Almost over...

Happy Easter!
We only have 2 days left and then we are on our way home. First stop Costa Rica then home! I probably won't blog anymore till I get home and update with the final pics. We have had a great Easter. We went to the beach and really enjoyed a non windy day and the weather was perfect about 82 degrees! I made a scavenger hunt for the kids and got them some chocolate easter eggs to find. See you all very soon!

Pictures of La Barra taken by Kai.

The river that leads to the Atlantic Ocean.

El Dorado is the grocery store that we shop at most of the time! About 1k walk.

Street scene of La Barra.

Our beach that we went to most of the time. It is the best for the kids to swim and play in the waves.

Street scene by our house in La Barra.

These are pictures that Kai took of La Barra - around our town!

Sunset Punta Del Este - Friday April 10, 2009

Our last Friday night in Punta Del Este. We decided to go downtown and watch the sunset. It doesn't matter where you are in the World a beautiful sunset is always awesome to watch. After the sunset we went to get ice cream at our favorite helado place. We had a great time and really enjoyed hanging out as a family our last friday night!

Wavey Bridge!

These are picture of the "Wavey Bridge". It is the bridge that connects La Barra to Punta Del Este. The kids had so much fun everytime we went over this bridge. Ava says, "It makes her tummy tickley." Kay said, "Go faster, go faster, lets catch some air." Which we did a few times in our little red Hyndai. The bridge is famous for it architecture and design. Below is a link to a youtube video someone videoed a few years ago!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Kenp7GmlSE

Carnival in Punta Del Este

These pictures were on Karen's camera and I just got them off her camera before she left. This is the night our house got broken into. We did have a fantastic time at Carnival in Punta Del Este down Gorrero street. The flags, costumes, drumming, and dancing was amazing. The drummers were fantastic and they drummed so hard and so long some of their hands were bleeding.

Almost back!

Well it is official...this time next week we will be on an airplane back to the US. First stop Houston and Starbucks. I have to admit I am addicted to caffeine (coffee). The coffee is awesome in Costa Rica, but it has some of the lowest caffeine. That is why it is hard to find 100% Costa Rican coffee beans in the US. We like it strong and it usually is blended with some other coffee to make it stronger. The coffee in Uruguay well...they don't really drink it. They drink Herba Mate which is like a tea, but very ceremonial for them. They take it everywhere they go. I have not tried it, but I am bringing some home to try with my dad. In the grocery stores here they have a very small section for coffee and then an entire aisle for Herba Mate. I didn't really know there was such a difference between each brand, but...I am sure there is.
The kids have 1 day left of homeschooling and they are finally getting into the rhythm of it. Of course! I am so proud of them sticking with their studies. They have learned alot. Karen is leaving on Sunday for her journey back to Lima, Peru. She is going to Buenas Aires, AR then to Paraguay, then to La Paz, Bolivia, then final destination Lima, Peru. From there she is heading back to Chicago for the Summer then off to China for year to teach English and learn Mandarin Chinese. We wish her very safe travels and she better stay in touch!
Anyway...we are enjoying waking up to the sunshine everyday. We will certainly miss that, but can't wait to see beautiful Oregon.
See you all soon!

Cory's 39th Birthday in Uruguay!

Patriotic fans!

Kai and Dad having a great time!

Riot police between the Uruguay fans and Paraguys fans. There was an empty section between them.

Family photo!

For Cory's 39th Birthday we celebrated by going into Montevideo for a Futbol game. Uruguay vs. Paraguay in a 2010 World Cup Qualifier. Uruguay won 2-0! It was amazing to see a Futbol game in South America. The fans were crazy. At one point all the Uruguaian fans were jumping in unison saying something in Spanish. There were alot of police there in full riot gear and the Paraguay fans could not leave the game until all the Uruguay fans were gone. There were a few Paraguay fans in our section and they received a police escort after the game. Everyone had flags either draped over them or waving them in the air. This is definetly a highlight of the trip!

