2012 - A Year in Review

Blustery wind is tearing through the hills above San Jose, presents are arrayed under the tree, and the latest Christmas presentation is a wrap.  Turkey is defrosting the fridge, sugar cookies are coming out of the oven, and Christmas music is streaming  from the Internet.  Yep, it’s already been another year in Paradise.  As the Rubesh family prepares to celebrate our last Christmas in Costa Rica, it’s time for another whirlwind annual pictorial review of what’s happened in the last twelve months.  

January started off with Kevin’s first-ever surprise birthday party.  Weeks of sneakiness, deceit and half-truths by Erin (all for a good cause, of course) succeeded in keeping the wraps on the whole thing.  The sneakiness continued with Jad’s 9^th birthday party – starring Ninjas, home-made nunchucks and a complete regimen of Ninja training activities.  Kevin and Erin celebrated 4 kids, 12 years and 17 countries at the Peace Lodge (featured in “Honeymoon Hotspots International’s” top ten list, and not bad for an anniversary either).  And then… after years of resistance (and experiments with fish, turtles, bunnies, hamsters and guinea pigs) we adopted a “real” pet.  Sunshine is a 100% genuine purebred Costa Rican mutt carrying a pedigree from a long line of street dogs.  Of course a big “QUACK” went out to the Oregon Ducks football team who won the Rose Bowl.

February was spent in training.  Training our family to clean up after the aforementioned purebred.  In between washing rugs and mopping floors, the boys took to the hills above our house in the mountains of San Jose to exercise the mutt and make friends with horses, while the ladies enjoyed a more refined Mother-Daughter Valentine tea. 

Moving on to March.  As all of you no doubt are aware, March 1^st is Dr. Suess’ birthday – an occasion for real-life green eggs and ham.  Fortunately, a three hour cruise to Tortuga Island did not, in fact, result in a TV show a la Gilligan, but did feature a rather large snake.  March was also our second annual Boy Scout Family Camping trip, complete with waterfalls, rock climbing, sugar cane juice and a cow or two.  The “highlight” of the month, however, was spending a week in the hospital with Danna, whose Nephrotic Syndrome reared its ugly head.  It’s amazing what a Wii, a couple dozen friends, and a stack of DVD’s can do to a hospital room though.  PARTY CENTRAL at Hospital Clinica Biblica!

 

Danna made it home in time for Easter in April, and we went on a sledding trip.  Not on snow, mind you – this is Central America, after all!  Grass sledding, on cardboard boxes is almost as fun.  And not quite as cold (or expensive).    

In May, we celebrated Danna’s 8^th birthday – surrounded by friends and their stuffed “pets.”  We hiked through the coffee plants at Starbucks’ coffee plantation in Tiquicia.  Mother’s Day included a breakfast in bed and then lunch with friends at one of San Jose’s “miradors” (restaurants with a view).  May closed a generation, as we said goodbye and celebrated of the life of Kevin’s grandmother Jane, who died at age 85, surrounded by her five children.

 

June brought goodbyes to friends and colleagues ending their assignments in San Jose.  The kids also bid farewell to school for the summer, and headed to the US to enjoy all that Oklahoma has to offer – including the NBA Finals, Native American festivals and swimming lessons.  A great time to connect with the Milligan side of the family - Tayta & Jiddo, uncles, aunts, cousins, and friends.

By the time July rolled around, Kevin was able to join the tribe in the Pacific Northwest. First we celebrated Kyler’s 5^th birthday then we attended a family wedding and reunion extraordinaire in bucolic Trout Lake, Washington.  Cousins, uncles, aunts, friends and family from around the world gathered to welcome the latest Stephanie Rubesh (the 3rd) to the family, and celebrate the occasion as the Rubesh tribe does no matter where we are… by cooking up a Sri Lankan curry feast!  The rest of July was spent enjoying the wonders of an Oregon/Washington summer – from icy mountain lakes to snowy peaks to hiking trails and marshmallows by the campfire.  A “recruiting trip” to the University of Oregon landed us  with three prospective “ducklings.”

As August rolled around, we were still in the Pacific Northwest, enjoying the Trout Lake Festival, which included a family run (followed by a pancake breakfast), a parade, and zip lining.  Then it was back to Costa Rica, back to school and back to work. After a 10 year hiatus, Erin returned to the classroom, teaching 3^rd grade math and PE at SEAS, where all 3 Rubesh niňos attend school. 

