Time with Dad!

Hola!! It was so nice to have Brian home for a stretch, but it was much too short. Yesterday we had a really lovely day and the kids couldn't wait to show him the new castle by the sea that we found, so off we went. In case you think the scarves look a bit strange on a day of sun in the upper 50s...

this is how they looked for the past week - with the flu (luckily not the stomach kind). From the day Brian got home until yesterday, they were all fighting the flu and it was raining. This combination provides no real opportunity for taking any sort of decent photos. :)

He managed to get them off of the sofa long enough to try on their carnival costumes that he picked up at the Chinese market in Dubai.

On Sunday we had plans to meet up with Josep, Teresa, their boys, Teresa's brother and mother for a birthday lunch at a restaurant in Casteldefells called El Avion. We've been trying to schedule this for about 6 months, so we went thinking we have to eat anyway, right? :)

Miquel seemed to be the only one who was feeling okay!

Although they were troopers, they clearly weren't feeling well. And neither was Joan.

Carlos blowing out his birthday candles. We had a really nice lunch together, and then each headed home with our sick kids in the rain. :)

The sun is back! By yesterday it really seemed like the kids needed some sun and fresh air, and the afternoon out did us all good. We arrived at the castle and started on a hike along the coast, here's a little fort where we stopped for a snack.

Luke took some photos so that we actually have some of us together!

Now I know where the looney comes from. :)

Brian along the edge of the cliff.

View along the trail.

Cool rock formation in the sea.

Los ninos y yo.

Closer up, looks like Luke is about to sneeze - nasty!

Brian by the sea.

We hiked to a point where there was a small cove with lots of fun places to play.

Caroline in the sun.

Dad & kids.

Caroline had fun climbing all around.

Crashing waves.

Jackson found a little "pond" and was fishing with his stick. :)

Brian trying not to think about going back to work.

The trail looped back around toward the castle, and it went past this watch-tower with a fence around it and nice blue gate. It really looked like someone lived in there!

Back at the castle. By this point they had had enough and it was time to head home.

On the way out, a cool little archway of stones.

And a view through one of the outer gates.

This morning the kids and I drove Brian up to catch a flight out of Girona, which was a first. He usually flies out of BCN or Reus, which are much closer. But the views of the mountains were just beautiful on the drive. Here is a shot on the way home where you can see the snow off in the distance. Skiing is actually quite popular here, and there are many resorts on beautiful mountains within 2-3 hrs from where we live.





Next week is Caroline's 5th birthday, and my aunt and uncle Toots and Dale Smucker are coming for a visit! They're going to Italy for 6 days and will be here for 6 days. It will be fun to go around with them and do many of our favorite things for the "last" time. :( I can hardly believe our time is coming to an end in a few short weeks. It has been such an amazing experience that is almost hard to put into words, but I'd say it was life-changing for sure. More on that later, I'm trying not to think about leaving. :)

Hugs and kisses to you all!
Tonya