Holiday Greetings

This may be a repeat for many of you but I just wanted to cover all my bases just in case I don't have your email or it didn't go through when I tried to send it.

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Brilliance Of The Seas

Have you heard about the Brilliance of the Seas in the news last week? It hit some pretty rough weather in the Mediterranean, waves up to the 10th floor causing damage in many of the public areas and state rooms as well as injuries to some of the guests. When people finally got ashore many said they would never sail again as they were terrified holding on for dear life. It was bizarre seeing the captain and crew, who had just helped us have a wonderful cruise, defending their actions. The captain said it was the worst storm he's ever seen in his 30 years of navigation and the weather was way more intense than was predicted. So glad we were on the cruise just before that one so we could enjoy all of this.....

Our monkeys weren't the only ones hanging around on the ship.

Grandma S. joined us for the fun too. It was so nice to have an extra pair of hands to help out, especially trading off with Graham. On this ship they didn't have much planned if you were under 3 and not potty trained. But we all traded off chasing this little guy and tried really hard to give mom lots of free time and not have her feel like our personal babysitter.

Zach, feeling adventurous, was just old enough to try out the rock wall.

So of course Chris and

I had to try it too. In fact the last day at sea Chris won 3rd place in an adult rock wall climbing competition.

Some routes were more difficult than others depending on what color you chose. Since Zach isn't as tall as other six year olds he really had to stretch on some of his climbs. Another highlight for Zach was that one night a magician needed a child from the audience to assist him and Zach was picked. He had Zach help him make a snow flake from paper then he magically made snow shoot from his hands all over the stage. Zach was thrilled to be on stage and for days after his performance other passengers kept talking about what a great job he did.

The kids club was FANTASTIC! Not only was the crew outstanding but there were some other really neat families on the boat. In fact there was another family with 3 boys very near our boys ages and they brought their Grandma along too. Our boys really latched on to the older siblings and it was a fun coincidence when we ended up on some of the same shore excursions.

Our wait staff just loved our boys. They tried their best to make sure the boys were happy, which isn't always easy at meal time. Graham likes to do this banging thing with his utensils and dishes. At home you can tell where he sits not only by the mess but the dents in the table. As per usual he was banging away on his bowl and this time it actually broke.

Another fun thing for the older boys was to have date times with mom or dad while Graham napped. Usually we ended up in the game room playing Sorry.

The last day at sea the Kids Adventure Club put on a talent show. Unfortunately all 3 cameras were out of power by then as we all forgot our chargers:( Zach chose to share a magic trick that Aunt Lauren had taught him last summer. The group was pretty amazed to see him put a penny behind his head and bring it out his mouth. The last performer was Ethan. When they called his name Chris and I looked at each other questioning what his talent was since he already told us he wasn't allowed to burp the alphabet. Ethan stood up wearing his superman cape and birthday crown and began to hop and down to the music. He did some spins and then all the kids got up and joined him. Although my description is pretty lack luster everyone was laughing and I was practically in tears it was so funny....he does have the ability to get the party started. His after performance interview was even funnier. When they asked him how old he was he said, "4. Oh yeah, I'm 5."  They then asked how long he'd been dancing and he replied, "For 10 years."

We did have one tragic event on the cruise. Ethan, being funny, hid Zach's favorite stuffy Hockey in the garbage can. What he didn't know was that it would be emptied while we were out and incinerated. It was not recovered and Zach lost his best friend since birth. Ethan tried to console him that it's wasn't so bad because remember how he lost his on our road trip last year. I was so furious with Ethan's constant torturing of Zach and told him he burned Zach's stuffy just like on Toy Story 3. Finally I think it sorta registered what he had done, as that movie really affected him. We took a sobbing uncontrollably Zach into our room for the night leaving Ethan with Grandma. As we sat on the bed crying over the loss Zach through his tears says, "Mom I forgive Ethan. He didn't know what he was doing but it just hurts." This made me tear up even more as I was shocked at how easily he forgave his brother let alone didn't retaliate. Chris and I were so proud of Zach and knew that his tears were from the pain of loss not hatred.

