6

Emerson's 6th birthday was FINALLY celebrated. ;) He turned 6 last on the 14th, but that was so soon after I got home from Brazil, making a pinata wasn't high on my priority list. This little man was so patient.

And since my camera is broken (dropped it while in Brazil), my awesome friend Allison let me use this fancy shmancy one..........coveting feelings were NOT easy to suppress. 

I let Emerson pick the order of events.....and SURPRISINGLY this kid wanted to open up presents first. ;)

However most of my pictures looked like this. All the presents were pretty popular.

 Then this boy party (w/ Aleeya and Iris) ate hot dogs, cheetos and Caffeine-free Dr. Pepper (can you tell who picked the menu?)

 Since I never let the kids decorate food much, I just baked some cupcakes, frosted them and let Emerson decorate them all. He was SO excited. I should've taken a close-up picture of them, they are literally piled high with gummy worms and sprinkles. But I just love the look on his face in this picture.

 He wanted a "Black widow" pinata. So that's what he got. He painted it all black too and loved EVERY second. (I think that's the best part for my kids' parties is seeing the progress of their pinata in the kitchen over the 4-ish days it takes to make......or me getting up the energy to make. They wake up so excited to see what new has been added to the pinata. It's  the anticipation before their birthday!!!)

 Thankfully he didn't complain about the girly ribbon I used to hang it up, but Brooks was gone and I couldn't find the good sting.

 The kids just WAITING to pounce right before it all spills out.

 After all the candy was snatched up, Royce realized a little too late what was going on and just kept standing in front of people begging. Look at that sweet face and blue eyes.

 He usually got what he wanted too.

As I've mentioned before, if you don't know Emerson, you're missing out. He's one of the giggliest, happiest, most energetic, sorest of losers, snuggliest and friendliest (UNDERSTATEMENT) kids around.

I love my birthday Emer-bop.

While the Cat's Away.....

When I was in Brazil, Brooks' Mom, Pat came to stay w/ the kiddos. WITHOUT A DOUBT every day while I was in Brazil I looked forward to getting her emails about the kids the most (phone connection was delayed and weird). I never asked, but I'm hoping it's okay, I took snipets from her emails of different.......eh-hem, "experiences" she had the kids. Most of them made me laugh so hard. I could just picture them all happening. (pictures, courtesy of Linsey, THANKS!)

."I now know why I only had boys...the drama of girls is more than a normal sane person can take!  Iris and Aleeya.....but, I don't have to go pee; I can do it by myself; whudjasay, whudjasay, whatjasay????; I don't want to wear that; I want my mommy; no I don't want to go to bed; my last name is NOT Smith; I don't want to wear those shoes; I don't want to eat that; I don't like the way you did my hair; I can still do it by myself.; I don't want to go to sleep and the best yet...I did not leave that wrapper on the floor! Royce did!

 I just have to throw up my arms and say WHATEVER. "

"Today was eventful because it was the first time I ventured out in a car.  I drove the girls to dance but not until there was weeping and wailing about what to wear.  Aleeya was fine, but Iris didn't like anything presented to her, so I MADE her wear the little purple one piece.  I didn't even bother mentioning wearing shoes because I just didn't have any stamina left."

" I also had no idea he (Royce) could scream like a girl." 

 " Driving the Yeti was a new experience too.  Just getting out of the driveway posed a problem.  I hit the basketball hoop (nothing damaged) so I had to pull forward and started over again.  The boys guided me down the hill and away we went. I felt like the frizzy haired teacher in the Magic School Bus books."

"The boys have been really good and do whatever I ask them to.  They're growing up soooo fast.  They seem a lot older than they really are.  Emerson seems so much older than the kids his age at my school.  

I think Brooks was quizzing Bronson about how much wii he was playing and this is all I'm going to say.....it's their Spring Break and I want them to have fun and not be bored with an old grandma.  Reality will slam them soon enough when next week comes and the wii is long gone.  They've been  having  so much fun beating each other in bowling or baseball or whatever and it's fun to hear them laughing and cheering.  Even Emerson hasn't had a meltdown over loosing. The card game I brought almost causes a riot whenever they play that, so I did take that away. "

"Let's see...what did Iris do today?  She got into something in the bathroom and when I said "no Iris", she ran to the loveseat and curled up in the corner with her head buried.  then after a little while I heard her talking to herself and being all happy again. "

"The kids were soooo excited over their (easter) baskets.  They ate candy for breakfast, so I didn't even have to cook.  Then Linsey and Bug took them to the hunt at the church.  Bronson REALLY didn't want to go, so he stayed home with me and Royce and Iris.  He's out shooting hoops now.  He lives for that uh? "

(My note: Camden was SUPPOSED to only get 8 eggs.......BUSTED!!!!)

"I let them stay up late and watch the final basketball game.  We pushed the love seat in front of the computer and popped popcorn.  It didn't even start until 9 something.  The girls were in bed, but when Aleeya smelled popcorn, she was up and at it.  Anyway, Camden went to bed around 10; Emerson fell asleep around 10:30 and Bronson watched the whole thing.  He really loves his b-ball.  Just like his dad.  "

I THINK IT'S SAFE TO SAY, we couldn't be MORE GRATEFUL for Pat, who is the best Grandma! The kids all wanted her to stay another week.

