Football/Cheerleading Season

Merry Christmas!!

There comes a point when you just have to give up on getting the perfect Christmas picture! Merry Christmas anyways!

Caleb's Performace

A few weeks ago, Caleb participated in the school choir concert as part of the percussion ensemble.  He played some fancy name for a version of a xylophone.  His class practiced for a long time to have their parts completely memorized and perfect.  They did great.  I, however, am slacker mom of the year and only have a short clip of his performance!!

Crazy, Busy October

October was extremely busy but some great thing happened too.  Curtis was reconized as the USAFE Firefighter of the Year.  It is a huge accomplishment, and we are so proud of him and everything he does for our family.

 

Megan turned 6.  She got a 6 cupcake "cake"  before we rushed out to go trick-or-treating!

 

As PTO vp I was busy supporting our school for the Homecoming activities.  One of Caleb's favorite activities was the Car Spray Paint. The weather was rainy and windy for part of the evening, but that doesn't stop a little boy with spray paint.

The boys went off with their Dad on the Father/Son Campout.  It was nice to have a quite house for an evening.  I am sure that they had fun, and Megan and I got to watch a Barbie movie without complaints.

 

 

 

Happy Halloween

 

We had a great Halloween.  It was the year of the recycled costume because I did not get orders in on time from this middle of nowhere place.  However, they got creative, and their costumes were great. 

(Just in case you couldn't tell, Nick and Caleb are hobbits, Jake is a hobo, and Megan is Rapunzel.)

Italy

 Earlier in the month my friend, Deneka, and I took a military hop to Naples, Italy.  It was only a 3 day trip, but it was without children which makes it extra wonderful!

 We took the train down to Pompeii to see the old ruins and remains from the infamous Mt. Vesuvius eruption.  It was amazing.  If you are ever in the area, it is definitely a must-see!

 We had trouble with our flight and had a take a train up to Rome to catch another plane.  It was a bit stressful but nonetheless a fabulous adventure. 

And as silly as it sounds, Taco Bell was one of the highlights of our trip.  Having been on this island long enough with absolutely no American restuarants is fine.  But we you see a Taco Bell at the Naples Navy Base, it almost can bring tears to your american food-starved eyes...well, actually it did!

Fall Soccer Season

 We finished our last games of the fall soccer season here.  We had a great time and all the kids played well. 

 Jacob played as well.  He missed his picture time so we didn't get one of him.

As much as I love soccer season, I am sure glad that it is over.  I am happy to have my Saturday back...at least until football!!

Tropical Storm Nadine

After the last hurricane came and went with no excitement, we didn't give little Tropical Storm Nadine a thought.  Boy did she sneak up and get us!  It was a fun adventure that taught us that we don't have enough flashlights and never forget that Mother Nature is the boss!

 

As we finished up dinner at a local restuarant, the power went off.  We knew that was the cue to head home.  The peaceful cloudy sky had quickly turned to sideways rain and strong winds.  We ran to the car and made it home.  Our power was off at home as well so we went right to bed.  We already had a text(thank goodness for 3G) that school was going to be on a 2-hour delay the next day.  The kids decided to squish beds together and have a sleepover(they blame it on Megan being afraid to sleep in her own room, but I don't think that she was the only one!)

 

The night howled on and we heard some things being thrown around.  Curtis and I headed out into the storm to save our nice grill after we saw the older one fly away.  While out there we saw some of our ceramic roof tiles fly away and crash on the ground.  Water streamed in one of the windows flooding the playroom. The power was restored through the night which we were grateful for(it was getting hot!)  The next morning we found only minor damages.  The kids were happy to survive the "great storm" and especially happy that school was starting late.

 The farmers little shack behind our house didn't quite make it through the storm.

 The swing left the porch and flew into the yard.  Megan and her friend tried to help it back up.

 The tree branches that took the brunt of the storm got stripped of their leaves.

And the saddest damage of all....Megans plant got stripped of it bountiful flowers and leaves.  We hope it comes back to us.

 

Overall, we enjoyed the time we had huddled together listening to the storm.  We are grateful that we suffered no major damage and that we have another fun experience to add to our adventures here in Portugal!

 



Jake's Birthday

For Jake's 12th birthday he wanted to have a paintball party. This is the only picture I have because we were too busy playing.

First Day of School

Today was Megan's first day of school. She is a full-day kindergartener, and I have an empty house! The boys started last week! Yay for school!!

Branch Activity

On Saturday our little Portuguese Branch got together at a park near the ocean for an activity.  It was one of the best activities we have ever been to.  Every ward or branch should have availability to an ocean for an afternoon of fun.

 The men were grilling.  They had some fun trying to keep the heat going!!

 The park has a little paved in area of the ocean to make a swimming hole.  The water isn't too deep or to strong for kids.  After swimming awhile the boys began catching any sort of fish that they could.  We came home that evening with 1 fish and 6 crabs. 

 The adults and teenagers went snorkeling.  The water was beautiful.  We saw lots of fish and some other creatures too.  One lady got stung by a jelly fish.

 These girls were swimming in our beach bin.  They were so cute!

 There was plenty of time to sit around and chat.I think here we were comparing goosebumps from the cold popsicles.  You know me, I am pretty wimpy!

It is not easy to serve in a Branch where I don't speak the language very well, but activities like this make it all worth it!

Bullfight

When Curtis and I were headed out for dinner for our anniversary, we noticed a bunch of cars parked along the road and remembered that there was a bullfight in one of the local villages.

Fortunately we knew a Portuguese firefighter who has a house on the main street.  We hopped some wall barriers and had front row seats.

There was so good chases but noone got hurt.  The bull means business.  It was a bit scarier than watching it on tv.  Videos can't truly capture the full force of the bull.

It was an extra bonus to our anniversary celebration.  It has been fun to experience the cultures of the area.

Madrid

 Curtis and I took the opportunity to go to Madrid, Spain, with our district to the temple. While there we went out in the late afternoons and evenings to see some of the sights of Madrid.  This is the famous bull fighting arena.  Unfortunately there were no fights while we were there.

 We took some of the youth out for some sight seeing.  This was their first time on a subway.  These kids from a tiny little island in the Atlantic had lots of firsts.  First time on an subway, first time on an escalator, first time outside of the island or Portugal.

 Parque Del Retiro

 We couldn't leave without seeing the Real Madrid Stadium. 

 We ate some good old American food.  The Spanish food was great but it was nice to be somewhere "familiar" and to eat "familiar food!"

We feel so blessed to see another country and spend time with our amazing Portuguese friends and go to the temple.  The week was refreshing and uplifting.  We can't wait for next year!