Guanabana (aka soursop) is an excellent fruit that makes a delicious juice and ice cream. Every visitor to Costa Rica should try this flavour.
Apparently we didn't use our's correctly or something...maybe next time ;-)
Thank You
3 years ago
Thursday, May 31, 2007
A bad hairday
Today was a bad hair day for Jen. Apparently she tried to take the kids over the the local Burger King for a little playtime on the habitrail (and no, I have not forgiven Mr. Fallon). Apparently the kiddos were playing just fine until Kade yells "POTTY"...the international sign for..."get your arse in gear or your gonna have a mess". So Jen tries to get Payton off the habitrail and get over to Kade...oooooohhhhhh, just a little too late. He's already making his own little fishing pond...with the added bonus of realistic logs for the fish to hide under. Poor Jen...all she wanted to do was do something nice for the kiddos...oh well, life happens. Maybe tomorrow things will be better.
I also am starting to get into my new job now...being a manager is very different. People really do look to you for advice/help/direction... hmmm, maybe I should have gotten some sort of training for this job. Looking online, I found the following...I am trying to decide which certification would serve me better...I am kind of leaning towards the latter...
I also am starting to get into my new job now...being a manager is very different. People really do look to you for advice/help/direction... hmmm, maybe I should have gotten some sort of training for this job. Looking online, I found the following...I am trying to decide which certification would serve me better...I am kind of leaning towards the latter...
-
Certified Manager (CM)
- a generalist certification for all types of managers, at all levels, and in all fields
-
Certified Manager of Animal Resources (CMAR)
- a certification for experienced managers of animal laboratory facilities
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Kade continues to potty train
Kade is doing better today although I did get a very angry call this morning from the Mrs. Apparently Kade decided to take a deuce on the floor and Payton may or may not have played with it...still not sure about what really happened. BUT...after that, he went the entire day without a diaper and no more accidents. He even went on his own once without anyone telling him to or anyone helping him. He just casually walked into the kitchen and told us that he had already gone to the potty. Well, we checked and sure enough e had. So maybe we are making some progress after all.
As a reward for the good potty training day we went out for some ice cream. There is a Haagen Dazs at the end of our road ;-) For the first time, I ordered entirely in Spanish...Jen even looked at me like...what did you just say. All I said was "otro cono de chocholate" but it was a small step forward. After we got our ice cream we walked around the small mall and found a place to get the kiddos hair cut. I walked in and asked in Spanish...how much a haircut costs...response 2,500!!! Oh yeah, that's only $5...much better than that scamola place Coolcuts in Fort Collins. We also found a kids furniture store that looks like a Pottery Barn catalog...good thing we found that after we got the kiddos rooms mainly situated ;-)
Anyway, just wanted to keep you updated on Kade's progress....
As a reward for the good potty training day we went out for some ice cream. There is a Haagen Dazs at the end of our road ;-) For the first time, I ordered entirely in Spanish...Jen even looked at me like...what did you just say. All I said was "otro cono de chocholate" but it was a small step forward. After we got our ice cream we walked around the small mall and found a place to get the kiddos hair cut. I walked in and asked in Spanish...how much a haircut costs...response 2,500!!! Oh yeah, that's only $5...much better than that scamola place Coolcuts in Fort Collins. We also found a kids furniture store that looks like a Pottery Barn catalog...good thing we found that after we got the kiddos rooms mainly situated ;-)
Anyway, just wanted to keep you updated on Kade's progress....
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Thank God for Geotrax
For the past few weeks Kade has been anxiously awaiting the arrival of his beloved Geotrax. In fact we have
been tracking the shipments daily to
see if they have "arrived" in Costa Rica yet. Well, finally the other day our air shipment arrived and thank goodness we had the foresight to put the Geotrax in the air shipment. He would have been crushed if it had not arrived. So here is a picture of Kade with his beloved. Also, here are a few pictures that Grandma Judy captured while she was here (so don't blame me for the picture quality). The first of the three posted is of Kade making a box train - as you can see he was a little bored when we first moved into the house. The second is of Payton standing on her own...as 
you can see in the background...Kade was nice enough to move all 
our luggage outside into the backyard for us ;-) And the final pic is of the fambly making breakfast...a culinary delight of waffles.
Oh, and on another note...Kade officially caught me skipping pages in his nightime story for the first time. He very politely pointed out that I had missed a page and then thumbed through until he found the one we had missed and pointed it out to me...maybe its time to switch to another set of books ;-)
That's it for tonight...
been tracking the shipments daily to
see if they have "arrived" in Costa Rica yet. Well, finally the other day our air shipment arrived and thank goodness we had the foresight to put the Geotrax in the air shipment. He would have been crushed if it had not arrived. So here is a picture of Kade with his beloved. Also, here are a few pictures that Grandma Judy captured while she was here (so don't blame me for the picture quality). The first of the three posted is of Kade making a box train - as you can see he was a little bored when we first moved into the house. The second is of Payton standing on her own...as 
you can see in the background...Kade was nice enough to move all 
our luggage outside into the backyard for us ;-) And the final pic is of the fambly making breakfast...a culinary delight of waffles.Oh, and on another note...Kade officially caught me skipping pages in his nightime story for the first time. He very politely pointed out that I had missed a page and then thumbed through until he found the one we had missed and pointed it out to me...maybe its time to switch to another set of books ;-)
That's it for tonight...
