BUSTED!

Last night was a rite of passage for many. We took our kids and the Johnson's teenagers toilet-papering for the first time. (The Johnson's are our friends who are out of town. They watched our kids for us during our trip to the US so we repaid them cleverly by entertaining theirs. We chose to TP the Gonzalez's- a family who also watched Gracie and Ryan when we were gone- I think we might have a hard time finding baby-sitters from here on out). All was going well until Julie Gonzalez came out to her car to go pick up her daughter. We thought we had taught everyone all the important rules about toilet-papering... wear dark clothes, be very quite, tip-toe, hide if a car goes by... but we forgot to teach them one imperative rule... if someone sees you, RUN!

Ry was a natural.
Getting caught... Notice the kids are still at it. Nelson Gonzalez got back at Nathan by making him talk at church last minute today.
Gracie wants to know who's house we are doing next?!
TP-ing is taken up a notch here because you have two uncommon obstacles that add to the excitement- gates and guards. All homes are gated or in a gated communities and there are several guards on foot or circulating in vehicles 24hrs a day. These two security vehicles and guard house were only one house away. We are so sneaky! Ok- kinda... Ok, so the guards were sleeping.
This post is dedicated to Mom's Taxi- may she rest in peace.

Cascanueces

Here's something we will only experience in Chile... an outdoor summertime performance of The Nutcracker. The city put it on for free in the main plaza. Here is Gracie waiting on the bleachers- we arrived 2 hours early to get a seat. In the background is a Cathedral that dates back to colonial times. It was very professionally done and Gracie kept leaning over to say, "Hey, I can dance like that! I can dance as good as she can." She proved it by dancing all the way back to the car. What you don't see is the group of fans cheering her on behind me.

Rio

Nathan and I went sans children to the culturally rich hub of Bazil- Rio de Janeiro (pronounce hee-o day Shy-neigh-though. Go figure!). The highlights were the view of Pão de Açúcar (Sugarloaf mountain) from Cristo Redentor (one of the New Seven Wonders of the World), learning to dance Samba at the interactive Carnival recreation, an early morning jog by a favela (slum) to see how the locals really live, then playing in the ocean to cool off, and of course, dinner at the Porcao Churrascaria (five star Brazilian BBQ where green means more meat please and red means wait while I watch the soccer game and eat sushi). We had a fabulous time!More filet mignon please!
Move over Vegas! The salad bar was the most incredible I have ever seen.
Carnival Floats take the whole year and millions of dollars to construct.
Rio is built on rain forest covered mountains that meet the ocean.
Learning to samba was a riot! Notice I am not in full costume and yes, they were 100% Brazilian Bikinis.

Famous Sugarloaf Mountain.
Cristo Redentor statue.



View from our hotel room.

More Sprinkler Talk

When I was younger I had many-a-slumber-party on the trampoline. I would always ask my dad if he had remembered to turn off the sprinklers. He would nod and assure me he had. When we flew into the house soaking wet at 5:00 a.m. he would innocently say, "Oh, I must have programmed them wrong." I woke up with the sudden realization a few days ago that he did it all on purpose! I know mom and dad were secretly giggling their heads off.

Sprinklers and trampolines make a much better combo when the sun is out and it is 85 degrees. I enjoy it as much as my kids do!

No Spring

Santiago has no spring. One week we had the heater on. The next week we were wearing shorts. In September we were Snow-skiing (yes Ryan and Gracie Skied, too!). By October it was beach weather. Come for Christmas and we'll take you surfing!

Date Night

Gracie sees us go on a date every Friday and she really wanted a turn. She was so excited when Daddy invited her on a "date" to the school play. She ran in to change and came out in this outfit (the hat is mine). She gave her Dad one look and sent him immedately to change into a suit. She also made him wear this hat. Of course the Nido moms loved it! Ry got his chance for Date Night tonight. In case your were wondering, he wore shorts.

Rain on Our Picnic

We had 3 families here for a bar-b-q and the sprinkler (which was next to the table) kept getting turned on. When we asked who did it Ry kept telling us it was Jacob (who is younger and can't defend himself). We finally got smart and moved the sprinkler right behind the hose faucet. Next thing we see is screaming boys running away from the water. He is teaching Isaac how to whistle (what he does when excited)-put your fingers in your mouth and squeal!

Princess Bride

Gracie wanted to be a "Princess Getting Married" for Halloween. I caught her waving and posing for people on the street. I couldn't get her in the car for a whole five minutes while she enjoyed the attention. She worked it in traffic from her car seat for the whole 30 minute ride home. Once, she got ticked and commented "Hey, they won't look at me!" Apparently her husband's name is Rumpelstiltskin.

Supermans

Until Halloween Ryan thought "Supermans" just meant his cool underwear. We are just glad he no longer calls them panties. As you can see, we forgot to tell Superman he saves his friends as opposed to strangling them.

How to Tell if You're Not Mom's Favorite

Mom sent me an email entitled "How to Tell if You're Not Mom's Favorite." I was afraid to open it.

I couldn't resist...