For Fall Break, Nan, LaLa, Mom and I went on our first trip to Portugal. We went to the city of Lisbon where Mom booked us about two tours a day so we could see a lot of different things.
The first day, we all went on a private tour with a guide who took us around the city of Lisbon and told us all about the history of the different sections and then he took us for some good Portuguese food for lunch. At the end of the day, Nanny and LaLa were flirting with him and wanted him to come to dinner with us, but he called his boss and they said he had to go and do another tour. It was pretty late, so I dont know if I believed him, I think maybe he was afraid of taking both Nan and LaLa on at the same time.
The next morning, Nan and LaLa went to Fatima with a guide on their own for the day and Mom and I went on a great Segway and food tasting tour. It was really fun to ride on the segway through the streets of Lisbon, but it was even more fun watching this older man and woman try to ride because they thought they were good riders and said they had ridden in other cities but the woman crashed into a pole and fell off before we even turned the first corner. The man hit his wheel on a pole later in the tour and then he crashed and fell off. Then we had to stop and one of the shop owners on the side of the road even brought out a stool for him to sit on because he was shaken up. But then he got back on and off we went. Mom and I didnt have any problem at all.
The next day we all went on a Knights of the Templars Tour togther and it was cool because we got to see some amazing castles and go inside them and climb to the tops of them. The tour guide told us about the history of the castles and how they used them to defend the land. The next day, we let Nan and LaLa recover in the morning and then in the afternoon we went on a half day tour to see Sintra and Pena Palace. The palace was huge and it was built in different sections and we got to hear about why the different sections were built and we also saw how they even built the entrance to one section to look like it was a real castle entrance and not a palace entrance to try to deter attackers from trying to enter.
Nights of Templar:
Gardens:
After that we did one of the best tours which was called a dolphin watching tour and we saw SO many dolphins!! The people who ran the tour even knew them all and had names for them and knew who the families were and who the babies were and were able to help point them out to us. They swam right up by the boat as we were driving along and we were allowed to climb right out there by the edge, not like in the US where they would have been yelling at you to stay in the boat and sit down.
My Favorite Dish: Steak and Eggs
The last tour we did was in this little vehicle that was called a Tuk-Tuk and the tour guide lady told us about the city and some of the sights that we hadn't seen yet. It was a tiny little bus/scooter like thing that we all could fit in.
Every summer, we go back to the US (notice I don't say "go back HOME"? That's because Belgium is my HOME now) for 6 weeks or so. This time, we stayed at our normal hotel, the Residence Inn and they know us now so we're almost like family there.
The first week home, Mom took me to a healthy employee kind of event at her J&J company headquarter's in New Brunswick. I met this therapy dog there who they have to give you hugs and reduce stress.
Since I miss my puppies, Baci and Beau, getting hugs and kisses from her did make me feel less stressed.
Then we went inside, and Mom let me play the piano there at Corporate that she says that nobody ever plays. And people kept stopping to hear who was playing because, I guess she was right and that they're not used to hearing anyone play it.
She told me I better stop, but other people told her to let me keep playing that it was so nice to hear music being played there for a change.
Then we went out to the event and they had all kinds of things set up like obstacle courses that you could race against other people on, the blow up kind like Mom used to rent in our backyard in Branchburg for my birthday parties. I've seen pictures for some of those when I wasn't even old enough to do them by myself, but all of my aunts would pick me up and throw me over the walls and hand me off to each other and catch me when I would slide down the big slides and we would all be laughing so hard in the videos. I'm not sure if the obstacle course back then was for me or for them, but it seemed like we all had a lot of fun!
Here I am trying the challenge to see how long I could avoid getting knocked off the pedestal.
We had a lot of fun, and luckily I was in really good shape because I had been training for the big Tri-Rock race. I have a whole separate post on that so I'm only going to put one picture here and say look for more in the next Tri-Rock post. You'll see me and the CEO of J&J, Alex Gorsky, the guy I used to call "The Boss of Everyone" when I was little.
Here I was getting ready to train in Belgium and this was the day that my official Team J&J Tri-Suit arrived!!!
Alex said that most people are scared to death about having to go out in public in this tri-suit, but I was so excited to actually get one because they first said that kids don't get them (they only get a t-shirt). But I raised so much money and moved up to like 5th place on the fundraising list, so they decided to give me one.
My Aunt Corinna and Uncle Arthur came all the way to NJ from Florida to visit us the same weekend as my Tri-Rock race. And they even went all the way to Philly to see me race.
