Fruits of our garden

So, it has been our second year attempting to grow a vegetable garden.   This year's improvement was a trellis that Jason built for our climbing vegetables.  Our tomatoes were much better this year, with less water, as recommended, they were sweeter.  Their yield was not great, so I will have to read a bit more about that-- I do remember reading once that there is a way to trim certain branches to maximize fruit production.

We were quite successful with serrano peppers (except nobody wants to eat them), and well as our herbs.   I also tried carrots this year--which turnout to be another lesson of "live and learn"--the carrots were quite thick, but not long.   I later learned from a friend that the carrots are supposed to be thinned early on, with every other discarded to allow for room for growth.  I have to say, the carrots we grew were still quite tasty though they were stubby!

So, it is fun.   We will confine to learn and grow next year!

Brazil!

Jason and I just came back from a trip to Brazil!    We were gone for two weeks, thanks to my Dad, who agreed to watch the kids for us.  We went to Brazil to go to Rebeka's wedding--and since we were traveling all that way we extended the trip to do a bit of sightseeing.  To be honest, we were pretty nervous about the trip because: A. we heard that Brazil was very dangerous, and B. our kids had just started school, and Alaina was a new kindergartner.   So we approached the trip with a bit more trepidation than usual.

We started the trip off in Rio--a city that our current au pair told us she would never go to because it was so dangerous.   But how could we go to Brazil and NOT see Rio?   So we went.   And we loved it!  We were super careful--only went to the nice areas--never walked at night--never carried a purse etc etc., but the bubble we stayed in seemed quite safe.   The city is geographically stunning with big mountains reaching into the sea, and wide swaths of beach.   Unfortunately, it was still a bit cold for beach weather, being that we were there in the early spring.   But we did get to take the tram to the top of sugarloaf mountain, and saw the Christ the Redeemer statue--one of the seven modern wonders of the world.   The statue is on a huge mountain that overlooks all of Rio--and is really spectacular.   AS Jason said, "It makes the city".
  

From Rio, we headed to Rebeka's hometown of Londrina.   Londrina certainly is not on the tourist circuit--although it is fairly big with a population of 600,000, most people did not speak English and were excited to meet Americans.   In fact, we got into one Uber and the driver heard us speaking English and stated "you must be here for the wedding".   Ha Ha.

Anyhow, Rebeka's wedding was spectacular, and quite the party.  She got married on a farm overlooking rolling hills, and had a reception that lasted almost until dawn.   Around the time a normal American wedding would end, a Samba band paraded in for an hour performance.   When we left, exhausted at almost 3:30 am, the party was still going strong!

The following afternoon, we went to a barbecue at Rebeka's Aunt's home and got to visit to her and Alex's family more.   We then headed back to the coast.

Our first stop was Paraty, a colonial city between Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro.   The city itself is quite picturesque with cobblestone streets and brightly painted homes.  We took a boat ride the fist day to some nearby beaches, but unfortunately the weather was not too cooperative.  

The following day was similarly cold, so we opted for a hike to the top of (yet another) sugarloaf mountain.   The hike was short but quite steep.  The view from the top was spectacular--a 360 degree view of mountains and sea.

Our final destination in Brazil was Ilha Grande.   This is a large island that, up until the mid 1990s, was a penal colony.   Sometime around then the Brazilian government realized it was far to beautiful a place to be a prison and moved the prisoners elsewhere.      The island retains much of its isolation--there are no cars at all--and small towns are linked only by hiking trails or boats.   It was a laid back, quiet kind of a place, and a perfect spot to relax at the end of the trip.   Each day, we took boat tours to different sections of the island--and we did get sun on 2 out of 3 days.   It was even warm enough to swim and we did some great snorkeling.

Meanwhile at home, my dad held down the fort quite well.   He was able to get out and do some great hikes during the day, as best as I can tell the kids didn't terrorize him at night.  We feel very fortunate that we had the opportunity to go!

First Day of School

Today was a big day--the first day that Alaina and Ethan could walk to school together!   Alaina started kindergarten, which is hard to believe, because I remember taking Ethan to his first day of kindergarten when Alaina could barely walk!  Alaina has the same teacher that Ethan had--Mrs. Peters in room 7.  

Back when Alaina finished preschool I was really worried about her starting kindergarten.   She is pretty shy and transitions can be a bit tough.  However, all summer long, she has been practicing her transitions, with a new camp every week, and honestly, she has gotten quite good at it.  I am proud of her.   Today, when I dropped her off she said goodbye walked right into the classroom.  The only tears were from Mom.  (sniff sniff).

Ethan is now the big man on campus (his school is grades K-4).   He was excited to return, though disgruntled as usual that I made him wear "fancy clothes" instead of his usual athletic gear.    I know that he will look out for his little sister at school and that is really nice.

Here's to a great school year!