An Afternoon at Tamarindo

Our friends from church are renting an awesome home that backs right up to the beach - it was sweet. Not huge, but nice and modern with granite countertops and stuff with a great yard and location. Here are a few pictures of it, but just from the outside...

They had a covered outdoor patio.

The path through the trees... (Hi Lily!)

Can you see the beach?

Amazing view of the cove, beautiful ocean sounds.

I think I could handle living in a home like this.

The kids all had a great time boogie boarding, playing in the waves, and digging in the dirt.

Ethan and a girl in their family that is his age


And Joe with the girl his age - I didn't get their names, and the kids can't remember. But they were both really cute. Corey was commenting to Joe - "You didn't know when we decided to go to Costa Rica that you'd meet a cute American girl, huh!?"


I didn't bring Abi's swimming suit, but she had no problem with hangin in her panties.

Boogie Boarding

We went to Tamarindo Beach on Monday to visit some new friends from church. They have a boy Wesley age and one a little younger than Hyrum. They shared their boogie boards with Wes and Hyrum, and those two kids picked it up real quick and did awesome. The above shot was my favorite of the two of them. I thought Wes looked like a real pro who had been at the waves for years with that little board on his head. Isn't that cute?

Here are some other shots I got:


Hyrum riding the wave and an upclose shot.


Wesley taking some in, then heading back out for another go.

Taking turns.


Next time, Hyrum's eager to try it standing - let's go surfing!

A Plunger Story

Corey is reading to the kids (8:00 at night, time for bed! I have to get used to having my free time at night instead of morning... I'm adjusting to that) so this is my chance to blog, since my pictures are all on his personal laptop, which is the laptop he's been using all day today. Usually he's on his work laptop. Anyway, hurry hurry!

Ok, so here's a story from today, which I thought I'd share just cause it shows little things about being in a new culture/country that make simple tasks/problems a little tricky to solve and give vacations/trips/adventures their charm.

Problem - a plugged up toilet. I was the last one to use it and flush it, so it was my mess that we had to get rid of, but it wasn't me that plugged it. I'm hoping it was just the beans that's given me a bad case of something and not the water... If it's the water, I'm in for a long 3 months, or I'll just have to not drink from the tap. If it's the beans, it should be gone soon cause we finished those off today. Shirley made them, very tasty, but she didn't soak them overnight... does that cause them to give a bad case of the runs?)

Solution #1 - I look in all the bathrooms and the laundry room/cleaning closet for a plunger.

Culture opinion developed - I really don't understand how people survive without a plunger in the house. Do all Costa Riquenos live without a plunger? I don't understand that. Okay, so gotta move on to...

Solution #2 - go to the store MegaSuper to buy a plunger. Joe, Mel, and Lily accompany me.

New Problem - Can't find a plunger...

Solution #1 - Keep looking. After walking up and down the cleaning and bathroom isles twice, Joseph spots it on the bottom shelf: the bottom of a plunger and bottom only.

Problem: Incomplete plunger.

Solution #1 - Joe offers to step on it at home. haha, he's just joking. Maybe Mel can push it with her hand. They're being silly now. We wonder: do they just sell the bottom part? It's with other bottoms of things like broom bottoms and dusting pan bottoms (their dustpans are attached to handles like you'd see at a theme park) I look at the handles, they are all long. Am I supposed to buy a long handle for a plunger? That's weird.

Culture opinion developed - Can't these people just sell an item ready to go? Are they so tight on store space that they have to keep things chopped up and separated like this, or is it so they can charge me for two different things? What gives?

Solution #2 - After much deliberation and trying but not succeeding at finding the prices of the different handles (varying in length and type: wood/plastic) we decide to just buy the bottom of the plunger and use our dustpan's handle at home, hoping it's the right size in diameter to screw on tight enough to be able to flush the toilet. At the register, after ringing me up, the cashier lady sends someone to go get me the handle to the plunger. I didn't see it there in the isle, maybe they keep it somewhere else, or I'm just blind.

Costa Rican Culture opinion of Americans developed: these silly American tourists, don't they know how to find plunger handles? Were they just going to go home without a handle? What were they planning to use? How do they survive?

In the car, Melodie assembles the plunger. It's ready to go when we are home. I go in to the stinky bathroom. I try to plunge. Nothing. I try to plunge again, it just swishes disgusting water around. Repeat, repeat, repeat...

