Skipping to school to play in the leaves.

Snow was on the horizon and it was the very last day we could go out and take pictures in the leaves.  We grabbed Lila, her hat and gloves and went in search of the right touch of sunlight and colored leaves.  It was a bit late, so we didn’t get many good pictures.  Here are a few of the best.

Lila and her new little cousin Aran

We went to Barcelona last weekend to visit the new little addition to the family.  It was great to see the two little girls together.  Lila was a great big cousin and held Aran’s hand every time she got her diaper changed.  She also alerted us to when she was awake and when she cried.  Lila is getting so be and grown up.  I wish she would stay like this forever!

The Garden is Done!

I love working in the garden and this year it has been much easier than others, but it is still a great relief to have it finished.  I am still trying to find some kind of ground cover and a way to get rid of the mole or moles I have running around underneath everything.  Any ideas anyone?

Playing in the snow

There isn’t much but kids to kids snow is snow.  They had a great time making snow angels, throwing snowballs and Lila’s favorite of making snow foot prints.

First Fall School Outing

Lila and her class all went for a walk yesterday to collect leaves.  I still haven’t seen any of them.

 

 

 

A visit to Alcala de la Selva

We went to Alcala to visit Celia and her new little baby girl Alejandra.

 

Is there anything better than living in a village for a youngster.  Friends, dogs, hardly any cars, lots of people watching out for you.  Hummmm.

 

A Helping Hand and Sweet Tooth

Thank god it was the smallest spoon in the house!  Lila and I were making apple crisp from some apples we picked a couple of weeks ago.  She wanted to put the sugar in the apples so I figured if she used the smallest spoon in the house it would take her quite a long time to get enough sugar into the apple mixture.  It turns out that she didn’t put any in the apple mixture…

Just Having Fun

After her birthday we had about 100 balloons floating around the house.  We played and played with them, until finally one night, they all disappeared. I wonder what happened to them….was it swiper the fox?

Growing up

Lila loves to go to school.  It is a little hard in the morning, every Monday we start off a little slow and by Friday we have the ritual down. 

Busy School Days

Since school started we are all in a rush all the time.  I hope things calm down as we start getting used to waking up early dropping Lila off at school, picking her up for lunch, taking her back to school, and picking her up once again in the afternoon.  I always thought it was a great thing that families were together for lunch here in Spain, but now spending an hour in the car a day just picking her up and dropping her off makes me wonder.

 

 

Is there anything better in the world!  Bouncy castles hurray!

Lila’s Butterfly Birthday

For her “real” birthday I made a butterfly cake and Mare and Pare came over to sing happy birthday.  Only one other present opening occasion left. 

Lila’s Froggie Birthday Party

With a day and a half to prepare for her friend birthday party I came up with the frog theme.  Mainly because on Sunday the only stores open are the news stands and there I can buy colored paper.   We did however have a blast.  We only had 5 little ones over, but it seemed like a hurricane hit the place.  By the end of the afternoon my couch was in the middle of the room, balloons were falling from the ceiling and the floor was scattered with frog hats. 

 

Plenty of snacks for the kids…

Each kid got a frog hat as soon as they came through the door.  Some of them stayed on the whole party…..others didn’t.

Frog party favors were full of candy and play dough

The kids were tired after their first week of school.  We tried to play pin the tongue on the frog but it just wasn’t in their plans.  I think I will save it for next year.

 

 

Cuidad de las Artes y Ciencias

 

We decided to take a few days off before Lila started school and go to an aquarium as well as to Angel’s dad’s village, Alcala de la Selva, to see the bulls run at night with fire on their horns.  Lila loved it all!

We just loved the architecture of the complex.  It was so beautiful.  My hat is off to Calatrava.

Lila called the buildings “crazy building” and would point them all out to us.

We decided to not take a stroller and the heat and humidity was very high.  Lila opted for the shoulder seat most of the trip. 

The only reason she would get down from our shoulders was to climb up or down something.  She wanted to climb to the very top of the building here.  No fear, that is for sure.

Lila and Lizards and Games….Oh My!!!

Lila caught her first lizard.  I must add that part of his tail was missing and he was really small as well as slow, but I was very proud that she had no fear whatsoever!!!  She loved it for a little while and then let it go so it could go back to live with its brothers and sisters.

She handled the little fellow very softly and was very excited to be an animal rescuer.

A Saturday at Blasi

A friend let us use his cabin the other day for a friendly pic-nic and BBQ.  Here are a few pics.

 

Getting all four the the little critters to sit on a rock safely and not cry turned out to be a bit of a challenge.

 

Lila sometimes has a sharing problem with little Marcel.

The mommies at work…..  Man was it hot and sunny…

 

A little mover

Lila like all kids her age is always on the move, but what surprises me the most is how coordinated she is.  I love to see how comfortable she is climbing big rocks, swinging on bars, doing summer salts and balancing on moving bridges. 

Hiking

I just love to get Lila in the little backpack and tot her around to any part of the valley.  Our conversations are so special.  I wish I could record all the funny things she says to me.

We have spent the last couple of weeks playing in the cold water of the rivers.  It has been hot here, although today I am suddenly worried about the cold 60 degree temps and my garden.