Greece

Brussels airlines provided some great in-flight entertainment.  Scum kept them occupied and filled in lots of down moments while we were in Greece

 see...

 Mars hill was spectacular at night.  Although the rocks are super slippery from this view point and it made me super nervous.

Look at me and say cheese...yeah right!  We tried to get out early to avoid the heat and the crowds.  It was 100 degrees in Athens, and not too many shady spots for relief.

 Awesome theatre!!

 This is how we all felt

 I love how instantly he found a friend to play with him in the shade

 Despite the conditions, I LOVED seeing this

 Paul preaching from Mars hill

 Greek food can be interesting.  We did find a few good meals, but the greek salads were always a good go to.  We did not find any gyros, so is it really a greek food?

 We spent the middle of the day in a restaurant and the air conditioned hotel to escape the heat.  However we did pop out to see the changing of the guard, which was just a couple blocks away.  Pretty fun to watch.

 Some well deserved gelato

 And an evening walk through town when the temperatures cooled down

 After our stay in Athens we bused back to the airport and picked up a 9 seater van to head out to the Peloponnese coast

 Anita hit a home run with finding this townhouse.  This is where we spent the majority of our week left in Greece.

 This is Lily at the beginning of the week.  Very hesitant about getting in

 These two perfected their diving skills

 and the dab

 Poor Pop...or should I say poor kids ;)

 We ate at a restaurant out over the water with a terrific view.  Rachel was convinced that Pelopponese was the most beautiful place on earth.  I checked out a number of books on Greece from the library and she devoured them.  She learned at least a dozen Greek words, which she enjoyed using one night at the market.

 The kids could have stayed here all night skipping rocks, collecting sea shells and finding sea creatures

 

 A couple of the nights I let the kids swim through sunset to swim under the stars, because how magical and memorable is that?!

Breakfast with a great view

 And back at it again in the early morn

 Getting a little more comfortable...just needs a few floaties

 We decided to try out this beach, but the kids did not love the rocks and the sea urchins

 We headed over to Tolo beach to get some sand

 We rented a boat that fit us all and we went exploring

 Lily likes boats, she was very happy

 The crystal clear blue water was amazing.  Although it spooked Rachel pretty good when she could see clear to the bottom

 Lily, however timid in the pool, did NOT have a problem hanging out in the ocean

 Sacrificing the camera for a good shot

 And dinner with a view.  Seriously, what a great life!

 One morning Jake took the older two on a little exploration hike.  They found a neat little church

 Another beach day

 The nearby town of Nafplio was really charming.  We had a great time wandering the streets.

 Now look at her...she can't get enough.  We spent our entire last day at the pool.  That was a good choice.

 Fresh squeezed orange juice was delicious

 It caught on fast

 The candy shop was their one destination the second night in town.

 Lily loved her pink crib

 The kids all slept in the same room and did fabulously.  Made me almost wish they were all in the same room at home.

 On our way back to Athens for our flight back we did a pit stop in Corinth.  This place was really fascinating and I could have spent all day there.  But once again, it was pretty hot, and we had a plane to catch.  I loved every second of it.

 Paul again

 A big shout out to Pop and Grammie for helping make this trip happen.  It was perfect.  Fantastic memories were made!

 They really were great travelers.