Just kicking it with the kiddos....

So guys...this is my 100th blog!  Crazy to think I have been on this adventure  long enough to have written so many.  Just want to say thanks to all of you who have been traveling along with me.  I can't even begin to express how great it is knowing that all of you back home are right here with me through these posts and your emails and comments.  Now on with the post...After saying good bye to my parents and arriving back in Mallorca it has been go, go go which all you parents know is just how it is with 3 kiddos.  I'm finding my way around here pretty well and shaping a routine with the kids that's working for all of us so far.  There was a slight change in routine this week though....Diana was taking a much deserved holiday with friends which I was more then excited for her take.  Moms forget a lot of times that they need to take time for themselves away from home and I was so happy to help out

Loving horse riding...Yes Thora is standing on her horse! 

so she could have this time.  I love just hanging with the kiddos too so it was a win win situation.  Michael was also traveling for work the first couple of days so it was just me and the kids....such fun!  Unfortunately the first day Olivia was under the weather but we nursed her back to health and started out on a grand adventure of a weekend.  I believe I have mentioned before that they have some close friends (Nici and Christian) who have kids around the same age as Maxime and Luis so we all get together quite often.  This weekend was no exception.  I told Nici I would love to do some activities with the kids and she was

Luis is a serious farmer and Olivia was checking his work.

full of fantastic ideas.  Our first adventure was horse riding on Saturday morning.  Her 2 girls take lessons and we came to watch.  We  drove back through a bunch of tiny roads which I could never have found on my own to this cute ranch  with tons or horses.  Nici gave the kids a brief intro on how to behave around horses, don't run, don't shout, etc.  Well as soon as we started walking I said to Nici "I know Olivia is going to squeal with delight as soon as she sees the horses so the don't shout thing might not happen"  On cue the most beautiful sound of pure joy and delight came out of this little child.  She couldn't contain herself.  We all just cracked up and then reminded her she needed to speak

Nici teaching Maxime how to feed a horse. 

 softly near the horses.  She did great but I loved the pure joy she had in that first moment.  We watched Thora and Perla take their riding lesson which was great.  The girls even stood up on the horse.  Luis played on some cool farm equipment and Olivia assisted him. After the girls lessons we went over to the stalls and Nici taught the kids how to feed the horses.  I was so proud of all of them because they were brave and did it.  Luis who tends to shy away from dogs even put his hand out and fed a miniature pony.  After the horses had been fed the adventure continued with a walk through the forest area just near our house.

Cheeky Monkeys on a bridge. 

This spot was such a cool find.  I am so glad Nici showed it to me.  The entrance was a lovely wooden bridge with a small stream running under it.  It led to multiple paths and trails that went back into the forest.  All 5 kids were armed with a plastic bag to collect any treasures they might stumble upon.  This even included snails.  At the end of the trail there was a playground...oh wait let me back up a minute and tell you a story about the walk...So, near the end of the trail before the playground we walked by this bench and on the bench was a man laying down who appeared to be asleep.  Maxime and Perla were ahead of all of us and walked by kinda checking out this sleeping guy.  I heard Maxime say "That looks like my papa."  As I walked by with Luis and Olivia I just kinda glanced over and he looked kinda familiar but all I could think was I have 2 small children here with me and I am not stopping to check out the creepy guy sleeping (and snoring) on a bench along a trail in the forest.  Red flags all over the place on that one right?!  So we all keep walking and the guy jumps up and say "Hey guys...you all walked right past me!"  Turns out it was Michael who saw our cars parked along the road and came

Circle swing at the park.

to surprise us.  He said he had looked for us in the forest too and I was so grateful that he didn't find us there.  I would have been scared and traumatized and never been able to set foot back in there.  We all skipped along to the playground and played till dinner time.  All in all it was an amazing Saturday and we still had one more day in the weekend to play!  The kiddos had tennis lessons in the morning then in the afternoon everyone came over to our place for some pizza making fun.  All the kids got to create their own section of a pizza

Just making some Pizza...yum!

