Prince and Princess Party

To celebrate the last day of their “summer vacation” (still feels weird to refer to it like that considering the time of year), the kids attended a “Prince and Princess Party”.

(In the picture, notice that Naimah is holding a microphone because in Disney’s world, all princesses sing, right?)

It was a great way to end the long school break; a new school year starts this week. The kids have been out of school since the end of November. For all of the readers who are parents of school aged children, imagine 11 weeks of kids being out of school in an area without the concept of Day Camps. Yes, you get the picture.

On the subject of going back to school, last week Naimah was so in the mood to be back in school that she insisted on wearing her uniform for a good part of the day.

Famille Godin

Mélanie’s sister Martine (with fiancé Steeve and baby Noah) just left to head back to Québec yesterday after spending a great 2+ weeks with us. They enjoyed the difference in climate (it’s a big swing between minus 30 Celcius and plus 30 Celcius).

The kids already miss their little “adopted” brother

Quality sister-time

Banana harvest in our backyard

Lots of cuddles

Tribal bug

We find these creatures in and around our house and can’t even identify them. I have asked 3 locals if they can tell me the name of this huge insect with tribal tattoos; 2 shrugged their shoulders and one thought that it might be a large “chincha”.

Nomads

At the end of November 2009, we packed up our stuff, moved out of the house that we were in before, put our stuff in storage, and until mid-January 2010, we were wandering nomads without a home. Homeless in Costa Rica and the kids being out of school until February (it is summer break in Costa Rica now), we made our way up to Montréal for 5 weeks and had a detour in Arizona on the way back down to visit my parents.

For the last year, we feel that our life has revolved around packing, unpacking, packing, unpacking…

In seemingly constant moving mode, the kids have found a way to entertain themselves with the boxes that are ubiquitous in their lives.

Transforming (pun intended) a box into an Optimus Prime CostumeDecorating the boxes

Muy Calor

It has been very hot this last week in Atenas and it is our understanding that it will only get hotter from now until March.

(For our readers in the United States, that’s 102 degrees Fahrenheit outside the car and almost 106 degrees Fahrenheit inside the car.)

To cool off, the kids washed the car (soaking each other in the process, of course).

The nights are very warm as well (the low for the days is around 22 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit)) so dinner is best served outside.

Focus on the journey, not the destination

We finally made it to Costa Rica. Here is a summary of our journey.

From	To	Distance (km)	Flight Time (hours)
Montreal, Quebec	Fort Lauderdale, Florida	2,230	3.25
Fort Lauderdale, Florida	Atlanta, Georgia	939	1.5
Atlanta, Georgia	Phoenix, Arizona	2,550	3.75
Phoenix, Arizona	Houston, Texas	1,630	2.5
Houston, Texas	San José, Costa Rica	2,490	3.5
	Total	9,839	14.5

“Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.”

Greg Anderson (American best-selling author and founder of the American Wellness Project)

(However, not much joy in going through airport security so many times.)

When we got here, some old friends were waiting in the house for us.

Phoenix Zoo

Phoenix, Arizona has an amazing zoo and it is often rated one of the top zoos in North America. We spent a wonderful day there yesterday.

The largest non-profit zoo in the United States, the Phoenix Zoo is a must for family vacations in Phoenix or pretty much anyone who likes to enjoy a laidback afternoon. This massive 125-acre complex differs from most modern zoos in how it structures its 1,200+ animals into four long trails covering the native wildlife of Arizona, Africa, and others. There’s also a large “touch” tank called Stingray Bay.

The Phoenix Zoo garnered worldwide attention for one of its animals, an Asian Elephant named Ruby. Ruby came to the zoo in 1973, just months after being born in Thailand. After noticing Ruby doodling in the sand with sticks, her keeper decided to give her a brush and paint. Ruby quickly became famous for her paintings, whose sales raised over US $200,000 for the zoo. Art collectors all over the world joined 18-month waiting lists and paid hundreds of dollars for original prints.

More pictures here.