Going swimming
Enjoying dinner together -Seeb putting something in his ear
Bringing back memories of ordering lots of hamburgers
Sebastian "The Ambassador" being showered with love. You turn him sideways and he looks like the Japanese flag (White with a red spot)
Seeb standing all by himself.
We had fun playing a card game called "Bang"and eating delicious treats.
Sebastian's first year birthday cake in the shape of one of his favorite books
That's the bass news I have ever heard.... Sebastian looking handsome in the suit coat and pants that Grandma GG sent to him.
It's gettin crazy in here...Grandma all decked out to celebrate her birthday.
The party begins with Tennyson exploding confetti into the room. Took foreva to clean up the mess.
Sebastian approves as his three biggest fans look on
Sebastian brings a lot of joy into his family.
One year old Sebastian .. is discovering the feel of the cake.
The Sea Beast is loose. In Spanish when someone is naked you say "en cuero" meaning he is in his leathers. Or another way of saying naked is he is "Chingo" -buck naked.
Bella helping Sebastian blow out his candle.
Lunchtime with Carmen from Nicaragua
Lots of delicious food
Seeb opening his birthday presents
Grandpa Ron and Grandma GG watching Seeb celebrate by way of modern technology.
The chunkernot enjoying his new book.
All that chub to love
Tennyson made me a birthday cake all by himself. This is my favorite bird but I can't remember its name. They are easy to spot around Rys condo.
I though Seeb and I would share the same birthday cake but Tennyson made a cake for me.
Its all good
Bells made this birthday card.
It was great to be with the Costa Rican Schills when Sebastian started walking.
Alvaro, a local friend, teaching Bella at her tennis lesson.
Bella and Tennyson having fun in the swimming pool.
Lots of colorful birds around the CR Schills' home.
Noah has become an expert in making crepes.
Everyone loves interacting with Seeb. He is serious and is more mature than Ryan.
Grandpa getting a Costa Rican FLAT TOP Haircut.
OUCH....a young girl (Scarlet) hit into Ry's car. She was driving her grandpa's car and she was texting before entering a highway. She cried and Ry was soft on her and explained to the police what happened.
I secretly took a photo out the back window of the lady and Ry discussing the accident with the policeman.
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Visiting some members of the Verbena Branch- Sebastian loves their dog Peggy.
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| The Briceno Family |
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All homes have bars around them for security reasons.
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Chris is a mechanic and works on Ryan's car
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| You can tell Sebastian loves dogs. |
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| Neighborhood around Ryan's house and the branch building |
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A place to sit in a mechanic shop while our car is being washed. Nobody in the US has couches in mechanic shops..this makes Costa Rica a very special place.
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Ry treated me to a cold one. Old School style of bottle caps. |
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Bottoms up...The drink was so refreshing on a hot day.
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| The big building behind me is the scout office. While visiting it, I was excited to be given some Costa Rica scout patches. |
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This photo was taken after we attended a scout bonfire ceremony in front of this church.
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Underground market in San Jose The greatest fruit in the world "the Guanabina"
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Chow time
Good num nums. Real Costa Rican delicacies |
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Uptown San Jose
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| Nice and peaceful San Jose..It looks a lot like Paris. |
Rodrigo Ry's best friend in Costa Rica is turning 80. He is in love with mom. His name is Rodrigo but to the ladies its "Rodrigito" He is a recent convert, He was a Catholic priest, tried to take his life but read the Book of Mormon and now is an incredible example of service.
Keeping it classy in San Jose
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| Showing 8 fingers for 80 years old. |
Noah had a big job entertaining their green eyed dog-a wild energetic pup.
Ryan would tell a joke and laugh
Rodrigo would tell a joke and laugh.
