Oh Christmas Tree - Oh Christmas Tree

So here is one for you all to enjoy. This past weekend after our wonderful Dia De Gracias...we decided to go and get our "Christmas Tree". We were not sure what to expect but we heard that there was an actual tree farm in the Escazu mountains - not too far from our house - where we could go get a real tree. So we gave it a shot. While the trees themselves are not our typical Spruce type trees...they are actually not all that bad. The tree behind the fambly is the one we finally chose...it is about 8 feet tall and only cost C25K....about $48. The views from up on the hill were wonderful as you can see from the bottom right picture. The kiddos has a ball...Kade was practically jumping out of his skin on the way to the tree farm. He was a little mystified by the little trees - not sure why anyone would want one of those (top right)...had to explain that one a bit. We ffinally chose the tree, left a deposit and told the man we would be back next Saturday (Spanish was a bit of a challenge on this one) to pick the tree up.

Then the fun began. We spent the next two days going from store to store trying to get all the lights, decorations and a tree stand. The lights and decorations were very easy to find but the tree stand was a friggin' nightmare. We ended up going to 7 stores but could not find one. Finally we lucked out and had our Panama friends (who happened to be coming back to CR on Monday) pick one up at their local market and bring it to us. So by Tuesday night we finally had our Imported tree stand....it was most definitely an "I hate Costa Rica" type of weekend...which is too bad because all in all it started pretty well at the tree farm ;-(

Good night prayers

Kade has come up with his own little version of our goodnight prayer.

Normal Version:
Now I lay me down to sleep
I pray the lord my soul to keep
May angels watch me through the night
And keep me safe till morning light

Kade's Version:
Now I lay me down with BABIES...ha ha
I pray the lord for all the BABIES...ha ha
May BABIES watch me with the BABIES..ha ha ha
And keep the BABIES safe all BABIES...ha ha ha ha ha!

Kade also has a VERY similar version of our table prayer...I will spare you the details ;-)

Dia de Gracias

So this years Turkey day started just like any other we have every had....70 degrees and flowers blooming in the backyard while we ate breakfast....uh, yeah something like that. Of course, since it is not a Costa Rica holiday, Arelys (our employada) showed up at 7:45 in the morning and we had to take Kade off to school at 8. As you can see, Arelys and Payton got the morning started off in the right direction with lots of playing around. Most of the day was spent in the typical T-day tradition...cooking in the kitchen. The turkey turned out really good despite the somewhat burnt appearance (thanks to the new range we purchased a few weeks ago). Thank heavens too...as a 15lb turkey in these parts is apparently rare - so they "fly" them in from the USofA...and charge us $35...about $2.33 per pound of pure US heaven ;-) One of Jen's playdate friends came for dinner with their family (Amy, Jason and Sophie). Sophie fit right in and before long was acting just like any other monkey we tend to find in these parts of Costa Rica. Dinner was surprisingly good and everyone had a great time. The kiddos were still going strong at 10pm as you can see form the video at the bottom...at least they slept in the following morning ;-)

What do these two items have in common...

Maybe Amy - our Detroit connection - can help us with this one ;-)

One Box, One Push Toy and Two Kids!

Toys For Tots

While we were in Albunukie we took the opportunity to do a lot of our Christmas shopping...and then bring all that stuff back to CR (9 bags total...but that is another story). We ended up having to return one gift due to baggage constraints...so we bombed down to Toys-R-Us. When we got there, the Marines were out front with a big old truck and a bunch of big toy bins....collecting toys for the Toys For Tots drive. So we decided to just put the gift we were returning into the bin and then go inside to buy another toy (and some books) for the Marines. We ended up buying a Fisher Price Geo Trax set since that is just about the coolest thing in the store....according to Kade ;-) Well as you can imagine...when it was time to part with the gift and leave it with the Marines...someone started to get a little teary eyed. Here is how the following exchange went:

Kade: "Daddy...sob...sob...I want the GeoTrax...."

Dad: "Kade, that toy is not for you...it is for another child who does not have toys"

Kade: "Sob....sob...sob..."

Dad: "You already have a whole bunch of GeoTrax. It is just back in Costa Rica..."

Kade: "Yeah...sob...I want to go to Costa Rica...sob....but I still want the GeoTrax..."

Dad: "Kade, there are some kids who's parents don't have the money to buy their kids toys. You know how daddy goes to work and makes money for cheesburgers and toys?"

Kade: "Yeah...I like cheesburgers and toys..."

Dad: "Well, some parents do not have enough money for cheeseburgers and toys. So mom and dad want to give those kids some toys. Wouldn't you be sad without toys?"

Kade: "I want my Geotrax....sob...."

Dad: "We will be back to Costa Rica soon....just a couple of days"

Kade: "Do you know the name of the kids who are getting the toys?"

Dad: "Uh, no...why?"

Kade: "I think we could be friends..."

Dad: "I think so too..."

A stroll in Albunukie

So while we were all in Albunukie for the balloon fiesta, we all decided to take a stroll along the mightly Rio Grande. The walk only lasted about 30 minutes before we had to take a snack break and then the pooping began. That was the end of that. It was a lovely walk as you can see...everyone had a great time. We were especially impressed with the hat selection that Mike found for Colioliolio at the local Walmart.