keeping them safe.

blawg!

i came across this post last week and immediately wanted to make some changes. i reccommed reading it, it had some good tips that i am grateful to know. i decided to go private for a few days while i tweaked a few things on this space. BUT now we feel a little better and are back in full glory! (the world can be a crazy, scary place sometimes, right? :/)

anyways! lets talk about dreamy family walks on a warm sunday afternoon. heart eyes for days (zzz).

everything i have that is good and beautiful and hopeful is all because of HIM, my Savior and Redeemer. grateful to celebrate His wonderful, perfect life. "God be thanked for the matchless gift of his divine Son!"

xo

out numbered.

we do a lot of boy things in this household.

each morning we wake up to a shower where dump trucks and cars fill the shower floor. they all stumble in the steamy bathroom and head right to the shower drain and go pee pee. they think the drain is so much better than the toilet that is 3 feet away.

after breakfast the boys race off on their bikes in search of giant centipede worms. they find the worms, hold the worms, throw the worms (at each other), run over the worms, put the worms on their shirts, carry the worms...you get the idea. this goes all for a good portion of our day. then they usually find a hose, turn it on and start a water/mud fight. after things get out of control, i intervene and they track their little muddy feet back into the shower. this time with dinosours and bubbles.

at some point during the day they will find a pack of little monkeys and sit a watch them. today henry went into the kitchen, got a banana and threw it to a monkey. within minutes we had a whole pack of little monkeys on our porch eating bananas. our backyard has so many monkeys! they will also gather leafs and feed the goats. because goats like leaves.

somehow after dinner but before bedtime is when they have the most energy, it gets a little nuts. this is usually when they wrestle with a little bit of hide n seek in the mix as well. during family scripture study is when they quietly play cars. ahem.

during their scriptures, they always insist that we read something that has swords, animals or boats in the story. scattered throughout days are 568 underwear changes, chocolate milks, carrot swords, car/animal books, bike rides, snuggles, laughs and if we are lucky... one nap ;)

 charles always has a worm in his hand!

xo

3 feet 3 inches

tonight was measuring night. those are always fun nights, am i right? henry is 3´3, charles is 2´10 and baby george is alllllmost 2 WHOLE FEET! i got my camera out and started snapping pictures of the boys so henry began showing me his moves. below are some of my favorites. 

3 feet seems so small still but henry is getting to be quite a helpful, kind, funny young man. a few days ago we saw an iguana in our backyard so yesterday henry comes into to the kitchen and asks ¨mom, do you like iguanas?¨ no. ¨mom, do you like lizards?¨ no. ¨well mom, then what do you like?!¨

or the time i asked him to help clean up ¨i can´t, my legs and arms are both sleeping...¨ he has so many funny little phrases, thumbs up, winks etc, that he keeps us all smiling 

xo

goat rodeo

today was a day to remember. a day to be celebrated. a day to go down in history. our cute mr. darcy got his first hair cut. he was in big, BIG time need. but not only was it a big day for mr. d but also for me. i gave my fist goat haircut today!!! hello! 

like i said, his hair was absolutely out of control. we had no choice. 

snip, snip! 

after we finished,  lizzy (mr. darcy's wife) came right over. i think she really liked his new look. and we think she is pregnant! whoever wants to see baby mini goats say iiiiiiii! 

Xo 

Port Alegre BRASIL

,

we took a two day trip to port alegre this week. we had so much fun. of course i took three pictures the whole time we were there (traveling with three babies+george was sick) but sometimes that's when you know you really were having a blaaassssttt is when you forget to take pictures.

we met up with daniel's sister and her husband, went to a leather convention, ate so much food, and explored some incredible little german cities, my favorite being gramado. you guys. it was so cute! the germans settled the area (way back when) so the city was very eropean, and quaint. cottage after cottage. it is located at the very top of a mountain with brazilian pine trees and palm trees covering the land. the air was fresh and warm and every road was lined with (giant) blue hydrangeas. it was breathtaking! driving up the mountain we saw all sorts of european/brazilian looking farm houses with incredible gardens. i think i told daniel 500 times that we were moving there as SOON as possible. none of the houses were even gated! it felt so safe.

the drive was a few hours long and we crammed into a tiny car with our family PLUS vanessa and thomas. seven people. but honestly the drive was one of the best parts, the conversation flowed smoothly ranging from our dreams, how many babies we were going to have to paris hilton. we laughed, cried, got peed on, thrown up on and kissed. and listening to charles say "janesssa! janessssaaaa!!!" never. got. old.

there are my three pictures! 

