Friday, Feb. 17 (week 4 / day 26) Casa Nirvana, CR

Birthday Bash for Kyra

Today was a super fun day, especially for Kyra! We celebrated her birthday early because we knew where we could find a cake around here and don't know what to expect in our next area for which we are leaving tomorrow. Kyra loves monkeys & on our morning jog we noticed a family of monkeys up in the trees so we rushed back & got Kyra in the car to come see, a good start to a great day!

howler monkey crawling along a branch

2 monkeys laying in the morning sun

Kyra with monkeys above in the trees

Treats in Tamarindo 

She & Stacia made a trip to Tamarindo for breakfast & the rest of us were envious & had to fight over the leftovers. Stacia and Kyra had scoped out a few options the night before.  They found their way to Tamarindo (proudly without using the Waze app and feeling like they are getting to know the area a bit).  The first stop was a coffee shop near Witches Rock Surf School for what was touted as a delicious chocolate chip cookie.  Ok, we think these people do not know what a chocolate chip cookie is!  Kyra liked the cookie describing it as a snickerdoodle with chips.  Stacia thought it to be more like a gingersnap minus the ginger with about 6 chocolate chips placed on top.  Not worth the calories!  They also tried the banana bread which was pretty good.  After driving through the tourist/car crowded town they came to their next destination: Waffle Monkey!  It was a great choice!  Stacia told the staff they were celebrating Kyra's birthday and the lady was super nice.  She said she would make her anything she wanted and douse it in sprinkles.  Well, Kyra declined the sprinkles but choose a big waffle drizzled with a bunch of nutella with ice cream on top.  She also choose  a nutella milkshake to drink.  Stacia had a savory selection of ham and cheese baked inside the waffle with a parmesean butter on top.  Top it with a little maple syrup and it was divine!  They sat outside in a cute alley looking past the palm trees to the beach.  A perfect spot.  Kyra almost finished the entire waffle.  The staff was attentive and the Australian owner came out and gave her a Waffle Monkey sticker for her birthday.

Kyra at Waffle Monkey

Kyra with her Nutella-topped waffle!



After eating they did a little shopping.  We didn't spend much time in Tamarindo but it is a great little beach town.  Lots of shops and restaurants right off a long beautiful beach.  Stacia could spend another morning or two here having nice breakfasts and checking out some of the shops.  It was fun to visit but we are glad we are staying away from the crowds in our little village.

Next step was getting the birthday cake.  They are sold at the local larger grocery stores.  We were told by two people the Auto Mercado would have the best.  So to the Auto Mercado we went.  Kyra picked out a large vanilla cake.  Later to our happy surprise we found out it was filled with dulce de leche- yum!

While they were gone, we decorated the beach house kitchen for Kyra's birthday. Paul even found some electrical wire in the street & mini garden fence pieces & hung them as streamers across the front. The kids made banners, colored pictures, labeled a birthday cup & crown & even wrapped presents (all candy) in regular paper.

a birthday cup, like we have at home

Birthday Olympics

The most fun part of the day was the 2 hours we spent together in the 90 degree heat competing in Kyra's Olympic production: 15 field events she made up for the rest of us while she refereed & kept score. We walked to the nearby soccer field with our water bottles; no need to warm up in the heat.

LIST OF EVENTS
Ball Games:
1. Power Out: kick the ball to the person to your right in the circle, not to hard, not to soft.
2. The Waddle: squeeze the ball between your knees as you move 20 yards down the field.
3. Pass the Ball: the same as #1 but tossing the ball with your hands
4. I Got It: however has possession of the soccer ball at the 1 minute mark
5. Simple Kicks: make the penalty kick on goal & you  move to the next round
Running Games:
1. Sharks & Minnows: avoid getting touched across the width of the field (Kyra-1st shark)
2. Foot Race: run across the length of the field & back
3. Infection Tag: be the last one tagged as those who are tagged become taggers (Kyra starts)
4. High Knees, Bum Kicks: high knees across then switch to bum kicks at midfield
5. 1-person relay race (cancelled due to similarity to foot race)
Strength & Flexibility:
1. Push-ups: perform the most (& most correct push-ups)
2. Lunges: lunge across the width of the field with each knee touching the ground
3. Arm Composition: hold your arms straight out to the side for the longest time
4. One-foot Hop: hop across the width of the field on 1 foot in the fastest time
5. Squat Hold: hold the squat position for the longest time

Grand prize for 1st place: a bag of M&Ms! And there just happened to be a trophy under the kitchen counter. 2nd & 3rd place: nothing. In opposition to the 1st world mentality of "everyone gets a prize," Kyra opted for the classical "winner takes all."

Kyra's official announcement

family shot before heading to the field



Presents, Cake & Ice cream

We had our last dinner at the beach house: rice, beans & sausage by Stacia with pineapple on the side. Kyra then opened her presents & then we had cake & ice cream which Stacia had bought in Tamarindo. The cake was like pound cake, vanilla-flavored with a layer of dulce de leche. Yum!



Kyra blowing the candles right off the cake!

Kyra turns 10 in Costa Rica

cake & ice cream, sooooooo good!

We spent the rest of the evening packing up a bit & reviewing go pro videos.

A little miscellaneous note.  The kids all share a room and have developed a system.  They rotate who gets to sleep on the top bunk alone.  The kicker is the person who doesn't have to share a bed also doesn't get a blanket.  They sleep with only a sheet.  The people on the middle bed share a blanket and the two on the pull out floor bed each get a blanket.  It is just funny to see how the system has evolved.