We just got back from our vacation in Costa Rica last week. It has always been my dream to go to Costa Rica (even before I met Carson). When I did meet Carson and found out he served his LDS mission in Costa Rica.... I was instantly smitten. Just kidding... but kinda. Really though, once we decided we were getting married we made it a goal as a couple to go back to his mission before we were forced to live real life and grow a family n' stuff. 

So, we decided there was no better way to spend our 2nd anniversary and booked our dream trip. 

We had so much fun planning out which areas of Costa Rica we would go to and narrowed it down to 3 areas of the country and turned it into a road trip.

We flew into San Jose late at night and were so thankful that Milton & Carolina let us stay at their house the first night before we set out on our roadtrip.  If you are familiar with the movie Meet the Mormon's, Milton and Carolina were featured in the movie and have an amazing story living as members of the church, owning a gym, and becoming a professional MMA fighter. Carson lived with them while he was a missionary prior to their movie making days. It was so fun getting to meet them and spend the night talking with them about the days when Carson lived there.

{picture above: Carson in front of the little apartment he lived in in their backyard}

Milton really gave us the royal treatment by taking us to breakfast at the local country club the next morning, drove us sightseeing around the city, and took a stop to see his gym. 

We later parted ways and started our drive south to Quepos. We pit stopped along the way to visit the city of Coronado, one of Carson's areas he also served in. We stopped at the cute blue apartment he lived in, walked around the gorgeous Catholic cathedral he contacted around every day, and went to the little shop he use to get breakfast at every morning for empanadas... and my love for meat stuffed rolls was born. 

Then we stopped by the San Jose temple and met up with the 2 sweetest ladies Daniela and her mother Irene also from an area Carson served. Since it was a Monday we knew the temple would be closed, but somehow Daniela convinced the guard to open the gates for us so we could walk around and take some pictures. Only in Costa Rica can the security guards be so kind... 

A favorite of the trip by far was visiting Manuel Antonio National Park. The beaches were some of the most gorgeous places I have EVER seen, and the monkey's are out of control. It was hilarious just sitting on the beach watching all the monkey's run up to people laying on the beach. I kid you not we saw monkeys run up and steal food right out of people hands. I was guilty of getting attacked and had empanadas stolen right from my backpack... not ok. We haven't laughed that hard in a long time!

Quepos was definitely an amazing place.  It was the most perfect little relaxing town to stay in. It was super low key, but still close to all the "attractions" you could want. We spent our days adventuring, beach hopping, and eating at sodas {Costa Rican restaurant shacks}. And our nights swimming in our pool or sitting on our balcony listening to the rain. It really was a little slice of paradise. 

Look for Part 2 of our trip coming soon!!