Alô

Our chaotic lives keep speeding by. We are trying to blink less so we won't "miss" it.

How did we spend our Valentine's Day? Benjamin decided to test our parenting skills by sending us to the Pediatric ER. What happened? He fell from a standing position from a chair, onto to our hard floor, and the back of his head landed on the corner of the base of a floor lamp. Needless to say, there was lots of blood that could have been confused for a crime scene. It was a scary incident but we all managed to survive.

5 stitches, an ice cream with gummies, new toys, and lots and lots of extra kisses later...

FRIENDS IN RIO:

One of the quirks and trials of expat life is that friends will come and go. Benjamin had to say goodbye to his buddy Luke (who moved to Australia). They were two peas in a pod in Brazil.


HOUSTON:

We went “home” to Houston for a whirlwind two weeks and naturally Benjamin took his two favorite babies with him. Waiting for the flight…


Getting ready to sleep on the plane.

In true Texas fashion - we arrived in Houston during Rodeo time and were greeted in the airport with some very large boots and a cowboy.

Benjamin squeezed in some playground time.

He played Putt Putt golf for the first time and had the attention span of a monkey.
He also had his first experience with water bumper cars and loved it (he was mostly fascinated with the loud engine in the back).

While eating at an old stomping ground, Benjamin had a front-row seat to the construction action.

Benjamin with Grandma Kay.

Our little guy did not have enough minutes in the day to visit with his friends and family. Two weeks just isn't enough time to do everything but we are grateful that we were able to visit.

BACK IN RIO:

SIGHT SEEING:
After the whirlwind visit to Houston, we came home and finally did some touristy things in Rio. We had "Uncle" Ed visit and we made the most of his nine-day visit.

Jardim Botanico was a fun jungle excursion for Benjamin. It truly is amazing that in the middle of an incredibly big, busy, city there is a slice of jungle in the middle of it.

The backdrops were amazing.

The monkeys put on a show for us and it was exciting to see them play up so close.


The trees were absolutely giant and could make one dizzy looking up at them.

We also took a family excursion to Santa Teresa where we rode a bonde (tram) to an "old" city.


We climbed a "million" steps (Escadaria Selarón) to take some pretty cool photos.



Apparently Snoop Dogg and Pharrell Williams made music videos there. So, perhaps that makes us somewhat "hip". ;)

We really enjoyed our visit with "Uncle" Ed and are happy he managed to see a true wonder of a place to visit.

Thanks for the visit!

Family photo with our bored, tired, and finished with day, three-year-old.

We also made another trip to Corcovado to see the Christ Statute. A must for those who visit Rio! What made it "different" for us this time was being able to ride the rain to the statue.
It was a long wait but it was worth it. Amazing views and good entertainment for B.


Benjamin continues to have fun with playgroups, neighborhood events, and Gymboree. We are all settling in Brazil now that we are no longer moving around. We have gotten used to the fact that we cannot order enchiladas and margaritas on a whim, or even on the cheap.

We hope you all have a wonderful Easter and we will post some fun Easter photos soon.