Family Land Rover Adventure

Yesterday, we decided to take a five hour adventure with the boys. Participants had to be five and older so we left the girls at home with the grandparents and headed out for a day around the island with just us and the boys!

JB took some great pictures so I will let the pictures do most of the talking.

There were three other participants and two guides so they occupied the first two rows of the Land Rover. JB, me, and the boys had the back area. 

In our family you are not allowed to say "ewwww" when you see an animal. (Unless it is a cockroach or a tick. JB actually equally despises those two things.)

Walking with our group. Isaac has a digital camera in his hand. He was attached to that thing the whole day. The kid LOVES taking pictures!

And Sidge LOVES to talk to people. Here, he grabbed the tour guide's hand to show him something. Sidge talks non-stop but he is so liked by everyone who meets him because he is just so outgoing, kind, and lovable.

Isaac taking a picture of the end of a waterfall with Sidge looking on.

An Azorean shrine.

I love this picture!

Testing out how cold the water is. It still isn't shorts weather around these parts.

Eucalyptus tree.

Off to hike to the top of the waterfall.

This was a day of adventure which meant not worrying about falls or dirt! Sidge kept saying, "Do adventurers get hungry? Do they take naps? Do they get dirty?"

Top of the waterfall.

My awesome boys! How great to spend a day with just them!

This picture demonstrates how hard it can be as a mom to let boys be boys. Notice my hand willing him not to fall in!

My husband is always paying attention to the details.

Sometimes I don't notice the details until we see the pictures later.

Our Land Rover. 

What would a day on the road be without traffic -- Azorean traffic of course.

The flowers blooming around the island are simply amazing.

After some initial driving, we began the "rough" part of the trip. Man oh man this Land Rover was capable of going through huge mud pits, down inclines, up ravines. It was really bumpy but the kids were having a blast!

The loves the ladder on the back of the Land Rover, and the guide encouraged them to climb to the top.

We stopped for lunch at a beautiful park. Our guides made lunch in a clay pot using alcohol to cook the sausage. Delicious!

Isaac is our goat. No problem going across these stones.

Sidge took longer and ended up falling in the drink!

Isaac ended up with wet shoes and socks too. So he ended up going barefoot the rest of the day.

Seeds from the Eucalyptus tree.

Wild strawberries

Me in front of a fern. JB really dislikes when I do crazy faces during pictures.

They call this rock "Little Bear"

We had never been to this section of the island before. It was gorgeous. Other than the fact that I got pooped on by a bird, it was a great stop on our adventure.

Isaac took this bridge no problem. Sidge "raced" across it in case the bridge broke. He consistently lets  Isaac try something first and then says, "I will see if I can be brave."

I love this photo.

Sidge picking up big rocks to throw in the water.

And little rocks to try to "skip" on the water.

A sampling of rocks on the beach.

Oh man. Look at this moment. Sidge has fallen and Isaac is running on a wall where the handrail is broken! Egads!

And below are some of our favorite photos from the day -- with a little bit of editing by JB.