ESPAÑA!!
Our long-awaited trip to Spain finally arrived!!! It got off to a bit of a rocky start. We had to catch our flight at 6:00 am. We took Ryan Air so the airport was 1.5 hours away. We would have had to leave our house at 3:00am!! So, instead, we drove to long-term parking Thursday night and slept in the van. We didn't leave our house until after 9:00pm hoping that the kids would fall asleep on the way there. Of course, they didn't! So everyone didn't get to sleep until 11:30. We had to wake everyone up at 4:00. Needless to say they were all a little grumpy...
Once we got on the plane everyone started to cheer up a little.
Poor Connor though... he couldn't recover. I think it was a combination of motion-sickness and not sleeping but he threw up 10+ times on a 3 hour flight. There was a large group of french guys that were flying to Spain to watch the World Cup together sitting right next to us. They kept plugging their ears every time Connor started to throw up again because they were getting sick! We finally just moved to the back next to the toilet. It was the longest flight of my life!
Whitney was a champ though. She had those French guys eating out of the palm of her hand!
After we landed, got the rental car and found a McDonald's everyone was doing great. They had to get out of the car to do a little happy dance!
McDonald's had a separate building for their playland. The kids loved it. We were in no hurry to leave. The weather was beautiful!
Finally... our condo! Jeremy totally did good finding this place. It was perfect and right on the beach!!
The kids immediately wanted to go swimming. This is the view from our terrace. You can see the swimming pool to the left and the Mediterranean Sea right behind the pool. It was like a dream it was so beautiful!
Beautiful little ponds, waterfalls, flowers on the path that leads down to the pool and beach.
Awww.... swimming at last!!!The Beach
Whitney was scared of the "waves". She would only get close to the water as long as she had her water ring on.
I was very impressed with the boys.... last year they were freaking out when girls were naked or topless at the lake. This year they didn't even seem to notice!
Our first night we got to watch a concert from our terrace. We had the best seats in the house!Day #2
The next morning we set off for Gibraltar. Jeremy had already been here for work so we had a very own tour guide!
A map of Gibraltar. It's basically just a rock with a little strip of land around it. 75% of the land is man made too!
There's the rock!
Lots of boats since Gibraltar is the gateway to the Mediterranean. Across the Strait of Gibraltar you can see the outline of North Africa.
Gibraltar is a British Territory so everyone spoke English. That was a nice change.
The view from the Rock
This was where they believed the edge of the world was in ancient times.
Gibraltar is also home to the Barbary Apes. They wander freely on the Rock.
They love to eat saltine crackers and nuts, especially cashews!
This one was nursing her baby as we fed her nuts
Jeremy was surprised when this one climbed on his back. He said he thought it was one of the kids at first.
The kids loved it. I couldn't help but be a little freaked out by them though.
We paid for a taxi-tour up the rock and we were really glad we did. Our guide knew so much and he would drive us to the various stops and then wait 20 minutes or so in his van for us to come out. It was so convenient!
These monkey's were making the weirdest sound. Our guide said that this means they are happy. They have a little baby in between them. It was so sweet.
The stairs leading to the top of the Rock. Our Guide says his brother runs up them everyday!
St. Michael's Cave. It was converted to a hospital toward the end of WWII, but was never used.
Neanderthal skulls were found in this cave and it was mentioned in many ancient documents.
The cave is now used today as a concert hall because of the incredible acoustics.
The great Siege Tunnels were started in the 1700's and used as a defense system. They were full of cannon's and explosives.
A cemetery outside the tunnels
View of the city, the barges, and the sail school on top of the Rock. Incredible!
Poor Whitney had to catch some zzz's whenever/wherever she could this week. We were just too busy to stop for naps!
Every night we watched the sunset on the beach after dinner. The boys loved playing in the waves and collecting rocks and sea shells. Whitney just liked getting dirty before her bath!
The view of our condo from the beach.
Jeremy taking a well-deserved rest.
The day's treasures!
The boys liked to settle down in their beds with a video every night after a long day of playing. They had a cute little room they shared.Day #3
Eating breakfast on the terrace.
Jeremy's friends invited us over for the day for a BBQ.
The boys played video games the entire time! They loved it!
Whitney entertained everyone
We enjoyed a refreshing thunderstorm with a beautiful view from his balcony.
They grilled so many different kinds of meat. It was delicious! They were such great hosts to invite us with all the kids into their home.
That night Jeremy and I went to dinner at a restaurant right on the beach. We sat on the beach and ate our dinner as the sun went down. Again... it was like a dream!
After dinner Jeremy enjoyed a full body, 1-hr massage in the open air. Amazing!Day #4
The next day we took a break from the sandy beach and went to a local water park for the day.
They had an aerobic's class in the middle of one of the pools. It was hilarious watching everyone exercising in their swim suits.
Yep... those are my kiddo's trying to do the aerobics class. lol!
This girl was trying to organize a game of pull-the-rope with 2 and 3 year olds. She told everyone to hold on tight and then she told them to pull hard. All the kids went under the water and came up crying. It was kind of funny. That is Whitney in the back on the right.
Whitney slept for an hour on me. She wore herself out!
The boys thought it was hilarious that Whitney was scared of these lizards and kept trying to make her touch them.
Another great day!
When we got back we made home-made mussels caught in the Mediterranean. They were beautiful AND delicious!
After we fed the kids, Jeremy and I went to a local Tapas Bar. This was my favorite place we ate all week. We shared 9 different plates and I loved them ALL!Day #5
The next day Jeremy and I went to Granada!
The streets were so charming. We kept noticing how similar it looked to the Plaza in Kansas City in certain parts.
We had fun looking and shopping at all the interesting shops.
This area of Spain is famous for their Paella... so we had to try some. It was really good.
The highlight of the day... Alhambra! This was a huge fortress built by the Moors in the from the 13th century to the 15th century. The Catholic Monarchs conquered all the Moorish castles in the area one by one but couldn't conquer the Alhambra in Granada. After 10 years of war and a siege the Moorish ruler finally surrendered. At the time there were 2500 people living there. There was a wall that went around the area where they all lived. The palace was in remarkable condition.
We took a 2.5 hour walking tour of the palace and the grounds. It was beautiful!
This inner courtyard is part of the palace built during the time period (early 1500's) of Charles V, Holy Roman Emporer. After conquering the Moores, he wanted to add his own palace to the already existing Alhambra.
Beautiful refection pools.
You can see the wall in the back to the right.
The walls were decorated with Arabic words and sentences.
Day #6
Our last day we decided to go to Benalmedena for a Dolphin boat tour.
Eating lunch while we waited for our boat.
Ice cream on the beach. The beach in Benalmedena is one of the most famous in Costa Del Sol.
Our boat!
Enjoying the ride... but keeping an eye out for dolphins!
There they are!
Watching the dolphins jumping, swimming, playing!We were directly above them! It was incredible!
That night we tried to eat the last of the food in our fridge before we had to leave the next day.
Finally home-sweet-home just in time to celebrate a wonderful Father's Day! Our kids don't even know how lucky they are to have such a great Father. I feel so blessed that he is the Father of my children as well as my best friend and partner in life! I love you sweetie!! 
