We Love Apple Camp

What's not to love about Apple camp? The kids have done both the iMovie camp and the iBooks camp. They prefered the iMovie camp, but both were successful, well-spent weeks.

Here's a photo round up of this year's camp that they did right on Burlingame Av. where road construction with 10+ construction vehicles was the perfect diversion for our Seb.

 This is Zita with her gorgeous cousin and camp buddy.

 The staff are fabulous and are happy to explain things to the parents. Lsat Summer they did a parental controls tutorial for my sister and me.

See Anything Strange About This Picture?

Perhaps you can spot holes in the wall above Freddy's knee? Don't mind those, that was just Sebby ripping the light fixture right out of the wall as soon as he got up on the top bunk.

No one will ever accuse Sebby of not exploring his environment like a true toddler should.

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.

 

Crazy 8s

Cards and games, namely crazy 8s and dominoes, have been in full swing this Summer. Whenever 

Seb is sleeping or happily occupied, Freddy grabs a deck of cards and gets a group playing. 

Home

'

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.