Additional Portugal Pics

I snagged some Portugal pics from Noa's phone.  I had to include these because they were from Arrifana beach, which is where we went in Aljezur after the rock beach.  Gorgeous, right??

The restaurant we ate at was called "Restaurante Da Praia" and it was fabulous!  We ate our share of amazing food and wine (yum, vino verde, or otherwise known as Portugal's green wine) and had an amazing view of the beach.  Noa tried the local favorite: barnacles.  Yes, this is what the area is known for.  His take on them: they were fun to eat.

I also forgot to mention that during the meal, Noa had to balance Ruby on his lap because she completely fell asleep before we even ordered anything!  She slept through the entire meal! 

Labor Day Weekend in Portugal

We took advantage of the holiday weekend last weekend by taking a short trip to Portugal (specifically, the Algarve, or southern coast) for the holiday weekend.  Our trip started at the Four Seasons in Vilamoura.  This was a wonderful choice for our family because it was a complete getaway with all the amenities our kiddos (and us) enjoy.  Specifically, we had a large apartment so that the girls could have their own room and lots of space to run around, several pools to choose from, and a spa and restaurant on the grounds.  Plus, the town had a little train that stopped by the hotel to take visitors into the downtown marina.

We spent a lot of time by the pools!

Our favorite pool was the 2-foot toddler pool that allowed Ruby to swim without her floaties on.

The train to downtown: Ruby loved it!

A view of the Marina in Villamoura, Portugal.

After a couple of days in Villamoura, we met up with some friends to explore some of the Algarve.  Our first stop was Fiesa, the International Sand Festival in Pera, Portugal.  We had visited a similar display back in Washington several years ago, so it was interesting to compare the two.  The one in Washington was held in a parking lot, this one was in the middle of some rolling hills.  One thing that made this one different is that it was one whole unit of sand.  Each display worked into the next one, whereas the sand sculptures in Washington were each separate (I think that festival may have been a competition; this one is just for fun).  Like the Washington display, this had signs that described the scenes and also named the artists.  The theme of this year's Fiesa was "music" so all the sculptures had that in common.

This is a Portuguese singer.  Of course, I forget her name, but I do remember that she became famous for her ad lib singing when she forgot the words to her songs.

Mozart

Ballet

Broadway

Bono (apparently, I only took photos of things that started with "B")

Ruby with her favorite display: Frozen

Next we headed to Sagres, the southwestern most point in Europe.  We ate lunch at a cozy little restaurant and then headed to the Cabo de São Vicente.  This stop was breathtaking, since it's atop enormous cliffs and there are no buildings around, except the lighthouse.  In the old days, this would be the last stop sailors would see before heading out to the great unknown - or the edge of the world.

It was a little windy.  Ha ha!

After all this touring, it was time to settle "home" for the next couple of days.  Sadly, I didn't get a picture of the cute little country house we .  It was such a cute find!  Set amongst farms in the rolling hills of Aljizur, Portugal, the home had lots of space for all the kids to run around.  The simple home had white wall, exposed beams, and extra toys, which is always a win for us now.  There was an outdoor area to sit, eat, enjoy the scenery and watch the kiddos play.  It was the perfect spot to get away from it all.

Making "stone soup" out front.

Our first full day started with a lazy breakfast and then we loaded the kids into the cars to go exploring.  We were told there was a nearby beach.  It was only about 15 minutes away, but this was not an easy drive.  It involved unpaved roads with lots of dips, rocks, and steep inclines.  We had to take it super slow.  However, the sight at the end of that "road" was well worth it.  The beach was more rocky, but still had a beautiful view of Portugal;s coast.  We only stayed for a half hour or so, but there were other families who were camping close by.

Our second beach was also secluded but in a different way.  We parked at the top of the cliff and then walked down a steep, windy road to get to the actual beach.  This beach was gorgeous and not too crowded.  We loved it!

Ruby flew a kite (with dad's help)!

We ended up eating lunch close by at a fabulous restaurant (name to come in a later post).  It was a perfect beach day with lots of sun and sand.  At the end of the day, we headed back to the country house for a smorgasbord of food for dinner and to kick back after another lovely day in Portugal.

New Hampshire Trip - Fall 2013

Note: I'm backdating a few posts since we've been traveling and then without Internet for a week.  Time to play catch up….

We were fortunate enough to travel to New Hampshire this year for Thanksgiving.  Although fortunate, traveling with a 2-year-old was not a breeze, especially considering we took some red eye flights.  Let's just say that she's not one to quietly sit still in her seat during a flight, even with lots of toys and distractions.

But, we made it.  It was so fun to be reunited with family, especially for Ruby who only sees her extended family a couple of times each year.  We refer to my parents as Oma (German for Grandmother) and Opa, although she had trouble saying Oma, so she called Oma, "Apa" which is the same word she uses for apples.  "Opa" became "Bob," which is pretty funny since that's his first name.  Anoli, my sister, is much to hard for her to pronounce, so she became "Auntie" and Ruby was able to say that name with ease. 

Ruby quickly reconnected with the family and was soon playing and laughing with them.

She and Opa "Bob" were twins one day.

And read books together.

Oma ("Apa") took her to the park.

Auntie played lots of games with Ruby, including several iPad games.  This was a piano app that they did together.  It was so cute to watch the concentration on Ruby's face. 

