Cousin Time in Rio!

Earlier this month, we had very special visitors: our family from Del Rio!  I can't even tell you how excited Isla and I were to see our cousins, Isabela and Sofia - here in Rio de Janeiro!

We packed a lot of fun into two weeks, but also had a great time just hanging out at home.

Isla sure does love her Uncle Monroe (who she sometimes just calls, "Daddy." Guess it's easier!

Here, in Rio, we walked along the beach, and saw some of the popular sites, like the Corcovado.

  The Big People did a lot of this...

Then, we took a flight down to the southern-most point of Brazil, to see the famous Iguaçu Falls.  We took a little tour train through the jungle to get to the trails over the Falls.

At that point, Isla wasn't too sure she was going to cooperate!

But, she got "on board."

Daddy giving me a boost for a better view

It's hard to describe the majesty of the Falls!

To be fair, we also went to the Argentinian side of the Falls.  There were tons of bridges and walkways over the river and Falls, but I was probably most excited about all the butterflies!

 

 

 By the end of that day, we had lost half our crew...

 

The next day, we headed to my favorite kind of place: a bird park!

 Imagine any kind of exotic, feathered friend - it was there!

Careful, those macaws have sharp talons!

 We wrapped up our tour with a visit to the beautiful city of Curitiba, also known as the "Green Capital" of Brazil, because of all the lovely parks. 

 We headed back to Rio, and before we knew it, our time together was over. We had a wonderful time with our cousins, and can't wait to see them again - probably in Texas!