Following the parade, the Brazilian Air Force stunt flying team performed. Brazil is a major manufacturer of prop airplanes, and they supply military and commercial fleets around the world. The pilots who flew during this show were expcetionally good and the show was quite entertaining. I especially like the stall and free-fall stunts and the close flying formations.
Near us was an ice cream vendor, and he was having a promotion (sale) of only one "real" (Brazilian dollar) per container. That ice cream was the best and least expensive ice cream we have had so far in Brasilia. The flavors were strawberry, strawberry/chocolate, mango, pineapple and maracuja (passion fruit). It was totally worth seeing the parade just for the ice cream. By the way, ice cream sold in the supermarket runs for about R$13 to R$17 per liter, and it's tastes old. We also have a 
frozen yogurt stand near our home, but the price there is about R$7 for the size we got at the parade.
water and beer.
a good view unless you were in the front, climbed a tree, or we're over six feet tall. I managed to find a small bump to stand on by the side walk and hold my camera up to see the parade through the view screen.
their beauty, and passed them up to the fence and then over to the other side of the fence where they were able to sit on the road and watch. My kids were a little hesitant to leave us, but it was a better view. They were a little disappointed that no one threw candy from the tanks.
also included various military vehicles, fire trucks and finished with a host of horses and riders from the Palace Guard. 
Not found in the official parade were politicians, but their were several unofficial parades on the mall and even up and down the road that ran parallel to the official parade route with supporters of political candidates displaying flags, kites, and giant paper mache caricatures. In Brazil, all the voting is done electronically. The numbers are punched in by voters to select their candidates. There are about 30 official political parties, the largest being that of the current president, the Partido de Trabalhadores 
(PT, Worker's Party). These numbers are as important as the names of the candidates, if not more so. The first two numbers indicate which party and link them to the presidential candidates: 13 = PT, Dilma Rouseff, for example. I enjoy the political fervor Brazilians have. They are also required by law to vote, and do so on the first Sunday in October, a day when most people would not have to work. Signs with numbers on them and friendly faces are everywhere, including the back windows of cars. Most of the roadside displays have people waving flags. They also seem to be portable, because the displays get removed by the campaigners and a different group will be in the same place the next day.
Swimming below the falls wasn't good enough for my kids, so they decided to try and climb rocks up and approach the main falls from the river. Jacob started it, then Sam had to try too. And Lillian and Emma. And then I decided I had better keep up with them just to make sure we, err, they could stay safe. (OK, I like to climb rocks, too.)
We managed to get up three terraces before the rocks got steeper and the climbs higher. I called them off the attempt, and then we tried to figure out the safest way to come back down. The trail along the river was a bit too far, and there was quite a bit of underbrush and scrubby trees. I was the only one wearing sandals, so it didn't look like a comfortable hike.
We decided to go back the way we came, with the exception that we would lower the kids down to me on the face of the rocks. The current was little strong, and the rocks were quite slippery by going the way the water was moving. We all made it back to the swimming. I lept in since it was more fun that way.
Freezing cold and having a blast. The water was cold enough that even though the outside air temperature was in the 90's F, I would continue to shiver for several minutes. I was still shivering even after drying off.
Jacob and I discovered that the swimming hole was at least eight feet deep. I swam out to the middle and went down until it was too cold to stay. Then he climbed up the wall and jumped in. Then I did. Then Joseph. And Sam wanted to try too, so I threw him in. I have never seen Sam swim so fast before, and he did quite well for his age group competing on the swim team this past summer. Between the current and the cold water, we all swam just a little faster.
Just downstream from the falls, there are several pools of freezing cold water that we were able to swim in. The water was slow and deep and clear. There were even a few fish darting around despite the invasion of humans into their territory.
On the US Labor Day, we made our first trip outside of Brasilia and the Distrito Federal state. We went with a couple of other families in our ward to see Salto de Itiquira near the town of Formosa. The falls are supposed to be the second tallest in Brazil, and they are quite pretty. The Cerrado in general is fairly flat, and the area surrounding the falls is agricultural, with large soybean farms and cattle ranches. At this time, everything is very dry since it hasn't rained since May. There are have been hundreds of brush fires, and the cows looked like they haven't had anything to eat or drink in months.
This is probably one of the more unusual fruits that we have encountered in Brazil, the caju (KAW-joo). It is the fruit that accompanies the cashew nut. Apparently, it's too delicate and perishable for shipping, so it's one of those tropical fruits that you need to be on location to try.
The green knob on the end is the cashew nut, but it is poisonous until it's cooked. The fruit part has soft, spongy texture, with a sweet, fruity flavor. It has a slightly bitter after-taste and leaves a film on the tongue. The skin is very thin, soft and a bit waxy. We did not eat the skin.
We first encountered the fruit in juice form at the hotel we stayed at in Sao Paulo. When we saw the fruit at the store, Joseph insisted that we purchased it to sample. I prefer the juice to the fruit, though it's not the kids' favorite juice.
Tony the Tiger has a presence in Brazil, but I don't know if he's called Tony here. His Frosted Flakes are called Sucrilhos (Sue-CREE-lows), and they taste pretty much the same as the ones made and distributed in the US, but cost about $1.50 more for the large box. Also, on the box this size, there label is also in Braille, on the front side near Tony's right cheek. Our sponsor included this box of cereal and a few boxes of milk in our welcome kit. The kids enjoyed having the sugary cereal, which is about the only kind of cereal one can get here.
Despite the dryness, there are still several trees and other plants with flowers. There are even mangoes and papayas growing on the trees. It's like they weren't told that plants aren't supposed to grow and reproduce when it hasn't rained in three months.
There are a lot of different kinds of ants here, so here is the first in the continuing series "Ants of Brazil". I have no idea what kind of ant is pictured here. I saw it crossing the gravel, noticed that it has a huge head and a tiny abdomen, and I thought it looked cool. This one was about the size of a nickel, but it's legs would extend to edges of a quarter.
Before coming to Brazil, I had done some research on the flora and fauna of the Pantanal, and I read about a tree called the nipple tree, but I could not find a photo. A Google image search did not result in relevant pictures. For those of you searching, this is a nipple tree, and it has fruit the size of cannonballs.
