Some videos

Here are some short little video clips I've taken on our trip so far:

This was our view on the rain forest aerial tram. The guide and other people in our group are talking about some kind of leaf used in making drugs.


These are worker ants in the rain forest that farm leaves. They use them to make fungus somehow. These are not the same ones as the bullet ants.


This is my favorite - Volcan Poas! You can hear how windy it was!


Finally, one of the waterfalls at La Paz

My favorite day yet!

Today we did a "3 in one" tour and it was amazing. We were picked up right in front of our hotel (which was really appreciated after the craziness yesterday) and we had a wonderful guide for the day. He studied in the States and then taught English for 2 years in Costa Rica before going into tourism for the last 30 years because, of course, there's more money in it than teaching! He was such an excellent guide and he answered so many questions for me. We talked about how Costa Rica doesn't have an army (instead they spend money on their schools and they have the 2nd highest literacy rate in Latin America), their healthcare system, when children learn foreign languages in school, how schools are set up, welfare, unemployment, etc. I loved hearing his perspective on everything and it was extremely informative. Anyway, here's what we did:

Coffee Farm Tour

Our first stop was the Doka Coffee Farm, which actually supplies Starbucks with about 55% of its coffee. We had breakfast there (including coffee, of course!) and then we walked around and saw how the coffee goes from being a seed to coffee in your cup. Basically, they grow the plants, pick the berries (now happens to be harvest time - schools here have their break from December-February for harvesting coffee), peel them and pull out the beans, dry the beans, roast the beans, and grind them up to make coffee. We got to see every one of the steps in that process.

Coffee Berries - the beans are insideWorkers get $2 for every basket this size that they fill.

Poas Volcano

Next, we drove to the Poas Volcano, one of 7 active volcanoes in Costa Rica. (We're going to another one tomorrow.) The guide said that it's almost always cloudy at the top - sometimes you can't even see 5 feet in front of you. Well, once again we got lucky and had perfect weather so we got to see right into the crater. It was amazing! (And windy!)


La Paz Waterfalls and Gardens

Finally, we went to La Paz. It's a really nice park with beautiful waterfalls. First we walked around a butterfly garden, an aviary, a hummingbird garden, and an insect display. After a delicious buffet lunch we saw some frogs and orchids (funny combination, I know) and then we walked down a million steps to see three waterfalls. Fortunately, there was a bus at the bottom to bring us back up. :)

Sarchi

Yesterday we took a bus to the small Costa Rican town of Sarchi. The town is known for its crafts, especially woodworking and the traditional oxcarts.

The bus system in Costa Rica is always an adventure. I've traveled a lot in Mexico and Chile, and both countries have an excellent system. There's one major bus station in each town, and there's a printed schedule and you just buy your ticket at the window. Well, Costa Rica is not like that. In San Jose there seem to be at least 10 bus stations and each one will take you to different cities. So, yesterday we ended up walking around the city of San Jose for an hour and a half trying to find the right station. We found the bus, finally, and it turns out that you just get on and pay instead of buying a ticket. We got really lucky, because there are only a few buses every day that go directly to Sarchi and we happened to get on one of them just 2 minutes before it left.

In Sarchi we explored the central square and had a great lunch at a tiny restaurant on the square. Then we did some shopping, of course! My favorite thing is a wooden puzzle in the shape of a snake, and each piece has a letter of the alphabet. Our nursery theme is animals from around the world, so this is perfect.

On the way back we didn't get quite as lucky with the buses and we had to change buses in another tiny town. I was confused about where to catch the bus back to San Jose, so I asked a shopkeeper for directions. She was so nice and even walked outside with us, across the street, so that she could point out the bus we needed to get on. So, even though things are confusing, the people here are very friendly and helpful.

The rain forest!

Today we went to the rain forest! First, before we even got on the aerial tram that took us through the rain forest, we saw this sloth with her baby. The park had a telescope set up and I took this picture by putting my camera to the telescope - I can't believe it came out! She was actually way up in the tree. She moved around some for us later - she even hung upside down with the baby hanging on to her stomach.

Here is where you get on to the tram. It's basically a ski lift but in nicer cars. It took about an hour and 15 minutes to do the whole loop.

We actually didn't see any animals while we were on the tram except for butterflies and ants. Hunter also claims to have seen a giant lizard. For the most part, we just enjoyed the plants. Here you can see all of the layers of the rain forest. They say it rains almost every day, but it actually didn't rain today. Oh, and the forest was much more quiet than I had imagined. It was extremely peaceful.

A volcano in the distance

This is a bullet ant, and they say that getting bitten by one feels like being shot by a bullet. The pain lasts for 8-10 hours. That's Hunter's little finger showing you how big it is.

