Two-year-olds are glass cases of emotion. Not knowing how to express themselves, they often boil over and scream, screech, cry, or bite because they just can’t handle their frustration. My two boys seem to be at the pinnacle of this behavior, not knowing enough vocabulary to talk about their issues, but also old enough now to understand more and get angry about so many things. Just today, these are the things they started screaming about.

Evora may play second fiddle to Portugal’s major cities of Lisbon and Porto, but this charming little town with a rich history back to the Roman age was one of the highlights of our trip to Portugal with our twins. It might have been the spectacular weather and one of the best places we’ve ever stayed as accommodations, but it may have stuck out more than Lisbon or Porto as a favorite on the trip for us.

Lagos, Portgual is known as the jewel of the Algarve for good reason. With the sun out hitting the sea, surf, and rocks, it glitters like a jewel. While the beach is likely to be the center attraction of any visit, there’s plenty more to do around the great town after the sun - or sunburn - get too intense. Save the burn for the spicy fish stew and head into town for the best this laid-back region has to offer.

One of the reasons it took me so long to actually start this blog - besides having the time to actually write for it - was that setting up a web server and keeping it up and running seemed like such an ordeal. I remember setting up a tomcat server back in college with a static IP that was an absolute nightmare. Thankfully, I discovered Amazon Web Services and realized how easy it can be to run a site.

For my twins’ second birthday, we took them all around Portugal for two weeks. We had originally planned to stay put in a central location and make a villa our base of operations so that we could maintain the same place to sleep for the boys. We changed our minds and decided to travel around most of the country over two weeks when we started researching the country and discovered so many great things to see and do.

Lisbon is a beautiful city to explore. There are endless historic sights, shops, restaurants, and great bars. But to really get a sense of the culture and history of the city, it’s worth heading just outside the center to nearby Belem, home to the historic locations where discoverers of old departed across the open ocean. From Belem, Portugal’s empire grew and spread across the sea and around the world. On a sun-soaked day, it’s hard to imagine why anyone would ever want to leave.

This week I became officially certified as an AWS Solution Architect after passing the certification test. It certainly wasn’t easy, but now I get to hang out in the certification lounge at Amazon Web Services events like the NYC Summit and re:Invent. Ok sure, there’s also the prestige of demonstrating my knowledge of AWS and proving to myself that I have a good understanding of it, but it’s really all about getting that sweet badge for LinkedIn.

With ample sun, sights, and awesome food, there’s a ton to see and do in Lisbon, Portugal. The real magic of Lisbon comes from exploring its side streets and alleys, but there’s so much to experience all around that a good plan is needed. It’s also a spread out and hilly city, so making the most of it involves some walking and creative use of the public transportation. With a short amount of time or compressed schedule in this glimmering historic city, make sure to make the most of it to see and do the best this city has to offer.

A little while ago, I began managing a new team with a bunch of new team members reporting in to me. In order to help get them to know me better and understand the way I work, I decided to write a manager README. Inspired by some great engineering leadership READMEs I found online, I noted down my own values, priorities, and way of doing things so that my new team could quickly get a better understanding of me.

My twins drove their Playschool car off our deck. They went out of my sight for a few moments and the next thing I knew, they were down the four steps off the deck and in the back yard crying. Thankfully they weren’t hurt at all because the car protected them. I’ll never admit it though, and will deny it to anyone who asks. I’m normally a pretty attentive parent, so of course the one minute I let my boys out of my sight, they took off and made me look like a terrible parent.