Panama! part 2

Panama day 5

This is me waiting to go on a hike to a chocolate factory! I laced up my boots and set off, only to realize my family was far from ready! So I sat down and played with my little friends, I am so grateful to have them with me, Mama didn’t let me bring any toys with me because she was afraid they would get lost or soiled by the rain and sand. I agreed with her reasoning but still missed my little dolls and such!

I didn't mind waiting as there was plenty to look at and do, I was very excited as Panama has become my favourite place to hike! the soil, the environment, the wildlife and plant structures! I was in my element! When we were finally ready to set off we walked to the dock and set off to another part of the island. Our bot escort said you could walk there from where we were staying but it was about a three hour hike. We opted to boat the way there. Once we landed we followed several signs that showed us up a mountain path, delightful and not to steep a hill to be uncomfortable. I saw a man mowing the lawn with a machete on the way! it was very interesting to see how different life was and how similar it was too. 

Almost up the hill! it was maybe 20 minutes, the path was very muddy and parts of it were lined with coconuts! which are not very good to walk on might I say. I ended up walking bare foot most of the way as a result of my sandals causing tripping and sliding.

This was the first non-forest view we got, there is a small building beside me in the picture. It looked like it could be a small house but looked as though it hadn't been occupied in a while. right before we arrived at the little store front I was bit by a spider along the trail, it landed on my side and bit under my arm! it was horrible having to look at it and throw it off of me!

I was very relieved when we finally made it! we sat down and were welcomed by a glass of lemonade and fresh coconut milk! the store also sold a variety of face creams, body and beauty products and anti- bite creams! most of the ingredients were coconuts grown on the island. I sampled the anti bite and it made my bite disappear by the time we left, it's amazing stuff.

Panama Day 6

We went snorkelling and I saw another scorpion! this one was black though.

snorkelling was inconceivably incredible! I was blown away by the waters and the fish in the small coral patches. though I have to confess I felt a little... claustrophobic? I didn't like the idea of making skin contact with anything and couldn't swim over the grassy parts. It's just one of those irrational fears I guess, not really a fear, just something that makes me uncomfortable 

Panama! part 1

Hey everyone, Happy to start blogging! Our travelling began around 3:00pm on March 24th and caught a ferry to the mainland. We visited with one of my cousins for dinner at a Japanese restaurant. We stayed in a hotel that was in the airport, which looked empty and huge without all the people in it. Our flight was early in the morning. my family and myself arrived in Panama city march 25, we checked into hotel el Panama midday. We wandered around the city for an hour or so but it was so hot I don’t think we got that far. I was very tired from travelling that day, with 2 plane rides and several hours waiting in airports. I was very grateful for the air conditioned room I got to sleep in. We had dinner then crashed.

We had the next day to wonder the city, We found the weather very warm and rather humid, it wasn't unbearable though. We arrived in the airport late afternoon, took a plane ride to Bocas del toro, then a boat to red frog beach, we had time to eat and crash. our bungalow was AMAZING, I got the top bunk too!

Panama day 3

We hung out on the beach and I explored the area. The water was perfect, it wasn't like a bath as I have heard of places like hawaii but it was cool enough to be refreshing and perfect for the weather, you have to be very careful to wear lots of sunscreen as the sun us VERY strong, I got a burn when I forgot one day, I was even sitting in semi shade. the sand is very good for making castles and such, they hold pretty well.

 We also took a boat back to Bocas to do some shopping. A sweet old lady gave me a  little frog and turtle carving as gifts. The red frog is my favorite! We moved into a tentalow to sleep in this night. It is a large platform with a canopy over it basically. It reminds me of the house Tarzan was found in as a baby.  I really enjoyed playing with my little toys here on the deck of the tentalow. The tent was suspended pretty high off the ground and underneath were HUGE land crabs that hid in holes and burrows when they sensed your footsteps. I really like them, the ones I saw were light blue and I think I saw an almost purple one too!

Panama day 4

More exploration! The gardens here are to die for. There are hummingbirds and frogs and geckos galore! The whole site is on 2 acres of gardens, trees and trails entwining themselves through a Jungle labyrinth.  There are many small bridges to cross and paths to explore!  