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| View out their kitchen window |
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| We ate a lot of delicious food while in Costa Rica! Noah and Ryan making some wonderful fajitas inside a WOK. |
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| Seeb enjoying his double helping of chocolate pudding. |
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| Sebastian loved swinging in this comfy hammock chair. |
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| Time to Eat Again |
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| We were able to watch general conference live! |
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| Noah and Teej made it possible to project conference on the wall. |
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| Bella had fun joining in an Easter celebration with the neighbors. Bella looking for Easter eggs. |
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| Race while carrying an egg on a spoon. |
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| Teej making colored pancakes for breakfast. |
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Ryan showing a ball of cheese he bought from a man selling food on the street.
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Happy hands...Ryan and dad talking about cases
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| Costa Rican Scouts at an Independence Parade |
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Photos of the Independence Parade |
Juan Santa Maria the George Washington of Costa Rica. Long story short..He burned down a fort of those holding Costa Rican captives causing independence.
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| This squirrel has his nest in the tree that is outside their living room window. |
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Another Beautiful Sunset
Photos of a White-Winged Dove's courting- showing off his feathers to the female sitting on the branch looking down at him.
A woodpecker and sparrow that I saw in the complex where Ry lives.
Rufous-collared Sparrow
Part of the INCAE campus
Iguana that lives by the swimming pool at INCAE. He is the official mascot of INCAE.
The Iguana hides in a grate and then if you get too close he goes into a drain pipe.
A little parrot pet that belongs to the family that fixes the food to feed the children at the Feeding Station.
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| Notice Dad's fancy Costa Rican haircut nice and cool. He hasn't had a flat top since the Nixon administration. |
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| Wild bird that was tamed by the family |
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| Children gathered for the talks and fun songs before receiving some food at the Feeding Center. |
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| The children enjoying watching Ryan's magic trick. |
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| Children sitting around the room eating their food. |
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| Ryan put on his glasses to connect with this little cutie. |
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| Ry washing the dishes after the children ate. Water just comes out of the wall from a hose. |
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| I helped dry the bowls and spoons. |
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| This is the neighborhood by the feeding station close to Ry's house where the children live. It is amazing how well the children are dressed and have clean and nicely combed hair. Ry told me that the clothes come from thrift stores in the US. The ones that aren't sold are shipped over to places like Costa Rica. Also the people in Costa Rica (many in this neighborhood are from Nicaragua and Colombia) care about how they look when they go outside so these children's mother would to their best to make their child look nice. |
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Bella loves Subway sandwiches- pepperoni, cheese, and BBQ sauce. It is great they just opened a store in San Jose.
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| Enjoying some Costa Rican Food |
Gallo Pinto, a common plate in Costa Rica
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| Scary bridge that we had to drive over to get to the place where friends of Ry and his family live. |
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| Leaf Ants are fascinating to watch as they carry large leaves back to their home. |
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| Teej and I helped barbecue the tasty meat for lunch at the ranch. |
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| These are good friends of Ry and his family and are building an orphanage at this place. |
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| Oh Boy..There is a river running down the edge of the ranch's property that made for a great swimming hole. They made a platform and a rope swing out of a hose. Just as Ry jumped into the river he said the piranhas are going to love chewing on him. |
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| Teej followed suit and jumped into the water. |
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| There goes Noah making the plunge. |
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| Bella enjoying the rope swing made out of a hose. |
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| Costa Rica has the best Swimming Holes! (Notice the dog enjoying a swim.) |
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| Teej "CANNON BALL!!" |
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Bella finally shows her courage and jumps off the board! Ryan patiently waiting and encouraging Bells that she can do it.
The bananas are ripe.  |
| The 180 bananas that the Rojas gave us finally ripened but we couldn't eat them all at once. |
I cut the bananas into slices and dried them. These chips made tasty treats!
THAT IS A BLOW OUT!! As Ryan and I were driving to INCAE we heard a very loud bang and then a scary sound of something whipping the side of the car. When we were able to drive the car off the freeway and stop, This photo shows what had happened. The back tire had had a major blowout! Ry's class started in about 30 minutes. I thought he would not be able to get to INCAE to teach the class but through a few miracles, some men stopping to help him get the spare on and then Ry was able to drive to INCAE and teach his class. Helpful good people of CR.
