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The end of our first week!

Friday, August 17th, 2007

Well, it´s been a eventful first week. First it was an earthquake and then the other day it was a Tsunami warning, although the Tsunami warning wasn´t all that bad. Rick was pretty sure that the house we are staying at was up enough of a hill, that we did not evacuate. As it turned out the alert was cancelled about 9:30 PM.

Spanish lessons are going great, I can´t believe how much we are learning already. Everyone is doing fine, however Luke was really homesick the other day and missing Pete. As for the rest of us, so far so good. Bye for now, Claudette

Posted in 2007-08 Costa Rica | 3 Comments »

Our First Day and Earthquake?

Monday, August 13th, 2007

Written: Saturday, August 11, 2007

We have been in Quepos for just over 24 hours. We arrived yesterday afternoon during a severe thunderstorm with torrential rain. We now have to start our lists. First on the list will be “Survived an Earthquake”. It was tonite at 7:45 PM. I was laying on the bed in our room reading when the bed began to move from side to side so very slightly. At first I thought maybe a big truck was driving by but the more I thought of it I realized that that was impossible and slowly I realized that it was an actual earthquake. I stepped through the open window into the courtyard as everyone else in the hose was also exitting into the courtyard. Luke and Alex said they didn’t really feel it as they were playing with the dogs. Annia (the 26 year old daughter) figured that it was probably about a 4 on the Richter Scale. Oh, well! I’m sure it’s just the first of many first for the year. However I must say that our host family is great, and Maricela is a fantastic cook even Luke is liking the food. Yesterday was fish and today was chicken, spectacular! Tomorrow we are off to the beach at Manuel Antonio.

Posted in 2007-08 Costa Rica | 2 Comments »

25 Hours of Travelling

Monday, August 13th, 2007

Written: Friday, August 10, 2007
 Well we have now completed our first 3 flight segments and 1 bus ride. We left Edmonton at 2:45, flying to Vancouver, Los Angeles and finally arriving in San Jose at 9:00 AM. Then we caught a bus for the final leg to Quepos, arriving at 3:45 MST.

  

Posted in 2007-08 Costa Rica | Comments Closed

Our 15th Anniversary and last day in Canada!

Monday, August 13th, 2007

Written: Wednesday, August 8, 2007
 

I was originally planning to take Rick out for supper on our anniversay however yesterday I booked us pedicures and we went out for lunch downtown instead.  It was a great time. Well the week has flown by, we had a chance to visit most of our family “new and old”. My 15 day old nephew, Dylan, was just a sweetheart.  I guess it’s time to finish packing.

 

To answer the question everyone has been asking  , what cloths do you pack for one year? 1 pr of pants, 1 pr of capri’s, 1 skirt, 2 prs. of shorts. 3 short sleeved t-shirts, 2 long sleeved shirts, 2 pr of socks, and 4 pr of underwear, and I’ve actually packed more than the kids.

Posted in 2007-07 Pre-Trip | Comments Closed

Leaving Day…

Monday, August 13th, 2007

Written: Tuesday, July 31, 2007 

 

Well miraculously I am satisfied with how clean we are leaving our house. I didn’t think it would be possible in just a day and a half but it looks clean. We were scheduled to leave at noon but we were still sweeping out the garage and vacuuming as our friends were stopping in to wish us a final goodbye at 1. However we were done and on the road by 2, which knowing us, is almost on time.

 

We drove the car to Hay River, as we sold it at the last minute to someone there, and then continued on to High Level. We were only 2 hours late in meeting up with Tim, Joanne & kids, but we had a great visit. Thanks Tim & Joanne for sharing that great bottle of wine.

Posted in 2007-07 Pre-Trip | Comments Closed

Work’s done, we’re leaving town!

Monday, July 30th, 2007

Well, I’m done work!!! It’s really hard to believe, a whole year off and no newborn to take care off.

One more day, we leave tomorrow. The house is not as clean as I would have liked to leave it for our renters, but the girl’s have been fantastic in that they said if we didn’t get to it, it would be fine. Whew! One less worry.

Now I have to figure out what we need to pack, and what can and can not fit into our suitcase/backpack for a full year? However, I did read a piece of advice the other day which should prove helpful. It stated that “Some people stay in the same place and change clothing everyday, while others bring less clothing and change places ever couple of days”. I believe the latter will be the model that we will be following.

Anyway I’m now procrastinating so I better get to the packing, but I will post a list once I figure it all out! Claudette

Posted in 2007-07 Pre-Trip | 2 Comments »

The count down begins

Wednesday, July 18th, 2007

Less than 30 days, I can’t believe it. The time is flying! I’ve had to start writing a to do list, and leaving myself little notes around the house, just to make sure I don’t forget anything.

We’ve now finished all of our immunizations, so no more needles. Wahoo! Surprisingly to get all the needles and drugs cost a small fortune… thank God for our drug coverage. Although that reminds me that I have to submit another request.

We are slowly getting the house in order, cleaning off surfaces that have been covered for year’s with stuff (Rick’s word). It’s a great feeling when you can rid yourself of a bag or two of junk (my word) to the garbage. As for the rest we hope to have a big garage sale this weekend, so that I (oops, I mean, we) can clean the house the weekend after.

Now our dilemma is trying to figure out what to pack as everything we will need must fit into one suitcase each, but I’ll update you later on our progress.  Claudette

 

 

 

Posted in 2007-07 Pre-Trip | 1 Comment »

Are you excited?

Wednesday, June 20th, 2007

I get asked this question all the time and I’m never really sure how to answer the question.

What do they want to know when people ask this question… Do they really what to know that I’m excited and terrified all at the same time? Or are they wondering what the hell are they doing?

The reality is that I have no idea how this is going to turn out. The other day someone at work (I won’t name names) joking asked if my fellow co-workers should start up a pool to see how many months it would take before we were home. I laughed as I’m sure we will be fine, but I can’t lie that I’ve worried about what it will be like to be together as a family 24/7 for at least 330+ days.

The countdown is on, and it’s finally starting to sink in. We only have 49 more sleeps until we leave. I guess it’s time to start cleaning the house (Ugh!!).

Enough for now… Claudette

Posted in 2007-07 Pre-Trip | 1 Comment »