CHRISTMAS EVE

We spent Christmas Eve with our favorite Brazilian families. The party started at 8pm and dinner was at 10pm. We were the first to leave at 12:30am! Traditionally here in Brazil you stay up to welcome the birth of Christ at midnight. I heard the party lasted till 3am! Crazy people!!!

SUMMER TIME

I can't believe we survived an entire year of school here in Brazil. We had some ups and downs, but overall it went smoother than I expected! This is a picture of Kyle with his teacher. She loves to hug and kiss him which is normal here in Brazil. He is still trying to get use to this practice.

Here is the snack area where Kyle and his friends have a sandwich of bread with some kind of cheese spread and a piece of fruit everyday. They sit at those tables then have a few minutes to play hide and go seek tag!

Tyler had a super successful year of many friends!!! His grades struggled a bit, but the girls didn't seem to mind. I think at his age it is harder to feel comfortable with a new language. The last few months he has come a long way and I am so proud of him!!!

Jake has a group of really fun friends. This picture is on the last day of school when they tried to have a BBQ in the classroom. Jake supplied the George foreman which was promptly confiscated by the administrator. Jake has done so great with the language. I worried most about him because he will need to get into college in a couple of years, but he studied so much the first couple of months and now you would never know he is an American. He also has adapted to the environment here quickly. He loves everything about the Brazilian way!

Alison is still the most shy about speaking Portuguese, but i know she understands every word because she translates for me all the time. She has the most darling friends that spend lots of time in our home. She will continue in her extra help Portuguese class until she has more confidence in the language.

Tyler and the Ladies! Oh boy!

I am looking forward to relaxing for a couple of months with no homework or driving to the school six times a day!!!

THANKSGIVING 2011

On thanksgiving day the kids had school and Tim was at work so we had to celebrate our holiday on Sunday. It was a little sad for me since Thanksgiving is my most favorite holiday. I have never actually cooked a turkey before, but I found one and paid a small fortune for it, but it turned out super!

Pedro gave Tim a quick lesson on the correct way to carve the turkey!

Tim's new boss at work is American so his Family came to our house along with other friends who have lived in the US for many years.

It was a fun time and everyone spoke perfect English which is a real treat for me these days!

It definitely wasn't a grandma Kathy dinner. No cranberry ice cubes and sparkling cider which Alison was very sad about, but we managed.

We miss our families back in the US, but I am grateful for all the good experiences we have had here. I am especially grateful for the easy transition this has been on the kids.

We have much to be Thankful for!!!

THE BEACH

We had a long weekend from school so we decided to take a trip to the beach.

It was Beautiful!

It actually rained most of the time, but it was warm so we didn't mind!

The water was great and the kids could play in the waves forever.

I get a little stressed out and keep counting heads, but I think the kids had a lot of fun!!!

A little cold at first!

Men come around pushing little carts selling corn. They cut it off the cobb and it's pretty cheap so everyone tried it.

Alison was nice to share with our friends.

I have also been wanting to try the coconut water everyone talks about.

I didn't think it was that great, but it was starting to get cold and the coconut was very cold so maybe I will have to try again.

Everyone ate Pastels also. They are very common in Brazil. It is basically fried dough (very thin) stuffed with all sorts of crazy meats and cheese.

One of the beaches you had to take your car on a ferry to get there so we spent lots of time in traffic.

Once you get parked on the boat you can get out and walk around for a few minutes, but the ride is very quick. This is Alison and Pamela on the ferry.

The boys on the boat ride. Danilo, Tyler, Jake and Kyle.

Tyler buried in the sand!

The GANG!!!

Good Times and Good Friends!

Friday

I usually love Fridays because it means i have a whole week before my next Portuguese class and Jake does not have early morning Seminary so we get to sleep a little longer. Last Friday I took the kids to school at 7am, picked up my maid at 7:30 and made it to the gym by 8am. I pick up Kyle, Alison, and Tyler at noon, but only Kyle comes home with me because many days the kids have other classes or activities after school. Jake gets out at 1pm and I usually just end up giving them money to eat lunch near the school. My kids love to stay in the city with their friends all day. This always makes me a little nervous. Last Friday was no exception. I got a call from Alison to pick her up at her friends house at 4pm instead of the school because there was a rumor that a man with a gun was causing problems. When I picked Tyler and Jake up from school Tyler was telling me how some man chased him from a store and he had to find a cop for help. Fortunately, there where many cops around because of the unknown gunman!