11 Days and we will be hom!

Hola Familia y Amigo's,
Eleven days and we will be home. For all of you who are following our blog, sorry I have not updated in the last few weeks. We really have not been up to very much. I am also having problems uploading my pics to the computer. So, as soon as I get it figured out I will post new pics. We did celebrate Cory's 39th Birthday with a nice day with the family then we bought tickets to a Futbol game. The game was a 2010 World Cup qualifier; Uruguay vs. Paraguay. It is a highlight of our trip and an amazing experience to be a spectator at a South American Futbol game! The energy and pride in for their Countries was amazing! I have some really great pics that I will post when I get it figured out.
We are really excited to be home in our own house. Not sure about not seeing the sun everyday, but I am sure we will adjust. We might be the only Oregonian's wearing their down parkas in April. The weather is cooling down here since it is Fall in South America. But, the 10 day forcast is 75-78 degrees and sunny with some clouds. Not bad! The kids have only 4 days left of homeschooling with Karen. They both are doing really well. Ava is adding and almost reading! Kai is learning his times table and division! Kai will be going back to Mary Woodward for the last 2 months of school and Ava will continue with her curriculm at home. She will be really ready for Kindergarten next year!
Can't wait to see you all when we get home!

Back to Montevideo to get our passports!

Cory and I at the Parrilla!

Picture of the inside.

Picture of the grill!

Cory and headed back to Montevideo on Wednesday March 11th to get our passports at the US Embassy. First I have to tell you we made it without getting pulled over by a police officer. I drove with both hands on the wheel, lights on, didn't run any yellow lights, and had all of our documentation with us. We were ready if we did. The only thing we wanted to see and do while we were in Montevideo is to go to this huge indoor Parrilla (BBQ). We had heard this was the place to go if you wanted Carne (meat) and more Carne (meat). It is a huge building that is kind of outdoor/indoor. Inside there are rows and rows of Parrilla's (see pic above). You basically just pick one and sit down and start to order right off the grill. For $45 Cory and I ordered...Chorizo (sausage), Kingclip (fish) w/ roquefurt cheese sauce, Lomo (Flitet Mignon) 16 oz, 2 liters of beer, bread, salad, and papa frita's (french fries), that also included tip! Yummy! We were so stuffed and hot from sitting in front of the parrilla! Oh yeah, we also had some stuffed pork thing a guy from Canada ordered next to us and he couldn't eat all of it. I do have to say the steaks here are AMAZING and cheap for the size you get! I thought of many family members who would of died and gone to heaven in a place like this. If you ever make it to Uruguay, this is a must stop place! This is one of our highlights of the trip!

What have we been up to lately?

Hola Familia and Amigo's,

Sorry it has been a few weeks since I last posted. We have been really sick! We all got a head cold with a cough then one Friday night I got the chills and then a really high fever for 3 days. The highest my temperature got was 103.8, but it hung around 103 for about 3 days. I got some antibotics and it went away. Then Ava got a really high fever. We ended taking her to a medical clinic and she had a double ear infection. Poor little girl. She received a round of antibotics and is feeling alot better. Cory had still had the head cold thru all of this and he ended up taking a round of antibotics also. Kai was about the only healthy one. When we took Ava to the medical clinic it was amazing. We walked in and were helped right away it cost is about $50 to see the doctor, a pediatrician, and 2 perscriptions. WOW, amazing...we don't even have insurance here! But, we can join the clinic for $10 for the family per month and there will be no other charges. I won't go on my soap box about perscriptions and healthcare in the US.

So, we all started feeling better and decided to head up to the Gaucho Festival. All 5 of us got into our red Hyundai and headed North! But, can the Streeter's leave La Barra and not get a ticket? Nope...as we entered into one of the tolls to pay a police officer motioned for us to pull over. Crap! Not Again! How can this be? What did we do now? I think other things were said, but that was the jist of it. This time we were told that we needed to drive with our lights on at all times. Thank goodness for Karen once again. I had her tell him to tell me where on our car rental contract did it say that. He could not show us. So, he was still going to give us a $23 ticket that we had to pay in Montevideo (we weren't going there). Karen talked us out of the ticket and he only gave us a warning. He said that if we get a ticket for not having our lights on that my driver's license can be taken away. Great...my Oregon Drivers License can get taken away in Uruguay. So, we only have the car till March 15th then we are taking the bus everywhere. At some point you do have to laugh.

Anyway...our road trip was long and scenic. We drove 1060 kilometers which is about 600 miles. We saw the Gaucho Festival, drove over the Rio Negro, stayed the night in a town called Melo, paid only $15 per person a night for the room, and had a good time checking out the "real" Uruguay! See photo's below. I have alot more, so I will be posting another allbum on Shutterfly.

Chow,

Images from the car on our road trip!

Self portrait in back seat of our Hyundai! Can't believe all 5 of us fit in that car for 600+ miles.

