Unwelcome Guests

This week we found our largest tarantula yet in our house! We have found smaller versions of the Aphonopelma moderatum in our house over the last 6 months but this guy spanned a few inches when his legs were fully extended. Here, he has pulled his legs over his torso in a defensive position but you can still get an idea of his size. The photo below was downloaded from a spider species website to show what he really looks like!

Costa Rica has over 500,000 thousand species of animals and insects within its borders, making it one of 20 countries with the highest biodiveristy in the world. This small country (about the size of West Virginia) contains 4% of the world's species due to its neotropical climate and geographical position. Of the 500,000 species, over 300,000 are insects.

Costa Rica is well known for its varieties of butterflies and moths as well. There are 1,250 varieties of mariposas (butterflies) and 8,000 varieties of moths. This 'little' guy was found in our room on vacation but we have also seen them in our garage as well! As you can see by the size of Dave's hand, we started referring to him as our 'pet'.





The variety of animals is incredible here, although I prefer seeing them in the zoo rather than in our home. Two weeks ago I had insomnia and went downstairs at 4 a.m. to watch a little TV. After I saw the small snake scurry under our TV cabinet, I woke Dave up to help me get it out. Regrettably, we discovered it was a harmless type after we killed it. However, with the three most deadly snakes living in Costa Rica, as well as a young baby who crawls on the floor, I decided not to take any chances. Needless to say, I never went back to sleep that night!

Giant cockroaches, snakes, an endless variety of ants - they've frustrated us at times but made life entertaining here as well. If you're a bug lover, please come see us and we'll be happy to show you around our lab, I mean our house!

The Last of the Birthdays - Abby turns 5!

We had the last of the kids birthdays for this year this week as Abby turned five. She celebrated her birthday in her class as well as with her friends from our team. In Tica fashion, we clebrated her birthday in her class with cupcakes, fruit, a pinata, and regalos (presents) from some of her classmates. Below is a picture of her class at the party and her teacher, Sra. Monica, who has been a wonderful help with Abby's adjustment to Costa Rica. She always welcomes Abby with a hug! Abby's class is taught completely in Spanish which has helped her to get a grasp on the language quickly.

We also had a party at our monthly team meeting since Abby's friends couldn't attend her class party. Here, the girls get their own table to eat at. Miranda and Alexa are 2 of Abby's friends that come to play quite often. Olivia enjoyed getting in on the action of the big girls and sits by herself now at the little table. Aidan helped Abby at the party by reading the cards for her, now that he is such a great reader!

Here is Abby showing us her pinata at her school, modeling a dress and jewelry sent by Grandma Rose, and catching a shot with Mom on her birthday. The parties were a success and despite the cake tipping over after we finished singing, it still tasted delicious!

Olivia Turns One!

Olivia turned one in the end of April and we were privileged to have Grandma Irene and Grandad with us to celebrate! Over her birthday we travelled to Manuel Antonio to enjoy the beach - our first vacation since we came 9 months ago! We enjoyed three days at a small condo, despite the loss of electricity daily due to a power shortage. We rescheduled Olivia's birthday party for the following Tuesday, which turned out to be a holiday (feriado) in Costa Rica and therefore had electricity the entire day! In this photo you can see one of our favorite spots, the hammock on the back porch of our room.

Here you can see that Olivia did not forget her grandparents even though she was only 2 months old when we came to Costa Rica. Although she was all smiles for the photos, she did not like the sand or the ocean!

After the beach, we celebrated Olivia's birthday party with our ABWE team. Since all of our Aunts and Uncles live in America, we invited all of Livy's missionary Aunts and Uncles to the party - 30 + people! I didn't realize how many were there until everyone gathered in one place to sing! In typical Latin fashion, we had a pinata for all the kids, Mommy made a cake which Olivia wasn't too sure about (but in the end found it to be very tasty), and had a big BBQ before the rain came.

Olivia enjoys her new presents and cake!

ABWE Missionary Kids - Costa Rica