Drums, Bikes and Hidden Doors

Hola, Familia!

Here are some more photos from our Spain trip. I will focus on the beginning of the trip! Frank's hobby is looking for deals on airlines. He's good at it.

CANADA. Usually, because of the deals, it means that we do not fly direct. The flight over took us to Montreal, Canada. We love Canada. Our lengthy layover allowed us to get out of the airport and walk around a bit.

Montreal Skyline

look closely...ALSO the Montreal skyline!

We hiked around town, where the university was spread out. We hiked to the top of "Mont Royal," which is actually where the city got its NAME! Isn't that cool. There was a great view of the city.

Kara wanted to photograph a reflection in her glasses, so we experimented :)

looking for lunch

these make a loud crying sound! He hung
out by the exit of the armory, So all
the tourists could take pictures :)

We also saw a raccoon...kind of odd since they are nocturnal, but he was rummaging around looking for some lunch. I crept up as close as I dared, and took a few pictures. He completely ignored me.

Cathedral grandeur

armory museum pieces, photo-bomber: Kara

Palace 

EASTER SUNDAY When we got to Madrid, we had just enough time to put our bags in our room, then we headed downtown to the city center.

 It was Easter, and their final procession would take place in the Plaza. They held parades and processions every day of Holy Week, and we got there for the last one.

just one of the cars parked on the street...?!

studying the (gasp) PAPER map!

banner at the procession

drummers...everybody is a drummer...

Bubble Man entertains after the show

It was all drums, representing the earthquakes and tumult that occurred on the day of Jesus' crucifixion. Here are some images of the square.

Some very cute small-version drummers ( the youngest was 3! ha-ha!) come out at the end, and they were filming it for a television channel. By the end it was feeling pretty warm, and I felt bad for them, in their heavy robes and multiple layers.

the Little Drummer Boys

PALACE TOUR. The next day, we were able to visit the Palace Royal, and the armory next to it. I like the audio tours because they give stories to go along with the ornate, extravagant rooms and intricate details of the decor.

I liked the small-ish door in the back corner of one room--sorry, no pictures could actually be taken in the palace...lame in my opinion, but there were SO many tourists, they probably didn't want people taking even LONGER to go through.

Anyway this little door in the back was painted and wallpapered EXACTLY like the wall, so you had to look for it! That was for servants to come in quietly, and not have to walk through all the guests to bring the royalty their _(whatever they wanted)__.

Another room had all the beautiful tableware and cutlery used to entertain. One set had an un. bel. ieve. a. ble number of dishes in the set: 21,000 or something like that.

We walked a lot, like we usually do in a city, and we took subways and buses. I had called ahead to see if we could join any groups at the temple, on Wednesday morning, and was told that yes, there was a group coming in at 11.

We went to the Madrid Temple, and it was neat to interact with those doing work for their families there.

Well my allotted blog time is up, ha! By a long shot, but I do like going through these and editing along the way.

Hope your weekend has been good!
Love, Kari

for rent! Bike around Madrid

Umbrellas, Architecture and Bells

Hola!
It has been quite a rainy Monday! But it gave me the chance to go through some of our Spain photos... if you click on the photos, btw, you can see them bigger.

About a month ago, we spent April vacation in Spain. (Public schools get a week off in April.) It seems like a long time ago now, but no, it was really about a month. Just a beautiful trip. I'll just show you one place at a time, since as usual, we took a ridiculous number of photos.

Plaza de Espana

Kara following pigeons in the square...
they are kind of funny to watch

Staircase, with tiled railings--beautiful, ornate
tiling all around the plaza

SEVILLA. We ended the trip in Seville, or Sevilla if you are using the Spanish pronunciation. (I'm taking you through the trip backwards...)

Frank served his mission in southern Spain, which actually prompted the trip. For 25 years he has been saying, "Oh, we'll go back to Spain and I'll show you some of the areas where I served." We decided this was a good year for it :)

This is a cool poster for Frank -- he actually has a tshirt with
this logo on it! He served until 1990, when they were preparing for this '92Expo,
and now they are celebrating the 25th year anniversary of it! 

Horse Show poster, w/Kara behind

He did, actually, serve in Sevilla! I'll show you pictures.

We rented a car and drove during this trip, as well as taking the train on the last stretch from Sevilla back to Madrid. So some of the pics are the countryside. They also had big, black bull silhouettes along the highway. I have a picture of one of those, too.

marketplace by the Plaza de Espana

The Plaza de Espana is so pretty, and the architecture is interesting and ornate. It was very busy, with horse-drawn carriages and pedestrian tourists everywhere.

Sidewalk vendors and marketplaces were also a common sight.

CITY VIEWS. We also toured the biggest cathedral in Sevilla, and climbed the bell tower. Pretty amazing views from the top!

REAL ALCAZAR. We also toured the royal palace. Here are some pics of the gardens and wonderful architecture there.

flooring tile detail

ceiling detail

view from the bell tower of the cathedral

in the gardens of Real Alcazar

had to stay out of here today, since the government
officials were actually using it today...

from the bell tower of the cathedral

Well my allotted blog time is up :)
Stay tuned for more installments, and have a great week!

