It was the BEST of times... It was the WORST of times..

I am still overwhelmed by the amount of pictures so here you go... Our little adventure (yes that's the best way to describe it) got off to an interesting start when what looked like a wide-open flight on Friday night got put of weight restriction cuz they but 40,000 lbs. of cargo on the plane which meant we had 24 hours to burn in our nation's capital.. I can think of worse places to sight see.. can't you? Just our luck, however, the day we got to sight see it was raining... pouring would be a more appropriate term and let's just say that my "slippery" flip-flops + the Tennesee marble at the Lincoln Memorial= a most embarassing and painful fall on my a*s!! Shelly and my mom got a good laugh at it and thank goodness I was back on my feet before the tour of 150 asians had time to whip out their cameras to take pictures of the white girl in her bright blue poncho sprawled out on the floor ;) Go ahead and laugh- I most certainly did.. til I cried actually!!

ARE YOU KIDDING?!?

Don't we look HOTT!!

Good ol' Pres. Lincoln and those damn marble floors ;)

We finally were off on Saturday and arrived mid-morning in Brazil!! Drica and her husband and Josiane met us at the airport and kindly took us to their house! Where we got settled in and then headed to a market where there were tonz of hand-made goods for sale.

"The Bedroom" The next day was our first experience with public transportation as we headed to Vanessa's (my first companion) house for lunch...

Our view from the metro-

Some descriptive words... shanty town, low income district... GHETTO

Mom on the bus.. don't be fooled she wasn't having a good time!Sup G?? Doesn't shelly look like a thug ;)Our lunch crew.. Me, Drica, Vanessa, Mom, Jo, and Shelly

Drica and Vanessa.. my 2 favorite companions ;)After we got home that night we just hung around and took some pictures...

Edivaldo and Elsa.. Drica's parents.. they were so cute and fun!!

My Two moms.. I think I look more like the Brazilian.. don't you?? The next day was temple day.. It was such a wonderful experience. I was worried about my mom and the whole language thing but my prayers were answered and there was a couple from the good ol' U.S. of A. that was serving their mission there that helped!! Josiane loved the experience and I can honestly not even express my gratitude at having the opportunity to be there with her and Drica on such a momumentous event... I love them both so much and I feel know that Heavenly Father has a plan and that we were meant to find Jo and teach her about this wonderful gospel.. No Doubt About IT!!

Josiane, me and Adriana (Drica's real name)
What a View!!

Nothing like Brazilian Pizza Hut for an after temple meal.. The pizza was actually the best I have had in a long time!!

Madson, Drica, and Josiane enjoying their "american pizza"

The next day was a trip to the city... Sao Paolo is HUGE so it was a long and interesting day...

I was being a complete dork at this park in the middle of the city and although I wasn't posing I feel like some photographer is saying be the tiger or something like that.. HA HA!!

Just being my normal goofy self.. I was trying to be a model.. Did I do a good job?? Notice Drica rolling her eyes and saying oh gosh you are weird ;)And then as if the top pictures didn't prove how not normal I am there is this picture of Drica and I dancing in the park.. I know I know the moves are incredible!!

Aren't we pretty??

My mamacita and me!!

This park was just begging for us to take tonz of pictures so we gladly accomodated!!

One more... Just Drica and Me

Me, mom and Shell Bell at dinner

A view from the top.. look how big that city is!!

I think this looks like NYC.. anyone else feel the same??

Then it was on to the beach...

This was my little friend Giuliene.. She is 4 and was hilarious the whole way to the beach!! We gave her lots of American candy to make her our friend!

Jo and Drica on the ferry heading over to the island..Our hotel.. The top and bottom floor were ours.. how freakin cute is that?!? And they had yummy breakfast the next day.

Hi mom!!

Drics and I walking along the beach!!Nothin better than friends at the beach!Baywatch babes.. here we come ;)

So the trip was amazing.. difficult at times for sure but totally worth it. Shelly surprised me time and time again by how easy going and willing to try anything she was!! I know that it wasn't the most luxurious vacation but Brazil is like a 2nd home to me and these people are my family... I loved slipping right back into the language and it didn't even hurt my head to go back and forth translating this time!! Thanks to Josiane for breakfast everyday, to Drica and her family for so graciously letting us stay, to Shelly for being my best friend and such a trooper, and to my mom for coming along so we could get cheaper flights!!

Ate Mais... See Ya Later!

Well sorry to break some of your hearts but I am off to Brazil for 10 Days!! Shelly, my mom and I are taking a little vacay to my second home ;)



No worries- although we will be playing lots and doing the tourist things.. there are more important matters to be taken care of.. Josiane.. my Mainha da Bahia is going to receive her endowments...and I get to be there with her, my real mom, and my favorite companion Drica (who was with me when I taught Jo) in the temple!!!

I will be sure to take lots of pictures (or Shelly will) and have fun things to post about in a couple of weeks!

Don't Miss me TOO Much!!

