Some kids need expensive toys to be entertained. They may require game systems and all kinds of craziness to keep them from being bored. Not our girl! No way! All she requires is some leftover packing material. To be specific... bubble wrap! Once she has it, there is no one stopping the tipity-tapity tap dancing! Enjoy the video!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Future Star
Sometimes it is fun to watch Elisa and guess what she will do in the future. Her interests and vocabulary at 2 and a half years blows me away. She is especially interested in animals and music. Maybe she will be a veterinarian who plays multiple instruments in an orchestra or rock band! Hard to say, but I wouldn't be surprised.Just to give you an idea of some of the things she knows she can name off probably 30 different kinds of animals. As far as musical instruments go... she knows the sounds, shapes, sizes and positions of the saxophone, flute, bassoon, violin, cello, bass, guitar, piano, trumpet, french horn, trombone, tympani and the drums (courtesy of Baby Einstein's First Orchestra).
Check out this video to see our future star in action...
Saturday, December 27, 2008
A Month Away
You've all heard the saying "time flies". After our time in Porto Alegre, Brazil and being the daddy of a 2 and a half year old I really believe it! One month from today (January 27th) we will board a plan and leave the place we have called home since March 9, 2004.
Jennifer's parents were here for a visit last month. They left on November 27th to return to the States. We marked in our minds the date of December 27th (today) as a half-way point between then and when we leave Porto Alegre. It is hard to comprehend that we are at the half-way point.
Today, Jennifer and I were talking about how we only have a few more weekends left to spend with a particular couple that we are close to here. Some of those weekends are already spoken for, so there really isn't that much time. It made me have the thought "we are running out of time and I don't feel like I have had enough". I know it is time to "move on", but saying all the good-byes is tough. Especially when you want to do it right and make an effort for it to be meaningful and not just a one-armed hug and a "tchau".
Well, those are my thoughts for today. I'm sure that I will have many more to share as January 27th grows nearer. Until then...
Jennifer's parents were here for a visit last month. They left on November 27th to return to the States. We marked in our minds the date of December 27th (today) as a half-way point between then and when we leave Porto Alegre. It is hard to comprehend that we are at the half-way point.
Today, Jennifer and I were talking about how we only have a few more weekends left to spend with a particular couple that we are close to here. Some of those weekends are already spoken for, so there really isn't that much time. It made me have the thought "we are running out of time and I don't feel like I have had enough". I know it is time to "move on", but saying all the good-byes is tough. Especially when you want to do it right and make an effort for it to be meaningful and not just a one-armed hug and a "tchau".
Well, those are my thoughts for today. I'm sure that I will have many more to share as January 27th grows nearer. Until then...
Friday, December 26, 2008
Fresh Garlic
Since living in another place for the last 2 weeks Elisa has picked up a few new things. I had never realized this before, but she had never been introduced to garlic until this last week. In our house we had a little pot where we kept garlic and onions. Due to a completely different kitchen set-up now we just have a bowl of garlic and onions on the kitchen table. We use garlic and onions to cook a lot, so they are always out.
Last week Elisa started asking about the garlic. Every meal that she is eating at the kitchen table she talks about the garlic. Today she picked up a little clove and was playing with it at lunch. She pretended to eat it while she was playing. She would give a little nibble like a rabbit eating a carrot as quick as possible. Elisa is an extremely picky eater. So, the though of her actually taking a bite out of a raw garlic clove just didn't enter our minds. BUT SHE DID! I seriously wish I had the camera out! The look on her face was priceless. Jennifer and I did the best we could not to laugh as she exclaimed that the garlic was yucky and attempted to pull her tongue out of her mouth! She scraped and clawed at her tongue trying to get the garlic taste out. It was something to see. She finally took a drink of milk upon my urging and felt better about it. After a couple of minutes it was forgotten about. Of course, tomorrow when we are sitting at the table eating I'm sure she will have second thoughts about experimenting with the garlic. I will let you all know if she decides to take a chomp out of the onions.
(just to make sure we are understood - she didn't eat the garlic, just bit into it and that was enough!)
Last week Elisa started asking about the garlic. Every meal that she is eating at the kitchen table she talks about the garlic. Today she picked up a little clove and was playing with it at lunch. She pretended to eat it while she was playing. She would give a little nibble like a rabbit eating a carrot as quick as possible. Elisa is an extremely picky eater. So, the though of her actually taking a bite out of a raw garlic clove just didn't enter our minds. BUT SHE DID! I seriously wish I had the camera out! The look on her face was priceless. Jennifer and I did the best we could not to laugh as she exclaimed that the garlic was yucky and attempted to pull her tongue out of her mouth! She scraped and clawed at her tongue trying to get the garlic taste out. It was something to see. She finally took a drink of milk upon my urging and felt better about it. After a couple of minutes it was forgotten about. Of course, tomorrow when we are sitting at the table eating I'm sure she will have second thoughts about experimenting with the garlic. I will let you all know if she decides to take a chomp out of the onions.
(just to make sure we are understood - she didn't eat the garlic, just bit into it and that was enough!)
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Christmas in Brazil
Christmas in Brazil is quite different than Christmas in the U.S. It isn't too difficult to stick to our typical American traditions because Brazilians do a lot of the same things. We went to see Santa at the mall (several times), we made Christmas cookies, we had a tree and hung our stockings and we played a lot of Christmas music. However, there are several things that they do differently.Some observations:
- Brazilians have a Christmas feast at mid-night on Christmas Eve. After they eat they open all their presents. Sometime Santa Claus appears to hand out presents. Depending on where you are in the city you can actually observe this happening through apartment windows. It is neat to see.
- Santa is at the mall just like in the U.S. However, besides taking requests for presents he collects the pacifiers of children who are ready to be rid of them. Some times the children giving up the pacifier can be 8 or 9 years old. This isn't as neat to see as it is strange.
- The Mall is decorated so extravagantly. It is a true wonderland. This year they had a Christmas tree that was several stories tall inside the mall. It had a path with a tunnel going right through it! Elisa asked to go there and check it out about 50 times over last last several weeks.
- Brazilians do Christmas trees (fake - I've never heard of a real one here). They do a lot of the decorations we are used to. However, they don't do stockings. This is something that is just starting to take off here.
Santa Claus & the Mall
Christmas decorations (we are currently living in Matt & Waleska's apartment, so we did what we could). Notice that the presents surround the Christmas tree! They can't really rest under it!
Christmas Cookies (making and decorating)
Christmas Day! (opening and enjoying presents)
We hope that you had a very Merry Christmas and that the rest of your year be blessed!
