Strawberries with Traci

Traci came to our house as soon as she could after we got home. We got the crazy idea of going strawberry picking. It all started with me buying a $9 small box of locally grown strawberries at Fareway. There was a website, and we called to see if the strawberries were cheaper if you picked them yourselves. They were less than 1/3 of the price, so we were off to Long Grove.

The plants were loaded with beautiful, red berries. Mmmmmm! We picked 2 1/2 flats! We were second guessing this decision as we removed all the hulls afterwards. We made some pies and even jelly.

Traci and Isaac working hard. Isaac was a good little picker.

Owen did very good, too. He did get a few green ones, but not too many. Every time he picked one he said, "Mmmmmmm, I can't wait eat that one!"

Isaac and Ethan working hard. Man, Ethan could move through a row fast. He was at the end before I moved 2 feet. He also filled up his box fast.

They also had some toys. Aunt Traci purchased some rubber ducks, so we could have some duck races. We had fun with this for a long time.

Now that's my kind of chair.

 

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Father's Day with Grandpas

We got to share Father's Day with my dad and Scott's dad. Scott is still in Brazil, but we will make him his own day when he gets back. He says he just wants to play golf.

We had a picnic in Devil's Glen park on Saturday. It was a beautiful day, and we just picked up some fried chicken from Hy-Vee, Dad's favorite! Traci, Owen, and I made some pies, too, also Dad's favorite.

Grandpa eating pies with his boys. I think he was in heaven.

Isaac said Grandpa was the BEST pusher because he pushed really hard.

Isaac tried to give Grandpa a ride on the swing.

I think Grandpa liked his Pocket Hose.

On Sunday Grandma and Grandpa Wilcox came over. We grilled up some T-bone steaks for Grandpa Craig because that is what he likes and ate them on the deck. It was another gorgeous day. Grandpa helped the boys set up a ramp for their cars into the pool. They used his engineering skills.

Here is Craig helping the boys. So cute! They love playing with him.

 

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Heading Home

We left Horizontina on Tuesday, June 11 at 6:00 am. It was a little sad that the whole experience was over, but we were all totally excited to get home.

Here are the boys with our bags. Scott rode with us until São Paulo. Then he visited the Deere factory there, and he leaves Brazil next week. We are really missing him this week.

When we pulled into the driveway it felt awesome! We were home! Our neighbor girls had decorated the garage for us. That was so sweet!

 

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Tita Centro Estetico

While in Brazil, I treated myself to a few Brazilian specialties like manicures, pedicures and bikini waxes. The services are really cheap and very good. This is a woman that I am really going to miss. Unfortunately, her name is really hard for me to remember, so I always think of her as Tita's Mom. Tita is pronounced cheeta in Portuguese. Tita is the owner of the salon, and I always had her mom. We always chatted and it was cool to notice how our conversations improved as I learned more vocabulary. Her mom was the same age as my Grandma Korte and we always shared stories about them. Then when I told Tita's Mom about my grandma passing away, she immediately wanted to know what day, which I thought a little odd. Well, it was because her mom had passed away on the same day.

Here we are together on my last visit. She is such a neat lady. She was always dressed really cute. She loved to travel, and would tell me about her adventures. She was kind and loving. I always looked forward to visiting her.

This is the outside of the salon.

 

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Nossa Senhora do Rosario

An important part of our experience in Horizontina was our time we spent attending mass. It was really hard to make ourselves go at first because we did not understand a thing. The boys also behaved quite badly at first because they did not understand anything. Gradually we began to understand more, and at our last mass I understood a few parts of the homily. It is awesome to worship in any language, and I really appreciate getting to share in all the special celebrations at church. Here are some pictures of our last mass.

I snuck this picture of Father in as he was reading announcements.

We always loved the music.

The boys did not want to take this picture, but we talked them into it.

The outside of the church.

We loved the flowers on this tree. The trees have such interesting flowers.

Close up of the flower.

 

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Saying Goodbye

Scott and I threw going away parties at school for the boys. This is a picture of Isaac's class. They are cute, loving kids and also pretty loud and rambunctious.

