Visita dos Trope-Porto: Francisco, Antonio, Paula e Ricardo

[English summarized version is found in italic and small font]

Dezembro foi MUITO especial...
Tivemos a alegria de termos a visita dos Trope-Porto: Francisco, Antonio, Paula e Ricardo - durante duas semanas, incluindo o Natal. Foi uma alegria incalculavel para todos nos... Be e Guga ficaram bem chororo com a despedida dos primos, neste ultimo domingo.
[December was a very special month... We had the visit of the Trope-Porto family: Francisco, Antonio, Ricardo and Paula - for two weeks, including X-mas. Bernardo and Gustavo are feeling lonely and nostalgic after their cousins said goodbye yesterday.]

Sentir saudade e' um aprendizado, e para quem vive longe, e' um aprendizado constante e interminavel.

As fotos desta visita foram inumeras, e aqui temos apenas uma gostinho delas. Vale a pena reviver esses momentos, que incluiram "tubing" na neve, patinacao, jogo de futebol entre familias no Newtown Park, fogueira no patio de tras da nossa casa, visitas a diversas atracoes de Atlanta (GA Aquarium, Fernbank, World of Coca-cola, e Stone Mountain) e muita brincadeira entre os primos dentro de casa. Esses dias vao ficar na memoria para sempre!

Todas as fotos abaixo podem ser vistas @ Stella's Facebook account.
[All the pictures listed in the links below were originally posted in Stella's Facebook account.]

• Momentos diversos
• Traveling to NC in search of some snow
• Snow in NC (although it was fake, it was good enough!)
• X-mas day in Alpharetta

Bernardo's b-day celebrations (MD and GA)

Bernardo knows well how to get around the fact that his b-day is always during Thanksgiving holiday: he gets two parties!

This year he had a great celebration in the Kentlands (MD ) on the exact b-day (11/26) with friends from Rachel Carson ES: Robert, Liam, Andy, Herrick and Alvand (Kate was our special guest), and Gustavo had the treat of his special friend Jackson. He got movie (Bolt - not great..) and Star Diners, with dessert of brownie and ice cream. The kids had a lot of fun, and the Star Diners' manager finally asked us to leave given the high decibels and the buzz...

See the slideshow here:


Or click on the picture below and visit the Picasa album:

Bernardo's b-day (MD)

Then he had his GA party this past Saturday (12/6), with McCall, Mikey, Dario and Alejandra. A full sleepover, which started with dinner at Ruby Tuesdays, and ended with breakfast and outside play. See the pictures here:



or go to the link here, clicking on the image below:

Bernardo's b-day (GA)

It's a New Day... Yes we did!

The day of Nov. 4th was tense, we worked in South Atlanta on GOTV starting 6:30 am. Here are some pictures of the volunteer staging area: Facebook album here.

Wayne and I went home around 3:00 pm. Then the stress started.

Then there was the night of Nov. 4th... Votes only started being counted at 6:00 pm. I was glued to the TV, and some early states were turned blue and red immediately. I knew GA was not going to turn blue, but I see our pressure increasing the popular vote, which in the end brings legitimacy. At 8:00 pm, VA was not looking too good, but it was only 2% counted...Good grief! I knew we had gained Pennsylvania, so things were definitely looking good, but one never knows... Dems are used to watching GOPs steal the election, so we're all paranoid! We finally left to Ruth's house... It was great to see everyone there! Then there came news about Ohio! Oh, my... I did not think Obama would carry Ohio! Yes, we were getting there, we were getting there.

Then came Virginia... Yes, yes, yes! So, finally we had all the confirmed blues of the east and midwest, and we were sitting there just waiting for the closing polls in CA, OR and WA. What a great, great moment! Then, there came the CNN anchor - Wolf Blitzer declaring it final! Obama was now the 44th president-elect!



And my tears came down like a waterfall... I still feel like crying when I remember that moment. I feel so proud, so proud of the American people...

Yes we did! Yes we did!

Then his speech, which I'm still not tired of listening



Yes, it is a new day....



I'm still attached to all my Obama gear, the passion continues...

HAPPY B-DAY, Deb!!

Dear Deb -

happy birthday from all of us... Sad we can't be with you today! We would certainly come by for a quick glass of wine, even though it is Monday. But, since we can't do that, here is a great memory from a recent moment of all of us together. Cheers to you on this special day!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!!

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Roller skating at the Cooler

After moving to Alpharetta, we have adopted skating as another family activity at the Cooler in Alpharetta. Wayne and I are back on the skates (or roller blades) after MANY MANY years. Estivemos la' recentemente com a visita do Maga...

Here is a slide show:


Or follow the link to our Picasa album:

Roller skating...

Recent summer moments...

Although school has started (unfortunately) we still have some summer-fun photos.

We start with a glimpse of something we did a lot this summer: ride our bikes.

See the pictures here:


Or follow the link of the Picasa album:

On our bikes...