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Bronwyn's Graduation
Monday night Bronwyn Blume graduated from high school. She has been one of Elisa's babysitters for the last couple of years. We are very proud of Bronwyn. We know that she will go on to do great things. She plans on attending ACU's nursing program starting in the fall of 2010 after some time with family and exploring the world. God bless you, Bronwyn. Congratulations!
Above: Bronwyn accepting her diploma. Below: the proud parents, Kevin and Benay.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
The Poor Child Update
In yesterday's post I eluded to the fact that Elisa has struggled with the move. I think most of the difficulties were because of the lack of constant attention she wasn't receiving. One of us is with her most of the time (if not all), but that is practically impossible while preparing for and executing an international move. Before giving some details on Elisa's struggles I will say that she is doing so much better now that we are back to a somewhat normal schedule.
Children are pretty perceptive. When things start to disappear or get carried out the door (garage sale) or get boxed up they sense something is up. Elisa got this load and clear. Our whole family felt the weight and stress of this move - including little Elisa.
Although the people that we had watch her while we were working on things are some of her best friends the situation kind of freaked her out. We followed some advice and did the best we could to explain that we were "going to live in another house soon" and that she would see "Grandmommie and Granddaddy soon". It was good that we had her say "good-bye" to the different rooms of the house, to the moving truck and to the house. We will also take her to say "good-bye" to the mall, to the parks she knows and to other frequented spots. It should help her cope. I don't think she really got it though, until she went into the house when it was completely empty. Then it was like a light bulb going off - we don't live here anymore.
To add to the stress she has been hitting a real accident prone stage. Five times in just a couple of days she smashed her head really good. Once she rolled out of the new bed she is sleeping in at Matt and Waleska's house (we learned how to keep that from happening the hard way - sorry, Elisa), twice she walked straight into the sliding glass doors at the old house while they were closed, once she feel face first into the sidewalk while trying to run down a slight slope (really, really bad) and once she feel backward off of a chair at a store - slamming the back of her head against the tile. The poor thing was really beat up. I think that the new surroundings made it hard for her to sleep well which caused her to be tired whick in turn caused her to not be as coordinated.
There have been some fun things though. As noted above, Elisa is sleeping in a different bed now. She is in a queen bed! We had to line both sides of the bed with chairs so that she would roll off onto the floor. She has discovered, though, that she can get out on her own when she wants. This hasn't been to troublesome, but we have caught her sneaking around the apartment when she is supposed to be taking a nap. I thought I heard her quietly walking down the hall the other day. I found her in a back room, squating on the floor, messing with something unimportant. I just watched. After a couple of minutes of playing she looked up and saw me. She smiled great big and said, "Hi! I woked up!" We get that a lot these days. She gets herself up in the morning now, comes to our room and announces "I woked up!"
She is enjoying the Christmas season and is looking forward to Santa coming tomorrow night. We thanked God for Santa in our prayers this evening. After we said "Amen!" Elisa said, "I love Santa Clause." She really does. I'm sure that he is going to reward her well for all that she has suffered through the past few weeks; the poor child.
Children are pretty perceptive. When things start to disappear or get carried out the door (garage sale) or get boxed up they sense something is up. Elisa got this load and clear. Our whole family felt the weight and stress of this move - including little Elisa.
Although the people that we had watch her while we were working on things are some of her best friends the situation kind of freaked her out. We followed some advice and did the best we could to explain that we were "going to live in another house soon" and that she would see "Grandmommie and Granddaddy soon". It was good that we had her say "good-bye" to the different rooms of the house, to the moving truck and to the house. We will also take her to say "good-bye" to the mall, to the parks she knows and to other frequented spots. It should help her cope. I don't think she really got it though, until she went into the house when it was completely empty. Then it was like a light bulb going off - we don't live here anymore.
To add to the stress she has been hitting a real accident prone stage. Five times in just a couple of days she smashed her head really good. Once she rolled out of the new bed she is sleeping in at Matt and Waleska's house (we learned how to keep that from happening the hard way - sorry, Elisa), twice she walked straight into the sliding glass doors at the old house while they were closed, once she feel face first into the sidewalk while trying to run down a slight slope (really, really bad) and once she feel backward off of a chair at a store - slamming the back of her head against the tile. The poor thing was really beat up. I think that the new surroundings made it hard for her to sleep well which caused her to be tired whick in turn caused her to not be as coordinated.
There have been some fun things though. As noted above, Elisa is sleeping in a different bed now. She is in a queen bed! We had to line both sides of the bed with chairs so that she would roll off onto the floor. She has discovered, though, that she can get out on her own when she wants. This hasn't been to troublesome, but we have caught her sneaking around the apartment when she is supposed to be taking a nap. I thought I heard her quietly walking down the hall the other day. I found her in a back room, squating on the floor, messing with something unimportant. I just watched. After a couple of minutes of playing she looked up and saw me. She smiled great big and said, "Hi! I woked up!" We get that a lot these days. She gets herself up in the morning now, comes to our room and announces "I woked up!"
She is enjoying the Christmas season and is looking forward to Santa coming tomorrow night. We thanked God for Santa in our prayers this evening. After we said "Amen!" Elisa said, "I love Santa Clause." She really does. I'm sure that he is going to reward her well for all that she has suffered through the past few weeks; the poor child.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Overdue Update
Sorry we have been out of touch for so long. It has been pretty crazy around here with the move and all. Hopefully, this update will bring you up to speed on what is currently happening in our crazy world.
The Move:
The moving company showed up at our door step on Monday the 15th to start packing our goods. We had 2 guys (Alex and Ricardo) working with us all Monday and Tuesday. The driver of the truck (Solomão) showed up on Tuesday to lend a hand. All in all, things went well. We had a couple of minor hiccups like most moves do (but nothing that couldn't be handled).
We worked pretty hard trying to get it all done in a timely manner. By the end of the week we were dead tired. Here are a couple of moving pictures:
The moving truck out in front of the house.
Packing away!
Sascha taking it all in.
Santa is getting the feeling that he will spend this Christmas in a box!
The moving truck pulling away from our house.
Elisa had a difficult time understanding what all was going on during these days. She hung out at the house some on Tuesday and had a chance to say "good-bye" to...
her bedroom...
her bathroom...
the view from the loft...
the moving truck...
and our house.
I think this is enough for one post. I will be back for more tomorrow. You can be looking for updates on just Elisa, Christmas in Brazil and Bronwyn Blume's graduation. See you then...
