Crazy.Fun.Wonderful.Summer.

Where to begin?  We have had a wonderful summer here in BCN!  James and I both taught on summer intensive courses, luckily Grandma and Grandpa were here to help with the girls.  I finished my master's -- whoop-whoop!   I got a new teaching position at the American School of Barcelona teaching 4th grade -- yahoo! And then the adventures started, so on to that ...

We have some AMAZING friends here!  There are a few families who have essentially adopted us and it's been kinda like striking gold.  They've provided us with endless support and love.  We went away for the weekend with a couple of these lovely families (Grandma and Grandpa were invited too) to one of their homes at the foot of the Pyrenees.  Fantasticness ensued.  We have been invited back to hunt for mushrooms in the fall -- needless to say we're all excited.

See just some of the highlights below.

The kids all search for goodies left my Señor Fofiafo (fo-fI-fo).  The kids drew pictures and left them out, he collected them and left a basket full of goodies in exchange.  He's been doing this at the house for well over 50 years ... hopefully he'll be able to practice for at least 50 more ; ).

 Almost there.

 Jackpot!

Part of the reason we all headed up together is that it was the weekend of Sant Joan which is one of the biggest celebrations of the year.  As we've mentioned before the people here are always up for a good party and this is certainly one of those.

 Sant Joan means fire and fireworks, we had our fun with the kiddie versions.

The macia (old county mansion) we stayed in was quite literally "out in the sticks" so this was the way the kids traveled to and from when we were on the totally un-populated, dirt roads.

 Our girls having their turn, happy as can be.

Friends for life!  And the mountain, Pedra Forca (Fork Rock) behind.

This is just a glimpse at the fun.  Every meal was a full family affair and delicous -- 3 times a day.  We hiked. Played.  The girls all slept in the same room (there are 7 bunks in the "kids room" just for that purpose) after staying up until 11 every night.  We played games, sang songs, ate some more.  Stayed tuned for the next episode later this fall, hopefully along with a post about some awesome mushroom risotto.

A I mentioned, Grandma and Grandpa were with us for the fun.  It was nice to have them hear to lend a hand and have a visit.

 I love this picture.  My mom looks so happy.

 The crew.

 Maybe the shot that Grandma prefers?

In other news we had a fantastic garden this year.  Mostly green beans, tomatoes, and herbs.  We've still got some Turkish peppers getting ready to bud that were gifted to us from some friends.  They just take a little longer to get started but then they should be super hearty.

Gardening and dancing should always go hand in hand.  They do around here, at least.

There's more to tell about our summer and I intend to do it.  Things are just a bit hectic right now.  James is in Portland doing the fair and I just started my new job.  He'll be back at the beginning of September and he'll bring his computer back with him.  He's got all the pictures from some of our other summer adventures with him at the moment.  So, updates from our family trip actually up into the Pyrenees and other bits will have to wait.  For now, know that we love you, we haven't disappeared, and we'll be back soon.

Happy thoughts for all of you!  Wherever you are!

XO