Rio de Janeiro

Rio De Janeiro is about 1.5 hours from Petropolis.  When we told people we were heading there for a few days they all told us to be really careful.  Even though I didn't feel like I was traveling somewhere dangerous I knew I didn't want to take Jared and Lydia.  Mostly because of the nature of the trip (Mark reuniting with mission people) we already knew it wasn't really a kid friendly trip but I could tell Mark wasn't interested in worrying about them in the city too.   He found us an Air b-n-b in Barra da Tijuca which was about 35 minutes away from the city center.  It is where his mission office was and where they are building the Rio de Janeiro Temple.  Our place was right across the street from the beach and had a lovely view and a hammock on the balcony.  Our first day there was all rainy the second day was better and the third day was all sunshine.  We used just about every form of transportation in Rio.  Mark was not interested in driving in the city and he was especially not interested in finding and paying for parking there.  We started with a taxi from our Air b-n-b to the bus station.  From the bus we got on the Metro and then walked where we needed to.  We also used Uber a lot which worked great as long as we could find an internet connection which wasn't too hard.  The funny things about visiting Rio is that none of the places were visited were actually places he served.  He told me that he didn't serve in any pretty places.  The neighborhoods he lived and worked in were too dangerous for us to go into.  I'm glad he made it out of there with only stories to tell.

Beach on one side, Lagoon on the other. 

Our typical lunch in Brazil.  Meat, black beans and rice.  Mark mentioned that while he lived there lunch was the big meal of the day.  I loved this.  It was way nicer to relax and eat a nice meal in the middle of the day.  We found a restaurant called Kilograma where you pay by weight.  We loved it and ate there each day we were in Rio.  

Day 1

SARAA Market for souvenirs

Escadaria Selaron

Parque Lage

Temple Drive By

One of Mark's favorite Brazil memories was all the fruit and fresh juice.  SARAA Market is where all the locals go to shop.  You can find pretty much anything and its much more reasonable than actual shopping centers.  We found what we were looking forward and sound fresh juice which he was excited about.  

The Ecardaria Selaron was one of my favorite places in Rio.  A Chilen artist named Selaron lived on the street and one day he decided he was going to try to make his neighborhood a nicer place.  He was an artist and on a whim decided to take his trashy smelly street and turn it into something special.    He did this by adding tiles to he dilapidated steps.  He began with blue, green and yellow tiles, the color of Brazil's flag and then added red.  When he ran out of money he started receiving donations from around the world.  The tiles are unique and it completely changed the direction of the neighborhood.  It was a great stop.  I had never heard of it before we started planning this trip and am so happy we got to see it. 

Brazil: I Love You, Selaron

The neighborhood is also known for some of the best street art in the city.  The mayor of Rio De Janeiro recently legalized street graffiti on surfaces as long as it wasn't historically designated. 

Parque Lage is a public park in the middle of the city.  We took a really long walk in the rain to find it.  On a clear day you can see the Christ the Redeemer statue really well but that was not the case for us.  The park has a fun cafe in a beautiful setting and its basically a mini rainforest.  As we were leaving the cafe to go check out the park the clouds parted at the top of the mountain and we got our first glimpse of the statue.  We didn't see many animals as the weather was poor, but we felt like we were in a tropical rainforest.  The trees were thick and there were so many different varieties.  It was a fun stop. 

We found some cool cave to explore complete with Stalactites and a little aquarium.

Mark was so exited to stop by the Rio temple.  He was so happy for the members there when they announced it.  After serving there I think it was really meaningful to get to see a temple there.  