Auntie was the "bees knees" - she could do no wrong in Ruby's eyes.  Ruby would go around the house (and still does to this day) saying "Auntie, auntie, auntie…" It's pretty adorable.

After a few days with family, Mike, Jess, and Brady flew out.  They were coming with one main event in mind: the upcoming Patriots game (versus their home team, the Denver Broncos).  However, since the game was in New England, we used the opportunity to show them some of our old stomping grounds, hang out with family, and sightsee.  We spent a day in Maine, visiting the area where Noa and I got engaged (about 13 years ago!), ate seafood, and shopped.  Oh, and did I mention we did this towards the end of November when it's completely freezing outside!  It was kind of crazy to be walking around coastal Maine, but it sure made memories.  We even brought the kiddos with us.

This was taken on Marginal Way, close to where Noa and I got engaged many years ago.

The kiddos were super adorable all snuggled up in the car.

We also showed them the church we got married in (located in my hometown)…

…and hit up the local outlets.  I love that New Hampshire doesn't have sales tax.

Did I mention that this visit was in the middle of a cold spell?  The news reports referred to the game day weather as "arctic blast."  This became our mantra as we prepared for the event.  We drove down to Gillette Stadium, where we had booked a room at the adjoining Renaissance Hotel (smart move, even if the hotel did charge us an arm and a leg to stay there).  Then we hit up the shops to grab a few more extra layers for the game.  Between the clothes we brought, borrowed, and bought, we were still unsure if we would be warm enough.  This is what the weather looked like the day of the game:

Notice that it says "feels like 7 degrees."  We ended up adding balaclavas and heat packs to our lot.  We did a little shopping at Patriot Place and then headed to the CBS Scene for dinner.  Noa and Mike had made reservations, which ended up being a brilliant plan since the place was PACKED.   There was a huge line out the door and the bar was standing room only.

Since the boys smartly made that reservation, we got a private booth, complete with private TV and great people watching.

  After dinner, we headed to the room to start putting on our many, many layers.  It was quite comical.  Noa was dubbed "Deadliest Catch" due to him wearing my dad's bright yellow ski parka.  We looked kinda ridiculous, but it was so necessary.

I was the only one who couldn't wear a jersey, since mine wouldn't fit over my pregnant and layered belly.  Noa loaned me a sweatshirt that fit the bill.  Oh, and Mike and Jess had Tebow Patriot jerseys, which made them noticeable in the crowds.  Several people approached them about it - one guy even tried to buy Mike's (he didn't part with it).

With the wind chill, it ended up feeling like 3 degrees outside. It was colder than the weather forecast predicted.  We were pretty amazed that the guys' beers got colder (even developed ice) as the night went on.  Our "hot chocolate" became milk chocolate soon after arriving to us.  It was really, really cold.  Arctic blast was a pretty accurate description.

This is my favorite picture of the four of us from the game.

To recap the game's events, it was a pretty wild night.  The Patriots played a HORRIBLE first half due to sloppy errors and weak defense.  They went into halftime with the score being 24-0 Broncos.  I'm not sure if it was the extreme cold, the pathetic score, or a combination of the two, but lots of people left the stadium, including the season ticket holders sitting next to us.  

But, the second half was a different game.  The Patriots scored 31 unanswered points.  The crowd was on their feet!  It was like a crowd and the team were both revived.  Then the Broncos scored to tie the game and it went into overtime.  The Pats ended up winning in a dramatic fashion with a field goal in overtime.  It was C-R-A-Z-Y. 

We were all smiles when the Pats started scoring!  Although, Jess couldn't hide her pleasure when her home team scored - she even cheered out loud once for the Broncos.  Brave girl!

Everyone was on their feet as the game progressed.  Plus, it helped to keep moving in order not to freeze!

It was a wild, fun night and something that I will remember for many, many years to come.  While we were braving the cold and cheering on the team, the kiddos stayed at my parent's house and kept them busy for a couple of days.  They would send us photos every once and awhile just to let us know how they were doing.  This was our favorite:

We were also fortunate enough to have Jess do a photo shoot with out family.  Again, it was probably crazy of us to schedule this in November when it is pretty darn cold outside, but we were all together and wanted to take advantage of the opportunity.  Here are some of my favorites (warning: there are a lot!!) - no captions needed - they speak for themselves:

Sadly, the Apostles and Noa had to fly home shortly after.  I stayed behind to celebrate Thanksgiving with Ruby and the family.  We had a wonderful day with just the immediate family for dinner and then spent the evening with friends.  I treasure these days since I don't get to spend many holidays with family now.

Even Ruby got into the Thanksgiving events, with her turkey shirt and helping to make dinner.  She and Oma worked on a salad together.  It was adorable to watch them.  Ruby loves (literally) throwing a salad together. 

Anoli and I did our own little photo shoot (well, with help from dad).

This is my 24-week pregnancy shot.

And a quick pic with the patriarch.

I ended up having to fly back solo with Ruby, which was again very challenging - she was overtired and I wasn't feeling well.  But, we made it and it was still wonderful to have the opportunity to travel to New Hampshire.  It's a good thing I know that I'll be seeing family again in a few months (when baby girl makes her debut!) because it's always so hard to part ways!