Kanigan Family: Good-bye Brazil and a week in DC

Well, it finally happened. Our family has officially finished our first post and are back in the states for a while. This is kind of a strange/big stepping stone for us because we are beginning to realise that for the next ten to fifteen years, our lives will be broken into two and three year increments. When we look at it from that perspective, our kids are going to be grown and in college and serving missions before we even have the chance blink. It's strange...perpetually looking forward towards the next step. I guess life is made up of steps no matter how you look at it, but in the foreign service, those steps seem even more defined.

Our last few weeks in Rio were wonderful and sad at the same time. I went on as many runs as possible, we spoke/sang in our church, went to dinners with great friends, bought plenty of last minute souvenirs and gave about a million hugs and kisses. The kids came home very sad on their last day of school. Ellie was so worried that her class would all forget her, and the boys want to hang on to every piece of school material they have. I can't really say I blame them. They loved it there. They each got a t-shirt signed by all their friends, and different cards and special good-byes. It was really very touching.

The last day at our church was very special. I could feel the spirit so strongly there. We have learned to communicate with and love our little church family in such a humbling and significant way. Our whole family will never forget our time with them. We miss them already.

I could go on and on, but I'll just finish with Brazil by saying that we left with tears and happy memories, and enough emotion for the country and the people we met there to break our hearts a bit. I'm coming to understand that saying goodbye is not one of my favorite things in life, but I suppose it's something I will just have to get used to.

Our week here in DC has been really nice. Dan's had some meetings, but we've also had some free time together. On Sunday and Monday I got to spend time with my little sister and her boys. I'm so happy they took the time to drive out and see us! We visited the National Zoo together and wore our kids and ourselves out really well! :) On Tuesday Dan was off, so we visited the Museum of Natural History and the National Art Gallery. I think Dan and I were more into reading all the information available than the kids were, but they still soaked in a lot and had a really fun time. Wednesday was spent taking things easy. Logan's been fighting a cold for a few weeks and needed some time to rest. Thursday I took the kids to the Air and Space museum while Dan had meetings, and afterward, we got to meet up and hang out with our good friends from Rio, the Carters. They were kind enough to give us a ride in to visit them in the old apartment complex we lived in while Dan was training in A100. The kids loved to run around their old stomping grounds, especially with their old friends. Finally, today we took off and hiked all over the national mall. We visited Lincoln's memorial, Korea's, WWI, Dr. King's, Roosevelt's, Washington's and Jefferson's. It was a LOT of walking for little legs, but we were determined! Logan helped us map out what to see. :)

We are loving being here in the states, and very excited to see family. It's strange walking around and understanding almost everyone around you. I've answered a few people in Portuguese already our of habit! We bought fresh milk right off the bat, and Liz and Dave brought us donuts. It really is the little things that make us just so happy to be here. I guess that's all for today. I'll update more later about our family visits. Here's a few pics to leave you all with! Beijos!!