This past weekend we went for another visit to the Georgia Aquarium, which is for sure a must here in Atlanta. (Tinhamos que apresentar o aquario ao Maguinha, que esta' aqui nos visitando!)

See the photos here:


Or follow the link to the Picasa album:

Goergia Aquarium (August 17, 2008)

Right after the Aquarium we crossed the street to the Centennial Olympic Park, and there we had a blast with the Fountain of the Rings and its Dancing Waters.

See the photos here:


Or follow the link to the Picasa album:

Centennial Olympic Park (August 17, 2008)

June-July 2008 photos

June and July were busy months for the Porto-Moreira family! See some of our new albums below...

Early June, Stella was in Oldenburg for MDE meetings and then in Lisbon (finally for the first time) to participate in the Annual EDEN conference.

See the slideshow here:


Or visit the Picasa album by clicking below:

EDEN 2008 Annual conference - Lisbon

We also had some fun with the new creation at Stone Mountain, called Sky Hike. The lines were LONG, but it was totally worth while, see photos here...

In late June, Stella traveled to MD for the US-China forum in DE, and the rest of the Porto-Moreira clan joined her on July 3rd for a short holiday with their best friends in the Kentlands: The Mitchells. It was a great visit, and we celebrated the 4th of July with Brazilian Style, eating 'Picanha', Farofa' and 'Molho a campanha'... Last night of our visit we had dinner at Addie's in Rockville. Super nice!

See slideshow here:


Or follow the link to the Picasa photo album:

July in Maryland

Back in Atlanta, we had our first Georgian trip, and we drove to Savannah and Tybee Island for some summer fun. We did Jet Skiing, visited the historic Savannah with the trolley and spent some time at the beach in Tybee.

View slideshow here:



Or follow the link to Picasa photo album...

Savannah and Tybee Island

August is close ahead, and we're trying to squeeze as much as possible in the last few days of summer vacation...

End of School Year Party - 2008 - Hartridge

So one more school year is over...

For us, it was the first time at the Hartridge subdivision and it was really a surprise and a lot of joy!

This is just a glimpse of the afternoon, as the bus from Hillside arrived at the McKay's home. We recorded much more, and the McKay's actually received a full-blown video of the event. Here is our blog's snippet...

Memorial Day Cookout

Here are some great pics from our Memorial Day Cookout with Stockley's and Ayala's



or choose to see the album here:

New Album 6/1/08 10:25 PM

Parabens, Manuela

Ola' minha querida! Parabens pelo dia de hoje...

Fiquei pensando muito o que podia colocar aqui no blog para voce. (Ate me disseram que voce gosta muito de uns tais "Rebeldes", mas a tia nao teve coragem de colocar tal coisa aqui... De repente quando voce tiver o seu blog, tais melodias, rolam, ne? )

Mas, tive uma ideia de algo MUITO COOL!

O seu presente de 13 anos vai acontecer quando voce vier nos visitar, esta' guardado, e nao perde a validade. Veja so'...



Pois e'... Seu presente e' ir ver o show do Cirque du Soleil - La Nouba em Orlando. Esta' prometido! O show deles e' fixo em Orlando, e e' o mais bonito que ja vi ate hoje.

Entao, tai'... ta' dado o presente, so precisamos marcar!

beijos de todos nos para voce!

Parabens, Antonio!

Ola' Antonio...
Lembramos de voce e se fosse possivel queriamos estar na sua comemoracao! Aniversario lembra a gente daquelas bolas coloridas de encher, e ai encontramos essa maneira divertida de te dizer PARABENS!

beijos da tia Stella, tio Wayne, Bernardo e Gustavo!

Bernardo em seu primeiro recital...

Dessa vez conseguimos gravar o Bezinho tocando... seu primeiro recital no ultimo dia 18 de Maio. No video abaixo ele toca duas musicas, e a Prof. Raisa Parmentier e' a que faz a introducao de cada aluno.

Parabens, Caco!

Querido Caco,
ja estava ficando meio repetitivo a gente atras da camera do computador dizendo parabens, ne'? Entao aqui vai um modo mais divertido de te desejar felicidades para o seu niver! Estamos daqui de longe mandando mil beijinhos e desejando que o ano nos traga muitas outras visitas suas!

E aqui segue a musiquinha...

Finally, pictures from the Mitchell's visit

In late March, during the Easter weekend, we were so lucky to have the visit of our wonderful neighbors from the Kentlands, MD. We had two and some extra hours to talk, play and laugh... We are so looking forward to another of these visits from them. It made us miss them even more!

Here are some snapshots of those great moments...


or you can follow the link to the Picasa album here:

Mitchell's visit

A visita do "Cometa Caco"...

Foi super corridinho, mas que visita mais gostosa foi a do tio Caco a nossa casa aqui em Alpharetta. Aqui esta' um slide show com fotos desses dois dias:



Ou siga o link para acesso direto as fotos:

Visita do Caco

Our first cruise...

