Feria

Tis' the season here in Spain for Feria (fair), an annual event held throughout the region of Andalucia in which each town hosts their own Feria.  These are fun-filled celebrations that last anywhere from 4 days to a week and are comprised of rides, food, costumes, and fun at the vast fairgrounds in town.  Tatum's school hosted their own Feria celebration in which each class performed a dance on stage.  The girls and boys were requested to dress in traditional Feria attire.  How can one complain about searching for, and ultimately purchasing, a beautiful dress and heels for their little one?  Also, traditionally the girls/women wear a big flower in their hair.  We had lots of fun getting ready for this day and finally Tatum was able to wear the dress that hung in her closet for 2 months.

Tatum and her teachers, Ms. Cristina and Ms. Maria Jose

About to start the dance...

  Taking a bow

Our Sicilian Adventure

The kids and I were so lucky to be afforded the chance to take a Space-A (space available) flight over to Sicily to visit our dear friends the Arthur's.  While it was a fairly last minute trip, the Arthur's welcomed our nutty clan with open arms.  The trip was anticipated to last about 4 days but in the end we had a fun-filled, but a bit wild, 7 days.  We had a chance to visit two beautiful seaside towns, Syracuse and Taormina, as well as to enjoy some delicious food and help Josh celebrate his "Wetting Down," the celebration of his promotion to Lt. Commander.  Most of all it was just so wonderful to catch up with great friends and to have all 6 children together.  We missed Mike's company but he was there in spirit.

Making mini pizzas at Restaurante Donna Fortunata

The Piazza in Syracuse

Playing inside the Castle walls of Syracuse

A traditional Sicilian dessert known as Cassata Siciliana

On the cable car en route to Taormina

Enjoying a picnic lunch

Collecting rocks on the beach

Enjoying a delicious pesto dinner on the outside patio

Day trip to Medina-Sidonia

Today we drove to the peaceful, small town of Medina-Sidonia. This town is one of the pueblos blancos and is on a hill overlooking rolling fields leading out to the Atlantic Ocean. We spent most of our time at the Gothic Iglesia de Santa Maria la Coronada. Inside the church is a collection of religious art work dating back to the Renaissance. The highlight for Tatum and Owen was climbing to the top of the bell tower and looking down at Mom and MJ from the top.

Owen's 2nd Birthday!

Owen turned two-years old on April 1st. We had a nice relaxing day as Owen took a 2-hour nap, threw several temper tantrums when awake, and most importantly-he got new "choo choo's" that he loves.

Owen trying to blow his candles out from long distance

MJ and her drool enjoying birthday festivities

Weekend Trip to Granada

When Grandma Liz came to visit we took a weekend trip to eastern Andalusia in order to see the city of Granada and the famous royal palace of Alhambra. Granada is at the base of the Sierra Nevada and being able to look at snow covered peaks in the distance is a sharp contrast to where we live along the southwest coast.

Pateo de los Leones

Tower inside Alhambra

Lindsey and MJ enjoying the scenery

Walking the streets of Granada

The Granada Cathedral