A toucan!

A quiet city day

First of all, today is our anniversary! We have been married for 6 years today, and I'm glad that we are in Costa Rica to celebrate!

This morning started out with a wonderful breakfast. We love our hotel - free internet, a delicious breakfast, the character of an old house, and beautiful gardens. Plus, it's only $40/night. The only bad things are that the rooms are small and not very sound proof at all, but it's still very nice.

One of the three tables of food at breakfast

You can eat breakfast in the garden
A hallway in the hotel

We're saving our big adventures for later this week, but we knew we would be tired today so we just planned to spend the day exploring San Jose. We went to the national museum and enjoyed learning some Costa Rican history and exploring the butterfly garden. We both LOVE the plants and the weather here. Also, we did some window shopping for crafts but haven't bought anything yet. We spent a lot of time walking around and exploring the many beautiful parks and plazas.

A view of the city

One of the many parks
The national museum
The butterfly garden in the museum

We made it!

We made it here with no problems and had a pretty uneventful trip. First, we drove to Miami but stopped at an outlet store along the way so I could buy some more maternity pants. Yes, I already need them. Anyway, parking at the airport was kind of a pain, but no big deal. For lunch at the airport I had grilled chicken, rice & beans, and plantains - Hunter gave me a hard time because it's probably the same meal I'll be eating for the next week, but I don't care! It's so good!

We flew on Taca airlines, which I now love. They served hot foot on both flights (including the one hour flight) and showed either a movie or a tv show. We flew through San Salvador, El Salvador, and there were a few interesting things there. First of all, I thought this billboard was nice. Couldn't you see a banner like this greeting people to the US with a picture of Bush or Obama wearing a sash? :)

In El Salvador there were also drug dogs sniffing around. They looked like scruffy dogs that were somebody's pets. There was a fat golden retriever and a fluffy cocker spaniel. Hunter says they looked like they could be easily distracted by beef jerky. We joked that they weren't very intimidating and that the government was probably just pretending to have drug dogs. One did sniff our luggage and I was afraid it was going to start barking since our cat was rolling around on the suitcase this morning, but it was fine. Oh, and there was also a bird flying around in the airport. Poor thing.

Our second flight on to San Jose was pretty short and we got our luggage. The taxi driver was new and he had no idea where our hotel was, even after I gave him directions. I'm not exaggerating that he asked other taxi drivers for directions half a dozen times and looked at my map a couple of times. He was very nice and apologetic though, and he did finally get us here. It reminded me of the time that my sister and I went to Mexico and our taxi driver had to stop and buy a phonecard to call for directions.

Anyway, we really like our hotel. It's an old house and there are lots of tropical plants all over. I can't wait to see them and the courtyard in the daylight. But for now, I am exhausted so we are going to sleep!

Night sickness?

I am up way too early, and it's the baby's fault. :) Last night before going to bed, Hunter and I finished off the apple pie and ice cream from Christmas. Then I made the mistake of taking my vitamins and getting in bed - the pie was completely gone just a few minutes later. (Yes, I did make it to the bathroom.) I teased Hunter and told him that the baby rejected the pie that he made. Really, it's the vitamins. This happened one other time when I ate very soon before taking the vitamins and going to bed, so I guess the rule from now on is no food before bed - not that I do this often anyway. Anyway, I woke up starving at 4:30 and I tried to go back to sleep, but no luck. I'm going to try again now that I've had a little cereal, because we leave for our trip in 4 hours and I'd like to get at least a couple more hours of sleep! Anyway, I thought it was funny (but yes, a little gross) that the baby apparently doesn't like Hunter's delicious apple pie.

We leave tomorrow!

Well, we are mostly packed and ready to go for our week in Costa Rica. I'm very excited! The hotel where we're staying for most of the week is supposed to have wi fi, so I plan to keep my blog updated with our adventures. Tomorrow our goal is simply to make it there safely. Check back in a couple of days for more!

We saw the heartbeat!!!

I had my first ultrasound this morning, and the doctor very quickly found the baby and the heartbeat. The baby measures at 1.5 cm - about the size of a kidney bean. I am so, so relieved! It brought tears to my eyes to see this tiny little baby. Just 32 weeks to go...

My doctor did say that I'm considered at risk this time, and that I can have all the ultrasounds I want. She said to call any time I have questions or I'm concerned. She said 24 weeks will probably be the hardest time for me and that it will be easier once I get to 28 weeks and I feel the baby move regularly.