Day 2

Parasailing

Sugar Loaf Mountain

For a really long time I've wanted to go parasailing.  When we were planning our trip Mark found a company that took people out and we decide to spend the money and do it.  I am so glad we did.  While I do not love being on a boat, parasailing was awesome.  We were supposed to meet our guide at the marina at 11:00.  It took us a long time to find them and then once we did we learned we had to wait longer because the wind was not strong enough.  Around 11:45 we got on the boat and headed out.  There was a man from Angola and an older couple from France.  The older couple just wanted a nice boat ride and they got a long one.  These poor guys had to drive all over the bay looking for enough wind to inflate the parachute and keep it up.  We drove back and forth across the water.  It was beautiful out and had great views but I was so bored.  Boats just aren't my thing.  They tried throwing the chute up three times and each time there wasn't enough wind, it just landed in the water and then they had to untangle it.  And the chute got heavier each time it landed in the water.  Finally on the last try they found enough wind.  The commented that they had never had to throw it three times before.  As we were waiting I ended up taking a little nap on Mark's lap.  I was the second one to go up and loved it.  It was not scary at all and required no real skills.  You are strapped in a harness and then a pulley pulls you up.  We felt perfectly safe and couldn't believe how peaceful it was once we got up there.  With his long legs Mark was able to do some fancy tricks and had a great time too.  We both had the drivers lower us to dip our feet in the water.  It was so nice and fun.  

 Mark hanging upside down

Since it did take such a long to find any wind we had to really hightail it out of there to have time to eat and make it to Sugar Loaf Mountain in time for the sunset.  Originally we planned to hike up to the lower mountain and then catch the sky tram to the top, but we didn't have enough time.  We got off the metro and stopped for a yummy smoothie to enjoy on our fast paced walk.  The neighborhood right by the Metro felt pretty sketchy but we were fine.  We took the tram to both mountains and got there with about 15 minutes to spare.  It was beautiful.  When we were down in the city it felt chaotic, disorganized and dirty.  When we got to the top it was peaceful and the city looked beautiful.  Its surrounded by water and mountains.  We could see the beautiful beaches and the boats bobbing in the water.  It was amazing.  

Copacabana Beach is behind my shoulder 

Day 3

Morning Picnic on the Beach

Tijuca National Park/Christ the Redeemer Statue

Copacabana Beach

Our last day in Rio was also Mark's birthday.  We started with a simple breakfast picnic at a beach 20 minutes away from our Air b-n-b.  We went on a short run on the beach, watched some surfers and saw two different models doing a swimming suit photo shoot.  The beach was small and in a beautiful setting.  We were nervous as the day started because we planned to go to the Christ the Redeemer Statue and it was really cloudy which could mean we wouldn't be able to see much of the statue or the beautiful views.  Luckily the clouds all cleared up and it turned into a beautiful day.  After our time at at the beach we went back to the Air b-n-b and packed up all our stuff.  Mark had talked to front desk person (it was a condo) and he said we could park in the lot above the parking garage so we grabbed a taxi and headed back into town via bus routes and the metro.

While the neighborhood we stayed in was clean and safe it was a bit of a hassle to get into the city but it worked out fine each day.  We got off at the closest metro stop and then walked part way to the pick up spot for the statue.  There is a train you can take to get up there but Mark had read about a really great viewpoint and wanted to get there another way so we could stop there.  We found an internet connection and got an uber.  The driver was really nice and was happy to stop and the view point for Mark.  

Looking out both sides

Ubers and taxi's are only allowed to take you up the a certain point.  You can't have them take you all the way to the statue.  It is located in a national park and has a visitors center where you purchase tickets.  You can walk all the way up if you want but we opted for the bus shuttle.  We had about 45 minute to kill before our scheduled shuttle and enjoyed a Guarana on the patio.  The shuttle drops you off at the bottom of a large, steep set of stairs.  There were a good amount of people but it wasn't too bad.  We were really luck that the weather cleared up so nicely for us.  The views from up there were amazing.  It presents the city as this beautiful organized place.  It was certainly cleaner and more organized than Egypt but it is deceptive .

We stopped for lunch at our favorite place and Mark picked out a few desserts to sample for his birthday.  We then made our way over to the beach.  We got there a little later than we wanted and wished we could have had more time to walk on the beach.  We are not huge beach people but Copacabana was beautiful and the weather was just right.

I had  been wanting to get a picture the way houses/neighborhoods are built and when we walked around a corner from the beach I got my chance.

After that we picked up our car and drove to the airport.  We are so thankful we got to take this trip together.  It was a great experience.  

