Farewell to Steve and Vicki

After spending just over a week with us in Brazil, it was time for Steve and Vicki to go home. We took them to the airport to say goodbye and send them back to the States. It was great to have them with us, showing them Brazil and getting everything ready for Julia's birthday together. We had a great time with them. Thanks Steve and Vicki!!

Another Birthday at the Church this time

We had some cake left over from Julia's party so we brought it to church sunday night.

We got turned around and got there late, so Valberth was in the middle of preaching when we got there.

We sang happy birthday, cut the cake, and passed Julia around for everyone to party with.

Rebecca is Gilberto and Eliza's daughter.

Raquel got to spend some quality time with her new niece, Valentina.

Neil's Birthday

The day after we had the party for Julia was Neil's birthday. We had a small barbeque party to celebrate.

Gilberto, Pedro's good friend.

Alisa, Gilberto's wife. Of course Julia got most of the attention.
Neil got the cake this time though.

More Party Pics

Here are some pics of the family and friends at Julia's party.

Raquel's cousin Sandra was in Brazil for the summer so she came to celebrate.

The two ladies in this picture with Raquel are friends of hers from school.

Pedro and the whole family.
Here is a shot of all of the Pereira's that were at the party.Pedro and his 3 granddaughters.

Julia's Birthday Decorations

If you were around us at all for about 3 months before we went to Brazil, you would know that the major event of our trip there was Julia's birthday. Raquel spent countless hours printing, scoring, cutting, and folding materials for gift bags, gift boxes, and various other paper items for the party. You'll see some of these through the pictures below and on the next post.

In addition to the paper items, Renata found us a lady who se business is putting on parties, and she decorated the hall up right for the party. (Balloon decorations are huge in Brazil.) Again, much of this was with help of Raquel who searched the internet to find the best deals on the fancy balloons.The theme was rubber duckies (yes, remember that post from almost a year ago now - same theme, we even used the same cake pan.) You'll see the rubber ducky theme with some little chicks spread in there for good measure.

This was the main table where the cake will go.

Now with us and the cake (see the duck on top of the blue cake between the 2 chick balloons?)Here Julia is enjoying the berries in the bushes around the base of the tree.The whole room had balloons everywhere!This is the candy table. If you zoom in on the lollipops in the cup, you will see they are covered with a paper decoration with Julia's picture printed on them.Here is a closeup of the candies on the candy table.The guest tables.

Time at the Beach

In between laying around, relaxing with family, and taking naps, we got to the beach a few times while we were in Fortaleza.

Here are Steve and Vicki enjoying drinks with Pedro.

On a separate occasion Julia got to come with to the beach. She really enjoyed the sand. Daddy enjoyed playing with his little girl in the sand also . . . (it kept her from wandering off).

More Hanging in Brazil

Late in the week our first week we were in Brazil, we moved from the complex we were staying in, and moved to Marcos' house. It was a little further from the beach, but a great place to stay.

Here are Raquel and Julia hanging out in the window of our room. Nice view.

Neil left his magazine on the table on the back porch. Of course Julia got right to reading it.

More Family Time

Pedro got to spend some good time with his three grand-daughters.

Here is Valberth, Renata's husband talking with Raquel. Notice Julia? Yes she's playing hide and seek with Helena again using the glass door.Of course, all of this family time tired Julia out.

For the time we spent with Raquel's family, we stayed in a nice complex on the beach. Julia liked walking around (with help) on the grass behind the apartment we stayed in.

Brazil Vacation

We left July 18th for almost 3 weeks in Brazil. We spent the first week with Raquel's family.

Here is Raquel and her sister Renata. Renata gave birth to Valentina just a month before we got there.

Here is Raquel's sister in law, Naira, with her daughter Sara, who was 6 months old at the time of this picture.

Pedro was in heaven with all 3 of his granddaughters around him, all born within the last year.

One of Julia's favorite games was playing hide and seek with Helena.

Helena is 11 years old now. Somehow we still think of her as a little girl.

Julia is getting her lunch from Cassia today.

Steve and Vicki are our neighbors. Pedro had invited them down to Brazil when he met them last August, so they took him up on that offer and came with us for the first week. We had a great time together.

Pedro got to catch up with his first grandchild.

Mississippi weekend

For the independence day weekend, we went with three other families from our Sunday school class to Mississippi to swim, barbecue, and hang out for a long weekend at the childhood home of one of our classmates whose parents have several acres with a small creek running through it. We had a great time swimming, floating, playing with the kids, and just hanging out. Thanks to Cathy and Gerald for their hospitality.

Here are several of the children swinging after some time in the water.

Here the youngest of the group sit on an inter-tube to get their feet wet. From left to right are Sydney, Julia and William.

Nothing like a nice open air ride back up to the house.

Jack shows everyone how to properly relax and stay cool all at the same time.

Mack works on his relaxation technique.

Julia is pretty excited about all the fun.