Spain has begun….

After 24 hours (literally no exaggeration) of travel I land back on the island of Mallorca and hit the ground running.  School run to pick up the kids, with some help from a friendly driver since after basically no sleep in 2 days I was not fit to drive, and back home to hang out.  It was great to be reunited with this lovely family and dive right back into life here.  At this point I will pause for a moment of truth about the passing of 2 months between my blog posts.  Since returning I have felt at home but also unsure of how to really communicate the feeling in a way that makes sense.  It has been the hardest of all the blogs to write.  Today I literally had to force myself to sit down and just type to see what came out.  I believe there are a few factors that are playing into my difficulties and confusion, first I have been trying to integrate into life here and come up with a schedule and routine.  That has been happening

Flying away to a new start

slowly and I love all the parts of it but getting into a routine of everyday life is very different then the life I have been living for the past couple of years.  The reality of that lead me to be a bit disappointed thinking that my days as a jet setter were behind me and I would no longer have amazing and interesting things to write.  The domino effect of these thoughts continued and the blog got left to the side until I could work it all out.  I am not saying that by writing this blog I have figured it all out but, I am realizing that I was allowing myself to close my eyes to what was around me by putting on the daily life blinders.  The last weeks or so the blinders are slowly pulling back and I am pushing to find the experiences in everyday life that will continue to make this journey a true adventure still.  In a way I suppose this is a new start to my incredible new life over here in beautiful Spain.  With all that said let me try and catch you up on what has been going on around this place.  Like I mentioned travel was great…thanks for all the prayers!  We were all excited to see each other.  Papa noel left a gift for me which the kids were very excited to pass along.  It was the perfect thing for

Good fun or a law suit waiting to happen?

me too…a new padel bag so I now look legit when I show up for my games each day.  I passed along some little things to the kiddos also…Christmas in January is always fun.
Now remember how I was saying I wanted to try and find bits of adventure in everyday life…well here is one.  Large mobile stuffed animals that kids can ride and drive.  I have never been more anxious and scared for the well being of everyone in a 15ft radios in all my life. Here is how it works…you place your small child on top of the animal of their choice, pop in a couple of euros and they are off when they press the gas pedal.  Yep that's right there is a gas pedal.  Let me tell you these things can move too.  I had to do a very quick walk/run to keep up.  Forget about being able to warn un suspecting shoppers that a pink donkey is about to run them down…just pray your kid can release the pedal in time.  Parents..how many of your kids would be able to do that?  It was like nothing I had ever seen before.  I was laughing and

My 90 minutes of hot sweaty bliss.

crying and shouting warnings the entire time.  10 minutes felt like an eternity and I was grateful the only casualty when it was over was my heel being slammed into by a short stop of the pink donkey.  Everyday life adventure…not the same as a tour of a castle but man it was funny.
One really great thing about being back here also is my lifestyle.  The family here is super sporty which I love and we encourage each other to stay fit and try new stuff.  I have gotten back into my yoga routine here which has been amazing for me.  I know it sounds silly but it really just brings me peace.  I talked Diana and Michel into trying it too.  Diana went with me the other day.  It is so fun to have people to share the things I love with.  I am still heavy into the padel playing. It has got a bit competitive here in the household too.  We have a chart where we have to write down our wins

My little skipper

and losses each day.  Nothing like a little accountability to make you concentrate more.  The kids also do their fare share of sport but the most recent one to really get going in the house is a bit of rope skipping.  Most of you know all about my passion for the sport so I am passing it on.  Maxime has really taken to it.  She is the same age I was when I started jumping.  It is such fun watching her get better and better right before my eyes.  We have started the same competition that my Dad did with me when I started. He stuck a 5 dollar bill up on our cork board and said when you can do 500 jumps in a row it's yours.  I am doing the same with Maxime (except euros of course)  So far she is up to 79 but is determined.  In just one weekend she went from only being able to do double bounces to getting over 50 single bounces in a row.  Those of you who jump or have attempted it know that is a big deal.  I am so proud of her and her determination.  She is such a little super star.  Can't wait till we can start doing our work outs together.  I have a feeling it won't be long.
In the midst of all this getting fit and running down

Relaxing and studying/sketching

shoppers in the mall I am also trying to learn languages.  Yep that's right I said languages.  There are 2 additional ones spoken here in the house besides english.  The first on my priority list is Spanish.  I have enrolled in a class at the kids school.  Don't worry it's an adult one I am not crashing the kindergarden spanish course, although that wouldn't be such a bad plan either. It is going to be really helpful plus Maxime has now declared one day a week spanish only day.  We shall see how that works out.  I am also attempting to learn as much German as I can since they also speak that.  Now German is going to be really tricky to speak however I am starting to understand.   It is actually kinda scary how the brain works.  With out me even realizing my brain is understanding.  I have found my self answering questions that are being asked in German.  I answer in English of course but I truly don't know how I understood.  I guess I am proof that just being immersed in a language can provide understanding without much effort.  Of course I am going to really have to put work in to get to a true working level with the language but I think I am off to a good start.  In between

Love, innocence, pure joy….Life!

 languages I also have begun to form a concept for a small collection of designs and the sketching has begun.  I am excited to spend a bit more time on it this coming month and maybe get a few pieces completed.
All in all life is good.  I am happy, healthy and enjoying all that has been placed before me.  I am learning how to create an new life here while pulling pieces from my old life back in to create a balanced level of comfort and challenge.
Next to my bed I have my favorite childhood photo of my brother and I.  I look at it each night when I turn out my light and it makes me smile.  My little piece of home and a great reminder of love, innocence and pure joy.  All things I strive to maintain but can be lost when we put our blinders on.