Happy June! I'm trying to journal all of our fun recent experiences before I forget all the details!
But first, Knight Ana:
Thomas keeps inviting Ana to have sleepovers with him on the weekends. She loves it!
Our first mango!
Second annual Disney camping trip. This year we also got to enjoy a free day at Blizzard Beach thanks to a fun Disney promotion. It was so much fun.
Camping was fun as always, too!
Lizard catchers:
Age order lineup, missing a baby and a few toddlers!
Making slime:
Movie night!
We found out that the local congregation we were planning to attend on Sunday was having a special stake conference which was just going to be reorganizing the geographic boundaries and probably not too interesting for the kids to go to. Interestingly, the bishop of the congregation was camping across the way from us on Friday/Saturday so we ended up meeting him and he gave us permission to do our own sacrament meeting on Sunday. What are the chances? It was a cool experience! We had a little testimony meeting and the kids all sang to us afterward.
All of us packed green dresses!
Disney security came to check on us after a neighboring camper reported seeing a weapon at our campsite. It was Thomas' cardboard and duct tape dagger. HAHA
Thomas was in a running club this spring, so my parents came down one weekend so my dad could run the 5K with us.
Blueberry picking afterwards. It was a gorgeous day!
In May, Russell and I got to travel to Tallahassee so he could compete with his history group in the National History Day competition. They did a play about the American Revolution.
We stopped by for a walk around the temple after we drove up on Sunday.
They did a great job on their play! They are already looking forward to doing a part 2 next year.
Sightseeing a little bit around Tallahassee afterwards.
Thomas also accomplished a lot at school this year and earned lots of fun prizes.
Prepping for Russell's 12th birthday party. We did an Olympics theme and the boys had fun competing outside in lots of events.
His birthday fell on Mother's Day this year and we enjoyed dinner with both sets of grandparents! Can't believe our little boy is 12. We are the luckiest to be his parents.
It's pool season again! Ana is actually a wonderful little swimmer and doesn't need a floaty, she just puts it on for fun sometimes!
Also in May we took another trip back to Tallahassee to go to the temple with friends. I found quite a few of these photos that Caroline took on the drive. :)
We had fun babysitting all the cute little ones!
We enjoyed some kayaking after spending the day at the temple.
Caroline finished Let's Play Music and had her recital. She wrote her own song about a Cat and a Mouse so she wanted to dress the part for the recital. Luckily we just happened to have the set of homemade mouse ears that she's holding. She did a great job and we will miss her awesome teacher next year!
We just got back from a long overdue trip to Brazil! It was my first time going, as well as the kids. Ricardo's parents joined us and we had such a wonderful trip!
Flying long distances with a toddler is not for the faint of heart, but overall she did pretty well!
We flew into Campinas and went to church there and then had dinner with Ricardo's cousin's sweet family. They are the best!
Then, we drove a few hours out into the country to a fun and beautiful farm hotel, where we spent a few days adventuring.
The kids enjoyed the endless fresh juices and I loved the homemade cheese and yogurt straight from the farm.
The warmest indoor pool ever-like a giant hot tub. We loved it!
We did a nighttime zip line which was so cool.
The kids were very brave and did lots of fun activities!
Ana was a little small for most of the activities, but she loved her little pony ride and she actually was big enough for a pretty big zip line, which she talked about for days afterward.
The staff at the hotel were all so nice and really helped the kids practice their Portuguese.
Ana got to help make some brigadeiros.
We had a great few days there and then made our way back to Campinas, stopping at a cute little Italian-themed town along the way.
Gelato!
Trevi Fountain - South America style.
This is just a replica of the statue in Rio-but much easier to get a good photo op here!
That night we fly to Rio de Janeiro and the next day we were up early for a full city tour. We got to see the real statue first thing! The views from the top were amazing, but Ana was not too impressed. She did enjoy riding around the city on the bus, though!
Spotted some monkeys up there:
The kids had fun being their own versions of the statue.
What's a Brazilian city tour without a soccer stadium?
Catedral Metropolitana:
Selaron Steps. The kids had fun climbing all the steps and looking at all the designs.
Ana is a happy camper on the bus!
Sugarloaf Mountain. The views from the top were incredible.
The first cable cars that used to go up the mountain!
Walking the Cococabana Beach at night.
The next morning we headed up another mountain to go on a hang gliding adventure. It was amazing!
My pilot has been hang gliding for almost 30 years and was cracking me up up there in the sky. The views were so so beautiful.
My in-laws met us at our landing spot with the kids, which was so fun.
Lunch beachside.
And the coconut drinks were so fun.
All you can eat sushi for dinner. Best day ever for these kids!
We got to go to church across from the Rio temple on Sunday. We loved the sidewalk, which matched the Cococabana boardwalk.
Afterwards, we spent the afternoon with Ricardo's mom's family in Rio. These two had fun torturing their cat.
The next day, we headed home! It was such a fun trip. The kids hopped right into some summer fun with a camp put on by a fun HS senior we know.
Movie night in the pool at our friend's house!
These two friends earned arcade $$ for completing a reading challenge at school so we met up for them to play and go bowling.
Ok, I am caught up! Wishing everyone a relaxing and happy summer!
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