The View from the Other Side

Often times I feel like my life looks pretty glamorous, at least from the outside looking in.  I have posted countless entries on all the wonderful places we have visited and fun things we have done in the last few years.  All things that we would not have been able to do had we stayed in the US.  And yes, they have been pretty amazing.  I've also posted some things about how tough it can be sometimes too - though it's usually something that is happening at a given moment, moments that pass.

But what I haven't done is really show you the inside view of what it has been like for us here for the last 4+ years and especially over the last 6 months which have most definitely been our most difficult to date.  This is not me whining - no, whining would be complaining about this life and having a wo-is-me kind of attitude.  No, this is about the challenges we face and the plain and simple facts are, this is our life, while a better quality of life than that we had in the US (in some ways), is not an easy life by any means.  This is about sacrifices we have made in order to have what we hoped was a better quality and more global life for our family and an opportunity for growth for Josh with his work.

So I thought I would share a few things so you can see that while life here can be grand, it is certainly does not come easy.  This is a fairly negative entry - I won't deny that - it's where my head is at the moment and I write as things come to me. And to be honest, the last 6 months have been pretty negative - so negative that Josh and I have talked about whether this was all worth it or not.  I'm hoping that we will look back when this is all over and say, yes, it may not have turned out as we planned, but it was worth the experience.  And it's not to say that there aren't a thousand wonderful things about living here because there are - I'm just not feeling them at this given moment.

So when you see we're going on a fabulous trip somewhere, don't judge - know that we damn well earned that trip thru the blood, sweat and tears we have shed over the years during this experience. And that to get thru our day to day lives, we often need something to look forward to.

Friends and family:

• Josh and I both come from small, close knit families.  Our kids are the only grandkids on both sides.  Our families have been incredibly supportive for the most part about our decision to move abroad and to continue living abroad, but it hasn't come without sacrifice.  The kids are close with their grandparents but get all of a few days per year with them.  Is that really enough? And to top it off, both Josh and I now have strained relationships with our siblings as a result of this move which has, of course, affected the relationships the kids have with them as well.
• Being away from family is not easy.  If we'd had a bad relationship with our parents, that might have been fine, but we didn't.  And to see them getting older and to see their health deteriorate or to know they are going thru something difficult that you can't physically be there to help with - it makes you feel helpless.  And knowing that you are losing time with them only makes it tougher.
• Friends come and go in life.  No quicker do they go when you are an expat.  Friends are made quickly when you live this life because you don't have time to "build" a relationship - either you click or you don't.  And odds are, you or they will be moving on in a matter of time.  It's truly a revolving door.  It's happened countless times to us (in fact, I said goodbye yesterday to a very good friend that's leaving this weekend) and it never ever gets easier.  The kids have become hardened against it and just have learned that this is part of life - a tough lesson for a 6 and 9 year old.  The only bonus is that with social media it's easier to remain connected and you can visit them in their new country and vice versa.  
• Friends from your home country.  I'd like to say those relationships don't change but that would be foolish.  Making a move like this impacts EVERYTHING in your life and that includes friends.  You say you'll stay in touch but it's out of sight, out of mind.  It's not just them but you as well - you've changed.  Some friendships can weather this test but many cannot - or if they do, you find that they weren't as strong as you once thought. 
• Everyone says they will visit.  About 1 in 10 will actually do so. When Josh talked about moving to Australia a few years ago I told him we couldn't because we'd had hardly anyone visit us here - no one was going to visit us there and I couldn't bear that thought.

Marriage:

• Every marriage has it's ups and downs but never will you be tested so much as when you move to a new country together.  
• It's hard to maintain a marriage when you aren't even living in the same country as each other 5 days a week.  Communication is key.  Big fights are too - sometimes you just have to let all the frustration out and no one else is going to understand what you are going thru other than your significant other.  If our marriage can withstand these last 6 months, we can conquer anything together.  

Kids:

