My First Fight to the Death...

O.K., so it wasn't that dramatic! Troy found a scorpion in his clothes bin yesterday. It took awhile for him to convince Paige and Dallin to believe him. When they finally did, boy did they come running to me. I grabbed the jeans that it was on and carried it outside. Boy are scorpions fast!!!! As soon as it hit the ground it was running straight for my bare toes with such speed, I kept brushing it back away and it would come straight for me. Eventually I was able to get one of the kids to throw me a shoe. It took quite a few hits to get it to leave it's earthly "bug" body. I scooted it into the bushes next to us. Then it was like animal kingdom. The ants found it in seconds and started taking it apart. That was scarier than the scorpion coming at me with a vengance! Within a few minutes it was nothing but claws and a tail. Wow!

My New Grocery Store...

This is the farmers market. It’s open every Friday and it’s where I get our produce. They do have three grocery stores here but you will pay so much more and it’s not as fresh and costs so much more. Anything that isn’t grown in Costa Rica is very expensive because of the import tax. Apples were over $3.00 per pound. Ouch. So we have replaced apples with mangoes. They are everywhere. In fact we could survive on the fruit here. All we would need to do is get one of our munchkins to climb a tree and throw down the fruit. It’s a living “free” grocery store around here.
Notice the two women behind me. The both have their hair pulled up in to a bun. It is so humid here it’s impossible to have your hair styled. Notice how crazy mine is? It was done in the morning but a few hours later, it looks like this. Wes’ sister has a cute short cut that pokes out everywhere. It looks very fashionable, however I just don’t have the cheekbones to do it. My friend Louann would do just fine here in the hair department.
I have to mention my good friend Christine who graduated from BYU last week with her Bachelors degree. Way to go Christine!!!!!!! I’m so proud of you!


Oh, did I mention my maid starts Friday?

This isn't Guava...

We thought we would show you what guava looks like. Then I realized that even though the vendor told me this was guava, it isn't! What ever it is, it comes in a long, flat, hard skin. You crack it open and then open it like you would a string bean. The fruit looks like a wet rectangular piece of cotton but is pretty juicy and sweet. Inside is a gorgeous brown smooth seed. They look like a designer stone you would fill a glass jar with to get that Zen look. (Cindy I would call the seed a definite chocking hazard.) It’s the perfect size to get lodged in your throat. It was quite the treat. Costa Rica has some crazy looking fruit here. We will be posting more pics later.

O.K. I figured out that it's "Guaba" not guava.

We Have Arrived!!!

Hola friends and family! We are here. I’m sure you thought we fell off the face of the earth, but lo and behold we didn’t. We flew into Costa Rica Wednesday afternoon and drove to our destination (2 more hours). With layovers and such, it took us almost 24 hours of traveling to get here. Landon was a dream on the airplanes. He slept the entire time. I am so lucky!
When we got off the airplane in Florida Aiden mentioned he had a surprise for me. He opened his pocket to reveal Wes’ pocketknife. He exclaimed with the sweetest little expression, “Here mom, this is because I love you!” I can’t believe that made it through the security at LAX! It was deposited into the trash as soon as Aiden wasn’t looking. Whew!
We are staying in a, well let’s just say a realtor would describe it as cozy with an open floor plan. It’s a one bedroom with a storage room. Now before you think I’m crazier than you already think I am, both the storage room and the bedroom are huge! We have 2 queen beds and 1 twin in the bedroom. All the kids are sleeping in there. Wes and I have the storage room. The kitchen and living room are one in the same and it’s a pretty big space. The house we are going to live in won’t be ready for another 3 weeks. It has been much easier to keep this place clean. That has been a wonderful benefit.
We went to church on Sunday, well half of us anyway. Aiden got sick right before we were going to leave. Wes, Paige and Landon stayed home. Troy, Dallin and I headed to the chapel. It was about 45 minutes away. Since we don’t have our own vehicle yet, we rode with a family that has a large bus/van. There are two families that are doing the same thing we are. One family has 3 kids the other 2. The family with 3 kids has a daughter 9 (cute as can be and speaks fluent Spanish), a daughter 6 and a son 3. They have been down here for 2 years. The other family is from Nebraska. The have a cute little 2 year old boy and a 1 year old chubby faced little girl. Sacrament meeting was a little difficult since we didn’t understand a word. That isn’t true I understood “sacrifice”, “God”, “Jesus” and “testimony” but with a 1-½ hour sacrament meeting, it was long, even for me. The primary will have doubled with our young ones attending. I can see how Sunday will be a day of service like it’s never been before.
This move has been wonderful so far. The kids are having a great time and love the country! It is just beautiful, humid, but beautiful. We love you all.

Less than 24 hours...

