August 2010 in Pictures

OK, for a long time I've wanted to do something about our pictures. Long gone are the days of running to Wal-Mart to the photo center to get your pictures printed. I mean, you can do that if you want, but we just never have gotten around to it. And, now we live here in Brazil, so that's a no for us anyway. Besides that, after printing them out, you still have to put them all in a photo album and add captions. :)

What to do with all these pictures that I would love to print out like in the olden days...have some way for people to see them other than sticking a disc in the computer? That's just so...non-traditional. I don't like it.

Digital is awesome. But, I really miss printed pictures.

So...how to get a grasp on ALL of these pictures? Well, that's been the dilemma. So, I'm going to try something new. As you will see, I love ALL of the pictures I take. I'm not a good deleter or omitter. I love each and every little expression on the kids' faces. So, there will more than likely be lots of pictures each time and it will be a big job each time, but I am going to try to do a little 'photo album' of each month after each month passes. I just decided to do this, so I'm going to start with August. In the next couple of weeks I'll try to get September's up. I'd love to go back and do all the months of our time in the states...so much fun and I didn't blog much at all. Would be a great way to document that time. So...those are the plans...we'll see how it goes.

This is a very big 'album...'

Actually, the final count is 171 pictures. I don't know...maybe this will shut down Blogger. :) Hahaha. But, each month will probably be about the same. But, hey...just look at it as an alternative to a Facebook album. Because that is literally what it is. It's easier to do it on Facebook, but I haven't figured out a way to print out a Facebook album (if you know different, let me know). Or, if it's possible to export a Facebook album to a blog, that would be great too. With this blog, we print each year out. Therefore...we will have our special pictures printed out. YAY! Besides...I just want to share them here with you anyway. I also love doing it on Facebook because of all the great comments on each picture. I will miss that here, so y'all just remember everything you want to say about each picture and put it in the comments, ok? :)

Also, FYI...not sure why but when I open my blog using Firefox, the captions don't line up with the pictures. When I open it with Explorer, they do. So, if the captions aren't lining up with the pictures on your computer, maybe try opening it with a different browser? Worth a shot anyway. I'm sure someone more savvy with computers would have a better suggestion, but just offering up my experience.

To all of my actual friends and family in real life...if you aren't on Facebook, you really should get on. Joel just put some great videos of the kids on there the other day...so fun. I'm a good blog updater, but Joel does the Facebook thing. He's pretty good at giving little glimpses of everyday life here on there...so go to Facebook.com and sign up, por favor.

And now, without further ado...here are the pictures from August. We really have fun around here!


I had never french-braided Hadley's hair. Her hair is so long now. I dreamed last night that I accidentally cut it all off into a boy's cut. :( She cried and I cried too in my dream. Then thankfully I woke up. :) I told her about my dream this morning and she said, "Aww, that's sad. Then nobody would tell me 'your hair is so beautful.'" Hahaha. She does get told that alot, but that was funny.
I like this picture.

The kids got some towels for Christmas (I think...don't remember exactly) when we were in the states. We didn't break them out until we got here. They love them. This was their first night using them.
Cute, cute, cute.



The butterfly dances.
Hadley making the girls belly laugh.

Eissa and her pet duck.
Surprise for everyone that we brought from the states.
Hadley doing a jig about their surprise. Cass being sneaky...and smart. :)
Hmmm, what we got here?

Brushing with their new toothbrushes.
Chocolate pudding is so yummy.
Hadley drew kitty-cats on the girls' hands (and her own). They were pretty excited.

Grady didn't have any drawrings (hahaha...remember that SNL skit?), but wanted to do something for the camera.
Showing her drawings.

Grady is a SUPER big help these days. Growing up for sure. Here he had helped Joel make sandwiches for everyone. The other day, Joel made a day trip into São Paulo. He left before any of us woke up for the day. The kids woke up and never even woke me up. They went downstairs quietly and Grady took care of the whole breakfast...giving out granola to everyone. Incredible. And so sweet. And such a surprise. I woke up to find them all just playing quietly, bellies full. :)
Trying to thank her brother with a kiss.
Still.
Success! (after Mama had to make him allow it...ha)
She thought that whole process was pretty funny. :)
A park/zoo that is right near our house. Took the kids one day...just walked over. So fun. Joel and I go running in there sometimes. It's really beautiful.






This was 2 days after she fell and fractured her collarbone. We still had no idea she'd done that at this point.


Oh, you're taking pictures...cheeeeese. :)


I have no idea what that little guy is. :)





Huge area that had all kinds of animals in it...lots of little monkeys climbing (so fun to watch them) and lots of others that I cannot remember. :)
Love this.

We were walking along and Joel yelled for us to look back.
Me and my girls.
Then Grady joined us too.
These little capivaras are all over the place there, just roaming free. I have no idea what this is in English or if we even have them. But the kids enjoyed watching them.
Trying to find them again.
Had to grab some sugar cane juice.
On the walk home.
Scratching their backs like Baloo. ;) I love Grady's face here. Hahaha. (if you don't know who that is, just google 'Baloo' and you will see...and, if you don't know who that is, I'm sorry about your deprived childhood ;))
And we had to stop for a pão de queijo snack.
I really like them.
My fun girls.

"Now it's your turn to pick me up."



I just love this picture! Mid-big belly laugh.



