Stay tuned for Rio adventures with adorable babies!

Welcome family and friends!   Since I have a hard time remembering what I ate for breakfast, let alone the amazing things our babies did that day, it's high time I kept a blog for our little family.  Living in Rio de Janeiro is such a blast, we want to remember it and tell our kids stories of our adventures here.  And we want to keep y'all posted too, we love you all, so here it goes!     OK, to start, here are some fun things we've been doing the last few months:

-Pão de Açucar, and the lagoon (Praia Vermelha) below it, the water is such a beautiful turquoise here!

-Forte do Leme, which is on the far side of Copacabana beach (it's one bookend, Forte do Copacabana is the other bookend of our beach).  It was quite a hike to the top, but well worth it.  The rainforest is gorgeous, and Evie loved seeing all the monkeys.  Her new phrase whenever she goes to the park is looking up at the trees and saying, "Monkeys, where are you?!!" (With her hands cupped to her mouth)

-Arpoador, which is just a walk past Forte de Copacabana to Ipanema.  It bookends Ipanema's beach.  The sunsets here are to die for.  And Evie loves chasing the waves.  Also the view of Dois Irmãos ("Two Brothers," the double-mountain range when you look right from Ipanema beach, seemingly watching over Rio) is a sight to see!

-Calçadão, "The BIG sidewalk," we love to walk all along Copa Beach on the black-and-white Portuguese-designed tiles, it stretches the entire beach. Evie loves to press the buttons on these advertisements that spray a water mist to keep everyone cool.  And of course she loves the beach! Rosie loves to be held while I baby-wear her in the Bjorn, fall asleep.  And get tons of oooos and aaahhhs about how adorable they both are from just about every.person.walking. that day!

-The Lagoa:  "Lagoon" it's *the* lagoon with the Cristo statue behind it, gorgeous views of the mountain ranges here, swan boats, and very cool playgrounds for the kids.

-Feiras or "Street Fairs,"  the fruit is amazingly fresh and it's such a cool atmosphere with hundreds of people in these outdoor markets, usually with a playground in the middle or nearby.  We buy cheese pasteis, watermelon, tangerines, cut pineapple, and guaravita (juice from a yummy fruit here), and chow down on all the fresh foods while Evie plays in the park.

And...

Copacabana Beach, our favorite!  Evie always meets new friends and plays for hours, sometimes we walk along the shore, but mostly we set up our tent and play in the water.  Evie goes nuts chasing the waves and playing football with other kids, and we enjoy watching her have fun and play with Rosie in the tent, who just wants to be with us and watch the birds.  We eat BBQ'ed cheese on a stick, coconut popsicles, açai (yummy fruit here) icees with granola on top, globo chips (they look like air doughnuts, the girls love 'em), and watermelon.   I love how venders sell all kinds of local food right there on the beach, they come to you!!!

More to come, stay tuned!