which they loved doing.  It is such a special thing to have all these kids who are such great friends and love hanging out together.  After pizza was made cooked and eaten the kids set off to create a show for the adults to watch.  I kept trying to sneak a peak and check on the kids and they kicked me out every time.  Watching the way these kids play and create things together makes me remember all the different choreographed performances I made my parents suffer through.  I am sure most of you ladies out there had a dance routine with your girlfriends to a Whitney Huston song at some point.  Mine was "How will I know" with my best friend at the time Sarah George.  The dance routine also occurred the weekend we went and got our ears pierced together.  I will never forget the night before we were going to go pulling out nightgowns over our heads really quickly saying "we won't be able to do that tomorrow when we have earrings in our ears"  As I watched Maxime and Perla climb up into her bunk bed sitting and whispering secrets to each other I am struck by the innocence of childhood and reminded

The sun setting out my window on another amazing week.

of what fun it was to be that age and just discovering who you are, who you want to be and having sweet friendships that will be memories forever.  We have to treasure each moment because they disappear to fast.....and just become a memory.         
Enjoy all your moments....and treasure your memories!

Hopper flight to Barcelona....

The beauty of Europe is you can book a flight a few days in advance and jet off to another town or country for a quick adventure.  My parents were going to be flying back to the states out of Barcelona so I decided to take my two days off work and join them over there.  I had never been and was excited to check out this city I had heard so much about.  I took a night flight after work over and arrived to my parents hotel where I was greeted with a bottle of red wine and some shortbread cookies.  I know strange combo but they are my recent obsessions....well the cookies are the obsession not the wine.  Don't

First view in Barcelona.

go thinking I have turned into an alcoholic over here.  I was so happy to be hanging with my parents again.  We spent that next couple hours before we went to bed just catching up and planning out the next couple of days.  I only had two days so I had to be quite strategic about my time.  My parents had one more day then I did but it still wasn't a whole lot of time to explore this big city.  My dad was doing so much better with is walking which was great but we still decided that it was best to do the hop on and off bus to get around quickly and get the overview of everything then decided what would be our top spots to go.  Our hotel was a little bit out of town but it was right next to a metro station that dropped us right in the heart of town in about 10 minutes.  We stepped up onto the street in Placa d' Espanya and were in awe of this city.  When you looked to your right you saw a beautiful street lined with lamp post leading down to a gorgeous building.  To your left across the Placa you saw the old bullfighting area which we later found out has been convertied into a mall but still has a museum inside showing all the different stages the building had been through.  Smack dab in the middle of the Placa was a huge

Placa d' Espanya...Bullfighting area

monument giving it the overall feeling of a proper european Placa. We found our stop to catch the bus, waited in the queue, then boarded the top of the double decker bus to ride around town.  We had chosen 2 spots to get off which were a bit farther into the route so we just sat back and took it all in.  As we were riding around I was realizing how big this city truly was and how much there was to see and do.  It made me a bit bummed to think I would only get a brief overview of the depth it had to offer but I suppose a little is better then nothing.  Being in Mallorca it is such a quick flight over (30 minutes in the air) that I am sure I

The port....tons of ships!

can come again.  Our double decker bus tour took us down along the water past the port which was filled with boats.  There were so many just packed in together.  Just down from the port was the former olympic venues.  There were all quite nice and still being used which was great to know.  I always feel bad when a city invests so much in venues and housing for the games and then they just go to waste after.  The olympics helped make the area down by the sea become a more desirable location to live in Barcelona where in the past the city center was more prestiges.  It surprised me that that was the case...you would think

Harmony of modern and old 

seaside would always be more desirable but I guess it's not that way everywhere.  Another thing I noticed while driving around this city was the beauty of the modern along with old.  It was really beautiful to see a gorgeous old building set behind a great modern piece of art work.  The lines and feel of the modern pieces around the city always seemed to follow the feel of the old parts of town.  They have done such a great job of integrating it into the city.  you see so many places that destroy the feel of the city by sticking a huge ugly skyscraper next to a lovely historical building but Barcelona has done it right.  Finding a true harmony of design.  I feel like there might be more of a design scene here too that I would like to do some research into finding out more about it.  One of my favorite pieces of functional art work in the city was these really cool shades that

Great use of old train track!

lined the median.  They were created out of metal and old wooden train tracks.  They lined the whole street and created shade for people who were waiting in the area.  Just another creative bit of Barcelona.  Now I mentioned earlier that we had 2 spots that we wanted to get off at.  One was the Sagrada Familia and the other was Tibidabo.  Both had been recommended by people who had been to Barcelona and had been top places in my research.  When we got to the stop for Tibidabo we got off and looked around.  It appeared as though we had been dropped off in the middle of a residential area no where near the

