The heat is on!

My brother, Troy, and cousin, Rob, attended Summerfest with us Sunday to see INXS. We staked out a picnic table up front for 3 hours taking turns running for water and the cool down tent where they spray mist so you don't pass out from heat exhaustion. The band put on a GREAT show which made the wait in 103 degree temps worthwhile! (JD was sporting a full beard and long hair!)

Then Troy stayed with Rob at his apartment in West Allis while we went back to the airport Radisson. We picked Troy up Monday morning to take him back to Rapids since he had rode down with Rob Sunday morning. The drive from Rapids to Big Lake is 4 hours making a total of almost 7 hour drive for the day. We eventually made it back to our empty house in time to get some of the 8 loads (or so) of laundry started! Whoo hoo!

We thought for sure our lawn would be burnt to a crisp like last year when we went to Summerfest for the week but luckily it must have rained a bit since we still had a bit of green (mostly weeds, though) and some water in the one bird bath we didn't pack. Patrick is out mowing the weeds right now. I regret not putting in the in-ground sprinkler system we discussed adding 2 or 3 years ago but obviously it's too late now.

Not much is happening with our properties here in Minnesota. Patrick has been diligently trying to get the duplex to close but the mortgage officer won't call back the buyer or Patrick. Also, the young couple we would like to sell our Big Lake home to can't get approved for the loan so we are discussing a carry-back option. It's nothing I'm excited about but we do need to sell so something is better than nothing, right?

As far as our place in San Rafael (Costa Rica), the previous owner moved out at the beginning of July and worked out a deal with the neighbor who owns the coffee plantations. He is staying at our place and we are paying him $50 per week until we get down there. It's not quite the arrangement I was hoping for (again) but hopefully it will help our standing in the community and we won't be the "awful gringos". Making friends with the owner of a coffee plantation can't be all bad! I can't wait to enjoy real coffee again (we have Yuban at home but we had plenty of crap while vacationing).

Oh, by the way, the Weird Al concert exceeded my expectations so I would highly recommend checking him out next time you get a chance! We missed the Asia concert due to a slight family melt-down and huge crowds. Cat Empire funked and jammed. Patrick and Azure thought Spoon was too mellow but I enjoyed them and at least caught "I Turn My Camera On" and "The Way We Get By" before we left.

Another personal update

I'm thinking of changing the description of the blog since this has become very personal and won't necessarily help anyone planning a move to Costa Rica. If anyone is offended by the fact that this blog is losing focus, please let me know. Thanks.

So, on to our latest adventure: We spent some time in Wisconsin Rapids with my family. My Mom wasn't satisfied with our last goodbye in the mall parking lot so she drove down for a visit also. We had a pizza dinner Saturday night and breakfast Sunday morning. I'm glad that we had the opportunity to enjoy another get together with everyone again. The impromptu barbecue at my Grandparents will be one I'll remember for a long time. (It might be the last time I will get a real Wisconsin brat on the grill. MMMMM!) I showed everyone pictures of our property and made them all promise to visit sometime.

Monday we met my Aunt Patti, Uncle Todd, and cousins Joe and Alex for a day in the Dells. Alex lives and works in the Dells so he was able to score some free passes for the Chula Vista waterpark. The climb up all the steps killed me but coming down thru the tubes rocked so I think I managed to burn a ton of calories :-) Afterwards, we debated what to do and I guess I won because we went to Riverview Park and purchased a night pass for only $9.75. This allowed us to ride almost everything but the point of going there was for the go-carts. I love to race! I won or came in second almost every time. Maybe I took it to serious but we all had a blast! My Uncle Todd and I were racing furiously at one particular track and turned the corner to find Azure putzing along. Needless to say, she end up sideways and needed to get an attendant's help to get going again. I thought her eyes would pop right out of her head while she was spinning!

So, now we are in Milwaukee for Summerfest! Weird Al is tonight and of course we are excited. I have to sign off now so we can go swimming for a bit before we leave for the concert.

Later!

I know this picture is blurry but I didn't take it so what can I do-it's all I've got...

more hassles but mostly good things happening!

(Patrick would like me to point out that this post is slightly off-topic since it is more about us and how the move is affecting us than about Costa Rica so those not interested in our lives don't have to read the entire post. Good Point!)



Patrick had a good response to his ad on Craig's list about his car. He is currently showing it to a woman whose brother is in Iraq and wants to buy the car since he is coming home soon. I am against wars which is one of the reasons I love Costa Rica (they don't have an army), but I feel for the guys who are fighting and hope we can give this guy a good deal.

Anyway, Patrick realized last night that he accidentally packed the title for the car (another duh!) so we went to the State registrar today. She took our money and said "thanks. you should have your title in 5-7 days." Whoa! We won't be here then. She said they don't expedite them anymore due to budget cuts. ? What a dumb thing to get rid of.... Hopefully, they print it, get it in the mail, and we can receive it before Thursday!

We showed the house last night to this young couple that have been clients of Patrick's since last year. They really like the house (especially the low price) and are contacting the mortgage broker Patrick recommended to them. I have a good feeling about this and would love for a quick close. The guy actually said "is Uhaul still open?" before he left last night because he knew he wanted to move in right away. That's a bonus!

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that our duplex still has not closed! We now have our fingers crossed that this fourth closing date for Thursday will be "the one".

I refuse to stay in town and miss Summerfest! Azure is counting on seeing Weird Al, Patrick wants to see Asia, and I am patiently waiting for The Cat Empire and Spoon!! Woohoo! I still have to remember to change our Milwaukee hotel stay dates so we can stay through Sunday. I haven't told Azure who will be there that day but it's someone we will all enjoy! Anyone interested in concerts should check out the Summerfest website cuz once you see the lineup, you won't want to miss the festival!

Hello world!

I'm done threatening to post about Costa Rica. Here it is -like it or not. I've read a ton about moving to and living in Costa Rica and I can never find exactly what I am looking for so I've decided to do it myself. I'm sure it won't live up to everyone's expectations but I've learned that nothing does or does it? cuz I forget ;-)

So, the main purpose of this blog site is to keep all our family and friends in the loop of our move and then our final destination of Costa Rica.

We will be moving shortly after Summerfest in Milwaukee (July). Summerfest will be celebrating their 40th anniversary and we wouldn't miss it for the world! For those of you who have never been to Summerfest, you NEED to check it out:
http://www.summerfest.com
there is enough music, food, sun, & fun for everyone! (as we like to say)

Here are some photos of the house we will hopefully own by next week














the bottom photo is the main house and the first one is a view of the guest house from the balcony of the main house (over looking the nearby coffee fields)