Longest post EVER

So we're back from Brazil. Oh, it was good. It was very good. It's winter down there, so we went from 105 degree days here in Texas to the 80s... and it was good. I know better than to give a play-by-play of our entire vacation, particularly since most of it involves family members you don't even know, but I will post some pictures from the highlights:

Here's me sleeping on part of the 16-hour trip to Rio. Thanks, Filipe. And P.S., the kids did SO WELL on the plane rides and everything. Remarkable. I was so relieved.

Here we are filling up with Natural Gas. Do you see that first number? $12.78? That's in Reais, which is approximately half the value of a dollar. So we filled up our take for about $7. Rock on.

Here's a hazy shot of some of the favelas, or slums, of Rio. This is actually a nicer part. When we were near the "real" favelas, there's no way you would slow down enough to take a picture. Or even bring out your camera. Seriously.

Along with the strange, foreign sites, you still can find glimpses of home.....

Can I just say how terrific my whole in-law family is? When we arrived at their house at 10pm Friday night, exhausted, dirty, and jetlagged, we walk into the back courtyard to find this--the kids personalized playground! They had everything ready for the kids to play, and they LOVED it! You can see how they even painted a "texas-themed" mural on the back wall with the kids' names on it. How thoughtful was that?

Brazil is a third-world country, and it amazes me every time I go how different their lives are from ours here in the U.S. There's much I envy them. Here we have Filipe's Tio Sylvio (uncle), opening a coconut from his tree on a sharp rock. No fancy kitchen gadgets here.


We took a mini-vacation up north a bit to Guadapari. Oh, what a lovely beach. And the day was absolutely beautiful. The kind that makes you want to lay down in a hammock with a cold drink and a good book, or just some sunglasses, to take a nap.

See how relaxed and smiley I am? It was such a freakin' beautiful day. Perfect.

This is their version of "fall colors."

This is some random old man walking down the street. And no, he didn't forget his pants. You may or may not have heard that in Brazil, men don't generally wear swimming shorts. They wear sungas, or Speedos. It does take a bit of an adjustment.

Here's the bird cage at a pet store in town:

We drove out to Filipe's grandpa's "farm." This is the house he's in the middle of building.

This is the view from the front porch. Amazing.

Sofia even got to hang out on the horse for a while. I asked if they had any helmets or knee pads, but they just looked at me like I was crazy.
Back in Filipe's city, Campos, they have a city park that also has a mini amusement park. I felt like making the sign of the cross before I climbed on the caterpillar roller coaster. It was some kind of bumpy ride. The kids LOVED it!
While driving, I got some shots of the crops they have there.... here's sugar cane:
And a banana plantation:
They also have coffee, coconut, eucalyptus, and so many more.

We also got to visit another "farm" of an uncle. He has lots of peacocks.
Also at this farm, they like to take in street dogs. His aunt has a very generous heart. Would you like to see the dogs' kennel?

Let's take a closer look at the materials used to make this stray dog kennel....

Yes, that is lovely decorative slate tiles. See, the thing is, in Brazil, they have an abundance of natural stone. So much so that EVERYONE has granite and marble all over their house. I'm serious. You may go to a little hut with mud walls, but the kitchen, bath, and all flooring will be a shiney, beautiful tile or granite slab. Incredible. Also interesting is the beautiful architecture you will find EVERYWHERE. The kind of stuff people here scavange at thrift stores to find. Authentic "shabby chic," if you will.

This is Filipe cooking a TexMex dinner for some of his extended family. They were intrigued by the idea of tortillas. We took down corn & flour tortillas and salsa, and made a little burrito dinner.

Here's all 5 sisters (Filipe's mom & aunts) playing jump rope. Pretty awesome, actually.

But this was the real reason why we came to Brazil. The lovely lady in red in the middle is Filipe's Grandma. We haven't been to Brazil as a family for about 4 years now, so she had never met our beautiful boys. We figured now was a good time.