Most beautiful people award- Copenhagen, Denmark

Seriously, how can every person in a city be so fit and beautiful? Everyone in Copenhagen was out biking and walking. I've never seen so many bikes in all my life. The city has such a great feel. People were out enjoying the markets and cafes. I know its a little early to choose a favorite city but I'm sure Copenhagen will be very high on the list of favorites. People were so nice and helpful too, stopping to ask if we need directions. It also wins the clean city award. The public bathrooms were like a 5 star hotel.  It was fabulous!!! We walked to Nyhaven (colored buildings) and had a little sandwich by the river. Then we walked to the famous little mermaid statue and the Copenhagen museum. We also walked to this crazy little hippy micro country called Christiania. It's an anarchist community where the only laws are; have fun, no running and no pictures. It's not the kind of place that you break the rules, so we didn't get any pictures.  It was unlike anything I have ever seen. Copenhagen was an incredible city and I'm sure I would love to go back to spend more time there.

Grotto caves- Lagos, Portugal

3 days straight of sunshine on the beach has been so nice! We took a trip to Lagos and went to 200 steps beach (Camilla beach). It was so gorgeous and the water was so clear and beautiful. The highlight of the trip was definitely the famous Grotto caves. The ocean waters have carved out massive coves, caves, and private beaches all along the cliff side. The water was clear and there were fish and crabs. We went swimming around a bit and took some nice pictures. Unfortunately, I got some bug bites and had a few run ins with the coral and my legs look like a 5 year old shaved them. Haha. Good times though. Oh and the town of Lagos was really cool too. It had the historic buildings, cobblestone streets, beautiful tiles but also the modern shops.

Endless beaches- Faro, Portugal

I can't believe that we are in Portugal! What a beautiful place!!! Today we took a ferry to an island called "Ihla Deserta" (Deserted Island) and I can definitely see where it got its name. I love big cities but there is something that makes my heart happy about sitting on a beautiful beach for hours and not having a single person walk by. The island has like 6 miles of white sand beaches. The water was clear and warm and we picked up so many beautiful seashells. When people say "go to your happy place" a beach so peaceful and relaxing is where I go :) We are staying with the sweetest airb&b couple. They have a great house above the city with a pool and a wrap around deck. I'm sitting out at the table going through the pictures from the day and having a local beer called Sagres. Life is good!

Homesick

I don't know who called it but everyone warned that month 4 is the "homesick" month. The first couple of months are new so they're so exciting and then you start to get settled in and miss home.Yesterday, I found the piano music for all of the American songs (star spangled banner, america the beautiful) and played them over and over again. Haha. I'm pathetic. Its strange because I absolutely  LOVE Ireland and all the friends we have made here. What is it with human nature? why do we always want the things we don't have? If I left Ireland, I'm sure I would be saying "I had such a great time, I want to go back". Sigh.
This Saturday we are going down to Cork because 2 of our friends are getting married. So excited for them!!! Then on Sunday we leave for Portugal, Denmark and Sweden. It's only a week long trip, which is actually the perfect length to me. I hear the beaches in Portugal are incredible and we are so excited to see Copenhagen and Stockholm!

A day in the life...

Being home all day is actually pretty incredible! All those things that we always wanted to do and never had time for, we've actual gotten to do. My favorite part of the day is the morning. Adam makes me coffee out of our mocha pot, which is this great little espresso maker from Italy. Fabulous invention for true coffee drinkers!!! We sit on the couch and relax. Then we get our eggs from Freckles and Ruby and make breakfast. We are trying to stick to healthy, gluten free diet. Then we go for a run, or bike ride, or both. I generally do an ab work out. We are both getting in great shape. We also plan out portions of our trip, brush up on our Spanish. Adam has been surfing a ton and I've been playing piano everyday and I'm starting to get better. We have been cooking dinner together every night. It is epic! We were talking and decided no one ever gets to the end of their life and thinks "I wish I would have watched more tv or played more candy crush or ate more fatty foods". So we decided that there are no excuses for us. We really should do all those things we have always wanted to do. Oh and this week has been so incredible because we have been helping out at our church's vbs/church kids camp.  Its a pretty small church but we like 50 kids! We have a study and then play games, do crafts. Its so much fun but gees... kids are exhausting. I have a new appreciation for parents!!!

Happy 6th anniversary...

I love all the things that I've seen and all the places that I've been but most of all I love the one that I get to share them with. There are ups and downs in life and especially in marriage but I am so blessed to be married to a man that loves the Lord and loves me. I know when we look back this year will always be a time to cherish. All the top ramen dinners, cold nights in a tent, and showers that cut out just when you get lathered up, will be the fond memories that we look back on and laugh. Here's to many more great years....

Home base sweet home base

I know it's not technically home but boy does it feel good to be back in Ireland! We had an incredible time on our month long adventure but we were exhausted. The ferry ride back to Ireland was a 2am-6am. We got our spot picked out on some couches and then realized we had set up right next to the little kid play area. We had 15-25 kids running around screaming the entire night. I moved to the coffee shop and didn't even attempt to sleep. By the time we were driving home it had been more than 24 hours since I slept and we were so exhausted from the trip I kept doing the infamous head bob. I've never been so tired in my whole life. We spent the next 2 days doing much needed laundry, grocery shopping, post office, phone top up, and just relaxing. Yesterday, when we went to run errands we came out and Cloe had a flat tire. I know its unusual to be thankful for a flat tire but I couldn't help but think of all of the worse times it could have gone out (on the freeway, on the 5000 mile road trip, etc). Maybe Adam feels differently because he had to fix the thing in the rain, while I sat inside and watched him with a cup of coffee. Haha. Oh and Freckles and Ruby are healthy and happy!!!