Sharing our hearts

For several days now I’ve had a blog entry rolling around in my head, but I’ve procrastinated in writing because I’m convinced I can’t do justice to the subject matter: an afternoon spent delivering food baskets and toys to needy families up in the mountains of Escazú.

This experience left an indelible imprint on my life and the lives of my daughters. It’s a challenge to explain this day with only words and a few amateurish photos, but I’ll make the attempt. Because this day—this small effort—deserves to be shared.

I’m part of a community service organization at the girls’ school called Care and Share. Our goal is to raise money throughout the year to help the El Carmen school—whether it’s with much needed improvements to the school building itself or to give aid to the students and their families.

A week ago I pulled Erin and Lauren out of class to join me, a handful of other Care and Share moms and kids, the principal Mr. Large, and six student council members to deliver food and used toys to the neediest families from El Carmen. I rightly suspected this would be an amazing, joyful, and heartrending day all at once.

We loaded twenty hefty boxes of food and several bags of toys onto our bus and began the drive up the mountain to the school. From there, we followed the school’s director who led us to the homes of those we wanted to help. The air was cool, the views of the valley terrific, and we enjoyed the El Carmen neighborhood as we wound around the maze of roads. Typical for a trip in this area, we saw many cows, horses, roosters, chickens and stray dogs—oh, and even a kitten on the steps of the local super.

At each stop, a group got off the bus with the food. The director explained to us how many children were at each house and their ages—and then we chose toys for them. Erin, the oldest kid on the bus, sat up front and took charge in selecting what toys were given at each stop. I was so happy as I watched her smile and get excited about serving others with her sweet heart.

The women receiving the baskets were grateful to be sure, but the kids’ responses are what I remember best. We saw how just a few used toys brought forth smiles and looks of awe from these children who live in abject poverty and have very little of their own.

I was only able to take a few photos from inside the bus, and it’s hard to tell from them how poor the living conditions were. We see homes like this daily in Costa Rica—the tin roofs, pockmarked walls, peeling paint, single bulbs hanging from the ceilings, and dirt floors are nothing new for us. Additionally, we have all had many opportunities to help those less fortunate—with food drives, fund raisers, gift giving parades, church offerings—but to meet these families makes the reality that much clearer.

At some homes we’d see one child, then two, then kids would come flooding out once they realized what was happening.

After leaving a place with a large group of kids, the boys in the back of the bus realized that others—a woman and her daughter, at one point—were following us, hoping we’d stop. When we pulled to the roadside for this girl we didn’t know, I caught Mr. Large’s eye and quickly turned away as tears spilled out of my own eyes. There were many times on the trip when I’d catch a mom wiping her cheeks or see a look of wonder on my girls’ faces.

On one of the final stops, a group of children walked up the stairs from what must be a very dark, damp, and chilly place to live. There were about six boys and a girl. As we were preparing to leave, one of our students noticed on the other side of our bus was a small girl, maybe age two or three, clinging to her blue metal door. We couldn’t leave, the girls up front insisted, without giving her something. Erin and her friend Aidra hopped off the bus and began tossing toys—a tutu, a boa, a sparkly plastic tiara—over the door. The girl’s sister appeared, then the grandma. It was a joy to watch their faces as the toys soared over the door and the girls realized they were theirs, for keeps. I tried to sneak a photo of the little one from inside the bus. What a precious girl she was.

After handing out the final baskets and toys, we returned to El Carmen school. Here, the director boarded our bus to thank us and barely finished her first sentence before breaking down in tears. Even the children whose Spanish is not the best could understand this language of the heart. Again, many of us wept silently as she told us how these children often don’t have enough to eat each day, how they live in some very difficult conditions and have family lives that are not safe, healthy, and happy.

This day … it is one I won’t forget. One my girls will not forget. And it served as a tremendous reminder of what is most important at Christmas. We were Santa’s helpers and Christ’s hands all in one. We all agreed that we need to do this again soon.

My dad reminded me of a verse in Matthew—25:31-40—that I shared with Erin and Lauren. It tells us how important it is that we think not only of ourselves but that we serve others—and in doing so, we are servants of our Lord, too. You may say that my daughters and I, and our little group, did something wonderful and caring that day. But I’ll tell you that we received the greatest blessing of all in the giving.

Matthew—25:31-40


31"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.


34"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'


Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'


40"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Happy Independence Day!

"Star-spangled happiness
and banner waves of pride."
~Cherishe Archer

A beautiful beach wedding (aka: our whirlwind weekend in Guanacaste)

Last Saturday, our family breezed off on a long drive to Playa Real, a beach in Guanacaste (on the west coast of Costa Rica), to attend the wedding of our friends Norbell and Amalia.

Along the way we saw plenty of animals in and on the side of the road: cows, horses, dogs, pigs… it’s always like Wild Kingdom around here! Thankfully the traffic wasn’t too awful and we were able to stop for lunch at El Rinconcito de Doña Elda—a nice, open-air restaurant we’ve eaten at before with yummy food and (importantly—ha!) clean bathrooms.

We stayed at Bahia de los Pirates (Pirate’s Bay), about 10 kilometers down a gravel road, well off the beaten path. The bay got its name from the legend that Captain Morgan had a hideout in one of the islands right across from the beach. While I knew Morgan spent time in Central America, I thought he was strictly a Caribbean sailor … so who knows?


