Impressive

You have probably gathered from our silence that we have been busy. You would be right. We have been busy having a great time with mom. Unfortunately, just because we're busy having fun doesn't mean I have anything to blog about. So, we've been silent here. Hope you didn't give up on us...

Mom and I (and Mark) worked on some stuff for a baby shower that I'm helping host for a colleague. I roped Mom into it even though she doesn't know the mom-to-be. Isn't she great? I'm not going to post any pictures or talk about what we did because I don't want to ruin the surprise. I'll post later.

BUT, here's some pretty exciting news from the place where I was born. Let's start from the beginning.

I was born here: on the island of Madeira, Portugal.

See it? =o) Here's some help.

I'm sure you still can't see it, but this tiny island has made a name for itself.

In Europe, it's known for being the perfect place to honeymoon, vacation, and retire. Beautiful location. Amazing weather.

Some people around the world would connect the island to one of its main exports: Madeira Wine. Not many would know that, but now you do =o)

But now, Madeira has launched itself into global recognition. Because of this:

Yes, the tiny speck in the ocean has achieved a world-breaking record. I'm proud. The fireworks are really impressive (I always knew it), but this...this is cool.

Click here to watch it for yourself. If you're ambitious you can watch the full 10 minutes of fireworks, but the short version will give you the beginning, a good idea of the middle, and the grand finale at the end. Listen for the 8 cruise ships sounding off at the end as they pull out to open sea. There's some fun statistics on the page as well, including how many explosions per minute (in case you're a closet pyromaniac).

So, there you have it. Madeira. Famous. And my whole family missed it.