Tibidabo...as close as we got but still impressive.

top of the hill with the statue and amusement park we were looking for.  We decided just to walk up the closest hill and see if it led us in the right direction.  It was quite nice walking around the area and seeing some beautiful homes.  As we rounded a corner we spotted the statue on the hill so we knew we were going in the right direction but it still looked pretty far away.  Remember Hop-Along-Pop is just off the crutches and doing better but we were not looking for a repeat injury so we walked just a bit farther before calling it good and heading back to the bus.  The directions to get up to it were a bit confusing and we passed a few other people trying to figure it out too.  Come to find out there is a tram at some point you can take but we were fine with the view we got.  The only thing that would have been nice to see from up there was the view of the city, but that just wasn't in the cards for us.  Stop number two was Sagrada Familia.  I didn't really know too much about what this place was I just had been told I needed to see it.  As we were getting off the bus at it a lady looked at me and said with so much emotion "We did this place yesterday and it was absolutely fantastic."  She wasn't exaggerating.  This cathedral

Exterior of Sagrada Familia...Started in 1892

struck me with its amazing beauty and intricacy.  I had seen many photos of it but nothing could have prepared me for the real thing.  It is so massive you have a really hard time getting any sort of photo to do it justice.  The other thing that makes it difficult to get a great photo is the fact that is is still under construction.  It was started in 1892 and is still being constructed with the plans left by the designer.  There are two main sides to it.  The photo I have here is from the older side which I like more then the more modern side.  This side was completed while the designer Antoni Gaudi was still alive.  On this stop we just walked around the outside an took in all the views.  My mom went in the gift shop and bought a book about the history of the place.  After we took a significant amount of photos of this extraordinary building we headed back to the hotel to relax and put our feet up for the night.  Mom pulled out the history book and started reading and after a few moments she said " I think we need to go inside this place!"  I had just been thinking the same thing since I couldn't get it out of my head.  It's one of those places that just draws you in because it is so unique.  Decision made...I booked the tickets on line so we didn't have to

The view from the back to the alter

queue and we were ready.  When we arrived and walked in I was literally speechless and overwhelmed with what I was surrounded by.  Huge columns that branched out at the top like trees, sun streaming in through multi colored stain glass windows, and the most interesting alter I have ever seen.  As we walked thru guided by our handy audio guide (normally I hate those things but here it was great) you could feel everything that Gaudi had intended this place to be.  It felt like a sanctuary.  Even though there were hundreds of people around me there was still a peace about the place and I felt like I could really just slow down for a moment and connect in with myself and God.  Gaudi was greatly inspired by nature so that was reflected in the design.  The columns were like trees and the ceiling panels spread out like the leaves on the tree.  The stain glass windows were designed and placed to provide optimum natural light as were all the glass openings in the ceiling.  You would have never thought that this place was designed in 1892....it seems so modern yet not harsh which I find a lot of modern art to be.  This place was so well thought out and designed.  All the geometry involved in it made my head spin.

Another Gaudi design

 I could have stayed in this place for hours and hours but when you only have two days to take on a big city you gotta keep moving.  We were able to hit a few more key spots around the city.  One being a couple more buildings designed by Gaudi.  I really feel like his thinking was so ahead of his time.  I look at his buildings and wonder if when we was designing them people then thought he was a little nuts.  After seeing all his stuff around Barcelona I really would like to learn more about him.  His life ended in a rather unfortunate way...hit by a tram.  Sounds horrible right?! He is buried in the crypt in Sagrada Familia which is the perfect spot for him.  We were able to take a stroll through the Barri Gothic which is the old town area.  It was just as an old town should be with it's tiny streets, a beautiful old Cathedral and an antique market in the Placa.  Oh Barcelona why do I have to leave you....My time was drawing to a close with a plane to catch in a few hours.  My parents and I sat down together for on last glass of wine before we would be parted for a while and talked about the last 3 weeks.  What an amazing time and so special to get to share it all together.  With big hugs I grabbed my back pack and hopped

This is how to deal with a flight delay

in a cab and headed to the airport.  Check in and security were a breeze.  Bought some duty free wine and settled in to wait for the plane.  Unfortunately there was a delay. I got a bit nervous because I did have to work the next morning and didn't want to get in too late....also worried about it getting canceled.  After I confirmed it was just a delay I did the only thing anyone would do in this situation...opened the wine and watched Duck Dynasty.  Yep...I don't know why but I love them.  Makes me laugh out loud every time I watch.  After about 4 episodes I boarded the plane and made it back to my Mallorca home.  This is that last of my trips for a while (except maybe a hop to London) but I have tons to do and see here.  Can't wait to explore the island more.