The Move:
The moving company showed up at our door step on Monday the 15th to start packing our goods. We had 2 guys (Alex and Ricardo) working with us all Monday and Tuesday. The driver of the truck (Solomão) showed up on Tuesday to lend a hand. All in all, things went well. We had a couple of minor hiccups like most moves do (but nothing that couldn't be handled).
We worked pretty hard trying to get it all done in a timely manner. By the end of the week we were dead tired. Here are a couple of moving pictures:
The moving truck out in front of the house.
Packing away!
Sascha taking it all in.
Santa is getting the feeling that he will spend this Christmas in a box!
The moving truck pulling away from our house.Elisa had a difficult time understanding what all was going on during these days. She hung out at the house some on Tuesday and had a chance to say "good-bye" to...
her bedroom...
her bathroom...
the view from the loft...
the moving truck...
and our house.The hard part of the move is behind us now. On Tuesday evening (the 16th), 1 day ahead of schedule, the moving truck pulled away and headed off to São Paulo. Our goods will stay in storage there until we head to the States at the beginning of February. We are currently staying in the apartment of the Rehbeins while they are on furlough. Thanks Matt and Waleska!
Summer Colors:
One of the many things that we will miss about Porto Alegre is the beautiful flowers and trees. Every season has an incredible array of colors. Here are some pictures of the red and orange flowers of the Flamboya tree. Enjoy!
Summer Colors:
One of the many things that we will miss about Porto Alegre is the beautiful flowers and trees. Every season has an incredible array of colors. Here are some pictures of the red and orange flowers of the Flamboya tree. Enjoy!
I think this is enough for one post. I will be back for more tomorrow. You can be looking for updates on just Elisa, Christmas in Brazil and Bronwyn Blume's graduation. See you then...
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Relocation Update
It is getting difficult to find time to blog. There is a lot going on, but almost too much to sift through and mention in a post. I do have the time now to share some details with our faithful readers a "relocation update".
In preparing for a move of this magnitude there are certain things that really set things in motion. You can talk about the move all you want for as long as you want, but before you do certain things all it is is talk. So, here are 4 huge things that we have done recently that puts this beast on the road of no return.
1. We turned in our 30 day notice to the real estate office and owner of the house we are renting that we will be moving. Once this is done there is no turning back. We, at the very least, will be moving out of our house.
2. Last Saturday (and continuing until we don't have anything left) we had a garage sale. We made the decision to sell a lot of things that we either don't need or could easily replace in the U.S. This will make the move much easier. It is hard though, because in many ways we feel like we are already in the camping stage (no dining room table = lots of picnics on the living room floor; dismantled bed = sleeping on a mattress on the floor).
3. This week (on Monday) we bought our one-way airline tickets from Porto Alegre, Brazil to the United States of America. Again, this is huge and makes everything that is happening so much more real.
4. Today (only an hour ago) we hired a moving company. They will be here on the 15th of this month to pack our belongs and load our container. They will store our belongings until our departure date on January 27th, then they will put them on a freighter and send them to the States.
We can tell that Elisa is a little troubled by all this and doesn't really know what to make of it. Please keep us and especially Elisa in your prayers as we continue moving through this transition. We need wisdom, peace and unity as a family. Thanks in advance for remembering us.
Over the next several weeks I will do my best to keep you all up to speed on what is happening. Don't read to much into a lack of blog activity. We are just really busy.
Peace.
In preparing for a move of this magnitude there are certain things that really set things in motion. You can talk about the move all you want for as long as you want, but before you do certain things all it is is talk. So, here are 4 huge things that we have done recently that puts this beast on the road of no return.
1. We turned in our 30 day notice to the real estate office and owner of the house we are renting that we will be moving. Once this is done there is no turning back. We, at the very least, will be moving out of our house.
2. Last Saturday (and continuing until we don't have anything left) we had a garage sale. We made the decision to sell a lot of things that we either don't need or could easily replace in the U.S. This will make the move much easier. It is hard though, because in many ways we feel like we are already in the camping stage (no dining room table = lots of picnics on the living room floor; dismantled bed = sleeping on a mattress on the floor).
3. This week (on Monday) we bought our one-way airline tickets from Porto Alegre, Brazil to the United States of America. Again, this is huge and makes everything that is happening so much more real.
4. Today (only an hour ago) we hired a moving company. They will be here on the 15th of this month to pack our belongs and load our container. They will store our belongings until our departure date on January 27th, then they will put them on a freighter and send them to the States.
We can tell that Elisa is a little troubled by all this and doesn't really know what to make of it. Please keep us and especially Elisa in your prayers as we continue moving through this transition. We need wisdom, peace and unity as a family. Thanks in advance for remembering us.
Over the next several weeks I will do my best to keep you all up to speed on what is happening. Don't read to much into a lack of blog activity. We are just really busy.
Peace.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Grandparent Visit: Week 2
Week 2 of the Grandparent's visit was pretty eventful. We had an opportunity to go check out some of the city, walk around the new mall, have a churrasco (Brazilian bbq) with some good friends, eat incredible Brazilian pizza, visit the Chácara, go to a birthday party, visit the Salgado family again and celebrate Thanksgiving.
It has been a fun two weeks with the Grandparents. We were sad to see them go yesterday, but we know that we will get plenty of time with them soon enough. We have a little less than 2 months before we leave Porto Alegre.
Here are some pictures of the last week of the Grandparent's visit... if you would like to see the pictures in a little larger format, just click the "view all images" button at the bottom of the slide show.
It has been a fun two weeks with the Grandparents. We were sad to see them go yesterday, but we know that we will get plenty of time with them soon enough. We have a little less than 2 months before we leave Porto Alegre.
Here are some pictures of the last week of the Grandparent's visit... if you would like to see the pictures in a little larger format, just click the "view all images" button at the bottom of the slide show.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Grandparent Visit: Week 1
Elisa's grandparents arrived here a week ago and we have been having quite the time! We have played and read books and been to the mall several times (to look at the Christmas scene). We have celebrated Mommy's birthday and gone on an overnight trip. All this has been in just the first week. Below is a slide show of the fun we have had so far. Enjoy! (to see the captions just put the mouse on each picture)
Friday, November 21, 2008
Daddy's Little Girl
Elisa is definitely a Momma's girl, but I have to post these pictures of her showing affection for her Daddy. I love it when she takes my hat off my head and puts it on her own. There's nothing much cuter than this...
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
The Drama Queen
I wouldn't say that Elisa overreacts to everything, but she does have a streak of drama. She has a way of letting you know that she doesn't agree with something. It can be anything, but her response is the same... "I don't want ______ anymore!"
Things we have heard lately include:
"I don't want juice anymore!"
"I don't want milk anymore!"
