There it was - the perfect afternoon. Coco made a tree house out of a group of skinny clump of palm trees: I got to talk to a friend (uninterrupted!) for an hour on the Internet; the sun gave faded into mellow afternoon. After returning from a run that was painfully slow - but completed! - I made dinner.

I listened to NPR while I concocted tasty and semi-nutritious meals for our foursome. The baby liked his food; I was content; Coco blabbed away to the nanny. All was perfect until….the flowers tipped over; the nanny yipped; Coco screamed; I barked; and Addison followed with a howl only a howler monkey* could rival.

The baby promptly quit eating; water was everywhere; and Coco began to cry. I felt bad for snipping; Coco felt sad for spilling water and the baby sreamed at the horror of it all. After a 1/2 of hour of playing peek-a-boo, I was able to resume cooking the less-than-average-hot dogs.

I survived this with a smile on my face only because I knew there was a Ben & Jerry’s pistachio ice cream waiting for me in the freezer. Now, there’ s trouble. Who invited them to Costa Rica anyway?

*The howler monkey is the loudest land animal. My son comes in a close second.