In honor of our eighteen month anniversary, we were surprised with an earthquake this morning around 5:00 a.m. Well – Tom and the dogs were surprised – I slept right through it. It seems amazing to me that we have been living here for a year and a half. Time has flown by and every day we STILL pinch ourselves to make sure that we really are here and not just dreaming about it.
Since I last wrote, we have become residents! In late January, we finally got word that all our paperwork had been approved and we could go to San Jose and get our cedulas. So, we bribed our friends Kathleen and Rick with the promise of all the Netflix they could watch and they stayed here with the dogs and off we went. The trip over was rainy and slow. 
There were trucks on both sides of the road almost the entire way going to and from the Port of Limon. But we got to our hotel safe and sound and got up the next morning and headed off to get our residency cards (cedula). We had been working for the past couple of years with The Association of Residents of Costa Rica who helped us with all of our paperwork. 
On the morning we were to get our cedulas, we met one of their staff at the immigration office and he helped guide us through the process. 
We sat with all the other ex-pats from the north and central Americas and in just a couple of hours were done. 
I was lucky and got my actual cedula before we left but Tom was told that his would be mailed and that he would receive it within a week. However, this being Costa Rica, he got a call a few days after we got home and was told that he had to go back because the picture or something was bad. So he got up bright and early on a Thursday morning, drove back to San Jose and came home with his cedula about three that afternoon. It was a long and very interesting process.
On the trip back from San Jose there were almost no clouds in the sky and we were able to see the Turrialba Volcano with steam coming out of the top. That is a rare sight as it is almost always cloudy going over the mountains. 
The trees were also flowering and were absolutely gorgeous. I almost didn’t want the trip to end it was so beautiful that day.
The Super Bowl has come and gone and this year we went to our neighborhood bar and watched with a bunch of friends and others who needed their American football fix. It was great fun and such a great game!
We also have improved our garden in the last couple of weeks. We went to a finca close by and ended up getting twelve fruit and flowering trees and some bushes for about $60. 
I couldn’t believe that deal. When added to everything else we already had in the garden, we now have papaya, banana, costa rican oranges, cas, avocados, mango, and lime trees as well as several medicinal plants growing. I can’t wait for all of this to begin fruiting and flowering! Also – while we were in San Jose we picked up some new bromeliads 
and they look great in the places Tom picked out to put them.
So now we are off to snorkel for the first time in a few months. My favorite way to celebrate!!
More pictures from the last few weeks:
Orchids in our garden
Mom and baby sloth in the backyard
Two Ani hanging out in the yard
Wasp dragging a paralyzed spider – this was amazing!
Ships in the Port of Limon
Heliconia
River not too far from our town – they are full this year even with not much rain
Costa Rica Dog Lover 