Monday Memories

It's a beautiful, chilly, Monday here in good ol' Missouri. I said "chilly"...what I meant to say was, it's FREEZING here. I have four layers on (not including scarf, gloves, and two pairs of socks). I always enjoy the cold weather right at the beginning of the winter. My coats are screaming to get out of the closet, my boots haven't been worn in ages, and all the scarves I knitted during the summer need to make their way outside. But after about four, or five weeks of cold, I'm ready for summer again. 

So today as I sit here sipping some chai tea, I am reminded of how much I miss good ol' Brazil. Brazil is where my family is originally from, and these are some of the pictures I took on our last trip there. Today, I'm missing my sweet grandparents, the hot weather, walking on the beach while drinking coconut water, and being able to purchase fruity popsicles on any street. I'm very thankful for my life here, but sometimes you just miss a place, right?

 This is a picture I took from a road near my grandparents house in Minas Gerais.

     

 Traveling by train to Salvador to visit my cousins. 

  The sun setting above my favorite burger joint, called Nandao, located in Governador Valadares.

 Local kids enjoying the 80° weather.

 Snapping pictures while going for an afternoon stroll in Salvador. 

 Kids playing soccer.

Are you missing a certain place today? 

Childhood Honesty

Today I got to enjoy a nice lunch with some sweet friends. Anytime we all hang out it seems like we always end up telling funny childhood stories. The story below is one of the ones I told, and I thought I'd share it because, well why not...To begin the story I should say that I think everyone went through a phase as a child where they were way too honest. You know...the kind of honesty that gets you in trouble? Well, here’s a nice little story about that.

While I was going through this phase, my father had hired someone to fix our kitchen sink. The guy he hired was one of his friends who had been in that business for a while. His friend was super nice, but he had a severe case of buck teeth. So my father asked my mother to keep me out of the kitchen during that time, that way I wouldn’t cause them to be embarrassed again (referring to other times where I have said something I shouldn’t have). While his friend was fixing the sink, I ran downstairs into the kitchen… I was always a very curious child therefore I had to see what all the commotion was about in there. I came into the kitchen wearing a bright, red cape because I was dressed as a superhero (I liked to play dress up a lot). As soon as I stepped foot in there I yelled, “Who are you in my kitchen?!” When he popped his head up from under the sink and smiled...I said, “you look like a rabbit mister!” (referring to his teeth) and ran out. My parents were so embarrassed at the time and apologized to him several times. But nowadays whenever they tell this story, they have to pause often from laughing so hard.  I was such an ornery little kid.

But what can I say, honesty is the best policy!

(Definitely not in this case whatsoever.) 

What about you? Any silly childhood stories about you being brutally honest? Haha ;) 

Christmas Movies

Christmas is almost here! Celebrating our Savior's birth, eating yummy food, and getting to spend some good time with family and friends. It also means that it is now socially acceptable to watch a million Christmas movies, listen to all Christmas music, and pretty much just do everything Christmas. Which to me is super exciting because it is my favorite time of the year!

So I thought I would share my top 10 Christmas movies that I like to watch with my family around the holidays. We watch a ton of movies around this time but these ten are probably my favorite, and they are also ranked in order of awesomeness! (Strictly my opinion, but if we disagree, we can still be friends of course).

1- Home Alone

2- National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

3- Elf

4- How the Grinch Stole Christmas 

5- A Charlie Brown Christmas 

6- Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

7- The Polar Express

8- Its a Wonderful Life

9- Miracle on 34th Street 

10- The Holiday 

What are some movies you and your family enjoy during the holidays?