Fun with Grandma

Grandma always brings the best toys to keep the kids entertained--here she is blowing up balloons and I am surprised she didn't pass out because she blew those balloons up a LOT!!

Here the kids are chasing the balloon that Grandma just blew up!

Eric and his mom went to another 'pueblo blanco' called Arcos de la Frontera

Arcos

Cadiz, Spain

One of the day trips we took with Eric's parents was we went to Cadiz, which is about an hour away from us.  Cadiz is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in Europe and is amazing.  We had so much fun walking around and seeing old cathedrals, castles and just walking through town.

In the plaza in front of the Cathedral they had these giant puppets--a horse, a soldier and an eagle.

While we were waiting for Eric and his parents to tour the cathedral the kids and I had fun taking pictures of them jumping.  Here are just a couple of them!

Cade didn't quite grasp that he was supposed to jump also!

Ethan doing karate jumps

Love this picture!

So when we walked back to the plaza to eat lunch, all of sudden we heard music playing and then they started moving the eagle around in the air--it was random--they did it quite a few times.

Another time when the music started playing, this acrobat started doing rope gymnastics by the soldier--so weird, but it was pretty cool also!

Kailey and her new boyfriend!!

Vejer de la Frontera

Still catching up from when Eric's parents visited in October, but one day the kids and Eric's mom and I met some friends and went to a town nearby called Vejer de la Frontera.  It is a pueblo blanco--which are the white-washed towns.  It was absolutely charming--the town was set up on top of a hill.  Here are a couple of pictures.

Absolutely divine Moroccan restaurant that we went to--it was SOOOO good!!

Venice, Italy

Last month, while Eric's parents were here, they were SOOOOO nice to watch the kids for a couple of days while Eric and I went to Venice.  It was AMAZING!!!  Venice is exactly as I had pictured--so picturesque.  We had such a great time wandering the streets and seeing everything.  Here are a few (we took so many pictures) from our trip:

They were selling masks everywhere--I didn't realize masks were such a huge deal there--but apparently Carnival is very popular!

Everywhere you looked it was just SOOO picturesque--I loved it!!

We saw gondoliers everywhere--we didn't do a gondola ride, but they were so fun to watch. 

I was surprised at how narrow some of the canals are.

Someone's 'garage'

St. Mark's square--behind me is St. Mark's cathedral which is unbelievable!

You can't see too well, but in the square there are a bunch of restaurants and they all have professional orchestras playing--it was so fun to sit and listen.

Just like I imagined!

Eating breakfast--how could you get a better view

My handsome husband!!

Rialto bridge--one of the famous bridges in Venice

Part of St. Mark's Cathedral--it was amazing how detailed everything was--this is a mosiac

Doge's Palace--we went on a tour of this and is was so opulent and gorgeous.

This is in the palace--it is the gold staircase--all of that is gold!

There are no cars allowed in Venice--everything is done by boat--here is the ambulance boat!

This is called the "Bridge of Sighs".  On the left side is Doge's palace where the courtrooms are and on the right is the prison.  They call it the bridge of sighs because as prisoners go from court to prison, they cross this bridge and this was the last look they got at Venice.  I thought it was fascinating.  We went on a tour of the prison and it was pretty grim!

I can't even begin to thank my in-laws for watching the kids.  While I love to travel with them, this definitely was a trip for just Eric and I and we had so much fun being together in such a fun place!  Can't wait to get out and explore more of Europe!!