Spring Break: Part III

We boarded a plane for Madrid on Friday (April 16th). Leaving the Canary Islands we had heard that there were a bunch of flights canceled in Europe due to the volcano that erupted in Iceland but figured from Spain we could find some other way to get home so we set off anyway. Alas, all flights were canceled, a rental car would have cost us $3000, the train workers were on strike in France so train travel was limited and a bus ride would have been sheer torment for all of us involved. That is why we say we had a fabulous "vacation" in the Canary Islands and then a wonderful "volcation" in Madrid...you know, thanks to the volcano!

It turns out that Hyrum and I enjoyed Madrid even more than the Canary Islands. It was so much fun to walk around a beautiful city and relax in the parks and explore the history. Because we had not planned on visiting we didn't have an itinerary so most of these photos show us enjoying the beautiful weather and having fun being together as a family.

Day One: We landed in Madrid. Our luggage was not to be found. We got booked (by the airport hotel desk) into the worlds worst hotel. I don't like to remember day one!

Day two: We checked out of the hotel we were in and into a great hotel. It was located in a cute neighborhood with a grocery store just a few blocks away, the subway station just down the road and this fabulous city park! The best part was that this new hotel was cheaper and had enough beds to sleep our whole family. Oh yeah, Hyrum stood in line at the airport for about 4 hours and found most of our luggage, so that was good too:)

Julian enjoying the park near our hotel.

So you can't make it to the gym? No problem! These park benches were equipped with bicycle pedals so you could exercise and chat with your buddies at the same time.

This is how we ate most of our meals. It is so stressful to try and take 3 kids into a restaurant and with weather this beautiful you couldn't really justify spending time indoors anyway.

Day Three: We met these nice young men and they invited us to church. It was all in Spanish and we didn't bring any church clothes so we ended up going in shorts and t-shirts but it was still a good experience.

This is a memorial sculpture to fallen bull fighters. There was a bull fight happening on Sunday afternoon but I just didn't think I could sit and watch an animal get hurt, even for the sake of cultural experience.

After church we took the subway to the "Teleferico." It was pouring down rain, can you tell how soggy Townsend looks? The Teleferico is a cable car that takes about a 15 minute ride over Madrid. It was neat to see Madrid from the air. The boys really enjoyed the ride and by the time we went up to the top and back down again the rain had stopped!

Julian and Daddy at the lookout point at the top of the Teleferico.

These are the ruins of a 2000 year old Egyptian temple. Kind of an odd bit of Egyptian history in the middle of Madrid but still very interesting and amazing when you stop and think just how old 2000 years is.

The sun came out and we all dried off.

Day Four: We headed over to the Reina Sofia art museum. One might think we were crazy to even attempt this with three children but Madrid has some of the most famous art pieces in the world and we just couldn't pass up the opportunity. This is Guernica by Pablo Picasso. Hyrum had told the boys the story behind this work and so the boys were actually really excited to see it. They did relatively well for most of the museum but kids just get worn out with this sort of thing so we had to cut out some of the other exhibits...next time maybe?

Townsend took this photo of Hyrum, pretty good huh?

Another dining experience, al fresco.

Walking around downtown Madrid.

This is Townsend being extremely silly in the Plaza Mayor. This is the biggest city plaza in all of Madrid. There were multiple performers and artists in this square. It was a great place to sit and people watch and also a great place to chase pigeons...if you are 6 years old.

We found a movie theater in Madrid that had English language movies. We took the boys to "How To Train Your Dragon" which we all loved. Afterward we found yet another great playground.

Julian and mommy splashing in the fountain.

Dinner at the Plaza Mayor. We thought dinner in the plaza would be fun. The boys could run around and we could enjoy the fresh air. A very mediocre dinner and $90 later we realized, we should have thought a little harder about this decision!

Day Five: A trip to the Royal Palace in Madrid. I have toured quite a few palaces and mansions while here in Europe but this one was fun because it is still used by the King and Queen of Spain. The rooms were well furnished and since we didn't take a tour we could go at our own pace...very quickly as dictated by three small children...but still a fun and worthwhile experience.

The Royal Palace. There was also a museum filled with armor and weapons that we visited while at the palace. It was just amazing to see the suits of armor from the 1400's. Not very comfortable looking to wear but an amazing piece of history to see.

Emerson: Forget about the history, art and culture! What kind of ice-cream do I want?

Mmmmm, gelato!

After the Royal Palace we headed to Retiro Park in central Madrid. It is so nice to have a big park right in the middle of a city. You can find a little corner and relax or find a tree to climb.

There was a little lake that you could rent a boat on. They wouldn't let us take Julian on the boat so I was able to snap this photo from the shore. The boys liked the boat ride and Hyrum even let them try and row for a few minutes...what a sight!

Here is Townsend trying to locate our stop on the subway map. We got pretty good at finding our way around Madrid via the subway and it was sure a lot cheaper than taking taxi's everywhere!

Day Six: At the airport (April 21). Goodbye Spain, thanks for the fun memories!!!

Spring Break: Part II

We left Paige's for the Frankfurt airport on Saturday (April 10th) around 5:30 AM. Not the best way to start a long trip but the boys seemed really excited to be on our way so they didn't give us too much trouble waking up so early. Our flight took us from Frankfurt to Madrid, where we had some lunch and played in the fun airport playground. Then we boarded another plane and headed from Madrid to Gran Canaria. We were all feeling tired from the long day and still had an hour drive to our hotel but at the same time we were happy to finally be at our destination.

