Quatro Ribeiras

 Monday was a beautiful, warm day so we decided to take off for the beach.  It is not really a beach, more like volcanic rock made into pools of ocean water.  The kids went to swim, and Curtis and some friends donned their wet suits to do some snorkeling and spearfishing.

 Caleb jumped in after his beloved shark.  It must have been COLD!

 What a pose!

 A friend caught an eel.  Yum!

 If you climbed the stairs, you could reach a high overlook.

It was a wonderful day with good friends.  And we all come home with a sun burn!

Spirit Pots

This island has tons of Spirit Houses which play a large part in their religion. They are generally all painted in bright, bold colors.(Most of the houses are painted brightly-every color imaginable!) So we decided to decorate like the Portuguese. We made Spirit Pots. Each child designed their own. Now I just need to fill them with flowers!

Here is our friendly lizard that lives near our front door.  He has come in once but took off as soon as we walked near him.  He need a name, maybe one of your kids, Kate, could name it?

Baseball

The baseball season has started here.  Today was their first games.  They all had a good time and played well. It was a great start to a great season!

Jake's New Look

Today we picked up Jake's new glasses.  He didn't do so great on his sports physical eye exam so we took him to the eye doctor.  His vision isn't that bad, but the glasses will help reading off the board for school.  He loves them though.  I keep telling him that in time he is going to wish that we didn't need them afterall.  Until then he can show off his new look!

Trip To Germany

Over Spring Break from school we were lucky enough to be able to get on a hop to Germany.

We went with some great friends from Alaska to some old castles to explore.

The weather in Germany was chilly and rainy, but it was so beautiful. The landscape and architecture of the buildings were beautiful, and it is interesting to see the differences compared to Portugal.

We saw this sign while driving through of the villages near Ramstein.

This is another castle.

We held an Easter egg hunt there. After they had gathered their loot, we climbed to the top of the castle to enjoy their treats.

This is a view of the nearby village from the highest window of the castle.

Searching for eggs.

On Easter day we went to another friend from Whiteman's house in another village near Ramstein. We held an Easter egg there as well.

We had an enjoyable trip to Germany. We were able to catch up with old friends, see some new places, and try new German food. We are grateful for our many opportunities to travel and experience new things.

Paris

Paris was rainy and chilly especially after being on this warm, temperate island for awhile. We went to the Louvre. When Caleb saw the pyramid from the distance he gasped. It made my day to know that he was so excited to see everything.

Nick holding up the underside of the Pyramid.

We had to see the Mona Lisa. It was a mad house in there. She had a wall all to herself.

The most exciting part of the Louvre for the boys was all of the Egyptian artifacts.

We searched for a long time to see this mummy. Nick had done a project in school about mummies and spouted out facts about them all through the exhibit.

We had to take a couple get off our feet breaks. The Louvre was on day 3 of our Paris trip and we were all exhausted.

The ceilings were all painted because it was a palace before it was a museum.

We took Flat Stanley on our adventures. This is in the subway.

We had to have some crepes.

We had a boat ride around the Seine River. We played some Rock, Paper, Scissors to keep busy.

There were amazing buildings everywhere.

A view of the Eiffel Tower from the top of the Arc de Triumphe.

Walking to the Arc down Champs-Elyssees.

We had dinner in a restaurant along Champs-Elyssees. The food was delicious.

Outside Notre Dame.

Inside the cathedral of Notre Dame. The cathedral was amazing. A women's choir started performing while we were in there. It was one of my favorite parts of the trip.

A view from the Eiffel Tower. We got there in the late afternoon and waited forever in line. When we finally got into the tower it was dusk. By the time we finished it was dark. We were able to see it in the light and the dark.

When I asked all the kids what there favorite part of Paris was they all answered the Eiffel Tower.

Warming up with some hot chocolate while waiting in the line.

Walking up to the tower.

Padlocks Bridge. Where people come to lock their love and throw away the key.

We had a great time in Paris. We could have spent a few more days to see it all, but left feeling satisfied. It was definitely a memorable way to spend our Spring Break.