Our villa was near the top of the hill and we loved the views of the bay and the trees and birds. At one point a bright yellow bird (a tanager, I think) flew by and was absolutely brilliant.


It was so hot when we arrived, we quickly changed into swimsuits and spent a couple of hours at the pool with some friends until we had to shower and change for the wedding. (Notably, we left the pool before the groom, who was still in his swim trunks and bare-chested about an hour before the wedding was to start. Things are pretty laid back in this part of the country. ¡Pura vida, Norbell!)

Just around sunset, the beautiful bride and her handsome groom got married on the beach in a lovely ceremony. They couldn’t have picked a more appropriate setting, since Norbell is a surf addict and the couple has a house nearby.

The wedding was very nice (though still hot—whew!) and we had a lot of fun at the reception in the hotel restaurant. The food was good and the music was too. Lauren could barely keep her eyes open once the clock struck 9pm, so we took her back to the villa that we were sharing with our friends Carlos and Julie. Erin wasn’t ready to go and Julie—a very sweet Irish amiga—asked to keep our girl there for more dancing with the promise to have her back to us by 10:00. Erin was tickled to stay and headed up to the dance floor while Dan and I went to collapse in the A/C and get our little one to bed.

The beach was calling on Sunday morning and we headed out around 6:45 before the sun got high and the air grew too hot to enjoy a walk. We went south over some rough terrain and soft sand as we peered into tide pools, watched crabs scurry across the rocks, admired sea urchins hanging out in their watery holes, and watched for birds and lizards (saw both!). Eventually the girls started to wear out and we had breakfast and left for the four-hour return trip to the valley. We hated to leave so soon, but we knew it was best to beat the rain that was destined to fall on the Central Valley in the afternoon. (Thankfully we weren’t in it too long.)


Lastly, I would be remiss in not mentioning the beautiful shell sculpture we received as a remembrance of the wedding. Norbell’s mom made this amazing little portal (nativity scene) from shells found at the beach in Guanacaste. I’m contemplating carrying this to Wisconsin on the plane this summer and leaving it at my parents’ house because I’m so afraid it could break next year in the move. It’s too special and beautiful to risk having it damaged, and it reminds me of our friends and their wedding day—I love it!

¡Pura boda!

Nine is fine!

Lauren has finally caught up to her favorite number; our little girl celebrated her 9th birthday last week! Instead of having a big party, she's having a couple of friends sleep over (on different nights, since we can't seem to coordinate with everyone's crazy schedules) and we're also planning on celebrating in Wisconsin this summer with my family.

Lauren got some fun gifts (plenty of Garfield stuff, yep), but her friend Isabel earned the biggest smile when she gave Lauren the desire of her little heart—a really terrific skateboard! Yesterday Lauren put on her volleyball uniform and went to have some fun on the newly installed, gentle speed bumps down the street.

¡Feliz cumpleaños, Lauren!

May I have this dance?

Each February the girls' school has a father-daughter dance—complete with party music and Valentine's Day-themed decorations, a professional photographer, and plenty of food and cake.

I had a great time helping with the event last year (plus, the only way for a mom to attend the dance is to be on the committee!) and was excited for the dance again this year. Erin even helped me burn a couple of CDs for the DJ so he'd have some of the popular music from the US that the kids like.


We bought the girls' dresses last summer in Minnesota and thankfully they still fit. After school—once the decorating was done—the girls and I did hair and nails and got all dressed up. (It took Dan about one-fourth the time to get ready as it did the three of us.) Dan even gained a daughter for the evening—Lauren's friend Isabel, whose dad was out of town for the night. I'm glad she could be there with us; we love her family and will miss them tremendously when we leave Costa Rica.

I tried to get a few snapshots to share in between serving sandwiches and clearing tables. We even managed to get a picture of the four of us. Enjoy!


This is Erin, Grace (the friend we saw on vacation in Orlando) and Erin—yes, we moved all the way to Costa Rica only to meet another Erin of the same age as our Erin. Who would have guessed?


Here are Lauren and Isabel, artists extraordinaire! There were four boards on the side of the dance floor where the girls could write the names of their favorite restaurants, movie stars, and vacation destinations. Once we let the net of balloons drop, Lauren and Isabel made a beeline to the boards with the Sharpie markers to decorate the balloons. They are always drawing, these two.

¡Pura baile!

Christmastide in Costa Rica

The people in our adopted country prepare for Christmas for months, quite literally, and finally the real season has arrived. We’ve learned that December in the valley is often beautiful, hectic, and hazardous.

Rainy season has been hanging in there by a thread, but the downpours have disappeared and we’ve had plenty of sunny, warm, and—most importantly to me at this point—dry weather. The flowering trees are bursting with color, and the bougainvillea is bright with flashy purples, reds, and pinks.

Ticos across the country each receive an aguinaldo—a government-mandated bonus worth one-month salary given each December to all employees. When the aguinaldos are paid, traffic both on the roads and in the shops is at a frenzy because everyone has money to spend. Unfortunately crime is also on the rise because thieves know there is more cash for the taking. I’ve read and heard stories of several people being held at gunpoint for their money; we are very careful with our purchases and walking to our cars during December.

On a cheerier note, things are festive in the valley. I enjoyed a few trips with the girls to the mall to hear the Christmas music (mainly in English) and see the beautifully decorated trees and stores. Many places throughout the country have portales—nativity scenes—including a large portal at nearby Multiplaza. The Baby Jesus is left out of the manger until midnight on Christmas Eve. Instead of Santa, most Tico children are told the Baby Jesus brings their gifts as they sleep.