"I don't want to go pee pee on the potty anymore!"
"I don't want to wear clothes anymore!"
"I don't want to take a bath anymore!"
"I don't want to go for a walk anymore!"
"I don't want to eat anymore!"
"I don't want to wear sandals anymore!"
"I don't want to sleep in the bed anymore!"
"I don't want to go bye-bye in the car anymore!"
"I don't want to (be) tickled anymore!"
"I don't want to see _______ anymore!"
I think you get the picture! If she doesn't want something; she doesn't want it for infinity! Sometimes she throws out some funny ones that really make me laugh, but most of them just make me roll my eyes. What a little drama queen.
Things we have heard lately include:
"I don't want juice anymore!"
"I don't want milk anymore!"
"I don't want to go pee pee on the potty anymore!"
"I don't want to wear clothes anymore!"
"I don't want to take a bath anymore!"
"I don't want to go for a walk anymore!"
"I don't want to eat anymore!"
"I don't want to wear sandals anymore!"
"I don't want to sleep in the bed anymore!"
"I don't want to go bye-bye in the car anymore!"
"I don't want to (be) tickled anymore!"
"I don't want to see _______ anymore!"
I think you get the picture! If she doesn't want something; she doesn't want it for infinity! Sometimes she throws out some funny ones that really make me laugh, but most of them just make me roll my eyes. What a little drama queen.
Saturday, November 08, 2008
MOMMY IS BACK!
Jennifer finally made it in early this morning. What I can remember her telling me (I was still mostly asleep) was that the airline put her and 3 other women who were with her in a hotel and paid for their dinner. They went to bed around midnight and received a phone call around 1:00am telling them to check-out of the hotel and take a bus to the airport at 2am. Their flight to Porto Alegre left at 4am and Jennifer walked in our front door at approximately 6:55am. I think she was in her pajamas and in bed by 7am. I expect her to sleep for most of the day.
I am sorry that she went through all she did to get back to us. But, I'm so glad that she did. Especially for Elisa's sake. I know that little girl really missed her mommy and had high expectations that she would see her this morning.
Mommy, we love you and we are glad you're back!
I am sorry that she went through all she did to get back to us. But, I'm so glad that she did. Especially for Elisa's sake. I know that little girl really missed her mommy and had high expectations that she would see her this morning.
Mommy, we love you and we are glad you're back!
Friday, November 07, 2008
Without Mommy: Day 5
Praise the Lord we are finishing up the last day!!!
After we woke up and got rolling this morning we hit the grocery store. I had to buy all the ingredients for this really awesome cajun chicken pasta dish. We plan to have some friends over for lunch tomorrow so everything needs to be buy and ready by the time Jennifer gets home.
The store went well. We swung by the pet store on the way to the car (again!) to take a look at all the sleeping puppies and kitty cats. Then we went home and I got to figure out how to watch Elisa and run up and down the stairs trying to get all the groceries to the kitchen from the car. It wasn't too bad.
Lunch came around and Elisa ate nearly every morsel of her grilled cheese, pretzel sticks and apple slices. Then she went down for a nap.
My friend Spencer dropped by for a short visit and some prayer time. That was really good for me. I needed the encouragement. I really haven't had much contact with anyone in person (except for Elisa) this week.
Shortly after Spencer left I heard Elisa upstairs. I wasn't too thrilled, because she had only been down for about an hour and a half. For many parents this amount of time would be great, but I'm spoiled. She has taken a minimum of a 3 hour nap every day this week! I let her hang out in her room (she wasn't complaining) for another 30 minutes before I got her.
As soon as I got her up we called Jennifer to see how things were going. They had just arrived in São Paulo after the 3 hour bus ride. She was expecting to depart São Paulo sometime around 7:30 and arrive in Porto Alegre around 9:30. Cool! That was earlier than expected!
After talking to Mommy we decided to hang out at the mall again and check out Santa Claus, the Christmas tree and all the toys. Elisa was particularly interested in checking out the goofy elf guy (real live person) doing his swaying dance! Every time I think of that guys swaying back and forth trying to make kids smile in such a ridiculous way I laugh out loud. I will be sure to take Elisa and Jennifer back to look at the display next week with camera in hand so I can post this guy's dance. You will lose it!
So, I get Elisa loaded up in the car to go to the mall. When I hit the button to open the garage doors (one for the house and a gate out at the street) one of them fails to open. I tried again and it moved only about 3 feet. Our doors our solid. They don't roll up to the ceiling like most do in the U.S. of A. The one that is connected to the house is solid wood and very heavy. It was simply broke. I get out of the car and hit it here and there, trying to jar it loose. Of course, the 2 year old in the car is yelling at me, "Are you hittin', Daddy? Are you hittin'?" I think she asked/yelled about 20 times! Despite what you might think, it didn't help the frustration level or the situation.
I decided to leave it. I grabed the stroller and ran it upstairs. Then I went down and got Elisa and got her settled in the stroller. Before too long we were out the front door and on our way to the mall (it is 3/4 of a kilometer away from our house).
We spent about 2 hours walking to the mall, hanging out at the mall and then walking home. It was a good time. I think Elisa had a blast. Especially when we split a soft-serve icecream cone from McDonald's. She loves icecream cones!
After we got home we played and watched some Discovery Kids before supper. Due to her skipping a much needed nap earlier I was determined to have her in bed by 7pm and I succeeded.
Once she was down I decided to check out the partically open garage door. There is no way you can work on something like that with a small child around. It is hard enough to do the dishes when she is around! So, I thought I spotted the problem. I grabbed a screwdriver and did some messing around and "POP" a piece that had gotten caught fell back into the place. The garage door is down and fixed at no expense! I have to say that I am relieved. I had a dream earlier this week that I got my hand stuck in this very door when it was closing and it lopted off all the fingers on one of my hands. Nice, I know. Sorry for the details, but aren't you glad I am currently typing with 2 functional hands! I am.
So, Elisa is down, cleaning is done and Jennifer is on her way home....
Oh, wait! I forgot to mention the bad news! Jennifer called right before I was going to take Elisa upstairs and get her ready for the night. The first thing she said was, "Bad news." I knew what it was immediately. Nothing runs according to plan when it deals with airplanes in Brazil! Her flight had been canceled! The next available thing isn't leaving São Paulo until 1am! And it isn't even confirmed! So, at the earliest she won't get here until around 3am - TOMORROW! I have already changed our lunch plans for supper on Sunday early evening. Hopefully, Jennifer will get here sooner than expected and she will have time to rest before Elisa demands to see her. When Jennifer called she wanted to talk to Elisa real quick. As they were finishing Elisa yelled out, "BYE BYE, MOMMY! SEE YOU IN THE MORNING!" Well, if I can't get my wife back yet at least I have an adorable 2 year old to keep me company.