Petropolis Brazil

The timing of our trip had a lot to do with this city in Brazil.  Mark served there for 6 months and it was there that he met, taught and baptized a really important family to him.  It is also the prettiest area he served in during his mission.  Petropolis is the old Imperial city and is about an hour and a half away from Rio De Janeiro.  It has a very different feel than a lot of places in Brazil (or so Mark says).  It is much more European and is surrounded by mountains.  Mark wanted to be sure that we were there on a Sunday so he could attend the ward he was in for that time period.  We got there Friday and left Monday morning.  Petropolis is not exactly a happening place, if it weren't for being there for church we could have done it in one day but it was a relaxing place to visit and it was really touching to see the impact that Mark had on people there and how they impacted him.  It was fun to walk around and see the places I have heard stories about over the years.

Its a 6 hour drive from Campinas and you have to go on some scary mountain roads.  The real problem with those roads is that they are narrow, right next to a rock wall on one side and a cliff on the other and you are competing for space with large semi's.  It got pretty tight at times.  Mark really did an amazing job driving there.  The car was a stick shift which he rarely ever drives and Brazil's Department of transportation doesn't seem to believe in left hand turns.  They also have crazy long circular access ramps.  To go back in an opposite direction you can't just turn left or take an easy exit.  You have to drive until you reach a "returnio".  Often they are not super close together either.  His skills were quite impressive.  There were some very pretty parts of the drive and it was nice to see more of Brazil.  I was not expecting it to be anything like the places we have recently visited but I also didn't expect to be reminded so much of Egypt.  This was mostly due to the way houses were constructed, the streets, and neighborhoods.  The people seemed much happier and freer in Brazil.  There also wasn't the distinct separation of men and women like Egypt but everywhere I looked I felt like I was there again.  It wasn't really a bad thing exactly I just wasn't quite expecting it.  Driving seemed way safer there though.  We stopped for gas and happened upon a great restaurant.  One thing they do in Brazil is have you pay for your food by weight.  You dish up the food you want from a buffet and then pay a certain amount per kilogram.  We loved these places and tried to eat at one each day.  I think we had rice and black beans everyday we were there and loved it.

Standard "on ramp" in Brazil.  They were huge.  

We have no idea how many cans of Guarana we drank.  We both love it. 

 We don't really drink soda at home but the Brazilian ginger ale like drink is so good. 

Sharing the mountain road with all the semis crossing into our lane with their wide turns.  

We got there early afternoon and checked into our Air b-n-b.  The host was nervous about communicating since he didn't feel his English was very good but Mark's Portuguese came right back to him.  It was great (as always) to travel with Mark and have him speak Portuguese so well.  Our place was very nice.  We were quite surprised to learn that the bathroom and kitchen were not connected to the main room, that we had to go outside for both but it was clean and well maintained.  They even had a pool in the yard which had it not been winter I'm sure we would have enjoyed.  We did get a lot of rain while we were there.  So much that when we passed some rain boots on sale for 10 American dollars I went ahead and got them.  I think out of all the trips we took this summer I was the most poorly packed for this trip.  I knew it was Winter and saw the rain but just didn't think it would be that much rain.  The Brazilians we talked were pretty happy to have some rainy days.  That being said I can't imagine visiting there in the high season.  We had lovely temperatures in the mid 70's which is my favorite.  It sounds super humid, hot and miserable there in the Summer.  It was pretty confusing to come from hot weather and summer daylight hours and then be somewhere that was dark by 6:30.

The open door is the living space and bedroom. 

 Behind his right shoulder is the bathroom and next to it was the kitchen. 

We think these were for the World Cup. They were fun to see. 

The neighborhoods are hard to describe.  They basically build up the mountains and to get to the top there are just long sets of stairs you walk up.  Mark has mentioned in the past how tired he would be (as a missionary) from walking up long sets of stairs every day.  And often the wealthier families lived at the top.  He explained how the surface of the house showed how well a family was doing.  If it was just the brick with no stucco on the exterior or interior they were not well off.  If the outside was done they were a little better and if the inside was finished with dry wall they were doing well.  The finishing was a clear sign of status.  