Friday, May 25, 2007
Question for all...
Does anyone know what the hell this thing is? We bought it at the grocery store hoping that we would find something new that we liked...but it is just odd tasting and so we gave the rest away to the maid. She apparently knew what it was and still took it ;-)
Kade potty training update: Yesterday he decided to start going on the potty. He went three times in a row all on his own...and then he peed on the floor twice...within 20 mins. Now he says he wants diapers again...uh, Earth to Kade...you have to potty train sometime here buddy!
Finally some pictures. I think I will call the first one "Good morning Payton" ;-) The second
pic
is of the kiddos enjoying their new play structure courtesy of Grandma Judy. She also got them a playhouse...both are a huge hit!
The next picture is of a little friend that we found outside sunning himself in the drainage ditch. We are contemplating naming him as this is his second day we have seen
the
little bugger ;-) The last picture is self explanatory. As you can see, Kade and Grandma had a ball during her visit!
Kade potty training update: Yesterday he decided to start going on the potty. He went three times in a row all on his own...and then he peed on the floor twice...within 20 mins. Now he says he wants diapers again...uh, Earth to Kade...you have to potty train sometime here buddy!
Finally some pictures. I think I will call the first one "Good morning Payton" ;-) The second
pic
is of the kiddos enjoying their new play structure courtesy of Grandma Judy. She also got them a playhouse...both are a huge hit!The next picture is of a little friend that we found outside sunning himself in the drainage ditch. We are contemplating naming him as this is his second day we have seen
the
little bugger ;-) The last picture is self explanatory. As you can see, Kade and Grandma had a ball during her visit!Thursday, May 24, 2007
Oh the pain
In a huge landslide...the consensus for the price of a glass door in Costa Rica is $600 ... not sure who put $6000 ;-) All wrong...much to our surprise it only ended up costing us $62...including installation. Odd how glass is cheap but everything else is expensive. Speaking of which...I got gas today, only a mere $4 per gallon ;-) Makes that USofA look price look a lot better.
Just when we thought that our luck was changing for the better (after getting the door bill)...Kade goes and loses my rental car keys yesterday. We have looked high and low and seriously...they have vanished. Grrrrrr! So this morning I took the fambly car into work and left the commuter car in the garage. Much to our delight...National Rental Car was nice enough to send someone out in a car to deliver us a brand spanking new key for my half-ton doorstop...so now we are back in business. I would take another poll to see how much you think that one cost me...but I don't have the time...it was $2...the amount I tipped the guy.
Oh yeah, and today when I was driving home I passed a 4-wheeler in the center lane on the highway...he was doing about 70Km/hr ;-) You definitely see some wacky stuff here!!!
Just when we thought that our luck was changing for the better (after getting the door bill)...Kade goes and loses my rental car keys yesterday. We have looked high and low and seriously...they have vanished. Grrrrrr! So this morning I took the fambly car into work and left the commuter car in the garage. Much to our delight...National Rental Car was nice enough to send someone out in a car to deliver us a brand spanking new key for my half-ton doorstop...so now we are back in business. I would take another poll to see how much you think that one cost me...but I don't have the time...it was $2...the amount I tipped the guy.
Oh yeah, and today when I was driving home I passed a 4-wheeler in the center lane on the highway...he was doing about 70Km/hr ;-) You definitely see some wacky stuff here!!!
Sunday, May 20, 2007
100th Post!!!
So this is the 100th post on the Cavitation blog, hope you have enjoyed your glimpse into our world thusfar.
So, it has been almost a week since I wrote last and a LOT has transpired. We officially moved into our new Costa Rica home last Friday....one day behind schedule. I think that had a little something to do with the fact that we do not have a TV at the homestead yet as our air shipment is supposed to be here early this week...and the fact that Thursday night was the season finale of Grey's Anatomy... so Jen was willing to cough up the extra $100 to watch her show and stay in air conditioning one last night. As I was saying, we finally moved in on Friday and it has been a mad dash to get the house in living shape. Unfortunately, the house was an absolute friggin' mess when we got here. The floors were so dirty that after a few hours of Payton scooting across the floor, her legs were almost black...yeah, it was actually that bad. So Jen and I got to spend the better part of Thursday and Friday mopping and cleaning the new diggs. Anyway, We finally have most of our furniture (we will take dome pics and post them shortly) and most of the little things needed to live on a daily basis but without the bulk of our toys and TV/computers...things are getting a little boring. Four days without TV is something to try sometime ;-) This week we hope to complete the house and most importantly get some form of a play structure for the backyard. We did find a swing/slide structure on the other end of our complex which is a great relief to Jen as now she will have somewhere to at least walk and let Kade burn some energy. Also, Grandma Judy was gracious enough to extend her stay by an extra 4 days to help out a little longer. Her Spanish has been pure gold and I think she is getting her fill of the kiddos...maybe a little too much ;-)
On the big news front...Payton began walking. She took her first real steps this weekend. She has been standing on her own now and she took about 5 steps to come to papa. She really does best when she isn't thinking about it. Once she realizes that she is walking on her own she tends to dive for the closest object ;-) I really hope that our baby gates get here soon!!! I will have to take some video and put it up here sometime this week.