It was a long way to go and they also had a long way to walk to get to the place where the race was being held, but they and Pops and Mary Jean and Nanny and LaLa and JJ and Yummy all came to see me.
Aunt Bear was there and Lauren was doing the race too, but she was doing the real one. It was a little longer than my race. When the race was over, we had a little bit of time to spend with Aunt Corinna and Uncle Arthur and we went out to eat and we went back to their hotel with them. There was a piano there, but it was locked and they said they didn't have the key. Mom was disappointed because she really wanted me to be able to play a song for them, but we couldn't do anything about it because there was no way to get it open. Maybe next time. The time went way too fast and then the weekend was over and it was time for them to go back to Florida, but we may be able to go and see them this summer in Captiva! I really hope so!!!
Then, I went with Mom and some people from her team at work to the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen again to serve lunch to the people there. It's always really good to be able to work together to help there and I'm always disappointed that it ends so soon. I wish we could stay and do more.
Then it was 4th of July, and on that day we always think of our boy, Fritter Ritter, because that was his birthday and he was the best Rottweiler of all time. He's been gone now for a few years, but we still miss him SOOOO much. Isn't he the most beautiful Rottie you've ever seen?? Look at that face!! He used to howl and we would howl together and he and Mom used to do it the best.
Then, Mom and JJ (I don't know quite whose fault it was, but someone made a BAD... B-A-D, BAD decision here) found us a disaster of a house down the shore for 4th of July. Holy moly, it was SO bad that even Nan and LaLa didn't want to stay there more than a couple of nights and left early.
The lady who rented it was missing more than a few cards from her deck and we ended up with the only house left on the beach that hadn't been updated after Super Storm Sandy. What a TRAIN WRECK this was!! I kept asking if I could go to Titi Christina's house to sleep on the floor and take a shower over there. I would have been SOOOOO happy to stay there even sleeping on the floor!!!! But Mom said no because they had company and she said I couldnt fit over there, but I bet Titi would have fit me somewhere. Check out this dump...
This was the hot tub that was advertised as part of the pool that was surrounded by the sand that it had been filled with only a couple of weeks earlier.
I don't even have the heart to put a picture of the shower in here. I showered with my crocs on and made sure that I didn't touch any part of the shower AT ALL the entire time that I was there. I'm going to be scarred for life from this adventure...
After that, we left early and headed to stop and see my donor brother, Jacky, on my way back our hotel. We were going to the 4th of July parade with my dad and Timmy the next day. This is my younger brother, Jacky. He was living down the shore, now he moved back to Florida. We have the same donor dad, do you think we look alike at all?
The next day was the 4th of July and we went to the parade at Aunt Toni's house that we always go to. I love this parade, first because I always get to see my 2 cousins, Timmy and Chris, and 2nd because we get to chase the candy the throw from the fire trucks and other cars that drive by in the parade. Love this!! This year was the first that Christopher wasn't there. Mom always takes here annual picture with Timmy, Chris and me, but this year it was just Timmy and me.
So, Tim put an arm out to leave a space in honor of Chris (he was at Boy Scout camp). Then we took our annual 4th of July picture with Pops!
Next day, I got to spend the day swimming at my friend, Kelly's house with her and my other friend, Chelsey. We don't get to see each other except for Christmas and summer but it doesn't matter, we're still good friends because it's just like we saw each other last week every time we get together.
Kelly and Chelsey and I have been friends since 1st grade and they know everything about me...the good, the bad and the ugly and they still like me any way. And no matter where I go or how many other friends I make, I always come back to NJ and look for them, because they're my oldest friends and I know we're going to always be friends.
Sometimes you need friends who you can just be crazy with
The other thing that I always do in the summer is go to camps that my mom plans for me. She has it ALL figured out and has the weeks all lined up and somehow she makes it all work perfectly. This summer I did Robotics Camp, Basketball Camp, Piano Camp and Super Camp. Here are some pictures and highlights from each of them.
This is the robot I built (above). It has a sensor in the front and back and when it makes contact with something, it reverse direction.
Here I was asked to explain at the parents demo what we had been doing.
The robot to the left is the one that my team built to compete in the Sumo Competition. We didn't win because there was a problem in our code which didn't signal to the robot that it was supposed to turn back towards the center of the ring when the color sensor sensed the white outer circle of the competition mat. NOT GOOD!!
