Schrage Family: The Brazilian Adventure / A Aventura Brasileira: We Made It!

Today, we all woke up TOGETHER in our new house and on another continent. It has been a while since there has been some normalcy, and I am sure it will be a while before we can say it is 'normal' again.

The process to get where we are today was a long, thought-out, well-planned, emotional ride. It started in October of 2015 when Greg entered a new program at work. In early 2016 talks about a new position began. We did not know right away that this was what was best for our family. It took us months of talking together, with the boys, with family and friends, with people at work, etc., to decide that this is an adventure we would like to take. In August, we accepted the offer and in November of 2016, Greg moved to Brazil. November to June was filled with learning to be a single parent (with LOTS of support from family and friends), listing and selling the house, working with the Vet to figure out dosing for Chewie for anxiety and air travel as well as gathering all the paperwork and documents needed for him to travel, packing the house (deciding what to get rid of, what to store in KS, what to ship to Brazil and what to take to Brazil immediately as well as packing suitcases for our upcoming trip to Costa Rica - see the travel section of the new blog to read all about our Costa Rica adventure!)

Sunday, June 18th we loaded 16 LARGE suitcases, 5 backpacks, 1 carry-on, and one dog in a dog carrier into a truck and SUV and headed to the airport.

Getting into the airport was an interesting task. It took 6 adults and 2 kiddos to get it all in. The staff at United at MCI were very helpful. Immediately we had 2 people come help us, check us in, weigh and take the bags. We just watched them do their work and were thankful they were making this easy.

Saying 'see you later' was VERY hard. We don't think the boys realized how hard it was going to be until that moment. Once we were through security, we had two emotional boys.

The flight to Houston was uneventful and Chewie did great! We were actually surprised at how well he did.

When we landed in Houston, the plane was delayed on the runway. We had to book it to make our connecting flight. The map of the airport indicated pet areas on our way. When inquiring at the airport, the told us there was nothing inside of security and with our time crunch, we boarded the plane expecting a very upset puppy on this flight.

The boys we excited to eat dinner and breakfast on the plane and did great sleeping! I was impressed at how adaptive they were.

A small picture of how BIG São Paolo is!

Upon arrival, we were still trying to figure out how to get all those suitcases from baggage claim to the truck. We went through customs with no problem, even with Chewie! They did not even realize we had him and WE had to point it out. All that crazy paperwork drama prior for nothing!!! Due to the long line, by the time we made it through customs, our luggage was the only thing left on the carousel. We loaded it up, found someone willing to help us, and began to push our way out of the airport. For those coming to visit - you will soon see that was not an easy task! Greg had one cart, I had one and Alden, Zane had one (that I helped steer with my free hand) and an airport worker had another.

As soon as we made it out, Chewie was able to get out and stretch his legs and use the bathroom! Poor guy! But again, he did great and didn't make a peep the entire 10 hour flight! The first flight we used the additional sedative the vet had given just in case, but the second flight he did not receive this medicine. I think he was just super content being with all of us.

The normal TVH driver was waiting for us but their was a miscommunication with the truck that was coming to get the luggage. Greg decided to call an Uber Bags to reduce the amount of time we would have to wait. When it arrived, we loaded the luggage into the two cars. I sat up front with the normal TVH driver. With all the luggage in that car, my seat was all the way up and all the way forward. It took about an hour to get to the house and by the time we did, my legs and feet were so numb! The boys took a small nap during the drive, but before they did the could not stop talking about the size of the city, the palm trees, and the amount of vehicles.

When we got home, we managed to get all the suitcases inside the house.

Chewie enjoying the sun!

Greg took an Uber to go to pick up our new car. By the time he had returned we had most of the suitcases opened and had started to pull out things we needed right away, like the bedding - things that would make it feel more like home. We took a ride in the new car to see the city here in Valinhos, drove into Vinhedo to see the boy's school and to have Greg run into the grocery store for some basics and then came back home. The boys took showers in their new bathrooms, snuggled into some jammies, we ate some Portuguese Pizza, watched a show on our iPad (no TVs yet) and headed to bed. The boys had NO problems at all going to bed and looked snug as a bug when we peeked in on them.

Today, we got up and put on some warm clothes (remember it is winter here) and waited for Greg to come pick us up. We had to head to the Cartório to get a bunch of documents notarized for the boys and I, as well as information on our incoming shipment. Then, we headed to a photography place for some head shots that are needed for different documents. We stopped by a little lanche shop for a quick snack and Greg dropped us off at home as he went to his language classes and back to work.

The boys and I went exploring around our condomínio. We walked to the end of our street to the parque for the boys to play. I don't remember much of it from being here last summer. There were workers rebuilding the community pools. The boys loved the brinquedos (toys), the chickens and the pond.

Zane said, "Wow, I didn't know bamboo was so light!"

We even found a dog park in our area. The boys are ready to 'train' Chewie now!!

The open area of the parque.

The boys become mesmerized by the ant hills here!

We unpacked some more, video-chatted with family and friends, and are having some down time. When Greg gets home we will be traveling back the the grocery story for a big shopping spree. Options have been limited today. :)

The boys standing at the front door of the new house.