The Zoo in Sao Jose

I took the kids to our local zoo yesterday where they enjoyed the monkeys, ferrets, toucans, and ostriches. (It's a small zoo but the kids enjoyed it nonetheless.) The farm animals were a highlight, minus the turkey.....he gave the children a mini scare. I just asked James what he thought of that turkey and he said, "That turkey was not funny....not happy."

Eating 101

Open up mouth, here it comes....
Almost there.........

Yahoo! Success!

James and Lilah cruisin'

A sweet smile for mama!

"Over here baby......look at the camera!"

L & J on the Bike

We're Still Kickin'

I am sorry to say that I have been a horrible Blogger these past few months..........not only in posting but also in reading those of my friends. What happened you ask? Trip to the states, Lilah's birthday party, various viruses passing their way through the family, a husband that has been traveling a lot and then I got addicted to Facebook. I was sucked in through finding several friends that I haven't seen or talked to in years. It's been fun but I am ready to get back to my first love. So hang on, I have lots of catching up to do in the weeks to come. Root for me!

I Heart Lilah....

It's hard to believe that our little Lilah turned one on July 24th. Where has this year gone?! We waited for Rick to come home from Africa to have her big celebration. First birthdays in Brazil are HUGE! (More for the adults, than the birthday girl if you ask me). This is one of the only photos I have of Lilah looking at the camera with a big smile....of course, it had to be during the prayer!We used the big room downstairs to host the party. I really enjoyed making all the heart center pieces and the hanging fabric flags....it had been a while since I have been able to sit down at the sewing machine and be creative. It felt great!Our friend and neighbor Debora made the most delicious cake....strawberry white chocolate! The crowd was wanting seconds and thirds........we had to beat them away with a broom stick. Okay, not really but it was that good. She also made these darling cupcakes........did I tell you she is a professional chef? How lucky am I?!Chocolate covered marshmallows and Oreos were a hit along with the chocolate-chip cookie cakes.......are you getting hungry yet??
Lilah and Gianna will likely grow up together here in Brazil.........they both have American mothers and Brazilian fathers and are only two months apart.
This is not something typical here....................an American grill. ( You were thinking the fellow in the heart apron, right?) Rick and I found this here in an import store with a greatly reduced price, so we snatched it up. I made Hawaiian chicken kebabs and Felipe happily grilled them for us. He had so much fun playing with this grill that when the kebabs were all gone, he ran upstairs and grabbed a box of hamburger patties to grill. Brazilians have only seen these grills in the movies and Felipe was dying to try a hamburger made on one of these things! By the way, I made these aprons as presents for all the helpers....12 in all! I could not have done an event like this without their help. Thank you dear friends!

The birthday girl showing off a great smile and those red shoes.......there's no place like home, there's no place like home!
Another shot of the cake table.The kids are lining up underneath Brazil's version of the pinata! It's filled with candy and ready for an adult to pop it with something sharp, in this case......a used kebab stick.

And the candy rains down.......the children scramble."Hey buddy, what did you get?"

Lilah getting caught red-handed trying to sneak a cupcake.

Mommy and her girl......."Rockin' red" a friend said.

Although it appears to be clawing, Lilah was attempting to give a kiss to her friend Sofia.

We didn't see James most of the party. He spent his time on the veranda kicking the soccer ball with his friends.


Here is Debora the cake maker I told you about earlier. I like this photo of the two of them.After the party, we sat down and uploaded our photos and were shocked to find this one. Rick had wondered why the candle had gone out during the singing of the happy birthday song.....he quickly re-lit it for Lilah to blow out. We later discovered that this rascal sneaked in between us and blew out the candle!Lilah opened her gifts upstairs later that night.............I'm not sure why Brazilians don't open gifts at parties. Hmm..............
Lilah's loot! Overall, it was a fun time visiting with friends (our Brazilian family). We wanted to give thanks to the Lord and celebrate the one year of life he has given our baby girl. To HIM be the glory!