After settling in we headed downtown to find a something to eat and walk around.  There was a burger food truck that Mark loved to stop by when he lived there.  He has been home since 2002 but the food truck was still in its same spot right by the cathedral with the same guy making the food.  Mark started to talk to the guy and mentioned how he was a missionary there.  They guy looked at him and said "extra bacon!"  He remembered Mark and how he always asked for extra bacon on his burger.  When he lived there the burgers were a good deal only like 3 or 4 Brazilian dollars.  They are not the same deal now but they were worth the price.  Mark always talked about getting burgers with eggs which I had never really heard of or done so I went with it and it was delicious.  It was fun to see Mark so excited to be there.

Circa 2001

The next day we went downtown again and checked out the Imperial Palace.  Don Pedro and his family came to Petropolis in the Summer to escape the heat in Rio.  It was a good tour.  After that we went and checked out the cathedral in town and found another pay by weight place to eat.  That evening we went to visit some members from the ward.  The brother was serving as the ward mission leader while Mark was there and was instrumental in helping teach this family.   When Mark speaks Portuguese I can understand a decent amount of what he is saying.  With context clues I can piece together decent amounts of conversations but I can not speak any Portuguese.  It was really nice to visit with them and see how happy Mark was.  

Imperial Palace and Cathedral

On Sunday we went to church and then to the familie's house for lunch.  It was fast and testimony meeting and two members of the family Mark taught went up and bore their testimonies and both made Mark cry which then made me cry.  It was amazing to hear and see how their lives changed by being taught the gospel and to think Mark was able to be a part of it.  They have 3 daughters and
1 adopted son.  All of them are active in the church, they have been sealed in the temple together, 1 daughter served a mission, 2 were married in the temple and the son will be putting in mission papers in March.  Mark was so thrilled to see them living and loving the gospel.  We chatted with other members he remembered from serving there and then spent the afternoon and evening at the familie's house.  The food was delicious and Mark loved catching up with them.  He was so happy to see them.  I know it meant the world to him to have this experience.  I loved being a part of it.

 

Ward mission leader and his wife. 

Then and Now:

I'm so happy Mark could have this experience.  As he was leaving the area as a missionary he told the members that he would come back after he was married.  It took 16 years but he did it.  I think this weekend really made the long nights working at the airport worth it.

Before and After Brazil

We were in Brazil for a week.  This was the longest time we have been away from Jared and Lydia.  Back in 2014 we left them with Sue for 3 nights when we came out to Virginia and a night here and there but never a whole week.  Overall they did really well.   Mark's sister Cathryn is at Sue's right now and she has 11 year old twins.  Mark's sister Laurie was also in town with her 10 and 12 year old.  It was fun for them to have some time with cousins.  The hardest part was food.  Jared and Lydia eat pretty well at home.  Most likely because we have all the food they like and are used to.  Sue worked really hard to try to cook them meals they liked but there was still more complaining then I would have liked.  They kept saying that they liked my version of meals.  I am not an amazing cook and wished they would have just eaten nicely.  We talked a lot about eating what they were given and being thankful before I left but it wasn't quite enough.  Half way through the week Sue bought some ice cream and told them if they ate well and didn't complain then they could have some.  I really wish they could have just dealt with it better but am happy it made mealtimes (really dinner was the problem) more pleasant for Sue.

Saturday night Lydia told Sue that she was scared to go to primary the next day.  For the record she has been to this ward before.  Sue told her that she could go to the Primary room and check it out then decide.  They walked down there after Sacrament meeting and she decided it looked too scary.  Sue told her she could choose to stay or go home and have Primary.  She opted to go home. They went to the house and Sue did a lesson on gratitude.  As the activity the made gratitude jars.  She told them that for everything they wrote they were grateful for she would give them a nickel.  Always motivated by money Jared wrote down 73 things.  Lydia made it to 35.  I'm glad it was a good lesson and as a follow up we had our lesson on gratitude this week and wrote thank you cards to all our family members who served us that last week.   Getting some writing/spelling practice in before school starts was great too!

