We were blessed with a visit from Matt's mom and Aunt Jan for 10 days. It was so nice to see family again, but even nicer than that we were able to hug and kiss them. That was such a nice treat for us all but especially for the girls. Of course shortly after they got here Grammy had to start filling her grandmother duties by reading a book to the girls in the back patio area. The girls loved hearing a book in person from her.

While Mom and Aunt Jan were here we had them try several new fruits, vegetables and other foods. They liked several of them but were not sure about them all. This is a picture of them eating a Granadilla Fruit (known by some as cow snot). The texture is very unique (hence the nickname) but it taste great. They are not to sure about this one.

While they were here the girls had to show off some of their tricks. Kaitlyn is learning how to stand on her head in gymnastics and has taught her sister to do the same. Kaitlyn read several books and they both told several stories. They even practiced some of their Spanish on them.

We took the ladies to several places here in Costa Rica and kept them busy almost the entire time. We went trout fishing, to the waterfalls, on a boat ride to see monkeys and tucans, and to a butterfly garden. We even got to see a poisonous tropical frog in the wild and Mom, Jan and Kaitlyn stood under a poor mans umbrella to stay dry (now that is a big leaf).

The ladies even had time to play and re-discover their youth at a local playground. (Be careful not to fall, hold on tight)

We celebrated Easter while they were here. The girls both got a couple of new dresses for Easter and they loved them. While they were here they watched the girls one night and helped them dye Easter eggs for an Easter egg hunt on Easter day. The backyard is very small but the girls still enjoyed their hunt. For the first time in their lives they found Easter eggs in a banana and palm trees.

During a 3 day weekend in March we went to see an active volcano here in Costa Rica (Arenal) it was spectacular to see the power God had created in that volcano. We stayed directly across from the volcano on another mountain. We had a great view the first day but the clouds set in after that so we didn't get to see the lava flowing at night. We did however get to see the lava rocks flying out during the daytime. That was awesome. While we were there Kandi and Matt had the chance to zip line through the rain forest. Now that was a thrill and what a view of the rain forest. Matt had to get a different view so he went upside down for awhile. Now that was crazy.

Here are some of the animals that we have saw the last month or so. Yes that is Kaitlyn petting her first wild iguana. We were able to feed them cauliflower as they came into this souvenir store from the river.

The other day we went to a very interesting park as a family. There were several very large bushes that had been sculpted to different things. This particular bush we are standing in front of was two sumo wrestlers. Now these are interesting works of art. The people in charge of this park are a lot more talented than I am. The girls loved playing in the house and school bus.

This is a picture of Matt at Otero's (the pizza restaurant we go to on Thursdays) cooking pizza. Claudio (the owner) learned that Matt likes to cook and invent new recipes. He asked him to help create new recipes that scream Gringo (North American). Matt created a cheeseburger, BBQ Chicken, Alfredo, Pineapple pie, and cinnamon sugar. He modified several recipes he found on line and also had a little help from a friend back at home (Max). Thanks again Max. The pizzas turned out great and Claudio and Matt are shopping for the new ingredients this week so Claudio can decide on his new pizzas. This was a great chance for Matt to develop a relationship a little deep in order to spread the truth of the Gospel to more people. Please be praying that Claudio Otero will be open to the Gospel and that God will create a prefect opportunity for Matt to share it with him.

This is a picture of Matt's teacher (Ale) that just came to know and trust Christ in a personal way about one month ago. She is now beginning to share her new faith and hope in Christ with her family and friends. Please be praying for her as she does this. Often while Catholics in Costa Rica share their new faith and begin to leave the traditional church there is persecution. She has a lot of love for the Lord and will be a good witness. Next week she has invited her mother to come to the school so she can share her new faith and testimony with her in front of her students. Wow that is brave. Please be praying for her.

This is a picture of Matt with the guys from Church on their hike in the mountains. The view is of San Jose. It captures the majority of the city. There is about 2 million people living in this city surrounded by the mountains.

The girls are enjoying some time outside with no rain and waiting for their friends to come home. It sure is good to see them playing nice together some times.

Since December we have not had any rain here. This may not sound like that big of a deal but you need to realize in Costa Rica during the rainy season we get around 2 feet of rain per month. This is a huge contrast to the dry season when for 3-4 months we will not get any rain at all. Since dry season began our yard has began to get cracks. They have grown deeper daily. The other day the girls were playing in the backyard and dropped a 20 colone coin (about 4 cents) in on of the cracks. IT dropped about 6-8 inches down and the girls were determined to get it back. Mckenzie was carrying small cups of water from the bathroom to dump on the crack and Kaitlyn was digging her heart out with a plastic sand shovel. They have not gotten it yet but each day they work a little bit more on it.

Recently we went with he school to a park about an hour away. It was a beautiful setting. Kandi and I had a chance to wear traditional Costa Rican attire. Kaitlyn and I rode a horse together. The girls swam in a freezing cold swimming pool and we all got to enjoy the company of many school friends.

The first part of Feburary several of us held a back yard bible study for a neighborhood that a house had been started in. The study we held was for all ages and the goal was to attract more people to the house church. Several adults came but not as many kids. Kandi and I were in charge of the preschoolers we had Mckenzie and one other little boy but we still had fun.

Here is a picture of the setup.

Here is a picture of Kandi and I behind the curtian singing with puppets.

Here is our group making fruit loop necklaces.

Matt is helping make playdough animals.

Here is a picture of the final wrap up with several of the participants singing.

The girls love the fact that they now have 4 new missionary friends on our street. This is a pic of the girls talking to Caroline through our front fence. Caroline and here family were leaving for the store but the girls had to talk for a minute while her parents were finishing getting ready.

After a full day of Spanish at school Mckenzie is very tired. A lot of times she crashes before she even eats lunch. She sure is cute when she is sleeping (she can't be sassy).

After a full day of spansh in school Kaitlyn is ready to have an english class (even if it is only her teddy bears).

Kaitlyn goes to gymnastics Monday and Wednesday after school and she loves it. She has learned how to do many things to worry Mom and Dad at home since our house has all concrete floors.

These are a couple of pictures of our school campus. Carlos does a great job with he landscaping. The girls school is on the same campus and is only a couple hundred yards away from us. We have a teraza (a covered picnic area) for our breaks. Also on break there is a store called Cosas-R-Us which is a small snack shop. We really like the campus and it is very convenient. It is only about a 10-15 minute walk from our home.