A Labor of Love

Growing up building a Gingerbread House each Christmas was a tradition we all looked forward too. I don't remember my mother's gingerbread recipe being particularly tasty but it built a strong house. My best friend Lisa and I would hide the gingerbread house from our brothers so we didn't have to share the candy. They would then seek it out, and usually find it, and hide it from us. We would go back and forth until we found the perfect spot. The last time I remember hiding it was in the guest bathroom under the sink. Now that I think about it I find that pretty disgusting but we were so happy to have all the candy to our selves.

Now this tradition has begun with my own family, minus the hiding part as now I don't care as much for candy. I've tried different recipes and molds but two Christmas' ago my sister Meg came home with a kit from Williams and Sanoma for each of us that I just love. The cookie cutters make a cute little house and the gingerbread is really good to eat. In fact I like it more than the candy.

This Christmas we are staying in camp along with many other families and when I found out exactly who they were and how many I decided the tradition must go on and set the wheels in motion. 3 Days later and several hours of chilling, cutting, rolling, baking, and frosting we had 8 little houses ready to be dressed.

It really was a labor of love but with friends as SWEET as mine I was happy to do it. My friends in the big city always ask me how it is living out here in the middle of literally no where. But if it weren't for this group of gals and some others that are out of town it would be pretty miserable. We work out together, play together, and sometimes commiserate together but they are what make this camp so great.

I was surprised that many of them had never actually made a gingerbread house with their kids. It became a good lesson in team work, as one mother said. The morning was a complete success! Everyone overlooked my, shall we say shabby sheik, designer flaws and sugared up those little abodes as well as their tummies along the way.

And with the kids doing most of the decorating I had no worries about trying to make it look perfect. I did want to make a little shout out for Jana E. who helped my boys while I made sure the treats were all distributed, Christmas music at the right volume, and frosting bags were all functional. When the kids got bored they jumped on the trampoline, dug in the sand, and just had a grand old time. This gave the moms a chance to do a few touch ups on the houses and catch up on a little mommy talk.

Even Graham tried his hand at frosting. After sampling plates of his favorite candies he decided to try his hand at the frosting.

Later we found he had snuck away with a bag of goodies and was secretly indulging in the corner.

All in all I'd say a NEW tradition may have been born.

A Visitor From The North

You may be surprised to hear that we've had a visitor from the north. You know that guy who lives near our summer residence;)

No, not this guy...

THIS GUY!

However, before he got security clearance and escort we had a wonderful catered breakfast at the golf club. Followed by caroling from the Philippino Choir.

I can't believe the kids sat so still for the music as they were all pretty excited about the anticipated arrival.

Then we were told to meet out front for a special surprise. As the anticipation grew the kids kept going further and further down the hill until the Jolly Old Man himself, or maybe just a helper, showed up on a quad.

Then the kiddos went nuts chasing him up the hill.

Here the boys are waiting for their names to be called. Because they started with the youngest children first we were near the front of the que.

Graham, of course, is not at the age to really want to get to know the guy in red but I suspect by next year he'll really be into it.

Both Zach and Ethan got just what they asked for a Ben 10 Vuescope Omintrix

and a new blue lightsaber.

Graham got his very own Fisher Price CD player. It's nice because he can open and shut the door and put the CDs in and out all day long and hopefully leave other players in the house alone.

I'm So In Love With

This Little Guy!

Zach was such a good baby we wanted another one right away. Ethan too was a good baby but by 18 months became a handful, and still is today, but that made us wait a bit longer for the third. I think having two close together also made it difficult for me to enjoy the toddler stages of the first two. Graham was an exceptional baby we sometimes forgot he was there ;) because he was so content. At 9 months he began to self entertain which continues today. So now I'm at a point where I ask myself daily should we end on a good note or go for one more? That is still open for debate.