I'm 31!

My actual birthday was the day that I was leaving on the airplane to come back to the US (overnight flight). In the morning the cafeteria crew made the most delicious and rich cake. Amazing. (and yes, it DID infact, get on Brooks' Sunday clothes as he carried it up to the room)

2 of the other missionary couples came to my parents apartment to come celebrate and eat the cake with me (medical missionaries and executive secretary missionary couple)

That morning we walked to the local "feira" (place where they sale the BEST produce w/ piles and piles of fruit, etc.) We spent $30 in fruit just to get our last taste of all things tropical......and trust me, it was a LOT of fruit.

However, THIS was the aisle I kept trying to avoid.......smells of all that meat was really a little too much.

Brooks' flight left 4 hours before mine, so I had about 5 hours to kill at the airport. My parents PATIENTLY agreed to play ONE MORE GAME of Golf w/ me........that morning we played AGAIN in my dad's office and I STILL CAME IN LAST!!!!! Unbelievable. Afterall, it WAS my birthday and I couldn't go out being an 100% loser, right?

Oh, and there weren't any open tables, so we balanced our cards on our laps, etc.

The outcome? I came in last again. I really don't know how that's even numerically possible to have my bad of odds at that game. So happy stinkin' birthday to me, huh.

Here I am, headin' home.......on the longest 20 hours ever!

By the time I got home, I was REALLY feeling one year older. What a trip!!!!

Free day

The day before I left (April 6th), my parents had free as well, so we packed the day w/ all things....well, "Me"......or things that I wanted to do.

First stop? Embu. A local town that will pull out all these stands and is lined w/ shops selling fun souvenirs, etc. And since I was under STRICT instructions to bring the kids back something, I had to find something good.

As we pulled up to the square, I said to Mom and Dad that there USED to be a churro stand over in the corner that filled their churros w/ doce de leite (they were my favorite). My mom reminded me that was 15 years ago.

Get this....IT WAS STILL THERE!!!! hahaha. Got my churro.

Here's an idea of some shops off the main square. It is so charming.

Then we went to our old home/apartment. We lived on the 4th floor and all the homes there are the entire floor. It felt SO fun coming back home. This is where I waited for my bus in the mornings.

And the SAME guard (Antonio) STILL WORKED THERE!!!!!!

We went over to my old school that I went to from 7th-9th grade. Total flood of memories.

It's an all open school (except classrooms) so you can see the lockers, etc. are all outside. I loved it! the picture above is my old freshman hall!!!!

We got to go to the Sao Paulo Temple while we were there.

THEN, the MAIN EVENT!!!!! My CLOSEST friends EVER from Brazil organized a big ol' get-together for me. I had an absolute blast and felt so at ease like it hadn't even been 15 years at all. (even though Brooks doesn't speak portuguese, once again, he was still talking the whole time).

Thank GOODNESS it was the last night of my visit, so I had a whole week to brush up on my portuguese........conversations straight the whole time.

The host, Talita even sent me home w/ my Caquis. They look like tomatoes but are the BEST fruit and sooooo sweet and tasty.

They made a little movie clip/slideshow thing w/ old pictures of me (I can't believe people actually wanted to be seen with me in how I looked in some of those. hahaha) and then they surprised me with a HUGE cake.

It was a brigadeiro cake moistened w/ passion fruit juice. Yep, it was amazing. AND my friends Marina/Joyce gave me a huge bag stuffed w/ Brazilian treats to bring home to the kids. They are loving them!

Best way EVER to spend my last night in Brazil. I love them all so much.

A few Brazil favorites

Guarana.....the drink of Brazil. Best drink ever (carbonated)......and we had it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Definitely going through Guarana withdrawls.

These flowers are called "Birds of Paradise". You can see why. I love how pretty they are.

I kept making everyone play "Golf" again, so I could at least win (or not come in last) once......and by-the-way, my starting hand there REALLY stinks.

Smiling before the big game

Because had I taken a picture AFTERWARDS, I wouldn't have been smiling so much. I came in last and dad in first.......AGAIN. 3 times playing, 3 times losing. It's more then I can bare.

Perspective

I love those moments in the day when you are blessed with a little perspective. It changes your attitude a little.

Tuesday night I was just mentioning to Brooks how it kinda gets old not feeling yourself. I mean, I get healthier and healthier all the time, but I never go a whole day w/ feeling like ME. It wasn't a pity-party, just a kind of annoyance to me considering the "blah" period lasts longer each pregnancy.

The next morning, I'm not sure WHAT was up, but after I got the boys off to the bus I came home and didn't feel awesome. Infact, I knew I was going to hurl soon. (I don't

really don't puke that much). I ran into the bathroom and my sweet little Royce followed me in.

Puking stinks. The no-breathing thing and stomach wrenching just bites......however this time was different. Everytime I would....well....puke Royce just started giggling. He thought it was the FUNNIEST thing everytime I would make a sound and then he would see stuff. His giggles were uncontrollable!!!!

