New Year, New Adventures!

 My Dearest Evan,

I know it's been a while - I thought about blogging in January and then all of a sudden it was the end of March! You'll find that time flies faster and faster the older you get! 

Let's see, since October you had your birthday party at Rock Solid, had your winter performance, you TURNED EIGHT!, had your first hockey tournament (in Los Alamos), started doing more and more hockey camps in Phoenix, decided you want to transition away from rock climbing and try something else next year, and we've been working on reading comprehension more and more with some extra school assignments your teams have helped us with.

Over the holiday break we got to go to Los Alamos for your first hockey tournament - and it was outdoors! You did great although we did have a few scares that you were going to cause the other team to score. You scored yourself! And you were goalie in a game where your team won so I'd say that was a good run for your first tourney! You also got some great teaming friend time in with meals and even a little dance party in Finn's room.   

Finally, we just got back from an incredible trip to Costa Rica. There really aren't words to describe how beautiful it is and how much fun we had. Our excursions included a hanging bridges tour, a Costa Rican cooking class, a chocolate and coffee tour, white water rafting, deep sea fishing and a guided tour through an incredible national park. We saw monkeys, birds, sloths and the Arenal volcano was visible every single day. As you tried to say "gracias" you were saying "glacias" - it was really cute. Every morning at breakfast you would pour your juice into the coffee cup the hotel restaurant had out for coffee. You also thought the plants were plastic because they are so lush and real that it's what the plastic ones are made to look like! You really loved trying coffee on the chocolate and coffee tour and you had a great eye for finding animals on the hanging bridges tour. You were the first to wake up every morning and hop straight into the private pool that came with our room. You kept saying you saw Tucans and sloths and you loved the cane sugar milk we drank. You also beat me at chess for the first time and you chatted up a bachelorette party at the swim up bar!

At school you're saving grasshoppers from being stomped on, even if they fly into your face. You're still a ring leader for friends and the girls invite you to their birthday parties because you're the kindest of the boys. I gather there's a girl in Sophia's friend group who has a crush on you. The parents know you as the ambassador of second grade because you're a good friend to everyone. You still have a few boys you don't get along with but I guess that comes with the territory.

Here's your life in pictures right now...

School halloween costume - you decided to where this instead of the Wyatt costume

Big dude, getting some extra ice time in Phoenix

You got face paint for your birthday

...and it doesn't come out of your eyebrows easily! Herman Munster

Making friends on the soccer sidelines

Play dough!

I had to get a bike to ride with you and Avery because you're too fast for me to run with anymore

Birthday cupcakes!

Birthday party!

Got some skateboarding time over the holiday break!

You made your own electrical circuit

And then you made a video about your electrical circuit

Pascal isn't a huge fan of being a pillow

Letters to Santa!

Phoenix hockey practice

Cookies for Santa!

Santa came!

Los Alamos for your first tournament!

Team breakfast

You were #71!

Broke out the binoculars for Avery's big ODP tournament

Mommy/Son dinner date

Daddy/Son golfing date

You've been more and more into watching Avery play soccer

And this is your new get-up for watching Power Rangers. You like to pretend to fight along to the show. Blue Power Ranger is your favorite.

Goalie vibes

Getting ready for Uncle Adam's wedding!

Sophia's birthday party at Main Event!

Dad got some great photos of you

Airplane to Costa Rica!

Almost there!

Got picked up! Everything was on time for this trip!

Our pool at the hotel in Fortuna had lights that changed colors!

We loved this hotel - our own private paradise

Guided hike of hanging bridges

Good bird watcher

Hanging bridge

Arenal volcano is very hard to get a full view of because of the constant clouds - we were so lucky

A surprise gift from our hotel!

Learning about spices

You learning how to use a machete

Pool boy!

Drinking smoothies

A wonderful cooking class and a great meal

Howler monkeys - we heard them early in the morning

Sloths!

Your virgin daiquiri at the swim up bar - where you met up with a bachelorette party

Yellow Breasted Toucan

Pool lights change colors

Whte water rafting - you got out to swim once!

Arenal volcano from our room!

Making your own chocolate - yours tasted the best out of all of ours

Play hard, rest hard

Actually getting along with your sister

Lovely dinner

Macaws

Sloth named "You See" at the second hotel

Sunset dinner

We caught 10 mahi and 2 tuna on our deep sea fishing adventure - you were good at reeling them in!

Someone likes sailing and fishing

Sunset during family pictures

Petting the cat at the second hotel

Swimming at Manuel Antonio National Park

These white faced Monkeys are the menace of Manuel Antonio - they are called the mafia!

Testing out a C-123 at a restaurant in Manuel Antonio

Family photos, of course!

And right after we got back, you went to Phoenix for a training with your next tournament team, the Yetis!

You got to go on the ice again in March during a Roadrunners game! You also got to sit on the bench during warm-ups.

Birthday party fun!

Winter performance!

Soccer cameraman!

Evan, you're becoming more and more of your own person every single day. You have an attitude, you feel most comfortable around your family (even if that is sometimes to our detriment because of your temper), and you're so inventive with all of your projects around the house - lots and lots of cardboard for you! I'm so excited to see through the end of the school year with you and into summer camps along with our Disney cruise in Europe!

All My Love,

Mom