We played a little game where I asked them questions about Isaac and the US. They had to write down their answers and see who knew the most. Everybody knew the answer to "what is Isaac's favorite game to play at recess?" (Speedeyball). One kid knew how many states the US has. Then Isaac came up to tell the answers. It turned out really fun.

Owen got to go to both parties.

At the end, almost the entire class ran up and gave Isaac a group hug. I shed a few tears at that point. The kids really welcomed and liked him. I am just amazed at how courageous Isaac has been to start going to a school where you do not understand anything and end up speaking the language and making friends. He went to school almost every day with a smile on his face.

This is Ethan with his best friend Eduardo or Dudo for short. The teacher told me they were together whenever they could be, and they always ate their snacks together.

This is the children singing their prayer before snack. Them singing that prayer was the cutest thing ever! While they ate their snacks, I answered their questions about the US.

Ethan got a few little presents and some hugs. This is Riley, his American classmate, with some pictures she drew for him.

After snack, we went back to their classroom, and they worked on a 4th of July Hidden Pictures page. I had brought one of these another time for them, and they love it. They get so excited when they find the things.

Scott is helping them with their Hidden Pictures.

This is their schedule for the day.

Every day they have their little backpacks lined up ready to go!

Ethan playing with his friends for the last time. They all gave him a hug as they were picked up. He was holding back the tears. He is going to miss his buddies. I am so proud of Ethan for doing so great at school. This was his first time at school, and it was in a different language. He was so brave, and did really good.

 

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Special Fridays

We started a new tradition in Horizontina that I plan to continue. We call it Superball Sexta or Fun Food Friday. The cereal selection in Horizontina is quite limited. There is about a 6-foot section of shelves dedicated to it at the grocery store. Most of the options are sugary ones that I would not normally buy. The kids were always wanting Superballs, which are like Cocoa Puffs. Finally we landed on a plan. We could buy the fun cereals, and only eat them on Friday mornings. That works out great, and everyone looks forward to breakfast on Fridays.

Here are the boys eating cereal. I am not sure why Ethan is not smiling. He had a tough last week. He is really going to miss his friends, and is a little nervous about moving back.

Another reason Fridays were special were because we would skip homeschool and Skype with Traci. The boys were always so excited to Skype, and probably woke her up a few times. We would drink coffee together, the boys would play their guitars or read or tell her what was new for the week. I am so thankful for this time with my sister. It helped me through the lonely days. Here we are on our last intercontinental Skype session. We may have to keep up the tradition even when we live in the same state.

 

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Volleyball

Last year the moms at Logamann, the boys school, started playing volleyball on Wednesday nights. I thought it would be fun to make some new friends, and started playing with them even though I am a terrible volleyball player. I always looked forward to Wednesday nights, and many weeks the boys would come along and play with the other kids. I did end up improving my volleyball skills over the year. The other moms were so nice and friendly, even when I messed up all the time. When I did start making some good bumps and spikes they would all cheer a lot!

The night I brought my camera it was cold and rainy, and Brazilians stay home when it is cold and rainy. We did not have enough ladies to play this night, but these girls are the main ones that were always there.

 

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Casbel

The owner of our favorite ice cream shop got to be pretty good friends with us. He is so friendly and ready to talk. He was also very patient with our Portuguese,especially in the beginning. It was hard to say goodby to Casbel. He makes the best waffle cones I have ever tasted. The boys always like to get milk shakes, pronounced milky shakey in Portuguese. We even went out for pizza with him one night.

Here are the boys with Casbel and all his ice cream machines. He loves the boys, and he was the only person I could get Owen to say "obrigado" to.

Here are the boys eating their cascaos and milk shakes.

Scott and I with Casbel. I always had to help him with his math because he never added our bill up correctly. He always "forgot" to add something in.

This was a visit in a colder day. He also makes some delicious chocolate crepes and meat pastels. The boys are eating the crepes.

Owen with a crepe.

Casbel's sign.

 

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