Barcelona

We're back!  The day after Christmas, we packed up, said good-bye to most of our presents (Ironman made the trip), and started the long journey to Spain.  Jet lag was a challenge, but I actually seem to be suffering a bit more after the return home than I did while in Barcelona.  I took a nap the first day, because I didn't sleep at all on the plane, but then I was good to go.  The boys handled the trip well too thank goodness.  

Highlights from our time include an afternoon walking through the old quarter, enjoying lunch in a little square while the boys ran around chasing pigeons.  We stopped at a candy stand in one of the largest markets to enjoy gummy creatures and gawk at all the cool produce and products available.  We spent a day at a Science Museum, which all the boys loved - especially Aaron.  We stayed for a show at the planetarium.  We took the boys ice skating, and we spent a generous amount of time exploring the city's playgrounds.  We ate lunch out almost every day, and every day was sunny.  We drank too much cava and celebrated the new year with a mouthful of grapes, keeping with the Spanish tradition.  We played Scrabble - we took turns winning, and Aaron became an excellent scorekeeper.  

On our last day, we traveled down to the beach and had my favorite day of the vacation.  We had an incredibly awesome lunch where everybody liked their food (even the 3 and 4 year-olds!) and the white wine was crisp and refreshing on yet another warm and sunny day.  The boys played in the sand, venturing closer and closer to the water until they had rolled up their pants and got their feet wet.  They ran away from the waves until the waves took two of them down.  (It had to happen, didn't it?)  It was a great ending to a fun time.  

I love attempting to capture some of the craziness when a number of us get together.  This last picture is a good one.  My mom and I aren't in the shot, but this is what a lot of our time looked like.  Good fun family time.