They really did have a good time.  Highlights include:  swimming every day, going to the Curiosity Museum twice, playing at a park, the Provo Rec Center for swimming and slides, being with cousins, morning cartoons snuggled in bed with Grandma Sue, selling lemonade, water and golfballs to the golfers from Sue's backyard, watching the Christopher Robin movie at the theater with Grandma Sue, a shopping spree for a new outfit and lots of Harry Potter reading.  We are so thankful for Sue and Cathryn taking such good care of Jared and Lydia.

Curiosity Museum

One day the Kids were playing outside and they found this little bird that decided to play with them.  They named it Perchy. This was the same day Jared lost his Ron Weasley wand.  They looked for over an hour with no luck. As he was beginning to break down Cathryn went over to the neighbors to ask them to look our for it and found it in their grass!

There is a golf course on the other side of Sue's fence.  A few years ago Ian and Anya sold Lemonade and golf balls and Jared has been dying to do it since then.  They made a few dollars and he was happy to sit and sell.

Ian and Jared also went on a mile run together.  I love how happy he looks running.  We are going to do the Earlysville 5K together on Thanksgiving and I know he is looking forward to training for it.

One of my favorite parts of Utah was getting a chance to meet up with the Lenox's.  They happened to come down to Utah from Idaho where they were visiting family to drop Tom off at the airport.  Tara kindly stayed in Utah a few days so we could meet up.  That was also why I flew out as early as I did.  I would do whatever I could to meet up with her!  Originally I was just going to go, drop them off and leave the next day but I really wanted to see her.  We went swimming for awhile and then they came to play at Sue's.  It took Lainey and Lydia a long time to warm up to each other which surprised me.  Before we came Lydia could not stop talking about seeing Lainey.  I think part of it was Lydia having her cousins there too.  Tara and I had no such problems.  It was so great to see her.  They eventually ended up having a great time together.

 

We were so happy to meet up with Jared and Lydia in Arizona.  Sue flew down to Phoenix with them on Thursday.  They played with more cousins and swam at the Air b-n-b Sue rented.  Once we got there Friday we went to a play zone with Mark's sisters Laurie, Kristi and Cathryn and their kids.  They were all there for the wedding and it was fun to have another family reunion.  Mark's oldest brother Steve has 2 sons getting married this month.  6 of the 8 siblings came to AZ for this wedding.  Before we could get to the play zone I wanted to change clothes.  I went out to the rental car to grab some clean clothes and then came into change.  As I walked in the door I handed Mark the keys.  After changing we went out to the car and it was locked but nobody knew where the keys were.   I remembered setting them on the floor of the trunk while I got stuff out but didn't remember handing them to Mark and he didn't remember me giving them to him.  He got in the car to drive with Kristi's husband Ben and took the keys with him.  Sue and I stayed at the house and waited for the locksmith.  He got there really quickly and then had a really hard time getting the door open.  Once he did I climbed in to look for the keys and they weren't there.  As I was looking my phone which had been left in the car rang and it was Mark calling to let us know he had the keys.  I was so relieved.  I felt awful wasting the time and money.  Mark came and picked us up and we met everyone at the play zone.

Anya, Giselle, Ian, Jared, Lydia, Ashton, and Felicity

Jared and Lydia loved the place.  Kristi booked us for 3 hours and it had laser tag which Jared thought was the most amazing thing ever and some little rides to go on.  There was a buffet and everyone had plenty of junk food.  Jared and Lydia hadn't been to a place like that in years.  I think the last time was in 2014 before we came out here.  We went to one in Utah with Mark's family as part of a family reunion.  They had a blast. We ate dinner at Kristi's after more swimming and then went over to check out her new house.

The next day was the wedding.  We made sure our stuff was all packed as we would be leaving right after the sealing.  Jared and Lydia stayed at Kristi's house with all the cousins while we were all at the temple.  It was really nice to be at the sealing and we are really happy for Zac and Shaelyn. Afterwards Cathryn went to the house and picked up all the kids to bring them to the temple.  I was unaware that this was the plan and was so embarrassed.  Here we are at the temple at a wedding and my kids show up in old play clothes while everyone else looks great.  Why couldn't anyone tell me that was the plan?  As far as I knew Jared and Lydia weren't going to be at the temple so I put them in  comfy clothes for traveling.   I couldn't wait to get out of there.  Plus we were in AZ standing outside to take pictures so we were all sweating like crazy.  Poor Lydia was completely over it all and so uncooperative.  I know she was just dealing with a lot of emotions and me feeling stupid about their clothes.  She just wanted to be with us and go home.  We left as soon as the group picture and Sue's "grandma" pictures were done.