After we woke up and got rolling this morning we hit the grocery store. I had to buy all the ingredients for this really awesome cajun chicken pasta dish. We plan to have some friends over for lunch tomorrow so everything needs to be buy and ready by the time Jennifer gets home.
The store went well. We swung by the pet store on the way to the car (again!) to take a look at all the sleeping puppies and kitty cats. Then we went home and I got to figure out how to watch Elisa and run up and down the stairs trying to get all the groceries to the kitchen from the car. It wasn't too bad.
Lunch came around and Elisa ate nearly every morsel of her grilled cheese, pretzel sticks and apple slices. Then she went down for a nap.
My friend Spencer dropped by for a short visit and some prayer time. That was really good for me. I needed the encouragement. I really haven't had much contact with anyone in person (except for Elisa) this week.
Shortly after Spencer left I heard Elisa upstairs. I wasn't too thrilled, because she had only been down for about an hour and a half. For many parents this amount of time would be great, but I'm spoiled. She has taken a minimum of a 3 hour nap every day this week! I let her hang out in her room (she wasn't complaining) for another 30 minutes before I got her.
As soon as I got her up we called Jennifer to see how things were going. They had just arrived in São Paulo after the 3 hour bus ride. She was expecting to depart São Paulo sometime around 7:30 and arrive in Porto Alegre around 9:30. Cool! That was earlier than expected!
After talking to Mommy we decided to hang out at the mall again and check out Santa Claus, the Christmas tree and all the toys. Elisa was particularly interested in checking out the goofy elf guy (real live person) doing his swaying dance! Every time I think of that guys swaying back and forth trying to make kids smile in such a ridiculous way I laugh out loud. I will be sure to take Elisa and Jennifer back to look at the display next week with camera in hand so I can post this guy's dance. You will lose it!
So, I get Elisa loaded up in the car to go to the mall. When I hit the button to open the garage doors (one for the house and a gate out at the street) one of them fails to open. I tried again and it moved only about 3 feet. Our doors our solid. They don't roll up to the ceiling like most do in the U.S. of A. The one that is connected to the house is solid wood and very heavy. It was simply broke. I get out of the car and hit it here and there, trying to jar it loose. Of course, the 2 year old in the car is yelling at me, "Are you hittin', Daddy? Are you hittin'?" I think she asked/yelled about 20 times! Despite what you might think, it didn't help the frustration level or the situation.
I decided to leave it. I grabed the stroller and ran it upstairs. Then I went down and got Elisa and got her settled in the stroller. Before too long we were out the front door and on our way to the mall (it is 3/4 of a kilometer away from our house).
We spent about 2 hours walking to the mall, hanging out at the mall and then walking home. It was a good time. I think Elisa had a blast. Especially when we split a soft-serve icecream cone from McDonald's. She loves icecream cones!
After we got home we played and watched some Discovery Kids before supper. Due to her skipping a much needed nap earlier I was determined to have her in bed by 7pm and I succeeded.
Once she was down I decided to check out the partically open garage door. There is no way you can work on something like that with a small child around. It is hard enough to do the dishes when she is around! So, I thought I spotted the problem. I grabbed a screwdriver and did some messing around and "POP" a piece that had gotten caught fell back into the place. The garage door is down and fixed at no expense! I have to say that I am relieved. I had a dream earlier this week that I got my hand stuck in this very door when it was closing and it lopted off all the fingers on one of my hands. Nice, I know. Sorry for the details, but aren't you glad I am currently typing with 2 functional hands! I am.
So, Elisa is down, cleaning is done and Jennifer is on her way home....
Oh, wait! I forgot to mention the bad news! Jennifer called right before I was going to take Elisa upstairs and get her ready for the night. The first thing she said was, "Bad news." I knew what it was immediately. Nothing runs according to plan when it deals with airplanes in Brazil! Her flight had been canceled! The next available thing isn't leaving São Paulo until 1am! And it isn't even confirmed! So, at the earliest she won't get here until around 3am - TOMORROW! I have already changed our lunch plans for supper on Sunday early evening. Hopefully, Jennifer will get here sooner than expected and she will have time to rest before Elisa demands to see her. When Jennifer called she wanted to talk to Elisa real quick. As they were finishing Elisa yelled out, "BYE BYE, MOMMY! SEE YOU IN THE MORNING!" Well, if I can't get my wife back yet at least I have an adorable 2 year old to keep me company.
Thursday, November 06, 2008
Without Mommy: Day 4
We are officially tired of not having Mommy around!
Elisa and I (mainly me) were pretty bored this morning so we took off for a little walk around the mall action. It was raining this morning, leaving our options of things to do limited. Going to the mall turned out being a pretty good move. They had just gotten all the Christmas decorations out! They don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Brazil, so usually around November 1st all the Christmas stuff comes out. I love this time of year here. It doesn't feel like the States because it is disgustingly hot, but Brazilian shops and malls do it up right with the decorations.
Elisa and I walked around admiring all there was to see. We walked from one end of the mall to the other and back. At the far end they had the Santa set-up. Elisa looked at him and gasped "Wanna say 'hi' to Santa Claus, Daddy?!" It was so cute. She crept up to about 10 feet from him, positioned herself behind one of my legs and yelled out "Oi!" through a pacifier and clinched teeth! I told Santa that we would come back at another time to take a picture since Mommy wasn't with us.
Santa was at the base of a large Christmas tree that was 3 stories in height! There was a little walk way that actually went through the tree. There were all kinds of fun things to see that had her little eyes practically popping out of the sockets! We will probably go back tomorrow morning!
Lunch was pretty uneventful. Elisa took nearly a 4 hour nap, which allowed me to get more cleaning done. That was really helpful. Thanks, Elisa!
In the afternoon we played for a bit and read a couple of books. We watched a couple of little shows on Discovery Kids and had a chance to talk to Mommy on the phone for a few minutes.
After Elisa went down this evening I watched "Speed Racer" then finished up what cleaning I didn't get down earlier in the day. I had planned on cleaning the garage real good tomorrow, but frankly, I'm a little worn out. Actually, I'm a lot worn out. I will probably make cleaning the garage and cutting the grass my two major projects for next week. The house is already immaculate and that is all that matters!
Jennifer gets home tomorrow and we just couldn't be more ready. Unfortunately, she won't get here until sometime around 10:30 or 11pm. By then Elisa will have been asleep for a while. She won't get to see her mommy until Saturday morning. Oh well.
