Bridges? We don't need no stinking bridges.

We took our trusty Suzuki down to Corcovado National Park yesterday - out on the Osa Peninsula, which is in the southwest of Costa Rica. We passed through Puerto Jimenez and travelled on to Carate - a distance of about 300 kilometers, round trip. We left at 8 in the morning and returned.... at 8 in the evening. We stopped for lunch and for gas. That was it. And here's why:


The Costa Ricans value many things more than the quality of their highways. When they're in good shape, they're in great shape; but when they're not...


Luckily, it was an astonishingly beautiful drive. The sun was out and the sky was clear (until dark, natch, when the rainforest really earned its name). And Corcovado, or the 200 sq meters of it that we had time to look at, was brilliant. And green.

Part of the problem in getting to the park was the recent (?) decision of the Costa Rican board of Transportation to renovate all of their old bridges. Which, all in all, was a good idea:


We drove over several of these on the way south, and let me tell you, I thought the bones were going to pop out of my knuckles I was holding on the steering wheel so tightly. You could hear the steel slats twang under the tires. And some of those holes looked plenty big enough for a little Suzuki Jimmy to fall right through.
And somewhere around Puerto Jimenez, they just decided: "Screw it."

Corcovado

And see, it was all worth it:

Hi, honey!

And I was so sad to leave Erin in the United States, but here she is on our patio!

Like, whoa.

What you are about to see is real.


That is actually Scott, and he is actually in the ocean. Granted, he's only toe-deep in a receding tide, but it's a start.

Spoiled Brats

Frog poop?! This is awesome!

Some things you should know about Costa Rica:

1. It's freaking hot here.
2. The tiny green frog that met us at the front door has enough poison in him to kill eight grown men.
3. The proprietor of the Soda La Unica has informed me that it has indeed snowed here. Twice. Which I am inclined to disbelieve (see #1), but he has kindly taken to speaking Spanish to me as one might speak to a small and mentally challenged child, which has allowed me to understand about half of what he says. So, sure, it's snowed here. Dos vezes.
4. The bullfrogs are in their mating season. And they're nocturnal. And very, very noisy.
5. When the sign says that the road is "en mal estado", they are SO NOT KIDDING.
6. Shouting "Vamos, Guatemala!" at the international - but mostly Costa Rican - bike racers is not in your best interests.
7. My Spanish sucks. (See #3)
8. There are bugs, bugs, bugs, and more bugs. Did I mention that there are bugs here? Tiny little bugs that you have to rinse off of your toothbrush in the morning, bugs in your bed, bugs in the sink, bugs on the walls, and the hammock, and in the pool; there are also huge giant moths that can cover up an entire light bulb. Ants that can strip an entire palm tree in a day. Medium sized bugs that bite. And weird little palm-sized beetles that Scott likes to fling at the frogs. The frogs like Scott. Which does not stop them from pooping all over the patio.
9. When it decides to rain here, it does not screw around. Seek cover.
10. We may not come home. This place is amazing.

Strap on those bags and get to work!

Scott decided today that we didn't have enough to do at home. So we went up to help out Bill and Chad and the boys on their project up in Northwoods. It was exhausting - but very fun. Except the part where I had to use the Sawzall. And maybe when the grinder got away from me and tried to take my leg off. But other than that, a great (and productive!) day was had by all.

..for those embarrassing moments.

Most commonly asked question at our dinner party last night:

"Why do you keep tongs in your bathroom?"

Well...

Life is not fair.

Why does Scott have the shapeliest ankles in our family? Harumph.

Why I Love My Husband

Reason #143: Such a good sport.

Smell My Feet

Thanks Grandma Beth for keeping us in the height of footwear fashion. (Hopkins, though not participating in the socky goodness, is fond of showing off his new winter snow-pants-furry-butt.)

Baby steps, Bob - baby steps.

Since you haven't seen any home improvement updates in approximately two years, you may be thinking to yourself, "Self," you might say, "Those darn clever kids must have finished that house."

Boy, would you be wrong.

Our bathroom no longer looks like a WonderBoard dungeon, mostly:


There was a frightening moment where we thought that we had ruined our ridiculously expensive natural stone tile with the dark brown grout. We did the necessary sealing and re-sealing prior to grouting, but immediately post-grouting our "natural variations in stone color" had become mostly "dark brown grout color". They have, with much scrubbing and cursing, returned to their naturally varying state.

This did, however, require Scott to spend the better part of two days in this position (which - needless to say - has left all of his various bits and pieces grumbly and unpleasant to be around):


He does have an awfully cute little bum, though, sore or not.

Pushover, etc.

We're doing everything we can to teach Hopkins not to jump on people (including us) when he's excited and wants attention. He jumps, puts his paws on your chest, wiggles his butt, looks longingly in to your eyes ... sure, it's all very cute, but someone like, say, my Grandma Marg might not be so enthusiastic about his enthusiasm. So we correct him, tell him to sit quietly next to us, and shower him with affection.

So he jumps up, and I look sternly and say, "Hopkins. What are you supposed to do when you want love?"

And he jumps off and runs to Scott.

I see how it is.

Brace Face

What kind of parent signs you up to get braces on Picture Day?

The evil kind, apparently.

Why I Love My Husband

Reason #76: The Cleverness.