Asher and Markie.  These are a serious group of Boys.. Boys... FULL of life)

(Field Day - Here is a shot of the whole school from K4- 12th Grade.  A great mix of multiple cultures)

 (here is Easton (far right) with his class, having a splash contest)

(one of the highlight events was the slip and slide.  I should have worn my bathing suit this day to join Ev) 

Time to head out...

For Spring Break we decided to explore a bit more of Northern Panama.  We have been up there a few times but it was time to head just a little bit further North, where the air was crisp and I got to wear my beloved cozy sweaters.  

We made this trek with our friends the Cortese's with their truck overflowing with people. haha.  3 kids and 4 adults.

Los Quetzalas was our final destination after a 8 hour drive from Panama City.  With a few stops in between in Coranado and Santiago we continued our climb to higher elevation and wrapped the blankets a bit tighter as we drove up.

Los Quetzalas is located in the Chiriqui province that has picturesque rolling hills and beautiful flowers that surround the simplest homes.  Many retired foreigners live in Chiriqui due to the more moderate temperature.

(The kids snug as bugs in a blanket.  We rolled down the windows to enjoy the crisp chilly air)

(Em loved taking pictures of the daisy gardens)

(playing a bit of touch football at the registration area.  The brown building in the back ground is a hotel with beautiful views of the lush hills surrounding the town)  

(Here the kids are playing a game of checkers at the lodge.  This was a cozy spot to play games, read a book or enjoy a cappuccino while listening to the chirping of birds outside)

Our cabin we cozied up in...

(This is the cabin we rented for our time in Los Quetzalas.  The burning fire place filled the cabin with one of my favorite smells, all day and night.  Our abode had rustic charm which made for a great escape from our air conditioned modernized house by Panama City)

(No more smores people!)

We had four legged friends!

On the property, we shared our space with some beautiful creatures.  Upon our arrival we were greeted by a mare with her foal and two milking cows.  The kids had a hoot feeding carrots to the horses and a few brave souls milked the cows. The animals were icing on the cake on our adventure up north.

(Emma was enthralled with the horses.  She was so patient and spent hours gaining their trust.  You did great chicky)

(You can take the girl out of country living, but you can't take the country living out of the girl..lol.  I was fortunate enough to grow up around animals so I was able to jump right back in there and show the kids how to pull on the milk squirter's    :)

Let's Ride...

Our family took a team of horses through jungle terrain once again.  Our kids absolutely love horseback riding and it is always comical with Trent on a horse (he laughs himself)  The guide provided a horse who was quite big and strong for Trent which was great, however this horse had an attitude, a true alpha male.  This horse had to be in the lead at all times with his extremely stubborn personality.  

Trent is not the most comfortable rider but does pretty good for not riding alot in his life, however this horse had a mind of his own.  At one point a dog came charging out at Trent, the horse got a bit spooked and charged up into a families front yard.  It was so comical watching Trent try to command the horse to move but it did not move an inch as the people sat on their porch getting a good chuckle.

Way to go honey  ;- )
  

(Miss Em, a natural on the horse.  She would ride all day every day if she could)

(Easton was my leader and everyone could hear his giggle when his horse trotted.. it was the best)

(My monkeys taking a break from straddling the saddles to enjoy the fresh mountain air)

(Here was a cute house we rode by on our horses.  If you look behind the house you can see the hills full of growing vegetables.  It was a beautiful site)

One with Nature

We all loaded into our 4x4's ... 6-adults and 6-kids ventured up a rough rocky road towards the clouds.  After our 20min drive, we parked, exchanged our hiking shoes for rubber boots and continued on our 4 hour adventure.  We climbed high, through multiple rivers and took lots of pictures..haha  It was a great afternoon of getting dirty and enjoying the amazing beauty of Mother Nature.

(Emma hydrating right before we were about to depart for the hike with her little shadow Charlotte)

(The boys found a cave as we descended down a huge embankment.  They loved getting all dirty and exploring the outdoors)

(Me and my hubby admiring the waterfall quickly because there were to many kids around to just relax)

(Heading down along the river.  Thankful for the cable in spots to hang on to)

(The natural bridge over the river.  Emma was yelling at me to hurry up and to stop taking pictures)

(My explorers!  Admire the rubber boots, very stylish)  lol

(Here's my Easty. Love your pictures buddy.  Just finished our hike and snack. We had to walk up this road to find our trucks)  

(The explorers.  We hiked alot of terrain from little people to a few ladies over 50.  Everyone was a trooper.  

In this photo we have on the left the two maids then the Cortese Family and the Schmu's... it was so fun)

(This was amazing!  There were 10+ hummingbirds all round this feeder.  As you can see Trent was admiring them inches away and they kept flying in and out for some sugar juice.  It was a fantastic opportunity to just stare at how unique each one was and be mesmerized by the speed at which they can fly.  Pamama is renowned for bird watching and up here there is no shortage of different feathered creatures.