Sunny Spain....Back in Mallorca

Stepping off the plane in Mallorca was like being wrapped up in a warm blanket after coming inside from a cold day outside.  I was definitely not dressed for the blanket wrap and desperately wanted to start stripping off the layers of winter weather clothing I was wearing.  Don't worry I restrained myself so as not to make everyone in the airport feel awkward although I am not sure anyone wold have noticed since they were all so self involved.  Oh yes let's talk for a minute about the fight from H-E double hockey sticks.  First off Ryanair is rubbish but cheap so you know you aren't going to get any frills but we at least thought they would accommodate my dad

Worth the flight for this view!

on crutches and let him use the lift. Nope...they made him limp down 3 flights of stairs and walk all the way across to the plane.  Once we got seated on the plane the madness began...there was the child sitting in front of us who was using the seat as a trampoline, the child in front of him who's speaking voice was more like screeching at the top of her lungs instead of talking, and then if that wasn't enough add on the 2 grandpas behind us with hearing issues so their conversation (which did not stop for the entire 3 hour flight) was just below the level of the screeching child.  Luckily I had my earphones and 3 episodes of Project Runway to

Family lunch...Spain family meets California family 

watch so I was ok.  My dad had his noise canceling head phones but poor mom just had a book and her ability to tune things out which was being tested on this flight.  By the time we arrived we all needed a drink for sure.  It was all worth it in the end though to get to this lovely island.  My parents took off to their villa and I went to my Mallorca home.  The next morning I was greeted by my little kiddos and Diana showed me the ropes for school time duties.  It took a couple of days to get into the routine and there were a couple of rocky moments but we got through it.  My parents also hit the ground running and started exploring the

Maxime...While posing said "You should take a photo"

island.  They saw more of the island in the few days they were here then I have done in the months I have been here.  Guess I have to catch up with them now.  We did meet up one afternoon and had a lovely lunch at one of our favorite beach spots.  I was so happy that my families got to meet each other.  It is such a blessing that they were able to come over and meet everyone and see where I have been spending so much time.  I didn't get to see too much of them while they were here because I was working but we squeezed in a few moments here and there.  They also came over to the house for a Sunday birthday celebration for the kids Grandma who was also visiting.  It was nice for them to get to come over and see where I am living and meet the kiddos.  Now while my parents were out driving all over the island I was hanging with some pretty cool kids.  I have never been here during school time so it is a bit different.  It is the daily routine of get up, eat, get dressed, head to school.  Like I said before the first day was a bit rough but now we have it down....The kids are amazing.  Every morning we are ready with time to spare and they are so proud of themselves for getting their "jobs" done in the morning so they can

Little Cheeky Monkey Luis

play a bit before they go to school.  There is a who rides in the front seat schedule so no more issues there and everyone is happy.  I am quite enjoying being back on a schedule and having responsibilities.  I am not loving getting up at half 6 to start my day but I will get used to that again too. The weather here has been beautiful.  So much sunshine.  Quite a change from what I was in.  It's back to sundresses and flip flops for a bit which is nice.  I have started playing padel again which is super fun.  I took my first lesson last week....it was all in spanish which I understood most of and what I didn't get they other lady in the class with me translated.  I definitely have a goal of learning Spanish.  I am doing well understanding a lot but that doesn't do too much good when you can't respond back.  I will get there but it is gonna take some time.  For now there is a lot of Spanglish that happens.
With school and all the kiddos activities the days really fly by.  The also have started taking tennis lessons which is fun.  I love tennis and can't wait to play with them.  Maxime is getting the hang of it quickly so we should be on the court together in no time.  Life is definitely good here and I am super

In case you forgot what I looked like Luis has drawn a portrait of me.

 happy to be back on the island.  I adore these children and quite enjoy my time with the family.  I must say though one of my favorite moments was walking up to Luis when he was concentrating very hard on some art work, looking over his shoulder and seeing that he was drawing a girl.  I asked him who it was and he said "Can you spell your name so I can put it by your picture"  Bless him....sweetest boy ever.  This drawing now has a permanent spot in my room.  I feel so lucky and blessed everyday!
I said good bye to my parents but this was not our final stop together. They were heading to Barcelona and I was going to take my two

Just another sunny day in Mallorca.

days off and follow them.  More exploring Spain in the next post....Barcelona!