Every day I wake up expecting the terrible twos to start and they just haven't. Although he is not perfect such as throwing tennis balls at the TV, hitting his brothers if they try to kiss him and says, "No Kiss!", or climbing up to get into my makeup. Our little comedian's number one response when I ask him To Do something or Not To Do something is, "OK Mommy." Then he actually stops and doesn't do it again. He always says he's sorry if he hurts you or does something wrong and if you really want a kiss, don't steal them just ask nicely and he'll give them freely then clap in excitement about how nice he is.

He LOVES to make faces to get people to laugh at him, as seen above. He has just started pedaling his tricycle himself, loves to play basketball and tennis, and enjoys launching our stomp rocket in his spare time. His favorite book is Potty Time With Michael and has begun to show interest in the potty that doesn't include flushing massive amounts of toilet paper down it.

I am so enjoying the TERRIFIC TWOS as mine is an absolute dream.

A Walking Tour

Many of you may wonder how we get our kids to just go, go, go through out these trips. Well it's not all pretty and fun. There are always melt downs along the way, as seen below, but we do have a couple of tricks. One is try to find unusual things to surprise them with and help them change their tune....like THE WORLDS LARGEST VENDING MACHINE or least the largest one we'd ever seen. Ethan love's vending machines or at least loves putting in money and getting stuff out of them. So just as he pulled a massive grump fest we happened upon this. We were all amazed to see full bags of chips, cookies, and liter sodas bottles for sale. We weren't sure how they come out but the drop was so long we couldn't see how they wouldn't bust open in the fall.

We try to go at a pace they can handle and allow extra time for pretty much everything. You want to have a plan but be flexible. We also pack snacks, lots of snacks they are use to just in case the food is too unusual for them.

If there is something along the way that they want to see we stop and watch for a while like the slides our first day or these street performers. The boys still keep talking about these guys because as part of the show they set up to do a stunt and then one of the guys pulled the others shorts down exposing his boxers instead of the stunt. So of course that was the highlight of Z and E's day.

We also become the stroller brigade. Every time we pack we sigh and hem and haw over what strollers to bring. In the end we always take our big double seated chariot and regular stroller and have never regretted it. No the chariot doesn't fit through all doorways but it generally fits through most handicap access doors. Yes it's big and cumbersome but...it allows Chris and I to keep on going and the boys to take a break when they need it. So both sides are happy. Except for Zach who has to share an ever shrinking space with Ethan.

After ice storms, snow stores, and being rerouted all over the country Grandma S. finally arrived bag-less. Since we waited around all morning for her to arrive we didn't give her any time to rest once she showed up as I had two more destinations to visit before our time in the city ended.
One was the Barcelona Cathedral in the Gothic Quarter near our apartment.

This church is famous because it is where the six Caribbean Indians, whom Columbus brought back from the Americas in 1493, were baptized.


After exploring inside we took a lift up to the roof for another spectacular view of the city.

Can you see the little tiny seats with the cornices underneath? Those are the choir seats. I guess you must have a big voice and small buttocks to join this choir.

The last destination for the afternoon had us strolling through the Quadrat d'O or Golden Square. This was an area favored by the wealthy, who embraced the new artistic and architectural style with enthusiasm for their residences and commercial buildings.

This Casa de les Punxes or House of the Points is often referred to the witches hat house because of the six turrets. The designer Puig mixed medieval and Renaissance styles with Modernist materials to create this beautiful home.

My mother's first comment was, "Are those corral balconies?", which indeed they were. Gaudi's creation was strongly attacked and ridiculed by Barcelona's intellectuals when built between 1906-1910. His organic design of waves against intricate iron seaweed balconies is now a museum dedicated to the man who left his mark upon this city.

This next home was designed by Tapies, Barcelona's best-known living artist. It was really quite bizarre as he added wire sculptured clouds above it. This too is a museum of the artists work but we moved on to see the last few buildings before the sun set.

The last three Modernista buildings are known as the Block of Discord because of the startling visual argument between them.

It is easy to see why the name was given to the Gaudi.....

....Cadafalch...

and Montaner creations but I thought each in their own right was stunning but agree that the don't really flow right next door to one another.

Note: All facts and dates were taken from DK's Eyewitness to Travel Spain Edition 2007.