Brazilian Christmas!

For Christmas this year, Christa and I were able to go down to Brazil to spend time with my parents. We could not have asked for a greater contrast in the weather as we left a bitter New England winter to warm, sunny summer in Sao Paulo. To aid in the contrast, the day before our flight a huge storm came through, covering everything in a thick layer of snow!

One overnight flight later and half a world away... paradise!

For the first week, we stayed at a nice beach-side hotel a few hours outside of the city! Nothing like spending time with those you love in the place you love to let your law school worries slowly ebb away. Walking in the warm water, drinking Guarana, playing ultimate in the sand... heaven on earth! Christa loved the warm weather, the laid back atmosphere and Brazil's endless variety of exotic fruits.



After the beach, we came back to Mom and Dad's apartment in Sao Paulo. They live in a rather large complex complete with soccer courts where we had some intense games of ultimate with some of the American families from the ward.
Exciting news: it looks like we might get to do it all over again this summer! I interviewed with a New York law firm's office there in Sao Paulo and they have offered us a position in Brazil for this summer! We feel so blessed as we see the Lord's hands in our lives. We're praying now that Heavenly Father can help everything work out with Christa's job and we'll be able to spend three more months in beautiful Brazil!

Primary Party

Rob and I feel like one of the main reasons we were able to come here to Harvard is for the Primary Class we've been called to teach. We teach a class of 8-11 year olds with really awesome kids. These pictures are from a primary pizza party we had at our house. 10 kids in our little living room was pretty exciting!


We love Saskia and Naphtalie, 2 girls from a Haitian family baptized a year ago. They are so inquisitive and bright. They really keep life interesting with their questions and comments. We also teach a girl named Daniella who, when her mom gave her the choice, decided she wanted to attend the Mormon church (her grandparents are members) and so has been coming to church on her own every sunday. The two newest members of our class are Tristan and Kar who just moved here from Las Vegas. They haven't been active in a while but are so excited to be back in primary!

It's neat to distinctly feel Heavenly Father's love for these kids every Sunday when we teach them. We really love them and probably learn more from their simple faith each week than they do from us! Primary is awesome!

At The Head of the Charles Regatta

At the end of every October, Cambridge hosts the Head of the Charles Regatta. Hundreds of boats race up and down the Charles River to the cheers of thousands of spectators. Bands play, and vendors have booths set up on the banks of the river where you can play games, get some fun free samples and eat fried dough, hot dogs, and good bbq. The whole town looks forward to the event every year.
We're lucky enough to live right across the street from the Charles River. So, Saturday afternoon Rob and I stepped outside the house and began a leisurely stroll down Memorial Drive to participate in the festivities.
As I'm sure you can see, it was a beautiful fall afternoon, the emotions were running high, and a fun time was had by all. :)