Love for a dear family member

We have seen a new attachment that Parker has to a member of our family. His dear Bear. We have enjoyed the growing relationship between the two. Today we witnessed Parker's love for teaching Bear more about our Savior. I asked Parker what the bread reminds us of when we take the Sacrament. He responded 'Jesus.' Good. So we talked about Jesus and his hands and nose and that He looks like us. Next was the water. Parker did so well listening to the Portuguese prayer. I asked Parker if he was going to share with Bear because he was loosing track of who the Sacrament reminds us of. Parker was watching the Priesthood holder come down the isle with the water and Parker said, 'I'm just gonna share with Bear.' I didn't want to object. So when the water came to us Parker took his very little cup then took a very small drink from that cup. He then gave Bear a small sip, then took another for himself. Then once again repeated the process. The man left without letting Parker put his cup in the hole. So when Parker was done all the men were walking back to the front with their trays of water. Parker blurted out 'oh darn, Parker didn't get to put his cup in the hole.' He sure had us laughing today.We took Willie to the doctor to get an x-ray done on his foot. The boys and I stayed out in the lobby while we waited for Willie. The nurse came out and started talking to Parker. I could tell he was nervous and didn't like the situation. She started asking Parker if she could give Bear a kiss. She took one without the offer. Parker did well but he didn't talk much. He then took Bear up the stairs we had been playing on when I observed a very touching moment with Parker and Bear. Parker, "don't worry Bear I won't let anyone take you."I love to hear what Parker has to say to Bear or what Bear wants to do. Here are a few more examples of Parker's love for Bear.

Parker will say "I love you Bear."
Sometimes Bear wants to say family prayer. So Parker helps out a little.
When we talk to Bear, Parker LOVES it. We always wake up and say 'good morning Parker, Lincoln and Bear.'
Recently Bear has been getting buckled into the car seat with Parker (is that bad?).
"Bear don't want dat."
"Bear, you've got to hold on to me."
"It's Bear's turn." When playing a game such as Memory or Trains (Candy Land style).
"Bear want to go on that train tory?" "nooo."
"Get under one arm." Then Parker puts Bear under his arm.
Parker dropped Bear once "Bear, Bear" I ask him, "What's wrong with Bear?" Parker replies, "I lof Bear."
"Bear let's watch a wovie."

Our wonderful visitors.

This post will be done in two segments, the second version will come much later and will include the first part of the trip. A little backwards but at least it's getting done slowly.

We had some fantastic visitors come to Portugal two weeks before we headed out ourselves. My parents and Grandma Combe came to visit. This was a great time and it helped us to see more of Portugal before we left. This portion of the trip is when we all traveled into the Algarve region (Southern Portugal). A nine passenger was rented and we all climbed in and headed South. We had to make sure that Bear was safe too. The drive down was very beautiful. There were parts that I missed, I could tell that I hadn't been in a car for awhile because I fell right to sleep. We were on a hunt to find a castle by the ocean.
Instead, along the road we found some venders selling many red potatoes and onions. We never did stop to find out what else they were selling.
We found our way to a magical place. There were many old 'castles' around this area and it is a tourist attraction because of the castles. We drove by but decided that we still had a long way to go before we arrived to our destination. Sintra was a little bit of a touristy area but very beautiful. This was a fun stop; the picture came from our one and only group photo session.
Here is Willie and Parker with a castle in the background. This place also had a botanical garden that would have been very pretty, but since we were still coming out of spring we opted not to see the inside.
My mom and Grandma trying to figure out where to go next.
Oh, all the boys heading back to the white nine passenger van. Too bad it wasn't as cool as the jeep that was parked next to us.
Our destination was the condo in Albufeira. We took advantage of the good weather and visited the beach. We didn't get the boys ready because we knew the water would be too cold to play in. I love when the kids run to chase the wave and then run back up when the wave chases them in. Parker was eaten up by a wave, so we then put him in his swim gear.
Here is Grandma soaking up the rays. It's good to get Vitamin C naturally.
Lincoln was a little sleepy. We constructed a nice bed out of some formed sand, jackets, and shade from our umbrellas.

