The last post about Portugal...

...although I do reserve the right to post more pictures, if I find some with my mad Facebook stalking skills. :) And of course, if I ever go to Portugal myself, I can post about it. hahahahaha! Don't think you have to worry about that one.

Jordan arrived home around 9:30pm to find this waiting for her at the airport...

Ben was very upset that he had to stay out so late on an FCAT (FL standardized test) night. Michael is out of town again , so I had no choice but to drag him along. He didn't just FALL asleep, he purposely went to sleep to get rest for that important test. Do you think the teachers have emphasized the importance of a good night's rest?!

Anyway, back to the story...

Jordan actually took some pictures!!! I was shocked! She actually took over 230 pictures, as a matter of fact, so pour yourself a nice cup of coffee glass of wine and we'll get started...

...just kidding.

Just a few of the highlights.

Looking fresh with some of her teammates before their plane takes off.

Here she is with Heather O'Reilly of the NT...

and with Carli Lloyd, also of the NT...

3/4 of the Florida girls. The girl in the middle will be Jordan's teammate at FSU.

Soccer tennis anyone?

The Soccer Tennis "gansters" from Region III

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Then there were a lot of pictures of soccer fields, beautiful green soccer fields. I know Michael would like to see those, but the rest of you probably don't care, so I'll send him some later if he wants...

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Jordan also surprised me by taking some beautiful artistic shots like these... I never knew I even WANTED to go to Portugal, until I saw these...

and she captured this little boy chasing a bird...

Beautiful, huh?

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For those of you who know Jordan, you know that she is incredibly shy. I don't know if it was planned by the trip organizers/coaches or just a blessing from above (or both), but Jordan was assigned to room with the most gregarious girl on the team. Nina wouldn't let Jordan keep to herself & I guess the two of them were quite a pair and were the most avid stalkers fans around. I know it doesn't sound like a behaviour I should encourage, but Jordan is usually so controlled & self-disciplined that I like to think of her breaking out of her shell a little. She even ate crepes (!) , gellato (!), Capt'n Crunch (!) and tried pork (no fish though)! Amazing! If only Nina didn't live in freakin' Texas!

Seriously though, she had the time of her life & while I know she missed us, I think for the first time she wasn't quite ready to come home. Her wings must be growing....

So far, so good on the jet-lag front. She's still so high from the trip & is excited to tell all her stories. She's at soccer practice right now. I'll be walking on eggshells when she gets home though...wish me luck!