While I was paralleled parked to get Alison another car swiped my car and ripped off the side mirror. Gotta love Brazil! They didn't even stop!

Just another day in our new life!

I'll save the food poisoning and 4 hours I spent on my bathroom floor for another post!!! :)

CAMPINAS BRAZIL TEMPLE

Yesterday we spent the morning at the temple in Campinas. It took us about an hour to drive there from our house.

It was a beautiful day and the temple and the grounds surrounding it are just amazing.

It was Alison's first time to be able to do baptisms at the temple so I went with her and Tim went with the boys.

Kyle is still not old enough to go inside the temple, but he had a great time rolling down the hill with other children waiting for their parents.

The Temple is on a big hill just outside the city. Here is the view of the city of Campinas from the temple grounds.

JEN'S VISIT

The guest room has been ready for months and finally we have a visitor!

My sister came for almost two weeks.

She served a mission for our church here in Brazil 20 years ago, so she knew a little of what to expect. She also knows the language and was very helpful to me because I was much braver about venturing out of my comfort zone while she was here.

We went to the Feira and bought all our fruits and veggies. This is an outdoor market I go to each Saturday.

Jen keep Lindssei (my maid) busy with daily cooking lessons.

Coxinahs are a favorite in our house!

All our friends loved Jen. This is Jen, Andrea, and I at a Churrascaria in Tatui.

One afternoon we fed the missionaries an American lunch. We have been able to have the missionaries over many times. I even spent an afternoon going door to door with them. They love taking me with them because everyone wants to listen when they have a crazy American who speaks very little Portuguese.

Pamela, Alison, and Jen at our weekly pizza night with friends.

The entire gang!

We ate hot dogs from a weenie cart on the side of the road. This is very common here and I was just hoping no one would get sick!

We spent an entire day visiting friends in Sao Paulo, but it really is not conducive to tourism. Very difficult to get around and we got lost several times!

We did find our way to the temple in Sao Paulo. Amazingly beautiful!!!

As always her stay went way too fast and good byes are so sad, but we hope she will be able to come back real soon!!!

SPRING

Today is October 27th and the weather here in Brazil is just beautiful!!!

I haven't done any decorating for Halloween. It's so strange to have the seasons mixed up and I have to keep reminding myself that the Holidays will soon be here. Maybe we will be decorating a palm tree by the pool this year!

DAY OF BIEBER FEVER

All Alison wanted for her birthday this year were Justin Bieber tickets. She was freaking out about it for weeks. Almost drove me crazy!

The day finally arrived and we all drove to Sao Paulo. We have some good friends that live there and we have been wanting to see them so it worked out perfectly. We had lunch with Vinas family and then Gabby, Jen (my sister was in town), and I drove Alison and Tim to the concert.

I was so glad we were with Gabby. I never could have driven there. It was so nuts!!! We were laughing so hard because Gabby was driving and trying to help us buy souvenirs off the street. She was yelling and men were chasing after our car trying to make a sale. We got some great deals as long as I didn't try to speak!

I think Tim was just as excited as Alison (maybe more).

Her camera ran out of Battery during the concert so she didn't get a lot of pics, but that's okay she has not stopped talking about it.

And Tim has promised another Bieber concert soon!!!

WE LOVE YOU JUSTIN!!!!

WINTER BREAK 2011

PART TWO

After our week of fun in St. Louis Tim headed back to Brazil for work and the kids and I went to Salt Lake City to spend some time with my family.

We arrived in Utah on the 14th of July which is Tyler's birthday. We celebrated with a dinner of mexican food. It is very hard to find any mexican food in Brazil and we so miss it!

Happy Birthday T-bone!!!

Alison, Josh, Dani and Kai at the Zoo.

Grandpa Richard and Kyle

Tyler and Kyle love the Zoo. Can't you tell?

We also went to a Salt Lake Bee's baseball game

and also did tons of shopping at our favorite place GATEWAY!!!

Kyle at the waterpark:)

Jake and Ashlyn

We spent several days on temple square. We had our friend Pamela with us from Brazil so we tried to show her as many things as possible.

Love seeing the cousins together!

Pamela, Jen's four kids, Rogers four girls and the Bishop kids at Temple square.

Kiley and Kyle were just the very best of friends. He will miss her lots!!!

All good things must come to an end!:( We arrived in Brazil after a very long flight. Tired, hungry and very sad. Our days of sleeping in, eating Mc Donalds everyday and Jake driving are over for another year. We are enjoying our time in Brazil, but there is no place like home!!!