In September we celebrated Costa Rican Independence Day and also experienced a whopping 7.5 earthquake.   It was the strongest that's hit the country during our time here, and we definitely felt it!  Thankfully, the country escaped serious damage. Our friend, Sophie, came to visit from France which gave us an excuse to visit the beaches of Manuel Antonio. Jad and Danna both passed their online typing course and were awarded their own gmail accounts.  Thus start their lives on the Internet - oh my!  Our hearts sank as we watched the news of the attacks on the Consulate in Libya, which killed of our State Department colleagues.  One of the four who died did the same job as Kevin does, which made the tragedy strike very close to home. 

In October Erin and Jad made a week-long visit to Oklahoma to help Tayta (aka Erin’s mom) as she returned home from the hospital.  Kevin took this opportunity to take Danna and Kyler to soak in the hot springs at The Springs Hotel and Resort, one of the locales for “The Bachelor,” so we’re told.  Costa Rica experienced another earthquake, but it was mild this time, at "only" 6.6 on the scale. 

In November Danna and one of her school friends started volunteering at the Wildlife Refuge Center, cleaning out turtle habitats, preparing food for the macaws, and cleaning up monkey poop. We also received notice that our next assignment, beginning Aug 2013, will be at the US Consulate in Jerusalem.  And we celebrated Thanksgiving with 20 friends at our home in Costa Rica, complete with a Ginger-Ale basted Butterball turkey and homemade cranberry sauce. 

Early December brings the annual Christmas production at our church. This year all of us were involved in “The Greatest Gift”: Kevin sang a solo, Jad portrayed Joseph, Danna was an orphan with a speaking part (she got to hold a mic!), Erin helped with costumes, and Kyler watched us! On the same day as opening night of the play, Jad and Danna participated in their first-ever horse riding exhibition. Then to start off the Christmas break from school, Jad spent 2 days at Hospital Metropolitano due to an “asthma crisis”.  He was released in time to welcome his grandparents (Kevin’s parents) toCosta Rica. They’re celebrating Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with us for the first time since we’ve had children!

Which brings us full circle on another year.   From the Rubesh family in Costa Rica to you and your family, wherever in the world you are this year, warm greetings and a very Merry Christmas! 

How to use printers... to collect water

I got a special "Christmas Surprise" just a couple days before Christmas this year - month-long renovations in my office were just wrapping up, when water pipes in the ceiling burst, drenching the freshly laid carpet, the ceiling, my co-workers, and much of our communications equipment.  Months of planning, thousands of dollars of equipment and weeks of work - all washed away in seconds by a massive burst of water from "on high". 

As we poured water out of printers, dried off networking gear, ripped up sodden carpet, and pulled down soggy ceiling tiles, it occurred to me that a guy named Joe experienced a somewhat similar Christmas surprise a couple thousand years ago.  In case you don't know this particular story, Joe was a carpenter, plying his trade in Nazareth.  He was engaged - to a lovely young lady named Mary.  I'm sure he and his family had spent months of planning, and thousands of shekels (?) for his upcoming marriage.  Dates were planned, the reception hall booked, the caterers hired (OK, permit me a bit of creative license here, OK?)  When all of the sudden... unexpectedly... from on high, he got a rather shocking message.  In Joe's case, it wasn't a gush of water, but rather, a heavenly visit from on high.  His fiance... pregnant!  The baby?  A Messiah!  Talk about a dramatic change of plans!  The news must have hit him... well, a little like a burst of highly pressurized water from a fire sprinkler main.

It can be a little hard to feel the Christmas spirit while ripping your newly renovated office apart.  No doubt Joseph found it hard to stay the course when angelic messengers dropped a messianic bombshell his lap.  But that's the wonder of Christmas.  In the midst of the chaos of Bethlehem at census time; ensconced in the squalor of a stable; sought after by shepherds and wise men from far away, the Prince of Peace was born. 

May you and your families experience the peace of Christmas this season - whatever your circumstances, and wherever you happen to be calling home this year.

2011 - A year in the rain forest

Another year has flown by, and it's time for an update on what the Rubesh family has been up to for the past twelve months!

Kevin continues to enjoy his job managing the computer and communications systems of the US Embassy in San Jose, Costa Rica.  Erin keeps busy as a full time mom, chauffeur, entertainment coordinator, culinary specialist and Chief Operations Officer of "Rubesh Inc."  Jad's almost nine, a tall (where does he get that from?) third grader who enjoys computer games, drawing, legos and his most recent hobby, horseback riding.  Danna is seven and is loving second grade, hanging out with her friends, playing with her pet bunny and riding both horses and her bike.  Kyler turned four, and started preschool this year.  This is a good thing because he's also is rapidly becoming master of odd questions.  Where better to ask them than in school?!  We're thankful for a more settled year this year in Costa Rica - good health for all of us, and a great new school for the kids.

