Heaven on Earth (also known as Portugal)

Here we go. This is a quick and short run down of just a tiny bit of what we saw in Portugal. Clayton and I left the boys in England at Jenni's and we took Hannah. Let me tell you, I needed that! Don't get me wrong, I missed them, but I really got to enjoy Portugal so much more because we got to be tourists instead of parents. Lucky for me, I had the best tour guide there is. Clayton served some of his mission in Portugal so it really helped that he spoke the language (mmm mmmm mmmm) and he knew of some really AWESOME spots to see. The first of MANY castles that we saw in Portugal. This one was mostly ruins, but we were able to climb all over it and on top of its bordering walls.

I am the tiny blue dot in the doorway.

One of its walls and watch towers from a distance.

This place was one of my favorites! It is a palace that they have set up in its original furnishings and decor for the public to see. I think it was used in the 1700's. Needless to say, everything inside was amazing!!! Not to mention, my husband asked me to dance with him in the ballroom!

View of the Palace from a mountain that we hiked.

Gothic Cathedral right below the Palace

View of Lisbon's penninsula.

Another view of Lisbon from the watch tower of a castle.

I am so in love with this picture!!!

Another one of Clayton's Awesome shots!!!! I love the lighting.

Castle stairwell

Villagers gardens inside the castle walls. There are also some small homes built inside the walls. It is very bizarre, but I guess land is land when there isn't very much of it!

Dang! I did this little group of pictures backwards again! Grrr, blogger! So these last few pics are all from a castle right on the border of Spain. It was in a very old village and the people were amazingly nice. Clayton said that their Portuguese was very thick with accent, but he really enjoyed talking with the people there and listening to them speak.

The road we took to get to and from the castle. We thought it was worth a picture and I am glad we have it now.

These are the streets below in the village. As we were hiking up to the castle, there were 2 older women outside talking on the street and another woman hanging outside of her 2nd story window fully engaged in their conversation. It reminded me of the movies for some reason. Very old fashioned, even when it comes to Porutgal.

So this was our last day in Portugal and we decided to go to the main castle in Lisbon. This castle is ENORMOUS! It was basically a fortress for protection from all of their enemies. It is close to the coast up on top of a hill, but it had a wall that went all the way down the hill to a watch tower. Then down the coast like 10 miles or so was another watch tower, and again there was a watch tower on a tiny island in the middle of the water a ways out. Basically, if there was a threat at all they would light a fire at the top of the towers as a signal to warn the castle! So cool!

So, there you have it in a nut shell. My next post will hopefully Germany/Holland.

Kari's Dance

I know, I know, I was the coolest person you had ever met until you saw this video, right? Well, Jenni.....Casey...., this one is ALL for you! Everyone else, I am sorry to have to put you through this, but I hope that at least it'll make you laugh!

ALL of my sisters in Europe!!!

Here they are.....2 of my most favorite people on this earth! My older sister Jenni and my younger sister Casey! The second half of my trip was spent touring England with them. We had so much fun together! I will remember this the rest of my life and miss it too. The chance that us 3 will be in London ,or anywhere magical, for 2 weeks together is not very likely! We were so lucky to have this time together, and I am so grateful that I got to go! I love you Jenni and Casey! Thanks for showing me your world!

Me with my 2 sisters! Jenni is in the middle and Casey is on the right. So, what do you think??? Do we look alike? People tell us all the time that we do, but we just aren't seeing it. In fact people mistake us for one another all the time when we go back to NM. WIERD!!!! We don't see it! As far as we're concerned, the only similarities that we have are the bags under our eyes and our ear lobes! What the heck?!?! Look at all the pics to make a better judgement, but let me know. I am curious to know what ya'll think!

Me, Jenni, and Casey in front of Buckingham Palace. Do we look like royalty or what?!?!

Me, Jenni, and Casey in front of tower of London's bridge.

Trying to be excited???? I guess after take a ton of pics that aren't so great, you think of funny things to do. We had so much fun during this photo shoot. We were sitting on a wet lawn in front of a castle in England! Doesn't sound like much, but I think we almost made Casey pee her pants!

The 3 of us again! Me (cute one), Jenni (the almost famous author), and Casey (single model).

......and these are my other 2 sisters! Sorry fella's, they're taken! Gwendolyn is to my left. She was my families foreign exchange student years ago, so she'll always be my sister. Her and I had so much fun together when she lived with my fam. We got along instantly and have been great friends ever since. It was so great seeing my Gwendolyn! Dominique is to my right holding Hannah. She is Gwendolyn's older sister and is married to my older brother! Their story is so, so cute....she came to visit Gwen and answered the phone when my brother called home. They talked for 2 hours (I think) before my mom got to talk to Brendon! After a few more phone calls lie the first, they knew it was "real" and they have been together since! I love Dominique, she is the perfect girl for my brother. They are happy in Holland and are now expecting #5 (their last).

Hannover Castle in Hannover Gremany

Weston and Kaiden walking up the drive toward the castle....so magical!!! This is one of my favorite pictures from our trip. Good job, honey!!

Kari, Weston, and Kaiden on the front driveway to the Hannover, Germany castle.

below:

These are more of the BEAUTIFUL views of the castle....

The boys especially liked this castle out of all that they had seen, because this one "looks like a real knights castle". I have to admit, it is one of my favorites as well. As you can see, it is truly amazing from every angle!!

Picture "TAG"

This is a picture that Clayton took the day before we flew from Guam to Alaska. We were staying at a resort and outside eating on the patio that night. The rowing teams were practicing for about 2 hours and we just happened to notice the sunset at the same time. This was such a beautiful moment. I am so glad that Clayton was able to capture this for us to always remember. He does such a good job at taking AWESOME pictures. I have always thought that this one could be entered in a contest! So lucky YOU. You get to see this:) This all started with a picture tag that I would like to keep going. What you do is go to your 4th album in you pictures and then to your 4th picture in that album and see what you've got! Thanks Mandi for the great idea!!!

Now, if you have read this, you have been tagged! I would love to see more crazy random pics like this one!

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

Weston brought this home from school today. I thought it was so cute I had to share!

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake
(aka the most dangerous cake in the world)

4 TBSP flour
4 TBSP sugar
2 TBSP cocoa (can substitute Ovaltine)
1 egg
3 TBSP milk
3 TBSP oil
3 TBSP chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla
1 large mug

Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the chocolate chips and vanilla and mix again. Put your mug into the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip onto a plate if desired.

Now, WHY is this the most dangerous cake in the world??? Because we are now only 5 minutes from chocolate cake-day or night!!!!

1 year old tantrum!! Where did my sweet baby go?!?

You see this toy in the pictures? Yep, that's the whole reason for the fit! She wanted the toy, but she wanted ME to hand it to her. Hannah was standing there next to the toy looking at it but whimpering. I kept asking her what was wrong but of coarse the only response I got was the standing up bouncing/wiggling "fit". So, even though I know she can't actually respond, I still wasn't going to allow her fit as her response so I ignored her and walked away. She REALLY did not like that! That's when she threw herself forward onto her knees and just started screaming. When I realized that it really was the toy she wanted, I picked it up to "ask". As soon as I picked it up she stopped crying and tried to catch her breath. Oh heck NO!! So I set it back on the ground and told her to get it herself....all of a foot away. Enough to make her even more mad. Mad enough to lay all the way down and start the KICKING! What!?!?!?! Babies do this? For a toy within her reach??? I can not believe this! I am convinced that it is a mix between

her being a girl/redhead/mom's sassiness/dad's stubborness

I really miss those adorable, sweet, cuddly, cute baby days!