Costa Rica Day 1

 

We have arrived in Costa Rica!!  The flights were great (Mel got to fly first class so it was extra great for me!) and we arrived in beautiful, green San Jose, Costa Rica.  We checked in to our beautiful old hotel and Bryce and I were lucky enough to score the only room in our group with AC and a nice big bed!  Pretty sweet!  We have had time today to walk freely around San Jose.  Enjoyed our first meal – chicken, plantains, rice, black beans, potatoes and something with a yummy sauce, and chicken empanadas – oh and oat horchata.  Pretty yummy!  Went in the National Cathedral (cool old confession booths!), browsed through some authentic market places, enjoyed a Costa Rican pastry.  Been great.  We are meeting for dinner with the group here in about an hour.  Been a light rain since we got here.  Surprised by the US influence here – seen a lot of fast food chains.  Thought the line out on the street for McDonalds was a little crazy!

What HAVE we Been up To??

So, I know we have been a little MIA lately, and to show you that,  no, we haven't been just sitting around picking our noses!  Here are a couple of pics from the last month or two showing that we really have been busy!

  The kids have loved their homeschool PE class.  Caleb's teachers really gave them a workout each time!  James and Lucy had a great time playing new games each time!

 Lucy and Caleb climbing the rock wall

 Yes, plenty of licking of spoons . . .

 Art show,

Reading,

 Playing games,

 Ping Pong!!

 Finding shark teeth and playing at the park with friends,

 Painting projects are always happening,

 And a little whining at times,

 History Club parties,

 this one covered South America and Mexican independence from Spain (notice the pinatas)

 running around outside (the weather has been fabulous!),

 and lots of imagination has been happening. 

We are busy.  I am ready for a vacation . . .

Check out Our New Hot Ride!

 Goodbye old van . . .

Hello new one.  Pretty exciting, I know.

Spring Pictures

Surprise, Mom, I'm blogging!! This one is for you!

Homeschool Adventures!

Wow! I can't believe we have been homeschooling for over 3-months now! We have had MANY adventures so far! Here are pictures of just a few . . .

We visited the Pine Knoll's Shore Aquarium on Homeschooler day in September. They had amazing aquatic animals, our favorites being the sharks and the jellyfish. We also got to visit the touch tanks and held crabs, sting rays, starfish and eels.

We were doing an ocean study unit and made these lunch bag whales as one of our crafts.

We have a history club that meets once a month to discuss what we've learned in history. We are studying ancient times. We have learned all about Africa, Russia, the Middle East and the Orient. We do craft projects, games (like Sumo wrestling and guerilla warfare games!), and share reports on what we've learned.

This was so cool! We went exploring in a creek bed and found TONS of fossilized shark teeth! I have never seen anything like it! The kids found all sorts of stuff from old sea animal fossils and bone and really cool rocks as well as the teeth.

We gathered acorns at a park one afternoon and brought them home to paint and made little jack-o-lanterns out of them. very cute.

We have plenty of time for snacks. Here is a snack that Caleb invented on his own. He says its ALMOST all healthy stuff (except for the candy corns!)

This snack is not as healthy! Yummy ghost sugar cookies!