Tia gets married!

 So I had the esteemed pleasure of going to Spain in May to witness my best friend get married.

We visited Barcelona, Zaragoza, Villanua, and Madrid - amongst other places in the 14 days I was there. Plus - I got to see my bestie get married in her sweetheart's mother's village, as well as celebrate at a hotel in Villanua with all sorts of family and friends.

Here she is with her sister J and J's husband, T.

At a public market in Barcelona.... T got meat on a stick, photo as proof:

Walking the streets of Barcelona, we came across this bike:

Lunch and dinner always includes a beer....

And we went to THE cathedral, of course...

Amazing. So lucky to be a part of such a fantastic party.

Si si si!!

Ballet!

Fi and A have been taking ballet classes and had their first recital! They did such a great job... I tried to load the video but it would not cooperate with me, will try again soon.

Lanterns!

We went to see the lanterns at Greenlake. A team of volunteers place lanterns all around the path of Greenlake, and we set out to enjoy the lights with our good friends.

Alas, it was too cold and there were so many people out (wearing their holiday cheer, decked out with blinking lights and bells and whatnot!) that we had to call it before getting too far around. We headed back to their house to enjoy some cookies and drinks. The girls dressed up while O cooked.

We'll try again next year!

A million lights!

O is absolutely talking up a storm, he is so proud of his ability to finally communicate what he is thinking/feeling. One of his key phrases this season is, "Lights!!" which he proudly proclaims any time he sees a twinkling light. We went to Warm Beach Camp this winter to see the lights; there were so many he stopped his announcements!

They also had pony rides. This was a first for O and Fi, although A had been once before. Fi screamed her head off the entire first loop - the guy leading said it was fine, it wouldn't spook the horse. Snowflake did a great job, and Fi finally calmed down. Then she proceeded to request 8 more loops. We had to pry her off the horse.

O, on the other hand, sat on that horse, grabbed the pommel, and said, "Lets go!". We also had to pry him off the horse after 5 loops.

A loved it. She did a great job!

Family portrait in red lights....

Fi and A, best buds...

A brave enough to sit on Santa's lap. Fi wouldn't have it.

Roca Partida!

G and I took a trip to Roca Partida, of the Socorro Islands in Mexico to go diving. We took a boat 280 miles south of Cabo san Lucas and this is what saw....

Endless sky, flat horizon, and a tiny little rock formation.

We also found lots of sharks and manta rays and new friends and relaxation. It was delightful!!

This is what Thursday night looks like...

 Tickle fest. Major tickle fest.

Halloween 2012

For Halloween this year, Fi dressed as a princess and O was a penguin. Love this kiddos!!