Waiting for us in one week!!

Beauty was all around

As you all may know by reading previous posts, my family took a vacation this past long weekend (5 days)

with Gabriela and another family.

There were a total of 9 kids and 6 adults...

well, we had a pool/churrasco/general guy, a maid, cook and extra girl ;)

(remember, we are in South America and help comes with the house for a nominal fee, not optional)

Now, the natural beauty of the area:

the ocean,

a hill top house that looked over it,

the amazing color and reflections,

the plants and flowers,

the sunset...

(Gabriela and I had fun playing with out cameras this night...the colors were amazing! If you see her blog, her picture has the moon in it! Very cool Gabriela!)

these were all a natural given beauty...

but the real beauty was found in the combination and interaction between our families. It was absolutely amazing to not have any fights between kids, no tv, no internet and complete peace!

The kids had a fabulous time playing various games, exploring around the ocean rocks, playing baseball, trying to fish, finding rocks and shells, kayaking...

they were just the happiest bunch of kids.

And I don't think I need to tell you how that made all of us adults feel...

relaxed, content and also enjoying each others company without a constant stream of interruptions from the little ones :)

It was the best way to spend 5 days with friends that I will always cherish and hope to see again somewhere in the future after we part from Brasil

Not yet...and please, not so excited!

It started out so innocently....

I bought my kids a special treat of a chocolate croissant for after school today. They were very excited and thankful.

They got chocolate all over their faces because these croissants just ooze melted hot chocolate!

I asked my son to clean his face with some water since the napkin wasn't doing the job very well. Then I hear...

"Sister, Mom...come quick, feel! I have a mustache! You can't really see it, but feel!"

Oh my gosh...they grow up so quickly and are so happy when they start the process. I am semi ready for it. I like watching them grow. I like the challenges even though they are so frustrating at times. I hope to guide them in this life...

but sometimes it just comes as a surprise...like a mustache.

I felt it. There were little hairs there, luckily quite light in color. It seems like only yesterday that I ended my ballet career to become a Mom, then the big belly, the waiting game, the name game, and watching as it all took place.

Ok, maybe it is just a little, slight, light colored mustache....

but for me, it is the start of the next phase of our lives.

(oh, and yes, there is an update coming on our AMAZING weekend away, and NO, that is not my video of the octopus, just one from Youtube that I found incredibly interesting) (it's just that growing up is so much more important for one little guy in my family, and I wanted to record it!)

The wonderful world underwater

Have you all seen this yet? How cool and what a beautiful creature!

Enjoy it...and your weekend too.

I am off with Gabriela and another friend, and all the kids for a long weekend away.

6 adults, 9 children...

A glimpse into the past

A friend sent this to me yesterday...

memories of my life a long time ago!

Six Word Saturday

Having all the pieces back together :)

Friday's Fave five

This is my first time to do this Friday post...

I just have some really great things that happened this week, so I wanted to share them all with you!

1. My husband gets home today after a long 2 weeks without him. The kids and I are not used to him traveling anymore...he used to travel more often, so this felt like a really long one!

2. I played a couple of the -opoly games this weekend with my kids. We played Animalopoly and Oceanopoly. What a blast we had together. We were all giggling and having fun. This way, no one cares if they win or lose, it's all about the fun times spent together.

3. I went to confession this past Sunday after a long time. It felt really right with my favorite priest. He has such an aura of calmness about him that I felt he was the right one to confess with; and I was right. He gave me such a feeling of what I imagine every priest should give in confession...that we all make mistakes, and it is what we do afterwards to show our true remorse and self betterment.

4. The weather has become beautiful after all the torrential rain. The sun is shining, but the air is crisp. It is so enjoyable to walk my dog or play tennis.

5. We are getting ready for a long weekend next week. There is a holiday on Wednesday and Friday; so the school gave off Thursday too! We are going with two other families on a mini trip about an hour and a half away. We rented a house close to the beach to enjoy these last days of summer! More to come on this...

Happy weekend everyone!