Costa Rica: Sloth Sanctuary

I figure I better blog about our trip to Costa Rica before it's really old news. I can't believe it's been two months since our awesome vacation!

Our first full day in the country was spent at the Sloth Sanctuary over on the Caribbean Coast. The Sloth Sanctuary is basically the WHOLE reason we even went to Costa Rica. Random, right?

You see, most normal people have things on their bucket lists like, "see the Great Wall of China" or "go skydiving". I have things on my bucket list like, "go see the sloths at the Sloth Sanctuary in Costa Rica". I can't even remember how or when I first heard about the sanctuary. I just somehow discovered it and then knew I had to go.

To anyone planning a trip to Costa Rica, I would highly recommend adding the Sloth Sanctuary to your list of things to do. It did not disappoint. The people who run it are incredible. They take in injured and orphaned sloths. The goal is to nurse the injured ones back to health and free them into the wild. With orphaned sloths or babies born in the sanctuary, they will stay their whole lives since they don't really know what it's like to be a wild sloth (I feel like wild sloth is a total oxymoron, by the way). I love sloths (don't they just look like the best cuddlers?). Really, I'm just an animal lover, so being in close proximity to these creatures was exciting for me. We learned a lot of random facts about sloths, like that they only have one bowel movement per week. Who knew?  

The only downside of this part of the trip was getting there. The main airport in Costa Rica is in the middle of the country. Granted, the country is relatively small but traffic if unpredictable. Looking it up online, the destination time from San Jose to the sanctuary varied from two to five hours. We left early that morning to leave ourselves plenty of travel time. It ended up taking us four hours because we got stuck waiting to cross a bridge for an hour. Not fun. However, the drive was breathtaking. At least we had a lot to look at. Driving was also quite the adventure. We rented a car and BWell drove. There were a million one-lane bridges. On some of them, you couldn't see the other side. So you kind of would just cross the bridge and say a little prayer that a car wouldn't be coming from the other direction. Poor Brian, he was a trooper during our journey.

We arrived to the sanctuary before our lunch was quite ready. That left me and Brian time to meet Buttercup and have her all to ourselves. Buttercup was the first sloth at the sanctuary and basically the reason the sanctuary was started. She is 22 years old and just a sweetheart. When we entered the room and saw Buttercup on her swing, I forgot how to breathe and almost started crying. I am such a dork. I think between waking up early, our frustrating drive, and then just coming face-to-face with a sloth . . . it was just a lot of emotions. But really, look at how cute Buttercup is . . .

I felt like she was almost human. Like you know how Yoda from Star Wars is just this adorable little dude but then he's full of infinite knowledge? That's how I feel Buttercup is. Buttercup is Yoda. 

After we ate lunch with Buttercup, we went on a boat ride. We spotted some sloths sleeping in the trees, watched lots of pretty birds, and our boat guide even showed us some baby bats living in a log.

After the boat tour, we paid a visit to the injured and sick sloths. It was heartbreaking. A lot of them get electrocuted in power lines, some get hit by cars, others are abused. The worst story we heard was about a particular sloth who was set on fire by two stupid teenage boys. That poor sloth will probably never fully recover. It was sad to see so many of them hurting but nice to know they were in a safe place. We were able to pet and feed the injured adult sloths.

Then there were the babies. Oh, baby sloths, be still my heart. Baby sloths must be one of the top five cutest things in the world.

My favorite baby of all was actually very bad at being a sloth. A sloth's whole purpose is to use as little energy as possible. They eat a lot and sleep a lot. But my favorite little sloth acted more like a monkey. He was such a showoff and he immediately stole my heart. He kept doing tricks. Then he'd stick his little face and hands through the cage at me. I died. I died and went to sloth heaven.

 

This was such a great way to start off our trip. Luckily, our ride back to the hotel didn't take near as long. We even stopped and ate dinner at a restaurant on the beach while it was pouring rain . . . and then played on the beach in the pouring rain. It was magical. Sloths, beaches and rain. Yes. 

Up next on the vacation posts, you'll hear about how we took a sketchy little airplane to the most beautiful land on earth called Arenal, where we stayed in the middle of the rainforest and in the shadow of a volcano. Zip lining and river rafting adventures included. 

