Learning the United way

 Rita had the wonderful opportunity to spend a week in Manchester, England this summer, attending the Manchester United Soccer School (thank you, grandpa!)... She had a great time, learned new things and made new friends from all over the world...!! The camp was hosted at the gorgeous Denstone College, in Staffordshire, with a visit on the last day to the Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester. A truly unforgettable experience!!!

Summer fun days...

A few days ago my girls and I took off, along with some girlfriends, to Seattle for an overnight trip...

The purpose? To watch a friendly soccer game between Manchester United and the Seattle Sounders!!!

Isn't it funny that all the girls went and all the guys stayed home...?!

We had so much fun, I don't think our girls will ever forget this trip!

Pike's Place

The reason why we were there (and we got to see 7 goals!!)....

Then, shortly upon our return our family was invited for a barbeque at our friends' beautiful country home...

Can you say j-e-a-l-o-u-s...??!!

The setting is gorgeous, the home is magnificent, there are chicken, alpacas, bees, lavender, and an incredible view...

And the sun was out!

The kids favorite of the day...

To finish off our weekend, there was a lot of this...

... And the best part? A championship win!!! What a great way to end an absolutely lovely week!!!

A champion in the making...

Rita's soccer team made it all the way to the Oregon State Cup finals, but took second place.... We are very proud of their hard work, they truly are champions in our hearts!!!

The following pictures are from the finals, our team lost 4-2 (including a penalty we suffered), but Rita scored a beautiful goal - see picture below!!! It made my day!!

Can you tell how proud I am of her...??!!!

The girls and their sports...

Clara has traveled to Chicago for a gymnastics invitational meet. Despite the though competition, she placed 5th on Beam! She is having a great time, and we can't wait to have her back tomorrow... These pictures were taken last month at a local meet, I really love them...!

And here is a little video showing Rita scoring a goal in Futsal, today! She is in burgundy, with the number 7 (after Cristiano Ronaldo, of course...!). So fun to watch them play...!

A special visitor for a special girl

Happy 14th birthday, Clara....!!! We love you!!!!

Pena Palace and Óbidos

I know I have already overloaded you with pictures from our trip to Europe, but I did not want to miss the opportunity to show you two of my all time favorite places to visit in Portugal, which I couldn't wait to share with my children... The Pena Palace is one of the most romantic castles I have ever seen, and it stands on the top of a hill above the town of Sintra (a mere half hour drive from Lisbon)...

Óbidos is a very picturesque little town encircled by a fortified wall... In the 13th century, a portuguese king donated this village to his wife, which explains the informal title of  "Queens Village".  It maintains a well preserved medieval look, and it has become a favorite tourist attraction in Portugal.... Of course I did not leave Óbidos that day without trying the ever so famous cherry liquor called ginginha...