BRAZIL

I can't believe I'm finally updating the blog!!! By some fluke, we are actually picking up another signal, so I am quickly trying to load pictures and type like mad. 

Many questions about the flight . . . so a quick summary of our travels here:

Delta requires that you're there at least an hour early for international flights, and, well, we weren't. By the time we got to the luggage check-in, they were not receiving anymore passengers. And the next flight out was Saturday morning (which was unacceptable for us because Rhett had a mandatory orientation Saturday afternoon that if he didn't make, he couldn't participate in the program). So by putting up a small fight/fit, we were allowed to "try" to make the flight--leaving our luggage behind. Imagine, Rhett pushing the stroller with Summer in it, me carrying the diaper bag, sprinting to the security check, getting stopped by a kind security guard who "wanted to show us all the things we did right in packing Summer's diaper bag," then rushing across the Spokane airport to get to the gate--we made it. Probably two minutes more and they would not have let us on. Breathing heavy, we found our seats and were off to SLC. Summer ate, then slept--a sweet baby for our first flight.

We had about 20 minutes at SLC to get from point A to point B, which of course had to be clear across the entire airport, so once again, we were sprinting to get there. I think I pushed the stroller this time. And Summer did not sleep on this flight--she was quite squiggly and squirmy, wanting to get down and crawl.  The three hours couldn't end fast enough.

And once again, we had about 15 minutes at the Atlanta airport and were charging through to make it. We scrambled to find our seats and were finally off to Rio. This eight and a half hour flight through the night was so-so--better when Summer finally fell asleep. And we wondered what in the world we were going to do once we got to Brazil and didn't have any of our luggage.

But we survived (on little sleep and a Delta dinner and breakfast) and landed at 8:30AM Rio time, which is 4:30AM Spokane time. 

Other members of the program were landing at about this time, and we ended up waiting about two hours before we were all shipped off on a bus to get our housing. Summer got about a twenty-minute nap on the travel bus in my lap, and then was up again as the bus pulled over to the curb, and we all filed off and stood in the street until we were given our keys. There was about 60 of us, so it was quite a scene, and Rhett kept saying, "Stand away from the crowd so we don't get robbed." 

We got our key and were led to our apartment, which, as we entered, we were a little disappointed in. There were dead (and live) cockroaches all over the floor, the kitchen, the bathroom, the dressers, etc. Summer grabbed for one in his last moments of life and she actually caught him. I about passed out. I wondered what we would do without her playpen--we couldn't let her crawl around here! To brighten our spirits and fill our stomachs, we decided to walk around outside for a little bit. We got some pastel de frangos (chicken croissant type things) for us and some cheesy bread for Summer then went to find a baby shop (for a change of clothes for Summer) and a skirt and shirt for me (for church on Sunday). We had been told our luggage would arrive Sunday afternoon, but really, who know when luggage is going to arrive?

We bought a few other things (toothpaste, a toothbrush to share, diapers, baby food, etc.) and were off to orientation.

The luggage did actually come in Sunday, and in all of Rhett's efforts to retrieve it in time for church, he didn't. So we missed church, but it was a nice feeling to finally have our things. Monday came, and Rhett addressed the cockroach problem with the housing manager. Tuesday, we were out and into a new place--cockroach free, with actually matching sheets and dishes. Woohoo! We were living the life!

And now, a bit about the pictures. (I wish I could write more, but the internet is flaking out, and I want to make sure this gets posted before it crashes!)

This is me and Summer with Pao de Acucar in the background. We rode up this little tram to the first Brazilian "mountain" and then rode another one to the one you can see in the picture. The view was beautiful, and we got to see some monkeys playing in the wild.   

Here's "the wild" on Pao de Acucar. (The trash can goes well with the leaves, doesn't it?)

And a few pictures of the beach . . . this first one is for you, Bry. I thought you'd like the little addition on the right. haha. Just kidding. Just me and Summer looking at the waves (with that little addition, of course).

Rhett and Summer running from the waves. She loves it.

Dad and daughter strolling the beach.

And once again, hopefully we'll be getting the internet soon, and then we will post some serious pictures of our life here in Brazil.