Also, Congrats to Angela who is now officially a Vet ... finally ;-)
Lastly, we finally got the bill for the glass door that Kade broke...
PS. - I also found a website that tells you how to get Google blogger back into English. This is important seeing as it likes to translate your IP into a country and then use the local language (Spanish in our case). Once it does that, it can be difficult to find the link to get it back into your native language...so this is how to do it:
So, it has been almost a week since I wrote last and a LOT has transpired. We officially moved into our new Costa Rica home last Friday....one day behind schedule. I think that had a little something to do with the fact that we do not have a TV at the homestead yet as our air shipment is supposed to be here early this week...and the fact that Thursday night was the season finale of Grey's Anatomy... so Jen was willing to cough up the extra $100 to watch her show and stay in air conditioning one last night. As I was saying, we finally moved in on Friday and it has been a mad dash to get the house in living shape. Unfortunately, the house was an absolute friggin' mess when we got here. The floors were so dirty that after a few hours of Payton scooting across the floor, her legs were almost black...yeah, it was actually that bad. So Jen and I got to spend the better part of Thursday and Friday mopping and cleaning the new diggs. Anyway, We finally have most of our furniture (we will take dome pics and post them shortly) and most of the little things needed to live on a daily basis but without the bulk of our toys and TV/computers...things are getting a little boring. Four days without TV is something to try sometime ;-) This week we hope to complete the house and most importantly get some form of a play structure for the backyard. We did find a swing/slide structure on the other end of our complex which is a great relief to Jen as now she will have somewhere to at least walk and let Kade burn some energy. Also, Grandma Judy was gracious enough to extend her stay by an extra 4 days to help out a little longer. Her Spanish has been pure gold and I think she is getting her fill of the kiddos...maybe a little too much ;-)
On the big news front...Payton began walking. She took her first real steps this weekend. She has been standing on her own now and she took about 5 steps to come to papa. She really does best when she isn't thinking about it. Once she realizes that she is walking on her own she tends to dive for the closest object ;-) I really hope that our baby gates get here soon!!! I will have to take some video and put it up here sometime this week.
Also, Congrats to Angela who is now officially a Vet ... finally ;-)
Lastly, we finally got the bill for the glass door that Kade broke...
PS. - I also found a website that tells you how to get Google blogger back into English. This is important seeing as it likes to translate your IP into a country and then use the local language (Spanish in our case). Once it does that, it can be difficult to find the link to get it back into your native language...so this is how to do it:
Okay, if you are logged into blogger and on your blog's main page, you
can click on the little blogger icon on the left top corner and it
will take you to your dashboard. When you are on your dashboard, you
should see your blog names below and your profile picture and name to
the right. The third bullet down from the picture is the Change
Language link. Click on that and select English and save (English
should be the top one, and Save is the big orange button).
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
"I am done shopping"
1 week in Costa Rica - and we are still standing...ok, so I am sitting (Payton got up at 5am this morning)!!
Today was another day of shopping. We were only able to spend about $2K today...so by any metric...a slow day. We got Kade's bed, our dresser/nightstands and some small appliances (coffee maker, waffle maker, blender and rice cooker). We also did a lot of comparison shopping for the small house stuff and got a membership to PriceSmart (the equivalent of Sam's Club). They actually have a lot of American foods, so it provided us some comfort knowing that if the urge may strike us...we can get our hands on some Ghirardelli chocolate chips ;-) I think that we have one more big day of shopping ahead of us and then we should be through the majority of the shopping...one can hope. We are definitely doing well against our budget so it looks like we are going to make it....having the appliances already in the house (even though they are kind of old and outdated) really helped out a bunch! As an extra bonus...tonight we even found kiddie guards for the knobs on the front of the stove. This was a concern of ours since it took Kade about 5 mins in the house to turn on the stove. This should save us from having to buy a new stove.
We also got our mail setup today. Jen should be sending out the new addresses shortly (one for letters and one for packages). There are a whole bunch of things to consider when shipping a package so I will let her explain all that when she sends out the addresses ;-) Oh yeah, we FINALLY got our bank accounts setup...this took a lot longer than I thought it would and is kind of making our furniture life difficult (since we are paying COD on some stuff)...but at least it is finally done.
Kade and Payton had a blast all day with Grandma and Tom. Apparently they were down at the pool this morning for a while and Kade made a really big jump and got his face in the water...without incident! Then this evening we went back to the mall to eat dinner and look at a few stores. The kids played some more on the play structures and Grandma took them on the train again...sorry Zacharoni ;-) No new pictures to post from today as Grandma had the camera...so you will have to talk with her.
We are close to being ready for the move to our final home. We are still on track for Thursday, with lots of furniture coming Thursday morning. Things are getting a little tight schedule wise (still lots of little things to buy) but I think we are going to make it! It will be great for the kiddos to start to re-establish some normalcy...and it will be great for Jen to finally be able to talk on the phone with her friends and family...I am pretty sure that she will talk to Ellen more then me for at least the next month ;-)
And the quote "I am done with shopping" is from Jen today! One more day my love...hang in there.
