Cool tree!!

We saw this tree after playing tennis with our cousin. Kind of cool isn't it? You walk through it to get to the newspapper stand.

Poco Azul

Today we went to Poco Azul and saw many waterfalls! To get there we had to go down a LONG dirt road with many potholes. But the view was very pretty.

The first waterfall had a cave that the water flowed into. It was very deep. We jumped in from the side of the rocks after watching others jump. The water was COLD! Later we walked down an extremely steep rocky path to see another water fall. This one was down stream from the first one we went to. Later we walked up stream and passed many, many people playing in the water. We found a place just past where everyone was and put our hammock across the stream! With both of us in the hammock the hammock touched the water!So much for staying dry. On our way back to the car a family that was cooking out offered some of their food to us! We took them up on a sausage link. It was good. :)

Agua Mineral

We spent the day at Agua Mineral. The pools here are made from a river that runs through it. Every 3 hours the water is changed by the flow of the river. We saw 3 monkeys watching the people from trees and 2 huge bright blue butterflies! The butterflies were about the size of a small saucer.
We went in a 5 km hike in the cerrado. Kimberly's sandals started making blisters on her feet so we used some leaves to help slowdown the process since we still had 2.5 km to go. Bear Grilles would be proud. By the end of the hike JP gave Kimberly his sandals. Now that's love. :)

The new year in GA

After the beach we went to Georgia! It felt so good to feel the wheels of the airplane touch down on Georgia soil! We spent 8 days in Georgia. The weather was definitely different compared to the beach! All of Kimberly's sisters and their families were near to spend the week with us. We did some shopping, celebrated Christmas again, visited extended family, saw our dear neighbors and had a cookout. :) Our cups were overflowing with blessing after blessing!

Christmas 2011

We had a much blessed Christmas filled with family time. We celebrated the birth of Christ and thanked God for the gift of life offered through Christ Jesus.
Luisa and Preston came to Brazil for two weeks. It was great to be with them! These 2 weeks were packed full. The second week the family went to the beach for a week! Wow! It was gorgeous!!! Here are some pictures.

Pirenópolis

Back in November we spent a holiday in Pirenópolis. It is an old city in Brazil with many, many trails and waterfalls. We drove to the top of a mountain and hiked through the cerrado (on a cleared path.) At the end of the hike we saw the waterfall. It was so pretty!