2011 begin with Erin and the kids ringing in the new year with a trip to Miami - now famous for beaches, manatees (Jad's absolute favorite marine animal), "Tayta and Jiddo" (Erin's parents) and cousin Cory (thought the last two probably won't turn up in any guidebooks!)  Jad turned eight and Kevin followed suit by turning 38.  No igloo building this year, but it was nice to see the sun come out after the long months of Costa Rica's rainy season.

In February, we said goodbye to Kevin's grandpa Fred Miller, aged 87, and Kevin joined his family in Oregon for a celebration of his life.  We'll always picture him with either a well worn Bible or a greasy rag and wrench in his hands... oh, and a cookie to go with the ice cream for dessert.  Meanwhile in Costa Rica, Jad changed schools, which meant no more uniforms, and we filled out the rest of the month with curry parties, trips to the beach and a "Problem at Outpost 25."

In March, Kevin visited the Nation's Capital for some training, and while there, "Murphy's Law of Absent Husbands" struck and Kyler added a "Harry Potter Scar" courtesy of a table corner at a cafe.  Fortunately, the owners of what's now our favorite cafe in town rushed "Harry" and Erin to the hospital for a quick stitch-up.  Kevin got back just in time to go to Boy Scout Camp with Jad.  We said goodbye to our good friends and neighbors from Sweden (boo hoo), but welcomed our first friends from home for a visit to Costa Rica (yay!)  Oh - and Danna made her first music video.

For Easter vacation, we headed to Costa Rica's Nicoya Peninsula. Five minutes from the end of our five hour drive there, one of Costa Rica's famous potholes beat one of Germany's tires. CR roads: 2, Tires: 0.  Our first trip to Volcan Irazu and movie production day at Jad's new school rounded out the month in good style.  

May featured Danna's seventh birthday, her first swim meet, as well as a visit from "Tayta".  Jad's first ever entry in a Boy Scouts Pinewood Derby brought home the 1st place ribbon for his troop.

We headed back "home" in June to furnish our new home in Portland, Oregon for the summer.  In between furnishing a house, running to swim lessons, library visits and Vacation Bible School, we did manage to squeeze in lots of time with friends, family, as well as soaking in the natural wonders of the Northwest.  Danna's kidney biopsy showed that the treatment she's been on for the last 2 years is on the right track.  In July, Kyler celebrated his fourth birthday, and we took in a real life fourth-of-July fireworks show. Kevin took the 2 "big kids" down to Medford to visit with "Grandma Jane" (Kevin's grandmother) and his mom before heading back to work in San Jose.  Erin and the kids enjoyed another month in Portland with Tayta and Jiddo before returning to Costa Rica.

After a great summer in Oregon, we settled back into a routine in Costa Rica again.  All three kids started up the school year at the same small school.  With Kyler joining the ranks of "school kid", Erin found herself with 3 1/2 'kid-free' hours each morning for the first time in eight years!  Labor day was the perfect combination of a day off from work for Kevin and a regular school day for all three kids.  Great excuse for a "date day" hiking up in the hills above San Jose!  Danna started horseback riding lessons, and immediately fell in love with all things "horsey/"  Costa Rica's independence day brought out a lot of red, white and blue.

By October, the rainy season had started in earnest... and we discovered that a tree growing in your primary drainage pipe really doesn't mix well with heavy rain shower.  Interior floods resulted... until we finally got to the "root" of the problem.  The resulting dry floors were perfect for indoor camping as the rain forest did what it does best - rain.  We adopted two bunnies, and of course, almost immediately made them stars of the (very) small screen.

We made our first trip to Costa Rica's Carribean coast - oceans apart from the busy, touristy Pacific, and enjoyed a long weekend away with some good friends.  Jad took up horse back riding as well, and Kevin and Erin got all "fancified" for the annual Marine Corps Birthday Ball.

Which brings us all the way up to December - a month full of preparations for Christmas!  Erin (costume designer extraordinaire) and Kevin (video greenscreen magician) both played key behind-the-scenes roles in the International Baptist Church's annual Christmas production - helping to bring "The Jesus App" to life to an audience of over 1,000!  Jad and Danna played roles as a Wiseman and a Dove, respectively. Not a lot of lines, but a tremendous amount of wing-flapping and regal bearing required. In between play practices, costume fittings and Christmas parties, we carved out time to visit Volcan Arenal's natural hot springs, and welcomed Erin's parents back to Costa Rica in time for Christmas.

And that brings us up to date for now.  

From the Rubesh family in Costa Rica to all of our friends and family around the world, a very Merry Christmas! May this be a season of joy and peace, wherever you may be! 

From Igloos to Volcanoes - a Rubesh year in review

Three countries, 7200 pounds, lots of suitcases and yet another new continent. Time for a quick review of the last twelve months!

