The Provosts

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Web Name: The Provosts

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Monday, October 22, 2012 Costa Rica- Week 1
Kids entertaining themselves after
hours of waiting at the airportCosta Rica - Week 1

Getting there. . .

The anticipation had been building for months for our three week adventure in Costa Rica; the kids dreaming of monkeys, parrots and frogs - the big kids longing for a change of scenery and a few Imperials before our big move to the east coast. There we were, bags packed, tickets in hand, when we heard the announcement. . . Your flight has been delayed due to mechanical problems. . . The proverbial kiss of death when traveling with 2 young kids. This set off a chain of delays that rippled through our itinerary. By the time we landed in San Jose, we had weathered 30 hours of delays, cancellations and a cheap overnight hotel. With bloodshot eyes and a few hours of sleep, we finally landed in San Jose - ready for the adventure that lay ahead. . .
Sully and Shiloh enjoying their first
majorrainstorm.. ever!
Our temporary home. . .

Dylan and Dafne teachingour kids
to climb their security fenceShiloh showing Darcy how to use the
I-PadNestled in the mountains of the Central Valley lies Turrialba, a sleepy agricultural town famous for coffee and sugar cane. It lies in the shadows of Volcan Turrialba, an active volcano and the third highest peak in Costa Rica. The countryside is a mix of virgin rainforest and agriculture, both ensconced in a vail of seemingly permanent white mist. In a word - its stunning.

Shiloh posing with her new boyfriendWe are staying with a local family - Odili, single mother of 3 kids (Dylan 11, Daphne 10 and Darcy 2). Shiloh had an immediate crush on Dylan and requested that I take a picture of them holding hands. Darcy is 1 week younger than Shiloh, and they have a love/hate relationship. Toys are more scarce than we are used to, so there are frequent battles over the few that are around. However, only minutes after they met, Shiloh was teaching Darcy how to master the I-Pad.

The sleeping arrangements are challenging as we only have 3 twin beds between us. We wake to sore backs and stiff necks but the experience is priceless, especially for the kids.

Class at the kids' kindergardenSully showing us his schoolThe kids spend their morning at a local tiny kindergarten/day care playing with their new Costa Rican friends where they don't here a word of English all day. Drop offs have been rough - especially for Shiloh - but they are adjusting well. Despite the cries in the morning (which stopped after a week for Sully and 2 weeks for Shiloh), we are greeted with excited smiles when we pick them up. Sully always says "We were good!", and Shiloh always asks "Why did you come back, Mommy?" and "I played with my friends!" We are still not quite sure it registers to the kids (well at least Shiloh) that everyone is speaking a foreign language.

Turrialba is off the beaten path, and unlike most Costa Rican towns, tourists are noticeably absent. This makes us somewhat of a novelty around town - which results in the occasion stare. Sidestory: spent the day at the local pool with Sully and a class of young kids; when we entered the kids starting singing Bob Marley in English for us!
Shiloh at pick-up time
Our school. . .

Its the rainy season and understandably, the slow season for our Spanish School. Except for one other student - a 71-year-old women from Inglewood - we are the only students in school. This means we each get private lessons each day which is phenomenal. Our Spanish is improving by the day - even the kids are picking up a few words.

Adventure #1. . .

After our first 3 days of class, we were ready for the weekend and some exploring. One of our teachers, Oscar, offered to bring us to a coffee farm and waterfall outside of town - an offer that we gratefully accepted. Sunday morning, we met Oscar and his dog, Lolie, for the 30 minute drive outside of town. The hike was relatively easy, even with two young kids in tow. We slowly made our way through lush fields of coffee, sugar cane and jungle - Lolie leading the way. Upon arrival at the waterfall - which was breathtaking - we realized that Lolie was missing. She simply vanished. We spent the next few hours searching for her but to no avail. Lolie was gone. Oscar was rightfully devastated which made for a long ride home. . .
The next day we met Oscar in the park. We offered to buy their family a new dog which they gratefully accepted. Within 24 hours of the mishap, Oscar had a new best friend. A schnauzer named Weiner. That was the best $140 we've ever spent.Posted byThe Provostsat8:41 PMNo comments: Monday, October 15, 2012 2012- July - October: Goodbye California
We made a major life decision this summer to move across the country to the Washington DC area (likely Annapolis) in the fall. This was one of the toughest decisions of our lives, but ultimately we want the kids to grow up closer to our family. With the knowledge of our impending move, we rarely turned down a social event, knowing that our time left with our friends in LA was limited. There are so many events that took place this summer and early fall, that is is easiest just to list them numerically.

JULY
1. July 4: We take our children to 2nd street Hermosa Beach, where we proceed to spend the entire day with our other friends and many of their children partying alongside the entire Mira CostaHigh Schoolstudent body. We realize we may have outgrown that scene.. but it was a great last July 4th in Hermosa, exactly 12 years after I fell in love with the town, where 99% of the residents don't hesitate to dress in full patriotic garb and join in one giant 3 mile long celebration.

