the trip went really well. Everyone stayed healthy and the kids did amazingly well on the five plane rides (first Philly-->Miami-->Managua, then Managua-->Panama City, Panama-->San Juan, Costa Rica a few days later, and then finally San Juan-->Newark.) We brought along our little portable DVD player (that Dan picked up in China a few years ago for like $30) and it was really a lifesaver. (You can see in one of the pics in the link posted below that Emily has 5 kids in her row all watching a movie on it!)
Anyway, Nicaragua was great. Our friends there have 4 older kids and then 6 little Nicaraguan adopted kids. One of the older girls is married and living in Nica w/ her hubby and kids. Their daughter Aliyah is just about Hallie's age, and the two girls had such a fun time together. It was so cute! (Hallie told me later, "Mommy, now I have TWO friends! Abby Crandall [her cousin] and Aliyah!") While in Nica we painted some rooms at an orphanage (quite the experience!) and did craft projects with kids who attend a school in Managua's city dump. We also got to just chill and hang out with our friends-- swimming, playing at the beach, playing games (at night after the kids were in bed) and talking, talking, talking. It was nice for me to have another young mom who is dealing with the same issues I am to hang out with during those inevitable "I can't go anywhere/do anything because of the kids"times, when everyone else was splitting to go see a movie or go surfing or whatever. Their older kids and our older kids all get along so well that we often joke that two of us need to get married so our families can stay so close forever. 
Will and Nathan spent every waking moment in Nicaragua scrounging for and collecting.... coconuts. They had stashes of them all over our friends' property, and immediately disappeared after meals to find more or relocate their existing piles. It was really hilarious. They also collected limes and oranges, and could often be heard asking for help reaching one that was on a branch just out of reach. They were extremely conspiratorial about it, too. Once I overheard Will talking to Nathan, saying, "Nathan, we need to find nails, wood, a sail and a motor." When I asked him what all that was needed for, I was told it was for the boat they were building to carry their coconuts in. The weather was HOT, but we all got used to it fairly quickly, and thankfully, we had an a/c unit in our room to make sleeping a little more bearable. With the weather so warm year-round, the indoors and outdoors are basically exchangeable. We ate outside at every meal, and wandered in and out as if no doors existed. It's such a great way to live! I loved that lack of separation between indoors and out-- like the whole outdoors is your living room.
We left Nica after 4 days to head to Costa Rica for some family R&R. Most of the pictures I posted are from CR, actually. It was a great, relaxing time. We stayed at this amazing place, owned and run by friends of my family. It was so beautiful and lush and green and rainforestty... I couldn't keep from gaping at all the gorgeous scenery! The world is truly so diverse and so amazing!!!
We left CR after 3 days and headed back (on a non-stop flight!) to the US. My favorite part of any overseas trip (and yes, I know this is silly) is when you get back to the US, and you've gone through immigration, and you are at that last hurdle before you're home free: customs. I always pick the kids up and explain what's happening as they watch the custom's agent check their paperwork, scan their passport, stamp it twice, etc. And I love it when, after the last stamp has been made and the passports handed back, the customs guy smiles and says, "Welcome back, guys. You're home." I love my country, but I don't often think of what it means to live here. How much would someone give to be in my shoes? To be able to walk through customs as a fully-privileged American citizen, and hear "Welcome home, guys".... well..... it's just really, really great, and maybe, it's just one of those things you can't appreciate until you've been there.
So. That's about it. There is so much more I could say about the trip itself, what we did, the people we saw... but I just don't have time. In the three days since we've been home, I've been thinking of posting here, but I just have been so busy. The usual: cleaning, laundry (6 loads on Monday!) kids, trying to prioritize, groceries, making app'ts.... and honestly, I think it comes down to that. I only have so much time, and it's all about priorities-- what is my time best spent on? And as much as I love writing, xanga is not one of the top contenders for "best spent time" award around here. So I find myself posting less, because I really feel like my time is best spent somewhere else. Or because, despite my best intentions to get on here, I just don't.
So! That's a recap. And now life goes on, crazy busy as always, and I'm off trying to keep one step ahead of these three mud-puddle-stomping kids of mine!!! (That actually has been a favorite activity as of late...)
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