Córdoba, Spain

Eric's mom came to visit for almost three weeks in October.  The weather was fantastic and we had a wonderful time.  Spent several days at the beach, she and I had fun dropping the kids off at school and shopping, relaxing--it was fabulous.  We also made time to do a little sightseeing.  One of the places we went was Córdoba.  Córdoba is interesting because was ruled by Romans, then Islams, and now Spain and has had people there forever--the Romans conquered it in 200 B.C.--it is unbelievable to be living in a place where there is so much history.  Anyways,. The most spectacular attraction is the Mezquita--a Islamic mosque converted to a Catholic Cathedral.  The Mezquita was started in the 700s and completed about 200 years later and then in the 1200's was converted to a Catholic cathedral after the city was conquered.  For being so old, the architecture is amazing.  It is unbelievable to see how detailed and intricate the work is, and just boggles my mind how they do it without all the fancy tools we have now days.  Anways, we had a great time.

Outside the city walls

Side of the cathedral

Inside the cathedral--covered with these arches, which were made from pieces of a roman temple that had previously occupied the site.

Looking at the original foundation from the visigoths.

Grandma and the kids

Love all these keystone doorways

This is all carved and this picture does no justice--it was so intricate.

The cathedral

There was this creepy guy that was one of the heads and he would yell at people and scare them--the kids and I thought it was hilarious.

Getting our picture with the creepy guy, but while we were getting our picture taken, he kept feeling up my leg--so he is a creepy, dirty man!

All over Spain they have these cutouts of a bull--just thought this was a pretty picture with the sunset.

They also have cutouts of Tio Pepe all over

Camping--El Chorro

A couple of weeks after school started, we took the kids camping.  It was our first time camping together as a family and we had a blast.  We went to this place called "El Chorro" where it is said the most dangerous hike in the world is.  This hike looked SCARY!!!  It is called "El caminito del rey" which translates to the King's little pathway.  Basically it is a little walkway built into the side of a rock face, with parts of the trail missing.  We watched some guys hike it--they were crazy!!

Camping in Spain is not like camping in America.  You cannot build fires here, so all of the campgrounds have restaurants, pools, running water, ours had a ropes course, it was nice.  We ate at a restaurant, however, I did miss cooking hot dogs and smores over the fire!

The hike on the side of the rock wall.

3 guys climbing--you basically have to rock climb it.

In front of our tent!

 On our way home from camping, we stopped in Malaga--a big city about 2 hours away from us.  They had a fun castle that we walked around--I should keep count--I think we have seen at least 50 or more castles in the last year!!

The kids and Eric in the dungeon!!

Look for 2 little faces poking out!

First Day of School and Soccer

So it is November and I am just blogging about the first day of school--better late than never!!  This year ALL three kids are in school, I really don't know what to do with myself.  Here in Spain, the kids start school when they turn three. The kids are all at the same school and they day goes from 9-2.  We were lucky and Kailey got Pablo (her teacher from last year, who we love), Cade got Ethan's teacher from last year, Mari Carmen, (who we also love) and Ethan moved up and got a new teacher, who we like.  The kids are all doing fantastic in school, learning spanish, etc.  Now that Cade has been in for 2 months, he has started talking in a mixture of English and Spanish--he will say, "I want an agua, or Mommy, un bagel por favor."  It is hilarious and I love it.  I am so glad we have this opportunity for the kids to learn a second language!!  Here are pictures of the kids:

The boys ready for school

I can't believe I have a first grader!!

I was not ready for Cade to go to school--we had so much fun last year, just the two of us at home!

Cute Kailey, always doing poses!!

We have been doing new hairstyles, so for the first day we did a dutch braid into a flower--so cute!!

My kindergartener!!

Ethan also played soccer this fall--he had a fun time.  Here are some pictures:

Ethan playing goal--always makes me a nervous wreck!!