Well the sun was finally shining again today, and daddy decided he wanted to give the wood burning grill a go. I think he just needed to get his fire fix and since it was finally too warm to build one inside, he decided it was time to build one outside (your daddy has a thing for collecting firewood and building fires in a very non-pyro type of way). Anyway, lucky us because he sure did cook an awesome dinner! We all played outside while the grill was going and watched the sun go down. Daddy made fish on the grill, baked potato, and broccoli. It was perfect!! You invented a new game of hiding under the hammock and popping out with a big goofy smile. You ran around in the grass, played with the pups and cats, picked some fruits off the trees, and just entertained us with your silliness. After dinner we all shared a bag of animal crackers, shut off all the lights, and went on the deck to look at all the stars in the sky. You chatted up a storm and just snacked on your cookies looking up at the sky. What a fantastic night! XO. Slideshow below (you can see why they call it a cloud forest. Some amazing pics of the clouds and view off our deck).

Here are some pics from Saturday morning here. Every morning when Sosi wakes up she wants her daddy to take her outside and they go pick some clementines and bananas and eat them in the rocking chair. The nugget now has a new love for clementines and will just keep shoving them in her mouth. I think the most her and daddy split was 5 in one sitting. She is typically at 2 per morning and then a banana to wash them down. Chester was just chillin in his little cubby and the other pups were lounging/exploring. Mommy was doing some laundry, sipping her coffee, and of course, taking pics! I just love the mornings here…i wouldn’t mind if they started a bit later (ehem, Sophie), but it is def. nice to be able to go outside and pick your fruits off the trees, watch the animals all play, and sip some nice strong coffee (ehem, Sophie). Pics below 🙂

Today was one of our favorite days here and really all we intended to do was drive into a town known to have a bunch of strawberries. We were told that if we drive towards the Poas Volcano we will pass a bunch of vendors set up on the side of the road selling strawberries and also that there was a great restaurant along the way called Freddo Fresas that we had to eat at. Well, this should have more accurately been described as…if you drive to the Volcano, about 10 minutes before you hit the Volcano, you will see a bunch of strawberry vendors and a great restaurant. Nevertheless, we basically drove up to the Volcano, but we did find Freddo Fresas and a bunch of strawberries!

Sophie slept for about 1/2 hour of the hour car ride and was up just chillin during the rest. The road wasn’t windy and pukey like it was on the way to Arenal Volcano (thank the lord). Right before we left for our travels we stopped at a gas station that was doing some sort of promotion with a bobble head blow up guy and some girls handing out flyers. Sophie was sitting in her car seat looking out the window while they pumped our gas and all of a sudden the bobble head guy started walking around and moving. She grabbed my neck with a hook arm and pulled my head into her lap in sheer terror! For the next half hour she would not let my head off her lap and fell asleep with her head on top of my head. It was the most uncomfortable position (especially through every bump on the darn road) but it is a memory that will stay in my heart forever. It was so sweet to see her be comforted by my head laying in her lap. I am just thankful the bobble guy didnt come up to our window. I kept having the vision that he was going to come to the window and wave at Sophie and my head would be decapitated. Luckily he stayed in far enough distance and we zoomed right out when the gas was done. Ironically Sophie didnt cry. I think she was so frozen in fear that she forgot to cry. Wish i got a pic of bobble head but obviously i was in no position to whip out a camera.

Anyway, on to why this was an amazing day.

1. The ride was smooth, fun, and the drive was pretty. Once Sophie zonked and i got my head back, I snuck up to the front and sat with Will and it was like a little date with my hubby for 1/2 hour.
2. We got free Strawberry shakes at the restaurant and Sophie loved it.
3. There was a beautiful garden across the street and we spent about an hour exploring and roaming through it. Sophie did her ritual spanking of the rock, and ran all around like a little looney.
4. We saw hummingbirds galore, and the look on Sophie’s face when one zoomed right in front of her was enough to pee your pants (see pic of Sophie and I sitting on the bench in album below).
5. We got a bunch of yummy strawberries and Sosi has been chowing on them like crazy.
6. Sosi fell asleep again on the way home and I snuck up in front again and Will and I got a second little date for the ride home! Oh the little things.

We just love seeing Soph tuckered out from a day of fun and exploring. It really just brings us so much happiness to know that she had the most fun filled day and we were part of it. Seeing her excited, exploring, running, giggling, eating, talking, ugh it is just the best reward. I just hope her life is chock full of days like today (minus the gas station bobble head guy), and we will do our very best to make sure it is!

