Kanigan Family: Breaks Over!

Man, I don't post in over a month and what happens? Summer break is history, the kids are back in school and I find myself almost three months in Brazil already. I'm feel so much more comfortable here now. I still have a long way to go with the language, but I'm practising daily and I feel like I've found a sort of "comfort zone" here. All three boys are back in school. I just attended my final "back to school" seminar this morning and was lucky enough to catch a cab quickly and make it home in one piece. Whenever there is something going on at the school I usually take Ellie with me and ride the bus with the boys in the morning. It's one of those fancy buses with individual air and seat belts. We twist and turn and slide closely past the thousands of other buses on the windy roads of Rio every morning up a hill to where the school is located. I've gotten used to how quickly and closely the drivers get here. It is definitely a "drivers get the right-away" kind of place, especially if you are a bus. I saw a man who was holding an umbrella this morning step into the road (at a crosswalk mind you!) to sneak across before our bus reached him and instead of slowing down, the drive gave him a warning honk and pressed on the gas. Duly chastised, the man backed off and waited for the walking light to turn green. Bikes ride on the roads like cars, although they get more honks from annoyed drivers than the vehicles do.

Speaking of driving, we finally have our van from the states and Dan drove into work today to get it registered. When it got here, we left it in the garage with the windows up until our tags came through which apparently was a bad idea because we had some mold take over inside the car. We had to pay to have it removed professionally and they put a chemical on the seats that should prevent it coming back, but it was pretty gross! I don't know if I will drive here or not. I really want to try, and I hate to be a chicken, but...well, I am. I like my life. I'm a happy person and I don't like the idea of competing with the vehicles bigger than myself. :) I think I will practise on Sundays when traffics less crazy. Maybe I will drive to church!

As far as the kids go, everyone is doing really well! Owen and Linc are learning to ride their bikes without training wheels and our apartment pool is getting some use out of us. This may sound lame, because we are in Rio and honestly, the weather is pretty nice here even in the winter, but it's been a little too chilly for me to really enjoy the pool. I am sure when it's mid-summer and I'm dying of humidity and heat I will happily dive in, but for now, I dip my feet and let the kids do the jumping in!

We haven't really been out to see much over the break here. Our break started out with Logan getting a nasty flu and it made it's way through all of us one at a time until the break was over and Linc stopped coughing just in time to start classes! Ellie's sickness ended with a bad case of the hives. They covered her body for a few days and nights and made her absolutely miserable. She slept in her underwear next a fan and eventually they went away. All of the kids seem to be adjusting to the country and the language really well. Lincoln hugs me ten times a day, Owen has almost mastered his shoelaces, Logan read the entire Harry Potter series and Ellie is chatty and forming great idea's. Her personality is blossoming every day. She is sweet, stubborn and very conscious of the feeling of others. I love having her to myself every day while the kids are at school. She missed the cut off for kindergarten by just a few weeks. Our church speaks portuguese and we have made some good friends there. Logan gave his first talk in portuguese last Sunday. I was so proud of him! Dan was lucky and got to celebrate his second fathers day this year! Apparently Brazil celebrates it in August. All the primary kids stood up at church and sand, "Meu Pai".

Brazil also had the pope visit a few weeks back and the entire city shut down for him. The US ambassador in Brazil flew up for the visit and Dan was assigned to take care of him and his wife while they were here. That was kind of a neat experience. Let's see, I guess that's about all for now. I'm going to post a few pictures and be on my way. I know I say this every time, but I really do want to post more often. I think I'll be able to get into the feelings and experiences better if I'm not playing "catch-up" on our life events! With an emptier house, I think I might actually be able to now!

In the mean time, Bom dia é tchau!

Okay, so this made Dan and I laugh. He had a hard time kicking a nasty cough that came with his flu and so he went into the doctor and was giving this nebulizer to help him breath. It didn't really work, but it was funny just the same!

Logan's been into drawing on his face lately. He looks very suave don't you think?! ;)

He can't just settle for drawing on his own face though, oh no!

Photo bomb Owen!

He loves a good photo bomb!

I love Linc's smile full of big teeth!

Owen's opinion on vegetables is pretty clear I'd say!

Ellie's favorite park with some of her favourite friends!

All by himself! Owen practised and practised and...well you get the idea. This little boy LOVES his bike!

My monkeys pretending to be different Mine Craft characters!

So the day before school started, the kids were all over the place. Logan's always been a very active kid, so he was even crazier than the rest. I decided to give him a project to keep him busy. I gave him an egg and told him to create a package that would let him drop the egg off the balcony without breaking it. This is what he came up with! Toilet paper to cushion the bottom, a parachute to slow down the fall, and towels to cushion the egg inside a tupperware bowl.