My first niece!

Charlotte Cecilia Ververa - my neice. 7 pounds 8 ounces. Way to go Meagan and Mario! She's perfect.

(Photo by Sari) Logan's first publicized smile. It must be fourth-child-syndrome, because he's been smiling for months now and Aunt Sari was the first to record his toothless grin. I need to get the camera out more or face an angry teenager years from now. But just look at that little face! Hard to imagine him as an angry anything.

Sari in the middle of Turrialba. This is the only intersection in town that has a crosswalk, and the two major bus stops are on either side of the street. Here, the pedestrian signal just turns into a green circle when it's our turn to cross. When Sari and I visited Cartago, a more populous city with anarchist drivers, the cross walk signal judiciously depicted a running man when we had the right of way. We ran for our lives. (I like the woman in blue in this picture - she looks posed.)

(Photo by Sari) Ken and Tropical Barbi. Ok, ok. It's really just me and Landon at CATIE. Sari scoped campus out upon her arrival and decided exactly where she wanted to do family photos. More of her brilliant work will follow.

Sari in the produce market with Logan. About ever week, I walk the blocks of the market asking around for the best prices (they change all the time). My usual purchases are bananas, plantains, broccoli, tomillo (herb), cilantro, tomatoes, lettuce, and pineapple. I buy potatoes, chayote (tropical squash), and onions at the store.

(Photo by Sari) Joneses in front of the Lagocito on CATIE Campus. Sari made me kick another family off of the bench so we could take our photo (she's has a passion for her art). Fortunately, they (like almost everyone else in Costa Rica) were very friendly and enjoyed practicing their English with us.

(Photo by Sari) This is my favorite family photo because everyone is looking in the same direction. Even Logan! I wonder what face Sari was making.

Here's a typical picture of me shopping (described first to my friend Whitni): Logan strapped to my chest, me dragging a rolling backpack behind me, filled with 25 pounds of beans and rice (and some other stuff), bags hooked on both arms, trying to run a kilometer uphill to the bustop with only 6 minutes to do it in or I have to wait an hour for the next bus. And it's raining. And the roads are bumpy and gravelly so the backpack keeps having issues. And Logan's getting shaken baby syndrome because I'm jogging and his head is flopping in the rain.

After about a month of this, I smartened up. It only costs $3 to get a portador (fake Taxi - they're not licensed) to drive me from the store to CATIE. So now, twice a month, I go crazy in the supermarket and get a ride home. It's made life much more pleasant, and has preserved Logan's chance for a normal I.Q.