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! :)

Sweeties

As Jer likes to say, in England 'they like their sweet.' Of course, I fit it quite well with this aspect of the culture (though I recently did a mini sugar cleanse lasting a good 6 weeks!). I've noticed they call candy 'sweeties' and wanted to show you a photo of what I call sweeties:

We are counting down the days to our 3 week long Easter break! We are anticipating the arrival of Jer's childhood friend, Eric Gerold, for a week, followed by a 12 day trip to Spain...which will include a day in Alicante, where I studied 17 years ago. What?! 17 years ago? Crazy, crazy. We hope you are well, are loving life & your sweeties!

Boochi Gaga & Moochi Gaga

Walter is our silly little happy dude. He's always making up songs and stories and smiling and laughing.  One of his recent made up things is Boochi Gaga & Moochi Gaga. He calls himself Boochi Gaga and me Moochi Gaga and it always draws me in and makes me laugh. He pulls it out as I'm tucking him in at night and ends up dragging on bedtime much longer than any other stunt has ever been able to. 

We went exploring East Sussex this weekend, heading to an old observatory that has now become a science museum. It was in the middle of a field, surrounded by sheep, and worth the adventure. The boys loved exploring all the hands on exhibits, followed by some Cricket practice in the car park. On the way home we stopped in a village for a traditional Sunday roast dinner. The village happened to have a castle so we walked around a bit before heading home again. It was a lovely day out...even if it was a bit damp!

Mom, do you ever think...

'What if we would have made a different choice how our life would be different'?

Owen asked me this the other day. Who knew an 8 year old could be so thoughtful, I certainly didn't, until this little man came into my life.

We've been keeping busy with school and work. Jeremy is buried at work these days...last night he was up working until 1am! I am working Monday - Thursday at The Montessori Place in the Infant Community. The children are really sweet and such a joy to be around, although they do wear me out! The hours are ideal as I start when the boys do and finish about 5 minutes before they do. The biggest perk is getting little glimpses into their days and a few extra smiles (from O) & kisses (from W) throughout the day.

Beyond that we've been busy making and doing as usual. I ended up buying a small sewing machine here instead of worrying about ruining my US machine with a transformer. Its quite nice to have a basic machine and I feel much more comfortable having the boys use it. We made our own parachutes for lego dudes and flew them out the windows the other day. We also have been inspired by our recent trip to the Science Museum and have had plenty of experiments and construction happening. A favorite was the spaghetti & marshmallow structures they made to hold a chocolate egg...which was then consumed!

Walter 'chillin out'

We also had a very special visitor last weekend. Jeremy's childhood friend, Josh, was in the country for work and managed to spend the weekend with us. They stayed up until 5am the first night laughing and reminiscing about the glory days of high school football and baseball. The second night they were in bed by 2am...and 11pm on the third night. They slowly realized they weren't quite 17 still.

Have we been on the Piccadilly line before?

The boys & I are off of school this week. Its a beautiful little thing called half-term! We've been busy with three different play dates which have included a sleep-over, swimming, exploring the nearby woods and building forts. Yesterday we took a break from friends and decided to go see one of the many great museums in London, the Science Museum. We had a blast exploring the space gallery, watching an Imax film about water reptiles of the dinosaur era, learning about climate change, recycling, and many, many more. The highlight of the museum was definitely the Launch Pad gallery, which was hands on science. Owen said a few times 'I really like this place, Mom!'

After 5 hours in the museum we decided it was time to get some food...so we hopped the Piccadilly line to Leicester Square and found CHIPOTLE!!! There are 3 in London, we went to one once when my parents were visiting, and were so happy to go again yesterday. We then caught a double decker to Victoria Station and headed home.

Owen's eyes get big when we are out exploring. I see him trying to understand the tube & map and I get so excited as I love this stuff, too. As we figured out how we were going to get from the museum to dinner, he asked me 'Have we been on the Piccadilly line before?' When I told him we hadn't, he smiled...which I interpret as being excited to explore somewhere new. Oh I do love that boy.

Standing a few feet from Walter & Mom...gaining a bit of independence & confidence...

Wow, that's really big!

My wonderful husband and the boys' super dad is 37! His birthday was Wednesday and there was much anticipation leading up to the big day. Walter and I were scooting home Tuesday after school while Owen was at chess club and he asked me 'how old will Dad be again?' When I told him 37, he said 'Wow, that's really big!'

Tuesday evening the boys and I made a cake and frosting, made our cards and found some wrapping fabric for his present. We woke him up with lots of hugs and kisses on Wednesday morning and made plans to pick him up from the station to go out for his favorite - Indian.

All was going as planned and we were happily celebrating Jeremy until we sat down to dinner and I ate my first popadom. I realized the headache I'd had wasn't just from adjusting to my new job but it was that I was about to get really, really sick. We made it through dinner, impressed by Owen's new interest in trying new foods (even the waiter commented on him eating the spicy masala), and headed home. We managed to sing, the boys all enjoyed the cake and present opening, and Jer tucked the boys into bed...just in time to start caring for and cleaning up after me. I won't go into the details, but his efforts were heroic and I'm just standing up for the first time since Wednesday evening now, 40 hours later.

I think he deserves a mulligan on this birthday.