The picture looks kind of funny because the machine was out of film! I was pretty upset, although I didn't say anything, until the doctor suggested that I use my cell phone to take a picture. She said I can come back next week to get another ultrasound and a picture, but we'll be in Costa Rica. I'll just wait until next time, I think. I go back in 4 weeks.

This is a wonderful Christmas Eve!

So cool!

Stolen ice cream

Tonight Hunter and I decided to indulge and we went to McDonald's to get ice cream. So, we pull up to the window where you get the food and there was one car in front of us. The worker handed that guy his drink and started to hand him a hot fudge sundae, which also happened to be what Hunter ordered. The worker hesitated, and then put the sundae down at the window and walked away. The driver of the car looked inside, and then leaned way out the window - like half of his body was out of the car - and grabbed the sundae. I turned to Hunter and said, "I think that guy just stole your sundae!" Hunter disagreed. Anyway, the worker came back, handed the guy a little bag, and then it was our turn to pull up. The worker looked around next to the window for a second, confused, and then went back and said to his co-workers, "I think that guy just took the sundae." We both started laughing and told the worker what had happened when he came back. Of course they made Hunter another one, but I could tell the worker was pretty mad. It was funny, but also very sad. I asked Hunter if the economy is so bad that people have to steal 99 cent sundaes, but Hunter's theory is that the guy can't afford sundeas because instead he has to buy gas for his gigantic vehicle. I think he just realized when it was too late that a hot fudge sundae was a very good idea.

August 5

I went to the doctor today and found out that my due date is August 5. (I thought it was August 4.) All that happened was I filled out a bunch of paperwork, got a prescription for some blood work (I have had more blood drawn this year than my entire life put together - seriously!), and scheduled an appointment for the first ultrasound. It's going to be on Christmas Eve! I think that will make for an exciting Christmas because that's what made Ada "real" to us last time, and plus my mom will be here to see it. On the other hand, if it goes badly, this will be a terrible Christmas. I'm pretty optimistic, but I can't help but have those thoughts. Anyway, I'm looking forward to Christmas Eve!

Baby names

Before we knew that Ada was a girl, we knew that we liked the name Ada Elizabeth for a girl and we had two names that we really liked for boys. Until yesterday, I had no idea what I would name this baby on the way if it was a girl, but yesterday afternoon I came up with one that I love. It's just a first name though...I still have no idea about a middle name. Of course, if it's a boy, we still have two great names that we would have to choose between.

This post is really just a big tease, of course, because we don't plan to mention any names at all until we know the sex of the baby and we have decided for sure on what to name it. Sorry! :)

I really liked the name Mabel, but Hunter pointed out to me that any names starting with an 'M' sound ridiculous with our last name - too much alliteration. So much for that.

I'll leave you with a few hints though... Both of the boy first names are from the Bible and the middle names are family names. Neither of the first names are uncommon like Japheth, but they're also not super common like John. Also, one middle name is from Hunter's side of the family and one is from my side. The girl name is a form of a girl's name somewhere in our family. (Just like Beth is a form of Elizabeth.)

You can guess away if you want, but I'll never tell! :)

Also, maybe you can help me come up with a good middle name for the girl name. I think what would sound best is a name with two syllables where the accent falls on the second syllable. Marie would work, for example - except for the whole M thing. Any ideas?

An evening with middle schoolers

I help out with my church middle school youth group, and tonight the topic was about trusting God like Mary had to when Gabriel told her she was going to have a baby. Here are some of my favorite bits from the conversation tonight. The kids' quotes are in italics.

"Mary was HOW OLD???"
"Why did they get married so young?"
"Well, people didn't live as long then. They might only live to be 30 or 40 years old so they started having kids at an earlier age."
"But she had a baby when she was 12 or 13?!?" (One kid in particular could not get over this.)
"But wasn't Noah like 300 years old? Why did that change and people don't live that long anymore?"

"So did Joseph adopt Jesus?"
"Joseph was his stepdad!"

"So if the Holy Spirit got Mary pregnant, how did it get in her?"
The same kid, answering her own question a minute later: "Maybe God made her that way when she was a baby, so that when she turned 13 she would become pregnant."

"It's important to notice here that Jesus came from the line of David."
"So was David his grandfather?"
"Was Jacob David's dad?"
"Wait, does Jesus have any blood relatives alive today?"
"Isn't that what the Da Vinci Code is about?"
"No, not exactly. It says that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and they had kids."
"Mary Magdalene was a prostitute!"
"What's a prostitute?"

And that's where I'll end!

Appointments

I made my first appointment today. I go in on the 10th, but it will just be paperwork with the nurse. My guess is that I will meet with the doctor and have the first ultrasound a week or two after that - just in time for Christmas!