They say the third time's the charm, and we proved it in January with our first ever (successful) family ski vacation. The key? Having Erin's parents along to keep Kyler entertained while the rest of us went skiing. The Austrian alps in January? Gorgeous! Hot chocolate on top of a snowy world, before yet another slide back down the hill? It just doesn't get much "besser" than that! Jad celebrated his seventh birthday (and Kevin his... more than seventh) in our little mountain hideaway while we were there. Back home in Prague, we got snow. Lots of snow. Igloo building snow, in fact. If it's going to be cold, it might as well snow, right?
We liked Austria so much that we went back in February. This time via train, and this time, unfortunately, without babysitters. Austria's museums, aquariums, Sri Lankan restaurants and... pharmacies make it a great place to come back to! We've found that a truly "bonding" family vacation is one that starts with one sick kid, and finishes up with three. With a hotel room and pharmacies tying them all together!
We celebrated Easter on a hilltop back in Prague, and then rounded out the month of April by joining in a truly Czech tradition. A hockey game! We enjoyed watching the action on the ice. But even more, we relished finding one of the very few public places where Kyler could be as loud as he wanted... and not be heard!April was a month of Very Important Visitors. When you work at a US Embassy overseas, the first one was truly a presidential-sized job... yet another visit of POTUS (President of the United States of America) to Prague! No sooner had we bid Air Force One a fond farwell than the real important visitors arrived - Kevin's parents. A little icelandic volcano with a cute name (say "Eyjafjallajökull" three times fast) became our good friend during this visit. The volcanic ash paralyzed flights all through Europe. But this isn't a bad thing when you have grandparents on the ground where you want them to be by the time the flights are frozen!

We then put the volcanic ash behind us and headed west - to the south of France, to be precise. Kevin's cousin not only found, but married a lovely French lady, and we got join in the celebrations (by way of a fourteen hour drive)! Danna discovered dancing, and grooved the night away under the disco ball while her brothers snoozed in the playroom and her parents enjoyed the pleasures of French cuisine. France was lovely - but spending time with Kevin's uncle, aunt, cousins and new French extended family was even better. We even got to talk politics... in French (over croissants, of course!)
We had just enough time in May to celebrate Danna's sixth birthday before starting to pull up roots in Prague. 7200 pounds was the magic number. The limit within which we're required to compress our lives every three years as we travel around the world. It's nice in a way. Call it a periodic forced "Spring Cleaning." It was our chance to look at what you have, and decide what's really important to keep around (and what's not). We sold, we donated, we tossed... and then we shipped, hoping to see this stuff when we arrived in Costa Rica months later!
June brought goodbyes to Prague, and hellos to Portland Oregon! June's a great time to be in the Pacific Northwest, and we fell in love with the place all over again. With family in the area, the month was marked with curry nights, trout fishing, real life cowboys, cheese pizza and plenty of "cousin time" with Kevin's brother and his family. Kyler got to meet his great grandparents for the first time.
In July, we headed back east... but only as far as Oklahoma. Yet more cousin time, a small-town fourth of July parade, and Kyler's third birthday - in his birthplace, no less! We also did our part to help the American economy, in preparation for moving back to the 110 volt side of the world. To round off our time in America, we took advantage of willing babysitters and flew to Boston for the reunion of Erin's high school from Amman, Jordan.
August brought our spashdown in San Jose, Costa Rica... where it rained. And rained. And rained some more. For at least 40 days and 40 nights. No arks - but plenty of potholes, floods, landslides and the random cow or two roaming down the street. Lots of changes - new school, work, language, food and culture. Oh, and did I mention the rain yet?
Looking for some excitement in September, we headed to an active volcano, and explored the type of things that bring tourists to Costa Rica - lush rain forest, exotic animals and bridges hung in the treetops.
October. Let's just skip October for now. Leave it to say we invested heavily in Costa Rican
health care and learned fancy Latin words like "pneumonia" and "bronchitis" (maybe they're Greek words?). In between the visits to the doctors offices though, we did squeeze in some more Costa Rican flora and fauna.
We finally found the famed Costa Rican beaches in November, when we escaped to Manuel Antonio on the Pacific Coast - only three hours drive away, despite landslides having taken out the country's only highway the month before. Surfing, sand castles and Gallo Pinto at the "beach shack," along with the best gelato in Costa Rica (so far) made for a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend!
So far, December has featured sheep, stars and a chorus of singing angels at our church's Christmas Production. Jad passed his first ever Tae Kwondo exam, and we imported some some wise parents from the north - bearing gifts. Like ham! And M&M's! We can't figure out who's having more fun - the kids or their "Tayta and Jiddo!" (Erin's parents).

Which brings us right up to date. To all of our friends and family around the world, a very Merry Christmas! May this be a season of joy and peace, wherever you may be!