Today was another day of shopping. We were only able to spend about $2K today...so by any metric...a slow day. We got Kade's bed, our dresser/nightstands and some small appliances (coffee maker, waffle maker, blender and rice cooker). We also did a lot of comparison shopping for the small house stuff and got a membership to PriceSmart (the equivalent of Sam's Club). They actually have a lot of American foods, so it provided us some comfort knowing that if the urge may strike us...we can get our hands on some Ghirardelli chocolate chips ;-) I think that we have one more big day of shopping ahead of us and then we should be through the majority of the shopping...one can hope. We are definitely doing well against our budget so it looks like we are going to make it....having the appliances already in the house (even though they are kind of old and outdated) really helped out a bunch! As an extra bonus...tonight we even found kiddie guards for the knobs on the front of the stove. This was a concern of ours since it took Kade about 5 mins in the house to turn on the stove. This should save us from having to buy a new stove.
We also got our mail setup today. Jen should be sending out the new addresses shortly (one for letters and one for packages). There are a whole bunch of things to consider when shipping a package so I will let her explain all that when she sends out the addresses ;-) Oh yeah, we FINALLY got our bank accounts setup...this took a lot longer than I thought it would and is kind of making our furniture life difficult (since we are paying COD on some stuff)...but at least it is finally done.
Kade and Payton had a blast all day with Grandma and Tom. Apparently they were down at the pool this morning for a while and Kade made a really big jump and got his face in the water...without incident! Then this evening we went back to the mall to eat dinner and look at a few stores. The kids played some more on the play structures and Grandma took them on the train again...sorry Zacharoni ;-) No new pictures to post from today as Grandma had the camera...so you will have to talk with her.
We are close to being ready for the move to our final home. We are still on track for Thursday, with lots of furniture coming Thursday morning. Things are getting a little tight schedule wise (still lots of little things to buy) but I think we are going to make it! It will be great for the kiddos to start to re-establish some normalcy...and it will be great for Jen to finally be able to talk on the phone with her friends and family...I am pretty sure that she will talk to Ellen more then me for at least the next month ;-)
And the quote "I am done with shopping" is from Jen today! One more day my love...hang in there.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Breastos and Guapo
So Sunday was Mother's day in America...but it was not in Costa Rica. They do not celebrate until August...but being the great husband I figured that I better do something
for the Mrs. especially since I dragged her away from her friends and family - all the way to Costa Rica. I fully expect Jen to want to celebrate mother's day in August as well ;-) Anyway, this time things were a little difficult to figure out given the fact that the past few weeks have been consumed with nothing more than packing, moving, packing and moving....and I sure as hell wasn't going to take any more crap to Costa Rica...17 bags was enough for me. So I worked with Eulalia and was able to get her a message in the hotel room. Apparently it was a good message...better than the last one in Costa Rica. And apparently they do things a little different here also...about half way through the message the lady asked Jen is she would like her to message her breastos...you got it...the cans! She said no thanks of course...but I told Jen that she really should have accepted just to see what the fuss was all about ;-)
Then afterwards I ventured off to the grocery store again...this time with Kade, Tom and Grandma. The trip went a lot better...partly because Kade was well behaved...partly because mom could fill in the Spanish gaps...partly because I learned some new Spanish myself, the word guapo. You see, apparently the lady at the deli was talking to another lady when Kade and I walked past. Mom overheard the lady talking about me...using the word quapo. Mom then said something back to the lady and she turned red and started laughing. Apparently she thought we could not understand her comment and was quite embarrassed when ma retorted with something to the effect of: "no worries, I won't tell him until we leave" of course in Spanish....oops. Fun had by all except the ignorant gringo.
Monday morning was an event for the annals. Jen and I are now official Costa Rican's with our very own brand spanking new Costa Rican drivers license...oy!. I will show you mine...but I will absolutely not be showing you Jen's without her permission....you know how women are about their licenses...
Monday also signaled open season for furniture shopping. As you all know, we need to furnish an entire house from top to bottom in about 3 days...not an easy task...especially for two people who hate to furniture shop. But today we held our own today. We started shopping about 11am and were done by 4pm. In those 5 hours we managed to rack up $8,000...a whopping $1600 per hour (including a half hour break for lunch)!!! We got the bulk of the TV room, living room, kitchen, breakfast nook and Payton's room completed. We still have our room, Kade's room, the kitchen and outdoor stuff to go. Not to mention all the little things like rugs, pictures, decorations, plates, glasses, towels, utensils, lamps, nightstands, small appliances...oh my head hurts. So we are heading back out tomorrow to try and complete the big things so we can move in by Thursday...that's the plan anyway. The good news is that we have spent over half our budget so by that metric we made good progress today.
And a huge thanks to Grandma Judy and Tom...they watched the kiddos all day...there is no way we could have done this without them!
for the Mrs. especially since I dragged her away from her friends and family - all the way to Costa Rica. I fully expect Jen to want to celebrate mother's day in August as well ;-) Anyway, this time things were a little difficult to figure out given the fact that the past few weeks have been consumed with nothing more than packing, moving, packing and moving....and I sure as hell wasn't going to take any more crap to Costa Rica...17 bags was enough for me. So I worked with Eulalia and was able to get her a message in the hotel room. Apparently it was a good message...better than the last one in Costa Rica. And apparently they do things a little different here also...about half way through the message the lady asked Jen is she would like her to message her breastos...you got it...the cans! She said no thanks of course...but I told Jen that she really should have accepted just to see what the fuss was all about ;-)
Then afterwards I ventured off to the grocery store again...this time with Kade, Tom and Grandma. The trip went a lot better...partly because Kade was well behaved...partly because mom could fill in the Spanish gaps...partly because I learned some new Spanish myself, the word guapo. You see, apparently the lady at the deli was talking to another lady when Kade and I walked past. Mom overheard the lady talking about me...using the word quapo. Mom then said something back to the lady and she turned red and started laughing. Apparently she thought we could not understand her comment and was quite embarrassed when ma retorted with something to the effect of: "no worries, I won't tell him until we leave" of course in Spanish....oops. Fun had by all except the ignorant gringo.