We kept many of our own American traditions here. The girls and I made dozens of cookies while we listened to our favorite Christmas music, and they had holiday concerts at school. Erin loves playing the flute and had her first band concert, while Lauren’s class put a holiday show including bells, recorders (yep, third grade!), singing, dancing, and even joke telling. There were many parties too, and it was fun to be at CDS to see how excited the kids were on the last day of classes.

A few weeks ago our neighbor was hosting a large open house for coworkers on a Sunday afternoon, and Dan had a sit-down dinner party for 12 coworkers the following evening. My terrific friends Joelle (who was also hosting the open house) and Angie and I gathered at Joelle’s house around the corner and spent an entire day baking cookies, cutting vegetables, putting together marinades and dips, and musing about which holiday decorations we could share to make our homes look festive. With a fantastic combined effort, both parties went smoothly. Whew!

A week before the holiday we went to a drama at our church about Papa Panov, based on a short story by Tolstoy. I really enjoyed myself.

Finally Christmas Eve day arrived and everyone was off school and work—vacation! I spent most of the day in the kitchen and had a great helper (Dan!) in making the homemade cinnamon rolls to eat the following morning after gift-opening. Because I couldn’t get the ingredients for the recipe I normally use, we tried a Cinnabon copycat recipe this year and wow! The rolls were huge and amazing—they really did taste like Cinnabon and it was hard to eat even one because they were so large. We got 11 rolls from the recipe and they lasted for days. It was fun rolling the dough with Dan and cutting them together.

We went to Christmas Eve service at our church, International Baptist Church. I was overcome with emotion—it was a traditional service with a children’s story, plenty of singing of the old Christmas songs, a lovely message from our pastor, and a beautiful candlelit rendition of Silent Night at the end. It was joyous and peaceful and hopeful all at once, and I reflected on how incredible it was to sit in a congregation of Christians from all around the world to celebrate the birth of our Savior—who I am so comforted to know is with me wherever I go on this earth.

We drove home and opened the windows to the house, turned on the Christmas lights adorning our two balconies, and got into our pajamas. Fireworks had already been exploding around the valley nearly non-stop for hours and hours—the Costa Ricans love fireworks!—and continued on through the night. The Costa Rican adults open their gifts on Christmas Eve and often stay up all night with friends and family, eating tamales wrapped in banana leaves—the one food all Costa Ricans we’ve talked to could agree is truly a Christmas tradition.

That said, this non-Tico family had no plans to stay up until dawn, though sleeping was sometimes challenging with the cracks and booms breaking through times of silence. Dan and I watched Christmas Vacation and took care of a few other things before bed, and soon it was a bright, sunny Christmas Day. We opened presents (our big gift to the family being a trip in January to Florida—can hardly wait to touchdown in the US for a while!) and just relaxed and played the rest of the day. It was a quiet Christmas here that we’ll all remember for its uniqueness.

¡Feliz Navidad!

Thanksgiving in Guanacaste

We had a fantastic holiday here in Costa Rica—it was another turkey-free Thanksgiving! We pulled the kids out of school a day early so we could drive to the Pacific coast on Wednesday and spend our entire holiday having fun. And wow, did we have a blast! (You can watch a slideshow with photos of our trip here: Thanksgiving pictures.)

We made the five-hour drive to Playa Grande in Guanacaste, an area known throughout the country for its surfing and fantastic beaches. Thursday morning after a big breakfast and some leisurely hanging around in hammocks at our beachfront hotel (along with a lizard and a funny squirrel for company) we went horseback riding. The weather was awesome—a real treat coming from the rainy, cloudy valley. Much of our two hours riding was spent on the beaches of Brasilito and Playa Conchal, though we also ventured off onto some trails near the beach shaded by a plethora of tall trees. (And yep, once again we saw monkeys on Thanksgiving—this time howlers that, as usual, made quite a ruckus.)

Our horses were White Socks, Raccoon, Zorro (Lauren’s horse), and Arroz con Frijoles (Rice with Beans—that was Erin’s horse). Soon after we mounted, our guide, Luis, let me know that Arroz con Frijoles likes to go fast, and a bunch of times on our ride he got going and the other horses all followed. We got to galloping at one point on Brasilito but didn’t go for long since the girls’ hats both blew off.


We all had a great time and I must admit, Erin in particular was a real natural on the horse. It was good fortune that she loved to fly down the sand on his back, because Arroz con Frijoles was definitely the most spirited horse of the bunch. White Socks and Raccoon were not nearly so eager to run, though Dan and I suspect that may be because they were carrying us instead of an 11-year-old kid.

After our horseback trip we cooled off in the Toyota’s AC and headed south into Tamarindo, the largest town in this part of the country. There we picked up some snacks and water for later and had lunch at Pizza Hut. I don’t know why it is, but we think Pizza Hut here is better than it is at home, and we were so hungry we didn’t leave a slice behind. We even had ice cream at Pops following lunch—one of the best ice cream spots in Costa Rica that happened to be in the most gorgeous shopping center I’ve ever seen, complete with a sprawling, free-form pond (host to turtles and fish), waterfalls, and beautiful trees and flowers.

