Time with the Family

I had one of the best holidays I think I've ever had. Mike was home for almost a month straight, Nick was here, and we decided to make the most of our last Christmas with him before his mission. We spent a quiet but enjoyable Christmas at home with all of the old traditions, which were changed slightly because we were in Brazil. Instead of ham or turkey, we had a chester, which is a combination turkey and chicken. We actually loved it, maybe more than turkey. Instead of bundling up and making snowmen or sledding, we put on swimsuits and played volleyball in the pool, as well as tennis. We did go to the movies, but we were practically the only people in the mall because people in São Paulo head to the beach for 2 weeks. We played, read, relaxed and saw the sights when we wanted to. We caught up with family on Skype and laughed a lot. We read scriptures in Portuguese with the family and began praying in Portuguese as well, but because Mike was around, the pressure was off of me to try to communicate, and I enjoyed the break (it requires more brain cells than I have). We swam in the ocean and ate lots of sushi. We discovered Açaí drinks (they are very good and healthy too; don't find that everyday, so we had one everyday).

The sound of the breeze blowing, kids laughing, and the waves pounding on the beach washed over me, and I enjoyed every minute of it.

So, I am going to make a shameless plug for anyone who wants to come to Brazil. We have discovered the beauty of Brazil, and you can too! We promise, if you come, we will make sure you have a great time! COME VISIT!

Fazenda Bela Vista

Nick riding Aladin.

Mitch riding Xuxa ("shoesha").

Jess riding Menina (Girl).  Menina was much to slow for Jessica so the next day she got Zorro.  Zorro was anything but slow! : )

Elise riding Chocolate.

Does this man look happy to be on a horse?  

Actually, he rides like a pro and his horse was pretty spirited.

We spent a few days at a ranch/farm (fazenda) about 3 hours from our house with 5 other American families.  We rode horses and tubed a river.  The camera battery died and we weren't able to take pictures of most of the trip.  Our backsides were VERY sore after riding and I'm not in any pictures because I had the camera and my horse was the SLOWEST of them all, it should have been named Pokey.  I was always at the back of the pack.  One of the days everyone rode to a river and they took the saddles off of the horses and the kids went across holding onto the horses mane, riding bareback.  It was deep and the horses had to swim.  Way cool.  Tubing was a lot of fun too.  The safety measures they had in place were hilarious and excessive and we had done a complete set of stretching before entering the water.  We were fully prepared for a nice calm ride down the river.  But you know how that goes, someone starts splashing and it's all over with! : )

Rio de Janeiro

We spent one very hot day in Rio. It is an amazing site. We showed the kids Copacabana and Ipanema and we all agreed that we like quieter, less crowded beaches but Pão de Açúcar and Corcovado were fun to see and the views were beautiful.

Natural Rock Slide at Paraty

Tarzan!  

We got down to this area and Elise very innocently calls up to me, 

"Mom, this place smells like the soup you make!"  

I laughed and thought I wouldn't be making soup again, until we found wild ginger growing everywhere and that made me feel a little better.

Mike on his quest for bananas directly above his stick.

We came to the rock slide prepared to slide down but there had been a huge storm the night before that wiped out several homes along the river and came up over a 10 foot high bridge.  There was debris everywhere and the water was running way too fast to slide.  Bummer!  But we found an area where the kids could play tarzan and all was well.

Paraty! A day on the water.

Standard Mitch face.  Must be the age!

The round things we are holding up are live sand dollars!  We took a picture so we wouldn't be tempted to bring them home with us.  They were huge!  Elise has a star fish.  She put it on her head and it attached to her hair.

Can life get better than this? I submit that it cannot!

Hanging 10!

It always amazes me that kids can be entertained with very little.  You spend money and go to great lengths to "make" things fun and the first thing you hear from your child upon entering the beach is "Hey Elise, do you want to dig a hole?"

Sunrise Walk on the Beach

The sand castle doesn't look nearly as impressive on camera.  Maybe it's the way the light is bouncing off the sand or could it be the paper cup quality to the architecture.

We tossed the Nerf football around and people stopped to stare.  A couple of people even stopped to ask if they could try throwing it.  Football is a novelty here.  Everything about us said "We're Americans."  We were the only people on the beach without bikinis and speedos.  

Mitch and Elise on a quest to find a frog they can hear.

We had the most incredible time during the holidays.  Mike's office closed for 2 weeks at Christmas and he took another 2 weeks off to spend with the family.  It was wonderful!  We spent 1 week at a beach near Ubatuba (about 3 hours from our house) called Itamambuca.  It is a well known surfing beach.  The house we rented was so much fun and just 3 houses from the beach.

New Year's Eve

We spent New Year's Eve at a friend's rooftop apartment.  Their view of the fireworks was incredible.  The entire city seemed to be setting off fireworks at the same time.  I've never seen anything quite like it.   The best part of the holiday though is that people here love to go to the beach for several days, so the city has been quiet and lots of businesses are closed, which means no traffic and no lines!  Yeah!