Here is a great conversation that Elisa and I had early this morning:
Daddy: "What would you like for breakfast, Elisa? Would you like oatmeal with sprinkles or toast?"
Elisa: "Elisa wants yogurt!"
Daddy: "You can have yogurt, but you need something else with it."
Elisa: "Elisa wants yogurt with sprinkles! That's a good idea!"
Elisa and I (mainly me) were pretty bored this morning so we took off for a little walk around the mall action. It was raining this morning, leaving our options of things to do limited. Going to the mall turned out being a pretty good move. They had just gotten all the Christmas decorations out! They don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Brazil, so usually around November 1st all the Christmas stuff comes out. I love this time of year here. It doesn't feel like the States because it is disgustingly hot, but Brazilian shops and malls do it up right with the decorations.
Elisa and I walked around admiring all there was to see. We walked from one end of the mall to the other and back. At the far end they had the Santa set-up. Elisa looked at him and gasped "Wanna say 'hi' to Santa Claus, Daddy?!" It was so cute. She crept up to about 10 feet from him, positioned herself behind one of my legs and yelled out "Oi!" through a pacifier and clinched teeth! I told Santa that we would come back at another time to take a picture since Mommy wasn't with us.
Santa was at the base of a large Christmas tree that was 3 stories in height! There was a little walk way that actually went through the tree. There were all kinds of fun things to see that had her little eyes practically popping out of the sockets! We will probably go back tomorrow morning!
Lunch was pretty uneventful. Elisa took nearly a 4 hour nap, which allowed me to get more cleaning done. That was really helpful. Thanks, Elisa!
In the afternoon we played for a bit and read a couple of books. We watched a couple of little shows on Discovery Kids and had a chance to talk to Mommy on the phone for a few minutes.
After Elisa went down this evening I watched "Speed Racer" then finished up what cleaning I didn't get down earlier in the day. I had planned on cleaning the garage real good tomorrow, but frankly, I'm a little worn out. Actually, I'm a lot worn out. I will probably make cleaning the garage and cutting the grass my two major projects for next week. The house is already immaculate and that is all that matters!
Jennifer gets home tomorrow and we just couldn't be more ready. Unfortunately, she won't get here until sometime around 10:30 or 11pm. By then Elisa will have been asleep for a while. She won't get to see her mommy until Saturday morning. Oh well.
Here is a great conversation that Elisa and I had early this morning:
Daddy: "What would you like for breakfast, Elisa? Would you like oatmeal with sprinkles or toast?"
Elisa: "Elisa wants yogurt!"
Daddy: "You can have yogurt, but you need something else with it."
Elisa: "Elisa wants yogurt with sprinkles! That's a good idea!"
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Without Mommy: Day 3
Today was a pretty decent day for us. We played, got some things done and we got out of the house a couple of times.
We started off a little slow because I was expecting a guy to come a repair part of the ceiling that decided to come falling down last week. Our back sliding glass door has drywall around the frame that started to crack and come loose. I made a call to get it fixed about a month ago. We didn't get anything set up until last Thursday. The same day that I talked to the repair guy the dry wall gave way and came crashing down. Thankfully, injuries were avoided. It happened to fall when Jennifer and I were out on a date. Elisa was asleep upstairs. The crash of the drywall falling woke her up and scared the babysitter half to death!
Here you can see where the drywall just decided to fall and crash to the ground.
Anyway, the guy who was going to come didn't make it. We rescheduled for next week. So, Elisa and I hung out around the house until 11 or so. Before lunch we made a break to the store to get some essentials and check out the pet store. She loves looking at the puppies and kitty cats. Once we are settled in the States we might need to look into getting her a furry buddy.
After a hearty pbj sandwhich Elisa took another awesome 3 hour nap while I hit the cleaning duties. On thing I wanted to get done was final preparations for our backyard swimming pool. I don't do too much during the winter to keep it clean. So, for the last month or so I have been trying to get it ready so we can swim. As hot as it has been this week we might get some pool action in on Friday. I had seen some debris in the pool from the upstairs window. When I went down to fish it out I saw that it wasn't what you would call debris. It was what you would call a dead baby bird! I don't know what it is with the birds around our house, but I have picked up a lot of their dead bodies since we have lived here. This was the 2nd dead bird since Sunday (the first one wasn't in the pool).
After cleaning duties I decided to do some blogging. I wrote some of my thoughts about the U.S. Presidency on our other blog. If you care at all you can check it out here. Yesterday I felt moved to write about the things that I will miss about Brazil. You can read about that here if you would like.
Elisa woke up from her nap around 4 o'clock. We played for about an hour and then decided to go on a walk. We walked around the track at a nearby park for about 30 minutes. While we were walking I noticed a lot of dandelions. We had a fun moment of me trying to teach Elisa how to blow the seeds. She is so cute. Her soft breath didn't even phase the dandelion seeds.
We got home around quarter til 6 and started watching a Baby Einstein movie. She ate, played and then got ready for bed. Like clockwork she was down at 7. Now I'm blogging and will give Jennifer a call in about 2 minutes.
We had a pretty good day - no accidents. We are making it, but really missing Mommy. Countdown to her walking in the door: Approximately 50 hours.
We started off a little slow because I was expecting a guy to come a repair part of the ceiling that decided to come falling down last week. Our back sliding glass door has drywall around the frame that started to crack and come loose. I made a call to get it fixed about a month ago. We didn't get anything set up until last Thursday. The same day that I talked to the repair guy the dry wall gave way and came crashing down. Thankfully, injuries were avoided. It happened to fall when Jennifer and I were out on a date. Elisa was asleep upstairs. The crash of the drywall falling woke her up and scared the babysitter half to death!
Here you can see where the drywall just decided to fall and crash to the ground.Anyway, the guy who was going to come didn't make it. We rescheduled for next week. So, Elisa and I hung out around the house until 11 or so. Before lunch we made a break to the store to get some essentials and check out the pet store. She loves looking at the puppies and kitty cats. Once we are settled in the States we might need to look into getting her a furry buddy.
After a hearty pbj sandwhich Elisa took another awesome 3 hour nap while I hit the cleaning duties. On thing I wanted to get done was final preparations for our backyard swimming pool. I don't do too much during the winter to keep it clean. So, for the last month or so I have been trying to get it ready so we can swim. As hot as it has been this week we might get some pool action in on Friday. I had seen some debris in the pool from the upstairs window. When I went down to fish it out I saw that it wasn't what you would call debris. It was what you would call a dead baby bird! I don't know what it is with the birds around our house, but I have picked up a lot of their dead bodies since we have lived here. This was the 2nd dead bird since Sunday (the first one wasn't in the pool).
