Costa Rica 2012

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Banana Boats

No, I am not talking about this Banana boat:

Nor am I talking about THIS banana boat:

Nor am I talking about THIS banana boat

(although I'd LOVE to be on this one right. about. now.)

I'm actually talking about THIS banana boat:

Now, I don't know about YOU...but who even KNEW that such goodness even existed???

Not me. But now, I'm the biggest fan of them.

That's right....a campfire banana boat.

(*Thank you, Margie & Aaron for introducing me to my new. best. friend.*)

Here's the basics for a recipe, if you wanna try it:

-------------------------------------------

Banana Boat

aluminum foil

1 banana, unpeeled

Miniature marshmallows (or jet puffed, cut in smaller peices)

Milk chocolate chips or broken candy bars

anything else you want: (coconut, peanut butter chips, butterscotch chips, toffee bits, nuts, pineapple, etc)

Cut a slit lengthwise about two-thirds of the way through the banana from the stem to the base. Fill the slit with as much of the above ingredients as you want! The more, the merrier!!! It all melts together into one luscious dessert!

To heat the banana boat, wrap in foil and cook on hot coals for five minutes, or until the chocolate and marshmallows have melted. Serve as a snack, a dessert or a treat around the campfire.

One word of caution: If you leave the boats in the coals too long, the bananas will liquefy.

Now, what are you waiting for....go start a fire!

*Don't forget to invite me!!!*

Prepping for Costa Rica

I have recently started preparing for my upcoming adventure to Costa Rica.

**shout for joy**

I can't tell you just how excited I am to go to this country!!!!

We will experience so much OUTDOORS, and I am really excited. Here are some of the things we'll be doing while in Costa Rica this June:

- We'll be on the beach

- horseback riding through the rainforest, participating in a canopy tour (where you walk along bridges at the tippy toppy of the rainforest and see the wildlife that lives up there....monkeys, butterflies, birds, etc)

- Hiking to a hidden waterfall

- Whitewater rafting

- visiting and bathing in natural hot sprints

- seeing the tallest active volcano in the WORLD

...and that is only the beginning.

So...what would one purchase to prepare for such a trip?

Well, I've done some researching, and it seems you need a LOT of things that would be good for rainy weather. Such things as:

- waterproof light jacket & umbrella

- clothes that breath easily (and dry quickly)

- good shoes (that dry quickly, non-slip, and breathable)

Not sure what else...but those are some things I'll definitely be on the prowl for soon. I have covered ONE of those three NEEDS this weekend:

SHOES

For Her:

Keen Sandals. You won't find these in the women's section....nope! That's because they are in the girls' section....yep, I can fit into a size 6 in youth!!!!! :) Score!!!! Anyone who has looked at the price tags on shoes by Keen, know that you are looking at a hefty price. But, check out the kids' section (if you can put up with bright colors and a bit of velcro, and the heel is a bit different. On the adult, it is a strap...so it is open-heel. On the youth, it is closed-heel)...they sell for 1/2 price!!! I LURV the color, & I am a size 8 women, and I fit PERFECTLY into a youth size 6.

For Him:

Anyone that knows Steven, knows that he was not willing to fork over that kind of money....especially when there is not a youth size option for his large feet! So, I was out this weekend and happened upon these "zipline" shoes by G. H. Bass & Company. I rarely ever buy anything in this store, but my mom always like to look around. They are also $100 shoes, but they had a 50% off sale of men's shoes. Plus, they were having 30% off of that the day I went. Plus, I had a coupon for 15% of that. Yep, his shoes were $25. They are a little big (because his feet are so skinny and flat), but he says they are comfy, and he likes them!!!!! SCORE!!!!

(the pair I bought was the other color....grey/navy/with orange accents on the ties).

So...all in all, I was prepared to spend $100 on shoes. :(

*ugh*

What I got for $100 instead was:

- one pair of kids keen sandals

- one pair of aqua shoes for men

- 10 pair of socks for hubby

- date night to see Hunger Games w/ popcorn & soda

...can't beat that

Springtime 2012 at the Lambson house

Maybe I should make this a seasonal blog...seeing as my last post was at Christmas time.

hmmmm...that's a good idea!

~Well, a LOT has happened with our house in the last 10 months~

Most of you all remember the outside as being dull, dry, boring, and FULL of weeds (hardly any grass to speak of):

(this pic actually came from our neighbor's yard...but ours looked even worse then their's last year....I promise!!!)

Here is what our grass looks like TODAY:

And here is the area between my house, and my neighbor. Can you tell which lawn is MINE? And which one is hers??? (not hard to tell...right? ha...)

And...last year I had a crazy itch to buy some plants and try to make our home look better on the outside. I started out buying a few plants in the springtime (hydrangeas, snowball, and a tree). Then, I saw such improvement in the landscape that I went back out in the fall and got another "tree", planted some bulbs, roses, and got some shrubs for the back. Since we didn't have much of a winter...they all survived nicely! Here they are...blooming away!!!

1. blue/pink Hydrangeas--my favorite plants of ALL TIME!!

2. Mohican Viburnum Tree--supposed to have berries and cute lil blossoms, and the leaves turn different colors....sounds interesting!

3. Flowering Crabtree....luscious!!!

4. 3 mini rose bushes around the mailbox...one red (middle) 2 yellow (sides) These have become some of my favorite plants. Even at over 100 degrees last year, I kept them watered and they bloomed all summer and fall last year!!!

5. Peonies- one sherbet, and one white. They have not bloomed yet, but I hope they do this year. LOVE them, too!!! (although last year, we watered our yard SO MUCH that the leaves had fungus issues...hoping not to deal w/ that again this year!!)

6. magic carpet shrubs. They change colors throughout the seasons, and have pinkish blossoms.

7. Tulips. These have a jagged edge, and they are a variety of colors. Check out the orange one...so vivid in color, and it opens up and is HUGE. I cut one to put inside, and it closes and night, and opens in the morning. So cool!!!

8. Butterfly bush. These things came w/ the house. At first, I had three of them, in one small flower bed. They were so obnoxiously large...and out of control. We took one out, and now we have 2 (the magic carpet are underneath, surrounding them). They have such a nice smell, and they are easy to maintain...but can get outta control quickly!!! But they attract the most beautiful butterflies and hummingbirds!!

9. Snowball bush- another fav of mine...let's hope there is enough branches to keep the snowball blooms off the ground!!! If you look really close...you can see a few blossoms to the right! :) (Last year, it was so wilty and droopy...but still pretty!!)

So, there you have it. My yard...full of things waiting to bloom and full of surprises this year. It will be the first year when each plant should bloom at a different rate, and at a different time. That's what I tried to do. Even though most of them bloom (okay...all of them, do...at least the ones I shared w/ you above)...they all bloom at different paces, and some bloom once, and some all season long. So...we'll see what happens!

For tomorrow...pull some weeds!!! (are they that bad????? YES!!!!)

For Tuesday...rake out old mulch, and put in new mulch. (is it THAT bad???? YES!!!!)

By Wednesday, it will look spectacular...I'm sure of it!!!