Soaking Up Some Sun

Last week we enjoyed a relaxing (for the most part) family beach trip with Tiago's parents, in the Florianopolis (Floripa) area. Just for fun, I decided that I would describe our experiences there with some, err, I guess you could say statistics:

Bedrooms in our rental beach house = 3 (Thank goodness, Lissie had her own room!)

Central Air Unit(s) in said house = 0 (but the ceiling fans helped some)

Nights spent in said house = 11

Number of nights a certain toddler woke up in the middle of the night to throw up, and did not go back to sleep for several more hours = 3 (Poor little thing!  The strange part - they were not even 3 consecutive nights.)

Mosquito bites I received over the 11 days = about 100 (Why, oh why do they love my blood so much?!?!)

Delicious meals cooked by my in-laws = about 20!  (Okay, I wasn't really counting how many times they cooked, but they really are awesome chefs!)

Board games/dice games/card games played = 20 (Ticket to Ride was by far the most-played; other games included Starfarers of Catan, Killer Bunnies, Dominion, and Greed.  Tiago was the overall game champion, winning about 10 of the 20.)

Viewings of the movie Lilo & Stitch = at least 1000

Requested viewings of Lilo & Stitch = about 1,000,000 (Yeah, Tiago REALLY likes that movie. ;))

Sandcastles built = 2 attempts, none completed (We were becoming rather skilled at making mounds of sand though!)

Minutes Lissie spent on her grandparents' laps/in their arms = (Let's see, 60/hour x 24 hrs/day, - time sleeping...) I'll just go with about 10,000.

Vendors passing by on the beach = a LOT

Some items available for purchase from wandering beach vendors:  (I include this part because I was surprised by the variety of items for sale and how much money was spent while sitting in the sand, soaking up sun by the shore.)

Popsicles/ice cream on sticks

grilled cheese (NOT the sandwich, just blocks of mozzarella cheese on skewers)

corn on the cob

swimsuit cover-ups (Is that what we call them in English?  The little dresses or shirts that we wear over our bathing suit to and from the beach.  Here they are saida(s) da praia, or "beach exit".)

strapless bikini tops (I didn't notice any bottoms, but I can't imagine the guy NOT having some for sale as well.)

sunglasses

blankets & hammocks (probably hand-woven)

"agua de coco" still inside a chilled green coconut (to drink)

pineapples

fruit salad & cocktails

hats

kites

innertubes & inflatable rafts

paddles & rubber balls for beach paddle ball game

churros (chocolate- & doce de leite-filled)

homemade jewelry (beads & woven string mainly)

By the end of the trip, I would not have been surprised to see a real-estate agent walk by trying to sell property!  Not that we would have been interested or anything...  We did do our part for the beach economy by keeping the popsicle and agua de coco vendors in business.  (It was a real sacrifice, I assure you.) 

Elissa surprised me by actually enjoying the ocean water, after being afraid to go near it last year.  As we walked out into the waves, her little finger continued to point further out to sea as she insisted, "That way, THAT way!" Until the ocean water finally sloshed her in the face a few times and convinced her to retreat.

So, to sum it up, a good time was had by all (including the mosquitoes).