The Raynors

Tonight Harper, Simone, me and Dave watched Lilo and Stitch huddled around Simone's MacBook eating stove-top prepared popcorn. It made me miss Hawaii. It also made me miss the wonderful Raynor family. Today, out of nowhere Harper sighed nostalgically and said "I love Parker". My eyes welled with tears. It's hard to think that our time in Hawaii has come to an end. Harper and Parker have truly been more inseparable than any two year old best friends could be. They've gone from boozing babies to beach babes.

On more than one occasion, we've watched Parker lean over and tell Harper "I best friend" (which we assume translates to "You're my best friend"), or witnessed Harper put her arm around Parker to say "I miss you Parker". We've even walked into a room while they were watch a movie together, to find Parker's head on Harper's lap while she gently stroked her friends' hair.

And just as compatible as Harper and Parker are, me and Lindsay have grown to be each other's other half in a way that's as extreme as it gets before crossing the line to lesbianism. It's a platonic love, but one so deep that I can't imagine living a normal life without her. Ok, maybe we're gay for each other. But only emotionally.

Yeeaaah I guess the bathrobe photo is a bit suspicious. That picture is from a girls' day that will have to be a blog post of its own. Let's just say it started with a groupon for a spa day and turned into a Vietnamese nudist bathhouse. Again, another post for another day... So to quell my own nostalgia and to make use of all these great Harper n Parker photos that have just been sitting idly in a folder on my desktop, I'm going to barrage this post with cute photos of the duo. I might cry as I do.

And of course this post wouldn't be complete without an honorable and much deserved shout-out to Matty, who let me steal his wife away from him on many a Friday and Saturday to escape the shackles of Laie and stresses of motherhood. I miss you guys.

Brazilian Wildlife

Hey! Guess what? We saw a sloth today. It was pretty awesome. Harper was napping and Rivs and I were reading on the deck couch when Dave burst through the front door excitedly yelling something about a sloth in a wheelbarrow. Dead? Alive? Stuffed? I didn't know. But it was definitely too interesting a claim to dismiss, so I matched his enthusiasm and hurriedly told Rivs to follow me. I debated waking Harper from her slumber, but considering her possessed Emily Rose-like demeanor she adopts when woken from a nap, I decided against it (for the sloth's sake, of course). Rivs and I followed Dave up the dirt road not really knowing what to expect. What we found was a literal manifestation of Dave's earlier ecstatic proclamation: it was a sloth in a wheelbarrow. Apparently a couple of the local boys who work on the eco lodge grounds saw him slowly crossing the dirt path and coaxed him into the wheelbarrow with a big stick. When we approached him, he sat like Buddah, relaxed with his arms folded and legs outstretched, but attentively following our every movement with his head that could do a 360. Really. It was a pretty amazing experience to be so close to such a wild and endangered animal. I felt bad that Harper couldn't witness it, but I figured she would have been so upset to not be allowed to cuddle it that it was for everyone's own good. Then, as we were leaving, Naco (the old telepathic artist who was laughing hysterically at our fascination with the sloth) invited us to see his sculptures. In the 5 minutes we were in his home, he professed to be the pope, invoked the goddess of Kindness, and informed us that he doesn't sleep because he has transcended fatigue. Then he gave Rivs a hug, blew me kisses and sent us on our way. I love that guy. Oh- we also saw monkeys this morning. They hang out over at our neighbor Chris' house, who runs a save-the-rainforest NGO. They were tiny little monkeys with ringed tails and white around their faces. Harper loved watching them scurry up the trees.

This is a photo from the beach we went to yesterday. You have to cross an ocean-river intersection to get to the 20 miles of untouched beach, so Simone and Bailey kayaked across,Rivs paddle boarded and me and Harp paid a guy 3$ to row us in a tiny wooden "lancha", or canoe. It was awesome to be so secluded but to be able to look across the water to the town of Itacare.

Uncle Dave went fishing yesterday. He caught an 80lb tuna, but gave it to the boat captain. He saved a few smaller ones for us, and Harper had a hard time understanding why they weren't moving. Sorry Harp. They're dead and in our bellies.

