Weekend snapshots + shoes for Costa Rica

Tuesday already!

These past few days were a blur. The weekend was highly dominated by Asher’s swim meet both Saturday and Sunday. But first, on Friday night we still squeezed in our date night:

Then, on to Saturday. Asher had the early session on Day 1, and it was a ~35-40 minute drive away. We had to be there at 7:25 a.m., plus pick up a teammate on the way. So we left home by around 6:40 a.m. Early morning!!

He had 3 events in the a.m. session (100 free, 200 back, 100 fly), then a little break before he swam the 500 yard freestyle. For reference, the 500 free session didn’t start until 1:10 p.m… so we were there all morning. By the time all was said and done, we didn’t head for home until close to 2 p.m. It was pushing 3:00 by the time we got home.

BUT, he swam amazing this weekend, and the pool was a gorgeous new facility.

He went 4 for 4 personal best times on Saturday, with an almost 20 second drop on his 500 free! He was really happy.

The rest of Saturday (well, what was left of it), I basically did nothing. Although I did NOT swim and literally just sat on my butt for 6+ hours, I felt exhausted. I hadn’t slept well Friday night- I think I only got a few hours total. Anyway, I ended up taking a little nap Saturday afternoon and mostly just laid around feeling extremely lazy.

Asher, the one who actually did all the swimming, somehow had energy to go to the gym to play basketball with friends AND to a Family Fun Night at school until 8 p.m (like a school carnival type thing). He was happy as a clam; I felt about as peppy as a wet towel. lol.

Sunday morning I was up early again to drive Ethan to work at 7 a.m. (Ivan had gone out for drinks with his cousin Saturday night, so he was up later than I was.) I ran into the grocery store for a few things quickly (store is next to his McDonald’s), and when I came outside, it was barely 7:30. Asher didn’t swim until the later session on Sunday, and I figured things were quiet at home/ people still sleeping probably, so I had some free time. I decided to go inside to Ethan’s McDonald’s, where he was working, and have a cup of tea. 🙂 (He said it was okay- didn’t want to “embarrass him”, you know….ha.).

I had my Lonely Planet book and notebook in my purse, so I sat and took a few more notes about Monteverde- trying to figure out which cloud forests we should visit!! 🙂 I think I’ve finally got a good short list of things we’ll do on this trip. The options in Costa Rica are apparently endless!! It’s a lot to sort through.

After a bit, I headed home to shower and get ready. Asher and I left by around 10:45 for Day 2 of the swim meet. Ivan stayed home- he would be picking Ethan up from work at 11 and taking him to 2 basketball games Sunday afternoon. Divide and conquer. 🙂

It was a very pleasant, beautiful drive! Snowy countryside, but no actual snow on the roads. 😉

The p.m. session started at 12:30. On Sunday Asher swam the 100 breaststroke, 200 freestyle, 100 back and the 200 IM. He went another 4 best times, making his total 8 for 8 personal bests this weekend!! A perfect meet!! He was thrilled. It’s been a long time since he’s had such a great meet!! It was really fun to watch, and though it made for a long weekend, I was so glad to be there with him. ❤

On the way home, he said he was “starving” and asked if we could stop at Culver’s. Of course, yes!! He so earned it. 🙂

When we got home, Ethan and Ivan were still gone at basketball, so I forced myself back out the door to the gym. I told Asher on the way home, “When we get home, DO NOT let me sit down… I am going to gym immediately, before I lose my motivation.” (Which I didn’t really have at that point, anyway, but the little motivation I did have, I didn’t want to lose. Ha.)

I begrudgingly went to the gym and did my leg workout. I gained a little momentum as the workout progressed, which is usually the case.

And that was mostly the weekend! Not a lot of time left for too much else.

SHOES

I did receive my new Salomon hiking/water shoes (they fit!!) and did a little closet inventory/ thinking about which other shoes I’ll take to Costa Rica. (As I’ve mentioned, we will have a single SUV for 6 people on this trip = NOT a lot of space for luggage. So the plan is carry-on backpacks only…. for 2 whole weeks. Not ideal.)

My current plan for shoes is this:

Clockwise from top left:

• My favorite black flip flops- super light/easy to pack, great for slipping on and heading to pool or around hotel, or out for a casual lunch or dinner, etc.

• Salomon Tech Amphib4 Water Shoes. Got them on sale for $80 at REI! Will be my “closed toe shoe” option (some places require closed toed shoes due to, um, potential critters like apparently snakes and fire ants? 😳) Also can wear these in water if we go waterfall jumping, river tubing, etc.

• My beloved Tevas- I have an older version of the Verras, I think. LOVE these. They are open toed, but from what I’ve read, this should be fine in most places. I’ve hiked all over in these and love them. Never had an issue with the open toe. They are also great in water.

• White Eddie Bauer Break Point sandals. I bought these on a whim last summer, but I think they’ll be great for this trip. They have more tread on the bottom than your average flip flop/ more support and also will be good for water/pool/ beach/ etc.

*I am super partial to SANDALS in the summer!! I hate wearing tennis shoes/ closed toes if I don’t have to- I LIVE in sandals. So I’m planning to mostly wear sandals, and my Salomons as needed. 🙂 Also happy that I only had to purchase one pair of shoes- I seem to already own some good options that will work fine.

I’ll probably wear my Tevas on the plane and pack the rest, and I think this is reasonably light yet enough variety! Costa Rica is super casual, so I don’t think I’ll need any “nice” shoes along.

Now on to the week. Ivan leaves to go to Mexico very early tomorrow morning with his brother to surprise their Dad for his 70th birthday!!

Daily Gratitude:

I am grateful for a new pair of socks I got for Christmas that is extremely comfortable.