After our little soccer game, we went to a restaurant for lunch.

The boys were rather unadventurous and stuck to plain rice and beans, but it was delicious.

Walking down Delton & Fernie's street:

At their house, waiting to be let in the gate:

 

Monday, March 12

Monday was Beach Day. We drove 2 ½ hours out of the city and down the mountains to the ocean.

The boys have never been to the ocean before and were unsure about it- more specifically, they were unsure about sharks.  However, within minutes of seeing the water, those fears were put to rest.  A friend of Delton’s told us about a less popular part of the beach where the water was calmer.  It was perfect for us.  The kids played hard and had so much fun.  The weather was perfect too.  It was sunny and hot.  For several hours, we could hear thunder and see stormy clouds in the green mountains nearby.  But it never came close. 

At one point, Kendall and Delton took the kids exploring in an inflatable boat.  They even got to see a little jelly fish swim by.

Here the dads take a rest under a nifty shelter:

Eli and Naomi enjoying the waves:

As with so much on this trip, the visit to the ocean was a first for Eli and Evan.  It was fun to hear their observations.  Evan was surprised by the strength of the waves to push and pull and by how salty the water was.  They loved seeing the jelly fish, a stingray (dead on the beach, thankfully) and finding shells and sand dollars.

And a final family photo before heading home.  (Can you guess which one of us is angry reluctant?)

Sunday, March 11

On Sunday we visited Delton and Fernie's church with them.  The kids all went to Sunday school and children's church together.  They go to an international church, so everything was in English and it was an interesting mix of people.  In the afternoon, we had a churrasco, a traditional Brazilian barbeque.  Delton barbequed sausage, beef and chicken.  Another couple joined us for the afternoon meal.  Delicious!

The kids had a great time playing in the yard:

Mud pies for all:

Here Kendall and Delton chat on the patio where we ate:

Saturday, March 11

After a very long flight, we made it to Brazil. I am amazed to see on the map how huge Brazil is. And Sao Paulo is on the south side of the country, so we are far from Canada. 
The flight went pretty well- better than I thought it might.  Our flight left late and it was 1:00 am or so before the meals were eaten and we turned in for the night.  The boys were out quickly.  It had been a long day.  Evan slept straight through until 7:00.  The rest of us were awake off and on.  Even so, 5 hours of sleep isn't too bad for an overnight flight.

Almost 10 hours after take-off, we were landing.  As we looked out the window and Eli and Evan saw palm trees in their natural environment for the first time, I was moved.  (And it wasn't just the lack of sleep or the pregnancy hormones.)  It means so much to be able to show our kids a different part of the world.  I also got to take a significant overseas trip at age 8 and I know that it has had a lasting impact on my life.

Here we are with our many bags outside the airport:  (Most with things we delivered to our hosts.:) )

Flight #1

We made it to Toronto!  It was really windy in Toronto, so things got backed up and we ended up taking off from Winnipeg and hour and a half late.  But we made it to our connecting gate perfectly fine.  And now we sit.  We should be taking off in less than an hour. 

I had an interesting experience on the last flight- I actually went so far as to take the barf bag out of the seat pocket to have it close at hand.  I don't know if it was the windy conditions at the end or what.  Hmmm...  Makes me rather nervous about the 10 hours ahead.  Anyway, I just took a motion sickness pill that Kendall said was safe for me.  Hopefully that will do the job.  And hopefully we'll all sleep lots in the coming hours.

Here we sit in the Winnipeg airport, off on our adventure!

Sao Paulo, here we come!

In the City

Tonight Evan came and told me that Eli said a bad word.  Then it came out that Evan also said a bad word.  (In self-defense, he explained that he thought Eli wanted him to.  Whatever.)  Evan told me that Eli explained that "that's how it would be in the city."  Way to go.  Way to prepare your little brother for the perils of the big city.

I explained to Eli that if there are bad words being spoken in Sao Paulo, they will be in Portugese, so he won't know anyway.  And that he will be in deep doo-doo if he tries that even in the big city.  And did he not hear the girls a table away from us in Tim Horton's tonight.  We weren't even in a big city.

In other news, Air Canada's mechanics, baggage handlers and cargo agents have notified the airline that they are planning to strike.  That's our airline.  Good news:  It's planned for March 12, after we're in Brazil.  Bad news:  I'm guessing that Delton and Fernie aren't hoping to have a family of 4 move in with them permanently.  This is right over March Break when everyone is traveling, so here's to hoping the airline and the union work hard to come to an agreement.

The Comforter

Here's the comforter I was working on in an earlier post. My first knotted comforter, though I have vague memories of helping tie knots as a kid at a quilting.

I wanted to make one to send overseas with MCC.  I thought it would be a good winter project for me and the boys.  Then I realized, Hey, we're going to Brazil.  Maybe we could give one to someone there and actually see who it goes to!  So we contacted Delton and Fernie and they knew someone who could use a blanket.  It's been neat to make this with a specific person in mind.  We even have a little bit of his story and a couple photos.  Strange to think we'll be there in a few days and maybe even meet the recipient of this blanket.

Oh yeah, we're going to Brazil over March break.  (!!!)  Kendall's cousin, Delton, and his family live there.  His wife, Fernie, is from Brazil.  They work with street kids in Sao Paulo. 

We've always wanted to show our kids more of the world.  Delton and Fernie have kids our kids' age and Eli and Evan really like these 2nd cousins.  This feels like the perfect set-up- We get the security and fun of cousins and also get the exposure to a different culture and country and needs.  And it will be so great to see a bit of Delton and Fernie's lives in another part of the world.  Kendall and Delton were a mischievous pair growing up (Delton makes it in to quite a few of Daddy's bedtime stories), so I'm sure the story-telling will continue over the next couple weeks.

We leave Friday afternoon from Winnipeg.  We will fly to Toronto and then it's a 10-hour overnight flight and we're in Sao Paulo.  We'll get back into Winnipeg on March 20.  We're excited!