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!

Madrid Temple

Greece

 On July 11th the kids and I decided to get on a military hop to Greece.  Curtis had been gone all week taking a class for his Masters.  Since we wouldn't see him much all week, we decided to take the opportunity to go somewhere new.  It was only a 3 day trip but was a great experience.

 Jake and Nick were put on camera duty so these pictures are some of the ones that they thought were important to document our trip.  They did a pretty good job.

 We were on the island of Crete.  It is much bigger than Terceira, where we live.

 We visited a major city called Chania. 

We got on a glass-bottom boat for a cruise around the area in the Mediterranian Sea.

 It was HOT!

 Here is a little shrine on a little island in  the Mediterranian for St. Nicholas.  This is where the people brought their sick and dying.

 The heat zapped us.  Air conditioning didn't seem to work well enough.

 We got lost driving around and eventually found our way to a little beach.  The water was warm and lovely.

We definitely plan on going back another time.  Maybe in a month not as warm as July though.  We can't wait to show Curtis everything that we saw.

Caves

A couple of weekends ago we went cave exploring with the Scouts.  We didn't make it too far before we realized that Caleb and Megan weren't ready for this kind of adventure.  It was pitch black and many places were tight squeezes. Jake, Nick, and Curtis plunged ahead with the group.

 It was a great time.  This island offers us many adventures.