This is me at Westminster Conservatory Piano Camp. It's my 3rd year attending camp here and I really love it. We get to learn so many different things and also get to perform in duets and also trios at the piano with other kids. It's not easy for 3 kids to play a piece of music at the same time, heck, it's not easy for 3 kids to do anything at the same time...But we make it work!
This summer I also went to this cool camp called Super Camp where I stayed at Temple University for about 8 days. (Mom said it felt like 80...haha) This was when Mom really got her new nickname... Helicopter Mom. She said she was going to strap twigs onto the top of her head and crawl around the campus on her belly to watch over me while I was there to make sure that I was ok. I'm not sure she's going to survive when I really go away to college!!
Here are the little notes that Mom wrote out for me so that I would have one to open every day. They had riddles and jokes in them and things to make me laugh and smile and remind me that she loved me. Only Mom would think of this, and I have to admit there were some good ones in there,
This is the dorm room that I stay in. Nicer than the Princeton one that I stayed in for Basketball camp the summer before!!
Here's Mom watching me walk away when it was time for parents to leave. You'd think she was taking the last picture of me that she was ever going to have for the next 3 years. Poor Mom, we should have signed her up for her own camp at the same time...someplace else though!!
This was my group at Super Camp
And the whole camp group
And here's the link to the video from our Graduation Ceremony. It was NO normal ceremony, that's for sure!!!! I think the parents were a little shocked.
Then we went out one night for JJ's birthday and we had a big table full of people. It was fun and of course, JJ and I got to hang out. Then we have to show off our muscles, just so everyone at the table knows whose in charge around here! Haha!!
Sunshine Mary was there and
even my Aunt Bear. This how it always is when Mom is trying to take a picture of the two of us. It usually takes about 5 or 6 tries before she gets a good one.
It must be Aunt Bear's fault though because look the same thing happens when I try to take a picture of Mom and Aunt Bear. It takes about 20 before Aunt Bear stops wrestling her and the shots aren't blurry.
Then, at the end of the summer before we head back to Belgium we always start with a series of birthday parties for me. First with my friends and then with my family and then with my Aunts and then there's even one when we get back to Belgium. Good thing you don't actually turn a year older for every PARTY you have or I'd already be 40!!
This was my birthday party at the rollerskating rink and you don't even want to ask my Mom what kind of cake that was!!! Just notice how the kids all look a little unstable after eating a few bites later in the pictures. Good thing we didn't have the cake until the skating was almost over. Good job mom with the RUM cake!!! HaHa!!
Here you can see my cousin Chris below out skating with me and up above that's my cousin Timmy sitting next to me with the Rum Cake and my Uncle Mark and Aunt Suzy were there too. Across from me are Alyssa and Morgan and at the other end of the table are the Twombly bunch. It was great that everyone could come to the party!!
And Aunt Bear and Lauren, Pops, Nanny, Lala, JJ, Yummy, Isabella and even Yummy's mom and her grandchildren were there.
One more bit of fun in the parking lot before we drove off.
Then there was the party with my aunts at the bowling ally. There was Amy and CC, Aunt Bear and Lauren, Alyssa and Morgan, Titi and Jordan, JJ and Yummy and Isabella and me and Mom. And we had great time until Mom and some others got food poisoning in the middle of the night!!!!
Me, mom, Jordan and Titi
Aunt Amy, CC and Me at my birthday party at the bowling alley. I don't get to see them as much as I used to, but every time I do it's like we just saw each other last week. That's what happens with Aunts who have known you since the day you were born, I think, they never really forget you and you are always going to be able to put your arms around them like in this picture and feel loved. Just the way we roll in the Posse.
Me, Jordan, Alyssa and Morgan...mini Posse members
It's hard to believe that we used to dance around in a circle and they used to take turns holding me in their arms. Now, I'm just about as tall as they are!!! I bet I can dance and hold Jordan, though!!
And then, just like that, our summer trip to NJ is over and it's time to go home to Belgium. We go out to eat at Houlihan's for our last lunch together and then take our last few pictures and off we go to the airport.
Even had to say goodbye to Aunt Bear...my other pea from the pod
But at least I always know that there will be 2 little ones who will be VERY excited to see me when I get home... Baci and Beau!!
The first day, we all went on a private tour with a guide who took us around the city of Lisbon and told us all about the history of the different sections and then he took us for some good Portuguese food for lunch. At the end of the day, Nanny and LaLa were flirting with him and wanted him to come to dinner with us, but he called his boss and they said he had to go and do another tour. It was pretty late, so I dont know if I believed him, I think maybe he was afraid of taking both Nan and LaLa on at the same time. 
