Weeks 3 & 4 in Bauru

Jane's been teaching Stella how to bake all kinds of things in the kitchen. Here we have Jane and Stella making some of Jane's famous Chocolate Chip Cookies. They made some awesome homemade pancakes this weekend.

OK. Here's an interesting story. The Bauru Tennis Club, of which Godo is the Executive Sports Director, held a 12k run. Godo said that he and Maria Clara were going and suggested that Jane and I participate. I tried to politely explain that I didn't think that was such a good idea and that I could probably only make it about half that distance (12k is about 8 miles). He said not to worry, that there was an option to run only 6k. Jane and I thought, "Great", we can probably handle that. It sounds like a leisurely, informal, everyone-is-invited type of event. So, we show up at the starting point about 9:25 am on Saturday morning. The race starts at 9:30. As we pull up, we notice about 70-80 runners. And I mean RUNNERS. The people who only have about 0.5% body fat. Everyone is stretching and jogging in place. They all have there running gear, sun glasses, and visors. There are groups with team uniforms and sponsors. There are city officials, reporters, and paramedics standing by. I'm already not liking this. So, Jane and I go to register and...there is not an option to run the 6k. Oh my. Now what do we do. The spots have been paid for, this has already been planned. OK. We'll try to do the whole thing. But I'm not gonna like it I can tell you this much already. Now, you should know that Jane and I OCCASIONALLY run 3-4 miles for exercise. I can't remember the last time I voluntarily ran 8 miles. Have I ever run 8 miles? I told Jane before the start of the race that she could count on me finishing dead last. BANG. Off we go. OK...off THEY went, and we watched as the pack sailed off into the horizon. The first 2 miles weren't too bad. One big hill that I walked aways, but things evened out for the most part after that. Jane and I stayed pretty close the first 6k or so. Right up to the point where we turned off the pavement and into the sugar cane fields. Yes. You heard me correctly. The second half of the course led us through someone's cane fields, literally, in between two rows of sugar cane. The funny part was that it had rained the night before, and lo and behold, it was raining once again. God does have a sense of humor. Trying to run a "race" in 6 inches of mud can be a bit of a challenge. However, the good thing about running through the cane fields is that no one can see you when you have to stop to go to the bathroom. Jane and I actually finished the race together, and as it turns out, we didn't finish last. Godo and Maria Clara showed up about 10 minutes behind us. The lesson in this story...I need to learn Portuguese!!

These are our muddy sneakers after the race!