Carter's First Swim Meet by Carter

On Sunday, we woke up early and drove about 1 1/2 hours to Santa Cruz for a 25m Swim Meet. There were 7 or 8 teams competing. I was excited to race. My first race was the 25m butterfly, and I got a second place medal! In my 25m breaststroke I got no medal. In my 100m IM which is butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle I got first place. And in my backstroke I got first place too! In my front crawl I got first and in another race third. It was very sunny and hot and I got a bit of a sunburn. My mom and sisters came to cheer me on and they did not even get to cool off in the pool (too bad!) My dad is one of the swim coaches, he makes us work very hard (hee hee). I'd like to do another one but the same not any different because my next one is in a 50m pool, uh oh!

Jorja's New Bike by Jorja

I love to ride it, I really love it. It looks like a princess bike! It is pink with a picture on the seat and a basket. My dog likes to ride in the basket. I really like my dog. It is a fast bike and I love my "Hello Kitty" water bottle.

One big step for Lindsay!

Yes it is official, Lindsay took her first steps today! Who gets the assist? Carter! After repeating this feat so it could be verified by the rest of the family Lindsay was too tired to show any neighbors or the camera. Don't worry video coming to youtube soon (ha ha)!
How did Lindsay feel about reaching this milestone? No big deal, as climbing onto a chair and then on to the kitchen table is more of a challenge and gets everyone more excited!

Backyard Oasis

Sneak peak at backyard shower and garden. It is masterpiece in progress. Next up is the BBQ which promises to be done in about a month, Tico time!

Boom Boom Boom Boom, Down in Costa Rica!

You may have heard that song on the radio (Pitball), it's one of our favorites (Jorja does a mean rendition). We have made our way back to the jungle! All our neighbors told us there was so many "gusanos" (centipede like things that are always coming in our house) on our porch that they were going to write out "Welcome Back" with them. Luckily our helper came and cleaned the day before our return so we found no unwanted visitors.
It is officially "windy season" which takes the edge of the heat and humidity and makes it quite nice actually (if it wasn't for the dust blowing everywhere). We literally rolled into town after too much Christmas eating in Houston (we may have eaten half a cow each at the Texas BBQ alone!) We were pleasantly surprised to find the roads significantly improved. How you ask? The infamous molasses along with a little grating. Yes, they actually do put some kind of molasses (Aunt Jemima?) on the road which sets up very much like pavement. We thought about tasting the stuff that fell off our car onto the driveway but it looked a little dirty. This is all great until it rains apparently and washes away. So here's hoping for no rain anytime soon as we are enjoying not having our brains jiggled out quite so much.
No Lindsay did not get the gift of walking for Christmas but is getting close. We packed home 4 big bags of "essentials" (toys) and actually fit all of it in our rental car (miracle). We have not got our truck back yet as its extended its vacation in San Jose (getting repaired) but its supposed to come on Monday.
Kids are having fun spending half the day in pajamas and playing with the neighbors. Terry could not help himself and is redesigning the backyard as we were gifted 3 tomato plants (yum!) which required rocks, logs, pots and an outdoor shower to showcase, of course. Don't worry I will post pick once the "vision" is complete.
New Year's resolution: Maybe we will sell our house this year, any takers?