Arte Na Mata

Let me just preface this post by saying that we absolutely love living at Arte Na Mata eco lodge in Itacare. Our cabin is clean and cozy. We have a deck that overlooks the jungle, a river and the ocean. We live next door to Dave and Simone, the greatest hosts and companions. There are two fun women that come to our house every morning to cook us breakfast. We live down the street from Naco, an elderly artist who is a telepath from another planet. Actually, today he was Pinnochio and Rivers was an "amante"-or-lover of many women. He has a kiln in his house and makes ceramic sculptures all day. I'm starting to believe his stories. We are 5 minutes away from some of the most beautiful beaches set within the colorful and friendly Brazilian cultural landscape. Still, there are those few laughable discrepancies that come with living in a rustic paradisaical landscape (remember the annoying Costa Rican toucans?) I feel like I should mention a few so that I can remember them one day when our future children haze Harper for having lived in such tropical places while they will most likely be raised in boring America (no offense, U S of A). That way I can have a few tales of woe for them, just to balance the scale a bit. 1. The eco lodge is solar powered. Today it was raining. There was no power. I'm just starting to realize how creative one must be without the crutch of Yo Gabba Gabba or Disney to distract a toddler when it's raining. My trick so far: lots of play-dough and lots of forts. 2. The dirt road to the lodge is so bumpy and steep that you have to gun it in first gear in the 1-wheel drive Fiat in order to get traction. Rivers got stuck yesterday. We had to coast backwards in neutral at a 75 degree decline and make a second attempt. Luckily Harper found it amusing, raising her arms in the air and screaming "woooo hooooo!" I think we have a daredevil on our hands.... 3. It turns out that the squeaking noises Rivs and I have been hearing at night are emanating from a gang of bats that have decided to make their nest (or lair, or headquaters, or whatever bat homes are called) in our ceiling (which is also the inside of our roof). So far no nocturnal dive bombing, but I'll keep you posted on that. I'm expecting it at some point. Again, Harper loves the fact that we have bats living in our house. She'll stop, shine a flashlight on one of the sleeping creatures and say "Nanananana BATMAN!" 4. There are poisonous things here. Pretty much anything with teeth or pincers here also has some ghastly poison coursing through its body. Harper got bit today and I was convinced by the extent of her scream and pained expression (and shaking) that she had been stung by a scorpion or attacked by a spider. My initial instinct was to catch the creature so I could bring it to the hospital where doctors would undoubtedly extract its venom and create an antidote. Turns out it was an ant. Don't worry, she's fine. Her thumb swelled to a sizable girth, but Aunt Simone came to the rescue with topical Benadryl and some orange soda. Problem solved. Later, Dave informed me that he has some anti-snake venom lying around, just in case. Phewf. Really these are just things that enrich our experience here. It's feels like we're living a dream in this part of the world. I don't think Harper has picked up a toy since we've arrived (other than play-dough). Rivs is busy helping Dave with managing the lodge and harvesting fruit. I'm enjoying spending time with Simone, playing with Harper and lounging by the pool while she naps. This is how Rivs harvests coconuts. He later took of his shirt and asked if he looked like a Spartan. Yes, Rivs. You look just like Gerard Butler in that scene in 300 where his troops are parched, and the general grabs his trusty coconut lance to get to the fruits' sweet nectar. a

I guess this is that scene where the Spartan feeds some warrior animals. ( Must have been in the bonus material/deleted scenes)

This is Harper swimming with some fishing lures. Don't worry, Uncle Dave de-hooked them beforehand.

The storm a-coming.

Rainy day fun on the deck

Latest discovery: Harper loves Acai. Can you tell?

Latin America Part II: Brazil

Even though it took us 72 hours to get here, Itacare has been well worth the trip. We started with a 9 hour flight from Hawaii to Chicago, followed by a 12 hour layover in Chicago. Initially we were planning on finding a park and playing chess with homeless savantes to pass the time, but the weather forecast said 48 degrees, so we opted for a cheap car rental and a day at the Chicago Children's museum at the Navy Pier. Even though Rivs and I were running on about 3 hours of much-interrupted sleep, Harper had restfully slept the entire 9 hour flight, so she was ready to dig for dinosaur bones and hunt for butterflies at the museum. Rivs and I took turns sitting in toddler sized chairs to rest our weary bodies, knowing that there would be 2 more nights of sleepless travel. The second flight from Chicago to Sao Paolo was much better in terms of sleepability, since I slept on the floor (yes, at River's feet) while Harper took up both her seat and my own. Rivs industriously build a tent over Harper out of the blue thin airline blankets to shield the fight attendants' eyes from the woman sleeping in the fetal position at her husbands' feet, her head resting on a Brobee pillow. Just try to wake me up and make me sit in my seat, Ms. United Airlines. Just try it. The rest of the trip to Salvador airport was effortless, as Harper slept through both flights, including the one hour layover in between. Dave and Simone were waiting for us as we landed in Salvador, and checked us into an amazing hotel with A/C-and most importantly-a bed. Sleeping fully extended was amazing, let me tell you. The next day we set out for a 7 hour car ride from Salvador to our final destination of Itacare, which is right on the central coast of Brazil. It was dark when we arrived, but the next morning we opened our bedroom doors to this sight. Yes, the trip was definitely worth the discomfort and lack of sleep.

Harper has been in Heaven since getting here, although we've had to sternly warn her that the palm-sized "bird-eating-spider" (true story) was not to be cuddled, and the hissing 2 foot long lizard probably didn't want to be held. Luckily there are two cats, a dog and a horse for Harper to pet and annoy to divert her attention from the plethora of deadly and dangerous fauna. This is Bailey, Simone's amazing rescue Pitbull that is totally Ok with Harper following her around and trying to ride on her back.

And this is Simone and Dave on a motorcycle "walking" their horse down the street. Why not?

I think we're going to like this place. A lot.