No, you just go upstairs, I'll get you water.

We were back to work and school this week as normal. It was an exciting week back to school as there were two changes to school while we were away on break. First, Owen's classroom, which was 3 small rooms, was opened up into one large beautiful room. Second, the garden area at school got a total overhaul, complete with new climbing structure, slide, and all sorts of new outdoor games. The boys were in heaven. It was nice for me having one term under my belt, as I felt more confident and comfortable with it all. Unfortunately, part of working with beautiful young children is lots of germs. I ended up getting quite feverish yesterday and pretty much sat on the couch and lied in bed. I did manage to pick the boys up from school and when we got home I told them I was going to lay down. I then said, I need to grab a glass of water first, to which Walter said "No, you just go upstairs, I'll get you water." We're clearly doing something right!

Walter had a pretty exciting day on Wednesday. He lost his 3rd tooth, the first of his front teeth. I'm a total sucker for that toothless smile so I imagine there will be ample kisses and spoiling happening for sometime.

We're learning to seize the sunshine and Thursday was an absolutely perfect opportunity for seizure. Owen conveniently had swimming for school, which means we pick him up right on the sea front (he swims in an indoor pool...not the sea!). I had ran home, loaded up with snacks, thinking it would be a perfect afternoon on the beach, collected Walter and we went to get Owey. We played in the water, found all sorts of starfish, did kart wheels, found a flounder, discovered sand worms, threw rocks into the sea and sunk into the 'quick sand'. Life by the sea is pretty amazing!

This is really weird.

After our lounging days in Estepona, we made our way back to Barcelona with two main pitstops along the way. The first was the city I studied in 17 years ago, Alicante. It was really strange and wonderful and weird...and I said it over and over as we walked around. It was quite surreal and really fun to tell the boys about different places and things I did. It was super fun to take them to a few places that Jer & I actually went to together when he visited me. It feels like a lifetime ago but yesterday at the same time.

Esplanada de España 

Playa del Postiguet

Castillo de Santa Bárbara

I have this same photo of Jer from 17 years ago!

After many 'this is really weird's we made our way up the coast a bit more to Calp. This was another place I visited and distinctly remember. The only difference is that I stayed in much nicer accommodations and ate better food this time around!

The view from our room!

Our view while waiting for our dinner!

Te amo España!

Can we check and see if shuffleboard is available?

We've been playing a bit with giving the boys a bit of space and responsibility and found our time in Estepona a wonderful place to practice it. We stayed at a beautiful resort on the sea, complete with pools, many outdoor games and even a dryer (a huge treat for me!)! To say the boys enjoyed all the games is an understatement. They absolutely loved them 'to the highest point in the galaxy (which never ends) and back.'

After a few days on the resort together, when they asked if they could see if a certain game was available, we decided it would be alright for them to go see for themselves and report back to us while we cleaned up after a meal or finished folding clothes from the dryer (!). When the report was in, they would then go check out the materials needed and meet us at the game location. The absolutely loved it! I followed behind them a couple of times...without them knowing... I trust my sweet ones completely and want to trust in everyone else, but can't.

So, while we were in Estepona, we relaxed in and out of the pools, played on the beach, played lots of games, read many pages in our books, celebrated a certain mom's birthday, and enjoyed being a family. It was perfect.

We could see Africa from the beach!

One more part of our Spain trip to go...but I'll save it for another day.

Fresas y Fanta Naranja

We just returned from a much enjoyed and much needed vacation in Spain! The grey days of winter were really getting to us, so we soaked up as much sun as we possibly could and appreciated every ounce of vitamin D. I had been talking to the boys in Spanish in preparation for the trip, trying to get them to want to learn a bit along the way...but the two phrases they embraced were 'Fresas' and 'Fanta Naranja'. Basically, a gummy strawberry candy and orange soda. Nice.

Findin 'fresas' in the candy store!

We started the trip with a few days in Barcelona touring the beautiful city. Our flat was steps away from the Boqueria, which, when you ask the boys, is always in the top 3 from the trip. It is an amazing market full of fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, spices, nuts and pastries. We rambled through it every morning to find our breakfasts. Yum, yum, yum.

Breakfast! 

A few other highlights from Barcelona include all the amazing architecture...those lovely Gaudi buildings, the many beautiful designer shops and strolling through many parks. In the Parc de la Ciutadella we put the boys to work, having them row us around the lake while we basked in the sun.

Walking La Rambla

La Familia Sagrada

After seeing beautiful Barcelona, our aim was to be poolside so we rented a car and headed toward Estepona on the SE coast. We broke up the drive with a night in Valencia to visit the Ciudad de Las Artes y Las Ciencias. We admired the stunning architecture once again, while taking in the aquarium and science museum. This was another highlight for the boys for sure. The aquarium was particularly amazing, while I couldn't get over how ascetically pleasing the science center was. I realized I am quite fond of modern Spanish design. Quite fond!

After a night in Valencia and a day exploring, we got on the road at 4pm for an 8 hour drive down to Estepona. I'm exhausted thinking about that one...so will save that for another day! :)