Monday morning was an event for the annals. Jen and I are now official Costa Rican's with our very own brand spanking new Costa Rican drivers license...oy!. I will show you mine...but I will absolutely not be showing you Jen's without her permission....you know how women are about their licenses...
Monday also signaled open season for furniture shopping. As you all know, we need to furnish an entire house from top to bottom in about 3 days...not an easy task...especially for two people who hate to furniture shop. But today we held our own today. We started shopping about 11am and were done by 4pm. In those 5 hours we managed to rack up $8,000...a whopping $1600 per hour (including a half hour break for lunch)!!! We got the bulk of the TV room, living room, kitchen, breakfast nook and Payton's room completed. We still have our room, Kade's room, the kitchen and outdoor stuff to go. Not to mention all the little things like rugs, pictures, decorations, plates, glasses, towels, utensils, lamps, nightstands, small appliances...oh my head hurts. So we are heading back out tomorrow to try and complete the big things so we can move in by Thursday...that's the plan anyway. The good news is that we have spent over half our budget so by that metric we made good progress today.
And a huge thanks to Grandma Judy and Tom...they watched the kiddos all day...there is no way we could have done this without them!
Sunday, May 13, 2007
To the airport James
So the highlight of day 4 in Costa Rica was the arrival of Grandma Judy and Tom. We left around 1:30 and did not get back until around 4. It only takes about 20 mins to drive to the airport...but the plane was delayed due to a huge thunderstorm and then it took a little time for them to get through immigration, customs and get the rental car. Kade was mucho excited for her arrival and just about came out of his skin while we were waiting....no real issues except for the fact that something leaked in Tom's bag on the way here.
Another big highlight was the fact that Jen drove for the first time in Costa Rica!! It was night time which made things a little more interesting for her and she was quite nervous ... but she did a great job and didn't hit a thing :-)
Jen did a little furniture shopping in the morning with Eulalia and she came back in a good mood...always a good sign. I was glad to hear that she felt comfortable being out and about...that is progress. She didn't buy anything but did put quite a few things on hold for Monday. Hopefully we can get to some serious shopping done on Monday/Tuesday so we can start moving into the new house Wed or Thurs. This being holed up in the hotel is starting to drive everyone a little batty!
Score: Payton = no upchucks - yeah, rob = no pinkeye anymore, Kade is still doing well and Jen is still feeling a little under the weather....
Oh, I almost forgot....last night we had an earthquake. Apparently they have small ones everyday here in Costa Rica...but this one actually shook the building and got it rocking. It was a 4.4.
Another big highlight was the fact that Jen drove for the first time in Costa Rica!! It was night time which made things a little more interesting for her and she was quite nervous ... but she did a great job and didn't hit a thing :-)
Jen did a little furniture shopping in the morning with Eulalia and she came back in a good mood...always a good sign. I was glad to hear that she felt comfortable being out and about...that is progress. She didn't buy anything but did put quite a few things on hold for Monday. Hopefully we can get to some serious shopping done on Monday/Tuesday so we can start moving into the new house Wed or Thurs. This being holed up in the hotel is starting to drive everyone a little batty!
Score: Payton = no upchucks - yeah, rob = no pinkeye anymore, Kade is still doing well and Jen is still feeling a little under the weather....
Oh, I almost forgot....last night we had an earthquake. Apparently they have small ones everyday here in Costa Rica...but this one actually shook the building and got it rocking. It was a 4.4.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Bugs with personality
Day 3 was a boring day. I went out with our counselor in the morning to scope out the two options for mail services. I think that I am going to go with Aerocasillas. This will provide us with two addresses in the US: a PO Box (for mail/mags w/ no tracking ID) and a s
treet address 
(for packages and important mail w/ a tracking ID). We will probably get it setup on Monday so I will keep you posted (he he). Then we ordered pizza in to the hotel room...it wasn't bad but it was super thin crust. Then we farted around the hotel since Payton was napping. By the time she woke up it was raining again so we made dinner early and went over to the house to try and get the Joi Phone VOIP working. After about 45 mins I finally got it working and talked with Grandma Judy for a while...it was crystal clear which was encouraging. Then we ca
me back and put the kiddos to bed. Very uneventful day... we should have gone out and tried to do something more productive but we were just not that motivated.
So apparently this is the rainy season. Everyday about 3 or 4 pm it starts to rain and then it
rains for about an hour or two and that's it. Yesterday it rained really hard...harder than the first two days. Overall, it is predictable so you can work around it for the most part....kind of reminds me of Florida.
