Mostly the Boys

The boys finally went to a Real Madrid game in January and of course Madrid won!

To make the evening even better they were accompanied by their friends. Their enthusiasm warmed their frigid walk there and back. After the game the line to go down the stairs to the Metro was long enough that they decided they would prefer to walk than to stand in the cold line.

 

The boys also received ski passes for Christmas.  Mason had never been skiing before, but by the end of the 4 hour time period he had it down. 

This was an indoor Snow Zone in Madrid. After a couple of hours at it they had to go outside to warm-up.  The snow zone included a zipline, a sledding hill.

and access to the top via lift or a tow rope.

Even before Kaiya got her braces, Morgan has been eager to get his started which finally happened in February.  As soon as the orthodontist finished she announced she was immediately moving to the Canaries and we would have a new orthodontist at the next appointment. Sad because we really liked her and her English level made the process very comfortable.

My friends Charlotte, Kirsten, baby Ben and I spent one morning touring the Cerralbo museum. The museum was once a magnificent palace/mansion where an aristocratic family lived in the 1800's.

It is still decorated to the max with much of the Marquis of Cerralbo's furniture artwork and souvenirs (the owner was an archaeologist after all).  There were 4 levels but only 2 view-able which was more than enough.  

We were in much need of some Americaness so we arranged an evening in February with our friends at Steak N Shake.

The boys signed up for Spring baseball at the American school so that they could spend Saturdays with their friends.  The dads prepped them the week before their first game.

1st game of the season-Mason is running home for his second score.  His team out matched the other 10-1.  Brent is in the background being an impromptu assistant coach.  Only a few of the kids are American and the Spanish padres, as expected, don't know much about baseball thus Brent was the obvious choice.

Morgan's team lost 0-1 with the run-in at the very end of the last inning.  Apparently it takes a few games for the boys to figure out the machine-pitched balls.  Morgan is the one in the background with his jacket still on.  

The 2nd week's games were similar.  Mason's team 18-4, and Morgan's 1-0.

The winter hasn't been quite as thrilling for the girls; Kaiya finally had her first and only YW activity in our current ward.  The Young Women wrote their testimonies and sent them up and away in the balloons. 

Kamree also was not entirely forgotten, here she is on Valentine's Day.  My mom was here the last two Valentine's Days helping it feel more than just an ordinary day.  This year was definitely a step down and what you see was about the extent of it with a few added treats. Kamree will be quite impressed with Valentine's Day in America next year.

The most note worthy thing that happened to me recently was locking myself out of my apartment 2 times within one month.  I hate Spanish doors!!!  It is impossible to leave doors unlocked, I would love to have that option! The only purpose of the outside doorknob is to pull it closed, it does not turn.   A couple weeks ago as soon as I shut this door to walk the kids to school I realized I had left my keys in my other jacket pocket.  I walked 40 min to a bus stop, rode a 50 min bus to Brent's work, hitch-hiked with some scary looking dudes to catch another 50 min bus ride back to Madrid, walked another 40 min back to our apartment, sat down for 10 min and then walked the 15 min to pick up the kids for lunch.  Not a fun day!!!

The next time I locked myself out happened as I went out to get a planter to plant my new little rose bush from the upstairs porch. To conserve energy I tried to quickly slide the glass door most of the way closed but it was a little too hard and it clicked.  I was mortified knowing I had no phone to call for help, to call the school to say I would not able to pick up my kids for lunch or after school, I had no jacket and I was 4 stories up. It was 10 am, and Brent would not be home until after 7pm to save me.

I looked around the porch for anything strong enough to pry back the metal around the lock, with no success and no possibility of climbing down from the balcony to the next I began kicking the door trying to break the lock or even the glass.  After about 20 minutes of kicking, I noticed the lower panel which took one small kick to punch through.  Not sure how or when that will get fixed but I have never been so thrilled to be in our little apartment.

And this is how you sleep out under the stars when you have no backyard. JK - they are being used to protect the roof from the construction next door.

Mmm Mmm! This might look like chocolate but I'm certain it wouldn't taste like it considering it's made out of blood.