That afternoon we went for a swim in the turtle-shaped pool at our hotel and then had an early dinner because we all went to bed at 6:30—yes, you read that right. Let me note that it’s not hard to go to bed early here because it’s already dark—not dusk, but nighttime dark—by this hour and because we normally wake up so much earlier here than in the States. Plus we were tired from the horseback riding and swimming! But this night it was especially important to get some rest because we had set the alarm to wake us at 11pm. We had something very special planned: we were going to Las Baulas National Marine Park with hopes of seeing a giant leatherback turtle nesting.

Lauren wasn’t too thrilled when we roused her out of bed at 11:00, but eventually we all got ready, put on the bug spray, and took our flashlights down the road about 50 yards from our hotel to the park’s ranger station. Las Tortugas Hotel is the center for the Tamarindo National Wildlife Sanctuary and Las Baulas National Marine Park. There isn’t much light on this short walk to the station because the turtles won’t nest unless it’s dark. The owner of the hotel where we stayed has been active for years in eco-tourism and sustainable development; this includes shielding the turtles from all ambient light both here and from neighboring beaches.

Las Baulas is a protected area vital to the endangered leatherback turtle; actually, it is the world’s largest nesting site for these turtles and one of the few remaining sites of significant nesting. Female leatherbacks come ashore at night to lay their eggs in the sand. They then cover the eggs and return to the ocean. The beach is restricted at night from October to mid-February, and people can only visit as part of a guided tour—so off we went, hopes high!

We were part of a small group of people and stood, single file, in the dark on the beach as we waited for a park ranger to spot a nesting turtle. While we waited, Dan and I noticed how amazing the sky appeared—there was extremely little moonlight, and I don’t know if I’ve ever seen so many stars before. It was truly awesome.

We didn’t wait long until we trekked through the sand with only natural light and the guide’s red-filtered flashlight to help us. Soon we could see a giant swath of a path on the beach and right up from it was the turtle, digging deep in the sand. She was absolutely massive—the giant leatherbacks are the world’s largest marine turtles. She was at least five feet long and she certainly weighed more than our entire family! I wish I could have taken photos to share, but the turtles only nest in the dark and so we watched her by the guide’s red light which was aimed at her backside only.

It was incredible to see how this giant creature stretched her flippers (about the size of tennis rackets!) to make this deep hole. When she was nearly done digging, our group stepped away to allow another group to see the dig. We sat down in the sand and just enjoyed the cool ocean air as we waited for our turn to see the turtle again. And when we went back—wow! She was laying her eggs, sometimes three at a time. There were scientists there measuring her and counting her eggs. Erin heard one say at the end that she had deposited 56 eggs into her nest.

We didn’t get to stay and see the turtle go back to the sea—the rangers want to minimize humans’ contact with the turtles, and this was her moment. She had done her job and was leaving her eggs to fend for themselves.

Our family was in awe of this experience. We realized that with the giant leatherback in danger of being extinct, we were surely witnessing a precious and miraculous event. Both our family and the turtle had come a very long way to share in her nesting on this quiet beach.

A couple of months from now, some of those eggs we saw will be little hatchlings, and a few will survive the short yet perilous trip down the beach to the Pacific Ocean. Maybe my girls will return to Playa Grande one day with their families to see an offspring of the leatherback burying eggs of her own.

We are thankful for this turtle, for the horses we rode, for the beautiful beach, and for each other. Though life in Costa Rica is never smooth sailing, it has been a life-changing experience that we will always treasure. What a Thanksgiving!

Día de la independencia

Today Costa Rica celebrates its independence, and on Friday, Erin and Lauren had an opportunity to wear their traditional Costa Rican clothes to school—full, swirling skirts and beautiful, lightweight blouses. As they did last year, the kids paraded around the school grounds carrying their paper lanterns, sang the national anthem, and participated in a cultural experience important to this country in which we live.

If you're interested in the history of this day and the celebrations it entails, you can read more about Costa Rica's Independence Day in my blog entry from last year: It's Independence Day

A country carnival

It's not often my girls get to stand on the steps of a giant tractor, but here they are doing just that at the Interstate Fair in West Salem, Wisconsin. It has occured to me during our vacation that Lauren would make an excellent farm kid; she loves animals, playing outside, and isn't averse to getting dirty!


The fair is just a few miles from my parents' house, and we headed over after supper when the temperatures had cooled. We began by traipsing through several barns filled with cows, pigs, horses, chickens, rabbits, and (yes, Lauren was in heaven!) ducks. Many of the animals were judged as 4-H exhibits and had ribbons attached to their stalls and pens. We saw a few spring calves born last March and a bevy of oinkers with names such as Porkchop, Hammy, and even Austin Powers. I love their curly tails, and they all looked so fat and happy.

Dad and I watched the girls whirl about on carnival rides and then we walked around and looked at everything all lit up while the kids indulged in sticky wads of pink and blue cotton candy. None of us had batter-fried cheese curds (though we've certainly had them since arriving in America's Dairyland), but they definitely did smell enticing when I walked by the cheese curd vendor. Mmmmmmm! A sure sign of an authentic Wisconsin country fair!

Double unos for the birthday girl

Happy 11th birthday to Erin!

What girl wouldn't love two celebrations for her birthday? Since Dan couldn't be with us on July 5, we had Erin's "Costa Rica birthday" last week and her real party yesterday.

