Adventures With Grammy (and More)!

Hola! It’s been a few weeks since I’ve managed to find the time to blog. It’s been crazy busy and this task always seems so overwhelming to me. It forces me to go through all my photos since my last post, edit and resize them. At least a few hours. Sometimes, it’s the last thing I want to do. But, I know I’m going to be glad I kept this thing going after our delegation ends. So here it goes let’s reflect back on three week’s worth of Rogers family fun! Hope the kids plan on napping for at least two hours...

Maddie got sick for the first time since living here. Like, sick enough to go to the doctor. Poor girl threw up twice in one night, once in her bed, and then once in ours. It turns out her Asthma is back, and she was coughing so much in her sleep (from the smokey air here) that it was causing her to vomit. She now takes two inhaler meds a day again (just like when she was little). The first week or so was a challenge because she hated wearing the spacer, but now she is a champ and when she coughs she asks for her medicine. 

The idea of finding a doctor here scared me a bit at first. It is really a struggle because mi Espanol es no bueno. I’ve been taking lessons and I can get by (and sometimes surprise myself with how much I do actually understand) but a phone conversation to attempt to make an appointment is just super intimidating. One of my lovely friends here, Melissa, told me about her kids’ amazing english-speaking pediatrician, and suggested I text her to make an appointment. WHAT? Doctors let you text them here? Ummm. It’s uhhh-mazing. Within about an hour of my first text around 7:30 a.m. I was all set with a same-day appointment to go see her. And we LOVED her. She was so nice, and took great care of my little girl without pushing the automatic antibiotic script. And, she was spot on with her diagnosis and meds because Maddie is as good as new with the inhalers. 

Our new pediatrician’s office doesn’t have a bad view, either. While we were at the doctor, Maddie was waiting patiently for her grammy to come visit. We were really excited because Grammy was on a flight from Florida to come see us that same day. Her timing couldn’t have been more perfect!

Grammy visited during Semana Santa, or Holy Week. I was raised Catholic so was familiar with Holy Week but they do it a lot different in Costa Rica than they do in the U.S. Holy Week in Costa Rica is like Christmas and Christmas Eve. The city pretty much shuts down. From what we understood, most businesses are closed. I even think bus service stopped for a few days (and public transportation is huge here!). School was closed for the entire week, so I would have had both girls by myself for the entire week. Now, I know that doesn’t sound too terrible, since my girls are obviously little angels, but it was definitely nice to have my mom here to help — we all missed her and were ready for some new Costa Rica adventures! 

Our first stop - Los Suenos. It’s a super nice resort/community near Jaco Beach. We were so lucky that a friend of my parent’s had a place there and let us stay. Since it was Semana Santa, EVERYTHING was either sold out or super expensive. We stayed at a beautiful house on the top of the mountain with a private beach and pool for the residents. It was so lovely and relaxing.  The girls had a BLAST swimming in the pool. They aren’t huge fans of the beach right now though. The crashing waves scare Kenzie a bit. But we didn’t complain because the pool was just as beautiful. Look how much fun these kids had!

Next, we went to La Paz Waterfall Gardens. This was an AMMMMAZING little place about an hour from us. The kids had so much fun checking out the butterflies, monkeys, frogs, birds and bulls. Then, we started our hike up to the waterfalls. It was just breathtaking. I’ve never seen anything like this. This was 100% my favorite adventure so far. I can’t wait to go back!

We were pretty low key for the remainder of the week. Mostly because everything was closed for Semana Santa. We hung around the house and pool. Did some baking for the Easter Bunny, and just really enjoyed Grammy’s company. We were so sad when Thursday rolled around so quick and Grammy was leaving the next day, so a photoshoot with the girls and their Gram was a must. And I LOVE how it turned out. These girls are so lucky to have their Grammy. (And their Grandma, who comes in a few weeks too!)

Maddie has been getting to the stage where I think naps are about to go. This is REALLY hard on me, especially on the weekends. I had to do a little bribing to get her to nap — I told her the Easter Bunny would deliver some eggs early if she rested, and it worked like a charm! Speaking of the Easter Bunny, we dyed some eggs and I will never dye a white egg again. My eggs this year were stunning. 

Easter Sunday we woke up and streamed Church service from the living room, then got ready to go to a fun Easter brunch and a local Hipico Club. When I signed up, I thought it was a club like a golf course club, or a beach club, or something fancy. Apparently, it was a horse racing club. I was a little shocked when we pulled in but we ended up having a lot of fun. There was a petting zoo, easter egg hunt, yummy food and great company. 

And no Easter would be complete without pictures of my kids in their bunny gear. Say Carrot! 

Ahh, Semana Santa was over. Maddie went back to school and she was excited because she really loves school! Kenz and I took it easy around the house in the mornings. Did some puzzles in the playroom, played in the shower (this kid has got to stop gagging herself!) and played in her big sister’s bed. Maddie also managed to make it into one of my daily photos one afternoon. Gosh, I love these crazy little girls. 

Ohhh, and Kenzie started swimming lessons with her best friend Saloman. She LOVES them. Hahahah (or, should I say jajajaja like a true Costa Rican :). 

At least it is safe to say they were happy when the lesson was over. Ha. And so this this blog post. Chow!