Life Happens

Hello my dear readers! It is amazing how things happen in life that completely uproot the normalcy that you once felt. While we continue to adapt to the changes in our lives regarding dad, other things have been put on the back burner...like blogging.

In order to summarize the end of 2019, here is a rundown of what I failed to share!

August

The boys started school. Alden - 2nd grade, Zane 5th grade.

Chewie turned 14! Gray hair, blind and hard of hearing, but loved all the same!

We went to our first Fusca Show! Friends of ours have Fuscas and we were eager to take a ride and see all the old cars. It was a blast!

Amber went to Curitiba for a work conference. This is in the state to the south of us. A beautiful city with an amazing International School! It was really fun to see and learn with people from all over South America!

Greg's local company changed it's name to align with the rest of the world, another step in the transition!

 Alden received an award for always having a good attitude. 

Zane turned 11!!

Alden broke out in a strange rash that sent us to the doctor for some testing. Not sure what caused it, but he healed just fine!

Greg and I attended the TVH 50th celebration.

Zane spent his birthday money on a keyboard and is beginning lessons. 

Chewie continues to spend time with Livia when we are out of town. He is so very happy there!

Lots of beach time! Sometimes we travel on our own for a weekend, sometimes we travel with friends. The boys have mastered boogie boarding. 

The boys participated in the science fair at school. Both did an amazing job on their presentations!

We found pumpkins similar to the U.S. and were so thrilled. The boys were eager to teach a friend how to carve pumpkins!

Zane had a fall, in which a bunch of people fell on top of him. Thank goodness it was not a break, but a bad sprain. The doctors splinted him for a week. 

The boys met a HUGE dog and fell in love!

Amber made a surprise trip home to help out mom and dad. 

While Amber was gone, the boys had a boys weekend! The beach was full of live Sand Dollars and the boys had fun finding and exploring them. 

Boys weekend is not complete without sushi!

A long weekend took us to a town called Arvare. We stayed a an AMAZING AirBnB owned and managed by a wonderful couple. Not only did we learn about the area and enjoy this "Lake of the Ozark" like area, we also learned a lot about plants and enjoyed the amazing gardens on the property!

 Walking for hours, exploring, finding frogs, chasing birds, spending time as a family in the beautiful sunshine!

We had lunch an an amazing restaurant with the most beautiful food and guests!

 Alden made blue belt in Judo!

 We enjoyed many lunches with friends from all over the world.

Zane received and award for his academic progress!

We celebrated lunch at school and with our Internations friends. The latter being served late in the evening (typical here) and again, our boys could not hang!

We decorated for Christmas and had the boys pose in their traditional location and outfits!

Went to a few Christmas parties (in the sweltering heat). 

 Zane, having given up for a while, FINALLY caught a fish here!

The boys made their annual Christmas ornaments for family!

We celebrated with the boys at their Christmas Concert.

Alden had a major speaking part.

Zane played the piano!

We enjoyed the weather before heading home to Kansas/Nebraska for Christmas. 

Zane caught a turtle!

We ended the year surrounded by our family and loved ones. We took HUNDREDS of pictures while we were home for Christmas, but these are by far my favorites! #gillespiestrong

We arrived back in Brazil. Many ask what it is like packing. Thank goodness we have learned a few tricks. Here are our suitcases upon arriving at the house! Only one was checked this time! It had Nerf guns in it, so I was not surprised. Vaccuum bags, Ziplocs, combining items, and much more have become our go to tricks. 

 "Please don't leave me again!"

Yes, this was a super quick rundown of about 6 months! The goal is to get back into the swing of things and be better at this again!

Trips planned so far this year: Peru - Machu Picchu here we come! We even have some special guests joining us for that trip! Countdown has begun!

Remember to check out https://sites.google.com/view/gillespiestrong/updates?authuser=0 for updates on dad. You can sign up for updates to come straight to you!

Happy 2020 to ALL!!!