A whole lot of Royalty....

Scotland just keeps getting better and better!  Since the first bus tour had gone so well we decided to do another.  The other bonus to it was that our great tour guide from the first day was the tour guide for this one.  The only down side to these tours is we need to set an alarm to get up which goes against all our holiday instincts.  It's a small price to pay for the great day we get though.  This tour was going to be quite different since it would be coastal instead of highlands.  First stop along the way was a town called Dumferline.  It was absolutely adorable.  Quaint little streets, an adorable historical house called the Abbot house and a beautiful newer cathedral attached to a older Abby.  We hopped off the bus and started our

St Margarets Cathedral and the old Abby

exploring at the cathedral and the old Abby.  To get to the cathedral you had to walk through a old cemetery.  These always intrigue me.  I love reading the grave stones and finding out the history of the families.  There was one large family plot where the parents and all the children were buried.  As I read it my heart broke.  Out of the 6 children the parents had, only one out lived them.  The parents had to bury 5 of there children.  One died at only 11 months and the oldest one they had to bury was 24.  I can't even imagine what they went through but I suppose it wasn't uncommon for the time.  After the cemetery we were struck by the

The town of Dunfermline

contrast of new and old.  Now even the new wasn't that new but in comparison to the old it was.  The old abby was beautiful and so was the new bit but what I liked the most was that at the top of the new part the great king Robert the Bruce had his name carved.  You should be able to see part of it in this photo.  I suppose that is the earliest version of having your name up in lights. He also was buried there.  Read up on him...he is kind of a big deal in Scotland.  Once we strolled this area we had about 15 minutes left in our stop there so I choose to explore town a bit while Hop-Along-Pop and my mom headed back to the bus.  The

The seaside...Anstruther

town hall (which you can see in this photo) was just gorgeous and the historical Abbot house was quite cute too.  I am glad I took a stroll through town.  The next stop on the tour was a little fishing village called Anstruther.  I am so happy we had a sunny day because this place just glistened in the sun light.  We walked along the water into town and enjoyed a bowl of soup and fresh bread at a seaside cafe.  Oh wait....I have to back up a minute and tell you the funny (and gross) story that happened on this bit of the bus ride.  We were just driving along, enjoing our scenery when a girl from the back of the bus came up and said to the driver "My friend is sick and threw up can we stop!"  Awesome!  The driver said "We will be stopping in 5 minutes and I will take care of it."  Of course everybody around is like oh poor girl...well not me.  Now don't think I am being heartless quite yet...I had over heard the girls chatting at the last stop and the girl who puked was complaining about how sick she felt and her friend said "Well it's self inflicted...maybe you shouldn't drink so much." I do not feel sorry for the girl who gets hammered the night before a bus tour and then pukes...come on...it is a given if you get on a bus going through

St. Andrews Abby

 windy seaside roads with a hang over you are gonna puke.  She continued to puke on the street of the town right along the side walk.  Made for a great lunch eating atmosphere.  Anyway, minus the puking girl the town was lovely and we really enjoyed it. Our second to last stop was the town of St. Andrews.  Home to many beautiful things new and old.  For those of you who are Royal Family fanatics St. Andrews School is where William and Kate met.  There were signs in coffee shops that said "Will and Kate went on dates here"  Super funny!  The town also is home to the famous St. Andrews golf course and we were

St. Andrews Castle along the sea side.

there during a big tournament which was kinda fun to see.  The things I liked the best were the Abby and the Castle.  The abby was mostly ruins but as you can see from the photo they were still partially intact and you could get a feeling of what it really looked like.        I didn't go inside and walk the ruins because of limited time but I walked around the outside which lead me to the next unexpected beautiful view of the St. Andrews Castle which is right out on the cliffs of the seaside.  Again the sun made this view even more stunning.  I cruised through town taking in all the little shops and also the famous St. Andrews College.