Ah, we all got up today around 7am (not by mommy or daddy’s choice) and the sun was shining so we decided to get some breakfast at Villa Blanca, check out some of their nature trails and then head on over to the Arenal Volcano. I included a slideshow below where you will notice maybe 3 pics of Miss Arenal and they are all taken from behind the windshield of our truck! It took two hours of winding road driving (mommy nearly puked for 1/2 the drive) and when we finally arrived to this glorious volcano it literally started pouring buckets of rain. Sophie fell asleep about 10 minutes before we arrived at the volcano, which means, yes, she was up in her car seat for almost 2 hours and i sat there holding the ipad listening to Yo Gabba Gabba and nearly hurling 1/2 the ride. I would say we’d go back and do it again next time the sun is out, but id be lying. If any of you all decide to go, take a pic or send me a postcard. I dont know what i’d rather do more, drive to the volcano again, or go deep sea fishing…close call. On a happier note, we found a great Israeli restaurant on the way home and had some amazing hummus, nice strong cappuccino, and a big ole cookie to keep the nugget busy for the trek home…yes it was 2 hours back too…ugh this bed feels so good right now. Just realized daddy was downstairs typing an entry recount of the day as well…lol…see blog post below for more detailed account of the day.

Below is a slideshow from Sosi at the supermarket in San Ramon. It is called Maxi Pali and sells everything from eggs to underwear. Yes, eggs, food, toys, underwear, xmas trees, maybe even machetes (it seems everywhere in San Ramon sells machetes). If i saw a guy coming down the street in Chicago with a machete i’d be running for dear life, here in San Ramon…eh, wave hello and keep it moving…lol. Anyway, I digress, below is Sosi in her glory with dolls and sesame street galore. We left with a Murray doll and small push car…i have a feeling Santa may be visiting Maxi Pali in a few weeks.

Well we have been here a week now and things are finally settling in and we’re getting into the swing of it all. Will is out looking at some cars as I type this so hopefully we will have a car within the next day or so. Sophie had her first playdate in San Ramon today and it was so adorable. Our housekeeper, Maritza, brought over her granddaughter, Alexa, who is a month younger than Sophie, and her daughter (not Alexa’s mom-lol), Noella. who is 11 years old. Sophie loved Noella (i am mutilating her name i just know it) and wanted her to carry her everywhere and play. She loved strolling Alexa around in her dolly stroller and they swept the deck together. Maritza made some kick butt Pico de Gallo for us this afternoon and it is now Pico de GONE-O. Sophie, Mommy and daddy took care of that pretty quickly. Daddy and Sophie saw 3 Toucans in the yard this morning so hopefully I spot them tomorrow morning. Charles and Betsy are adapting great and Betsy just loves exploring out back. Well, that is about it for now. I put a slideshow below and will add on to it as the week goes on. We just found out that there is a Walmart Supercenter in San Jose so once we have a car we’ll prob take a trip there and pick up a booster seat for Sophie so we can have a normal dinner. We’ll keep the posts coming. Love you all!

Well after two days of travel we have arrived and finally settled in. Below are some pics from the first couple of days here (mainly today since it was raining the first two days). We went to the Farmers market in town which was absolutely amazing. Sophie ate lychees, and some other weird fruits that Pablo introduced us to. I will have to ask the names again but we brought them home so i will def. take pics. She loved it all. We went to Pablo’s family farm after the market and she just ran around inventing little games like picking up leaves and piling them on a rocking chair, running around the circle, and walking backwards (this is a new talent she likes to practice now).

At the market Sosi was running up and down the aisles yapping away, waving, walking backwards, spinning in circles, and all the other silly things she makes up. She even walked up to Pablo and stuck her hand out for him to hold and walk around with her. It was just so fun to watch her go nutty and smile away. The last few pics are of her and Pablo at the market.

All our little animal friends are in the pics too…and Sophie absolutely adores them. Chester, the German shep. mix, just licks Sophie like crazy and then rolls over belly up and she just spanks his belly and makes her excited silent scream face. Firu is the other pup and he is a little older so he just walks up very calmly and Sophie pats him on the head. It is so fun to watch the puppies play together. Betsy is just now kicking the sleeping pill hangover and she went exploring all around the property today and ran all over. Charles isn’t barking at the dogs anymore and just walks around with the pack, buuut, he is still chasing the cats so they steer clear when he comes out. All in due time.

Last night we ate our first dinner out at a restaurant that is about 3 minutes away (though it took us about 10 min to get to since our car got stuck in the mud trying to pull up the hill). The food was delicious and so inexpensive. Sophie chowed on beans, brocc, cauliflower, rice, and french fries, and then followed a little pup all around the outside of the restaurant. Oh I almost forgot, we have a horse in our yard! Alexis (the gardener, security guard) feeds a horse each morning so Soph got to go see it and pet it. Maritza is our housekeeper (also Alexis’s wife) and she has coffee and breakfast made for us each morning and does all the laundry, cleaning, etc. Eh, guess I could get used to this- lol.

Tomorrow we are off to look for a car. Pablo is going to come along and help us out. Wish us luck. Slideshow below 🙂