Getting out of that Ordinary Everyday Rut!: Gabriel turns 11!

Saturday was Gabriel's 11th birthday! Yay him! A friend cooked this delish lunch for all of us to celebrate him (It was good, but I actually think we all got a little food poisoning from it!). I wasn't expecting to celebrate at lunch so thought I would have time to slip out and get him something but I didn't have time before lunch. So Gentry and I made him a card from all of us, I wrote in it and Gentry drew a picture of them playing xbox together. I felt kinda bad cause I really wanted him to know we care about him, and wanted him to feel special. When he read our card he was so sweet! He literally took the card and said "awww guys thanks so much, I'm going to put this up in my room, I just love it". He then got up and gave all 3 of us a big hug and told us thank you again! It was one of the sweetest expressions of gratefulness I have ever experienced, you would have thought we bought him an xbox :).

There are benefits of the simple life in Costa Rica. There might not be as much available, it might be hard to find materials to make Valentines cards, the name brand items I am so used to do not grace the shelves of the grocery stores, but with that comes less expectation as well. Gabriel didn't expect to get gifts from everyone, in fact he didn't get any, he loved having lunch with his family and home made cards to read. He melted my heart. After that we took him to this arcade that he has been raving about since we got here. He was going to meet some of his friends there but him mom needed to work so Jeff and I took Gabriel, Katherine, and Gentry off to the arcade to meet Gabriel's friends. When we walked up I was taken off guard by how tiny this arcade was. I guess I just thought it would be like an arcade in the States, and it instantly reminded me of how I really like the simpleness of living here. Gabriel and his friends didn't need a huge arcade and tons of money. They played in an arcade with 6 games, and air hockey table, and 2 computers, and entertained themselves as they took turns and made the little money they all brought last for a couple of hours! It was fun to experience with him and see him in action with his buddies.

Gabriel and his buddies :)

During their time at the arcade, Courtney and I headed to the big grocery store on the edge of town with Katherine and just left the boys to do their thing. After they finished at the arcade, Jeff took Gentry and Gabriel to KFC for another little birthday treat. Gabriel had mentioned it was his favorite place to eat and he never gets to eat there so Jeff indulged him a little more followed by a trip to the local ice cream shop. (By the way the only American restaurants here in Jaco are Pizza Hut, Subway, and KFC, and it's not places most locals eat it more for the tourist, so Gabriel has only eaten there a couple of times) When they were sitting at KFC playing finger football, Gabriel told Jeff "This is literally the best birthday I ever had, I just love this birthday" Again the kid melted my heart in the fact he is so thankful for the small things in life that he gets. It is a great lesson for us being here around this family but also around a different culture where it isn't common to get everything you can think of on your birthday. It was a great day with him and a great day to remind myself and my family there is so much we can be thankful for!