• They say kids are resilient.  And they will adjust quickly.  Aidan did not want to move to Barcelona.  He fought tooth and nail on it.  The first few months were ok.  The following year was beyond miserable and we feared that this move created a monster and it did for a while - angry, violent, even talking suicide at times.  In the end, it took him 3 years to decide he liked it here (not all 3 were miserable like that first one).  The great news is that he now loves it... the bad news, we're leaving again.  And we're going to have to start over which he recognizes and accepts.  But that doesn't mean it doesn't rip your heart to pieces when your kid has to say goodbye yet again to friends that he's spent years cultivating relationships with... especially when he's already said goodbye to countless others over the last 4+ years.  It gives them this hardened shell that no 9 year old should need.  
• This is the only life that Liam remembers.  He was 2 1/2 when we moved here.  I expect that we will get similar reactions from him as we did Aidan when we moved here after we leave.  He will be leaving all his best friends and having to start over as well.
• When your child has a learning disability and you live in a foreign country, your options are EXTREMELY limited in English.  You had 20 people you could go to for testing for your kid?? I had one. Yes, one.  And she didn't even give us a definitive diagnosis.  I literally just found out a few weeks ago there is a 2nd one (3 years later) that we are going to now to have Liam tested for an unknown disability and Aidan re-tested. 
• Being a single parent isn't easy EVER... now do it when your spouse lives in a different country and you have essentially no support system.  What do you do if you have an emergency?  What if something happened to me and Josh wasn't here?  The scenarios are always going thru my head of how we would handle a given situation.  The kids have been forced to become more independent because I just can't do it all.  This is not necessarily a bad thing but we were perfectly happy with the way things were before.
• Finding a new school in your new country that fits your kid, your budget and your location (in AMS, my top choice has a wait list of 18 kids for Aidan and 28 for Liam - she said it would be several years before they got in).  Right now the only schools with space are either one where Aidan would get one year and then have to apply to another school for middle/high or one that will cost 20,000 euros per year per kid.  Neither is the ideal choice.  We're almost better off with the kids and I staying in Spain and Josh continuing to commute.  No, that's not a good option either but again, beggars can't be choosers.  

Integrating:

• Do you remember ven diagrams?  As a refresher, it's two circles that link in the middle.  The overlap is where we are - we don't fit in with our host country (in this case, Spain) and we no longer truly fit in with our passport country (the US).  We are in the middle ground.  
• Not speaking the language fluently makes it difficult to truly integrate.  While I've taken classes and am fairly conversational, I'm by no means fluent.  And it's harder to put yourself out there or to find information when you can't communicate.  
• The kids don't have friends here outside of school - it's hard to integrate when you are from a completely different world than these other kids.  The boys both speak better Spanish than I do, but both are hesitant to fully integrate.  Maybe that's our fault or maybe it's just the way they are wired.  Aidan has a kid in his tennis class that literally lives on the block behind us and yet he has no interest in sparking up a friendship with him.
• Well, we could put them in the Spanish schools and truly integrate them couldn't we?  No, we can't.  Because the schools in Barcelona are taught in Catalan, a totally different language than Spanish.  And none of us speak Catalan.  And when you have children with learning disabilities, that's just adding another layer of difficulty that's just unnecessary.    

Moving:

• Moving sucks no matter where you are coming from or where you are going.  You thought moving to another town was tough?  Try moving across the ocean.  None of your electronics will work here and those that might work on a converter may also blow up and never work again. And so you'll need to buy all new electronics while the stuff you already own sits in storage collecting dust.  If you are lucky your company will give you some kind of moving stipend to cover this extra cost.
• When you move back to your home country you can expect to have to now sell all said electronics because now they aren't going to work where you are going.
• Most people move abroad with as little stuff as they can muster.  We came with 110 boxes and I don't think we did too bad, leaving all but one piece of furniture behind.  But that meant buying new furniture and furniture is expensive, UNLESS you go to IKEA which is everyone's wet dream and nightmare at the same time.  While IKEA certainly has some higher end items, when you are moving somewhere temporarily (like our initial 2 years) you don't want to spend a whole lot on furniture when you already have beautiful stuff in your storage unit at home.  So you go back to the college dorm style of living once again.  Yeah, when you were in your 30s you probably thought you were done living the IKEA dream... nope, not even close. 
• You leave much of your possessions at home.  I don't like to think of myself as overly materialistic - perhaps once I was, but that's changed with life in Spain.  But regardless, I miss my stuff.  I miss my wedding photos that I haven't seen in 4+ years, my bed that was the first piece of furniture I bought when I got my first job out of college, the kids bedroom sets and all the memorabilia of our lives.  All I can do is hope they have survived storage ok when we get back.
• Moving is a logistical nightmare.  Not only do you need to deal with the selling of much of your possessions before you leave (because I have no need for this IKEA couch when I go back to the US when I have my nice Jordan's Furniture one there), but you need to time everything so you aren't sitting on the tile floor for 6 weeks.  And with that timing comes the shipment - at least 6 weeks before you expect to land, you need to ship everything.  When we moved to Spain, we shipped everything before Thanksgiving.  That meant our kids literally had a milk crate of toys to play with for more than 6 weeks and we had 2 suitcases worth of clothes to last us until the moving day.  And with a move either home or to the Netherlands we are back in the same boat (though the Netherlands would need less lead time) but this move means dealing with Spanish movers and ensuring that they don't take things that are owned by the landlord or that need to be sold.  It means walking thru with them in every room and detailing every item.  Josh wonders why I've begun prepacking and it's because I don't want to deal with the movers packing up the wrong stuff later.  
• Renting here is not like the US - not only are you responsible for everything unless it is structural (that means if the AC breaks, you fix it... if the dishwasher isn't working, sorry your responsibility too...) but they also require a hefty security deposit that can be upwards of 6 months of rent.  Our current landlord has the equivalent of 4 months of rent in a bank account right now, not collecting interest and it's unlikely we will get all of that back when we finish our time here.  And the apartment, there is no such thing as wear and tear - it better look EXACTLY like it did the day you moved in or kiss that money goodbye.  

