Palo Verde

On Saturday, Feb. 19th, we had a wonderful excursion to Palo Verde to do a river trip. We decided to be brave and save some money by avoiding the tour guides that charge an arm-and-a-leg, and try and find the river ourselves. It was crazy! All these windy, crazy dirt roads and four anxious kids in the back seat. We stopped along the way and found workers cutting down sugar cane (there are sugar cane fields everywhere here) and a worker was kind enough to cut a stalk of cane down for us and peeled it with his machete. The workers were all smiling and laughing... pretty sure they were thinking it was funny that we were excited about something they do every day! Anyway, the nice senor cut the stalk into four pieces so the kids could each get a piece. The kids at first didn't understand what to do with it. But when they figured out that they needed to chew, then suck, it kept them pretty entertained while we drove and drove. Britton said, "Wow, it takes like sugar!" We all laughed and said, "Britton, that's because it IS sugar!" "OH YA!" he said, giggling.

After a few hours of driving on endless dirt roads in the middle of NOWHERE, and finding little signs along the way that kept us from turning around, we made it! While we waited for the river trip to start, they served us raspberry juice and the kids admired the large iguanas all over the place.


We loaded the boat and our tour operator, Manuel, was a sweetheart. He didn't speak ANY English, so once again I was very grateful Jason could translate for us! I promise I am practicing my Spanish and trying so hard to learn the language, but a lot gets lost in translation still! Jason is indeed my hero here... I told him I am going to knit him a cape.

The favorite on the tour was definitely the white-faced monkeys. We were SO glad we had brought bananas because the monkeys saw that we had bananas and were climbing all over the boat, although apprehensive to come right to us. The kids, and their parents, LOVED those monkeys! It was amazing how they each had a different face, different expressions, and different personalities... so much like humans. Some were timid and mild, while others were grumpy and stubborn.

They were quite sneaky, too. Manuel set a banana down for a minute to point something out to us and the monkey jumped on the boat, grabbed the entire banana, then jumped back up into the tree and get this... HE TOTALLY LAUGHED in the tree as he looked down at us. We were all laughing, it was quite hilarious! We would hear a monkey jump on the top of our boat, then they'd make a little noise to say, "I'm here!" and then a monkey would be hanging upside down waiting for us to hand them some banana. They would always look us in the eye, always seeming to gain trust before they would come closer and/or grab a piece of banana. We learned after that, that monkeys never want to see teeth because that means anger. Looking back, I can understand that because another hilarious adventure with the monkeys ensued when a sweet little monkey didn't have use of his upper arms and dragged on the ground when he walked. He came right to the beach and we were leaning over to feed him bananas and another monkey was FUMING mad! His teeth were all showing and every time we'd feed his 'friend' he'd throw a big fit and even threw stuff at us and broke branches! We kept trying to 'tell' him to come get a banana and he'd get more mad!

We also saw several crocodiles, and WOW, they deserve some respect!!! Never messin' with one of those suckers. The song, 'Never smile at a crocodile' was introduced by Britton and the rest of us couldn't get that dang song out of our heads the rest of the tour. It was cute for the first 10 minutes, but after 3 hours we were glad to turn on the Ipod in the car! :) Britton and Grace wouldn't even put their hand in the water after we saw the first crocodile, even to cool off. Britton was not happy with me when I stuck my feet over the side for a few seconds.

We also saw some amazing birds. My personal favorite was the 'Rose Spoonbill.' It is quite large, as were many of the birds we saw, but the bright pink color and the unique bill was just something else.

The tour took about 3 hours, and the kids were trying to be good sports as the heat was taking a toll on them... especially Britton. Most of them were so dang excited about the things they were seeing that they didn't let the heat ruin it, but it was HOT!!!! We were indeed grateful to get back into our car with the air conditioning.

Jason tried his best to get us back to our home in Playa Hermosa, but we took the long way and ended up in a pleasant little city, Santa Cruz. We sat down to eat at a little 'soda' and realized that an LDS church was right across the street! Not the one we attend, so we were quite surprised. Austin and I decided to order stuff that Jason didn't recognize by name so we could be surprised to see what would come out of the kitchen. Um... don't ever order 'Sorchitas' when you come to Costa Rica, unless you like tortilla chips with ketchup and mayonnaise squirted on top! LOL! Fortunately for me, my dinner ended up good. Austin ended up ordering a hamburger!