Forth Bridge (on the right)

  I really wish I would have gone to college in Europe.  Even if it would have only been for a semester.  These schools are just so different then ours.  Anyone who has the chance should do it and parents encourage your kids to go....it will be amazing for them!  Our last stop on the tour was Forth Bridge.  This stop was supposed to be in the morning but was completely fogged in so our lovely tour guide made a special stop on the way home so we didn't miss it.  It is a

View from Edinburgh Castle

huge bridge but you can only tell how huge when you see a train on it.  Apparently there had been a bridge before it that had fallen down and caused major tragedy so they really over engineered this one.  After this stop our bus tour was done and we headed to the executive lounge for some wine and relaxing.  The next morning Hop-Along-Pop needed a day of rest for his foot so mom and I set him up with a bag of ice on his foot, remote control in his hand and the number for room service if he needed it.  We then headed into town for a big day or royal palaces and castles.  We decided to do the hop on hop off bus to maximize our time.  We normally would have walked but with limited time we wanted to make sure we saw it all and the bus was the way to do it.  Plus the buses have live tour guides on them giving history along the way which is great.  Our first stop of the day was Edinburgh Castle.  This massive castle is built on volcanic rock in the center of the city.  It is high above the city and is quite massive inside.  The most impressive part of it is the view it gives you over the city.  We were able to wander through the Royal apartments and see the crown jewels.  We also saw the room where Mary queen of Scots

Holyrood Abby

 gave birth to her only son James.  Love those little tid-bits of history that just make you think about the life that was happening at that time.  Just the fact alone that Mary had to have her baby up in a tiny room in the castle because it wasn't safe to have it in the comfort of the palace. Now that palace was also on our list of stops for the day.  After the castle we hopped back on the bus and headed down the Royal Mile to Holyrood Palace. We weren't allowed to take photos inside but it was beautiful.  This was where Mary Queen of Scots lived for quite sometime and we were able to see her rooms. Outside the palace was the original abby for the Palace and we were able to walk through and take some photos.  Again places like this make you feel like you are stepping back in time.  I get lost thinking of the history that has occurred here.  Especially since I am reading about Mary Queen of Scotts right now I can't help but imagine her footsteps thorough this place.  Just gives me goosebumps thinking about it.  After all this royalty and walking we decided to head to the hotel and call it a night.  Hop-Along-Pop had enjoyed his day and he was walking quite well.  Still using the crutches but moving much better.  He decided he

Royal Britannia...Palace on Water

was up for heading out with us that next day into town.  We got him a hop on hop off ticket and headed out to the port to tour the Royal Britannia.  Now this was not on the top of our list to do but it was a part of a combo ticket we bought so we figured we would do it.  Turned out to be one of my favorite things.  This Royal Yacht gave a glimpse into more modern day royalty.  I love Queen Elizabeth and her family so this was a treat since she was the main one involved in this.  The ship itself was beautiful and not extravagantly decorated for a yacht.  As you walked through you realized that when they were out to sea it was really the only time they were able to be fully out of the public eye and have some rest.  Queen Elizabeth still worked while aboard but she was able to also enjoy some much needed peace.  I learned a lot I never realized on this tour.  After the tour we took another bus drive around the city to take in all the sights one last time before we headed back to the hotel for our final night.  I honestly can't believe how quickly this time has flown by.  The end of my holiday time is drawing quickly to a close as we prepare to head to Mallorca.  I am so looking forward to seeing the family there and also

Good Bye Edinburgh...you have been amazing!

beyond excited that my parents will get to experience this beautiful island and meet the wonderful people I live with there.  It is with a bit of mixed emotion that I say good by to Edinburgh.  I loved this city and want to do more here but I am so looking forward to being settled in one spot for a bit.  Maybe even up pack my suitcase...it's the little things right.  Every time I sit down to write this blog I am overwhelmed by all that I have been able to do.  I know I say this a lot but I really do feel so lucky and so blessed to be living the life I have right now.  I know it is not forever but it is amazing for now.  Each day is a new adventure that I am grateful to be living it!
Next stop...sunshine!  Mallorca here we come!