Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Finally, Lajes

Finally for two reasons: one, I am finally posting; and two, finally we are here! This a cow in the field right behind our house. This is the view for the kids as they walk home from school. They don't realize how good they've got it.


We went on a base sponsored tour of the island a few weeks ago. This is a hilltop near the base with Mary watching over. The next picture is the statue of Mary. This island is very Catholic.



This is at the Angra Botanical Gardens.

This is one of the cathedrals on the island. Right in front of it is a waterfall by the stairs.

Another little city we passed through.

A forest towards the middle of the island.

There is farmland everywhere.

Cows use the roads about as much as the cars do.

This is a swimming area on the north side of the island. The rocks are lava from the last eruptions a couple hundred years ago.

Much of the coastline looks like this. There are some beaches in the cities but most everywhere else it is rocky. So far we are loving it here. The temperature is great for winter. It is beautiful everywhere you go. The food is good, and people are friendly. It is hard to believe that we have been here a month. It makes me sad to have it go by so quickly.

Friday, January 27, 2012

Our Christmas this year was a trip to Disneyland. Caleb's favorite ride, maybe Curtis' too! Fighting Jake's nemesis.


Caleb was so thrilled to be picked to be a jedi. It was his dream come true.






And here is Megan's dream come true.

A reflection of a princess!

And don't forget about the princes.







His dream job!

Nick loved the tower of terror!

Bumper cars

A Bug's Life Show, which traumatized them all!

Maybe they could stay trapped!?!


No explanation necessary.



I guess he didn't eat his Wheaties.

Best job in the world.






Merry Christmas. Especially without the snow!!

Dole Whips



In the Indiana Jones ride. The big rolling ball at the end was a little much for them!

We thought that we left the moose back in Alaska.



No wheaties here either, or else he isn't the chosen one.



Star Tours
the Tower of Terror with friends

The picture of the Tower of Terror that we tricked everyone to go on. They were traumatized. Eventually Nick and Jake braved up enough to try it again and realized that they like it.


We met up with some great friends from Alaska. They are moving to New York so it was great to spend one last time with them.

Utah

Mid-December we flew to Utah to visit Curtis' family. While there we were able to do many things and see lots of family. We had a chance to show the kids Temple Square at Christmas time. It was chilly but a neat experience.

It was nice to be able to spend Christmas with family. Our Christmas was a trip to Disneyland, but we had a great time with our stockings and most importantly spending the day with so many cousins!





















We got a chance to see Tow-Mator. Who would have thought that he would have been hanging around Orem during Christmas time?We went to the BYU museum and saw exhibits on animals, we only had one picture of the day, and it happens to be butterflies all placed together to create a large butterfly.Curtis went with his brother to a gun course in Nevada. They had lots of fun and learned some new skills. The school was in the middle of nowhere. Hence, the next picture. It was necessary to grow crazy man hair while going to a gun course. We also took a day and went ice skating.









We also took lots of time to visit Papa, Curtis' dad who has been in the hospital since November recovering from some strange illness. He is slowly getting stronger each day. These hospital trips reminded us of how precious our time together is. We love you Papa; you are our hero!