Our morning started with coffee by the pool…

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The beautiful pool.

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We ordered bikes today too.  Rental bikes, that is.  After a quick lunch we headed out for a short ride.  A short ride that ended up being about 10 miles.

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Somebody LOVES his bike seat.

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We saw wild orange trees.

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So naturally – we had to stop and pick some.

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The ride up was so calm and pretty.

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With a few cows…..

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…and flowers to keep us company.

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And then it rained.  At first it was just a few drops, and we joked around about it “Raining” but then it started coming hard, and fast and we were all pretty much soaked by the time we got back.

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We are on a family vacation in Portugal.  Its fun, but there are so many dynamics that sometimes…it gets a bit…too fun.  There are so many relationships going on at once, that it gets fuzzy at times.  Its different than the trips we take when there are just a few going on.  Different, yet fun.

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Its hard to believe that we just got here yesterday.  After flying for 12 hours, we slept for a few, got up and did it all over again.  Different flight, different location.  Different cast of characters.  We were up at 2am to catch our flight.  Taxied here, checked into our apartment, and then went in search of food.

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Finding food in a foreign land, where everything is labeled differently, looks different and feels different – its always fun to try and find food that 1. Everyone will eat 2. Isnt expensive and 3. Actually edible!  But we managed.  After that short excursion we all more or less freaked out because 1. We couldnt see the beach 2. The cab ride was too expensive.  After a short walk we discovered the beach was a short distance away – despite the story we had been given from the cab driver.

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This morning (Some of us) got up and spent the morning at the pool.  It was colder, and rain was threatening to fall.  But instead of hiding out inside (like most of the locals probably did) we jumped into the pool (which was cold) and then headed to the beach.  Once we got there, the sun poked out and it turned into a beautiful day.

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There was a lot of adventures to be had on the beach:

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Wave jumping,

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sand throwing,

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hot doing eating adventures.

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Adventures in being a family, in a foreign land.

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Monday – While many people are still being covered in snow (sorry) we are in the full swing of spring.  Which, for us, means rain.  Lots and lots of rain.

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Tuesday – I picked some daffodils from our garden.  They werent open when I picked them – but it sure didnt take them long!

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Wednesday – Daffodils have always been one of those flowers that I have found to be difficult to photograph.  I love photographing flowers, but something about the daffodil.  I spend every spring taking millions of pictures and then they die off and I vow to try again next year.  I think this is the first picture that I have taken of a daffodil that I like.

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Thursday – This.  Is Jazzy.

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Friday – And this.  Is Nigel.  I might talk more about them later, but right now Im counting the minutes down until they go home.  It has been a very long two weeks.  Just sayin.

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Saturday – I wanted a picture of Yoshi – Because its going to be awhile before I see her again, and Im kind of going to miss my scooby.  She, obviously, wasnt feeling the same way.

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Also?  We leave tomorrow – Next weeks pictures will probably have a whole different look to them.

Ive skipped the last week and 1/2 because Nik was out getting repaired.  But he is home!  And Im happy!  And we leave in a week!  And here are some pictures!

Thursday – Nik came home!  To celebrate I hauled outside to get her picture.  She was about as thrilled as she looked.

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Friday – This is one of the trouble dogs.  Enough said.

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Saturday – Miss Yoshi, again.  Because you cant have too many pictures of Yoshi – right?

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Sunday – Look!  Spring! Its here!

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