Drumroll please....

The cost for all the items at the market was . . .

11,000 colones (Costa Rican currency) or about $22.00

Congratulations, Rachel!  Your guess of $17.50 wins you some Costa Rican coffee (are you drinking it now that you are a mommy?)

Some things are surprisingly expensive here in Costa Rica, and then others are amazingly cheap!  Toys, electronics, and anything from the US is over-the-top expensive.  Thank you to many of you for sending us some great things from the US!  We have really enjoyed getting little surprises every now and then from home.

We have found several Costa Rican brands that we really like!

These are some of my favorites:

CR coffee, Chiky galletas (yummy cookies with chocolate on one side), Guisantes petit pois (yummy peas), Jack's snacks (funny name for a snack company in Costa Rica- but they have the best junk/snack food for great prices!), and Lizano Salsa (Ticos add it to many of their traditional dishes).

Contest- How much???

As mentioned before, Saturday mornings we walk to a local farmer’s market for our fresh produce for the upcoming week.

  How much do you think these yummy, fresh items cost?  That is our first contest!

The rundown of items (left to right):

2 green leaf lettuces

5 potatoes

4 plantains

1/2 kilo green beans

16 bananas (yes, 16!)

2 pineapples

1 cilantro

1 chayote

3 avocados

4 carrots

5 cucumbers

2 broccoli

1 chile dulce (pepper)

2 mangoes

1 celery

1 bouquet of flowers

How to enter: Leave a comment with your guess at how much our trip to the market cost.

We will announce the winner on Wednesday.

What will you win?

Some yummy Costa Rican coffee (or another tasty option if you don’t drink coffee!)  We had the opportunity to go on a coffee tour a couple weekends ago- very educational.

Did you know that the best coffee beans are perfectly round?  Beans are sorted out to produce different grades of coffee.  Many coffee companies in the US sell coffee that only has a small portion of the best grade mixed with the mediocre grade.

After the tour, we did coffee taste tests (just like the experts!) 

See picture below: you smell before you taste..

Boxed milk, monkeys & my baby in a tortilla?

 The girls have several “favorite” activities here in Costa Rica.  Some of them are unique to living in another country.

For example, who needs a jungle gym when you have a gate as a front door?

Also, who needs drums when you have empty water jugs?  They actually LOVE to play them, but unfortunately in the morning before school (around 7 am).  Not so sure the neighbors love them too.

They also like their juice boxes, but we actually buy milk boxes.  Yes, you can buy boxed milk (non-refrigerated) in many different sizes, flavors and types.  Entire aisles in los supermarcados (grocery stores) are devoted to boxed milk. 

And one of the most beloved pastimes of children (or monkeys) everywhere...

What about Caleb?  Well, he is still hanging out in his carseat (though we have a bouncy seat coming with a friend soon!).  He continues to be gushed over in Español.  “Que lindo!” (What cuteness!) “Gordito!” (little fatty- but used endearingly) “Delicioso!” (delicious) and the other day someone described (in Español) how they would wrap him up in a tortilla and eat him!

All in all, we are healthy, joyful and continuing to trust God’s call on our lives.  Praise be to thee, O Christ!  Thank you for your prayers, emails and comments.  It encourages me so much and reminds me of the faithfulness of our Lord.