Summer Re-Cap

Half of the crew is home, with Zita and Freddy still on vacation in the Algarve.
It has been one of the longest and best and worst Summers on record.

On June 25th, we flew from Lisbon to Salt Lake City via Amsterdam, and then drove up to Jackson Hole Wyoming via -Utah and Idaho . That was phase one.

Phase two was Yellowstone Park, covering Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, and Utah. Lots and lots and lots of car time and beautiful scenery beyond compare.

Phase three was Salt Lake City, that we covered inch by inch as a family unit of six.

Phase four began in Salt Lake City airport where Pai flew back to Portugal, Moojie flew on to New York, and I flew with the three littles to San Franisco.
We stayed five days in the bay area, getting my sister packed up and ready to move, an the whole crew packed up and ready for Phase Five (see below :) )

Phase five brought fresh mountain air and a whole week of rivers, lakes, giant redwoods, and enough nature to last a lifetime.

Phase six and the final phase of our US journey was the most relaxing, wonderful, warm, holiday-feeling week ever in a gem of a house in Glen Ellen (wine country!!).

Phase seven continued in the spirit of a relaxing holiday with a week in Sagres, Same house. Same beaches. Just a little chillier this year. See below: hooded sweatshirts and jeans in August.

Phase eight ( I was not joking when I said it has been the longest Summer ever) started with Pai, Sebby, and myself driving through August traffic for 6.5 hours back home from the Algarve, Moojie going to a music festival in Zambujeira do Mar, Freddy staying in Sagres with his cousins, and Zita going to Villamoura for the week with a friend.

Phase ten begins on Saturday when we have all six of us back home, together again for the rest of the Summer until school starts around September 9th.

Despite covering 6 states, staying in over 5 hotels and 6 houses, two countries, 6 flights, and like 60 million hours in the car, we STILL have four weeks of Summer left to keep the kids busy.

Last Summer Hurrah

On the last day before school started, Zita invited a few friends for a afternoon of swimming. Most of them hadn't seen eachother since the last day of school so there was elation all around.

 The sublime magnificence of sitting by the pool, looking out towards the water in perfect weather, and all children content for hours, was enough to get me through the sometimes rocky back-to-school days.

 After just a year in her new school, she has a close group of friends whom I adore. They are really great girls.

 Mooj fired up the grill and started churning out burgers for the hungry swimmers at 7pm.

What would I do without Moojie?

 

 Zita said her last goodbye around 8:30 leaving no time to fret about the school day to follow.

Final Stretch

With school starting in a few days, we're squeezing in all the beach time we can. Last Friday, we set out for the park and mid-drive unanimously decided to divert to the beach. 

I have at least 4 beach bags in the back of my car so I can always pull together just enough for a few hours. 

The kids are not wild about taking pictures, but they don't mind doing a few jumping shots. 

Shortly after this was taken, a bigger wave came and soaked me up to my waist. 

We got the last of the school supplies yesterday, and we still need to swing by the school today to pick up their books for the year. 

I'm going old-school this year with a small hardback calendar/agenda. I needed somewhere to jot down all of Sebby's hilarious sayings, and there's just something nice about real paper and pen. 

Happy week! 

Water Sports

Paddle boarding was a big highlight of this week. There was a beach right in front of the house that rented boards by the hour so we gave it a shot. 

Moojie was such a patient big brother/cousin giving all the little kids rides and helping them get stabilized and going. 

It's good to be Freddy.

Moojie tried wind surfing a few times as well and he loved that too. 

Both windsurfing and paddle boarding are going to become regular activities since they're both easy to rent in Cascais. 

What's a post without my Sebby bear? 

 And a scenery shot too

Praia da Ponta Ruiva

On our last day in the Algarve, we set out early to the Praia da Ponta Ruiva. This is a beach we haven't been to before, but cousins who know the area well explained how to get to this very off-the-beaten-path beach. There are no signs, and long windy dirt roads leading to one of the most spectacular beaches I have ever seen in Portugal. The whole are is very Big Suresque. 

 People often complain that the Algarve is too crowded in the Summer. Clearly, they are not talking about Sagres, where many times we were among only a handful of people.

 This beach rugby ball is the best. The little boys delight in grabbing onto Moojie's limbs and trying to take him down.

 There's nothing Pai loves more than a good side excursion, particuarly when he can get the kids hiking. They set off towards the top of the big red rock while I stayed back with Seb.

Seb never wants to be left behind

 This picture is taken on maximum zoom, and still it's pretty hard to see the four of them at the top.

 It was during this hike that the kids painted their faces with the bright red earth rumored to be good for the skin.

Meanwhile, Seb was lost in the world of tide pools, and saying over and over "where's the crab?" and "where's the fish?" "let's go find it!"

These warm shallow pools were perfect since the surf was a little rough for him.

 It's hard to capture the scale, but at low tide, this beach is a vast expanse for Seb to just run

 

and run

and run                            

 

I'm not sure if I ever sat down on my towel, but I will remember this as one of the best days of the year. It will also be remembered as the week when Sebby napped well :)

 

Beach

We had the best time in Sagres; one of our more relaxing holidays ever.

We got home last night past midnight, and today has been nothing but laundry- four loads and counting-  kitchen, kitchen, kitchen, and a ridiculous decision on my part to organize the big closet in my bedroom. There's nothing like living out of a carry-on for 6+ weeks to spur on a great clothing purge. 1 have four big bags for goodwill and many more to come.

 

 All that plus Sebby forgot how to play and be more that 6 inches from me means that I can't upload and share my trip highlight pictures just yet.

 

 

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Here is the one picture I got of just the four kids together, and another shot of Freddy and Seb.

 

Yes, that is mud on their faces.

 

Home

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We are back in Portugal, but we aren't at the beach like we are supposed to be. 

Seb threw up on the flight home and stayed sick and throwing up until Sunday. Ok, we thought, we'll delay our beach vacation by a day. No biggie. 

Miss Zita woke up sick on Monday, and I succumbed Monday night. 

Just as I started feeling better late Tuesday afternoon, Freddy got sick, then Pai, and finally Moojie fell just after midnight. 

So it's Wednesday, four days after our vacation started, and we have been housebound in a cycle of laundry, cleaning, ice and wash cloth fetching, and general misery. 

Did I mention that this all happens mostly in the middle of the night, so there has been no sleep at all? 

The one funny thing in all of this is that Sebby calls throwing up "choking," so every time he hears that all too familiar sound he says "Freddy choking?" 

In an optimistic move, I started pulling together swimsuits and beach toys, hoping that maybe tomorrow we'll make it to the beach. Or the next day, or the next. 

Water Table or Swimming Pool?

Seb votes shallow elevated kiddie pool. 

Freddy is at his first day of basketball camp today, and Zita has her first day of volleyball camp in the afternoon. 

The daddies are gone so it's just moms and a gaggle of kids. 

My sister broke out a box of kinetic sand that my niece misunderstood and continually called "Connecticut sand." 

In fact, Seb is taking advantage of being the only child home right now, and is going wild with the "Connecticut sand." One more thing to add to bring-back-to-Portugal list. 

Mooj got a chance to drive my sister's long bus-like car and managed perfectly. If only he would be allowed to drive in Portugal, my life would be so much easier. 

California Dreamin'