Nuestra Casa

We finally got to officially move in to our new home on Saturday. It's a really great house and we're so happy with it. It's taken some exploring and figuring out, but I think we're finding a place for everything and know what we need to get or not mess with. The house has a lot of storage and a lot of space but I don't think it's been updated at all since the early 70's. Everything is very clean though which makes it all good. We are maybe a 2 minute walk to the back gate of our language school and across the street from the park where everyone hangs out. It's the perfect spot. I love it. I'll include some "before" pictures of the house and hopefully the "after" pictures will look a little better.

We have taken a lot of taxis, ridden a bus, been to the mall, and visited a lot of stores already. The Gaults and the Kampers have been very helpful to make our transition a smooth one. It has meant the world to us. We did go to a supermarket, Walmart and Pricesmart (just like Costco). Groceries are more expensive here so that will take some getting used to and figuring out what is worth it and what isn't. And since we don't have a car, you can't just run out and get something. Everything has to be very planned and thought through. We're doing okay with it now, but I can see where that can get overwhelming once we're in school. I'm so glad we moved in a few weeks early so we can get settled in before classes start.

Okay, on to some fun pictures:

our blue house

complete with a blue kitchen!

the cool backyard patio with guava tree...even has a grilling area

more of backyard patio

an old jeep has been sitting in this garage forever. Will was meant to be around jeeps I guess. The kids use it as their playhouse and say no grownups are allowed. it's really cool. I bet Richard Cave could have this jeep up and running in no time!

gates on the front of the house...every house has locked gates across the front to keep people from stealing everything out of your yard/car/house/person

master bathroom with a bidet...we actually have bathtubs which is rare

upstairs landing with office area and random indoor planters

kids room...but we changed it around

master bedroom, but we changed this around too

the kids are walking around everywhere holding hands and talking about costa rica and fun stuff in their day...it's really sweet

yes that is sunblock for $17

walked up to the corner store and kids found $2 umbrellas with whistles

on them. Emma asked if that's in case someone is following her...probably

went with the Kampers to Walmart and it has a huge food court in it...so we ate at McDonalds of course...the ladies man pictured with more winking

and Emma got a "cajita feliz" (happy meal) which came with a "pitufo" (smurf)

first night in their beds in their new home...they were so happy but did have trouble getting to sleep. they've been in different beds every few nights for about a month so I know they are struggling with this

some random thoughts:

• we've been doing really well and loving costa rica
• our legs are sore every night...we walk everywhere
• costa ricans are very nice and polite and very hard workers
• their money is in colones...about 500 colones = $1
• you can't flush toilet paper here
• we have a gas powered dryer (I have never heard of that)
• we have hot water tanks at our house (no widowmaker showers...whew)
• there are no dish washers so emma and i washed dishes together tonight
• our house kind of reminds me of a haunted house at night
• we've been here a week and it hasn't rained yet
• the temperature is perfect...they say it's humid in the mornings, but they have no idea what humid can be
• we're already making lots of connections with future ministry potential