Last night I went down to see if I could move Grandma Judy from the Courtyard to our hotel...no luck...sold out during a few nights of the week. Oh well...so I head back to
the room. While waiting for the elevator, I looked across the hall and saw a "big ant". It was about 1.5 inches long and it was going about its business. I sat and watched it and was amazed at how much personality the little bugger had. He would take a few steps, look around, rear back, rub his face, walk a few more steps and then start the process all over again. The amazing part to me was the fact that I could see all this from across the hall...yup, he was that big. Anyway...that was about the highlight of the day.
Score: Payton = 0 upchucks, Rob = eye getting better, Kade = good and Jen = maybe getting sick.....
The two pics on the left are of the inside of our hotel here in Costa Rica. Note all the boxes and the fact that Jen has already found CBS soap operas ;-) The three on the right are of the fambly...as you can see we are trying to keep our spirits up!
treet address 
(for packages and important mail w/ a tracking ID). We will probably get it setup on Monday so I will keep you posted (he he). Then we ordered pizza in to the hotel room...it wasn't bad but it was super thin crust. Then we farted around the hotel since Payton was napping. By the time she woke up it was raining again so we made dinner early and went over to the house to try and get the Joi Phone VOIP working. After about 45 mins I finally got it working and talked with Grandma Judy for a while...it was crystal clear which was encouraging. Then we ca
me back and put the kiddos to bed. Very uneventful day... we should have gone out and tried to do something more productive but we were just not that motivated.So apparently this is the rainy season. Everyday about 3 or 4 pm it starts to rain and then it
rains for about an hour or two and that's it. Yesterday it rained really hard...harder than the first two days. Overall, it is predictable so you can work around it for the most part....kind of reminds me of Florida.Last night I went down to see if I could move Grandma Judy from the Courtyard to our hotel...no luck...sold out during a few nights of the week. Oh well...so I head back to
the room. While waiting for the elevator, I looked across the hall and saw a "big ant". It was about 1.5 inches long and it was going about its business. I sat and watched it and was amazed at how much personality the little bugger had. He would take a few steps, look around, rear back, rub his face, walk a few more steps and then start the process all over again. The amazing part to me was the fact that I could see all this from across the hall...yup, he was that big. Anyway...that was about the highlight of the day.Score: Payton = 0 upchucks, Rob = eye getting better, Kade = good and Jen = maybe getting sick.....
The two pics on the left are of the inside of our hotel here in Costa Rica. Note all the boxes and the fact that Jen has already found CBS soap operas ;-) The three on the right are of the fambly...as you can see we are trying to keep our spirits up!
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Día dos en paraíso
Well, we got a lot of feedback on day one...most of it commiseration from folks who have been international as well. As Jen and I expected, the AutoMercado experience was basically on par with others' experiences...but not so much the glass door....I still don't know how much that one is going to cost.
Today was better. I got up with the kiddos and was able to cook them a normal breakfast since we endured the grocery store yesterday...scrambled eggs w/ cheese, bananas and milk. Jen got to sleep in for a little while...that was a good start ;-) Then I took Kade over to the new house to do the walk through and final signatures...we now have our keys to the new casa. Unfortunately, that took about 2 hours...and Kade pooped about 15 mins after our arrival...good thing I had the right stuff ;-) Then it was back to the hotel for lunch which actually ended up being bologna sandwiches because it looked like ham and was labeled "jamonada" which is close to ham..."jamon".
Score one for AutoMercado. Oh well, the kids liked it.
Then we decided to lay low the rest of the day and take a breather. So we headed over to the local mall (Multiplaza) just to cruise around and check things out. It was a really nice mall (much nicer than the last one we visited in Cariari) and it had lots of little play structures for the kiddos all around. That was a nice break for us. Then we found a train...yes a real train that runs around inside the mall. It was 350 colones (about 75 cents) for each kiddo...they had a blast, definitely a hit! Then we decided to go native for dinner and hit the food court to get some Taco Bell and a
fruit smoothie. Before leaving the mall we decided to look at the toy store for plastic play structures (for our own backyard). They were pretty expensive...about 250,000 colones (about $500) for your standard plastic playhouse. Its going to be worth it...we just have to chose what we want to get.
Finally we took Jen and Payton over to the new house. The highlight was supposed to be a few phone calls back to the states courtesy of Joiphone (our VOIP provider). Unfortunately, everyone could hear us but we could not hear anyone...not so good for two way conversation. So we packed it up and headed back to the hotel to put the kiddos down. Once we go
t home we got emails and messages (on the Joiphone line) from everyone we called. They were all calling back to let us know that they could hear us...thanks...I think that means that I have my router setup to block the port that Joiphone apparently uses for incoming voice data. I will have to check on that tonight.
For those of you keeping score...Payton only threw up once today so she must be getting better. She also got her 7th tooth on the bottom. Also, my eye has not fallen out of my head yet but it is still pink and itchy...
I also added two other pictures are from our hotel room at Villas Del Rio. We were lucky enough to be put on the top floor of the hotel (6th floor) which has provided us with some pretty good views. You can see part of the hotel in the lower right corner of the last picture (tan with brown roof).
Tomorrow we are going to try and keep things simple again as that appears to work (from a sanity perspective) pretty well. G'night.