Erin has asked to have her ears pierced since she first stepped foot in Costa Rica. It's a cultural norm for Tica babies to have earrings since infancy, and Erin was the only girl in her class with naked ears (perhaps in the entire fourth grade!). We decided to surprise her on her CR birthday with earrings.

The only place we found to pierce ears is an upscale jewelry store at the large mall, Multiplaza. When we arrived at the mall, I pretended as though I wanted to look at something in the store for myself (don't I wish—they had Cartier, Tiffany... but I digress. Oh, and it's worth mentioning that high-end shops like this are not open to just walk in—one has to go through a door that is guarded like Ft. Knox.)

I had arranged the surprise with the sales staff the day before, so they had the starter earrings ready, and I waited a minute to give Erin the impression I was actually shopping. I returned to the mall and begged Dan to come see the earrings I liked. I asked Erin which color she thought I should buy and then if maybe she'd try them in her ears. She looked at me quizzically, not understanding, and when I suggested we have her ears pierced, her face turned bright red and her jaw dropped. It was a perfect surprise!

The piercing was uneventful, other than Lauren commenting, "They're going to shoot a hole in her ear with that gun?" and soon Erin was the owner of pretty new earrings. She wore them to dinner at La Fabbrica that night where she enjoyed her own caprese salad and a margherita pizza. It was a great birthday in Ticalandia!

Enter July 5, Erin's actual birthday. The house was decorated with streamers, balloons, and a big Happy Birthday sign. We went for a ride with Grandpa in the convertible, shopped at Barnes & Noble (all those books—in English!), and met up with Grandma for lunch at Panera.

Later, we had a party here at my parents' house. The girls rode up and down the golf course in a cart with Uncle John and Aunt Shannon, did sparklers in the yard and snaps in the driveway, and we all enjoyed grilled brats and cheeseburgers, with cake and ice cream for dessert.

The highlight of Erin's birthday bash was the huge mess of fireworks my brother shot off behind the house. No ordinary fireworks, these were purchased from a guy my dad knows who does fireworks shows. They are some big shots and, unlike one would do in Costa Rica, my dad had to get a permit from the sheriff to shoot them off. This is a family tradition—the third time we've watched our own wild fireworks display—and the best way to end a birthday with a bang!

¡Feliz Cumpleaños, Kid!

This is my country

"My soul is rooted deeply in the soil on which I stand, for these are mine, my own United States!" — Don Raye

I might normally use this blog to detail our family's celebration of the 4th of July. To tell you about Riverfest, held in a spacious park along the muddy Mississippi. To mention noshing on a long-awaited supper of Taco John's soft shells and batter-fried cheese curds. To regale of the girls' flying through the air on bungee cords. And best of all, to note how much I loved spending the holiday with my daughters, parents, brother and sister-in-law (and how I missed my own husband, too!).

But plans changed after the evening's grand finale. As spectacular fireworks burst before my eyes, I found myself—a bit unexpectedly—brushing tears from my cheeks as my heart swelled with an uncontrollable pride for being here in the United States. And that's what I feel led to journal now.

Having lived away from my native land for many months, I can see with more clarity both America's faults and merits. Yet while patriotic music accompanied the thunderous explosions overhead, our nation's shortcomings were far from my mind—because I know without a doubt that America is a most amazing, beautiful, and blessed nation. How fortunate I am to spend July 4th in my lovely America. There is so much I adore about traveling abroad, so much to treasure about our adopted home of Costa Rica—but the United States? I cherish her, I love her, and I am so proud to be an American.

Happy Independence Day!

First communion and the fantastic fiesta

Yesterday was one of the most wonderful, memorable, and fun days we’ve spent here in the valley in our time of living in Costa Rica.

What an honor and blessing that we were invited to a first communion for Lauren’s best friend, Isabel—and the party that followed was incredible!

At 10:30 the communion service began at the Parroquia Inmaculada Concepción de Pozos, Santa Ana—the large orange and yellow church just a mile or so from our house. The weather was gorgeous (no rain, thankfully!) and a gentle breeze blew through the wide sanctuary with high ceilings and huge, gorgeous sprays of fresh, fragrant flowers. (I will miss the flowers from Costa Rica when we leave here!)

The church was filled with proud family members and friends, dressed in their finest for such a special day. There were five kids from Lauren’s class celebrating first communion. The boys dressed in navy suits with white communion bows on their sleeves, but the girls, outfitted in beautiful white gowns with lace and ribbons, looked like tiny brides and clearly outshone everyone in the church.

Erin and Lauren didn’t understand much of the service, though Dan and I quietly explained to them what was happening. Erin said she could pick out bits and pieces of Spanish from things familiar to her in English, such as the Lord’s Prayer and when the priest blessed the bread and wine.

It was really special for our family to participate in this meaningful cultural experience that was so important to our friends.

After church, around noon, we went to a celebration at Isabel’s house. This was hands-down one of the best parties we’ve ever been to. Our friends really know how to throw an incredible fiesta!
As soon as we walked in, Isabel (the parent—she and her daughter share a first name) let us know we’d have plenty of opportunity to practice our Spanish: there was one couple from Chile and everyone else was from Spain. Although the conversation often became so animated and lively that Dan and I had a hard time following, it didn’t matter. We had each other and enjoyed observing and being a part of the day.

At the start of the party, Isabel and Álvaro asked us—in all seriousness—“ You didn’t eat breakfast, did you?” Apparently it is expected that nobody eats before these parties. Dan and I just looked at each other, realizing this was going to be a real food-affair. I would be remiss in not describing the feast, because the food was incredible and just kept coming and coming.

