Last night, around 8:00 pm, and after giving Joseph and Ethan a day to recover from the time zone change and jet lag, we decided we better make our plan of attack. Joseph leaves for Chile on Monday around 5pm. So, what do you want to do, young man, before your time is up?
We talked about going to the beach or taking a quick trip to Iguacu? After mulling those over, we decided logistically there wasn't time for a trip to Iguacu. I was up for the beach, even though it's a long drive. Corey wasn't so interested in that. Been there, done it, and yeah, long drive. What about Rio? Gianinna did it, should we try to do that? If the answer was yes, who would go? Not going to take all the little people, that would just be too hard. And would we go tonight? It worked better to do it on a Friday than on Saturday. Corey looked at the bus schedule. He asked if I wanted to give it a go. Since he went to Iguacu, it was my turn. Hmm...
If I go and Corey stays here, that means I gotta call the shots and be the responsible adult, no playing passenger and having Corey as my crutch. I'd have to communicate in Portuguese, get a cab, get money and spend money, figure out lunch, order food, be able to find my way around the big city of Rio with my kids... Probably would have to walk a lot too. Well, I've been to Rio. I'd go if it was Iguacu... Yeah, didn't sound so fun for me, being the 8 month pregnant woman that I am. Is that sad that I'd rather sit at home and read and take a nap than go explore the world? Probably. But I also thought Corey'd enjoy the trip a lot more than I would - he just loves giving the kids experiences. Plus he'd dislike being home with all the little kids more than me - that doesn't bother me at all. He'd probably also be worried about us all day. But if he went, that doesn't make me worried, cause he's the traveling guru.
So I decided to pass. Plus it's Corey's birthday on Monday, so he needs to go have a little fun before the work week.
We decided to have Joseph and Ethan go and Mel. Even though she went to Iguacu, she was a big kid and could appreciate it. Abi was sad to miss out, but Corey reminded her of all the little complaints that wore him down during their trip to Iguacu. Sorry little girl, this is gonna be a big kid trip. Wes missed out again, so I promised him that he and I will still make it to Iguacu before he goes on his mission. Deal. So, it was 9 pm, Corey and the kids drove to the bus station to get tickets for an all night drive to Rio - departure time 11:pm. They came back and Corey sheepishly told me he got tickets for the executive bus. A little more expensive, but worth it to have a reclining chair and a decent night's sleep. No problem sweetie. They quickly gathered what they'd need for a little day trip, played a quick game of cops and robbers with their siblings, said a prayer, and then headed out. Corey felt bad taking Ethan and Joseph away from Sophi and Natalie (who had been super affectionate with and doted upon by their brothers since they arrived) but they've done fine today, with an occasional comment from Sophi of "Mommy, we need to find Ethan and Joe and Daddy..."
I plan to get pictures from them when they get back tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. after another all night bus ride - but for now, here are a few from their Instagram accounts.
I've spent the day being lazy, napping, and reading. I did learn a new song on the piano - Joseph brought me the whole book of the simplified hymns, so it's nice to have them all rather than just the few loose pages Corey was able to print up from work. I think I'm getting better and quicker at learning the songs, I'm getting pretty good for a beginner pianist of 2 months! And I've still been reading the old testament. 2 weeks into it, and I'm in 2 Chronicles. If I keep it up, (well... maybe crank it up just a little bit more...) I think I really could finish it before we go home, which would be pretty cool.