Truth Cards

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, my mom, sisters and I hosted a Truth Card Party. I first learned about truth cards through Brave Girls' Club.

Truth cards are super easy to make and the supplies are simple. You take face cards or flash cards and then make them beautiful with paint, paper, ribbon, and mod podge. The most important part is to add a "truth" to the card. We get told a lot of nasty lies all the time. Whether those lies come from others or ourselves, they can be hurtful and make us feel like we don't measure up. Truth cards are a way to remind us of what is true and what is good.

My mom came up with the idea of making as many truth cards as possible before Christmas and sending them out to women who are in need encouragement this holiday season. We planned on distributing them to the women's shelter, food pantry and Angel Trees in our community (because even though the Angel Trees are about getting gifts for children in need, their mommies have needs too). It's funny how something as simple as making truth cards puts my mind in the right place for Christmas. I find myself putting a lot of thought and care into each card, and I always hope with all my heart that the right message will get to the right person.

Our Truth Card Party was a success. It was neat to see females of all ages, from little girls to their own mothers, gathered around the table making their cards. We also had sandwiches and soup for lunch which was just perfect.

I encourage you to try making your own truth cards. Even though the holidays will be over soon, you can really make these cards and distribute them for any and every occasion. I also know how difficult it can be to want so badly to be generous at Christmastime and buy presents for everyone in need, but realize that your own bank account won't allow that. This is a way to help out without sacrificing your whole paycheck. And I really feel like the messages these cards carry have much more importance than anything you can purchase at a store.

Remembering Eleanor

When it came time to register for classes for spring semester, I didn't know what I was doing. I only needed to take two more classes. However, people apparently think I need to be a full time student to keep my scholarship and financial aid, thus I began searching the school website for random classes that would make my total credit hours sum up to a total of twelve. My two thoughts while searching for these random classes were 1) sign up for fun and interesting classes, and 2) sign up for classes that will be an easy A. 

So I signed up for billiards because I had always wanted to take it. Then I signed up for intro to religious studies because I heard it was easy and engaging. Then I signed up for social deviance because I am apparently obsessed with criminal behavior and the professor teaching it is one of my favorites. Then I signed up for some English class because English comes to me easier than most subjects. 

But weeks later, flurries of emails made it to my inbox alerting me that I couldn't take that English class because it was only for English majors. They demanded I drop it or they would drop me instead, and while I was made out to be the criminal, I was just wondering why the heck they gave me the go to register for it in the first place. Not my fault. When I pushed that register button, why in the world didn't red lights flash and words come across my screen saying, BOO, SUCKER! YOU AREN'T AN ENGLISH MAJOR! DO NOT PASS GO! DO NOT COLLECT TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS! 

So I obeyed the English masters and dropped the class. Then I worriedly and anxiously searched for another class that could give me my full time student status. All the somewhat easy classes were full and had long waiting lists. I started to panic. Then I cursed the law makers of University rules because all I really wanted was to take another journalism class, but apparently my JCOM classes are maxed out. Okay, yeah, that makes sense. Limit me from learning more about my trade. Ugh.

Then I found a women & leadership class that was only once a week. And I thought to myself, "Hmm, once a week. It can't be too hard. What the heck. Let's light things on fire, twirl our panties around, and bash on men." So I signed up for it.

Now it turns out, I think I was meant to take this class all along. It is nothing like I thought it would be. I am not just sliding by, wanting a grade. It's something I've discovered I am passionate about. And we don't sit in class on Wednesday evenings and act like we are picked on because we are females. We discuss things that are empowering. We talk about problems and how to overcome them. We learn leadership skills and how to use the fact that we are women to our advantage. We talk about how we can better support and embrace the women around us. Turns out, I love this stuff. It's made me take a step back and look into my soul, and then made me take a step forward and look into the souls of my fellow-women.

