Fireman Surprise

Chloe was invited to a costume/birthday party this month. The invitation said 2:00, so, being a naive Gringa, I arrived at 2:00. The hostess was horrified. She graciously tried to hide this as she scurried about, arranging food and seating. Her poor husband was apparently charged with entertaining me until another guest came, which was half an hour later. The majority of the party-goers came a full 45 minutes late. Is it weird that I felt rude for arriving "on time"? I talked about this with my friend from Belize, and she confirmed that there is a relaxed attitude about time here. She laughed as she told me that she was 4 hours late for her own wedding! But her sister's wedding was even later, she explained, and the starving guests had to eat the luncheon before the bride even arrived.



The front of the church (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) in Turrialba, Costa Rica.



One of the Young Women holding Logan at the ward activity last Saturday.



The soccer/basketball court in front of the church. It is also used as a parking lot on Sundays. Since few people drive to church, it's large enough to accommodate all who need it. Some people walk to church, others drive, some take buses, and a few use Taxis. Our bus leaves on the hour. Since we miss the 12:00, we have to stick around until 1:00. Usually one of the members with a car takes pity on us and gives us a ride home.



Princess Logan, courtesy of Chloe



Shuffling Logan around the ward. Logan's trying to attack this Sister's face. He constantly wants to be gumming/sucking on something, and he leaves big, slimy circles on my shoulders.



Joss sunbathing. We don't see much sun in the rainy season, so the neighbor kids were all outside in bathing suits. I love the bottle of water and xylophone she has stored under the umbrella.



The kids playing at the ward activity on Saturday. The activity was to raise money for the youth to go to camp in January, so we came (an hour late -- because now I know better) and bought lunch, "tickets" to a movie that was shown in the church building, popsicles that my visiting teacher made (she owns an ice cream shop), and some other things. The kids had a blast.





Potty training Tristan has led to a lot of naked time, but I think we're finally on the homestretch. He hasn't had any accidents for 2 days now! He still wears a diaper during his nap and again at night, and he tries to get his daily poop in during those times. He thinks it's gross to poo in the toilet. I should have him change his own messy diaper to give him some perspective.



The kids playing dog-pile on our neighbor Alvaro. It looks like Tonia is getting the worst of it.

Ever since we moved into this apartment, I've wondered what caused the black marks surrounding the switch to our electric, water-heating showerhead. While shooting the breeze with my neighbor Laura the other day, she informed me that, a few months before we moved in, the appliance exploded and caught on fire. The American woman who had pulled the switch ran out of the apartment soaking wet, wearing nothing but a towel, and tried to explain to everyone that her shower was on fire (in English). It was her first day in Costa Rica -- poor thing. The mystery of the black marks in my shower is now solved. Hate to say "I told you so", but I KNEW that thing was dangerous! On the other hand, I'm really grateful for it. It's a love/hate relationship.