Culture opinion developed - AAHH!! Don't these people have decent plungers here? What kind of cheap material is this thing made of? I couldn't see what was happening under the surface of the toilet water for it was too murky and non-transparent. In my frustration I just keep shoving it in harder and harder, until it surprises me and all goes down and away. I flush the toilet to get it all rinsed off... FINALLY!!! THESE COSTA RICANS ARE LUCKY THAT THIS PLUNGER FLUSHED MY TOILET OR THEY WOULD HAVE ALL BEEN IN BIG TROUBLE!!!
I fiddle around with the plunger in the clear water to try and puzzle together what had been going on in there. Appears the toilets here in our home have oval holes, and the plunger is a circle, so it wasn't sealing all the way around during my first attempts. When I pushed it harder and deeper it was finally able to get 'er done. Lesson learned. Our toilets have oval holes.

And now this rental home has a plunger.

Swimming with Mom & Dad

Another day in Costa Rica, another day in the pool.

This time, Mom and Dad suited up to play. I made sure the kids didn't splash me, so I could take my camera in the water for some "from the pool" shots. Here's what we got:

Kid 1 - Joe: showing off that he's got possession of the coveted nose plugs. He's got the power!


Kid 2 - Melodie: playing with the shells that she gathered from the Brasilito Beach last Thursday 9/16


Kid #3 - Ethan: showing me how he can dive into the deep area and find the shell he just dropped in.


Kid #4 - Hyrum: Showing me how he can touch the bottom of the pool. Good job Hyrum, keep those air holes above water!


Kid #5 - Wesley: Doing the back float with floaties - great smile.


Kid #6 - Abigail: Just showing her natural beauty.


Kid #7 - Lilian: Playing with Dad. Not wearing the top of her two piece.


Hope posterity doesn't get her confused in the future with a picture almost exactly like this of Corey and Wesley in Brazil - Wes had the Miracle Ball and everything. I love it when I get two photos of two kids that are almost a perfect match, don't you? That picture is on my other laptop. Hmmm, maybe I'll go boot it up so I can show you... Ok, I will... gotta save this, go boot up that, internet on, log in blogger, edit post...

(10 minutes later...)
Here it is:
Oh, I guess Corey had the ball... does that still work? Wes had it in this one...


One of those would work, right? Do I still have a match? I say close enough. (I'm going to make a Go Fish or Old Maid game using family photos someday.)

So, anyway, the kids love swimming with us, and we like it too. They make us feel so important and loved.

(Keep that head up, Hyrum!)

Costa Rica - Week 1

Week 1 - Check.

We did it. We survived one week. Actually, we thrived. Brazil taught us a few lessons, and so I'd say with that under our belt, things here have been going swimmingly.

If this week here were all that we knew about Costa Rica, these would be the things Corey and I would share with other would be travelers to this promised land:

1) Time Zone: Awesome. I think it will still take me a little while to get accustomed to it, but it's great. Same time zone as home in Utah, with the blessed exceptions that it has spring-like early sunlight mornings at 5:30 a.m., that in Utah get me thinking it should be switching to Daylight savings time soon. I love those Utah spring mornings that tell me good weather is a comin', and here we get that everyday! With the AWESOME BONUS that it gets dark at 6:00 giving me (comparing to Utah again) a feeling of fall/winter nights of coming off daylight savings and I can't believe it's already dark, it's only 6:00, well, time for you kids to go to bed! Costa Rica has made us an early to bed and early to rise family! I've always wanted that! Even Corey is getting up at 6 with all of us, and has been amazed that he easily can already have 3 hours of work put in by 9 a.m. Costa Rica's position on the earth has done for our family that which we did not have the discipline to do for ourselves. But hey, that works!

(Update: Corey just confided in me that he doesn't like that it gets dark so early. He's considering recommending they change to Central time. Apparently they really should be in Central time, not Utah time, and after daylight Savings ends they will be.)

2) Weather: September and October are the rainy season. Always keep your car windows rolled up.

3) Cost of living: Food is expensive and comes in small packages. For us coming from a Walmart and Costco mentality, most things seem to be overpriced. For other American residents here in CR, they agree with me that food is the biggest stress financially and in preparation. You go spend $200 on groceries and have to go do it again in 3 days but still after that initial grocery run, you need two of everything you buy to make a meal for a large family. As for prices on other things, Corey was surprised at how expensive the private schools are. I'm considering putting Joe, Mel, and Ethan in the public school down the street if they would let us - I heard they might not since we haven't been previously registered for school here. Think the records would transfer from Sandy, UT?

4) General Opinion: It's great and I like it, (...except for when I'm sulking cause I miss Costco and am stressed when the kids open the fridge for a snack right after we've eaten.) Corey says Costa Rica feels like what he imagines Hawaii was 50 years ago - lots of tourists but not that developed, so there is still a nice rustic feeling.

Corey's last comment: "...and I really liked that beach house we went to yesterday." Oh, yes, I shall have to show you pictures of that tomorrow. Monday we went to Tamarindo and had a great time visiting our new American friends from church at their great home that backed up to the beach - it was sweet!

