Going to Costa Rica for 9 days

Dear Family and Friends-

Today I travel to Costa Rica, a country that I have never traveled to and will be added to my list of countries around the world that I have visited. I am excited, nervous, and slightly afraid. Vince will be at home painting and Sofia will get to hang out with los abuelos and the grandparents. Louie will just sleep on the couch as usual. I hope to get lots of cool pictures to put on the blog and also a little bit of a tan. I will be ziplining above the jungle, swimming at a waterfall, attempting to white water raft, and chaperoning 15 high school girls with the help of a dear friend of mine, Laura (who is a nurse, A PLUS!). We will also be going to an elementary school to visit some local kids and bringing some donations. The trip should be rewarding and like I said before... excited, nervous and slightly afraid. I will be writing in a daily dairy while I'm there and hope to transfer some of my entries onto the blog so you can hear of my adventures. Love you and all and God bless you always. I'll think of you all while I'm screaming as I hang from the trees in the jungles of Costa Rica.

Peace!- Sandra

We put in a pool, sort of....

Well, it's hot and we had the pool in the garage so we decided to play. Louie enjoyed the sun as well, but soon had to be put inside. Too hot for a pug apparantly. Sofia loved to splash and yes... she has sunblock on. Did you notice her new haircut?? We went to get it cut today, and she looks super cute!

Come stay at our Guest Suite

Well, after THREE coats of ROYAL RED...it is finished. I did notice that in the picture there are some rather "light" areas, but after MUCH inspecting the area... it is definitely a glare from the camera. THANK GOD! We hope that this room shows our friends and family that we have dedicated a special suite for our guests to come stay with us after a long drive or short. There is also a TV in this room (on the opposite wall of the red wall) for your enjoyment as well. So, nuestra casa es su casa (that's the plural version of my house...so in other words, our house is your house). And yes, in case you were wondering... that white tiger's name is Hugh.

Meet Holy Owl...

S: He was left behind at our new place and we decided to keep him, but give him some style. He sits in one of the corners of our back porch. Isn't he awesome?

Life lessons..

S: My dad has taught me lots of cool stuff over the years. I always tell people that while my brother was outside playing hockey or soccer with his friends from the neighborhood, I was inside helping my dad fix something in the house. I have helped re-do bathrooms, plumbing, wiring, installation of fans, light fixtures, lamps, dry-wall, and the list goes on. My dad taught me about the different types of tools and all the cool tricks. He even bought me a really cool tool box that "was" for Vince and me.... but I know he meant it for me (Vince is improving A LOT and that's thanks to my dad teaching me stuff and now I can help Vince). Anyway, now that you know the background of where I'm coming from... let's just say that all this cool information just didn't matter tonight. I messed up and I shouldn't have because common sense should have helped me out.

Our kitchen window was driving me crazy, so I called my dad and asked what I should do. He suggested WD-40. Right, I knew that! So, we ran some errands today and happened to end up at the new Menards (which btw, that store is gigantic and really cool). We got the WD-40 and headed home. I came into the house and sprayed the tracks of the window. WOW! What an improvement, the window was going up and down like it was nothing. Then, it hit me. Oh $#!T! Guess what, the window is so smooth that it doesn't stay UP ANYMORE! Gravity just LOVES it. Of course, I called my dad.... he laughed his head off. I did too after hearing him. I guess we all learn the hard way. I will be finding some kind of stick (actually several heights) to put on the window so I can prop it open. Unless any of you have any tips to "fix" it. Well, Sandra-0 WD-40-1.

New House

Since we've moved we have- changed the shower head because barely any water was coming out, added cable to every room, new refrigerator (gracias papi y mami), installed a shut-off valve for the gas line because it was slightly dangerous(Thanks Paul!), new curtains because "someone" took them, and the list goes on. Mostly we are getting used to the new house. The birds are so cool to listen to, I have seen rabbits, chipmunks, racoons, squirrels, and lots of insects. All the sounds are really neat, oh and there's a neighbor playing a pipe flute. Sounds like a track from one of those CD's they sell at Wal-mart.

Oh yeah, did I mention that Vince went through the screen door last night. OOPS! He thought the door was open. He actually didn't go through it... he just knocked it off. No problem, I fixed it...just put the thing back on the tracks. It's been fun. The basement has been zoned, in other words we have designated things to each corner. The "Vince's Junk" corner (where he as all his sports and Simpsons stuff), the "Sandra's Junk" corner (where I have all my arts/crafts and tools, the "Baby Stuff" corner (Sofia's old clothes and toys that she is not using), then there's the Christmas area, the travel area, the laundry area, and the whatever doesn't fit those categories area. Wow. Anyhow, we are all adapting well. I guess we're done moving in, we still have to put pictures up on some walls, paint, and unpack some boxes, but the main stuff is done. Our room will be getting a dresser soon. Mom and Paul are giving us their old one. We will put it to good use! Thanks!!! Anyhow, here is a slide show of our house. I put it to the old TV because it reminded me of the 60's and that's when the house was built. Enjoy!!