We always are looking forward to "mail day". Every Thursday and Friday, the embassy sorts all of the mail and packages from the states for everyone to pick up. We love going down to the mail room and picking up our goodies. 

Thanks Nolan Harper for the package!

The commissary at the embassy was just re-stocked last week. It is now full of American treats and food. We don't usually buy anything except for some random items like vanilla or tortillas.

Mom and Dad are in the process of looking for a little "buzz-around town" car. Gwen has enjoyed going wiith them on their shopping excursions and doesn't mind testing out the cars.

 Hanging out at my volleyball game

 Buying gas in reais and liters

Dad has enjoyed taking Gwen and Jo on bike rides in the trailer. The Brazilians have never seen something like the bike trailer before, so a ride usually involves a bunch of stopped cars, waves, and shocked faces. 

 Post workout swim to cool off

 

Gwen was the first one to visit the Brasilia ER. Her pinkie finger got slammed in a door, so we Dad took her to the hospital just to make sure nothing was broken. She got an X-ray and everything was fine, just a bruised and swollen finger. 

We're going to the zoo!

On Thursday, Jo didn't have school because of parent teacher conferences so mom took the littles to the zoo here in Brasilia.

 

 This is a capybara....they are like the weirdest animal, lol. In Maryland we had squirrels and in Brasilia we have capybaras. They are like swimming pig, dog, warthog, things....

 

A Glimpse into our Week

Jo's one of the many Star War's fans in our family. She's collected the Star War tsum tsums and created a pyramid.

 

Matching nubby buns

We had the youth over from our ward for a pizza party. We cooked lots of pizza in our pizza oven, swam, and played some fun games.

Pool Fun

Our little sous-chef, on this particular day she was intent on cutting her own banana.

I (Sam) had my first volleyball game this past week. It was tons of fun and I enjoy being able to play with the girls on my team. 

Happy Birthday Daddy! This year he asked for a carrot cake cheesecake, and it was delicious! He got pine nuts from Grandma and Grandpa Holman and was in heaven!

Fruit of the week- acerola. It is similar to a cranberry kind of......there isn't much to compare it to. We don't ever eat it plain because it's super bitter, but we love it blended in a drink with milk.  This was picked off a tree in our backyard!

Thanksgiving Feast Fun

This year we "missed" Thanksgiving because we were traveling and were unable to create a Thanksgiving feast due to our lack of kitchen appliances. Four months later when our pans and platters finally arrived we created the long waited for feast. 

Texas smoked brisket from a guy who has a portable food truck smoker. We only live a few minutes away from his set-up spot and he's there selling meat every Saturday.

Roasted cauliflower and carrots

Jo and I made our favorite.....mashed potatoes; and Aubrey made some delicious rolls. 

One of the "must haves" for Thanksgiving- mom's stuffing (thanks to Aunt Jen for gifting us this recipe many years ago)! 

When Dad went to the states in January he brought us home some cheese. One of our favorites is the blueberry goat cheese from Trader Joe's. We had been saving it for a special occasion and this was the perfect time for it.

Itiquira is Falling

The Itiquira Falls is a waterfall about 115 kilometers from Brasilia.  The falls have a height of 168 meter, making them the highest accessible waterfall in Brazil.  The falls are formed by a drop of the Itiquira River.

This selfie was taken before we approached the base of the falls.  Once we were right near the falls I didn't take my phone out of the backpack because the water was so intense.  We walked away dripping with water and the girls saying, "that was awesome!"

Flora along the trail

This visit we just walked to the base of the waterfall.  A short walk up a paved path.  Next visit when we have the big three with us we would like to attempt the hike that takes you to the top of the waterfall.  The guide said it's about 4 km and not recommended for kids under the age of 12.  Jo has some decent hiking experience under her belt so we hope to be able to give it a go.

Took the kids a little further downstream to play in the water, build mud castles and learn how to skip rocks

A view as we left the waterfall area.  Everything is so lush and green and beautiful

We stopped for lunch at Dom Fernando, a typical Brazilian lunch buffet.  Except this typical lunch buffet had horses for my equestrian loving girls to ride.  The lunch was also a delicious variety of Brasilian goods.  Beans, rice, pork roast, fresh fruits, breads, fried goodies and a live musician playing the afternoon away.

The Brasilian's often comment that my girls, "are good with a fork."  Meaning they eat well, not sure where they would get that idea from ;)

Every Brasilian lunch ends with a warm drink, it helps your tummy settle.  They always offer coffee and then a decaffeinated drink.  My favorite is milk with cinnamon.  Today we enjoyed caramel milk. 

"Sleeping" off some of the carb goodies