My footprint and Parker's footprint.
This didn't last long. My mom and dad went exploring after taking a quick cat nap.

Later my parents came back to play tic-tac-toe in the sand. Parker and Willie tried to build a nice big stone pyramid. I think they did pretty good without too many tools.
Breakfast one morning. Lincoln couldn't get the sticky Cheerios to cooperate.
We enjoyed eating out on the porch. I really enjoyed spending time with family. Thanks for coming.
Cork. Did you know that cork is taken off trees grown in Portugal. This is a poor drive-by picture of the trees. The bark is stripped and then used to make cork.
We visited a playground by the ocean. A nice day to relax by the ocean. The sun was warm and inviting.
Don't worry there were no injuries, it just happens to be a funny picture.
I'm glad the boys could spend time with their great-grandma. Not everyone can have that opportunity.

Parker dragging my mom over to see the coolest ramp EVER!
Our last meal together. I think that we should have invited the missionaries over to enjoy the millions of left-overs that we had.
We had so much food to eat. It really was yummy.
We are grateful that we could have such wonderful visitors. We enjoyed our time with them. Parker learned a few things from his relatives. Parker and my dad we dancing in the kitchen one morning. My dad was pulling out some great moves in which Parker has learned and hopefully will never forget. He has a new 'kick' to his dance. Grandma Glenna also taught Parker something. He has been eating 'people' for breakfast. He enjoys cutting up little people to eat out of his pancakes or french toast. Some are tall, some are short, some are big some are small.

Paris - Versailles

One thing that Willie did for me on this trip was made sure that we would visit places I hadn't seen before. So we went to Versailles for the day. I was excited to go to a place that I had studied a little bit about. One fun thing for the boys was the train ride. This was their first (and mine) time seeing a double decker train. Of course we sat on the top level and enjoyed every minute of it.

The palace was exquisite and very large. We were a bit bummed when we couldn't take the stroller in. The boys were very tired and ready for naps when we arrived. Check out these golden gates. Wow.We did the tour with the audio, you know to learn more while we were there. With two boys though it was hard to remember and pay attention to what was said. Still there were interesting things to learn. Pictures were a little blurry because we couldn't use the flash (same as the Louvre).
One of my favorite views was looking out the windows and into the gardens. Even though the gardens weren't in full bloom it still was really beautiful to look at. It reminded me of a scene in the newer Pride and Prejudice where they look out the window.
What a cheeser. The hall of mirrors. A great look out into the gardens but the room is immaculate. Lincoln was playing with one of the ropes that keep you from going into the places you aren't suppose to go. He was getting into a little bit of trouble from a guard. We just said, 'if we had a stroller we could contain him.' We were a little peeved about the stroller thing. Beside that though the place was really fun to see. Lincoln wanted a chance to learn about Versailles.Lunch time. Parker had his first sandwich on a baguette. He loved it and nearly at the whole thing (except the crust).
Onto the grounds. We try to have picture proof that the boys went to these places. So here's their Versailles Garden photo.Here's Willies.We found some American's to take our picture. How nice, they even offered to take our picture when we hadn't thought of taking one. We returned the favor.My favorite part of the day is coming up. We were walking there. By this point the boys fell asleep. So much detail for a structure outside where it would get worn down over time. It's still very beautiful.
Okay here's my favorite part. This is where Marie Antoinette would come and 'play.' She would pretend to be a peasant, churn butter, catch a chicken, etc. This was a fun little place. The pond was full of fish and even had a few swans floating around.Dont' tell, I picked a flower.
Now who would like to keep these trees trimmed. Did you know it was the Rockefeller family who gave the money to keep this place alive?
By the orangerie. This is where you could put your tropical plants indoor during the winter and pull them out in the summer. Yeah for Versailles. Thanks Willie for taking me to a place I hadn't seen before.