Sundays in Barcelona #9

Hola amigos y familia!

We hope you all had a great week! This week our friend Annette took me into Barcelona to see the Christmas fair outside of the Cathedral. There were TONS of nativity items for sale, including some very beautiful and elaborate stables. It's hard to describe what all was there, it was so much. I bought a stable and nativity set for the kids, and we've been opening one small piece a day for each of them as we do a daily advent devotional from a book I brought along. It's been very fun, the book has games to play and crafts to make, they love it! The first picture is of the kids opening the stable.

An American/Australian couple with a son Luke's age invited us over on Saturday to help them decorate their tree. Caroline did most of the photography work, so the next picture is of Jackson in front of the tree, and the third is the finished product after being decorated by 6 kids under the age of 6! Ha ha.

Today the kids and I went to church and then attempted to have a picnic at Parc de la Ciutadella with two other families with small kids. It was so windy that we ended up with dirt in our eyes and mouths, yuck! The next picture is of the kids hopping on a rental bike for a photo shoot. From there the kids and I went to the Museu de la Xocolata, but didn't get there early enough to do the tour, they were closing at 3pm. They got some free chocolate anyway and were probably just as happy! From there we walked through the beautiful old town area to the Cathedral because I wanted to show them the Christmas fair and pick up some shephards that I forgot. There is a picture of them on the way to the Cathedral. Then we went back to the Parc for the car, got a nice shot of the Arc del Triomf, and went to the port for a relaxing ride on a golondrina (ferry boat) along the port and coast of Barcelona. It was very nice. The next picture is of the kids on the top of the boat, the next is the view of the port as we were leaving, and the last is a beautifully decorated building that was off to our right as we got off the boat, sorry I can't remember the name of it.

This week we are getting ready for Jackson birthday party on the beach next Saturday which should be lots of fun!! I'll be sure to post pictures of that.

Love to you all,

Tonya

Sundays in Barcelona #8

Hola friends & family!

We hope this finds you doing well! We've had a couple big developments in our family in the past week: Luke played futbol and Caroline stayed in gymnastics by herself! We were SO proud of both of them. They are really doing well and you can tell they are proud of their accomplishments too. Jackson is doing great as well, the first picture is of his latest get-up. :) We are going to have a digger birthday party on the beach for him on the 15th with a couple of his little friends and their families.

We also had another very fun day in Barcelona on Sunday. We went to the 10am service at church, and one of these pictures is of Luke practicing with the Christmas chorus. We then went to a Spanish village on Montjuic called Poble Espanyol. It was first created for the International Exhibition held in Barcelona in 1929. It showcases architectural styles and artisan craftsmanship from many different parts of Spain. We loved the cobblestone streets and beautiful buildings. We had a picnic lunch in the main plaza, where the kids spent a LONG time being entertained by the pigeons. We then went to an area of Montjuic called Jardins Costa i Llobera, where there are beautiful gardens and a cable car that takes you out across the port to Barceloneta. The kids were SO excited to ride this. One picture is of the cable car coming to pick us up, and the next is a view from the car. The last picture is of the baroque church of San Miquel del Port in Barceloneta. We are really enjoying all of these areas that we have been able to explore, they are so beautiful.

We've also had fun decorating the house a bit, hanging stockings, and listening to Christmas music. We're going to participate in some Christmas caroling in the main square in Sitges on the evening of the 15th, which I think the kids will love. We've also been able to finalize tickets to come to PA for Christmas! The kids and I will be there from the 17th to the 31st, and Brian will be there from the 24th to the 31st. We're looking forward to seeing many of you then!

Con amor,

Tonya