There was tasty, grilled chorizo (sausages a bit smaller than brats) and choripán (a sausage in a small, sliced loaf of bread), mussels, Spanish olives, and nuts. After the chorizo was served we enjoyed wedges of grilled and seasoned provolone on small pieces of bread.

For the main course: grilled chicken, steak, chimichurri (a favorite condiment of mine), pickled onions, salad, and baked potatoes.

Later came paper-thin crepes with strawberries, peaches, and caramel—and three sweet sauces to drizzle on top.

We didn’t imagine there could be more food, but later in the day we were served chocolate-covered strawberries, a tortilla de patatas—a very traditional Spanish dish made of potatoes, onion, egg, and olive oil—and then the best gazpacho I could ever imagine. My friend promised me she’d teach me how to make these. She is an awesome cook!

In addition to the conversation and eating (and eating!), the kids played hide-and-seek, went swimming, ate ice cream and popcorn, and took funny pictures with Isabel’s new camera. Dan and I loved the music which ranged from '70s disco to '80s pop to salsa and merengue.

We danced and sang (including a rendition of a Grease music mix that thoroughly embarrassed Erin—isn’t that a hallmark of good parenting?), and at one point Dan and I watched as four Spaniards twirled, clapped, and stamped to flamenco music—and we clapped too, in appreciation.

Shortly after 7pm we said our goodbyes, reluctant to leave but needing to get our exhausted kids to bed. Admittedly we didn’t stay up much later than the girls, having had such an amazing day. We will reminisce about yesterday many times in our lives, I am sure. We are so grateful to have met this wonderful Spanish family whose company we enjoy so much.

Look who’s eight!

It's just Lauren’s luck that May 1 is a national holiday—Día de los Trabajadores (Labor Day)—here in Costa Rica. Meaning my brand-spankin’-new eight-year-old had a day off from school on her birthday. What a fun twist of fate!

Lauren, Erin, and L's classmate Isabel—her best amiga and partner-in-crime—spent the day together to celebrate, starting with lunch at Wendy’s. (This was the birthday girl’s choice, of course, because what better meal is there than chicken nuggets and fries for a kid turning eight?)

Next stop was Go Bananas, an indoor playground just a couple of kilometers from our house. This drop-the kids-off facility has plenty of space for the girls to run and climb, so I left them to play while I parked myself in a cozy, padded armchair with a drink and a novel outside one of my favorite restaurants, just around the corner from the playground.

Lauren’s teacher stopped by for lunch shortly before I was leaving to pick up the girls. She asked us to come back and say hi, so I told the girls I had a surprise for them as we made our way to the restaurant. Of course Lauren got a big hug from Ms. Fernández, and she and Isabel acted all goofy when they saw their teacher outside of the classroom (yes, teachers are normal people too!), while Erin was just relieved that her teachers were nowhere in sight on vacation day.



Everyone enjoyed homemade birthday cupcakes at our house (we sang two lovely renditions of the birthday song in English and Spanish), and then the girls went swimming so Lauren could try out her new goggles and float.

We were worn out by the end of the day, and everyone got to bed early since the kids still had school on Friday (and I did too, since I was chaperoning a field trip). We missed having Dan here—he’s in Cincinnati for work—but Lauren says her eighth birthday was still just ducky (her word, of course).

As I’m sure I say every year, it’s hard to believe my baby is getting so big! ¡Feliz cumpleaños, Niña!

Coming to America

Happy New Year! After a relatively computer-free two weeks, I’m ready to share the scoop on our first trip back to the United States after moving to Central America.

The flight up was, unfortunately, eventful. As we sat on the runway in San Jose and heard “Is there a doctor on the plane?” we knew the day would be long. The flight crew had to call the paramedics for a passenger in back which caused us to miss our connection in Atlanta. After being in the air from Atlanta for about 30 minutes, we turned around due to “minor electrical problems.” I’m relatively sure things weren’t as minor as they led us to believe, seeing that we circled Atlanta and then saw a plethora of fire engines and ambulances on the runway awaiting our descent.

Anyway, we finally caught yet another flight to Chicago and made it to our hotel (and my parents!) around 10:30. Almost immediately Dan and I headed to the Walgreens nearby to buy knit caps for the girls and plenty of snack food we’ve been missing.

Chicago
The American Girl Place was a jam-packed three floors and incredible. The kids gleefully shopped for Christmas presents, and Lauren even got the new Julie doll from the 1970s. (It’s weird to be old enough to be a historical character!) The AGP café was beautifully decorated—a young girl’s dream restaurant. My dad was so happy to be surrounded by all his girls (and two dolls, too), and Erin and Lauren were in awe of the entire experience.

We did some more shopping, eating (and eating!), and relished walking around a festive Chicago, lit up with Christmas decorations at every turn. And snow! We woke up around six one morning (hard to break that Tico-time habit) and just lay in bed, watching big flakes fall outside our window amidst neighboring skyscrapers.

La Crosse
Speaking of snow…Wisconsin had the fourth highest December snowfall on record—we were thrilled! The girls loved sledding down the hill in my parents’ backyard, especially Lauren, who was out there nearly every day. It was about time my kids discovered what sledding really is about. Lauren set several distance records on the golf course hill and she really flew! She suffered a bad scrape/bruise with swelling on her face from crash in the snow, but she kept going. I went a few times and got some great laughs watching my dad, brother, and husband out there too. They even crossed the golf course at one point and went down the hill on the other side.