Above are some pictures that we took from the car while were driving around Central and Eastern Uruguay. Most of the Country looks like this. It is actually very beautiful. VERY Green with rolling hills. Even though there are no majestic mountains here and it is realatively flat. There is so much beauty. There are evergreen trees, palm trees, and ecalyptus trees. There are large tree farms here where they grow pine trees and ecalyptus trees. We met a family who is from Seattle, but are living here for the next 3-5 years. He works for Werehauser. Werehauser has huge tree farms here and they just built a mill here. Interesting?

Gaucho Festival

Gaucho's walking down the street.

A beautiful horse...notice he is on the road with motorcylces, cars, and buses!

A young girl getting ready!

They had a mechanical bull. A large group of Gaucho's formed around the mechanical bull and were all taking turns seeing how long they could ride it. Lots of laughs!

Kai and I riding the ferris wheel at the festival.

We took off on a long car ride and one of our destinations was the annual Gaucho Festival. Most of the Country is only populated along the coast line and the capitals of each departments (states). We went to Tacarumbo which in the North Central area of the country. The Gaucho festival was HUGE! There were Gaucho's everywhere (Uruguay Cowboy) on their horses. Girls dressed in their pretty dresses riding hores. There were tons of booths selling "Gaucho Stuff" and ALOT of really good food. One of the the items we all love is the fried sweet bread with a a little sugar. Kind of like an elephants ear you would get back in the states, but well...different!

Climbed to the top of Jose Ignacio Lighthouse

Karen and Kai at the top of the lighthouse.

Mom and Kai at the top of the lighthouse.

View from the lighthouse looking East.

View from the top of the lighthouse looking West.

Kai climing the 121 stairs!

Ava, Cory, and I have been sick, so I decided one day to get Kai out of the house. Karen, me, and Kai drove to Jose Ignacio to hike the 121 stairs to the top of the lighthouse. It was a gorgeous day. Most of the days here are beautiful with blue skies! We had a good time. We hiked to the top of the lighthouse and then walked on the rocks that go far out in the ocean.

Our trip to Montevideo

We had to take a trip into Montevideo to get our stolen passports replaced. In my last post I wrote about our experience getting there. Above are some pics that I took around town. Cory and I are going back to Montevideo on March 11th to get our passports. So, we will see if we can make it with out getting pulled over.

Things are different, but are they really...

For those of you who are following our adventure blog you know that we got broken into and the robbers took the safe. In that safe was our passports. For us to replace our passports we had to get new ones by going to the US Embassy in Montevideo (1.5 hour drive). On our drive to Montevideo we thought we would make a day of it and catch some sites around town and Karen joined us. ( Thank Goodness) So, we all fit into our little red car and started on our journey. Cory was driving...along just fine. Driving here is interesting, they drive fast sort of in their lanes sort of not. The cops parol the roads by sitting in their cars and a few of them are besides the road with whistles. They are very aggressive when they whistle you over. How do we know this...well Cory ran a yellow light just like you would in the states. Actually it would of been worse if he would stomped on his brakes because the car behind us would of probably rear ended us. Anyway, try explaining that to a police officer who just gives you the citation and then tells you to go down the road 3 lights take a left and there will be a white building where they will tell you how much it is and you can pay it there. Before we get into that, keep in mind we don't speak Spanish and the policeman doesn't speak English except "you go"! Luckily we had Karen with us who speaks and understands Spanish. She tried to talk our way out of it, but nope. "You Go" to the blanco building. (okay that is my Spanglish, buy also his bad English). Anyway...we get the "citation" we have to go figure the rest of it out. We find the white building and when we walked in I felt like I had just entered a DMV in the States. The ones in the States are better organized believe it or not. So, we wait in one line to find out the cost of the citation by a young girl at a computer who consults with 3 guys behind glass who give her the amount $3000 ($120usd) and that is with a 20% discount if we pay today. But, we don't pay her she issues us a number and we have to go stand in a huddle of people who are all waiting for their number. Amazingly enough the mood was calm considering they were 50 numbers from our issued number. Oh, yeah this is all just written down on a piece of paper; the amount and our number. Karen tells her we need to get to the US Embassy by a certain time to get our stolen passports replaced. The lady was nice enough let us go and told us we could come back whenever and pay it. So, we leave with a citation in a foreign country on a rental car we are turning back in tomorrow. Moral Dilema! The whole situation was funny...because Department of Motor Vehicles are really the same everywhere. We also decided this is how they have such nice roads here. Toll roads and hight citations. I am also convinced that red cars do get more tickets, since we have been pulled over 2 times in 1 month here. We only got a citation one time. The first time he was just doing random checks to see if people had the correct paperwork. Which we didn't have and he was nice enough to let us go back to the house and get it.
Chow