It was six months ago that we arrived in Costa Rica though it feels like a lifetime ago. At the same time though, it feels like I blinked and 6 months was over. I woke up this morning reflecting on the fact that this is our last weekend in Costa Rica for this portion of our adventure and it made me start thinking about our first weekend here in December.

Our first weekend in Tamarindo we were just coming off of our first week of surf school. The kids were all catching waves but had a newbie imbalance and bouncy learning curves. Erin and I were on foam surf boards. Tamarindo was empty Erin and I were talking constantly about how this town was going to be our temporary new home.

That weekend we also took our first trip on the Marlin Del Rey catamaran. We met Robert August on the boat as well as our first “tourist friends”. It was our first opportunity to share the fact that we were living in Costa Rica, the first time we answered questions about “How?” “School?” “Work?”, etc.

On that first weekend, none of us spoke or understood more than 10 words in spanish. We had not yet attended school, we had yet to learn anything. Spanish school would be starting the following monday.

We met our friends Brian and Carrie that first weekend. Little did we know that 6 months later we’d be close friends. Bella was watching Dora on the computer and Abby went over to watch. We met them because Abby is a social butterfly and has made many new friends around town.

This weekend we’ll be heading to the beach, catching as many waves as we can and getting ready for the next hop in the journey. We’ll be saying goodbye to friends, packing up suitcases and prepping for our departure. We’ve changed so much as a family from that first family that stepped off the plane in December. I’m so thankful for this experience. I could not have asked for more.