One afternoon we went to the Sweet Shop with my parents—an old-fashioned malt shop where everything is homemade. I remember going there as girl with my dad and getting giant caramel suckers and then going to the train station to watch the trains roll in and out. Anyway, the place has been open since 1921 and not much has changed. They sell chocolate-covered cinnamon sticks that are the best. Thankfully they had some in the case the day we went because they sell out very quickly around Christmas, and I had been craving this treat. The man we talked to (who has worked there for 30 years) said they had dipped 14,000 sticks since the beginning of November. You wouldn't believe it in this little bitty shop. So good!

Did I really just write a whole paragraph about the Sweet Shop? I shouldn’t be surprised—my cousin asked Dan and me what we miss most about the US and without hesitation we replied in unison: food.

Marshfield
In Dan’s hometown we spent some nice time with his family (unfortunately missing one of his brothers, but everyone else was there). There was a full house for the delicious Sunday dinner Dan’s mom made—lots of kids, too!

One afternoon we did a little shopping and rode around with Dan’s dad trying desperately to find a pink Favre jersey for me. (My brother-in-law and his girlfriend finally did get one that fits Erin—she loves it and wore it Christmas Day). I’m going to have to order the jersey, but I did get a pink Packers hat and T-shirt for Christmas. Yippee!

Of course we stopped at Taco John’s numerous times on our vacation in both Marshfield and Onalaska (is anyone shocked by this news?) and even brought some home for lunch for Dan’s mom one afternoon.

There was a fantastic snowfall the day after we arrived in Marshfield—a whopping amount, well over a foot. It was so beautiful (though it did knock out the TV reception and we missed watching the Packers game). I volunteered to go outside and dig out the animals in the manger scene on the lawn. It felt great to breathe the winter air and feel a little sting of snow on my legs and face. As much as I’m enjoying the current climate here, I know I’m a northern girl at heart. You can take the girl out of Wisconsin…

Christmas
We were back in La Crosse for Christmas. It was a wonderful, memorable holiday—I saw a lot of family members and got to spend quite a bit of time with my brother and sister-in-law, which really made it even more special. The girls had a super sleepover with their aunt and uncle—pizza at Chuck E Cheese, shopping for a few cherished presents, and staying up too late watching movies.

There is so much else I could blog about our time in La Crosse, but these are probably things more special to me than interesting to anyone else: euchre craziness with Mom and Dad, working on a seemingly impossible puzzle with Dad and my cousin, watching football (and more football!), cooking with my mom, enjoying Friday Night Fish (great Wisconsin tradition), spending Christmas Eve church service with my whole family… it was a wonderful vacation.

Home again
Unfortunately, our flight home was eventful (sounds like the beginning of this blog). We spent eight hours in the Atlanta airport following yet another missed connection. The good news is that we all got first class seats for the four-hour trip back to Costa Rica—first class makes everything so much better, especially on New Year’s Eve. And Lauren got to sit in the cockpit and wear the pilot’s cap!

Finally, we saw lots of fuegos artificiales (fireworks) from the airplane as we descended into CR around 10pm. Dan and I stood in our open doorway on New Year’s Eve (perfect weather!) and saw fireworks in every direction, including directly in front of our house (literally a few feet from our front door). It was a big celebration that lasted for a couple of hours, and as we lay on our bed, exhausted, we enjoyed the soft breeze and listened to the music, parties, and kabooms—and it felt good to be home.

Giving thanks in Costa Rica

There wasn’t any snow, nor was there a Macy’s parade, or even Green Bay football for us on our first Thanksgiving here in Central America. The kids had time off from school, and Dan took vacation days from work, so we decided to forgo the turkey with all the fixings and instead set off on a family adventure: a trip down the Pacific coast to the beach and Manuel Antonio National Park.

Here’s a snapshot of the first day of our memorable vacation, accompanied by a small online photo album, best viewed as a slideshow. (Additional entries about this vacation to follow….)

We began our trip by climbing up from the valley and into the mountains. It was a beautiful morning, and the landscape was incredibly lush and green, dotted with tropical flowers and farms. Included in this variety of interesting vegetation were trees we nicknamed ginger trees, as the trunks looked like giant ginger roots.


We passed through few towns, most notably Cuidad Colón and the picturesque Santiago de Puriscal (where we stopped twice to ask directions, as the roads are not named or marked, and maps are nearly non-existent), and then began a trek on twisting trails through some awesome, mountainous country. I should note, the last time we passed through the mountains to the coast we took a different route—one with much more traffic, lots of buses and mammoth trucks, and too many drop-offs (no guard rails!) on skinny roads for my liking. It’s scary driving along a mountain “highway” where part of the road has washed out and a massive tour bus is barreling down the adjacent lane in your direction. The route we took on this trip, recommended by our friend Paul, was remarkably better.

The highway (two-lane, but paved) is narrow, and commercial traffic is prohibited on the route from Puriscal to Orotina, making the trip much more relaxing and enjoyable. Reasons for this became even more evident when, just before reaching Orotina, we came upon a narrow, one-lane suspension bridge. (The bridges we saw on this trip merit their own blog entry, coming soon—stay tuned for more photos that won’t disappoint.)

