Time to organize

Please bear with me while I try to consolidate/organize my labels for this blog.

I will post my Jaco story later today (I hope).

home again, home again, jiggety jig

We left Denver Monday afternoon around 1:30 after a delicious lunch with Sean at Tuk Tuk. I love Thai food and Pad Thai tops the list. We drove straight thru only stopping for gas and a meal to go at Sonic in Kearney, Nebraska. I'm not a fan of Nebraska but extremely happy to have a cream slushie! Anyone guess what time we pulled into our driveway in Big Lake? The winner would be the person guessing 5:36am! Obviously, we slept until almost noon....

Today, in between all the loads of laundry, we made lots of phone calls to try to get things wrapped up to leave for Costa Rica. Besides trying to get our properties sold, I have been trying to resolve a credit card issue that started back in November when I had my backpack stolen in Jaco. It's a somewhat long story that I would rather describe tomorrow since Patrick is just finishing up our dinner and I should change wash loads before eating.

Until tomorrow then...

Entire Jones Family at Red Rocks minus Sean since he was working :-( (and I took the photo)

more waiting -we're starting to get used to it!

We're starting to get nervous about the move but not in the way you would think. We are excited to get down to Costa Rica but things don't seem to be going our way. We haven't sold either of our properties in Minnesota yet and therefore have not yet purchased tickets to San Jose. I keep finding really good deals but since we are afraid as soon as we book something the date won't work because we will need to sign paperwork, we postpone the purchase until we are positive we are picking a good move date.

The original plan was to fly down to Costa Rica the week before Azure starts school so we have plenty of time to settle in. We need to sign for the keys to our new property and transfer the name of the corporation into a name of our choice ( I think we finally settled on a name). Then we need to ensure our container arrived as scheduled and have everything delivered to our place (we haven't heard anything from Charles Zellar in a while?). Of course, unpacking will be fun! Also, Azure needs to get her new school uniform and I have to complete all the application paperwork. Then there is the matter of purchasing a car. Plus, did I mention we don't know our way around very well? I know we'll need to get things set up such as electric, water, cable, etc. and that will be an adventure all of it's own, I'm sure!

At least we are trying to relax here in Denver for the time being -we will probably be leaving Monday morning for the long drive back home.

This is a photo of the Jones Family on top of Lookout Mountain in Golden, CO

more driving to visit family before we move

Since we didn't need to be in Minnesota for any particular reason, we took off early yesterday morning (Wednesday) and drove straight thru to Denver to visit Patrick's brother, Sean. We made it in one piece after only a 15 hour drive but had a close call coasting into one gas station on fumes!

I must sign off - we have places to go, people to visit, etc.

Azure typed up something in the car yesterday that she asked me to post. I don't quite follow it but here goes:

Hello bloggers,
This is a very slow day it is 11 pm and we have been on the since 9 am it is totally absurd. To me that makes no since, but driving from MN to CO in one day is just too weird to imagine. We were going to leave on Thursday, but all of a sudden (flash back to yesterday Tuesday and this morning) I got up in the morning from just getting back from WI and I hadn't seen my friend Sam for a long time soo anyways I went over to play and all of a sudden my parents came over and said that I needed to come home because we were leaving in the morning.
"Mom, why!?!?!" I asked.
"So if we leave now we can to CO then can be back if something happens." Mom explained.
"OK," and that's all I could say.
So mom was being really nice and Kirst (Kirsten my bff from 1st grade and still is). When we woke up mom was on a rampage because I forgot to put my backpack together that I was saposta put together last night. That meant I had to put it together in the morn (lest time for other stuff I needed to get done).
Now we're here and duh I should have known lots of lightnin'.
Bye talk soon,
Azure

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.

Typical good 4th of July in Milwaukee

I hope everyone had a good 4th of July! I realize not everyone reading this blog celebrates Independence Day on the 4th but that doesn't mean you couldn't have a good day, right?

One of the Jones Family traditions on the 4th of July is to go to a Mexican restaurant for lunch. I know this may sound crazy but in Milwaukee most places are closed on Independence Day and we can always count on the Mexican restaurants to be open. Our favorite of them all is Conejitos. Thanks to my cousin Heather, we found this "dive bar" which serves the most amazing Mexican food. I always order the plate lunch. They serve rice and refried beans with beef, potatoes, and green beans all in a sloppy mess usually on a paper plate. Then you get 4 tortillas to make your own tacos. I can't even begin to tell you how delicious this simple meal tastes except to say that we crave it all year and can't wait for our yearly visit!

