Playing in the leaves 2009

Embu (a fun little shopping area)

The kiddos love Geodes. These were spectacular. While we were here we had our first taste of sugar cane juice with lime. So yummy!

The School

The school is right next to us. You can see the school from the apartment. Great School...I went and helped out a little bit while I visited.

More pics of Brazil

Here are a few pics of the place we will be living. The first pic is of the forest area in the back of the high rise (it's nice because it is all fenced in.) There is a little patio and swimming pool in our apartment that I am sure the kiddos will love. Here is a pic of the family room.

Brazil

Our trip to Brazil has been so overwhelming. Everything is backwards from what I am used to.

Let 's just say they need to invent left turns here. One thing that will never get old is the view from the apartment. It is breathtaking during the day and even better at night. It is like nothing I have ever seen before. We brought little R with us and he is being so good. Everybody wants to look at him and he always responds with a huge grin. This has been a great trip. I will have to post more pics later.

Happy Birthday!

C is getting so big. You know how your parents would always tell you to stop growing. Now I know what they ment. I have loved C this age. He is so great! I am sure he will amaze me at any age. One thing I love about C is he is so sweet. He has such a kind heart. He is a great example to his little brothers. He loves to teach them new things and is usually willing to share whatever he has. C has such a great imagination and is always coming up with great ideas about how to fix or use things (It usually works). He is starting to read and loves to go to kindergarten. He always finds the cute girls in his class and claims them as his girlfriend. C is always up for a good laugh. He loves to spend time with his dad. There is a game on the computer called worms. They play a game almost everynight before bed. He loves to play with his little buddy Drew. They ride bikes play at the dirt hill, and entertain each other every day! Thank heaven for good friends. C you are such a good kid. Love you always. Thanks to Grandma, Grandpa and Tiff for coming to the Mayan with us.

Birthday Bash!

We had a combined party for C and M. There Birthdays are just 5 days apart. It was a riot! We had it at the place they take gymnastics. It was so great not having to plan...setup....cleanup and entertain. They had a blast. It was worth every penny.

Happy Birthday!

Oh how time flies. M was so excited for his big day. I think he was so excited because he knew cake was coming. He wanted pink cupcakes with pink icing and sprinkles. I love the pictures of him unwrapping his presents. Do you see his cool new trucks? When it came right down to it he fell in love with his new baby. He played with his trucks here and there but his baby was his favorite. All he did all morning was bath...feed...change his little baby. Her name is Rocket by the way. One of his new trucks was defective. We took it back and he picked out a pink stroller for his new baby.

M we love you so much. You bring us such happiness. You make life so interesting from having to hide my keys so you won't try and start the car. Learning how to ride your little bike (tipping to one side because of your training wheels) Putting locks on the doors so you won't try and escape. You love to play with Saber, and play with your little friends. Fascinated by bugs and don't mind killing spiders. You love to read and your favorite book right now is Not Norman a goldfish story. You have gone from not saying much to saying anything you want. We love you so much and hope you had a great day!

Thumb sucker

Little R has started sleeping through the night...So I thought. He wakes up in the middle of the night and instead of crying he just sucks on his thumb and goes back to sleep. I have never had a thumb sucker I don't know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. All I know is I have gotten some good sleep lately. You can't beat a good nights rest.

I love Mom

Thanks J. You do my heart some good. I walked into my room the other day and found this on the ground. J is something else. She is always writing people thank you notes or making them birthday cards. She is so creative and thoughful.

Geode hunting

After 2 1/2 hours of driving, 50 miles of them were on a dirt road. It was worth it. There are thousands and thousands of these geodes. The kids really had a great time. It was like a great little treasure hunt that never ended. Note to self (don't go in the summer and get all you want because you will never want to drive out there again.) It was really really really far.

Brownies

Why is licking the bowl so much more fun than the actual making or eating of the brownies. I am not sure how it went from licking the bowl to a chocolate mess. They were having way to much fun.

Antelope Island

We went to Antelope Island hoping to see a bunch of hot air balloons take off. No such luck. It was still pretty fun. We ran into some old friends and we saw a few skydivers.

Loving our little one

It seems as if every time the kids sit down to hold the "Babe" as M refers to him, they want a picture taken. I think it is great. I have forgotten how fun having a baby is. He is such a sweet little guy and brings such a sweet spirit into our home. I am not saying it is all fun and games. I really get nothing done and feel like I am one step behind some days. I just keep reminding myself. This moment will never happen again... Enjoy it. It seems I have enjoyed this little guy so much. I love the picture of M reading a book to R. He loves him so much. Sometimes a little to much if you know what I mean:)

August 2009

Here is our updated family photo.

Our sweet little Babe

It has been so much fun having R in our home. Babies are so sweet. The kids can't get enough of him.

Easter 2009

Easter passed by rather quickly this year. I didn't even get a picture with the kids Easter outfits on. We got back Saturday night from St. George around 10:30p.m. Went to bed got up to go to church came home and got ready for the trip to Buffalo and left Monday morning about 4:30 a.m. It was all worth it.

Easter week we headed to St. George with R's Family. It was fun for the cousins to get to see each other. We stayed pretty busy. Grandpa found some really cool little hikes to go on. The kids loved running and hiking on the red rock. We went to the place known in St. George as the narrows. R barely fit through and ripped his shirt trying. Grandma and Grandpa organized a fun Easter egg hunt and make a delicious Easter dinner saturday night. While we were there we went to breakfast at Cracker Barrel every morning. It was delicious. We really had a great time! Thanks for another fun vacation Grandma and Grandpa.