Sorry for the MANY photos, we had such a great time and I just wanted to share some highlights.

Day One: We walked around our little resort town of Puerto Mogan. There were lots of shops to look at, lots of gelato to try and a beautiful view of the ocean.

Day Two: Time to hit the beach! This is the beach right in Peurto Mogan. It is in a protected bay so there weren't many waves to play in but we all had lots of fun. Yes, Emerson is REALLY that skinny! He just doesn't eat!

Julian had so much fun at the beach. He put a few handfuls of sand in his mouth but it could have been way worse. He loved dipping rocks in his water buckets and then sucking on them. I think he must have liked the salty flavor.

Day Three: Hike up to Tamadaba. When we put the address for this Park into our GPS it said it was 47 kilometers away. 4 HOURS later we finally got there! The whole trip was switchbacks up and down mountains. It was really a beautiful drive if you could get past the extreme nausea!

The boys did great on the hike. They loved running around the forest and picking up different seeds and pine cones. We brought home some seed pods from a eucalyptus tree to add to our "nature collection" on our bathroom window sill.

Instead of driving home the way we came we decided to cut across the island to the coast and take the very straight and lovely highway home. This is the town of Teror, famous for their wood carved balconies.

The beach at Las Palmas. We hadn't planned on going to the beach this day so I didn't have the boys swim stuff. They still loved running and playing in the waves. Note to self: Next time you are on vacation on an island, ALWAYS have the swim stuff with you!

Julian playing in the waves at Las Palmas

Day Four: This was kind of a rainy day so we didn't do too much. The boys made a collection of all their favorite rocks they found at the beach. No, we didn't bring these home with us on the airplane!

We also took a boat ride out on the ocean. We were looking for dolphins but weren't lucky enough to spot any. It was still a fun 1/2 hour on the ocean.

It was sort of WINDY out on the deck!

Our hotel had a swimming pool. When the weather was sunny (usually in the afternoon) we headed up to the pool for some fun.

Emerson takes a running jump!

Day Five: A trip to Maspalomas. We did the very touristy thing and took camel rides. Quite expensive but I think you should ride on an animal (other than a horse) at least once in your life. The camels walked out into the sand dunes for about 1/2 hour. I think it will be something the boys will remember. They were really brave to ride on the camel all alone. Hyrum and I (and Julian) were on the camel directly behind them.

Hey, everyone else on the beach was naked, so I figured, why not?

Day Six: Palmitos Park. This was probably the highlight of the trip. The landscaping in this park was fantastic. They had palm trees and beautiful flowers everywhere. They had lots of animal shows that the boys really loved. Here you can see a cocatoo wearing sunglasses and lounging in a beach chair. The boys thought this was hilarious. I actually really liked it myself:) Those birds were great performers!

Townsend and Emerson inside the butterfly house.

Julian waiting for the dolphin show to begin.

The birds of prey show. It was really amazing. This lady let this eagle go and it flew up into the sky so high it looked like a little black dot. After it flew around up there for about 10 minutes it just came slowly back down. I think these birds must love those few minutes of freedom they get but at the same time they must love their homes because he DID eventually come back.

Goodbye Canary Islands. It was lots of fun exploring and having fun with my family. This last picture shows the boys doing what they love to do, collecting rocks and seashells. Thanks for the great memories!!

Welcome to the World

Dear Baby Eli,

You don't know who I am but I already love you lots. You are only one day old today. You are so amazingly lucky to be born into such a wonderful family. You have a big brother and 2 big sisters that can't wait to show you how to run and jump. How to find the best tasting blackberries and how to pick up snakes you find in the yard. Your dad is a great guy and lots of fun to play with. Your mom is amazing. I don't know any other person in the whole world that still makes bread for her family. She can grow just about anything in her garden, she can keep her house and (now 4!!!) kids organized, she is a great cook and she knows how to listen.

I know you are an angel sent from heaven. Thank you for making life more amazing and beautiful for your already amazing and beautiful family.

With love and best wishes for a happy, healthy life,
Miss Rachelle

PS:
This is sort of a random post but I am just so happy for my very good friend Kari that just had baby #4 yesterday. I can't wait to meet this new little Christensen!!!!

Spring Break: Part I

There are many fabulous things about having my sister here in Germany. She can come over for holidays, she got to hold Julian when he was first born, she lets me come and hang out at her house when I can't take being a mom anymore. It is about a four hour drive to get to her house so unfortunately we don't get together as often as I would like but in some ways it makes it all the more fun to see her when we do get the chance.

Part one of our Spring Break was going to visit Auntie Paige for the day. We left here Friday (April 9th) in the morning. We got to Paige's and had some lunch and then headed over to the dinosaur park. There is a huge playground and water feature, not to mention all the dinosaurs you can climb on. The boys were happy to get all their wiggles out after such a long car ride. The flowers were in their full springtime glory and the sun was shining and I was with my family. What a great way to start a vacation.

Paige and the boys

Our Family (Julian does not look impressed, but I think the rest of us look OK)

Emerson playing on the ropes course

Townsend monkeying around

They love this park

Home At Last

WOOOHOOO!!!!

Woke up this morning: 5:00 AM
Boarded a plane for Frankfurt: 8:30 AM
Sat on the runway: 45 minutes
Flight: 2 hours 30 minutes
Time it took to get luggage and into our car: 45 minutes
Drive home: 4 hours (stupid traffic!!)
Home at last 6:30 PM

I will post photos and more later but I just wanted everyone to know that we made it home safe and it's really good to be home!