After cleaning duties I decided to do some blogging. I wrote some of my thoughts about the U.S. Presidency on our other blog. If you care at all you can check it out here. Yesterday I felt moved to write about the things that I will miss about Brazil. You can read about that here if you would like.
Elisa woke up from her nap around 4 o'clock. We played for about an hour and then decided to go on a walk. We walked around the track at a nearby park for about 30 minutes. While we were walking I noticed a lot of dandelions. We had a fun moment of me trying to teach Elisa how to blow the seeds. She is so cute. Her soft breath didn't even phase the dandelion seeds.
We got home around quarter til 6 and started watching a Baby Einstein movie. She ate, played and then got ready for bed. Like clockwork she was down at 7. Now I'm blogging and will give Jennifer a call in about 2 minutes.
We had a pretty good day - no accidents. We are making it, but really missing Mommy. Countdown to her walking in the door: Approximately 50 hours.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
Without Mommy: Day 2
We had an uneventful day for the most part. There were events, but it doesn't feel like much happened mainly because we didn't leave the house due to the heatwave today. That makes the day go by a lot slower.
I got some major cleaning done (as I have planned each day of the week). Today's task was dusting the main floor and downstairs. I hate to dust, so this was big! I was also able to sweep and mop the downstairs floor. Having a child that takes 3 hour naps can be helpful.
Today's high point: I ordered Domino's Pizza for lunch today. Today is 2 for 1 Tuesday and my wife is out of town - what do you expect? The high point isn't that I ordered the pizza, but that Elisa ate it! She had a whole slice of cheese for lunch and another whole slice for supper!!! If you don't already know, this child is a very picky eater. I am pumped that she had 2 slices today!
A second high point was that Mommy called! We love talking to Mommy even if she can only speak for 4 minutes and 52 seconds!
Today's low point: We took some major steps backward in the going to the big potty deal. She had a few accidents. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day. We actually prayed about it before she went down this evening.
That is all there is to report today. I plan on spending the evening switching back and forth between the BBC for election results and a movie. Speaking of movie: I watched "D Wars" last night. Absolutely the worst movie I have ever seen. I don't think they should let that cast, the director or even the dragons be involved in movies again. It was pretty dumb. Okay, I'm done. See you tomorrow.
I got some major cleaning done (as I have planned each day of the week). Today's task was dusting the main floor and downstairs. I hate to dust, so this was big! I was also able to sweep and mop the downstairs floor. Having a child that takes 3 hour naps can be helpful.
Today's high point: I ordered Domino's Pizza for lunch today. Today is 2 for 1 Tuesday and my wife is out of town - what do you expect? The high point isn't that I ordered the pizza, but that Elisa ate it! She had a whole slice of cheese for lunch and another whole slice for supper!!! If you don't already know, this child is a very picky eater. I am pumped that she had 2 slices today!
A second high point was that Mommy called! We love talking to Mommy even if she can only speak for 4 minutes and 52 seconds!
Today's low point: We took some major steps backward in the going to the big potty deal. She had a few accidents. Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day. We actually prayed about it before she went down this evening.
That is all there is to report today. I plan on spending the evening switching back and forth between the BBC for election results and a movie. Speaking of movie: I watched "D Wars" last night. Absolutely the worst movie I have ever seen. I don't think they should let that cast, the director or even the dragons be involved in movies again. It was pretty dumb. Okay, I'm done. See you tomorrow.
Monday, November 03, 2008
Without Mommy: Day 1, Part 2
So, everything went according to plan. We actually ended things a little early. I just put Elisa down for the night and it is just now 7:45. Good deal!
I really wanted to put another post out there for today because of some great Elisa quotes and funny things she did. I will do my best to recap, but they pretty much went like this:
Quote/funny thing 1:
As I was drying Elisa's pull-ups after she peed on them a little while sitting on the potty she said, "my panties are all wet." I said, "just on the outside. You can still wear them." Elisa: "My britches are all wet." Me: "No, they're dry." Elisa: "That's cool!"
Quote/funny thing 2:
As we pulled up to our house from taking Claudio home (7pm) Elisa shouts "we're home!" Then she said, "I sleepin' in the car." I looked in the rear view mirror to see her lay her head to the side and close her eyes, pretending to be asleep. I laughed out loud which made her laugh too. It was really cute and funny.
Quote/funny thing 3:
We always say a prayer before bedtime. Most times when I put Elisa down she wants me to pray. Tonight she prayed. This is her prayer almost word for word:
Me: "Dear God..."
Elisa: "Thank you for this day. Thank you Mommy went on airplane. Thank you for Aunt Benay and Garrett and Giovanni. Thank you Garrett has clothes and teeth. And thank you for Benay and Garrett and Giovanni and Carys."
Me: "In Jesus' Name"
Elisa: "AAAAAAAMEN!"
I wish I could record everything she says. There was one thing today that she said that made me laugh and I can't remember what it was. All I remember was that her reaction to my laugh was "I silly!" She is indeed... one precious, silly, little girl.
I really wanted to put another post out there for today because of some great Elisa quotes and funny things she did. I will do my best to recap, but they pretty much went like this:
Quote/funny thing 1:
As I was drying Elisa's pull-ups after she peed on them a little while sitting on the potty she said, "my panties are all wet." I said, "just on the outside. You can still wear them." Elisa: "My britches are all wet." Me: "No, they're dry." Elisa: "That's cool!"
Quote/funny thing 2:
As we pulled up to our house from taking Claudio home (7pm) Elisa shouts "we're home!" Then she said, "I sleepin' in the car." I looked in the rear view mirror to see her lay her head to the side and close her eyes, pretending to be asleep. I laughed out loud which made her laugh too. It was really cute and funny.
Quote/funny thing 3:
We always say a prayer before bedtime. Most times when I put Elisa down she wants me to pray. Tonight she prayed. This is her prayer almost word for word:
Me: "Dear God..."
Elisa: "Thank you for this day. Thank you Mommy went on airplane. Thank you for Aunt Benay and Garrett and Giovanni. Thank you Garrett has clothes and teeth. And thank you for Benay and Garrett and Giovanni and Carys."
Me: "In Jesus' Name"
Elisa: "AAAAAAAMEN!"
I wish I could record everything she says. There was one thing today that she said that made me laugh and I can't remember what it was. All I remember was that her reaction to my laugh was "I silly!" She is indeed... one precious, silly, little girl.