Ryan puts bird feeders in the tree outside his living room to attract the many beautiful birds in this area
Teej and grandpa enjoy building an airplane (Blackbird) together.
The Verbena Branch Ryan and his family decide to attend a small branch in one of the poorest sections of San Jose. Ry has fun with some of the branch members in this photo.
Ryan goofing off with some material that he is giving to a ward member to make into a hat he can wear with his robe to an INCAE graduation.
Hello my name is Hajib. You want your fortune told.
Ry would give driving lessons to all the neighborhood kids. A lot of them had never been in a car.
Sister Arias is going to make the hat.
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| This is what the hat is suppose to look like when finished. It never looked like the picture but Ry paid her anyways for the effort. The hat is used for playing games now. |
Noah opening the gate to the ward building so we can drive the car in to go to our church meetings. The gate is kept locked during the meetings so if you want to park in the church parking lot you need to be on time or have a key to open the gate. You can push a button to have someone come and open it but it disturbs the meeting that is going on. Most of the members who attend this branch don't have cars and walk to church.
Church Building
Bella, Noah,Sebastian and Tennysen behind the church.
Church members walking home after church. They don't own cars.
La Verbena Branch
Ryan taught us how to cut and eat mangos, Porcupine style.
The big green fruit is called a Pipa and it is filled with good coconut water.
I loved sucking on the seed so not to waste any of the delicious mango.
Our dove friend would visit us often to get some food.
This woodpecker loved the trees outside Bella's room.
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| Bella, Tennysen, Noah and I made these things out of clay. |
We had a family tennis match on the court near their home.
Seeb was the net referee.
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| Angela serves the ball |
Birthday Party held at the church - Costa Ricans know how to party.
The Birthday Girl
Dads dancing with their daughters.
A chocolate covered marshmallow that I enjoyed eating but as the kids ate this delicious treat the dripping chocolate got on the floor and made a sticky mess.
Ry having fun with some of the children at the birthday party.
Ryan loves playing with the kids. We are not sure why this little boy wore his Spiderman costume to the party. The little boy on Ry's neck is Samuelito his dad passed way last year. He has two other brothers and his mom.
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| Children playing games at the party. |
We all braved the ride up the mountain to have dinner over looking San Jose. Half of the population in Costa Rica live in San Jose.
Lights of San Jose, Costa Rica.
We enjoyed eating home made shave ice with LIZ from Trujillo, Peru.
Verbena Branch primary children's trip to the San Jose Temple
Ry and Bells
The temple was closed but we enjoyed seeing the beautiful grounds.
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Temple trips are always accompanied by enjoying some Costa Rican ice cream.
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| We stopped to visit some of Ry's friends the Ayala Family form El Salvador. They live near the temple. |
Parakeets that come to perch on the trees around their home and are very noisy. You can hear their squawks at about 5:30 in the morning as they fly away and they return at 4:30 PM with the same noisy squawks.
Beautiful Sunsets out the window of their home.
It was great to have fun with big Seeb.
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The Ambassador
We all cheered when Hunter received his mission call. |
We stopped to see the famous Crocs under the bridge.. on the way to Jaco beach
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| Be careful! don't fall. |
Trip to the Nicoya Peninsula. Puntarenas
Schillaxed
Beautiful Sunset in Puntarenas where we spent the night
Bella, Tennyson and Ryan enjoyed swimming in the pool where we stayed for the night.
It was great to see Ryan sleeping!
On the ferry taking us from Puntarenas to the Nicoya Peninsula
Dad with Panama Hat (actually Panama hats are actually made in Ecuador not Panama) and Teej with his San Jose garbage man hat.
The place where the ferry landed on the Nicoya Peninsula.
