The tropical sun

It's no secret, us Costa's love visiting the land where Berns hails from. Good ol' Braz-il holds some pretty wonderous things that include the most delectable treats and gorgeous flora and fauna. Being that our girls are part fish it also holds some glorious swim time.

"Shea, you live in Vegas and have swim time ALL summer"--ya ya ya. You HAVE to swim in Vegas cuz its so dang hot and you might melt into a pool of nothingness if you dont. Swimming surrounded by gorgeous Brazilian forests and greenery is simply relaxing.

Take a glance at the pics and relax vicariously through them....and then next time, just come visit with us.

Almost a decade

Riley turned 9 this year. For those of you clapping and hoorah-ing please stop now. This is not ok. 9. repeat: 9. That is almost a decade. That is ridiculous. My baby is no longer a baby. She reads. She comprehends. She KNOWS things...she's like...a person....a smart person. Usually smarter than I am. She spurts off random knowledgeable facts. She reads long chapter books in a matter of hours. She accessorizes. She comprehends. She can tie her own shoes, ride her own bike, make her own breakfast, lunch, and if needed, dinner.

She is busting out of the seams of childhood.

And

its

not

ok.

However--all of the above stated is why she is such a remarkable young lady. She is special and glamorous and enrapturing. She makes me proud to be her momma.

We were in Brazil for her birthday this year. This girl sure does get lucky when it comes to getting birthdays in Brazil. We did a small celebration on her actual birthday with goodies in the morning, presents, and a dinner that evening. When Berns came to Brazil a few weeks later she got a huge "Brazilian style" party along with cousin Julia, and Zoie and Bia since they weren't in Brazil for their birthday (pictures to be posted later.)

I'm so glad she's my little girl and such a great example to her younger siblings. Love you little lady.

Grandma Ceriz bought her the ENTIRE set of Harry Potter....this girl was in paradise

Opening something marvelous I'm sure.

The morning goodie basket courtesy of auntie Nini--go ahead, drool over the Guarana.

The usual Riley face.

Goodies+Birthday=Big Grins

Her very own sarong so she could stop stealing mine.

Bagunca

She made this mess all by herself.....*sigh*.....

Gold Rush

Ms. Roo started the 4th grade this year. However, I think they placed her wrong. I believe by the way she carrys herself and walks around like a human encylcopedia she is well on her way to graduating high school.
Everything the little miss does has to be fancy. There are moments when she comes downstairs after getting dressed and I am not too sure if a 9 year old just walked down the stairs, or a 90 year old--the girl likes frill, gold, lace, more gold, and leopard print, and big ugly flowers. man oh man.
I adore this little ball of personality. I'm so happy she sticks to who she is and not who everyone wants her to be. Because of that I let her wear the gacho pants with a leopard print jacket pinned at the top with a fake diamond broach and brown horse riding boots on the bottom.....*most excellant*

For the first day of school she toned it down quite a bit. It's quite normal infact. Granted I'm not a fan of the floral leggings, but what do I know about style. She did manage to squeeze in the gold (look at the feet) and adorned one of her fingers with a "diamond"--awww, gotta love this fashion diva.

Love you Roo. Thanks for making fashion so....sparkly.