Mango Baby Beach supports Toys for Tots in Costa Rica!

Hola Amigos! Thank you all for continuing to support our adventure. This journey, that we chose for our family, has been rewarding, but has not been easy. We committed to Costa Rica when we decided on this life change, and have been learning and growing together along the way. Our Spanish is getting better by the day. Jack and Fiona will be the first to be fluent (I predict) and I would imagine that their Spanish will be very close to native Costa Rican Spanish. Roccito on the other hand will learn Spanish and English simultaneously with mostly English at home and almost exclusively Spanish at daycare. This little dude, or MAE (local Tico way of saying dude, bro, bud, etc. pronounced MY-ee) will no doubt speak native, Spanish and English perfectly. This is a gift that we have given our children and I am a bit jelly that they will learn it naturally, unlike their dumb mom and dad who have to work very hard to master Espanol. They may not appreciate it now, but they will one day whether they decide to study and work in the US or if they decide to live a Pura Vida life abroad. They will be fully bilingual and will easily be able to navigate through many cultures and worlds.

This weekend we were lucky enough to participate in a great event for a great cause. Our good friend who we have mentioned in past blogs, Michael Simons, had a big bash filled with amazing food, cold drinks and charity. Michael is the owner of Tres Amigos Realty (he has been instrumental in our success in this community, and we bought our casita through him) and Tank Tops Flip Flops (a great resource for all questions you may have about living in Costa Rica). Annually, Michael throws this giant bash where close to 700 people come to his gorgeous home that overlooks the beautiful Vista Ridge Golf Course in this amazing section of the Guanacaste Province. All guests bring toys and presents for donation. The donations will help local families this Holiday Season bring joy to their children. Furthermore, Tank Tops Flip Flops sell some pretty cool shirts and all the proceeds go to Christmas parties for the local public schools in the area. Check out our toys for Tico Tots and our sweet TTFF swag, as well as some pictures of this amazing event!

We wish we could do more! One day we will. We plan to make this Mango Baby Beach Rentals dream a staple of this community and eventually a Costa Rican household name, like Tres Amigos and Tank Tops Flip Flops are.

A few parting updates...

We saw an anteater cross the street and stop traffic. It was awesome and also crazy and definitely a Costa Rican first for us! Someone may correct me and say that is not an Anteater...which I will gladly concede and admit that I don't know anything about Anteaters or whatever that is.

Our kids are excited to head home to Charlotte on Saturday 12/10. We look forward to spending time with family and friends until we head to Pennsylvania for a Winter Wonderland that will include skiing and the annual potential for a White Christmas. The kids had fun trying on the few warm clothes we brought from the US that they have not worn in a year. Those pants are a little young Jack and Fi....

Pura Vida amigos! Remember your new Costa Rican slang word from up top - "Mae" means bro/dude/pal/guy/homie/friend. Please start using it frequently :). Also today is a Costa Rican holiday celebrating the abolition of the Costa Rican military. Very cool day in Costa Rica. Until the next time!