Moving Day

Today (and yesterday, and the day before) we packed up our whole house in preparation for our big trip back to the USA and onward move the the Marshall Islands.

 Mt. Boxes!

"Don't take my toys!!" - Quote of the day courtesy of Ms. K

 Celebratory pink champagne in our former toothbrush cups!

 Recife in all of it's summery glory!

 Last views of Boa Viagem

 A sparkling blue ocean day!

 Oh look...a parade!

 Dancing to the beat!

 More parading!!

 Inland view heading toward sunset

 Our Bomfim wishes that didn't come true...

 Man, those are tough little ribbons!

 

 More daddy-daughter parade play time

 The parading continues at full volume, in spite of baby naps!

Happy times!

Sinagoga Kahal Zur Israel

We finally made it!! The most elusive of all of Recife's tourist attractions, and it only took two years and ten tries to get there on a day that it was actually open. After so many failed attempts, Veteran's Day was the day that the stars aligned, and Autumn had a non-Brazilian holiday off at the same time the the museum was open! High expectations were met, and we had a wonderful afternoon date while Kylie stayed home with Lica. 

 We've arrived, and...

...It's open!!

 The Torah

 View of the synagogue from above

 Ceiling details

 Prayers tucked into the wall

 One last look at Recife Antigo

 The RECIFE sign!

Thanks FIFA!

Carnival masks ready to future Halloweens & Mardi Gras!

5,000 Pieces of Mayhem!

Autumn thought it would be a good idea to buy a 5,000 piece puzzle a week or two before our big move, 'cause, ya know...not too much going on around the house this week!

She almost made it before the movers came!

Halloween!

For Halloween this year, Autumn and I dressed up as X-persons Cyclops and Phoenix, while Kylie was a UW "cheeringleader", complete with Hello Kitty pom poms. I won third place at the Consulate Chili Cookoff and much fun was had by all!

 Daddy-daughter Halloween fun!

 Kylie's costume mash-up

 Third Place Award!

 Mom and dad partying to the break-a-break-a 11:30pm!

Happy Halloween from the Xmen!

Gettin' crafty!

In my continuing efforts to have make every day a worthy of Martha Stewart's calendar, I whipped up a few new projects for little K for our upcoming return to winter!

 NYC Hello Kitty fleece hoodie with attached mittens

 Christmas jammies...

...which Kylie modeled for about 2 minutes and then proclaimed, "Take off! I too hot!!"

 

 Hello Kitty pillowcase, sheets and comforter...

 ...and a matching travel nap roll!

Kylie loves her big kid bed!

(Can you tell there was an online sale on Hello Kitty fabric 8 to 12 weeks ago?) haha!

Birthday Trip! Sao Paulo

For Autumn's birthday, we left Kylie behind with friends and jetted off to Sao Paulo for an adults only weekend adventure of shopping and eating!

 First stop: Micheladas at Oba - A Thai / Mexican / Brazilian restaurant!

 Chips and salsa! How I've missed you!!

 Next stop:  O'Malley's Irish Pub for Guiness!!

 Third stop:  Farto!

Just kidding, but I guess Drogaria Farto must be expanding!

 Another hilarious store! 

It was so nice to stroll around Jardims in the cool spring weather and shop!

 All hail the king!

We had a fantastic sushi dinner at Nagayama, followed by drinks at the rooftop bar, The View! 

Happy Birthday Autumn!!

 The next morning, we got all bundled up to brave the "freezing cold" (60 degree) weather, and headed out to Starbucks for breakfast on our way to Liberdade for another day of eating and shopping!

 Should I walk or not!?!

 Spring roll delight at the street market

 Can't go anywhere in Brazil without getting meat on a stick!

 We spent the rest of the morning browsing through all the great stores and stocking up on Japanese kitchen ware, including Autumn's crowning glory - the 4 tier dumpling steamer!!

Goodbye Liberdade!

We spent the afternoon back in Jardims for one more visit to O'Malley's and a bit more wandering and shopping.

 The birthday girl!

 More birthday goodies from Chocolat du Jour

 One last look at the city

We had a freak accident with our in-room safe, and maintenance had to come up and drill the door open, so we could get our stuff!! Luckily, they got it open in time for our super-fancy Italian dinner at Fasano.

Our loot!