By the way, did I tell everyone that we actually sold Patrick's car right before our long drive to Wisconsin. Yeah. Now if only we could sell our Minnesota properties.

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...

A word or two from Azure

Azure wrote something for this blog last night while we were driving to Wisconsin from our home in Big Lake. I told her I would post it as written so I hope you enjoy her viewpoint:

Today my parents called me a "butt". I still really don't wanna move, so i was just siting on the floor doing nothing. The reason my parents were made was because we were packing to go to SUMMERFEST. The best part is weird al is going to be there and INXS today, probably at this exact moment Chris Daughtry from AI (American Idol). We get to for the first time to Summerfest stay at a good (like rich people) hotel called the Radisson dad said we might see some of the artist from the concerts. Last year we saw Yellow Card at the mall :^0 !!
We are also getting to stop in Rapids (thats where my mom's family lives) and this time my uncle Troy is going to be there (he is like almost never there) I am sooo excited!! Now we're finally here and it is 9:22pm so it's not late but we left at like 3 something (we had to stop a few times). This is probably the last time I'm going to be here ever in my life so I need to log off to look around.
bye,
Azure Trio Jones

Photo taken of Azure next to the pool at Samoa Lodge Tortuguerro

what next?

Where do I start? We still didn't have our duplex closing today and it doesn't look to be closing soon. The title for Patrick's car still hasn't arrived in the mail (but we did receive $400 down payment from the woman whose husband is in Iraq). The couple who want to buy our Big Lake house were unable to reach the loan officer until yesterday so we still don't have a purchase agreement. Since we are waiting on everything here in Big Lake we are still sleeping on the floors instead of enjoying the beds at my grandparents as planned last week (what next?)

Good news is that Azure has spent everyday this week with one friend or another so she is VERY happy. My Mom has decided to meet us in Wisconsin this weekend for one last visit.

I need to go because we are having a big fire with all our old paperwork so no one can get hold of our social security numbers (I burned out our paper shredder!)

I wanted to put up a new post before I'm gone again with no Internet access. fun

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!

Still no time to relax - well maybe a little!

Everyone must be tired of me talking about how busy we are by now. Truth is that we've been trying to relax these past few days in between our bursts of madness. Yesterday we even attended the local Spud Fest parade and I had a good sugar buzz from all the candy!

Patrick was busy cleaning the carpets here in the house Thursday and Friday since we knew it would be easier after everything was moved out. He also cleaned out his car and shampooed the entire thing while we had the Rug Doctor. We put the car for sale on Craig's List yesterday morning and already have had several interested parties. This is cool cuz we would like to have it sold before we head back to Wisconsin later this week for our second visit and Summerfest.

We've slowly been buying some of the items we packed and actually still needed like a coffee maker. Yesterday while trying to put pictures of Patrick's car up on Craig's list, we realized how important it was to have a USB cable for the camera (we packed it -duh). So after several trips to Walmart, I finally remembered to buy a card reader. So, now I can post some more new pictures. yeah!

Here is Patrick hiding behind some plastic containers on Wednesday, June 13th. This is the day before the "big move" and we are busy organizing everything, labeling, and creating our inventory list. Fun!

Patrick asked me to add this next photo of the inside of our garage to illustrate how everything you own can fit in a three car garage (except your furniture).

the big move

So, I finally have a few minutes to post details of the move. I started something twice last Thursday night but this new laptop with Microsoft Vista was giving me headaches (maybe it's just me but the thing keeps opening and closing windows "thinking" it was my intention because the mouse was pointing at something). Anyway, here is what happened to us last week and I hope others involved in this move will learn from our mistakes!

On the day of the move, the trucking company called and told us they didn't have a driver. After the initial shock, we made a lot of calls to ensure we would get the container later that day. We had a lot of things set aside as "possibilities to pack". After evaluating our furniture, boxes, and plastic tubs, etc., we determined we would rather ship everything then to sell the furniture handed down from our family and buy new. So, we called the moving company and told them to send the 40 ft container instead of the 20 ft. We paid extra of course but feel it was worth it. Also, this way we could take our bicycles because I am partial to my Raleigh beach cruiser...