2. Last 3 weeks of July: Aunt Katie spends part of her summer vacation at the Provost California house for the last time. As is customary, we throw one more party in celebration of Katie's arrival / departure. Katie helps me break the news to my best friends that we are moving across the country. This was extremely hard to do, as our California friends are like family to us now, and was extremely sad (and scary) to tell them we are leaving. But, how can they be angry that we are moving to Washington DC if that's where my sister lives?

AUGUST
1. August 2 - 5: We fly to Colorado Springs for a Sullivan Family Reunion, where Sully and Shiloh meet many of their 2nd cousins for the first time. We had a blast with our crazy and always inappropriate family!

2. August 5 - 10: We fly from Colorado Springs to Indianapolis, where we spend a week with the entire Ciampa family, including Katie and Brian.


3. August 10 - 12: Matt and I leave the kids with Bumpa and Grammy and head to Hartford Connecticut to visit my college roommate, Danielle, and her husband Tim. We drive from Hartford to NYC for Kate Weber's wedding. We have a blast reuniting with several other Lehigh friends and visiting Brian and Cassie's apartment for the first time.. and of course we love the break from the children!

4. August 12: Matt flies directly back to LA, and I fly to Indiana to pick up the kids for another 2 flights back to LA a few days later. I thank God that I will no longer have to make such long and painful trips for the kids to see their grandparents.

5.August 17: Matt completes his last day of work at Fox in LA. He is a free man!



6. August 26: We throw Sully a Monster's Inc. 4th birthday party, where he insists on wearing a giant furry monster costume in 80 degree heat.

7. August 28: Sully turns 4!

SEPTEMBER
1. Labor Day Weekend: Uncle Carl comes to visit us one last time on the west coast. He will be the only Provost or Ciampa left out west.

2: September 7: I complete my last day of work at Northrop Grumman.


3. September 11 - 12: Provosts take an Anaheim RV trip to Disneyland and California Adventure. The kids were so enchanted, that even Matt enjoyed it!

4. September 14 - 16: We take one last RV trip with the Wilsons, our next door neighbors that are practically family, to Ventura Ranch.

5. September 19: International Talk Like a Pirate Day (and we sell our house after 1 week on the market)

6. September 21 - 27: The whole family flies to Washington DC for a house-hunting trip and my first week of work at the Aerospace Corporation. Katie watched the kids while we house-hunted. Matt had interviews, so Grandpa Ciampa flew in to help with the kids during the week. We are already reaping the benefits of moving close to family. We also got to spend some time with our oldest friends, the Mears. Side-note: My dad bought a 1994 Saab convertible off of e-bay in DC and drove it back to Indiana. It is now for sale in Indiana if anyone is interested.


7. September 28: Adios LA party at Delzano's by the Sea in Redondo Beach, featuring Super Plate, Matt's work colleague's '80s-'90s cover band. We felt like it was the night of our wedding, as we caught up with about 100 of our friends, many that we have not spent much time with in years. It was reminiscent of our 2005 Bon Voyage party, only this time there were a total of about 4 crazy hats, the majority our friends stayed relatively in control (with a few exceptions), and I was sober enough to drive home at the end of the night. However, ALL of my friends with kids were out of commission on Saturday, as if they had partied like rock stars the night before. The highlight of the night for me was a surprise visit from Amy (White) Hockenbrock, another old Palisades friend and Hermosa roommate, who took a 24 hour break from her 3 children and job as a doctor to fly from San Jose for the party.

OCTOBER
1. October 1 - 5: I attempt to work from home in LA while the kids are home with Matt (they can no longer use the Northrop Grumman subsidized day care).

2. October 4: Sully gets glasses for the first time. They are a +8 prescription!

3. October 8: We leave for Costa Rica for a 3 week Spanish Immersion Program thatwarrantsits own posts. We will return to the LA on October 30, just in time for Halloween. Then we officially move on November 10. More to come on our Costa Rica experience.



Posted byThe Provostsat6:48 PMNo comments: Friday, June 22, 2012 2012 - 1st HalfI have neglected 6 months of posts, but felt that Shiloh's 2nd birthday was a big enough milestone to warrant a new one! It has been a wonderful year so far. Life finally seems to be settling down now that the kids are older, I no longer have to travel for work, and have been able to reduce my hours for a few months. January seems like ions ago, but I will start there. We began the year with a trip to Puerto Escondido (Shiloh's first trip, and the second for the rest of us) for Alex and Diana's wedding. Sully rocked his second ring bearer performance, and once again had a huge crush on the flower girl. Due to the the fact that I lost my phone in Mexico, photos are few and far between. However, St. Anthony returned it to me int he mail via a Mexican who found it in an airport, of course.