Here it is, the day of our departure. Wes is still at our home getting last minute things done. (breathe breathe) We visited with some wonderful friends for FHE at the park last might. That was such a treat!!!
So here is our situation. We need to show proof that we are leaving the country in 3 months and the bus we are going to use won't sell tickets to us over the phone/internet. Our first experience with the slower life of Costa Rica. We won't be getting on the plane tonight unless we get a hold of his sister and she can work some magic on her end. As of late, I can't reach her. I love this last minute stress.
The kids are exhausted as are we. But we all are in good spirits. Wish us luck!!! I don't think I can wait another week to leave.
Did you know today is Earth day????

About Two Weeks Left!!!!

Aughhhhhh! Can I make it? Breathe Shawna, just breathe.
I just finished reading a wonderful blog about the insects, snakes and venimus creatures in the area we will be living. Compiled with the stress I feel right now to relocate my family of 7 out of the country in 16 days, I'm about to change my mind. {Did I just write that outload???} I will remind myself in the morning that this is a dream my sweetheart and I have and it will all work out. Everything is better in the morning, right???

This is called a Hercules Beetle. They are huge and make great pets.
I have to remember Hercules Beetle good. Ants o.k. Scorpions won't kill. Caterpillars very bad! Snakes, just stay away from them!!

They're Here...

Our passports arrived! Yeah! The kids were thrilled to hold such an important document that held their picture.
Our government at work, they came in under 3 weeks. Considering the 4-6 week time frame they were supposed to arrive, I'm pretty stoked.
It already looks like Costa Rica here. We live on a couple of acres in Riverside and the reptiles are arriving. Wes finally captured the male snake lizard he had been after since we moved here. Arrh, arrh, arrh for him. Then during our 4th garage sale {where did I get all this stuff!} he found a huge snake! Oh and did I mention the little frog we found?
Three weeks left.

Our New Digs...

O.K. 4 weeks left. I bet your wondering how much I’ve got done. Well, nothing close to what I thought I’d have done by now. That’s o.k. It will all work out.
We will be having our 4th and hopefully final garage sale this Saturday.
Troy had just realized he will be wearing a uniform to school and that has just about blown the trip for him.
I thought I’d post a pic of the house we will be staying in, at least for the first month. If we decide to stay longer than 3 months we will rent something bigger.
Have a good one!

Just When I think I've done well as a mom...

I see this! When we were in the mountains Aiden didn't tell us he had to use the facilities. I just turned around and saw this. Wonderful!!! :) Boys do have it easier though.

Happy Birthday to ME...

For my birthday I wanted to re-create my favorite day in the past. We took the kids to Forest Falls up in the mountains here. We had a picnic in 80 degree weather amidst the snow. It was beautiful and has even replaced my then favorite day with a new one. The kids just love being outside and exploring. When does that leave us????
The best thing about being a parent is finding the characteristics of a child again; exploring, imagination and creative play. I know the kids are going to love exploring Costa Rica!

More Things to Do

5 weeks left.
I called the school to see about getting the actual textbooks that the kids are using this year. I also washed the little guy’s car seats. They were pretty dirty.
Landon has a new trick. When we go through a drive-thru, he says, “catch mom, catch!” Meaning throw me some food. I will admit to throwing things like burritos, hamburgers and chicken nuggets, (one at a time) all the way to the back of my SUV. Thank goodness I've got great aim. Needless to say, you can tell that I do this!!!
The car seats are sparkling now, the car is cleaned out and on it’s way to being sparkling itself. “Now Shawna, don’t feed the kids in the car! Just don’t do it!!! No matter how loud they get!” I keep telling myself this. :)

It's official! We are going!

Last Tuesday we took the older 4 kids in and did their passport paperwork. Besides me bringing the wrong birth certificates (I grabbed the color copies) and having to head home to get them, everything went well! Wes didn't even complain too much. What a good guy!
I did the kid’s pictures for their passports early in the morning hence the reason they were late Tuesday. Oh, well.
They aren’t the best pictures of my little ones. Aiden looks like I hit him over the head then snapped his picture. What a funny look!
This Tuesday it will be five weeks and counting. 4, 3, 2, you get the picture! There is so much to do before we leave. Can I make it?
Some things to get done before we leave:
Figure out the home schooling/public school situation
Is Wes driving the car there (2 week drive) or are we paying 80% tax to ship it? Hummmm?
What cooking supplies do I absolutely need? Can I convince Wes I need the bread maker?
How can I pack 2 large Tonka trucks??
This house has to be packed and ready. Augh!!!
What storage unit should I use? (Find the cheapest!)
Get my blog started on dail-up, aughhhhhh. Taking forever.

Good thing I work well under pressure.