Without Mommy: Day 1
Jennifer and I woke up around 5:40am to get her ready and out the door to catch a 8am flight. She went to a beach resort in São Paulo state for a missionary women's conference. We expect her back late Friday night.
I have to admit that I have been dreading this week a little. I love spending time with Elisa, but not having my the other half of the tag-team is hard. I really do think that people who are single and want to adopt (I know a couple) have a little crazy in them. They deserve extra blessings from the Lord for willingly taking on the responsibility of child rearing alone. I have done this thing a couple of times for a couple of nights, but we are doing a Monday through Friday stretch this time. It will be all good though. I have a plan: a schedule of meals and activities.
I must warn you now that this week I will be rambling about each day's events/activities. Jennifer took the camera, so no pictures. Sorry.
Today hasn't been too off the wall. Elisa woke up at 8am. We ate breakfast together and then watch a little Baby Einstein movie. I realized that we ran out of gas (to heat the water and work the stove/oven). So, I ordered more and we waited about 25 minutes for it to arrive. The gas was delivered and off the "guys" went in their big green truck. Then Elisa took a bath and we got her all dressed.
Around 10am we were out the door to pay our monthly bills. We got to the bank and paid the bills and were on our way to Blockbuster to rent a couple of movies by 11. After Blockbuster we picked Benay Blume up. She dropped us off at home and borrowed our car for the afternoon because her's is in the shop (again... sigh). Elisa played for about 30 minutes while I made us lunch.
Today's menu: 4 Cheese Ravioli w/ Red Mushroom Sauce and Green Beans.
After about 10 minutes of sitting at the table Elisa was begging to take a nap! I started using her desire to "need to rest" as leverage. "Take 2 more bites of noodles with cheese and one more green bean and you can go up and sleep in your bed." It worked. She was in bed taking what I hope will be a nice 3 hour nap by 12:15.
I plan on picking up around the house for the next couple of hours (iPod attached to my person of course). Around 4:30 (or whenever the car returns) we will be out the door to pick up Claudio (every Monday I give our dear friend Claudio a ride home from work. It is about a 3 hour excursion). Elisa loves to play with his daughters, so that will be a good way to end the day. We should make it home between 7 and 8 tonight. She will eat and go to bed by 8:30.
Hopefully tonight I will plop down on the couch (if my chores are done) and watch what will probably be a bad popcorn movie. I rented "the Incredible Hulk" and "D-Wars". We'll see. The main thing is that they are flicks that will probably keep me somewhat entertained until I want to go to bed - which with luck will be around 11. The other thing I have dreaded about Jenn being gone is that I can't sleep when she isn't here. It is the worst.
Well, that is Monday (even though in reality it is only 12:45pm right now). Stay tuned for walking at the mall, painting and if we are lucky... breaking in the pool for the first time this season.
I have to admit that I have been dreading this week a little. I love spending time with Elisa, but not having my the other half of the tag-team is hard. I really do think that people who are single and want to adopt (I know a couple) have a little crazy in them. They deserve extra blessings from the Lord for willingly taking on the responsibility of child rearing alone. I have done this thing a couple of times for a couple of nights, but we are doing a Monday through Friday stretch this time. It will be all good though. I have a plan: a schedule of meals and activities.
I must warn you now that this week I will be rambling about each day's events/activities. Jennifer took the camera, so no pictures. Sorry.
Today hasn't been too off the wall. Elisa woke up at 8am. We ate breakfast together and then watch a little Baby Einstein movie. I realized that we ran out of gas (to heat the water and work the stove/oven). So, I ordered more and we waited about 25 minutes for it to arrive. The gas was delivered and off the "guys" went in their big green truck. Then Elisa took a bath and we got her all dressed.
Around 10am we were out the door to pay our monthly bills. We got to the bank and paid the bills and were on our way to Blockbuster to rent a couple of movies by 11. After Blockbuster we picked Benay Blume up. She dropped us off at home and borrowed our car for the afternoon because her's is in the shop (again... sigh). Elisa played for about 30 minutes while I made us lunch.
Today's menu: 4 Cheese Ravioli w/ Red Mushroom Sauce and Green Beans.
After about 10 minutes of sitting at the table Elisa was begging to take a nap! I started using her desire to "need to rest" as leverage. "Take 2 more bites of noodles with cheese and one more green bean and you can go up and sleep in your bed." It worked. She was in bed taking what I hope will be a nice 3 hour nap by 12:15.
I plan on picking up around the house for the next couple of hours (iPod attached to my person of course). Around 4:30 (or whenever the car returns) we will be out the door to pick up Claudio (every Monday I give our dear friend Claudio a ride home from work. It is about a 3 hour excursion). Elisa loves to play with his daughters, so that will be a good way to end the day. We should make it home between 7 and 8 tonight. She will eat and go to bed by 8:30.
Hopefully tonight I will plop down on the couch (if my chores are done) and watch what will probably be a bad popcorn movie. I rented "the Incredible Hulk" and "D-Wars". We'll see. The main thing is that they are flicks that will probably keep me somewhat entertained until I want to go to bed - which with luck will be around 11. The other thing I have dreaded about Jenn being gone is that I can't sleep when she isn't here. It is the worst.
Well, that is Monday (even though in reality it is only 12:45pm right now). Stay tuned for walking at the mall, painting and if we are lucky... breaking in the pool for the first time this season.
Sunday, November 02, 2008
Halloween in Canela
This year for Halloween we went to the little town of Canela (about 1 and a half hours away from Porto Alegre). We love this little town. The food is amazing and we have a hotel that we love to stay at. We went with our good friends and teammates the Blume family which made things even more fun.Our main reason for Halloween in Canela this year had to do with the food. There is a pizzeria there that is awesome - if you like that kind of thing! It is called "Toca de Bruxa" or the Witch's Hat. All the staff dress up in costumes like it is Halloween and the place is decked out like a non-creepy dungeon. It is a lot of fun. Plus, there are something like 100 different flavors of pizza that they bring to your table - all you can eat!
We enjoyed the hotel grounds and got caught up with old friends...
Jennifer & Giovanni on the hotel grounds.
Anderson working on a pile of sticks.We got dressed up in our costumes for Halloween at the pizzeria...
Elisa the Frog & Sascha ready to eat some pizza!
Elisa the Frog and Steve (Anderson) from "Blue's Clues".
Carys and Elisa waiting for the ride to the restaurant.
We ate until we wanted to puke...
We hung out in the hotel room...
We experienced bad bug bites...
It looks broken, but it is just a little bug bite gone crazy!and we played with our friends...
Even with the outrageous bug bites that Jennifer experienced it was a great get-away to celebrate Halloween with our good friends.
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