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!