It was raining on and off this day, I managed to sneak some great beach time in before it started to pour. the sun seemed perfect. A few times there were couples of horses riding past on a gallop, it was mesmerizing to watch and time stopped,in my eyes at least ^u^

When it did rain our bungalow turned into a cabin lost within the rain forests walls, ginormous rain drops filled crevices and pot holes in the ground turning them into small ponds >u<

Travel time again! How To make Doll Luggage

Well, it is spring break and we are ready for some fun! My good friend Tsuki-Mei is leaving to Panama city on Sunday. She is going to be posting about her adventures here! She invited me over to help her pack, she said she wasn't entirely sure on what to bring and needed second opinions to make sure she didn't over pack. I was happy to help.
Today we are going to show you how we made luggage for Tsuki-mei.
First we started off with the bag that held two standard size pillowcases.

Next use plain card stock (we just flipped the two labels the other way) 

And add contact information on one of them, such as Phone #, address, name ect. to be the luggage tag. (we chose the back to use)

then decorate the cover with whatever you like! we chose stickers and crayons to be the decorating mediums.

This is what we ended up with, Tsuki-mei was able to fit a pair of sandals, a pair of hiking boots, 4 shirts, 1 pair of pants , 2 pairs of shorts, a travel journal and about 5 swimsuits inside. The best part of the bag is that it is waterproof. If your pillowcase bag doesn't have the little pockets inside to put the tags in, you can just use clear duct tape to tape them on.
Next we packed her carry-on bag. We decided on a pair of Pjs, a swimsuit and her cosmetics bag.

Everyone is super excited for her trip and are looking forward to seeing what adventures she has! She will arrive in Panama City on monday and after a few days will travel to red frog resort. A small island with an exotic garden, beaches and a zip line course! 

Christmas Eve

Happy Christmas eve everyone! I am very excited to open presents tomorrow morning! I was very relived that it snowed a few weeks ago so we are in for a white Christmas this year >V< . Tsuki-mei and I immediatly explored the new landscape the following morning, it was the perfect light fluffy, yet compactibal, snow.

My mom made me clean up my room and tidy up but in exchange she let me have my very own tree this year! is it not the coolest?! i absolutely love it! I put my stocking at the end of my bed and cannot help peeking at it every few minutes.

What do you want for the holidays, does anyone have any family traditions?

XOXO ~Lanie

Fall flair

I can't believe it's October already! I have been so busy with school and friends that the time has just flown by! Mom made me completely clean my room. everything is put away and tidy again, it was looking like an earthquake had struck it. but now it has the clean room feel.
We went back-to-school shopping the last week of august for a new backpack, supplies and some uniform pieces, the store had a very cute selection, I got everything I needed with the help of my school supplies list.

I had to walk past all of these amazing clothes! boo, I need to wear a uniform!

This is me modelling my uniform! 

 School has been great, we have a few new students too! the 6th grade classroom is so much bigger and nicer than the 5th grade classroom. it has a science bench and we get pet gerbil named Frankie, he's adorable!

This September was the driest September in the records! It was nice while it lasted but now we have to run through the rain to school, or get soaked.

Edmonton travels

Last week I was lucky enough to go on a trip to edmonton, I was so excited !
this is in jasper national park, this photo was taken a few minutes before it started to pour with rain, you can sort of see the mountains behind me.

 this is at one of the beaches that is infected by the blue-green algae. the stuff sucks the oxygen out of the water so that the fish can't breathe! it was very smelly. I was careful to wash my feet off before I left as to not spread any algae to other lakes.

 while in the city of edmonton we went to the latin festival, I saw some dancers getting ready for a performance, it was pretty cool.

I had a great time in edmonton, I did go to the water park in west edmonton mall but my Camera died! :/
~Lanie

River Rapids

I went to the river last week, It was very hot out! I'm glad that it's cooling down now. I wore my new swimsuit that mom bought me for my birthday. We've been going to this river since I was little! It's a very nice walk to get there, We drive to the trailhead and then hike down the trail to any beach area, most of it is rocky though, which is usually empty depending on what time you go.

 this time we found a small trail that lead to a partially sandy and private riverside beach! we took this really mossy trail to get to it, We even saw this worty toad while climbing back up.