 

Xavi and Staci (married 9 years), Amy, Shae (its funny that Zac's sister and now wife have such similar names), Shaelyn and Zac, Molly and Steve, Christian and Ammon. 

We are so glad we could go and also so happy to be home.  Taking the trip to AZ was a little too much I think but we really did want to go and we had to be out West to pick up Jared and Lydia anyway.  By then the three of us had been away from home for almost 2 weeks.  Just 1 day short by the time we got to our house.  It was a lot for us.  We will try to make it to Ammon's wedding on the 25th but its tricky since school is in session and again, its out in Utah which is an early morning departure and late at night arrival home with the time change.  They are also getting married in the evening on Saturday so Mark would probably miss church which he would rather not do.

Getting to and from Brazil

We did it!  We made it to Brazil.  The map above shows all the flights it took to get there and back.  Jared, Lydia and I felt out of the Charlottesville Airport on Monday July 31st.  We flew to Atlanta and then on to Salt Lake City.  Flights went great.  Our plan was to have me drop them off at Mark's Mom's house and then meet Mark in Atlanta on Thursday to then fly to Rio De Janeiro together.  This is where things got tricky.  Due to some severe thunderstorms our flights getting to Rio looked bad.  Mark texted me Tuesday night asking if I could be ready to leave Wednesday (August 01st) instead of Thursday and fly to JFK to meet him and then fly to San Paulo instead.  He would need to find coverage for Wednesday night and would let me know if it happened but this was the only way we were going to make it Brazil in the planned timeline.  He called me Wednesday morning and said to go ahead and go to the airport.  Mark's Mom dropped me off and I headed to JFK.  Mark did find coverage and planned to meet me at JFK.  Unfortunately his flight from Richmond to JFK was canceled because of more thunderstorms.  The desk agent pointed out that he could get to San Paulo via Detroit and should make it but it would be tight.  I landed in NY and had over 5 hours before my flight was scheduled to leave.  I ate a leisurely dinner at the Shake Shake in the airport and had all kinds of time to kill before my flight left.  Mark did not have the same situation.  His seat from Richmond was one of the last rows and he had to wait for his bag that was gate checked.  He was majorly stressed.  He had less than 25 minutes to make it to his flight.  He got his bag and started hightailing it through the Detroit airport.  As he was on the escalator he actually ran into a friend of ours who lives there now.  It was crazy.  Mark explained as best he could as he ran by and our friend told him he had a place to stay that night if he needed it.  Not only was he worried about making the flight but also about what I was going to do or where I wold stay in NY if he didn't go to Brazil.  I am pretty comfortable traveling to new countries but did not really want to be in the airport waiting for him.  As I was waiting to see if he made his flight I read some reviews about the San Paulo Airport.  It did not look good.  Fortunately Mark got to his gate just in time.  The agents told him he just made it.  My flight was leaving after his and I was so relived to see he made it.  I was lucky enough to get Delta One for the flight out while Mark was in Comfort plus.  Still an upgrade for sure but I felt bad since he was the one working to make the flights possible.   We both arrived safely and lucky for me his flight arrived about 15 minutes before me so he was waiting for me at passport control.  

So we made it to Brazil but we were in the wrong city.  Brazil is huge and it is a 6-7 hour drive from San Paulo to Rio De Janeiro.  Not only were we in the wrong city we didn't have a place to stay that night and our rental car was going to be way more expensive than originally planned because we were not returning it to the same airport but you do what you gotta do.  Everyone of these trips has had some expense like that.  Its too bad we couldn't break our record with this one.  Well, except Canada.  Canada did not have any added expenses so yay Canada! 