Long story short, the biggest mistake we made was believing the container would have ramps so we could easily walk in and out with everything we needed to pack. The container was on a flatbed truck as expected but no ramps. The college kids we hired as movers had to lift everything almost over their heads to get it into the container. I'm 5 feet tall and the bottom of the truck came to my forehead. I didn't think they would be able to handle the appliances, but we had them start with the heavy items then the boxes then furniture. Everything fit snugly in the end which is good because at first when I saw the size of the thing I thought for sure we would end up with a pile of broken items from all the rolling around. Patrick did a great job of putting large items on the outsides and smaller items in the middle. We'll still have to see what arrives intact and what we will need to replace from damage...

The moving company claims that most local movers will bring their own ramps but of course the college kids have only done local moves so they had no clue about loading containers. Patrick and I aren't confident that all will arrive in one piece but we have decided not to worry about it since we can't do anything about it now...

I am not sure I would do it the same way if we could do it all over again because some of the quotes I received from other companies included movers and they weren't much higher than what Charles Zeller quoted for our move. I think next time I would still use Charles as a broker in San Jose but I would hire a different company here in the States and pay for professional movers. Oh well. We debated this whole thing for a long time and it will never be perfect so like I said at the beginning, "I just hope others learn from our mistakes!".

By the way, I packed the USB cable for my camera so I need to buy another one before I can put anymore pictures up.

I can see in a new clear way!

again this is azure and again there will be some texty talk

yesterday i got a pair of glasses *groan* i am mad it took so long to get 'em but over all its good i got them because now i can see *scream happily*

next time we go to Costa Rica (and permanently) i will be able to actually see all the beautiful wonderful stuff and this time not fuzzy

my glasses are really cool they're like a navy blue on the outside and then there is a thin white line on the edges then they're light blue yeaaaaaaaaaaa

the funniest thing happened yesterday when i was wearing them i was spinning around in circles, like i normally do but its hard to see out the sides and i got dizzy and fell over (that was at night so it was also hard to see)

now we had this special deal and mommy got a pair too. her glasses/sunglasses they are sooo kool but they kinda look strange but thats probable only 'cause i'm not usta her in sunglasses

ok thats all i got for now ill probaly add more about other unimportant stuff so im soz but signing off *trumpetsblow* dadadaadaaa charge

our life is too busy

be prepared this is text talk

hi and welcome to this section of the blog this is azure and not jodi (aka her daughter) the last few months we have been soooo busy thats why i'm typing and not mom
last week i was at my grandma's house well mom and dad did last minute packing and shipped the cart there was a bit of a problem because we had so much crap we had to have the truck turn around and go back and get a 40 ft instead of a 20 ft container. thinkin' back it makes sense we had to fill 2 houses instead of one

now its SUPER boring because are house is like completely empty
o wait let's go back to this last weekend we got to go to my great-grandma & grandpa's house because my cousin had a wedding it was sooooooo much fun because we partied a lot and i got to see family that was great but yet so sad because that meant more goodbyes. i'm getting sick and tired of goodbyes. 1st all of school now all my family. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!! :(
i have to leave now since i cant use the stove we've been getting a lot of take out so bye bye computer hello pizza mmmmmmmmmmm...pizza argggggggggggggg

I'm exhausted!

Everything is loaded and on it's way to Costa Rica. I'm too tired to share the details right now. Tomorrow I should get something up and possibly some photos. Yeah!

nothing new

I didn't get a chance (forgot) to call Tracy about packing the container yesterday. We had a pretty busy day. We emptied our huge walk in storage closet finally! And I managed to find my stamp collection I have been looking for ever since I left Denver (I thought for sure someone stole it -shame on me!).

My Mom called and said they would be home this weekend after all since the lodge they had planned to visit for paddling had been wiped out by a tornado Thursday night! Luckily everyone is ok but she said all the buildings are destroyed! So, the good news is that we drove Azure up to Superior, Wisconsin to meet my Mom. She will be staying in Ashland for the week and we will pick her up Friday in Stevens Point. This is the last chance she has to spend time with my Mom before we move to Costa Rica so she was happy and sad at the same time. I'm just glad she can be with my Mom for the weekend too not just a short week (originally we were planning to drop her off Sunday evening and my Mom has to work all week...)

I have to end this post so I can drag things out of the garage for a sale. I must get rid of more things so we have room to walk in the garage at least. I need someone to buy the snow blower!! Yeah, no more shoveling or dealing with snow!