We were so lucky to have a whole week with all the Ciampas and Mears in Mexico. We were very surprised that finally another "Superchick" is going to have a baby, when Alissa casually announced her pregnancy (after Matt commented on how are kids will be good birth control, she replied "It's too late for that"). Everyone was also shocked that Shiloh had transformed to a toddler that was running around and stringing together a few words. Sully had a blast jumping into the pool, dancing with Lilly (flower girl), and flirting with Bella (the vigilantes' 5 year old daughter).
We proceeded to have a stead flow of visitors throughout the spring. Aunt Katie came on spring break, Nana and Grandpa Willy came over Mother's day, and Grammy and Grandpa Ciampa visited the following week. The kids got incredibly excited for each visit and attached to each visitor, and the goodbyes were always very hard on Sully. Matt and I were even lucky enough to go on our first real trip away from the kids, when we got to go to Cabo while the Provosts stayed with the kids. We should never have waited 4 years to do that. It was amazing!
Spring is officially over, and Shiloh is officially out of her baby stage. She turned 2 on June 15th, and we celebrated with a Toy Story birthday party. She has completely transformed in the past 6 months. She and Sully love to play and get into trouble together. Sully is incredibly sweet to his little sister, and loves when she does something naughty, as he uses it as an invitation to join her. They are constantly giggling together, and we often find Sully in Shiloh's crib when we wake up in the morning. That is not to say that they don't get into their fair share of fights. One of my favorite arguments starts when Shiloh tries to say "Sully", but doesn't pronounce it properly.. It often sounds like "Sh*tty", which infuriates Sully. Luckily he replies, "I'm not Diddy"! Shiloh can now pronounce his name properly when prompted, but insists on calling him "Diddy" or "Sh*tty". I realized that Shiloh was fully capable of communicating pretty much anything she pleases she I took a sip of a Corona, and she said "Mommy, I want beer."

Posted byThe Provostsat2:43 PMNo comments: Tuesday, April 17, 2012 Christmas 2011We continued old traditions this Christmas, with our second annual Christmas train ride to cut down our tree with the Wilsons and our 5th annual Grizwold Holiday Party. We had some firsts this year as well. We took our first family 2 night camping trip to Joshua Tree with the Wilsons and I took Sully to for his first ever Disneyland experience! It's a Small World, meeting Winnie the Poo and Mickey, and the Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blaster ride were huge hits!Posted byThe Provostsat9:44 PMNo comments: Labels:Christmas 2011Christmas Pictures 2011

Posted byThe Provostsat9:17 PMNo comments: Labels:Christmas 2011 Monday, April 16, 2012 Fall 2011


I missed many blogging opportunities last fall due to my crazy work schedule where I was practically living in Washington D.C.. On October 28th, Matt, Grandpa Ciampa
, Sully, and Shiloh drove through the night in El Burro Dos up to Vandenberg Air Force Base to witness my satellite launch (of course I was at the mission control center in D.C.). From that point on, Sully believed that every time I left for a business trip that I was flying around in the spaceship that he witnessed blast off!
Sadly, the launch forced me to miss my favorite day of the year, Halloween. Therefore, I forced my kids to start parading around in their costumes a month early. Sully dressed as her favorite thing at the time, a Duck, and Sully dressed as his namesake, Sully Monster.


The upside of the travel was that I got to see a lot of family on the east coast. After Halloween, Matt and the kids flew to Boston to visit Nana and Grandpa Provost and family. Shiloh finally got to meet her Great-Grandmother in Vermont, cousins Brianna and Jeff, Aunt Missy and Uncle Matt, and second cousins Ned and Neveah! I was able to meet up at Danielle's wedding and the following weekend in Wareham, MA. The opportunity to reunite with my family and visit Matt's whole family made up for missing Halloween in L.A. (which killed me). I am already making plans to make up for it next year!

Posted byThe Provostsat9:42 PMNo comments: Labels:Halloween 2011http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rlvE6DZqVCc/T4z9VYcMWSI/AAAAAAAAG9k/jZ5zB5rJRO8/s200/photo%2B1.JPG Thursday, October 6, 2011
Over labor day, we made a trip to Grandpa Ciampa (or just "Ciampa") and Grammy's house in Indy. Sully was in heaven when he realized he had a co-performer in Grandpa, and they were able to perfect their rendition of a "Pants on the Ground" duet, which was caught on video. He also enjoyed fishing, swimming, going to the Children's Museam, and baking cookies with Grammy so much that he didn't want to return home.

Shiloh was just practicing her walking over Labor Day in Indy, but crawling was her transportation of choice. I left for a two week business trip to D.C. just after Indy, and returned to a fully running and much more independent toddler. I was amazed at the transformation in only 2 weeks! Her most obvious passion is reading books, and she will ask you to read the same one over, and over, and over again to the point where If I you have to read a Llama Llama books one more time, you never want to hear another word that rhymes with "Mama" in your life. At least I only needed a single book to occupy her for a five hour flight! She has added over a dozen words to her vocabulary, and no longer has to repeat call everything a "duck". Fish, apple, walk, sock, banana, and teacher are just a few things that she can say. I have to leave for another long period of time because my satellite is finally launching this month, and I can't even imagine what she will pick up while I am gone!


Posted byThe Provostsat12:02 AM1 comment: Older PostsHomeSubscribe to:Posts (Atom)FollowersBlog Archive 2012(6) October(2)Costa Rica- Week 12012- July - October: Goodbye California June(1) April(3) 2011(18) October(3) July(4) May(6) January(5) 2010(20) October(5) September(1) August(4) July(4) June(2) May(2) March(1) January(1) 2009(16) September(1) August(1) July(3) June(1) May(4) March(3) February(3)About MeThe ProvostsView my complete profile

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