Road trip to San Jose

We took a trip to Costa Rica's capitol, San Jose last week. It's a long drive (about 5-6 hours) but we needed to get Peter's passport renewed, I had an appointment with a back specialist, and we needed to get our 4 wheel drive fixed. So it was a jam-packed two days! We headed out of Samara equipped with nothing but our credit card, phones, diapers, fruit loops, and an iPad for the boys. I was nervous about going to the US Embassy thinking that it would be really stressful, or that we had forgotten some form or whatever. But it was really fun and went smoothly. 

During our long car ride to the city, Sean and I talked about whether we are glad we came, and about what things are different and difficult about living here. There are lots of great things, but there are many things also that make adjusting to life here frustrating at times. Not knowing the language, not being able to buy food/stuff that I'm used to having, not knowing where to find anything, and just feeling homesick all contribute to me thinking, "Why am I here?" But it's definitely a learning curve being in a new place, and I know it will get easier the longer we are here. We are really glad we came and are very happy to be living in Samara, but we probably won't live here for 2-3 years like we originally thought! Then again, maybe we will, we just don't know yet. It's good for us to just evaluate our decision and weigh the pros and cons. 

Well, once we got to San Jose, we took care of Peter's passport and found a German restaurant for lunch! We had weiss wurst and kartoffel salat :) It's really fun and unexpected to find that there's so much German food around here. 

We went to the Clinica Biblica and met with an orthopedic surgeon. I've had back pain problems since I was about 17, and after having 3 babies it just isn't getting better because my core muscles are just shot. And ever since Elora was born my back hasn't been improving at all. So the Dr. took an x-ray and told me I have a bit of scoliosis and I need to swim a lot, do back exercises and go to physical therapy. Then if it isn't better after 3 months of doing that, we'll have an MRI done.  It made me feel sad to think that my back is in such bad shape, but also helps me be more determined to get stronger. I've got a big ocean to swim in, but it really freaks me out to go swimming in it! So I'm planning on asking the hotel next door if I can pay them a couple bucks to swim laps in their beautiful pool. Hopefully I can strengthen my core muscles enough and won't have to go back for the MRI!

We decided to also have our car fixed while we were out of town, but that meant staying for an extra day. We weren't prepared with anything so we went to Wal-Mart (yay!) and got Sean some contact solution and a few toothbrushes. We went out to eat at Denny's and stayed at the Holiday Inn - all of which made us feel like we were still back in the USA! It was really nice to go to Wal-Mart because usually we can't find things like that here on the beach. 

We had a really fun time staying at the hotel. The kids loved having a warm bath! The typical houses here don't have bath tubs, so that was a treat for them. 

We got our car all fixed up in Grecia and arrived home safely. What a relief to have a car that works well! 

Here are some pics from our San Jose adventure:

 fruit loops and iPad, what more do kids need?

 Sean the race car driver

 Walmart! The prices are in colones - exchange rate $1USD = 500 colones. So if something says 5,000 it costs about $10

 Luckily the hotel had a baby bed. Elora slept like a rock after such a long day. 

 Sleepover! I LOVE to have the whole family in bed and hug and talk. It's one of my most favorite times of the day! Luckily the boys like it too :) 

 Rub-a-dub dub, three kids in a tub. Elora is like a fish - she gets so excited to play in water and she does a great job fending for herself with those two big brothers around. 

 This was our Choo-choo train at the hotel. Our kids are such great little travelers, I'm so thankful that they are so patient with all the traveling we do. They make it really fun. 

We discovered these delicious fruits called "Mamones". They are beautiful and sweet and exciting to eat. We like to call them Mormon-ies, hehe! 

                       

The sunset was beautiful as we crossed the bridge from the main part of the country to the Nicoya Peninsula. What a great trip we had. I'm so thankful for my sweet little kids and my amazing husband. We love to be together and to discover new places and have cool experiences. It was so great to have a potentially stressful road-trip turn out to be so pleasant and fun. 

We miss our family and friends back home! Write us emails, send us messages, Skype with us!