The first 18 hours....

Zach and I were already running on empty the night before last when we left for the airport. We'd spent most of the previous two days packing, running last minute errands, figuring out money etc....Our good friend, Bryan drove our family to the airport at 10:00pm, the car barely fit everything, boxes and bags stuffed under our feet. We immediately got our first "taste" of uncertainty, when Frontier airlines told us they needed "proof" of our plans to leave Costa Rica within 90 days. We have planned to travel to Nicaragua, but didn't have "proof"...with literally minutes left to check in before closing, we purchased refundable tickets from Jet Blue traveling to Orlando in October...:). $4000 later, we were good to go, but it had us all unraveled for a minute. Of course, first thing this morning, we sought the refund. Once everyone was cozily boarded, the flight was easy, except for one small piece of the puzzle for me...sleep. I had purchased a couple of old, crusty car seats from a thrift store the day we left, hoping the boys would just recline and sleep, and even though it was more stuff to carry, it was worth it. Owen and Jed didn't budge the entire flight, Ethan was comfortably reclined on me, and Kaylee, Tia and Zach were dozing away, neck pillows doing the job. My legs were the only thing asleep on me. I seemed the wrong height for the neck pillow so when it butted up against the awesome headrest it just didn't cut it. I tossed it to the side shortly after trying to fall asleep. However, something was peaceful about just looking around and seeing all my little people sound asleep and looking at their adorable little profiles. I probably got a total of one hour of sleep, but said a little prayer that it would suffice.

In the morning, arriving in San Jose at 5:30, we received a warm welcome. We were quickly helped to find a hotel, and a shuttle picked us up a short while later. The "hotel" is privately owned by a local, and is more of a small apartment, which has been a blessing because we have two small bedrooms, and a separate little kitchen. Zach went to three local markets just to gather enough for breakfast (at 6am..not much was open), and scrounged up bread, eggs, and juice for us. We regrouped, and played in the courtyard for a bit. Kids watched TV, which I actually didn't mind since it's all in Spanish:)..... and Zach and I worked on narrowing down some choices for a car. I took the kiddos across the street and we walked through a cemetery. One of the groundskeepers approached us and I had my first spanish conversation. He appartently understood what I was saying, but then he would answer and go on and on, and I didn't understand a thing (well, a liitle). I must have said "perdon" a dozen times. I loved it though, because I felt uninhibited....a "free" conversation so to speak. I wasn't anxious because I needed something and couldn't get my point across, or nervous because the person to whom I was speaking was being impatient and what not.....this Senor was kind, patient, and spoke slowly with genuine interest. :)

By lunch time, we were all anxious to get out a bit, so the owner's wife drove the kids and me to a beautiful, fun park in the middle of the city. We walked to McDonalds, desperate for something to eat. My second spanish conversation, but luckily I just had to read from the menu.....People would look at us walking down the street, and I think at one point an entire bus of people was staring at us. But everyone has been nothing but kind and helpful. The owner of the hotel is driving Zach around to look at cars, and we are hoping to have that squared away by tomorrow and make the drive to Nicoya....if all goes well. We are back at the hotel now, starting to figure out dinner plans (it's amazing to realize how I need to think about food, especially with the kids, and I just enjoyed a great nap, while all the kids napped, and I even got some quiet time. We also experienced our first Costa Rican rain....it actually woke me up from my nap, coming down on the tin roofs. It confirmed our thoughts that we definitely need a 4 wheel drive, especially since many roads in Nicoya are dirt (or mud).

So I've painted a picture for you, but it wouldn't be complete without letting you know that yes, we are still a traveling family of 7, with 5 small kids who are tired and hungry...it's has been a long and whiny trip...and we are not there yet. We are all trying to be patient, and not wish this time to be past, but we will be grateful to get to the farm and let the kids run and swim. A friend of mine sent a text this morning that read, "Does your world feel upside down yet?".... that pretty much sums it up! Write more later.....