Final "before" shot

We, I mean the pocket book, calendar and my daughter are brace free!!!

8 years, three children in braces, thousands of dollars, spilt tiny elastic bands in the bathroom, no taffy, no gum, 6 weeks appointments are finished

Until it's Jo's turn but until then I'm enjoy the break!  

Barking up the wrong tree

Our family had a chance to babysit a dog last week

It was a three day commitment

What I realized is that I make a great dog grandma

I can fill him with treats, let him stay up late, deal with the messes for a few days and then...

send him back on his way home

Sorry girls, we won't be getting one of our own anytime soon

Easter hunt x 2

The Embassy hosted a Easter party/breakfast the weekend before Easter.  My littles were spoiled and enjoyed 2 egg hunts in one week.  The bigs just had another excuse to hang out with their gang of friends at the embassy for the morning.  We had been up the night before helping Sam with a job that she had received.  She was asked to bake 200 chocolate chip cookies for the party.  She gladly accepted the job since she is desperate for money.  As the clock started ticking she was happy to have everyone chip in make the process move along.  200 is a lot of cookies!   

 Maybe this is why the process was taking longer than expected??

 Jo working on a craft project and meeting Muffy the bunny

 Sorting fun

Weekly Roundup

 

Gwen playing with her BFF, Coop Dog.  She is always looking forward to a playdate with this little guy.

I had to resort to using a mail cart on this particular day for mail pickup.  Usually I can get it all in my arms.  This shot didn't include the super long package that was holding our solar cover for the pool.  When we first moved here I was trying my best to survive on what I could find in stores here.  I've broken down, I'm now know at Amazon as one of their "loyal" customers.

Poor baby girl was super sick last week and Dad was out of town and then I got sick as well.  It was a long, not sleeping well week.  Came into her room one morning to find her like this.  This is a sure sign of the babe not feeling well.  She typically slows down for nothing!

Got a minute to peek into the girls school and see one of Madison's pictures on display for the school art show.  I love her drawings!

A typical banana stand at the grocery store.  Usually at the store there is one or two varieties to choose from.  When I walk into the farmers market I don't even know where to start.  On one particular day I think I counted 7 different choices.   

Little one starting to perk up a bit.  At least long enough for a few pao de queijo from the bakery

Salsa is one thing that we really miss not having here.  I usually make fresh pico every few days to put on top of our eggs, beans or anything else that we what to top it with.

Shouts from the rooftop

This past weekend our family enjoyed watching church at home!  It was our semi-annual general conference.  We loved having friends over for the Sunday "morning" session which was actually afternoon for Brasil.  I had gone upstairs with my little one to lay her down for a nap right as the session was starting.  A few minutes later I heard a huge shout, scream and joyful yelling.  I figured it had to be our prophet announcing a temple.  A temple in Brasilia, Brazil!  What an awesome thing to get to witness.

(From lds.org) Temple Announcement:

On April 2, 2017, President Thomas S. Monson announced the Brasília Brazil Temple, Brazil's tenth temple, during the Sunday Morning Session of the 187th Annual General Conference. There are six operating temples in Brazil including the Campinas Brazil Temple, Curitiba Brazil Temple, Manaus Brazil Temple, Porto Alegre Brazil Temple, Recife Brazil Temple, and São Paulo Brazil Temple. Three other temples are announced or under construction including the Fortaleza Brazil Temple, Rio de Janeiro Brazil Temple, and Belém Brazil Temple.
Brasília is Brazil's beautiful national capital, renowned for its unique architecture. More than 1.3 million members of the Church live in Brazil, more than any nation in the world other than the United States and Mexico. The Brasília Brazil Temple will bring the blessings of the temple closer to the thousands of members living in Brazil's vast interior. There are five stakes in the immediate Brasília area with five additional nearby stakes and more in the surrounding region.

Passing the time with couch cushions and rainbow loom

One of the families brought cinnamon rolls with chocolate chips!  Why has that thought never crossed my mind before?  Goodbye raisins, bring on the chocolate.