Frog in the Pool

After Church yesterday, the kids went to check on the water level of the pool, which usually get's higher after a rainstorm. It must have rained more in Santa Cruz than here in Villareal, cause it looked about the same. Melodie saw a frog in the pool, and it was swimming, and that meant it wasn't dead! We've found 3 dead frogs in the pool during the week - not sure if they drowned or if the plethora of chemicals in the water killed them. Mel saved the frog and they had fun playing with it for a while.


Acutally it might be a toad. Anyone know the difference? I'll google it later.

Swimming with Suckers

Ok, everybody show me what color you got!


Hey Abi, Wes... Smile for the camera!


Come on guys, be normal.


Please?

That's much better, thank you!

Swimming on Saturday, 18 September 2010

Church and a Downpoor

We went to Church today. I was excited to meet members of the Church and have instant friends. And guess what! We found out that there are other people like us! There are two families here, one with 3 kids, one with 5 kids, both of the guys work from home and thought it'd be a good experience for their kids to live abroad. That's the problem with those returned missionaries... you give 'em a taste of the world outside and then it's hard to domesticate them. I didn't get to visit with the wives, but am excited to later. I want to know how they got conned into their situations. ;)

Church was good, my ears are still adjusting to Spanish, and during the 3rd hour my brain was tired of working and I didn't understand too much. About that time a huge rainstorm started. It was really loud. Then I wasn't thinking Spanish cause all I could think about was if Abi's window was closed. It had been left down overnight during a rainstorm, and we got reprimanded by Corey for the error which left the back seat soaked. When I got out of my class, I told Corey it might be down. "Want me to go check?" Nod. So he did. And it was. Same window down, same seat soaked again. Corey was soaked too - he was out there for 30 seconds, and his shirt and half of his pants in this picture are drenched.

(Corey, talking to the Grandma and Grandpa of the family of 5 kids - Gma and Gpa came for a visit.)

So, we all watched the rain...

....and waited in the hall for the rain to stop.

and it didn't.

The lightning was awesome - a few of them hit really close and made for really loud and quick thunder claps, or is it lightning cracks? The girls screamed, Abi followed along.

The boys thought it was cool.

After 45 minutes, we decided to take our chances with the umbrella, lent to us by a loving missionario.

The flooded lawn.


And flooded streets.

This is how wet my carload of kids got with an umbrella.


Lily had never experienced anything quite like it.


See you next week, Santa Cruz! I followed Corey (we're renting two cars)


It stopped raining during the 30 minute drive home.


On the shopping list this week: Umbrellas.
(It is the rainy season you know.)

A Native Dish

Thanks to Shirley for our first Costa Rican food sampling:

Platanos fritos con queso
...or fried ripe plantains with cheese.

(Abi doing her trick again)

Everyone ready to try it out

Open up, take a bite....

And...?

Oh dear, it didn't go over too well. We had to offer the "ice-cream-for-everyone-who-cleans-their-plate" bribe. No one took the bait. Shirley and I got some though. I thought the plantains were good, but wish I hadn't had to eat them since they were fried, and I really want to keep my weight in check this pregnancy. Not that I need to worry yet. Anyway, we had plenty of plantain leftovers, which we had for our leftover dinner tonight. Did the bribe again, and the kids did a lot better. Joe ate one, and go one spoonful of ice cream, as did Wesley. Ethan and Abi didn't bother, and gold medals to Melodie and Hyrum who both ate all 3 of their plantains, and Corey and I had some and now they are gone and we didn't waste any. Good job, team!

Pure Joy

Watching Abigail play at the beach... now that was pure joy for me. She was so cute.

Drawing in the dirt... hard to get a photo of her face, she was too busy basking in her natural element.

Playing leap frog with herself and peeking under her legs to see her footprints. Her little skipping bouncy way of running around the beach was precious to behold. Some things you just can't capture with a camera and have to enjoy in the moment.

Abigail means "Father's Joy" and she is - we love you Abi!

And when we were driving home, we passed a bus stop where some teenage students were waiting, and the girls, upon looking in our car and seeing Abi's little face and blonde hair, started seriously screaming "AAAA!!! QUE LIIIIINDAAAAA!!!!!"

I totally agree, she's a doll, even when she's tired or scowling.

More Pics of Playa Brasilito

Corey showing the kids some little muscles in shells that go wriggling/crawling when the waves stir up the sand around them.


Joe, Mel, and Ethan were busy the whole time playing in the waves and looking for shells.

And there are no laws against beach combing. :) The kids were sad in May when we went to Newport in California that they couldn't take any shells or rocks from the beach. The kids brought home a nice collection from Brasilito, they were really excited.

Slightly sunburned Hyrum.

Wesley was busy drawing in the sand and building a volcano.