(A pit stop on the side of the road for a strawberry milk shake and strawberries with cream.  Yummy!... It is funny how we never wanted to eat at roadside shacks but now it all seems normal)

Veggie Time

(Love the fresh veggie stand, straight from the farms down the road)  

(One of the many great things about Panama is fresh veggies are affordable.  This combo of veggies cost $5.00  * 1-bags of carrots, 2-bags of potatoes, 1-bag of onions, red peppers and garden fresh cucumbers) 

Fishing at Hotel Bambito

There was fishing ponds at a near by hotel and our kids love fishing.  It was eventful because for some in our group it was their first fish which made for lots of screaming..haha

(My fishing crew.  Everyone caught dinner)

(A great moment to witness between Everett and Trent) 

(What a man's grill!  A little liquid over hot coals to cook up the many catches of the day... Trent style - we had a grand feast of fish with potatoes cooked in foil)

Janson Coffee Farm  - Chirqui Panama

We ventured to a coffee processing farm which was very interesting.  We saw how they recieve the coffee beans... sort the beans by grade.. dry them... roast and bag the beans for distribution.  It was a great learning experience for all of us and the kids loved eating the roasted beans (they were flying high..haha)

(My partner in crime at the Janson coffee cafe with the beautiful backdrop.  It's hard not to enjoy coffee with a setting like this)

(Here is step 1 - the coffee beans get dispensed into the left trolley (10 cans worth) 

(This machine shells the beans and starts to sort 1st. 2nd. 3rd grade.  After this machine, the beans have to be continually sorted, then dried out on huge patio)

(Ev is making his way to the roasting house, it smelt delicious in there)

(My amazing family among the rolling hills.  I am so proud of you kids, it was a great day!)

(This picture does not do this hotel/restaurant any justice, because the surrounding garden was amazing.  This beautiful location was called Dos Rios in Volcan)

(My little girl is growing up so fast.  Emma was a built in babysitter on the trip for Charlotte and Mackenzie. Em said she likes little girls but does not want to keep any.  Thank you for all your help cutie)

 (Our funny man Ev.  Playing around in the jungle in his fleecy)

 (We stopped by an archeological site near Volcan called Sitio Barriles.  It was interesting to the kids for the first 2 minutes.  On the property though they had these enormous limes if you can believe it.  They were the size of the kids heads.  The plant originated in Thailand and the farmer has been growing them here.  We bought one for $1.00... thanks for modeling for me Easton - as you can see he is very impressed with me. lol)

(It was a blast Cortese's.  Thanks for a great trip and wonderful memories) 

Grandparents came to visit...

I was a bit shocked when my Grandparents emailed to say they wanted to make the trip down to Panama to spend a week with us.  They are 80 and 87 who are still willing and able to explore - how cool is that?  It was  a week of checking out the sights and seeing them in ahh of the beauty and wonders of Panama.  I am very thankful they came to visit and get the opportunity to see how we live.  The kids loved having them around, not to many kids get to hang out with their Great-grandparents.

Touring Time

(My Grandmother and I on top of Ancon Hill looking down at the - Canal, Albrook and America's bridge.  A great view)

(At the Miraflores locks watching a ship come through.  My Grandparents just kept saying that they never thought they would ever see the Panama Canal)  

(What troopers.  Everyone boarded the shuttle to catch a boat to cruise on the canal)

(We stopped to watch the sloth in the tree.  Gramma was in her glory and in amazement that she was here in person... it was pretty neat)

(Grampa was like a kid in a candy shop, he barely took his eyes off the passing gigantic ships.  The vessel behind him was coming from the Atlantic containing 5000 vehicles bound for North America)

(Trent and Gramma taking a beautiful walk under the flower covered gazebo, but it sure was a super hot day)

(Our site seeing took us to the National Theater in Casco Viejo which opened in 1908.  The picture of course does no justice to the granger and beauty the theater possesses.  We were the only ones in there and if you look closely at the seats Gramma is taking it all in)

(Another view of the National Theater, it was nice and cool and a fantastic reprieve from intense heat outside)

(Here G&G are standing by a statue honoring a famous British ballerina named Dame Margot Fonteyn de Arias.  She married a Panamanian in 1955)

(Out for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants "La Posta"  the best octopus you will ever eat.  It was a great night of amazing food and lots of laughs)

(A nice picture of the adventurous travelers)

 (My Gramma spent the whole morning at the salon getting her feet and hands tended to as well as her hair shampooed, cut and set. We were at my girlfriends salon and all the girls loved her)



A great holiday for my Grandparents.  Everything went perfectly which was great.  It was a pleasure having them down and I am so glad they had the opportunity to see things they never thought possible.  We had the pleasure of celebrating Easter together.  The kids sang awesome songs in front of hundreds of people at the Easter service which is always great.  Then we enjoyed a delicious turkey dinner at Mr. and Mrs. Jones along with the kids annual egg hunt.



Little Larry...

Emma and Everett rescued a little bird the other day in our neighbors back yard.  It was a little guy who could not fly and it was Em and Ev's rescue or it was going to be birdy-a-la-king for some other animal.

The kids named him Little Larry and he became an instant part of our family.  Unfortunately a few days after the rescue Little Larry became lethargic and sadly died in the gentle giant palms of Trent.

We had a funeral service for Little Larry by candle light in our back yard, where he now rests in peace.

(Trent with Little Larry)




Another entry complete... We are approaching the tail end of school which seems to have flew by.  The kids just finished four days of SAT exams which was exhausting for them.  Trent is coaching Emma's soccer team which has been a great test of patience for him (dealing with so many girls).  We are busy and loving it.

Rainy season is approaching so the afternoon storms are moving in with great sounds of thunder and bright lightning shows.

All our love

Until next time..
Jody . Trent. Ev. East. Em xoxoo