We were so happy to have G&G in town to visit

It included...

Christmas piano duets

J learned every song in her Christmas book!

A well stocked freezer full of the important stuff

Working off that important stuff at the exercise park

and also not pictured, racing Jo's remote controlled boat

Reading lots of books and playing with G&G

Saying goodbye for now

School Time

We just love this group of 9th graders

It was a treat to get to share the day with G&G

They graduate this month

It will be sad to say goodbye 

but hope that we have given them so encouragement and motivation to continue their studies and be the best that they can be

The class challenged my girls and Rob to a football tournament

(I think they were being nice)

Gwen and I got to cheerlead on the sideline

A few of the teachers at the school

We were invited to eat lunch with our class

Some of the best beans I've had since landing in this beautiful country

Saying goodbye until next time...

Cristalina

As the name indicates the town is famous for being one of the largest centers of production and commerce of precious and semi-precious stones and crystals in Brazil. The immense variety of stones (such as amethysts, sapphires, emeralds, blue topazes, and tourmaline) and of crystals (found in diverse sizes, shapes and colors) are responsible for the large number of tourists that visit the city. 

 Pedra Chapéu do Sol (Rock Hat of Sun), about five miles from downtown Cristalina

Natural made marvel

Exploring the mines

Filling her pockets with stones

Running up dirt hills

Basically the best day ever

We had to limit this girl to carry back what she collected

Otherwise our car would have been filled with stones

Stopping at a waterfall at the end of our tour

No trip is complete without a visit to a waterfall :)

Around town

Some stops around town...

Finding the Utah state flag at the Embassy

Checking out the bosses quarters

Taking in some sights at The Cathedral of Brasilia

A view of the JK Memorial

Some cool artifacts at the Native Indian Museum

Letting G&G experience our favorite gelato shop!!

Pastels at the market

Give Thanks

A few years back when we were in Maryland we were lucky to have G&G spend the week with us

This year we got them again!

Grandma's adorable paper creations

I now know where my kids get their awesome paper making skills from

Meat prep boys hard at work

We enjoyed pork roast, beef roast a turkey prepared by my girlfriend

Nothing more sad than dropping the giant pan of homemade stuffing

This stuffing is one of my crown jewel recipes, passed down by one of my sister in laws

I had purchased and broken artisian bread that had been drying for three days

Chopped celery, carrots, onions, parsley, mushrooms

Assembled it all with the help of Madison and put it on top of the fridge until it was ready to cook

In a hurry I had a phone in one hand and grabbed the pan to take a picture

It slipped out of my hands and scattered all over the entire kitchen

Such a super sad moment :( I lost my homemade stuffing and my super nice glass pan

Thankfully I had ordered two boxes of Stovetop stuffing from Amazon partially as a joke

It came through for the dinner

What a lovely spread

There was so many delicious things to choose from

So thankful for this time of year and the chance it gives us to remember the things we should be most grateful for!

Pizza Stone

One of the very best parts of the house we live in is the pizza oven in our backyard

It's really, really fun to have pizza parties in our backyard

One of Grandpa's famous creations, "Everything but the kitchen sink"

Grandma busy at work making a favorite