Once past Orotina, we stopped for a break at the Rio Tárcoles. We’d been here before—an area rumored to have one of the highest concentrations of crocodiles in the world—and knew we’d see plenty of crocs from our safe vantage point on the bridge spanning the river. Dan got some good photos of these and also saw a cow standing near the water’s edge, which he quickly labeled “target.”

From the river, we continued our drive down the coast until we came to Playa Bejuco (Bejuco Beach), between Jacó and Quepos. Here in this beautiful open coastal town we found the quiet little beach bungalow we’d rented for the trip. We unpacked quickly, had lunch at a nearby restaurant (one of the few in the area), and headed to the huge expanse of nearly deserted beach. (It looks ominously dark in the photos, but it was just a little overcast and nearing nightfall. The sun sets around dinnertime in Costa Rica, year-round.) Dan and I especially enjoyed watching the girls play a made-up game of “Drop Zone” on their “own private island” and seeing little crabs working furiously on the beach and popping in and out of their holes in the sand.

We drove into Parrita for dinner at an Italian restaurant where we all had Thanksgiving pie—pizza pie, of course! We met the owner, a friendly Italian fellow, and enjoyed a bit of conversation with him before heading back to our bungalow (Spanish being the common language between us). The girls slept on an air mattress in the kitchen, while Dan and I fell asleep early in the adjoining bedroom. We knew the following day was to bring exciting new experiences for us all.

This Thanksgiving our family has so much to be thankful for, not the least of which is the gift of opportunity to share our lives together on this incredible adventure of living in Costa Rica. We’re grateful for a God that loves us, family at home who we treasure, friends old and new alike, and blessings too numerous to name.

Knock, knock, knock…Halloween!

Costa Rica has an abundance of far-out freaky legends to scare the pants off little Ticos. Next to these haunting tales passed down through the ages, our gringo-imported Halloween is just a fabulous candy-fest and the perfect excuse to dress up, now enjoyed here in Costa Rica by families in expat-heavy communities.

Our kids were thrilled to continue their lifelong Halloween tradition—it’s the allure of the sugar, of course.

Last Friday we went to Halloween Family Night at school (remember, it’s an American school), to enjoy trick-or-treating, games, and pizza. For many of the CDS kids, this was their first experience with Halloween. This was the case for our neighbors from Argentina, whose children were tickled to don costumes and get sacks of candy just for being cute.

The middle school kids decorated all the classroom doors, and the elementary students—under the guise of witches, princesses, cowboys, and skeletons—wandered the darkened school grounds to collect their goodies. The older kids were very creative with their door decorating and their own costumes, and we saw some teachers dressed up too. Everyone’s favorite principal, Mr. Large, even made an appearance as Shrek.

Once our girls secured their loot, we decided not to wait in the big line for pizza and instead went to our favorite pizza place, La Fabbrica. It was a gorgeous night and we sat in the open-air restaurant and noshed on great food, saw a few other familiar faces from school, and had some good family time together. I’m sure the wait staff wondered why Dan and I showed up for dinner at their restaurant with a world-class surgeon in scrubs and a rambunctious little puppy with floppy brown ears.

Fast forward to Wednesday, a rainy Halloween night! A Tica in our neighborhood passed out flyers to see who wanted to participate in Halloween, and of course we accepted. We hung black and orange balloons outside the house to let everyone know we were open for business. Then while Dan handed out candy, I took the girls from door to door.

After our first house, we met up with another family. As our children approached the next door together, mine called out “trick-or-treat!” while the others shouted out “Halloween!” Whaaaa? What was this? I looked at the other mom and she explained that nobody understands what “trick-or-treat” means, so the little Tico kids just call out “Halloween!”

I had to hold back the laughter, it was so funny. The more I heard these kids yelling “Halloween!” at the doors, the more amused I was. I also had to suppress giggles when one mom commented on what a shame it was to be so cold on Halloween (the temp was about 65 degrees). I told her I’ve seen snow on Halloween, and she was in disbelief. I’m learning that a lot of people I meet here really have no concept of snow and how cold “cold” truly is. But hey, if 65 degrees is cold on Halloween, my family can brave the weather.

We didn’t have as many houses to visit as usual—and the girls didn’t do their “speed trick-or-treating” in a big subdivision with Dan this year, as is tradition—but the kids were very happy with their haul. To their delight, Costa Ricans are more than generous with the amount and type of candy they hand out.

After the trick-or-treating we met up with several other families in our community clubhouse for pizza (yes, more pizza—people love pizza here, I’m telling you). The kids ran around and played games and ate too much candy and too much pizza, while Dan and I had a chance to talk with our neighbors and get a late supper. We were the only Americans there, I might add—kind of funny considering it was a Halloween celebration—but we had a chance to practice our Spanish (always a challenge when I’m talking to the Argentineans!) and find out what’s going on in the neighborhood.

The girls were excited to call Grandma and Grandpa when we got home and tell them about their night. My poor little Lauren puppy’s eyes were drooping as I prompted her to say goodnight and hand me the phone.

On a final note, there was serious bartering going on in our kitchen last night, as Dan was trading gum suckers with the kids for candy he wanted from their stash. Let me tell you, the three of them are some tough customers, and all of Dan’s Halloween candy was hard-earned through real negotiations. I think if it were acceptable for a 6’3” kid to travel from house to house in costume, Dan would do it solely for the chocolate and Skittles.