Home Rental and Maintenance:

• Managing not one but two homes from 4000 miles away is a pain in the ass.  Simply put, it is a headache and a half.  We've had to rely on family and friends to help us let people in to see the house, work with realtors, do yard maintenance and so much more... and we are forever thankful and grateful that they haven't told us to jump off a bridge yet. 
• When you rent a house you take a chance with your renters.  You hope they are reliable and will pay the rent.  They don't always and you end up with legal fees from an eviction where you never actually recoup your money that was owed to you.  Then the house sits empty as you are paying the mortgage and you wonder, why are we keeping this?  Or the tenant that breaks the lease because he's decided to buy a house meaning that we have to pay a realtor yet again to find us a new tenant.  
• Good luck breaking even or making a profit on your home rental.  Again, it's our home so I want to keep it, but it would be nice if we could at least break even on it... but alas it's not meant to be. But with something like 7 billion people on the planet and constantly growing, there will always be a need for real estate, right?  
• Finding renters has been nothing but a challenge.  There have been times where we have lucked out and word of mouth has found us some great people.  But we've also had to pay realtors to find us people to live in our houses.  And nothing was harder than finding a renter for 6 months for our primary house.  Why 6 months?  Because our last renters moved and we didn't know if we were coming home this year or not.  But no one wants to rent for just 6 months.  And rather than continue to take a loss month after month, we had to accommodate a renter that should we move back this summer, would continue to live there even after the school year starts, meaning that we'd need temporary housing until well into the fall.  
• Having a house 4000 miles away means you still have to maintain the house.  And things break. Regularly.  
• On a similar note, maintaining a car from 4000 miles away is no easy task either.  Whether it's having your neighbors drive the car regularly or leaving it at your parents, you still have to pay to maintain it, pay excise tax and insure it.  Why keep it?  Because we were only supposed to be away for 2 years and we own it out right.  When we go back we don't want two car payments. But at the same time, it's still a lot of work to keep it.

Work:

• Trying to run a business when you are 4000 miles away and can't be in front of people.  With technology these days, it's not as bad as it would have been 10 years ago.  But it also makes it difficult to create new business when you can't have initial face to face meetings.  
• On Josh's end, feeling unsupported by the company that you came here for and not knowing your future is a very upsetting and frustrating feeling.  They seem to forget that you came here for the company and not yourself.  You getting the chance to have global experiences is a plus but it comes down to you being able to produce at work and when you've done nothing but produce time after time and still don't know a plan, that's a tough pill to swallow.  You are a cog in the wheel.  
• Moving 4000 miles away to do what you feel is best for your company and knowing you can make a difference only to find that everything changes and there is no loyalty.
• When an opportunity does arise, it means moving to another country and leaving your family behind for over 6 months (still in another country that is not their home country) in order to pursue a job that you love but that comes at a sacrifice of your family.

The "Simple" Things:

