Happy 4th of July... (a little late)

I hope everyone had a fantastic 4th of July, full of good old American bar-b-que, sparklers, fireworks... We did our best here in Espana, but I'll tell you.. I miss s'mores. We had some old marshmellows and cookies (can you BELIEVE they have the nerve not to have graham crackers here?!). But it was a great time. Plus, it was my puppies first birthday, so I (being the total nerd that I am) baked them a cake. Only to find out later that night that my younger brother's baby was born as well! Welcome to the world Liam Michael O'Toole, and he was huge... 9lbs 15oz.

They might have been born in Spain, but they're American at heart

Roasting some marshmellows

Lots of food!

The puppies enjoying their cake

cows are so beautiful

Tineke and Charles moved home to Holland this past week, we were really sad to say goodbye, so sad that we bought plane tickets to visit them in 3 weeks! But I was able to go on one last hike with her and the kids, and it was beautiful! Cows were everywhere, close enough to touch, and they're so beautiful here, I love their caramel color. And the sun was SO bright, I've had the sunburn for a week... I can't believe I forgot to put sunscreen on my neck.

Tijn (pronounced Tine) did not want to walk... at all, this was 5 minutes into the hike.

The DeWolfs

I am so going to miss this place!

hello beautiful =)

The way Spaniards Party

This past Saturday night, Greg and I went out to a "barrio" party in Gijon. The different neighborhoods (more like miniature cities inside the city of Gijon) have fiestas during the summer. During the day they have inflatables for kids to play on and carnival games, and LOTS of food. Two of our friends live in Viesques and invited us to go out with them. So we left the puppies at home and brought towels, food, and sidra (the Asturian cider) and headed over.

(Lola hates getting left...)

At night they have big concerts and everyone stands around and dances, etc. Our Spanish teacher and a friend of hers came with us as well and was determined that we would celebrate "spanish style" so we had tortilla (a potato and egg omelette, my favorite spanish food) and chorizo a la sidra (chorizo=sausage, cooked in the cider, it was delish!) and LOTS of bread.

It was so much fun, but we knew we weren't 'in Kansas anymore'. The music began around 10pm, we left at 1am when the second band was coming on to play until 5am! As much as we're trying to fit in, I was struggling to stay awake until 11 if we're being honest...

Brian and Jodie

Cory and our Spanish teacher Cristina

Paella

Paella is a very traditional Spanish meal, it was originated in Valencia, and is now eaten pretty much all over Spain. There are all sorts of different varieties, mainly fish paella, meat paella, seafood paella, and any mixture. Almost every Spaniard you talk to tells you a different way to make it. And at the end of the day, it looks more like whatever you had leftover in the kitchen. It kind of reminds me of chili. Every American makes chili differently, and if you're like my mom the ingredients are rarely the same, whatever veggies are in the fridge/cabinet. Anyway, the point of the story is-Pam and Glenn (another DuPont couple) bought this awesome Paella grill, and had a bunch of us over for dinner. They have a great patio and yard, so we brought the dogs, and Lola loved standing under the grill and catching scraps. Our Dutch friends, the de Wolffs were there too with their kids, who love the puppies. It was a lot of fun!

The Paella cooking on the special grill

The guys hanging out and eating appetizers (Brian, Charles, and my cute husband)

Tineke and Charles at the table, there were 8 of us and we barely put a dent in that pan

Tijn (pronounced Tine) was putting grass all over Goyo's face, and he just sat there like a puppet, such a cutie

Concerts and Meat

Last night Greg and I went to a concert here in Gijon. Philip Glass is a minimalist modernist composer. What in the world does that mean? I had no idea, but apparently he writes symphonic type music but it's only played with a few instruments. Last night there was a piano, cello, and percussion. I didn't know what I was in for, but it was awesome. The cellist was fantastic! And her arms looked amazing I think I might have to start playing a pretend cello or something. It was cool to have an American do a concert here, and even better he talked in English... =)

After the concert we went out to dinner (we had reservations at 10:30... they eat so late!) at a restaurant that used to be a sidra factory (sidra is the famous cider from Asturias). We always joke about how all of the food here is "digestive." They eat so much of that Activia yogurt and fiber cookies, but it's because they don't eat vegetables. We ordered a Parrillada, which is a big platter of meat grilled together over the fire. Es muy deliciosa! There was sausage, pork ribs, beef ribs, ham, steak... oh it was so good!! The picture below isn't the Parrillada that we ate, but it's a good example of one. And then I had flan for dessert.. yum. It was a very Spanish evening, Greg and I didn't get home until 1:30, and I was lucky enough to translate the sermon at church today.. needless to say it didn't make much sense, I don't function so well without a lot of sleep. =)

Lola loves cows

On our hike this past Wednesday we encountered lots of livestock. My dogs and their best friend Barley (a beagle) decided it is their responsibility to protect us from these weird looking creatures. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera... but if you can just imagine a trail that is so muddy your feet sink into the ground and that gross sucking sound as you try to pull your boots out, that was our wonderful walk....and to be honest, I'm not sure if it was just mud. Gross. Not to mention falling into some bramble-I've got battle scars. But anyway, the best part was while we're walking along we hear some hooves start pounding the ground and see 3 cows bolting across their field and a teeny tiny Lola chasing them. It was awesome.

goats on the mountain

a beautiful waterfall

Greg had off work yesterday, so we went hiking on a different route. And even in the car Lola could sense there were cows, she watched out the window for the entire hour checking to see if there were any cows. It was a beautiful hike, we were walking in a gorge and the rock overhangs were dripping water, there were waterfalls, and we even saw some goats running along the mountain side. We had to leash Lola when we were close to some fields that were filled with cows and their adorable babies, but that didn't stop her from dreaming about chasing them, it was awesome.

isn't she adorable?

Semana Santa

"Young Life brings the good news of Jesus Christ into the lives of adolescents with an approach that is respectful of who kids are and hopeful about who they can be"

Greg and I have both been involved in Young Life throughout our lives, and both met Christ through our leaders and camps. And after high school Greg felt called to lead Young Life, which he did in Chicago and in Newark. This week many students in Europe have off for what we would call Spring Break, and in Spain it's Semana Santa. We were invited to join Young Life on a trip to Poland, and we accepted so we're headed there tonight. We will be working with high school kids from U.S military bases who are going on a mission trip to Poland for their spring breaks. We'll be spending time in English classes at a school near Katowice, Poland. And we will also be rebuilding a playground at an elementary school. We're really excited to connect with some students and spend the week getting to know them and sharing the good news of Jesus. So if you think about us, please pray that we would connect with the students (the U.S ones) during small groups, etc. And also that we would be able to share the gospel with the Polish students as well. I'll be sure to put up pictures and fill you in on our trip when we get back!