February SUN is amazing
First, just a pause as we look to Turkey and the death toll, the Michigan State shooting, and all the ‘bad’ we see in the news around the world - we have friends that were impacted by both these events and it’s just a rough way to be reminded that life is short and we should live it to the fullest while we can with our current state of health. We never know when something cruel will happen to us…so, please join me in making every day count.
Oh - how bout them CHEIFS!!!
The weather has been amazing this year - it’s February and we have been able to use our terrace and sit outside for dinner or lunch - the weather is around 14-18 degrees Celsius (57-65 degrees F) most days…and we are even able to have the windows open! When the sun goes down it gets COLD though. Either way it’s pretty amazing to be able to drive 1-4 hrs and have amazing skiing and at the same time load up the bike on the car and go do some single track the next day with sunglasses on. Not much goes on this time of the year around here so we have been just enjoying our time…cooking great meals….and rehabbing Ashley’s knee. That being said, here is an update since last blog in January…
Back to Barcelona after 12+ days in USA
I was able to take Linda and Mitch and Ashley to dinner when I landed back in Barcelona after being in the US for 12 or so days. We had a blast but I do wish we would have been able to spend more time with her…I’m confident she will return soon to Europe and see us and her grandkids!! Thanks for coming Linda…always great to see you….
I took the kids to my 2nd annual ASB Dads Ski trip - we went back to Baquiera-Beret for 3 or 4 days with a ton of friends - a total about 60-70 dads and their kids (wives not invited!) and went on the trip this year. The kids ski with coaches and their friends, the dads ski and have apres-ski…its’s a great trip. It always falls over my birthday so I had some amazing friends set up a cake and a room of 100+ dads and kids sang to me…it was fun for sure. Amazing wine, great skiing, and world-class discussions with friends. I can’t wait for unit next year’s trip! The ladies usually dissipate without the men and kids - this year there were groups that went to Paris, Madrid, and Rome among other places - Ashley stayed close and went to La Cerdanya with Marta and her family to relax in the Spanish Pyrenees.
Trips Trips Trips - send any recommendations!
We are actively planning our trips for much of the year - we are hoping to get most of it locked in through October or so. I know we have Semana Blanca next week (ski week) and we are going to Baqueira and La Molina (both Pyrenees) and then I hit Portugal for a wine trip in March - April we have Semana Santa (holy week/easter) where we are going to Madrid and Seville for 3-4 days each. We have family and friends coming much of May and June and so July we are likely to be out most of it and are considering the US for most of August (KC/Wichita/SouthDakota and time at our cabin). I’m also planning a bro-trip with Alex to Portugal to drink some of their wines (which I know nothing about)….
All here are doing great….
Hayes has started off road mountain biking classes with an instructor. He loves this almost as much as skiing….I’ll tell you the smile on this kid when he is free on a bike is best ever. He has been QB on the flag football team and is improving as well. His spanish is probably the best in the entire family!
Ellory is getting a little iffy on soccer - the commitment from our end is significant and she doesn’t seem to be accomplishing the goals we had by signing her up for a spanish federated soccer league. It’s not improving her spanish we feel, she is not progressing as quick as a player, and the time is significant away from her friends (none of them are in this spanish league). I think we are committed through the season…then will reevaluate.
Ashley is in rehab for her knee - they are unsure if they need to do surgery, but she is doing what she can to fully rehab and get back to normal for a busy summer travel season with walks/hikes/bikes/beach!
And I’m using the bidet like a true European. Ashley and the kids haven’t adopted it yet…but this is definitely a staple in our homes from now on.
All are healthy and happy, thriving and smiling….I am jazzed it’s been so sunny and hopefully it stays that way since we are not doing an island for Semana Santa this year (we hit the Canary Islands last year).
I’ve really enjoyed seeing people I know at the local cafe’s and bars, running into people at the gym. It really does feel like a community we belong when this happens…we were so use to it back in KC and building this from nearly scratch has taught me a lot about relationships and communication. I’m grateful for all my friends here and the overall community we feel we are a part of.
So this was a shorter blog - all are doing great - all are healthy - all are going creating experiences and memories best we can. We have a ton on our plate the next few months with trips and visitors, which I’ll be sure to write about.
Challenges - I wrote many challenges in the initial blogs and while they are less now they are still real. In Kansas City we were 10 hours drive or a plane to the mountains and a 25 hr+ drive to a beach or planeride! The beach is now 20 minutes and the mountains 90 (in cars). But….
I miss my dad and seeing him and Vickie for coffee and happy hours. I miss having camaraderie with the other soccer parents (my Spanish still sucks, their english sucks), I miss out on sales or activities that I cannot read the signs on the curb and I still miss some american luxuries like easy parking spots, in-sink garbage disposals, curb trash pickup and giant houses but all those things are small in the big picture of the experiences we are gaining and (more importantly) what the kids are learning about the world, culture, language, communications, history, life, and themselves (even though they don’t know it yet). We realize it’s not for everyone but we wanted to find out for ourselves…it’s been a great 14 months and we are super excited for the next year plus as well! Life is about those green lights and when you get them, you gotta take them. Too many green-lights led us here and so far….the color is still green so we are going to keep rolling through them! (read Green Lights by Matt McConaughey it’s a great book)
Next up we just have Ski Week and Spring Break which only have two weeks between them. I’ll be sure to write about Semana Santa in Seville next time. It’s supposedly one of the best places in Europe to celebrate holy week. If you don’t know, check out the outfits they wear (I wrote on this last year).
Next blog I’ll write more about Semana Blanca which we are on now (ski week) and what type of other trouble we get I to! I’ll also start baking Spanish back into the blogs. I’ve been lazy with it lately!
Upmost admiration for you/Ashley! Your children are going down a path few do. What an education.
I so enjoy reading your adventures as well as the victories over challenges. I hope y’all decide to continue this journey indefinitely. You’ll know when the caution/red light starts blinking.
In the meantime, ENJOY!