Xo 

When Daniel travels...

when daniel travels the boys and i take lots of team selfies. in the bathroom. and i'm oblivious to the fact that charlie is squeezing out mom and dad's "spicy" toothpaste...

and then he ate it. and yes, it was spicy. 

he was sad that while we washed his mouth out we got his shirt all wet. #teamselfiefail 

all of this happening while henry sang to himself in the sink behind us. 

Xo

Warm rain

i guess it is fall time here in brazil, which also means rainy season. every afternoon, during naps, the storm rolls in. some are thundery and with wild wind and lightening and others are warm and the sun is still shining.

the other day, charles and george woke up before henry. they played while i finished sweeping the floors. before i knew it, little george had escaped into the warm brizilian rain storm. he was slapping his little hands down in the puddles as he crawled around the house. he kept looking up to the sky and giggling because the drops would make him blink. then charlie joined in the fun, and they played in the warm rain for a good hour.

Xo

hoppy hottie

this weekend to found ourselves at hopi hari! the best part is that it is really pronounced hoppy hottie and its just so fun to say. the second best part is that we had a really fun time together.

i guess you would compare it to disneyland? but that is so hard to do since disneyland is such an amazing place, but i would call it the brazilian version of magic kingdom. actually, let me compare it to lagoon...yes. the brazilian version of lagoon!

we rode the giant ferris wheel, honking cars, small world boat, rocket ships and the merry-go-round. then the boys found a splash pad and got completely soaked. henry looooved it.

perhaps the funniest part of the day was the traveling socks. let me explain. i wasnt thinking at all when we were getting ready and wore my brand new oxford shoes. brand new shoes + walking around all day = serious blisters. heeeyyy! luckily, daniel was wearing socks with his slip-ons so while we were in line for the ferris wheel we had a sock exchange and we were set. or so we thought. as we were about to get on the small world ride, the lady looked at baby george and said, ¨oh he cant get on the ride unless he has socks on¨, what? weird. dont worry! he can wear mine (or daniels rather) i said. so once again, in line, with a bunch of people watching we put daniels huge (and now very sweaty) socks on baby george. then once we got off the ride i put them back on since it hurt to walk without them. then as we were getting on the next ride, once again the lady says ¨oh that baby needs socks on...¨ but wwwhhhyyyyyy? but brazilians love their rules so we happily exchanged socks all.day.long.

xo

going out.

hey, hi. my name is "girl from america" and those boys are all mine. nice to meet you, too. 

we rarely leave the house but today we went out TWICE both times without daniel daddy man. that's right, just me and my 500 kids. well that's what every brazillian thinks at least. i cannot tell you how many times i get asked "ALL of them are yours?!" after i reply then they just stand and stare for at least two minutes. the above cart shot is our normal grocery store get up, my cart is always full before i even start shopping ;)

we also snuck out to the giant green houses that are near our home. this is my favorite place in our town. we loaded up on all sorts of green goodies! my house is livinggggg. 

we had a good day, we really did. somehow this morning i read scriptures, worked out, ate, AND showered before the boys woke up. it was a miracle. well i guess george was the one that woke me up at 6am....

this george of mine, let me tell ya', he spreads sunshine and joy everywhere he goes, even if he does wake up (every.single.morning.) at 6 sharp. there were so many times today (and everyday) where i say a silent gratitude prayer to my Heavenly Father for sending us this little, happy, pumpkin angel. we all LOVE him. he head buts henry and daddy, he giggles at charles jokes he bites my face and gives me all sorts of wet, wet, kisses, and each of us are always so giddy to get any attention from him. he is a love spreader, he really is. 

Xo