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| Children having fun in Nicoya |
Flamboyant Tree
The best looking squirrel I have ever seen. He has a tuxedo on.
Can you see the iguana in the tree?
Fences are made out of branches and after a while they start growing and turn into trees.
Road to the Santa Teresa beach
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| Bella loved boogie boarding. The water isn't cold like Monterey. |
Santa Teresa beach on the Nicoya
Chilling out Dad
Pura Vida!! Happy Dad.
Say no more.
Say no more...
Going deep
Going for the big ones
Outdoor showers
Relaxing in Costa Rica
Look closely and you can see theWhite-throated Magpie-jay.
We are lost in this picture. But found this place and stopped for fish.
This man was having a very hard time getting his tall pig to follow him.
Barahman cattle are very numerous on the Nicoya Peninsula. That is the only kind of cows and bulls we saw as we were driving a long. They have great tolerance to heat and are widespread in tropical regions. They are resistant to insects because of their thick skin. They live longer than many other breeds and can even have a calf when they are 15 years old.
Ry checking the rivers for crocs and walking across to make sure we would not hurt any alligators.
Ry signals and we drive across.
I loved taking photos of these brilliant trees.
Costa Rican funny looking vultures.
During a big rain storm Ry is walking up to a home to ask for direction.
It was so nice to find this place to spend the night and be able to stop driving through the downpour of the rainstorm.
Cashew nuts growing at the bottom of the fruit.
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| I was very grateful when the road leveled off after driving up a very steep dirt and gravel road. Very steep hill to drive the van "Hongo" up. |
Ferry ride back
Back in Puntarenas
Nice fresh fish
Cool wind sculpture
Neat Birds
We found wild White Headed Capuchin monkeys. We fed them fruit loops and they loved it.
Not shy
Where's mine?
Funny monkey
This monkey seeking refuge behind a bigger monkey
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Why did I eat so many fruit loops?
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Family Hug
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Skipping Rocks
Gutting wild fish, Ry got from a homeless guy on a pier.
Underground market in San Jose
Buying a Love Bird for Bella's birthday present
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| Seep enjoying his sucker. |
Enjoying some goodies in a market restaurant.
Walking down the street in San Jose near the market
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| Streets in San Jose near the market. |
Teej holding Bella's birthday present.
Bella can't believe her eyes!
Bella gives grandpa a hug to thank him for the Love Bird.
Big beetles taking advantage and liking the sugar water.
We were all excited when the humming birds started coming to feed.
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| Another beautiful sunset out of their window |
Birthday Cake Bird
The complex where the Costa Rican Schills live.
The gate that is kept close except when cars are coming in and out of the complex.
Flowers around the complex.
The gate that opens every time you go in or out of the complex where Ry and his family live.
Leaf ant carrying a very large leaf.
Trampoline for the kids to use that live in the complex.
There are three guards in Ry's complex- 2 named Jesus -one named white Jesus and the other black Jesus (he is a bit darker skinned) and the other guard is named Angel. They guard a complex that is called Santa Fe (holy faith). This photo shows one of the guards that opens the gate to go out or in the complex.
The outdoor market near Ry's home.
Lots of outdoor markets with wonderful fruits and vegetables
Getting fruit for breakfast
Maracullas
Sweet Sebastian
Trying a new fruit called a Maraculla
Very sweet but looks like frog eggs inside.
Fresh squeezed orange juice
Yum-yum
Noah fixing some crepes for our farewell breakfast.
We had a wonderful time with Ry, Ang, Noah Teej, Bella and Sebastian in Costa Rica.
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| Before we left, the family has a tradition to sing you a song. They sang us a hymn in Spanish "God be With You till We Meet Again. " It was a special experience hearing this sweet family sing to us. |
Sebastian "The Ambassador" being showered with love. You turn him sideways and he looks like the Japanese flag (White with a red spot) 
Sebastian approves as his three biggest fans look on
