Too Much

I keep meaning to update, but find other things to fill my time. I wish I was a better writer, one who kept you on the edge of your seat, excited for the next post, or even one who made you laugh. Though I lack talent in writing I enjoy keeping a blog as a way of keeping a journal for my family.

Since my last post there have been many things that have filled our time. After our trip to Italy my dear Sweet mother-in-law came to visit for three weeks. Lynn was a trooper on her visit. We met her in Madrid, picking her up at the airport after a full day of traveling she was more than excited to play. We took her back to the rented apartment, and unloaded her suitcase, 80% of it was full of things for us. It is always an exciting thing to see things from the states. We enjoyed the rest of our trip to Madrid by playing in the Retiro Park, it's like Central Park in NYC. We spent more than our share of time at the zoo, it was a spectacular zoo. We enjoyed seeing the penguins nesting, the white tiger roaring, the lemurs acting crazy, a ton of baboons monkeying around, a dolphin show, bird show, grizzly bears that begged for peanuts, and the aquarium with a large shark tank. It was a fantastic. We ended the day with a tour through the cathedral, the royal palace (complete with the armory), and the Plaza de España (nothing compared to Seville's beautiful Plaza).

Pictures of Madrid

Beautiful Retiro Park in Madrid 

 Finally we have Grandma Lynn!  Lunch at a great Mexican Resturant.

 Every zoo we have to get a picture of Emma and the Flamingos.

These two cute kids are enjoying the beautiful day.

 3 fun kids and a great dad. Plaza de Espana.

 Madrid Temple, families can be together forever.

 At the Madrid Palace with the Cathedral in the background.  Beautiful.

On the way home we stopped for lunch.  (Don't worry it's empty) but she was not giving the can up.

We thought both of her grandpa's would appreciate her taste. :)

 



After Madrid we had a little down time to enjoy some time at home. Then a quick trip to Portugal to enjoy the beaches there. We really enjoy their beaches where they have caves to explore, beautiful rock formations that are on the beach and in the water, and lots of creatures in the tide pools. Ending the day at our favorite restaurant in Portugal, a hole in the wall type place, they have the best shrimp you'll find anywhere, and if you ever want to try monk fish (and you do) this is the place.

Cute baby on the beach.

Cool Rocks out in the water.

Clara and I playing in the water.

Grandma exploring caves with the kids.

Kids finding lots of little crabs.

Ta-da!  Our Sand Castle.

 

 

We showed Lynn a couple of more places around the area and then we had the opportunity to host more guests in our home. A girl from my old home town we knew at church has been in northern Spain all summer being a nanny and her friend and her came to visit Seville. We were able to show them all the amazing sites of Seville, complete with a Flamenco show (I think this was one of the highlights for everyone, especially Lynn). They toured the Alcazar (palace), cathedral where Columbus is buried, shopping, the parasols (a giant wooden structure that the locals hate, but used for gathered events), a trip to see La Macarena, and an attempt to see Italica but failed. The girls had a great time and we had fun hosting them. My mother in law Lynn had just a few more days here do we played as much as we could, and we were successful at seeing a few more sites, we were able to get Italica in, and then a trip to the mountains in Arcena to see some gorgeous caves, and sites. Lynn left leaving us sad, and lonely for our last week of summer.

Flamenco Dancer, she was absoluetly mezmorizing to watch.

Beautiful Bell Tower in Arcena.

Looking off the edge of the Cliff.

Love this picture, shows the personalities of each kid.

School started and the kids have been back in the full swing of things. Landon started the school year with the same teacher he had last year. This made us a bit nervous because the last 2 months of school her husband had some major health issues that kept her out of school leaving them with out a proper teacher (not so easy finding certified English teachers in the south of Spain). But we now have a teacher that's full time and she seems to be doing a wonderful job with the kids. Landon likes her a lot and is doing great with a teacher that has a lot of structure in her class. Emma is loving her new teacher, always coming home with fun stories of the day. She's become a great reader, very proud of how far she's come in school.

First Day of School

A day at Plaza de Espana in Seville.

This fall Landon is playing football (soccer for you Americans reading this) and he's improved a great deal this year. We hope to keep him playing and learning trade secrets from the best. ;)
Emma is taking Flamenco classes. She's loving the class and teachers. I can't wait for next spring when I get to see her in a flamenco dress dancing the Seviana at Feria.
Clara is doing anything and everything her brother and sister are doing. She's a monkey see monkey do kind of girl.
We sure do love these kids and our opportunity to be here.
I will be posting more soon. I hope all my friends and family out there are doing well. I miss you all very much! Love Aud