so many verbs

Last night Greg and I went to Aviles (20 km west of Gijon) with Brian and Jodie to meet up with a coworker.  All we really know about Aviles is that the airport is there, even though it's called the Oviedo airport.  Anyway, we took the bus (2 euros a piece, round trip!) and met up with Eloy and Elena.  Aviles is the 2nd oldest city in Asturias, and it's really beautiful!  We loved walking through the cobblestone streets, and seeing the buildings from the 10th century.  They still have a lot of original construction (on the buildings etc) but due to some crumbling issues they are slowing replaces pillars.  

Eloy was an awesome host, we were on a wine tour (he's a big connoisseur) and I had to admit to him that I don't really drink nor do I enjoy a glass of wine, but he convinced me otherwise so Greg and I would split a glass at each of the restaurant/bars we stopped in.  And it turns out, when someone knows what they're talking about-it can change.  We tried some cool wines, from all over Spain of course-no foreigners allowed.  Along the way, Eloy didn't leave out any pieces of history.  He also reminded us that although the Mayflower landed and we now celebrate Thanksgiving, yada yada, Saint Augustine (in Florida) was established about 50 years before, by Pedro Menendez who is actually from Aviles.  Which is cool because it's not a big city or anything, just a guy from a town in Northern Spain.  

We also enjoyed some great tapas... a long time ago some king decided that too many people get drunk off of wine, so he decided that with every glass of wine the customer should also receive a bit of food.  The tradition still goes on, we didn't even eat dinner yesterday, we just ate tapas.  And we've decided that Aviles has better tapas than Gijon.  At one stop we got into this conversation about verbs and nouns.  For anyone who has studied spanish you already know, but there are verbs for EVERYTHING!  Anything you want to say.. there's a verb.  It's incredible.  But they're lacking on the noun side.  There are lots of adjectives, so you can describe a noun to make it a different one.  But often I've run into trying to get some idea across when I discover there is no noun for what I want to describe.  But if you want a verb.. you got it!  

we <3 the beach

Greg and I are so lucky to live near the beach, and it's become routine for us to take long walks with our crazy pups.  Picture perfect right.. holding hands, strolling the beach.  Until your dog finds horse poop and attempts to bathe in it, or perhaps a larger more gross dog drools all over your precious little girl.  It's lovely.  But at the end of the day, it's probably the funniest hour of our day.  They literally just run.. from the moment we get to the top of the stairs that lead to the beach until we drag them away.  And Lola has yet to learn the concept of shaking, so by the time we get home she's covered in sand.  

Goyo is on the left, and Lola on the right.  

Goyo LOVES to dig holes!

They love to play fetch, but fight over the ball too much to bring it back

As I've said before, we go to a super tiny church.  This year all the missionaries were having their big meeting in Gijon.  So we didn't have church today, but our pastor asked us to watch the kids during their meeting today and tomorrow (it's a holiday here).  I was under the impression that we would be babysitting, until earlier this week when I found it all of the kids were teenagers.  Totally different.  But it went really well.. it's amazing what crosses cultures.  We found ourselves singing Miley Cyrus at the top of our lungs and playing Uno.  I love it!  Needless to say.. teenage girls are awesome, and very loud.  Greg was amazed at the amount of noise just a few girls can make.  And boys-they're all the same too.  The boys were younger (7 & 11) and they were happy to make paper airplanes and terrorize everything the girls did.

And... for anyone who's counting.  Greg and I have been married 6 months today!  The majority of which we've spent in Spain.  We miss you all at home! 

sorry i've been a bum!

I think because I never upload my pictures from my camera, I forget to share my life!  So a super quick recap and maybe I'll get back up on the horse and get back into a routine.

I went home to the States for 10 days, and it was great.  I really think I was able to recharge my batteries.  It's amazing how quickly life changes.  Greg and I still don't have a nitch here in Spain, having dogs has been a HUGE help in meeting people, but it's definitely not the same.  And life has gone on at home, so there isn't really a nitch there either.  It's an interesting spot to be in... and I'm not exactly sure I like it.  But a season is a season.  

Some of my awesome friends accompanied me to New York City to get my visa.  It was a really fun time, we took the train (which has always been easiest for Greg and I.. but this time was just a hassle) and used the subway to get around, the city isn't ready for Christmas yet, but it was very cold that day and definitely felt like winter.  I've never been into F.A.O.Schwartz, and let me tell you... COOLEST STORE EVER!  They have tons of Harry Potter stuff, and since I'm a huge fan, I was going crazy-I must have called Greg at least 10 times to tell him about all the wands and scarves.  Jessie and I were in heaven.  

But I was REALLY excited to come back home.  Unlike our first trip out here, we actually have a home, which made it much more exciting.  I was ready to sleep in my own bed and hang out with my puppies.  And my really wonderful husband mopped and vacuumed the whole house so I wouldn't have to do any cleaning when I got home.  Amazing.  

I came home just in time for Thanksgiving, to a country who has NO idea what that is.  I would try to explain to our Spanish friends what Thanksgiving really means, and I've decided that unless one attends Thanksgiving dinner, they'll never understand the beauty of an American all out feast.  We weren't able to have Thanksgiving on Thursday (everyone had to work) and Greg was quite jealous of everyone back home who had the long weekend.  But we celebrated with a group of Americans (and one Dutch family) on Saturday, and it was great!  We had two turkeys, stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans, mac and cheese, cranberry sauce, the works!  I was amazed!  

We also got our dog neutered last week.  Talk about a difficult task, trying to keep a dog "calm" for a week, when we have his best friend trying to attack him at every moment in the day.  But after a week of only walks on leashes we finally got the stitches out and I took them to the beach for the first time in 2 weeks, and I've never seen dogs so excited!  I seriously thought they might jump out of their skin they couldn't stop shaking.. and they ran for an hour, they didn't stop!  It was great when they passed out on the couch later that evening!