But I don't FEEL dirty

Mia with her cousins Macy, Ana and Abi

Ava and Mia playing with Macy at the beach

Macy, Mia, Ana and Ava

Ella

Our family has been enjoying Lake Michigan for the past week. Our girls prefer the small waves and salt free water to the beaches we've been to in Brazil. It may help also that their cousins are here.

We continue to experience new things with our girls. Or at least it feels like new things. Brin and I are impressed with how clean everything is here. I found that I didn't automatically feel dirty every night at bedtime, so I've had to force myself to take showers. My inner dialog sounds something like this: "Ok, I know it's bedtime, but I don't feel dirty"... "You know, you really should take a shower anyway"... "But I feel so clean, I didn't even sweat today!"... "Yeah, but it's kind of a courtesy to others"... "Maybe I can just go in the bathroom and turn the shower on so everyone thinks I'm showering"... "Good idea! You're a genius"... "I know".

Brin, the other day, said, "I can't believe how clean it is here!". Now keep in mind, this is after a week of living in a house with 3 families and 10 kids. It was really not all that clean, as you can imagine. She's had similar conversations with herself about whether or not a particular piece of clothing needs to be washed, even though it doesn't look dirty.
Please don't think we have hygiene issues. It's just that we feel really clean here.

Our first few days

Mia and Ava with their cousins Ana and Macy.

waiting for fireworks

It's been a whirlwind the last few days. Our girls meet their cousins for the first time (Sonya and Dave adopted their girls about a month after we left for Brazil). We watched 4th of July fireworks for the first time in 2 years. Ava was so impressed that she felt like she was going to cry and that she was convinced that Jesus was there.

We've not been without our adjustments, Mia, through tears, expressed that everything was different (mainly my parents home). She seemed to have a memory about a small pool that grandma no longer had... very traumatic.

Ride on the backs of Sting Rays through amber waves of grain

I'm writing this in our hotel room in Miami. We got in at about 2:00 am last night. It seems the arrival to America was a bit anti-climatic for Mia and Ava. I think they had envisioned "America" as being were grandpa and grandma and other such known entities were. Needless to say, Miami International Airport didn't seem much different than where we had already been - other than the clean bathrooms with toilets that flush by themselves (as reported by Ella to her sisters).

During our overnight in a hotel in Manaus, we overheard Ella telling he sisters that "in America you can ride Sting Rays like horses". I'm really not sure where she got that tidbit of information, but I think she was talking about Sea Rays (not the pain-inflicting Sting Rays that we are constantly on the look out for at beaches in Brazil). Anyway, the younger girls, with their fading memories and Ella's less than accurate description, are no doubt very confused about this place we keep referring to.

Other observations from our girls:

(Arriving in the big city of Manaus) Ella: "Is there an I-POT here?" After some inquisition we learned that she was referring to IHOP (the restaurant).

(In the hotel in Miami) Ella: "Mom, can we walk barefoot to breakfast so we can feel the carpet on our feet?"

We witnessed Ava and Mia delighting in the discovery of two options in the shower and sinks (cold AND hot).