Sao Paulo Day 1

Patricia and Glauco picked us up from the airport.  Our flight was changed to Congonhas which was 10 minutes from their house so that was great.  First order of business enter a shopping mall. 

We had a rule on our mission that we couldn't go inside malls so I just had to go in and see what all the fuss was about.  It was a mall, nothing to crazy. I was surprised how nice it was.  Shopping Ibiapuera was about a 5 minute walk from our hotel so we ended up heading there for several things.  
We ate at an Italian restaurant inside the mall.  The food was great.  It was so fun to be with Patricia and Glauco.  I hadn't had lunch due to traveling so I ordered two meals and ate both.:)
Afterwards they took us to Grajau.  Wow I got so emotional going down those streets. I couldn't believe the memories that came flooding back.  I served 6 months in Cocaia and 3 months in a neighborhood next door San Jose.  All of the streets and stores were so familiar.   

Patricia's mom Deni made us Pao de Queijo and Suco de maracuja my favorites!!!  This would be my third meal in 2 hours. We sat and ate and talked for hours.  It was so sur real to be back.
Deni of course knitted me this amazing purple scarf which I ended up wearing almost the entire time.  It has beautiful sparkles and I love it!!  She took me aside to thank me for sharing the gospel with her daughters.  It was amazing to have my heart filled with so much love all over again.  We haven't spoken in 10 years and it was as if I had never left.

Rio de Janeiro Day 2

This is a store dedicated to crackers and sweets.  The guy next to me is on a microphone telling everyone the promotions going on in the store right now.  Sister Larsen and I used to sing our famous duets into those microphones for the entire street to hear.  It brought back so many memories and just how crazy we were.
We went on a tour of H Stern and learned all about the mining of precious stones, designing them into jewelry, and shopping for them.  The had the designers and craftsmen working through glass so you could watch them.  It was really fascinating.  I fell in love with a $3,000 gangster ring.  We ended up finding a great knock off at the mall that I enjoy wearing daily. :)
We took a taxi into downtown Rio to head to the famous Samba Club Rio Scenarium.  The club had 5 levels that all had a terrace to look down on the dance floor.  They had live music all night and served food and drinks.  This is a picture of us on the second floor where we had a table.  All of the walls were decorated with something unique.
Tom and I were on the dance floor for quite a while pretending to Samba.  Luckily there were a ton of people squished into the space that we could fake our Samba.  There were plenty of people who REALLY knew how to Samba.  It was a fun club and interesting for me because there were 60 year olds and 10 year olds all chilling.  It was really weird to see iphones and to be honest a bunch of rich people.  I had never seen this side of Brazil and I have to say it was pretty cool.
This is a picture of the street.  There were a lot of cute restaurants and was very quaint. It reminded me of Europe and San Fransisco.

Rio De Janeiro

The first day in Rio we headed to beach.  It was so beautiful even in the middle of winter.  I am so glad we went because it rained the rest of the time we were there.  We stayed on Copacabana.  Our hotel was great at recommending great places for us to visit and eat.  Our first few days of speaking Portuguese were a little crazy. Our first night, I went to buy some food at the grocery store and asked for a tartlette de frango instead of morango.   Translation a chicken tart instead of a strawberry tart.  In true Brazilian style she said, "tartlette de frango" loud enough so the whole store could hear.  I had to explain we had been on a plane for 20 hours and I was a little tired.  I was never shy about speaking Portuguese when I was on a mission but there were many occasions where Tom and I just looked at each other hoping the other one caught it. :)

Eating at the restaurant below Pao de Acucar.  It was an overpriced tourist trap but the food and view were awesome.  We had a great meal and great service.
We had to take a picture of the picture because the clouds were hiding the view.  It was so beautiful up there.  It is crazy that they have such high mountains right next to the beach.
This is the tram loading dock on our way up. There are two trams and you go up two mountains.  They are both protected reserves full of wildlife and jungle.
We caught a small view on the way up before we got too high.
We walked around the top of Pao de Acucar.  There were monkeys just hanging around and we were able to get really close to them.  Tom had monkeys every where on his mission so he was excited to see his old friends.  We spent a lot of time watching the movie and hanging out in the jewlery stores due to the rain.

Utah to Drop Off the Kids

Here are some updates of my garden...ha ha ha.  So I am in love with my sister's garden. You can see why.  How beautiful is that.  I am going to have to invite her out to show me her tricks next year.  
I just think this is a classic picture of Molly.  First of all she is the cutest thing ever and carrying a beet across the yard just made me smile.
Lisa's backyard is HUGE.  Anything over a 15 ft. depth is considered huge in San Diego so I was in awe at the space and how much the kids loved having space to run around. Lisa just moved from Encinitas to Provo and is adjusting to her new digs. I would have to say they are pretty sweet.  She really helped out with our kids while we were in Brazil and I am so grateful to her and my parents for watching the kiddos.

Sliding into First Grade

Logan's Kindergarten Class singing some songs.

Logan getting ready for his graduation.  

It was made official by sliding down the slide into First Grade!

Our First Garden

I really wanted to try a square foot garden this year so we put the boys to work and created our boxes.  So far we have enjoyed lettuce, cucumbers, zuchini, squash, chives, basil, and jalepenos.  Our tomatoes are finally turning red as we are at war with the mice coming down the hill to eat them.  Luckily Tom was able to put out some Decon while we were in Utah and we will finally have a ton of tomatoes coming soon.  It is so fun to wake up in the morning and go find something new growing in the garden.  I am officially hooked.  I am amazed it is still alive with all of the trips we have taken. The garden has had some serious neglect and it is still producing.