It was indeed a WONDERFUL day and I wouldn't trade that experience for anything. So grateful for this experience and thank God every day that I get to be here and draw closer to my family. The biggest difference is so many distractions that have been mostly eliminated. I'm realizing that as a whole, our family was WAY too caught up in all the lessons, etc., and we are going to simplify when we return!

Valentine's Day with the monkeys... and the animals in the trees, also called monkeys.

Valentine's day started early when we woke up at 6 am to go eat breakfast near the beach at a beautiful hotel in Playa Hermosa to see and hear the 'Howler monkeys.' Just for the record, Jason was the hardest to get up. Me and the kids were in the car honking the horn and Jason replied, "These better be awesome monkeys to get me up this early in the morning!" The monkeys howl like you wouldn't believe and they are SO cute! Jen can do an awesome impression. The kids were SO excited to see them jump from tree-to-tree, like this picture. I was lucky to catch that shot as you blink and you miss them flying through the air. They could jump SO far from tiny branches. We saw several baby monkeys, always right by an adult monkey. The monkeys are the easiest to find between 6 and 7 am. The kids also had to go to school, so we had to get up early to eat at the wonderful buffet offered there. I got some great shots! And look at those four cute monkeys posing in their uniforms for school! LOL

After 10 days in Costa Rica... we are IN LOVE!

After saying 'goodbye' to many wonderful friends and family, and three 3-hour flights, we arrived to Liberia, Costa Rica, on Friday, February 4. We were all immediately DRIPPING with sweat as we waited for our MANY bags and our rental car and were relieved that our rental car had air conditioning. The kids didn't waste any time... they found the airport snack bar and ordered four coconuts with a hole drilled in the top with straws, with everyone in love with coconut milk... except Britton.

The owner of the home we are renting was very kind and met us at the airport and showed us the way to his home. We were immediately THRILLED with the home... better than we EVER expected! Pictures can simply not depict the incredible view from our back yard. A beautiful pool and view of the ocean can be seen from the master bedroom, living room, kitchen and 2 more bedrooms, in addition to one more bedroom.

We didn't waste any time to get acquainted with the area. Our landlord took us around and showed us the beautiful beach, the fish market, a fruit stand, and several grocery stores. The area we are in, Playa Hermosa, is a hot spot for many tourists from Costa Rica, Canada, and occasionally Americans. For that reason, we were very surprised that groceries are very expensive, especially if we want American food. For example, a box of cereal costs $6-10! But, we are learning what to eat and where to go for less-expensive options.

The second day we went to Tamarindo, which is a famous surfing destination and a little more commercialized than our area, and about an hour away. We heard that it was possible to hire surfing instructors
, so we hired 'Pedro' to teach all four of our kids to surf. They did SO great... we couldn't believe that ALL FOUR of them had success!

We then went and checked out the school for the kids. The kids, although nervous, decided it would be a good fit for them. The private school, called 'Lakeside' is a 25-minute drive away. Gracie is in a combined class of Kindergarten and 1st grade, Britton 4th and 5th, Brock is in 7th with 10 GIRLS and he is the only boy, and Austin is in 9th grade. This is the first week of school, as the students just finished their 'summer' break. The kids are required to wear a red shirt and blue pants or shorts. They were happy to have air conditioning, and delicious lunches. They have to take their own money to school every day for lunch.

When school began the next day, Gracie cried the entire morning because she felt very lonely. Only one girl in her class speaks English, along with the teacher. However, after lunch she was fine. Britton was upset because he said the studies were WAY too easy. The principal reassured us that his class would get more difficult, because they are in review now. Austin and Brock were absolutely THRILLED with their classes and are asking if we can live in Costa Rica for more than just the six months. You certainly wouldn't have to twist my arm!

After school, the kids jump in the swimming pool and swim and swim and swim until dinner. It is dark at 6 pm every night, which is kind-of nice because it forces us to wrap things up for the night and get settled for bed.

Jason and I have enjoyed the days here after the kids go to school. We have air conditioning, but it is very expensive to run and we try to limit it. Generally the weather is very pleasant outside with the breeze, but the inside heats up. So, we go about our day and jump in the pool whenever we start to overheat. For me, I jump in about four times a day and swim laps each time. Jason takes his laptop and works in the shade next to the pool.