Today was better. I got up with the kiddos and was able to cook them a normal breakfast since we endured the grocery store yesterday...scrambled eggs w/ cheese, bananas and milk. Jen got to sleep in for a little while...that was a good start ;-) Then I took Kade over to the new house to do the walk through and final signatures...we now have our keys to the new casa. Unfortunately, that took about 2 hours...and Kade pooped about 15 mins after our arrival...good thing I had the right stuff ;-) Then it was back to the hotel for lunch which actually ended up being bologna sandwiches because it looked like ham and was labeled "jamonada" which is close to ham..."jamon".
Score one for AutoMercado. Oh well, the kids liked it.Then we decided to lay low the rest of the day and take a breather. So we headed over to the local mall (Multiplaza) just to cruise around and check things out. It was a really nice mall (much nicer than the last one we visited in Cariari) and it had lots of little play structures for the kiddos all around. That was a nice break for us. Then we found a train...yes a real train that runs around inside the mall. It was 350 colones (about 75 cents) for each kiddo...they had a blast, definitely a hit! Then we decided to go native for dinner and hit the food court to get some Taco Bell and a
fruit smoothie. Before leaving the mall we decided to look at the toy store for plastic play structures (for our own backyard). They were pretty expensive...about 250,000 colones (about $500) for your standard plastic playhouse. Its going to be worth it...we just have to chose what we want to get.Finally we took Jen and Payton over to the new house. The highlight was supposed to be a few phone calls back to the states courtesy of Joiphone (our VOIP provider). Unfortunately, everyone could hear us but we could not hear anyone...not so good for two way conversation. So we packed it up and headed back to the hotel to put the kiddos down. Once we go
t home we got emails and messages (on the Joiphone line) from everyone we called. They were all calling back to let us know that they could hear us...thanks...I think that means that I have my router setup to block the port that Joiphone apparently uses for incoming voice data. I will have to check on that tonight.For those of you keeping score...Payton only threw up once today so she must be getting better. She also got her 7th tooth on the bottom. Also, my eye has not fallen out of my head yet but it is still pink and itchy...
I also added two other pictures are from our hotel room at Villas Del Rio. We were lucky enough to be put on the top floor of the hotel (6th floor) which has provided us with some pretty good views. You can see part of the hotel in the lower right corner of the last picture (tan with brown roof).
Tomorrow we are going to try and keep things simple again as that appears to work (from a sanity perspective) pretty well. G'night.
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Day Uno in Costa Rica...what a B-E-A-U-T!!
Wow, if I could have scripted the first day in a new country ... this would have been it. It started as a beautiful sunny day in paradise. Then we went to breakfast and had some decent eats...lots of fresh fruit and pastries (one with chicken inside and the other with spicy potatoes on the inside...surprisingly both good). Then on the way back to the hotel room Payton proceeded to throw up on me...strike one.
Then the rental cars arrive and everything goes smoothly...even though cars here are much smaller than what we are used to in the states. Later on in the day as I was driving Jen's new Suzuki Grand Vitara...I noticed that almost every time I pressed the accelerator, the inside lights went on...hmmm, that can't be good....strike two....gotta call National tomorrow.
Then we meet with our local counselor and go through about 2 hours of stuff, everything from ambulances to what your parents can ship you...Jen and I were spinning by the end of that one...and Kade was starting to get antsy...not a good combo. So after the lecture, I decide to run and pick us up some lunch at a local pollo place...I did not get lost...but the menu was all in Espanol so I was reduced to ordering with gigantic hand gestures...something the Ticos must have enjoyed watching. But in the end, I did get what I wanted and it was good...so that was nice.
Then a banker shows up so we can sign the papers for opening accounts. I was watching Kade and trying to do this at the same time which proved to be less than ideal...he was climbing the walls...literally. Then he decided to play "getting the groceries" since he found a shopping cart around the corner...well he proceeded to drive that into a full glass door...breaking the whole damned thing. The guy in the shop was very nice about the whole ordeal letting me know that he would be happy to get it fixed and charge the whole thing to my room....awww shucks. Strikes three, four and five.
It gets better....
Then we decide to go play on the kid play structure for a few minutes to let Kade burn off some steam...it started to rain...correction....pour. So we head inside to see what la mama is doing....she is making a grocery list...wonderful. So she finishes that up and we bomb on down to the local grocery (AutoMercado I think). The kids proceed to cry through the entire store and Jen and I are completely lost...seeing as how it took us 5 minutes just to find salt and pepper...you see salt is not called salt and it does not come in the nice Morton's can like in the good old USofA. Instead it is in a bag with Sal Sol written on the front....at least it was still white...and the back had NaCl on the bottom....score one for the old chemistry classes. Oh yeah, and at the end of the shopping experience...Payton decides to puke on me again...which is always nice.
We finally get home and slog our way through our first dinner in Costa Rica...wonderful spaghetti with Hunts sauce (something akin to ketchup) , fresh bread and a salad which Jen whipped up. All in all it was a good dinner seeing as how the kiddos ate and we got full. Amazing how your standards can change quickly.
Bath (which both kids decided to cry through) and bed (where apparently Payton puked on Jen). Afterwards, amazingly, Jen and I both laughed and said that things could have been worse....at least the hotel we are in is a nice and safe place....even if I have to replace every last piece of glass in the joint!
Well, here is to hoping that the days get better.
