Daytrip to Cadiz

Today we took a short 30 minute drive south around the Bay of Cadiz to the city of Cadiz. Their claim to fame is the longest continually inhabited city in Europe having been established in 1100 BC. We had the opportunity to catch up with an old friend and her family who were in Seville for a holiday vacation. At 60 degrees and sunny it was the perfect day to sit outside at a cafe and catch up.

The Cathedral of Cadiz


Tatum on the steps of the Cathedral


Owen and Tatum goofing off in town


Owen trying to prevent us from taking a good picture of him


Owen holding on for dear life on his 1 Euro horse ride!


One of the many narrow streets of Cadiz


Maybe the final belly shot before Baby #3 arrives?

Live Nativity Scene in Arcos de la Frontea

We took an organized this trip this past weekend to a town we had visited this past fall called Arcos de la Frontera, one of the beautiful "pueblos blancos" that the region is known for. Every December, in what has been declared an official "Tourist Interest" by Andalusia, for one night the Old Quarter of town is transformed into Bethlehem of Judea. We were expecting a tourist trap, however, we found that it was quite the opposite. There were indeed many people crammed into the small town, however, it was very authentic and inhabitants of the town were dressed exquisitely with great attention to detail.

The Cathedral at sunset as the nativity scene is set to begin

The town was lined with palm leaves to transform it into Bethelehem

One of the many donkeys around town

Tatum on the edge of the cliffs at sunset

One of the 25 scenes around town

The white village at night

Getting crowded as night hits!

A fruit market in "Bethlehem"

Owen and his girlfriend, Kelsey!

Our Beautiful Ballerina

We are very proud of our sweet Tatum who performed in her very first dance recital this past Friday at the annual Holiday Polar Express night here on base. In addition to a wonderful performance, the base hosted a Polar Express train ride, hot chocolate, cookies and ornaments for decorating, and a fun-filled room with bounce houses galore! It was fun had by all.

November Pictures

A few pictures from our November and early December adventures...

The Dad's and the gals before the Cinderella Ball

Tatum and Daddy

Fun in the rain

This one had no fun in the rain!

Marching in the parade at the school "Fall Festival"

Owen a little uncertain of his "outfit"

Tatum's class pre-march

Tatum dressed as a naranja

Enjoying a Spanish tradition: churros and chocolate

Owen enjoyed the chocolate

after chocolate and all cleaned up

Tatum's class celebrated the tradition as well

Digging in...

Getting Ready For Christmas

We took a few steps towards getting ready for Christmas today as we went out in town to the local nursery and purchased a tree. I'm pretty sure that Christmas trees are not a tradition here as the selection wasn't particularly great. It definitely wasn't a Douglas-fir! Once we figured out how to actually purchase the tree, Lindsey asked a worker "tiene ropa?" as she was looking for some rope to tie the tree to the hood of my car. Unfortunately, that isn't how to ask for rope and they didn't have it anyways, so the tree ended up taking my spot in the car and I squeezed in the back with the kids. This was also the first year that Tatum had a big interest in decorating the tree and she was 2-for-2 on breaking the first 2 ornaments she touched! Once she got rid of her "butterflies" the process was much smoother. Now we are getting closer to being ready for the holidays. Now...we just have to get the kids some presents.

A not-so-great picture of our living room ready for the holidays

Thanksgiving in Barcelona

We decided to take another weekend getaway before baby Smiley #3 arrives in a little over one month! We took a short flight from Seville to Barcelona where we enjoyed a weekend of wonderful weather, world class architecture, great shopping, and 2 sleep deprived children!

Stop #1 on our tour was the Barcelona Cathedral. This building dates back to the 14th century and is in the heart of the Barri Gotic (Gothic Quarter). Tatum's favorite part were the white geese that they keep in the cloisters, which is a very old tradition.

Entrance to the Cathedral.


One of the many narrow corridors around the Cathedral in the Gothic Quarter.


Another narrow street in the Gothic Quarter where we sat found an excellent place to sit down for hot chocolate and churros. This was probably Tatum's highlight of the day and would have been Owen's, but he slept through it!

Taking a lunch break in the Eixample neighborhood. This is an area with many upscale shops and a high density collection of Barcelona's best Modernista buildings.


Lindsey and Tatum enjoying lunch (notice Tatum's missing tooth!).


Casa Mila "La Pedrera". This is a famous house in the Modernista style built by Gaudi.


The Temple Expiatori de la Sagradia Familia.
This is Europe's most unconventional church and is Gaudi's most famous work. Work on it began in 1883 and is still under construction with an estimated completion date aimed for 2026!


The Nativity Facade.
Technically this is where we exited, but it is the most complete part of the church and was finished in 1930. It has scenes of the Nativity and Christ's childhood.


Closer look at a scene on the Nativity Facade.


Inside la Sagrada Familia.


Inside La Sagrada Familia.


Beautiful windows inside the cathedral.


More views inside La Sagrada Familia.


Outside of the Passion Facade.
This is a more bleak side of the church with many sculpted fingers that are angular and sinister in appearance.


Views of The Passion Facade.


Tatum and Dad enjoying views from the city from one of the many vintage points in Monjuic.


Lindsey and Tatum doing the same!


Tatum and Owen enjoying the ride on the Teleferic de Montjuic.


View of Barcelona from the Teleferic with Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in the foreground. This contains Europe's finest collection of medieval frescoes and it was the main building in the 1929 International Exhibition.



Another view of the Museum.


Monument to Columbus at the bottom of Las Ramblas.


Las Ramblas.
This is a very famous street that is busy around the clock with newsstands, caged bird and flower stalls, tarot readers, musicians, mime artists, shops and anything else you can think of. The hardest part is not getting pick-pocketed!


Entrance to La Boqueria market along Los Ramblas.
This is considered to be one of the most spectacular food markets in Europe. We can testify that it was a zoo, but filled with great deals and got some fresh fruit and smoothies for bargains there.



Tatum patiently waiting for her smoothie.



More views of the many hallways in La Boqueria.


Inside Poble Espanyol.
This is an area in Montjuic that has replicas of buildings from many regions of Spain and demonstrates their architectural styles.


Owen "enjoying" Poble Espanyol.


The Romanesque Monastery of Sant Miquel in Poble Espanyol.