SO EXCITED

I AM SO EXCITED! I JUST BOOKED MY TICKET TO AMSTERDAM TO SEE ANDRA IN NOVEMBER!!!! THANK YOU AMAZING AIRLINE MILES!! CANNOT WAIT!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM

Dear Mom,

I hope you have a fantastic birthday full of fun gifts and pampering (hmmm....wishful thinking after considering who you live with...). Looking forward to seeing you next week!

Love,
Gina

Officially Oficially

Three cheers for me - I have FINALLY sent in my paperwork, photos, payment to the Department of State to officially officially become Gina Rogers on my passport. It only took 13 months. Ha!

It's a Twista!

For those of you who don't know, I LOVE the movie "Twister". Today, we kinda got to experience our own real life "Twister" - minus Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton. A funnel cloud was spotted a few miles north of our house - Brian happened to bust out the ol' Nikon D80 to capture the moment (above). I was debating the crawl space vs. the downstairs bathroom for shelter...luckily we don't even know if it touched ground, let alone hit our house. We also got some crazy thunder and lightning AND hail (about half inch in diameter).

Brazil Photos

Way too many to post on the blog....visit this site to see them all!

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/sredir?uname=gina.michelle.rogers&target=ALBUM&id=5342931215407585025&authkey=Gv1sRgCJXSpO7hwInOZQ&invite=CNbr8fwJ&feat=email

Live Footage: Brazil

About halfway through our trip, I remembered my camera had video capabilities! So here are a few clips of our trip.

Iguassu Falls (below)

Tribal Dance in Indigenous Village (below)

Brian touching the ants on the tree - gross (above).

Brian picking up a really big turtle in the jungle (below) - sorry it's a sideways video.

Mama monkey and her baby munching away on bananas (below)

Me and the baby monkey....I look really nasty, but this experience was awesome (below).

Feeding the caimans (below)

Iguassu Falls

Tomorrow morning on a 6am flight (barf) we leave for Manaus with a connection in Sao Paolo. Iguassu Falls was phenomenal. Saw the falls from every angle possible - including from a boat underneath them.

Have approximately 10 bug bites and havent even gotten to the Amazon yet. Fell in love with a snack here called Pao de Quiejo. Little bread rolls filled with cheese, served warm. Have picked up a few phrases/words in Portuguese.

Still seeing super steep wheelchair ramps. Very odd.

Last but certainly not least....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALIA-MAMALIA!!!!