So, when I was 'down in my back' a few weeks back...could barely walk to the bathroom because of a strained muscle...the kids just had to come to me. So, we did a few activities that we just hadn't gotten to...like this that someone gave to us while we were there in the states. We couldn't remember who gave it to us or when it was given to us, but it was a fun activity. Thanks again to whoever it was that gifted the girls with this.
Showing them how to do it.

I love those cute little squishy, pudgy 3 year old hands.
Hadley and her Ariel.
Grady did Snow White.
Eissa's and Cass' Cinderella.
OK, I look like death warmed over in this shot. I'm just going to say the kids had been 'fixing my hair' to make me feel better...maybe it's really true, I don't remember. But regardless of me, you have to see this awesome can of coke. The only cans I've ever seen like that personally had beer in them...that's probably not accurate, but just my perception. Anyway, so it was just funny to see that big ole thing.
Grady, mid-cough.



The little dancer of the family.
Hmmm, can you tell Grady had a bit of a cold? Hahaha.
Cute little girl with a cute little ponytail.
:) And again with Grady. Hahaha...he's fine now, so it's ok to laugh about it. It was just a cough at the time...no congestion or snots. Hilarious to see these pictures though...he'll get a good laugh when he sees them. Ha.
I just want to squeeze her constantly.
If there is a tree around, Grady will climb it. No matter how small and feeble a climbing tree it is. :)

The little service area out back...a little room where a full-time maid can live (which of course we don't have) with a little bathroom too. The kids like to play school (and other things) out there. What's going on out there?
"Look Mama...Daddy's cutting Grady's hairs." :)
I blogged about this before, but I wanted to put more pictures of this in. Hadley had made some bubble wrap into a veil and was 'married' she said. Grady came to her side immediately to be her dance partner at the wedding reception. :)






Eissa wanted in on some of it.

Cass was more interested in playing on the iPhone. :)
Mr. Mom making granola. By the way, we watched that movie this weekend...Joel had never seen it. Still such a great one. I love Michael Keaton in that movie.
Grady loves to do little fun things, esp. at the end of the day. Almost every time I go to his room to have 'Bible time' with him, he has some kind of little trick or map to help me find him or something. Fun. See the coins there?
Ahhh. There he is.
The kids really got into making notes and signs in August. In the September pictures you'll see more of that. Here is Grady with the sign he made for his door.
"No girls allowed in my room. Only Mama." Hahaha.
Hadley and the girls' sign.
"Boys and girls and friends allowed to come in." :)
More 'maps.' Grady made a map for me to find him that night when it was time for me to read his Bible story to him. It sat there and waited for night time to come. :)
The hunt. :)
The map to where I would find him. It was very accurate.
Found him.
"This is where I was hiding."
Got to the end of the pancake batter and decided to make a special one of my honey.
Fun with the 'leaves' of a tree at our house in the backyard.

My fruit basket/carrier that Grady made for me.









Yes, we have a STARBUCKS...about 3 blocks up the hill from our house. LOVE. I go there a lot to study. Might as well take advantage of it while I can. No Starbucks would be complete without pão de queijo...no Starbucks in Brazil anyway. Awesome. (and yay...was finally able to figure out how to use my Portuguese keyboard)
And now starts the pictures that the kids took on the iPhone. Many of them from here on out anyway were taken by the kiddos, except for at the park and the game place. I love to see what they have taken pictures of. They have completely different perspectives and angles than we have. And, they just walk around the house taking pictures...of everything. Really captures everything in our lives these days. I won't post the pictures of the dish rack and water bottles for instance. Although, I love them. :) But, here are a few that they got...



Grady reading on the stairs.
I just love this.
Busy busy.
View from our bedroom window upstairs...looking up.
Another view...looking down out of our window.
Homeschool captured.

I took this one. This is a new phenomenon here in Brazil. They have tortilla chips for sale (called Dippas)...and salsa. I thought I took a picture of this too, but on the back of the chips bag there is a description of the new verb 'dippar.' :) It describes what you are supposed to do with the salsa. Awesome. And hilarious to us. But, we are so grateful for this new way of life here. :)
Ohp, scratch that...I do have a picture. Funny, huh? :)
Someone captured me clipping some fingernails. That's the nitty gritty of motherhood. You don't think about those things usually...but someone has to clip fingernails and toenails of 4 children every week and a half or so (they grow fast). Of course, I have it down to a science and it really doesn't take all that long...about 20-30 minutes. But, I loved that this captured that time.
I was told to look and say 'cheese' while clipping.





Grady went on a little date with Daddy. They found this fun place in the mall...Magic Games is what it's called. Grady got to go on a little ride.
There's a place here called the Taquaral. Really fun location. The kids were playing with this thing...you push a button and it mists you to cool you off. Nice.
It's such a fun place...they have swan paddle boats, a great running course, fun playgrounds, lots of other things, and a...trolley car.
Joel and I had just gone for a long run (each of us...one at a time of course).


She so silly.
The train goes around a really pretty lake.

I love how Eissa is looking at Cass here.
And look in this one how Cass' little hand is on Eissa's leg.
My dream car. Seriously...love this.
A day or two after Joel and Grady discovered the fun Magic Games, we headed there with everyone. Eissa and Cass getting right to it. Grady and Hadley had already climbed up the tower to the big slide.
Found a friend!
Daddy giving a little assistance to the 2-year old.
Where's Eissa?!?
There she is!

Daddy's so fun!