In class, we recently took a silencing the self test and it turns out, I silence myself a lot more than I thought I did. Sure, I have strong opinions on subjects. And sure, I probably blog about things that make people roll their eyes and shake their heads. But the thing is, I have a bad habit of closing off my innermost feelings. And when I want to express how I feel, I stop myself out of the fear of hurting someone's feelings. I do like this about myself; that I am sentimental toward others. However, I do an unhealthy amount of it. I always worry about others' feelings at the expense of my own. So I am working on it. I am trying to say and do what I feel is best, even if it means I might be judged for it. And on the other hand, I am trying to do a better job of not doing the judging myself. It's quite interesting because the men actually don't hold women back as much as we may think. We as women do the holding back. We hold ourselves back and if we aren't holding ourselves back, we justify belittling and holding back other women.

Because of this class, wheels are turning in my head and ideas are forming. I want to help women come together to celebrate this beautiful thing we have in common, this thing we call womanhood. I don't know how I want to do that, but I know I already have strengthened a part of myself because of this class. I am learning more and more every day how special it is to be a woman and that God loves me and knows I am capable. 

Around the same time we took the silencing the self test, we also watched a PBS documentary on Eleanor Roosevelt. Watch it if you get the chance. No matter your political opinions, you can't deny the fact that Eleanor Roosevelt was an incredible lady. Her life was actually quite dark and depressing. She was shy. But she learned how to speak and instill hope and happiness into others, and I think that's just grand. So if Eleanor did it, then I can too. And so can you, and you, and you! 

Alcatraz and Winchester Mystery House

Our first day in San Francisco was a good one. It's amazing how many things you can squeeze into a day when you really try. We fit a lot of fun things into our quick San Fran trip. Since we drove there and couldn't leave until Thursday afternoon, we ended up crossing the Bay Bridge at just around noon on Friday. I know that sounds like such an awful drive, but Brian really doesn't mind driving and I really don't mind riding. The ride was full of good conversations, fun music, and brainstorming about our futures. Oh, and I read a book. A fun one. Not a text book.

Anyway, we arrived at noon and found ourselves a good parking spot not far from the port where our ferry for the Alcatraz tour would be. Then we hit up a little seaside restaurant for lunch. Their food was spendy and the atmosphere was fancy, but their bathrooms were nasty. Which I don't understand. How can you have a fancy restaurant with ghetto bathrooms? That should be breaking some sort of rule. Any ways, after filling our tummies, we walked over to our line for the ferry. The air was so misty and the air smelled like fish. I didn't mind. We boarded our ferry at around two and I requested that we sit on the deck, so we did. We sat on the top of the boat and overlooked the view from the Golden Gate Bridge over to the mysterious island of Alcatraz. And all the while, my hair grew frizzy from the moist air. I was happy.

After making it to the island and getting off the ferry, we went on a tour and a lady told us about Robert Stroud aka "Birdman". He was a prisoner of Alcatraz who I don't think even finished his high school education. However, I guess you get bored when you sit in a jail cell all day, so prisoners start reading and educating themselves. Stroud educated himself while in prison and became a bird scientist. Apparently he wrote several journals that were published and a bunch of ladies read them and though Stroud was a genius. Then they found out he was in jail so they started writing letters that they should let him out. Some women.

Anyway, now that I told you about the Birdman. . .let's move on. After that tour, we went on the audio tour. I heard great things about the audio tour and I was not disappointed. It may have helped that I do a lot of audio stuff in school, but I thought it was very well done. After the audio tour, we walked around a room that was full of art created by inmates. And I started crying. Because I'm such a wimp. And I just wanted to buy some art that an inmate had created and hang it on my wall as a reminder that there can be beauty in even some of the ugliest of places.

I am in a criminology class this semester that is actually one of my favorite classes, so I found everything about Alcatraz super interesting. There was such a strange and empty feeling present on the island. Plus, Brian and I went through a phase where we were obsessed with mafia movies, so it was cool thinking we were walking around where Al Capone had also been. Basically I just really loved Alcatraz. And now I either want to give art lessons to inmates, or become an inmate myself so that I'll have time to learn another language and become a scientist. Except my mom might be mad if I go to jail. So maybe I'll just give art lessons to inmates. Except I'll have to take art lessons myself before I can teach them. It'll happen, eventually.

