Enough About Weather Already!

So, all you readers out there...are you screaming for something...anything, but weather? So, you may have guessed it (due to my absence here) that I have accepted the Project Management position at the Monteverde Friends School to head up the new building project. It is keeping me extremely busy so Mike has been 'manning' the posting-helm here on our blog. We have had quite a couple of weeks with constant rain and several earthquakes, so we are thankful for his enthusiasm and interest as he writes so passionately about....well, weather!

Tomorrow brings the last day of school for MFS and Mike is ready (like most of the teachers, I imagine) to call it a year and start summer vacation. He closes his year on a good note and will bring all his new learnings forward into next year. Today was an all-day cleaning day at the school and boy did I see lots of busy hands, kids on ladders, spray bottles in hand! Tomorrow the day closes with an assembly which the boys and I will attend. Michael and John's last day of Pre-Kinder was Friday so they are enjoying their 'freedom'...more time for climbing trees and hiking. We had a playmate of theirs (Salimito, Kattya's son) over; they had great fun. Kattya thanked us with loads of bananas from their farm. We passed on several pieces of clothing to little Salimito as well..he thanked us with about 1/2 dozen quail eggs, also from their farm, which the boys boiled for breakfast this past weekend. YUM!

We are planning a campfire at the house on Thursday to bid our friends who will be returning state-side safe travels and to have sort of a 'last hurrah'. We hope the weather will hold and that we can pull it off...plenty of marshmallows and campfire bread on a stick for everyone.

Two weekends ago we participated in a pot-luck lunch with John and Michael's Kinder teachers and class. Parents of one of the kinder kids live across from the school and hosted the event - they have a lovely, expansive place with a great back-yard which was the perfect setting for a pick-up soccer game, chatting, hula-hooping, etc. Mike got some great soccer tips from some of the dads and older boys and by the end of the day, looked like he was getting the hang of it. Marisela and Paco are lovely people and gracious hosts.

Veronica hosted a great celebration - she had everyone over who helped with the Pet Festival, over for a yummy lunch the other Sunday. It was a great time, tons of kids, great food and a beautiful painting that Elizabeth presented as a 'thank you' to Veronica (our fearless leader). Elizabeth is quite a talented artist and just 'whipped' this painting up in no time...you are one talented lady!

We've also had several dinners (of the 'catch as catch can' nature) with Rachel and Maria (they'll be returning to the Phili area this Saturday). Maria is 10? - the boys LOVE her so she will be dearly missed. Here they are all dressed up in their finest masks...Spiderman and Batman.

Most days are spent sharing at least a little time with O'deila (Adrienne and John's little girl). Here they are dancing away in the kitchen.


I broke down and got on antibiotics this past Saturday as 7 weeks is too long to be fighting a sinus infection. Although the garlic helped, whatever I had was still hanging around. 4 days down....3 more to go. Lots of trouble with my allergies this week - toughest time I can remember since I was a young kid. You know when your eyes are so itchy, you can't get your fingers deep enough in to itch...yep, that kind of itch.

We enjoyed a nice Saturday evening with Moira and Ward (family from the states who 7 years ago only intended to visit for a semester...and now have just completed construction on their new home). -They invited several families over to share dinner and to see their new house. Moira and Ward are great people and are so busy volunteering their time at the school. They have a lovely piece of property on the Stuckey farm and have built a warm and inviting home. The boys had a great time running around with the other kids and mom and dad enjoyed some adult time.

The new building project has me busy, busy, busy, worked all day Sunday as Mike took the kids and did not knock off until midnight...trying to assemble the team, draft project documentation before I head state-side on the 17th as I will not be working while back in Chicago. The project will be exciting and will give me an opportunity to connect further with those in the community.

We'll be starting to pack up next week and do some cleaning up at the house before we leave. The assistant director and her family will be living here for a couple of weeks while we're gone as they need to vacate their house for some time this summer...a good solution but suppose I should rid the house of the silk curtains that have 'grown' over several months. By that I mean, thanks to our friends, the spiders...put it this way, I'll need a tall broom.

Finally, last night as I worked on the computer and Mike lay reading in bed, we felt another earthquake, this one made me nauseous - we looked at each other as the straps on our backpack began to sway back and forth from the hook on the wall. 6.1 off the coast of Puntarenas - never dull...this life here in Monteverde!

Can't wait to see friends and family - here we come.

Oh, don't let me forget to give a mention to the little wren that we freed from the boys room -quick hands those boys!
Peace,
Sally