Our second morning on Porto Santo island started a little bit earlier than we would have preferred. Eilidh was startled awake by her noisy brother and sister and therefore started the day out somewhat crabby. Eilidh then woke me up, and I started the day in the same crabby mindset. Of course, Brian manages to sleep through everything, so that makes a momma even more crabby!
I did some laundry, watered Eilidh, drew up meds, administered meds, and got Noah and Emmie breakfast before Brian and Cassy showed their eyeballs. Brian planned to work today and wanted to take the kids to the beach before starting work in the afternoon. While doing the laundry, we noted the cloudy sky and chilly morning and decided that it would maybe we wise to keep the baby at home until it was a little warmer.
Cassy voted to stay home with Eilidh and me, but both of the big kids were thrilled to hit the beach with Daddy. We gooped them up with sunscreen and sent them on their way. I leisurely fed Eilidh her breakfast and Cassy was able to FaceTime with her parents. Eilidh spent the morning wandering around the house and the yard, trying to get Cassy to share her phone, and finding strange things to put into her mouth. By 11:30 she was getting cranky, so I put her down for her nap.
Brian and the kids returned with small buckets full of shells and rocks. Emmie and Noah gave me a tutorial and introduction to each beachcombing find that they brought home while Brian showered and ran out for some takeaway lunch. From the same nearby restaurant as yesterday’s dinner, today’s lunch consisted of chicken pasta, pork, fried corn fritters, and rice. Food for five people, with leftovers, was purchased for a little over 13 Euros.
The kids played with their shells in the yard while Brian and Eilidh took naps, and I read a book. Eilidh woke up about the time Brian started working, and we once again gooped up the kids with sunscreen, grabbed a boogie board from the garage, and headed to the beach. We were able to FaceTime GeeGee on the way to show her our cool views.
Beach activities today included sand castle-building, wave-chasing, trench-digging, mommy-burying, water-splashing, and beach-walking. Emmie and Noah both took rides on my back out to deeper waters but both declined to use the boogie board even with my promises of safety. Later in the day, Noah was talking to me as I walked out and he ended up following me to chest-height water.
He was astonished to find that it was not scary “way out here” after all and he spent much of the next 25 minutes holding onto Cassy’s hand or my hand and jumping waves! Eilidh was thrilled to join in the fun by sitting on my hip during this time, but Emmie sat at the ocean’s edge pouting with loneliness despite repeatedly refusing to join us.
We made our way home where the kids once again had outside showers and a clothing change. Brian and Noah walked to the city center to get groceries and dinner while Cassy and I tried to keep the girls awake long enough to eat dinner on their return. Emmie and Noah ended up having a picnic dinner of cereal and yogurt in the backyard while Cassy, Brian and I ate some weird lasagna he bought at the grocery store.
I was excited to find several huge aloe vera plants growing in the backyard. Brian was absolutely horrified when I suggested cutting off a piece to apply the gel to my sunburned shoulder and insisted that he could go back to the grocery store to buy me some gel. Thinking this was ridiculous, and being able to point out earlier cut leaves, I cut and used a small chunk off anyway. The gel felt wonderful!
Despite being exhausted, the kids tried to talk their way out of bedtime. It didn’t work, and all three were down for the count shortly after 9:00 p.m.