 Alcatraz

 One of the prisoners' cells 

 An area where prisoners could exercise and play games like baseball and horseshoes

 I forgot to take my headphones (from the audio tour) off for the picture. My bad.

 a watch tower 

 the kitchen

After spending a good three hours at Alcatraz, we drove over to Santa Clara where Brian's brother Rhett and his wife Alexis live. When we arrived, they gave us a tour of their adorable house and then we ate a delicious dinner. Then we went with them to the Winchester Mystery House. Strangest. House. Ever. First we went through a haunted alley that went around the yard of the house. It was really well done. Like well done enough that we actually fought over who had to walk first. Then we went on a flashlight night tour of the house. It's insane to think that woman spent her whole life after her husband passed just building that house. I'm really bummed that the 1906 earthquake destroyed several levels of the house. If you are wondering what in the world this house is about, watch this video.

Well, that's a quick rundown of our first day in the Bay Area. We obviously did a lot of eerie things: touring a prison where some of the most violent criminals of the past stayed, touring a "haunted" house with staircases and doors going to nowhere. . .But our second day was much more lighthearted as we spent our time exploring the city and eating tasty food. More on those adventures soon.

Truth Tuesday

• Occasionally we come home and Luna looks like she's dead on our patio. She is always just sleeping in weird positions, do not worry. But we sometimes start worrying after we've taken several pictures, laughed for a couple minutes. . .and realize she still hasn't moved. Then we poke her and her yellow eyes quickly pop open. It's all good. She's just dramatic. 

• I love nights when Brian and I cuddle in bed and instead of sleeping, we discuss our future together. We talk about plans for both the near future and the distant future. It just makes me excited. We have a lot of good to look forward to. 

• Apparently Glenn Beck bought a new vacation home. . .which happens to be a few miles down the road from my parents' house. And in that neighborhood, a few miles down the road means you are neighbors. I think everyone is a little shocked since where I'm from isn't exactly a tourist destination. But apparently Mr. Beck likes our little town. And he especially likes the hardworking country folk who reside there. Think I'm exaggerating? Go here  to read the article about it. And watch the video at the top. . .but start it at about 14:40 (the rest is just about how they herded cattle and how their house runs on solar power and generators). And I love what he says. Yes, city people would make fun of the majority of the people from my community. . .but you know, the people of my community are happy and solid people. I am now determined to run into the man when he's in town. Guys, I'm going to meet Glenn Beck. Mark my words. 

• Speaking of city people mocking those from my community, remember Napoleon Dynamite? Yes, my hometown is very near to Preston. Too close for comfort.

• I was planning on lifting weights this morning at the break of dawn. I didn't. I slept in instead and then made blueberry muffins. Oops.

• I'm so excited to go to the midnight premiere of this movie that I may just wet myself. I would kiss Christopher Nolan's feet if I could. He's a genius. But I have a bad feeling that Batman might die. Do you think he might die? Eek! 

• On the subject of movies, I really have an itch to see this one. Anyone seen it? Feedback? 

• I bought myself a modest little gem of a video camera. And yesterday we bought a desktop computer. We will soon be adding my very own, personal editing bay to our home office. I'm excited to start getting my feet wet in some things of what may hopefully be a future career. 

Running Against Cancer

Our bodies are amazing. Have you ever thought about that before? Like how amazing is it that our legs can move and our eyes can blink? Pretty amazing, I think. Last Saturday I had a reminder of how amazing my body is and how grateful I am for it.

Over the weekend, I ran my second half marathon. BWell ran it with me and it was his first! My mom and Aunt Amy ran too. This half was in American Fork so we drove down early afternoon on Friday so we could get our packets, eat dinner, and just relax. Then on Saturday morning we woke up at four in the morning to get ready for our race. No, I did not type that wrong, we got up at four in the morning. When we went outside, all the stars were still out and the air was cool. We caught a bus which took us up AF canyon to the start of our race. The gun went off at six and we were off. 

The first nine miles felt glorious. The first seven miles were all downhill out of the canyon, so that helped me run some pretty fast mile times. Well, fast for me. I was averaging about eight minute miles and it was fun because Brian ran with me. I tried not to let Brian know, but I was actually really worried about him. He's been recovering from a foot injury so the longest run he'd been on was a six miler. Well, Brian told me I couldn't stick with him the whole time and I should go ahead, so at around mile six I did. I had a goal to get under 2 hours. My last time was 2:07 but it was a hilly course plus it was raining. So I felt like if I pushed it, I could break the 2 hour time. 

