I believe that my kids rock.

I am sure that is no surprise to anyone.  I also believe that when you can't pick just one picture of your kids, go ahead and pick 34, 'cause no one could possibly get tired of seeing pictures of these children I somehow produced.

Mia truly embraced the experience.  She made friends with girls at all the churches we visited.  The language barrier didn't seem to be a huge issue to the kids.

 This is the moment Bode realized that it was an actual parrot that was copying him.  Priceless.

 Brazilians love little blonde-haired children like I love an Americano from Starbucks.  It's intense.

 This kids learned a very valuable lesson on this trip.  It's called "how to wait."  Brazilians concept of time is pretty much nonexistent so they waited A LOT on this trip.  And guess what? They didn't die a slow, painful death due to lack of stimulation.  

Bode picked this little wooden carving of the Christ Statue at a gift shop.  He then declared that he would "put it next to his bed on his dresser and worship it."

 Is this blasphemous? I hope not 'cause every one of us had to pose this way.

Bode said he wanted a basketball goal "just like the one at the orphanage" for his birthday.  Hmmm, not exactly what I had envisioned  hanging outside our driveway, but hey, I'm flexible.

No zoning codes equals a rooster in the middle of the city.  I'm sure the neighbors appreciate it.

The kids surpassed my expectations in every way.  Mia is the easiest traveler I've ever seen.  It helps that she never gets tired and has never been in a bad mood.  Thankfully, Bode can still curl up in my lap and fall asleep anywhere, and that is exactly what he did every night (while I sweated profusely).

I loved every minute of this trip.  I'd go again tomorrow.