The photo of my Mom, Phil, and Azure was taken on our balcony of the Rain Forest Aerial Tram Lodge right before our night walk. Azure didn't want to take off her rain slicker even though it wasn't raining anymore!

update to full container load (FCL)

The company bringing the container called yesterday. They said they have been very busy with moves to Costa Rica this month. They asked which day we would like the container to arrive. I asked her "how does the schedule work?" My understanding was someone brings it one day and leaves it over night for us to pack and then picks it up the next day. She kind of giggled at that idea.

What really happens, according to Tracy at Alpico Co. International, will be a driver pulling up with a container at a specified time. He will wait in the truck for two hours while we load the container and then he leaves. If we need more than two hours, the company charges $100 per hour (for him to sit as his butt)!

Tracy said that for a 20ft container it shouldn't take more than two hours. She personally has packed some full to the brim and it still only took the specified time. Of course, I forgot to ask how many people were packing the container so I'll have to call her back today.

We have hired two college guys who had a website and claim to do moves all the time. They charge $75 per hour plus $50 to drive to Big Lake. Patrick scheduled them to be at the house at 8:30am because the truck with the container will arrive at 10 and we want everything pre-wrapped and ready to load when it arrives. I think 90 minutes seems like a lot of time to shrink wrap but I've never done it so I can't argue.

I will update my blog tomorrow with details from the discussion I have with Tracy today so everyone will know how this moving process works.

Big Thanks!

Not much has been happening here (that's worth blogging about anyway). We officially have our Big Lake home on the market and had one showing over the weekend. We are still packing/minimizing our packed items. We picked out and purchased appliances to take with us to Costa Rica at Best Buy Saturday night. The salesman was nice and very interested in our move and the real estate market in Costa Rica (it's very good now). He currently owns property in Hawaii which he considers a great investment even though he only gets to enjoy the place once per year. I'm still plugging away with my items on Ebay -my Mrs. Beasley and Howdy Dowdy are soaring way above estimate!

So, I've been meaning to say a big thanks to everyone who clicks on the Google ads on my site. It seems kinda silly but each time someone clicks on an ad, I earn between 25-65 cents. That may not seem like much but when we are down in Costa Rica and not making any money until we get that "right job" it could mean enough to eat everyday! Also, doing a Google search from my page and then clicking on one of those ads will also earn me some money, I'm not sure how much since no one has done it yet, though...


So, Please Click Away! Thanks!!

Tico Times

I keep forgetting to let everyone know that The Tico Times newspaper (printed in English)provides information about Costa Rica via an online version! We have the online version setup as our homepage. Unfortunately, the newspaper is only published once a week (on Fridays). Plus, the online version articles are usually limited to front page only unless you want to buy a full PDF file version. But, it still offers the best up-to-date information we have found. We are also lucky to receive back copies from my Mom (she receives them from a customer at her bank). Anyway, just in case you are interested in checking it out you can find The Tico Times site here.

I guess I'm not quite ready yet

Charles Zellar, from Ship to Costa Rica , called the other day to discuss our moving plans. He said that shipments to Costa Rica are delayed right now so we should expect the shipment to take 6 weeks. Given that we would like our things by Azure's first day of school at the latest, he said he would have a container at our house within a week! After a huge gasp, I asked if we could push it back a week. Charles said he couldn't guarantee that we would have everything by July 31st but since I couldn't bear to part with everything (especially our new Sleep Comfort bed), he would arrange for the container (FCL) to be at our house on the 13th or 14th (of June)!!

We have been concerned about packing our huge projection screen TV and some other items we want to ensure don't break during shipment. Charles suggested we hire a local company for the day the container arrives and they can help us load the container and pack anything we don't have already packed. He said that a local company possibly even college students would help us save some money. Right on!

He also gave us some tips for the packing list. He said that it is important to number everything that goes into the container then match the number to a list that describes the item. I specifically asked how detailed to describe the items (for example does a plastic container full of books need to say "35 books" or each title written out separately or what)? The answer is better than I expected! All that needs to be on the plastic container is the number and the word "books" (for example "#1 books") and then the same on the packing list ("#1 books"). As far as mixed boxes, he said pick the item that takes up the most space (ornaments, knickknacks, photos, etc). But make sure if you throw a single item in (something like a broom), you also write a number on it and a matching number on the packing list.

I like this photo of Patrick and Azure, but Azure doesn't want me to post it...