Well, the last two miles we ran through town. The shade and coolness of the canyon were gone, and it was hot. I don't like running in hot. I ran through every sprinkler that was near the sidewalk to try cooling myself off which I think helped a lot. Once I was almost to mile 12, I started to get the chills (which isn't normal in almost 85 degree weather). I knew my body was wanting to shut down. But I only had one more mile. Just one more.

But then the two hour pacer man ran past me. I watched as that sign which read 2:00 bounced past me and I felt crushed. I wasn't going to meet my goal. But then my stubbornness came out and I ran after that sign. There was no way I was going to barely miss getting my two hour mark. I don't know how, but my legs just carried me faster and faster until I passed the two hour pacer and continued to pass other people in front of the sign. Then I saw balloons. And cheering people. And the finish line. And I made it. I made it in 1:59. I only got a minute under two hours and I almost pooped my pants in the process, but I got my goal. And that's all that matters. 

Then I went back to the finish to watch for the rest of the gang. Brian didn't come for a while. I started worrying. Then someone smacked my butt. I turned around and there stood Brian. He only finished four minutes after me. I was bummed I didn't see him finish, but I was so happy he felt so good. He didn't even seem out of breath. Then we watched my mom and aunt finish. My aunt hung back with my mom to help push her and she must have been good help. My mom got her personal best by ten minutes! She did awesome! I love watching people I care about finish a race. 

Any ways, all the money from the race went towards cancer patients, which I feel pretty good about. After the race, I just kept thinking about all the people who were suffering from cancer, and then I thought about myself and how my healthy body had just carried me 13.1 miles. Then I felt guilty about all the times I complain about my body. 

My hair is too thick and frizzy. 

My shoulders are too broad. 

My teeth aren't white enough. 

My feet are too wide.

My chest is too flat. 

I don't want to have that attitude anymore. It's ridiculous how hard I can be on my body sometimes. My body is a gift and it can do pretty amazing things. I guess that's why I like running. It's a constant reminder of how amazing the human body is and can be. 

And it's pretty amazing that after running that far, we all immediately ripped open the box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts that Brian's brother brought us and devoured them. Rhett was such a nice man. He not only watched us finish and brought us doughnuts, but he also took a couple pictures on his phone. Just to prove we really ran.   

Have Some Soup, Aye?

Ever heard of the Havasupai tribe? Well, their village is in Arizona and to get there you have to hike into the Grand Canyon. This strange little place is one of the few locations in the country where the Pony Express still lives. All supplies are delivered either on horseback or by helicopter. The natives are content living in the dust, surrounded by red rock. But this place does have a secret. Once you get to the village, the land transforms from a desert to an oasis. Plants grow thick, and giant waterfalls gush from the ground. The water flows on a bed of limestone, making the water a crystal clear blue. It's a jaw dropping sight. I've had an itch to see this place for over two years now, and finally I can mark it off my bucket list. Brian and I backpacked all our supplies down to our campsite and then back out again. Hiking becomes a lot harder when you are carrying an extra 30 pounds on your back. But I loved the challenge. There is just something incredible about doing something so physically challenging that you can feel your spirit driving your body forward. 

The day before we left for our trip, I told my grandpa where we were going. He looked upward and shook his head a little, "Man, you two sure do know how to live I've decided." I laughed at first, but I've been thinking about this little comment a lot ever since. I think that's what love is about; finding someone who makes you want to live bigger and better than you ever would by yourself. 

So thanks Brian, for making me want to live big. 

Some highlights of the trip: 

• Making friends with all the village dogs and having a specific one follow us everywhere. 
• Having a bath near Havasu Falls and being dramatic about the cold water. It amused Brian. 
• Freaking Brian out every time I brought up talk of skinwalkers. 
• Some of the native girls posing it up for my camera. They were the cutest. 
• Eating dinner out of a can every night. But I was so hungry that every night it tasted super delicious! 
• Attempting to catch lizards. 
• Seeing a giant moose! 
• Meeting many interesting people from all over the world.