I Could Get Used to This....

So J&J took a much needed weekend trip to beautiful Island Park. We met up with Krystal and Booker straight from Canada eh? We had SOO much fun with them and wished that they didn't live so far away.. We will have to plan many more trips in the future!!
J&J in front of a statue.. you tell me what you think it looks like ;)

We hiked up to Grizzly Lake.. Luckily there were no bears around but it really was beautiful.. minus all the sparse foliage..

J and B decided to take a dip in the clear, ice cold water...

Krystal and I were smarter- women usually are ha ha

Then the wind picked up.. which made things much colder... J is trying to salvage some body heat here.. I told him if he put on a couple LBS. that wouldn't be a problem

I don't think he knew I took this picture.. I think he looks cute though.. Don't you?!?

Ok so I cut off half of my face but you can see his pretty Blue eyes... Love em!!

I could for sure get used to...

A Cozy Cabin in the woods

Great friends that we had such a wonderful time with

Hiking (with sunscreen and no cramps next time!)

Four-wheeling in the mountains

and..

Being with my cute, sweet, thoughtful, boy toy

Overall I think it was a pretty good weekend.. Can't wait for the next one!!

I've Been Tagged By Shiloh-

The Rules:

-Link the Person who Tagged you

-Mention rules on your blog

-Tell about 6 quirks of yours

-Tag 6 fellow bloggers to do the same

-Leave a comment to let them know

I TAG Shelly, Jodi, Tiff, Marcie, Emily, and Michelle

1- I am EXTREMELY afraid of the dark.
Sometimes when I am in my basement I will think I hear something and quickly run up there stairs being careful not to look behind me so I don’t see whatever creepy monsters could be down there.

2- I love love love oldies music…. (Shelly no making fun)

I have Sirious radio and I listen the the 50’s hits all the time. I know most of the words to most of the songs- their lyrics are so much easier to sing along to. When I try and sing along to songs from now-a-days I always end up humming most of it then sing really loud on the rare parts that I can understand and know!!

3- I love to eat bananas plain but can not stand them in anything…

I don’t know what this makes me but I hate bananas mixed into drinks or banana bread.. I guess I am just one of those people that likes pure flavors.. Banana flavor is just potent I guess but if a drink has bananas mixed in I probably won’t even try it.

4- I may seem like a really prissy and girly-girl but…

I don’t mind getting dirty and I am not as prissy as you might think. I like to go 4-wheeling and go fast and get dirty, I like to fish and bait my own hook and get my own fish off, if I see a spider in my room I am perfectly o.k. to kill it myself- no need to call for re-enforcements!!

5- I am willing to sacrifice comfort for fashion

If you only knew how many scars I have on my feet from shoes that cut the crap out me the first or hundredth time I wore them.. Still if they are cute I will probably wear the 101 times..

6- I am obsessed with beauty pageants!
I have to admit that this obsession is waning and I don’t mark 6 months in advance when the next pageant is on my calendar anymore but.. If I happen to see that there is going to be a pageant televised I will probably cancel plans to stay home and watch it. I have even been personally to the Miss America pageant with my mom and sisters and we had a really fun time!!

Alright I might have provided too much information but… now you know so it’s too late.. Let’s see what your quirks are!!

CarSeats, Convertibles.. and Crew

So you may or may not know that I am SLIGHTLY attached to my car... I absolutely adore her!!! But let's be honest..... Not the most practical mommy car ever- (No I am not making any announcements just thinking ahead!!) But after a weekend of babysitting and having this little cherub in the backseat in his carseat I think that I could do it.. Dontcha think?!? It doesn't look too dangerous.. DOES IT??And let's be honest most children would not be crawling out of the seat like my Crazy nephew who was not the ideal model for this shoot!! Seriously though, it's a good thing he is sooo cute cuz he is naughty and don't worry when giving him a shower he was doing his "Weiner Power" dance.. NiCe.. why are all boys obsessed?!?

What post would be complete without my ladies... SisterHood of the Traveling Pants 2 was awesome! We each have a character.. I am Carmen.. The chubby one for obvious reasons but then she is really really clutzy and that fits too perfectly.. Secret: I am the most ungraceful person.. possibly in the world!!

Shelly and I leave for Brazil in less than a month ;)!!! and then we are off to celebrate our 27th birthdays in January with a cruise to MEXICO!!!

All you marrieds out there don't be jealous.. there are times where staying single has its major benefits!!! But there are times where we would love a cute hubby to travel with too... Maybe in a few years ;)

Isn't that Sweet?!?

Sooo.... I got flowers at work last week ( Hint: All you men- this will earn you major bonus points!) Aren't they so super pretty?!?

No Red Roses.. Perfect!!! And pink & purple are my Favs

Later that day we went for a 4-wheeler ride to watch the sunset!!

Who knew Willard Bay could look so pretty ;)
Then on Sunday the girls got together for a BBQ... Stacey had some fun news..

She's gonna be a mamma!!