Kari

Christopher Columbus monument--
he is buried here

Family Time and Baby Bunnies

Hola--

This is one of those times when it seems like a lot is going on, so I get distracted. We returned from our Spain trip, (which was fabulous and beautiful!!) coming back early Sunday morning. Then 3 days after that David and Teresa came home from BYU!

(**If you click on the pictures, you can see them bigger.)

EXAMS OVER. They finished finals and came home exactly one week ago, on Wednesday night. I think they are extremely happy to be finished with tests, and finished with the semester.

MISSION PREP. Teresa is now getting ready to leave on her mission to Roseville, California (northern CA...where the state becomes a rectangle at the top? That's her mission). She's going through lists, ordering clothes, checking off boxes that are "required" for her to bring or do before she leaves.

TEMPLE DAY. Grandma Kay came for the weekend, and Teresa went to the temple for the first time on Saturday. It's such a peaceful place! And so nice to have some family members and friends together, to do that.

Sunday Teresa gave a talk in church. That is a traditional thing to do in a congregation when one of its members is embarking on a mission. She had a few friends there that she hadn't seen for awhile, and teachers and advisors she has had over the years. It was a good day.

She will get "set apart" on Monday night, and leave early Wednesday morning. To get "set apart" is to be given a blessing, to begin dedicating time and energy to the Lord as a representative of Christ. This officially "starts" the mission. Usually it would be the night before she flies away, but our Stake President had a conflict and will do it one day early. Then she's off to the MTC in Provo. She'll be there for 3 weeks, then off to California.

SPRING SPORTS. Kara is playing tennis again this season, for the school team. When the weather cooperates, it is fun to watch her! One or 2 matches have been cancelled due to rain. She's still in the thick of the semester, so she still juggles tests and homework. Hang in there, Kara! :) :) :)

SUMMER JOB. David is waiting on an internship to come through (dates are still questionable), so he'll work at the local grocery store until that solidifies.

Here is a family pic from Sunday.

BABY BUNNIES. And here are some sweetie bunnies that David found when he was mowing the front yard! The sound of the mower startled them, and they froze. He moved them out of the way, but not before Teresa posed with them and I snapped a few photos.

Have a good week! :) :) :)
Kari

Scared stiff but so, so cute!

Cupcakes and April Fools Snow

Hola, Familia--

HAPPY APRIL!! Can you believe it's April already! It was an eventful week...well at least it seemed like it to me. It's all relative, isn't it!

BIG BIRTHDAY. My birthday was Wednesday. Yep, the big 5-0! Thank you for my online well-wishes and the fun cards I got!!

That's the birthday where Diane will tell the story of Frank (9th grade at the time?) telling her on HER 50th birthday: "You're a half a century old!" Ha-ha! So, now that is me.

Kara brought me a fancy cupcake
from "Cupcake Charlie's": YUM

Kari & Frank and my birthday cupcake

Frank made most of dinner and Kara chopped at the end. That was lovely. Crepes. They were dinner AND dessert. We found a recipe online of chicken curry to put inside them for dinner, plus ham and broccoli. Fruit and whipped cream inside for dessert. Here are some pics.

chicken curry crepes -- yum :)

Cheesecake Factory treat!
I'm wearing red on the left side

I went to lunch with some friends at Cheesecake Factory, so that was also fun.

MARYJO. Frank's boss was in town. She lives in New York and came to Boston for the week. We had her over to dinner Thursday, and the food did not burn! That is a plus. I tried a new salad recipe with spinach & romaine on the bottom layer, and top it with salmon and vegetables. All with a dill dressing. I know you're not supposed to try new recipes on guests, but it worked, and it was actually pretty tasty. What a very nice evening, and what a nice boss Frank has! She also has teenagers, and she involved Kara quite a bit in the conversation.

NORTH CAROLINA. Angela (our "adopted" daughter, ha, kidding-kind-of) is about to graduate from UMass Amherst next month. This week she had a successful 2nd interview, and she has a paid internship for this summer! It's in Winston Salem, NC. Yay, Angela! Sometimes this company hires interns. Wouldn't that be cool, too :) :) :)

ARRIVAL. I had never heard of this movie and Frank brought it home from a Redbox. Excellent. A different twist on "alien invasion" and it was very unexpected and made you think! The compliment one writer used to describe it: "Masterful Storytelling"--doesn't even do it justice. I really, really liked it.

Conference Weekend has begun -- very uplifting messages and more to think about. I look forward to hearing these talks from our church leaders every 6 months.

APRIL SNOW. Yes, we got snow today, and yes it is April! But I am happy to say that the worst of it went north of us. Maine got over a foot or something. We just got a lot of sloppy, wet snow and rain. Huge puddles formed all over, and snow in the yard, but none stuck to the roads. Happy Day because of THAT!

I better sign off, but we wait excitedly for news of Rachelle and Shad's baby! He's taking his own sweet time (a week late tomorrow), but of course we won't hold that against him :)  He's proving to all of us that in the Grand Scheme of things, we have very little control after all. Good reminder!

Happy Sunday tomorrow!
Love, Kari