Just Dance

 We have had a lot of rain this winter and had to spend a bit more time indoors.

 But we have been dancing the house down with the wii's Just Dance.  We got so into it some days that we actually moved all the furniture out of the way.

We have had fun with it and watch out, The Browns may become the next dancing sensations!

 



Pinewood Derby

 This year's Cub Scout Pinewood Derby was definitely a memorable one.  Our Scouts invited the Girl Scouts and Portuguese Boy and Girl Scouts. It was neat to see each group do their Scout theme.

 Caleb wanted to make his car into a wii remote.  It turned out well.  In fact it was a FAST car.  He finished 5th out of at least 60 cars.

Nick's car was a sleek, all-black car.  They had to move the weights to the side because the track was too high.  It was fast too.  He finished 8th.

Easter

Nobody does Holidays like Americans!  (At least, that is what we think.)  On Easter we invited all of the missionaries on the island over to celebrate an American Easter.   Some of them had been here in Portugal long enough that they hadn't had some of the comforts and pleasures of America in a long time.  They ate up American ham and potatoes and chips and salsa and seven-layer dip.  The Easter Bunny brought them American candy.  They were very grateful to be spoiled on a wonderful Holiday.  But it was more fun for us to do the spoiling and see how the little things in life can make a day magical!

Spelling Bee

Spelling Bee 2013!  2nd and 4th place winners!  Great job!

Wild Weather This Month

Azores hit by floods | euronews, no comment

Megan told me today that according to her weather chart at school that they have only had 6 sunny days this month.  The rest have been rain, rain, and more rain. 

She lost a tooth!!

My little, bitty baby girl lost her first tooth.  She was so pleased while my heart broke a little.  I suppose she thinks that she can grow up and have a life and move out too.  Why can't they just stay little?

Happy Birthday, Caleb!

 Last week we celebrated Caleb's 9th birthday.  He wanted a cherry cake with a cherry on top.  Cherries are his new thing lately.  Anything cherry is the BEST!

 This is his favorite gift.  Even if it isn't cherry, he thought it was better than anything else.

I also had a birthday.  Curtis made this angel food cake.  It was delicious especially with strawberries and cream on it!  Fortunately our birthday season is over for a bit.  I was getting tired of eating so much cake.

Rome and Pompeii

 Rome is an amazing city because of all of the history there.  We only had a couple of days to spend in Rome but it was hardly enough. 

 The Colosseum was probably the kids' favorite part of Rome.  It was huge.  It is a wonder that they constructed it without modern machinery.

 Enjoying some Italian pizza.  The best pizza in all of the places we ate in Italy was in Pompeii though.  It was AMAZING!

 We stopped off at another country while in Rome--the Vatican City. 

 The museum was incredible and taught our children many anatomical lessons!

 We passed a McDonalds and knew that we would have to stop there for lunch.  It was a hit!

 

 Pompeii was another fun day trip.  We took the train down for a short visit.

 Mount Vesuvius blew in 79 AD covering the city and some of its inhabitants. 

 Two thousand years ago they were way more advanced than I ever gave them credit for.

Worn grooves in the rock road from wagons.  They made walking a bit tricky sometimes.

Abby Road??? No, Pompeii!

Our Cruise

 After living on an island for a year that has no elevators, the kids were crazy about getting to use them.  We had to assign them days that they were responsible for pushing the buttons.  It was great drama if someone pushed the button when it wasn't their day!!

 We went to some great shows.  Some were more exciting than others.  One night some opera singers performed.  It was great for adults but the kids struggled through it.  Nick asked why these people keep yelling in different languages.  Someday they will appreciate it!

 This was the kid's room.  They were happy to have their own room and we were happy that they had their own room!!

 Megan made a new friend on the first day of the cruise.  She was from Brazil. 

 Some nights we got all fancied up for dinner. 

 

 We celebrated Nick's 11th birthday on the cruise.  The waiters brought him a cake and sang to him.

It was a fun, relaxing time.  I am already looking forward to our next trip! Curtis will groan when he reads that!!

Genoa

 Genoa, Italy was our first stop.  The city boasted of the largest Aquarium in Europe so we went to check it out.  The walk was lovely.  They say that Genoa has recently worked to improve their look from their old port town appearance.  It was bright and beautiful. 

 I doubt this was Europe's largest Aquarium but it was nice all the same.  We had a pleasant day exploring Genoa and the Aquarium.