October 8, 2010

Well, it's official - my immune system is the weakest in our family.  Let me get you caught up.  The one thing I was trying to avoid here, in Portugal, was having to go to the doctor.  I even took extra measures before we left Utah.  All the kids had physicals/checkups at the pediatricians and I got all my doctor stuff taken care of to. I figured we were good for the next solid year.  Well, because I had that flu really bad it caused a little complication (that I won't go in to).  So, I had to see a doctor.  There is this really nice lady, named Sandra, that lives in the condo complex that we're staying in.  She speaks English fluently because she lived in New Jersery from age 4 to 16.  She called several doctors and got me an appointment for that evening.  The doctor was a very nice lady, but her facility was pretty much the reason why I had wanted to avoid going to the doctor here.  It was this little hole in the wall place.  The reception area consisted of a lady standing behind a counter - no computer, no desk.  She had me write my name and address on a piece of paper.  When the doctor got there (she was stuck in a traffic jam) she brought me in her office which was attached to her exam room.  We had a nice little chat (with Rick interpreting), she locked the door, took me in the exam room - which consisted of a wall shelf with all her stuff on it and an exam table that looked like it was from several centuries ago.  Let's just say that if it was Utah, the office would be shut down.  So weird - she didn't even have a nurse.  Just me, Rick, and the doc.  Well, at least I got my problem taken care of.  But, now I got what Tanner has.  I spent all day yesterday on the couch with ache/chills, sinus headache, cough, stuffy head, runny/stuffy nose.  Not fun.  Tanner coughs all night long - so he hasn't gotten a good nights sleep in about a week.  Let's just say I'm sick of being sick!!!!!!  Rick's been great - poor guy's been taking care of me non-stop.  In fact, he just left to go to the pharmacy once again.

Well, let me tell you about something cool we did.  Tuesday was a holiday for Portugal.  It was the day that they celebrate Portugal becoming a Republic.  Because it was a holiday our friends, Fatocha & Luis, didn't have to work.  They took us to this really cool place.  It's known as one of the 7 Wonders of Portugal (I think).  It's these caves called "Grutas de Mira de Aire" (google it - they're pretty cool).  They are about an hour away from Fatocha's house.  Getting there & back was quite an experience.  There is tons of road constuction right now and we were following their car.  We got separated from them - and remember we still don't have cell phones - so Rick had to go to a mall and call them.  The pay phones are funky and I guess it cut him off.  So he called her back and it went to voice mail so he left her a message telling her we'd meet them there.  Well, after stopping to ask for directions a few times, we finally made it.  We ate lunch at the restaurant above the caves (I'm telling you - eating is very important here) and then we toured the caves.  What a cool place.  If any of you decide to come visit us we will definitely take you there.  I'm very claustrophobic, so I was a little leary to go (heart palpitations).  But, inside the cave is huge and very well lit.  Portugal put tons of money into making the cave tourist friendly.  They even have pretty water fountains in it. It's a very beautiful place.  I was impressed.  The only bummer thing was that the tour guide spoke in Portuguese (of course) so I couldn't learn much. Afterward, we went to a mall with Fatocha's family to try to get cell phones - finally.  But, because it was a holiday the store was packed.  We called it quits because we were there forever and never got helped.  We grabbed something to eat with them and they headed back to their home.  We still wanted to shop for a GPS - so we headed to a couple of stores.  By this time it was almost time for the mall to close (11pm, by the way).  Oh - I forgot to mention - Devan had stayed in the car because he didn't want to shop - so he'd been in the car for probably 2 hours.  The mall closed and we headed for the parking structure.  I hadn't paid attention to where we had parked because I assumed we'd be leaving with Fatocha's family and they always new where they were at.  The mall is several stories tall and the underground parking  has several levels.  Let's just say we spent the next 1/2 hour looking for Devan and our car.   Funny!!  Rick jogged the parking structure with Tanner while Kaylie and I stayed inside the mall doors (because they would lock from the outside).  Nothing seems to be easy here!! haha

We always said we expected this to be an adventure - isn't that the truth!!!!!

Hopefully I will be able to post pictures soon.  I have some pretty fun pictures that go along with some of my stories.  The problem is, because we are using that "pen" thing to get internet - it charges you per megabyte to download/upload.  Rick was going to download a movie for the kids to watch last night, until he figured out it would cost about $200 to do so.  So, I have to wait on the pictures - sorry!!

Well, pray we find a home soon.  I'm thinking one of the reasons we keep getting sick is because all the houses here have mold.  They call it "humidity" problems.  Their homes are built out of block which holds the moisture inside the homes.  Most of the homes smell musty - like old, wet concrete walls....hmmm

Love ya & miss ya (and our wireless router)
Denise