PS - we think Payton is not feeling all that well ;-) and my pink eye is not going away. There is some talk about a visit to the emergency room since the eye doctors are booked for the rest of the week...but "at least we have our health"
Then the rental cars arrive and everything goes smoothly...even though cars here are much smaller than what we are used to in the states. Later on in the day as I was driving Jen's new Suzuki Grand Vitara...I noticed that almost every time I pressed the accelerator, the inside lights went on...hmmm, that can't be good....strike two....gotta call National tomorrow.
Then we meet with our local counselor and go through about 2 hours of stuff, everything from ambulances to what your parents can ship you...Jen and I were spinning by the end of that one...and Kade was starting to get antsy...not a good combo. So after the lecture, I decide to run and pick us up some lunch at a local pollo place...I did not get lost...but the menu was all in Espanol so I was reduced to ordering with gigantic hand gestures...something the Ticos must have enjoyed watching. But in the end, I did get what I wanted and it was good...so that was nice.
Then a banker shows up so we can sign the papers for opening accounts. I was watching Kade and trying to do this at the same time which proved to be less than ideal...he was climbing the walls...literally. Then he decided to play "getting the groceries" since he found a shopping cart around the corner...well he proceeded to drive that into a full glass door...breaking the whole damned thing. The guy in the shop was very nice about the whole ordeal letting me know that he would be happy to get it fixed and charge the whole thing to my room....awww shucks. Strikes three, four and five.
It gets better....
Then we decide to go play on the kid play structure for a few minutes to let Kade burn off some steam...it started to rain...correction....pour. So we head inside to see what la mama is doing....she is making a grocery list...wonderful. So she finishes that up and we bomb on down to the local grocery (AutoMercado I think). The kids proceed to cry through the entire store and Jen and I are completely lost...seeing as how it took us 5 minutes just to find salt and pepper...you see salt is not called salt and it does not come in the nice Morton's can like in the good old USofA. Instead it is in a bag with Sal Sol written on the front....at least it was still white...and the back had NaCl on the bottom....score one for the old chemistry classes. Oh yeah, and at the end of the shopping experience...Payton decides to puke on me again...which is always nice.
We finally get home and slog our way through our first dinner in Costa Rica...wonderful spaghetti with Hunts sauce (something akin to ketchup) , fresh bread and a salad which Jen whipped up. All in all it was a good dinner seeing as how the kiddos ate and we got full. Amazing how your standards can change quickly.
Bath (which both kids decided to cry through) and bed (where apparently Payton puked on Jen). Afterwards, amazingly, Jen and I both laughed and said that things could have been worse....at least the hotel we are in is a nice and safe place....even if I have to replace every last piece of glass in the joint!
Well, here is to hoping that the days get better.
PS - we think Payton is not feeling all that well ;-) and my pink eye is not going away. There is some talk about a visit to the emergency room since the eye doctors are booked for the rest of the week...but "at least we have our health"
Home in Costa Rica
The kiddos were great on the planes yetsterday...could have been a lot worse ;-) Last night we finally got to our temp appt about 10:30pm. Of the 17 pieces of checked luggage all 17 made it...but only 15 were really still in one piece. I think MOST of our stuff made it but some of the stuff likely fell out of one of the split boxes. Anyway, we all got to the appt in one piece and got a relatively good night sleep. Now I have to find the doctors as I have a bad case of pinkeye...wonder where I got that ;-)
We will see what the first day holds for us
We will see what the first day holds for us
Monday, May 7, 2007
Quick update...
Friday night the movers finally got done and everything is gone. Took them till 8pm but they got it done...thank goodness since the cleaners showed up at 6pm ;-)
The weekend has been a blur of packing, cleaning and saying goodbye to so many of our wonderful friends. They have all chipped in in amazing ways....we couldn't have gotten this far without them!
This morning we closed on our house so we are officially homeless. The couple moving in are really nice and have a nice 4 year old girl. They will love it...and it will set our mind at ease (a little) knowing it is in the hands of some great folks. Kind of sad to see the house go...it was really a great house and neighborhood.
Now we are frantically trying to finish our errands before leaving tomorrow am. Its hard to believe that in about 24 hrs we will be leaving the states....holy crap!!!!
The weekend has been a blur of packing, cleaning and saying goodbye to so many of our wonderful friends. They have all chipped in in amazing ways....we couldn't have gotten this far without them!
This morning we closed on our house so we are officially homeless. The couple moving in are really nice and have a nice 4 year old girl. They will love it...and it will set our mind at ease (a little) knowing it is in the hands of some great folks. Kind of sad to see the house go...it was really a great house and neighborhood.
Now we are frantically trying to finish our errands before leaving tomorrow am. Its hard to believe that in about 24 hrs we will be leaving the states....holy crap!!!!
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Ahh, all I want for xmas is a little sleep...
Zero cars left (all we have is a rental - the truck is officially gone as of today)
One international relocation underway
Two very sick kiddos (pinkeye, 102 fevers and bears oh my)
Three days into the packing process
Four days until we close on the house
Five places our stuff is going (Albunukie, Airplane, Costa Rica Air, Costa Rica Sea and FTC Storage)
We are still alive...but this is crazy!
One international relocation underway
Two very sick kiddos (pinkeye, 102 fevers and bears oh my)
Three days into the packing process
Four days until we close on the house
Five places our stuff is going (Albunukie, Airplane, Costa Rica Air, Costa Rica Sea and FTC Storage)
We are still alive...but this is crazy!
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