Costa Rica

Tom qualified for a trip to Costa Rica so we headed there at the end of May. It was such a reminder of Brazil to be back in a third world country again. We stayed at the Marriott Los Suenos out in the middle of the jungle and 10 minutes from the beach.
The first activity after recovering from our 20 hour flight was the Zip line. We took a tram ride up the mountain and then went from platform to platform all the way down. There were 10 zip lines and each one was the size of three football fields.
That is me half way down. I didn't go fast enough on this one so I had to flip around really fast and climb back to the platform before I sunk back to the middle.
After the Zip line they took us on a snake tour. Costa Rica has tons of snakes!!! They showed us how to tell the difference between poisonous and non poisonous snakes. Tom loved every minute.
We took a cruise to Tortuga Island. It was out in the middle of no where. I felt like we landed on the Island from the T.V. show "Lost". We all went on a Catamaran which had Reggae music and all the fresh fruit you could ever want. They constantly came around with trays of pineapple, papaya, watermelon etc. We got to know Danny and Charmane Walker who are amazing people. It was very relaxing and fun to be out there. We also went snorkeling while we were on the island.
This is out the window of the Los Suenos Resort. The view was beautiful. The mosquitos, ants and spiders were not! I came home with very bumpy legs full of spider and mosquito bites.

We didn't have our camera for the white water rafting which was CRAZY. I was scared since I have memories of almost drowning in the Provo river. The boat of the company presidents went overboard and had to be rescued so there was never a dull moment.

We also took a crocodile tour and saw a lizard walk on water, got to pet a baby crocodile, and watch as a guy fed a live chicken to a crocodile. Matt Flake and his wife took us to this tour and we got to know them as well.

It was such a great trip full of swimming, eating, adventure, and relaxation. I am so grateful we got to go together!

Mother's Day

Tom went all out this Mother's Day and surprised me with a Luau. I woke up to my kids dancing in their outfits and so excited to surprise me.Yes that is me in a coconut bra. Logan loved wearing his!

The food was amazing. Mangos, Pinapple, eggs, bacon, toast, and real coconuts.

The man who made it all happen. He decorated the entire downstairs in dollar store finds! We had a great celebration and he made me feel very loved.

Disneyland

Gwen sent us some free tickets to Disneyland so Tom came with us and we had a great time.

Gavin was a little scared of the Jungle Cruise. He held on tight the entire time.

Autotopia

Swinging around at the treehouse

We went canoeing for the first time. Our entire boat was filled with kids so Tom and the guide were working hard to get us back home. They were dripping in sweat.

We had one of our best days ever. It was so fun to have Gavin enjoying all of the rides and really getting it. We were able to stay all day and the boys had great attitudes. It was especially great to have Tom there. Now that we have two boys, I feel like we are a real family. I love making these memories together.

Washington D.C.

Kenon and her family moved out to the East Coast. Katy ended up planning a trip out there, so I decided to join them because it had been too long since we had really visited. Kenon had her new baby Miles who was a trooper. We went to Alexandria to eat, walk around and of course catch up!
The next day we headed to the all the sites. We went to the outdoor market, a few museums and took in some site seeing.
I had to take a picture of Steven Colbert's portrait in the Smithsonian. There were many an evening of throwing up when I was pregnant with Gavin that his comedy got me through to another day. He was trying to get his portrait in the Smithsonian and I guess he bugged them enough that they put it in.
This is Katy and I sleeping through the Imax movie. Kenon didn't really want to go but Katy and I really wanted to see it. When it started I realized I had seen it already and passed out from exhaustion and I guess Katy did too. Kenon was laughing at us and had to snap a picture.
The last day I went over to stay with Aaron and Steph. This is a picture of their adorable kids. I got to see there new house, visit, go on a hike, and attend church with them.

Sabeys

We finally had the Sabey's over for dinner a few months ago. After dinner we had some kid entertainment by turning on some music and letting the kids dance the night away. It is fun to watch them get crazy and allow them to get out all that stored up Sunday energy! I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to meet Isa and for her friendship. The first time we met was at the Mitchell's and she was sick and pregnant. Then I became sick and pregnant. We had to wait awhile before we could become friends.
After the kids were finally born we had a chance to get to know each other. Isa has taught me so many things. She taught me to take care of myself. She always encourages me to use my talents and discover my strengths. She is an example of constantly growing and learning. She has one of the most beautiful souls I have ever met and I am so grateful that we became friends. I am sad they are moving and hope we will be able to stay in touch wherever they end up.

Easter

We had two Easter Egg hunts this year. First we went to Sprouts Market and then to our Ward Easter Egg Hunt. Logan got to be in the Under 5 year old section with Gavin. Of course, he looks like he is 8 years old so I had some looks. Gavin was more interested in hanging out with the big fluffy Easter Bunny. He loved giving high fives and getting hugs. Every night he sleeps with quite an entourage of stuffed animals. He has a doggie, Winnie the Pooh, 3 stuffed bears, Handy Manny, an elephant, a pig, and another dog. He just dives in the middle of all of his stuffed animals and gets a big smile on his face. He is my cuddly hugger!