A Day in Lisbon

We played tourist in Lisbon just before Christmas. We rarely eat at the Hard Rock Cafe, but the kids love it, and it's loud enough that if a baby is crying, no one blinks an eye. Our angel Sebby slept right through.

Working diligently on the kids' menu puzzles.

I didn't notice the Starbucks sign when I took this, but between the Hard Rock Cafe and this sign, my post has lost a significant portion of European flavor. I'm posting it because Moojie looks 22, not 14 :(

We walked up through the Chiado to Santini for an ice cream break, and then for a stop at Vasco´s office.

We are very adept at killing time in the park across the street from his office (seen here from the opposite side of the park.) We know where the ducks hide their ducklings, the "secret" short cuts, and the best way to ride the zip line so as not to get stranded in the middle.

Freddy takes every chance he can get to hold Sebby. Here they are having a little cuddle while I drink my morning coffee. We wanted to see if Sebby would fit into Moojie´s boot. Again, Blogger randomly rotates my photos and there is nothing I can do about it.

This was just 2 weeks ago and Sebby already looks so much older, and thank goodness, so much less yellow.

A Beach Day in Comporta

About an hour and a half south is a little gem of a beach town called Comporta. It's the next beach town down from Troia that we visited back in November.  I wrote about it here and here.

We live so close to the beach, but this area is worth the drive because the water is warmer, the sand is white and Carribean-like, and sometimes it's just good to get out and do different things.


This beach goes on for miles and miles so even though it's high season and more crowded than usual, there's still plenty of space to run around and even hold your own Olympic long jump competition.

Moojie won.

 Freddy launched himself too soon

 

Zita gave it a good effort, but couldn't compete with Moojie's long legs. 

The kids ocassionally re-fueled, but mostly they spent the day in the water.

 

The little kids loved getting thrown into a wave just as it broke. Moojie is holding Freddy off to the left here, waiting for the right wave to come along.

Our brother-in-law/uncle/brother rented a nearby beach house where we relaxed by the pool and watched some Olympics from late afternoon until dinner.

At night we ate at the Museu de Arroz, which is in the Comporta estuary. The area is completely unspoiled and beautiful.  

 On the doorstep of the restaurant

Over 12 hours after we left the house in the morning, we made the drive home as one tired, but happy bunch.

Last Day of School and Lots of Updates

I just saw Zita off on her trip to Fátima. I was expecting her to back out at the last minute, but she got up early and willingly. 

I'm 19 weeks now, which is 1 week shy of the half way point. I'll get a belly shot up as soon as I feel like changing out of my pajamas.

Moojie and Zita had their last day of school yesterday, which means that Moojie is now- I can't type it- a freshman in high school :(

Zita has one more year in her school and will start 4th grade in the Fall.

Mr. Freddy finishes kindergarten next week.

Freddy's funny expression is due to a mouth full of toast. They are both hiding their breakfast-on-the-go behind their backs.

I picked up Moojie and took him to Casa da Guia for a seaside lunch. Since he's always the babysitter, I take every opportunity I can to get some one-on-one time with him. I had to take this photo from my purse so as not to embarrass Moojie. 

The afternoon was filled with Zita's big school show. In the below shot, she's playing the school hymn that opened the show. 

She later played the Titanic accompanied by piano and a singer, and I listened attentively like it was the first time I had ever heard it.   They attached a small microphone (see that wire attached?) to the bottom of her clarinet and it distorted the sound so much that it sounded like a completely different instrument.  It was such a shame because if there is one thing wind instruments do not need, it's a microphone.



Her class did a lively pajama party dance that looked like a lot of fun.

The tall boys got to enjoy the show from the shade of the back while I died of direct sun in order to be closer for photos. One dad in the back had a lens worthy of the Roland Garros photographer's box; I've never seen anything like it.  There is some serious lens one upmanship going on at these school events.

If anyone is feeling judgey, Pai isn't on the Blackberry through Zita's performance, she had already finished by this point.

Freddy's favorite spot is on a big pair of shoulders

When he got too heavy for Pai, Moojie stepped in.

Moojie's already sore shoulder is now in such pain that he can only use his right arm for tennis for a few days while it heals. I think that yesterday will have to mark Freddy's last day of shoulder rides.

The car and the entrance are now strewn with school papers, backpacks, art folders, and too much school stuff. We'll be tackling that first thing Monday morning. Today is a day to savor the fact that I do not need to plan school lunches, there are no exams coming up, I don't need to make emergency runs to Staples, and I can cancel my standing 6:30am alarm. Welcome Summer!

Scenes from yesterday

We changed this corner of our living room with big ideas of reading and drinking wine there after the children had gone to sleep. I'm sure no one is surprised that that hasn't happened once. Instead it has become Zita's haven where she draws, reads, pours over her baby albums, plays clarinet, and gets a break from her brothers.

Moojie joined in and while this scene looks idylic, they are pointing out all of the photos where I look "wierd."

I had to include this shot to showcase my evolution in hair skills from bumpy ponytails to this bun.

We realized before lunch that we had no cold beer in the house. While that might be a problem in American suburbs- here we just send our 13 year old with money to the corner shop and he returns in five minutes with 12 cold beer bottles. Moojie felt the need to explain that the beer was for his parents, but the clerk just laughed, took the money, and sent him on his way.

The dessert in the background was a delicious coffee Bavarois with strawberries brought by a guest. We ordered lunch- an arroz de marisco -  from one of our favorite seafood restaurants, Mar do Guincho.