• Buying a car and getting a license - I had to completely go thru drivers ed again like I was 16 again to the tune of 1000 euros.  
• Making a doctor's appointments - when you take your kids to a hospital for their doctor's appointments it's near impossible to call to make the appointment if you don't speak fluent Spanish - there are just too many departments you can get transferred to.  In order to make their appointments, I literally have to go there and go up to the desk of their doctor to make the appointment.  
• Canceling or changing an account (already stressed over canceling utilities, etc).  It took me a month to get a new cell phone when I changed carriers.  When we moved apartments, our cable company only transferred over TV but not the internet which they cancelled and then had to create a completely new account which then took even longer to install because it was no longer considered a transfer.  I have no doubt when we move that the power is going to all of a sudden shut off days before it's supposed to.
• Going to the grocery store means 4 or 5 or even 6 different locations and you still can't get everything you need or want (but at least it's preservative free for the most part).  And you'll find yourself having to learn to make a lot of things from scratch that you never had to do before.  
• Learn to let go - truly you can't sweat the small stuff.  Those lights that you just replaced that have already gone out because of poor wiring?  Tough, just go buy a lamp or read in the dark. That A/C that is in the hallway that does nothing in the dead of summer - just go spend 300 euros to buy a stand alone unit and home that it gives you some reprieve of the heat.  No dryer?  Hang those clothes outside - winter, spring, summer and fall... yes all year long.  Smaller living space - do you really need all that crap?  No car?  It's better to walk for you anyways.  And with no car, you'll buy less stuff for your tiny little apartment that has little living space.  
• Siesta and Sundays - You wanted to go to the hardware store on Sunday?  Sorry, it and every single other store is closed on Sunday.  Try again on Monday but only between the hours of 10-2 and 5-8.  
• Target?  We don't have one.  Gap?  Nope, don't have one of those either.  And I hope you aren't shipping anything to me because odds are it's going to get stuck in customs or not come at all.  In fact, I just paid a 50% customs charge on a box of Easter candy from my parents that was delivered to me today.  I'm still waiting on those girl scout cookies from last year that never arrived.  And with 21% tax, anything you buy here is significantly more expensive than it is in the States.  There is a reason I come back here with 5 suitcases every year.  

The Future:

• This is the basis for all this negativity today.  Not knowing the future.  Sure no one can predict the future but my guess is you have a pretty good idea of where you are going to be living in the next 3 months - we don't.  As in, we have NO CLUE.  And there is nothing more helpless than being in a foreign country and feeling like you are being dicked around.  
• Knowing that when your ex-pat experience does "end" you will never be the same again and that this has changed who you are, who your kids are, forever.  
• Regrets?  The only thing I wish is that we hadn't done our second extension.  We should have stopped at 3 1/2 years because the last year has been so filled with uncertainty and the last 6 months have been downright miserable.  We should have quit while we were ahead, but then, we couldn't have predicted what the future would or would not hold, could we?

I could probably go on forever and forever on this post.  But I'm starting to get depressed by it.  And like I said earlier, we are happy here.  We have, for the most part, had a great experience.  But it's amazing how uncertainty in your life can change that experience and make it something completely different.  Our lives here have been good.  And wherever we end up, they will one day be good again. Don't worry, I have positive things to say about Barcelona too... I just need to get back into the right frame of mind :)  Til then...

Besos,

Julie

Feliz Cumpleaños Josh!!

Well, it's a few days belated but Happy Birthday to Josh!  I did a poor job with pictures (as in, none) but my hope is that is because were off having fun!

Josh didn't get home until late on the evening of his birthday but not to worry, we were ready for him on Friday morning with gifts and a cake for Friday night.  The benefit of him working from home on Fridays is that often we get to go out to lunch together which is exactly what we did.  That was after we exchanged just about everything I bought him which was the wrong size.  Yes, after 20 years, apparently I still can't buy the correct size!

Friday night Aidan had a soccer game, then we came home, had dinner and birthday cake!  The kids really wanted me to make him the Tardis or the Millennium Falcon.  I blame this sudden creativity on our cousin Fiona who the kids know loves to make creative cakes and as they were just with her this past weekend, it was fresh in their minds.  And hey, why can't mommy do that too?  Um, have you guys met me??  Suffice it to say, I went out of my "comfort" zone and made a double layer cake with both chocolate and yellow cakes with a layer of frosting in the middle as well.  Circular in shape, nothing fancy.  I shouldn't even need to say this but will, those that know me will already know that I did not make these cakes from scratch but from a mix.  But it was delicious and I'm having a piece as I write this entry :)

Anyways, back to the birthday boy!  Saturday night I arranged for us to go out with some friends for dinner.  It's been a long time since Josh and I went out much less the 6 of us got together - I think it's actually been about 6 months, right before baby Jordi arrived for Chris and Stephanie.  Sadly, it's the last time the group will be together as 2 are leaving Barcelona this coming weekend and the other 2 at the end of next month. And so it was all the more reason to be out celebrating - birthdays, bon voyage and friends forever.  And what better way to celebrate than with a delicious dinner at Da Greco, one of our favorite restaurants.

All in all, I hope Josh's birthday was a good one.  I've got to start gearing up for the next one - only one more year til the big 4-0!!!

Besos,
Julie

Weekend in the English Countryside with the Cousins!

Josh has a lot of family in England and Ireland and one of the advantages about us living in Europe has been being able to visit with them easier than we could when we lived Stateside.  During this time, we've become very close with Josh's cousin Fiona and her family in northern England.