After I was through I just looked up at him and he gave me the BIGGEST smile and little laugh.

It's hard to describe how it affected me, but all I could think about it was, I would go through whatever blah-dom/sickness/not-"me"-ness I had to, to get me some more of that! My children are such a blessing and definitely worth whatever the cost.

And yes, I walked out of the bathroom giggling with him too.

A Day on our Own

I guess I should probably clarify where we were staying. YES, it was with my parents, but they happened to be over the Missionary Training Center in Sao Paulo, so we stayed there too in the most amazing suite.

Here they are in front of the MTC with one of the guards that kept walking us across the street to make sure we were safe. :)

While we were there, the total number of missionaries there were about 250. There were Americans, Brazilians and Latinos from all over coming there to learn Portuguese before they go out to teach the gospel. They can be in there from anywhere from 6-8 weeks. Each week a new batch comes in and the older ones leave for the missionary field. It's constant action.

My parents have a lot of responsibilities, meetings, trainings, interviews, etc going on, and since they took a few day vacation (it was like PULLING TEETH to get them to take a break) they had a lot to catch up on. Sooooooo, Brooks and I decided to take a taxi and just go off.

Since we didn't make a soccer game, we decided to go to the Musuem of Soccer that happens to be UNDER one of the main stadiums there in Sao Paulo. You can see the beams as if we're under some concrete mass.

Here was the opening down to the field of Pacaembu stadium. After taking this picture Brooks looked at me and said, "I'm going to get myself down there on that field." There was a security guy right there that of COURSE Brooks asked and the guy said to ask the security people down by the field (Person #1 that Brooks asked....)

He asked 3 MORE in the museum about secrets to get him down there by the field and they all said it was impossible. Then we got down here to Paulo. Here is Brooks talking to him in Spanish with a few Portuguese words mixed in.

It was a TAD embarrassing because he kept asking ME to translate some things into Portuguese for him. I really didn't want ANYTHING to do with him at this point because he just doesn't know when to take a "No"!!!!

Paulo said no (even after Brooks explained he traveled "thousands of miles here just to touch the field and if he lets us in we'll name our baby Pacaembu". UGH. I felt so lame translating this all)

So we got to the fence that everyone else gets to.

While taking that picture Paulo called us over and said, "Maybe I can call someone" and he got on his phone.

Brooks was BEYOND thrilled.

Then came "Willian" the guard that let us actually walk AROUND the field and throughout the stadium. Please notice the fence behind them and how there are ZERO openings.

I told Brooks we needed to act grateful for all that he did to get us THIS far so we asked him to take a picture of us so Brooks can APPEAR grateful. (Instead, Brooks kept asking and asking to go in the locker room and actually TOUCH the grass). I. WAS. DYING!

Speaking of dying, this is Brooks TELLING Willian that "vou morrer" (I will die) if I don't get to go in. Willian is on the phone asking for special permission to get him somewhere else.

We passed some grounds people turning on sprinklers and Brooks asked if he could help them or at least get one of their outfits. At this point, Brooks was a big joke to Willian. When Brooks asked what they would do if someone broke into the fence and ran out on the field, he pointed to the cops and said they would beat him down. I started picturing Brooks jumping off the boat when he was told he couldn't and I started getting a little worried.

FINALLY we finished walking around the "restricted" part and I told Brooks to cool it, and considering the director was NOT there for him to ask, his chances were zero. But he wanted this picture anyway in front of this "Cultura de Paz" sign (culture of peace)......because we thought it was ironic. If there is ANYWHERE in the world that there is NOT peace, it's in a futebol stadium during a big showdown.

We got out. Brooks felt pretty proud of how far he got, but I could tell he STILL was a tad disappointed that he didn't get to touch the field (which even the security guards have never done). Then he said, "I kept looking at that fence, waiting for an opening, and if there was one, I was just going to sprint and hope you had the camera ready."

So at this point I was grateful for 2 things:

1) I didn't have to leave alone and that Brooks wasn't beat up by the cops

2) I didn't have to name this baby Pacaembu

Later that night Brooks headed out to the outdoor courts in the MTC to play some volleyball with the missionaries during their exercise time. Most of the missionaries playing were from Argentina and Spanish speaking countries, so Brooks felt right at home.

While Dad and I counted dead cochroaches. (who found the pesticide). Jess, that picture is for you.

The men missionaries there were about 19 years old. They pay their own way to leave their families/jobs/school for 2 whole years to teach what brings them the most happiness. They don't just leave for a week, or vacation in between. It's everyday of the week from sun-up to sun-down (they have one day a week when they can write to their families, do laundry, etc.) Being around young men (and women) of that caliber is pretty awesome.

Brooks went on a 2 year mission when he was 19. It changed his life, his perspective, his work ethics, his dependency on God and made him the man who he is today. I'm forever grateful that he DID take those 2 years to serve our Heavenly Father instead of pursue his own interests at the time. That decision alone has made my life and my children's life better then it could've ever been.

Just being around those missionaries making that same self-less decision for almost one week was pretty awesome. The feeling in that building is one of a sacred and holy feeling. Incredible.