Long time no see... It has been some time without any posts here, but this does not reflect lack of activity in the Porto-Moreira household...

Late March we were SO happy to have the Mitchell's here with us... It was three days of pure joy, trying to squeeze in all the sites that we enjoy, and which we wanted to share with our best neighbors ever. Pictures will be forthcoming...

In April, for spring break, we went our first cruise on the Carnival boat - Inspiration, visiting western Caribbean. 5 clear nights and 4 1/2 days filled with sun... How lucky we were with the weather! We have a never ending stream of pictures, but here is just a taste of it:


Here you will find a slideshow from our wonderful trip:


Or link directly to the photos here:

Cruise photos

Bernardo shines at the AMTA MusicFest

AMTA stands for Atlanta Music Teachers Association, to which Bernardo's teacher (Raisa Parmentier) belongs.

Bezinho esta' de parabens! Atingiu o grau maximo em sua primeira apresentacao de piano feita para um juiz...

Bernardo had his first experience in a formal piano presentation in front of a judge at the AMTA Music Fest this past Saturday, March 8th. He played two songs that were evaluated by the judge separately. And he shined... He achieved an overall grade of Superior+, being Superior the highest mark. The comments from the judge (Nancy East) included: "Accurate rhythm", "Dynamic contrast well done", "Captured the mood of the piece very well" and "You have a lot of talent". The songs he played were:

• With a Yo ho ho, by Catherine Rollin, and
• A Bagatelle, by Diabelli
  

Parabens, Francisco! Beijos de nos todos para voce...

Parabens para o Pim!

Pim, parabens! Daqui mandamos mil beijinhos pelo dia de hoje... Voce merece!

Amazing caves at the Fernbank...

The Fernbank museum surprised us again today with an incredible IMAX movie, called the Journey into Amazing Caves. It was a surprise to all of us what it really meant to be a "caver", and the frightening experience of diving and swimming in rivers inside caves. Here is the site created by one of the cavers - Nancy - in the movie: http://www.nancy4caves.net/. She reports on her expeditions and establishes great rapport with her 2nd graders... The boys had a lot of fun as usual.

Lilian, parabens!

Our first video on YouTube...

And bear with us, the quality is not excellent - just really a sequence of photos from fun times in our backyard.

Having fun on the trampoline in our backyard.

At the Fernbank again and again...

We just got home from one the places here in Atlanta that we love the most: the Fernbank Museum of Natural History. They have a new exhibit about animals that are active in the dark, but since we got there late, we had very little time for the exhibit, so we could watch their wonderful iMax movie called Africa: the Serengeti. Fantastic and completely inspiring. We became members of the Fernbank right after relocating here, and this was a wise choice. The Ponce de Leon area hides this one extra jewel.

Duke Ellington's Cat @ Center for Puppetry Arts

We went this afternoon for the first time to the Center of Puppetry Arts here in Atlanta...

What a great place! Besides the exhibitions (which are extremely rich) they had the puppet show called Duke Ellington’s cat, telling Duke Ellington’s story having the cat as the narrator...REALLY (really) good!

One can find a few videos here. However, for this kind of performance, there is nothing like the sheer live experience. The artists are competent and engaging. After the show itself, they come out of their black clothing and show the audience how they manipulate the variety of puppets used in the show. It was a real learning experience. Children learn about puppetry and about Duke Ellington in an exciting way.


There is an exhibition on Jim Henson puppetry, and I smiled continuously remembering my childhood days of watching Sesame Street. We immediately became members of the Center!

Lagoa, Lagoa, Lagoa...

A Lagoa (Rodrigo de Freitas) foi mesmo um ponto altissimo nas nossas ferias...
Apesar do transito terrivel por causa da Arvore de Natal do Bradesco,
foi um prazer passar tardes ensolaradas no parque dos Patins e noites vagarosas nos quiosques...







Decidimos ir ver a arvore de perto...
Bernardo e Guga se preparam para andar no barquinho a motor.




E eis aqui a arvore bem de pertinho...



Conseguimos juntar tanta gente na Lagoa... virou referencia para encontros de multiplas geracoes.

Welcome 2008!

We all had great fun in the all time favorite New Year's party at Isa's house...
It has also become a tradition for us too. Thanks, Isa for your hospitality and friendship... You're an incredible host!



I should not forget Walter (Scotty), who was also a great host and DJ...
His white New Year's shoes are also a tradition!



This time including our dear friends from New York: Claudia, Gonzalo and (little) Dani.



Claudia and Stella finally had some time to chit-chat.
Obviously, not enough due to the lack of privacy! The photographer was everywhere...



Isa told me that red was 'this year's color'...
Thanks to a hand-me-down, I was wearing the right color! Thanks, Paula...
2008 will be a great year for all of us!

Macuco Rio: Boat ride

Recent photos from a beautiful boat ride in the Rio de Janeiro bay past December. It was great to get away from the winter at home and visit our home town - the marvelous city of Rio.