Because we arrived a day early we needed to make a plan for that extra day.  We decided we would drive to Campinas which is an hour and a half away from San Paulo and stop by the temple.  We had talked about going to the San Paulo Temple but the Campinas temple has lodging on site and San Paulo has truly horrible traffic so we wanted to get out of there as soon as we could.  We drove to the temple, set up lodging there and then attended 2 sessions and did sealings.  It was great.  They have a cafeteria on site and a small place for breakfast at the lodging.  Mark was really happy to be in the temple with Brazilians and go through the temple work in Portuguese.  We met a group of members who were there from Brasilia which is 12 hours away.  They form a caravan and come to the temple for a week four times a year.  There is actually a temple being built in Brasilia currently which will be a great blessing for these Saints.  We were assigned different rooms in the lodging which was funny.  We each had a room with 8 bunk beds all to ourselves.  Since we had a long drive ahead of us we left around 8:00 Friday morning and dove to Petropolis an area of Mark's mission where he served for 6 months.  

The first of many stops for Pao de Queijo, or Brazilian Cheese Bread.  We didn't even make it out of the airport before we had to get some.  I love it so much.  

Our plan was to leave Rio De Janeiro Thursday the 09th (which is also Mark's birthday) and fly to Phoenix through Atlanta to meet Mark's mom with Jared and Lydia for Mark's nephew Zac's wedding.  We got to the airport with time to spare and as we were talking to the very friendly desk agent she dropped a bombshell on us.  While there were plenty of seats on this flight it was a flight with weight and balance restrictions.  Apparently most of the flights out of Rio to the states are this way.  It means that even if there are seats if the cargo is at a certain weight we will not be given seats and you won't know until they are boarding.  I had never heard of this but Mark had.  He did not know ahead of time that this flight was one of those and all the stress came oozing into him.  He jokes that stand by flying is like the machine in the movie Princess Bride that takes time off your life.  We made it to our gate and checked in with the agent.   I wanted one less serving on Brazilian Cheese bread so after we found some we settled in to wait.  I ate my bread and read my book while poor Mark stressed.   Finally our names were called and we even got Delta One seats.  Mark was so happy and relieved.  We made it to Atlanta and then onto the first flight to Phoenix.

We were so happy to see Jared and Lydia and relieved to know that they had no problems traveling with Sue, Mark's Mom.  Mark and I were in Phoenix for just over 24 hours.  By this time we were all ready to be home.  Especially Lydia, poor girl.  Lydia, Jared and I had not been home for just under 2 weeks.  They arrived in Phoenix with Sue around 10:00 on Thursday and we arrived Friday around 11:00.  We attended the sealing which was at 9:15 on Saturday and headed to the airport by 10:30 so we could make our 1:20 flight to Atlanta.  The flights were delayed out of Phoenix so the waiting game began again.  The original flight we wanted got pushed back to 3:00 and by the time you add the time difference from AZ to GA we would barely make the last flight of the day.  Luckily we did.  We tried to get on an earlier flight to Richmond that had been delayed but the gate agent had no idea what he was doing.  We were waiting with some other stand by people and none of us made the flight even though we were at the gate and there were seats left.  Mark was ticked.  To top it off once everyone was boarded we found out that we didn't have a pilot.  The assigned flight crew was not there so people were being asked to fill in.  We sat on the plane for at least 45 minutes waiting for the new pilot to arrived from Florida and then it was another 20 minutes before he had gone through all the pre flight checks.  Therefore we did not arrive in Richmond until after 2:00 in the morning.  So we got home around 3:30.  I somehow managed to stay awake and keep Mark company for the whole drive back.  He had meetings at 8:30 so he was pretty tired but we made it back in time!  Well he did.  Jared and Lydia were sleeping and I saw no need to wake them up.  They woke themselves up around 11:00 (when our ward starts) and we made it to the last 2 hours of church.  It was amazing that even if we didn't make it with our original plan we did make it there and back pretty close to when we wanted to.  This trip was most likely our last big international trip.  Mark thinks he will work through September to make sure all the exit fees are taken care of and then call it.  If there are openings I will most likely apply but even then we won't take any big trip for awhile.   It has been an unforgettable Summer!