Back in November, they met up with us in Edinburgh, Scotland - with the timing of events on their end and flights on ours, we only got one full day in, barely that.  And yet, they drove 4 hours to meet up with us.  It was a great chance for the kids to meet their cousins for the first time.  The best part was that they all hit it off immediately.

Our kids have no first cousins but embrace their extended family of mine and Josh's cousins.  Aidan, who takes a while to warm up, was laughing and joking with his cousins pretty quickly.  The bonus for him is that Eden and Angus are his age whereas his cousins on my side aren't even half his age.  I remember as a child being the oldest cousin as well and while it had it's positives, it could also be lonely.  I loved seeing him in his element with new family.

Because we had such a great time in Edinburgh, Fiona and I had been in touch trying to figure out another time we could all get together again, this time either in England or in Barcelona.  It was fun being in Edinburgh together but it didn't give the kids a whole lot of time or space to just run around and be kids when we were all staying in a hotel in the city.  Fiona and I finally figured out a weekend and with Josh meeting us there, the kids and I were off to Ripon, England!!

We flew into Leeds/Bradford and were whisked off to the English countryside by Colin.  It was a beautifully scenic 45 minute drive to their home in Ripon.  After a long, wet winter, everything was already getting green for springtime.  There were daffodils popping up and the fields were filled with sheep and their babies, cows and horses.  There is a reason England is one of my favorite countries and it isn't just because they speak my language.  The landscape here is just stunning at every turn. Unfortunately as we were driving, I didn't take any pictures of the scenery so you'll just have to take my word on it's beauty.

As we drove into Ripon, I remembered how when we were in Edinburgh, Fiona said if I loved Edinburgh then I would definitely love Ripon.  And she was right.  For a city, it's incredibly small, in fact it is the 4th smallest city in England.  Only about 20,000 people live here.  It gets it's city status from the Cathedral in the center of town.  The streets are narrow but not as narrow as others I've seen throughout our travels, but just narrow enough to make them quaint but not so narrow that you wonder how in the world this can possibly be a two way street when one car can barely fit down it!  You can tell that this is a city that has been around for a long, long time. As Fiona told me later, the smaller the bricks, the older the building.  And I saw a lot of small bricks.

In fact, the city of Ripon (located in Yorkshire) dates back 1300 years.  And while you can feel the history all around you, at the same time, the city is filled with beautiful shops and restaurants and it seems that no modern amenity is difficult to find.  Something that has been a challenge for us in Barcelona!

Upon arriving at their house, the kids were a little nervous to see their cousins again.  But not to worry, within moments, they were laughing and playing as though it had just been hours instead of months since they last saw each other.  Angus and Eden are not just the loveliest and most well mannered kids that I know, they are incredibly social and make you feel like a part of the group instantly.  They are such a pleasure to be around and were full of kind things to say and lots of hugs.  I feel like they are our surrogate niece and nephew, it just feels that comfortable with them.  Eden was definitely my BFF for the weekend and I loved every moment -  I love that I'm getting to know her better and spend some quality time with her.  

While the kids played, Fiona, Colin and I caught up on life.  Josh wasn't flying in until Saturday morning.  Eventually Fiona and I went into Ripon do a little touring around and to pick up dinner - fish and chips.  Yes, totally traditional English meal.  I'm not a huge fan of fish, but figured I'd get chicken. Only Aidan took a look at the fish (he's not always a fan of fried) and decided he wanted the chicken. So I had to take one for the team only I really didn't end up having to as it was delicious... more so than I anticipated.  Of course, it's hard to mess up anything fried, but even still, it was delectable and I can totally see myself eating it again.

Everyone stayed up late the first night and once again it says something about the openness of this family because there was never a moment with awkward silence or without something interesting to say.  I could have stayed up all night just talking away.  But as we had plans for Saturday and Josh was flying in, the conversations would have to wait til morning!!

After Colin picked up Josh from the airport, Fiona and I ran into Ripon again to do a little looking around in the daylight hours.  I got to check out the Cathedral and a few of the little shops before we stopped to pick up lunch - steak and chicken bakes, essentially a chicken or steak pot pie in a flaky hand held pastry.  Yeah, it was delicious too!!   The pictures below are all of the city center of Ripon.

After our yummy lunch, we drove 45 minutes to York.  As in the original and not "New" as Liam thought we were going to when we mentioned York ;)  And if I thought Ripon had some history, enter York at just about 2000 years old (founded in 71 AD).  Yeah, 2000 years old.  Talk about history.  But for all it's history, I was drawn to York for one reason - The Gap.  Seriously.  We don't have one in Barcelona - I'm not even sure if there is one in Spain, but definitely not one within any reasonable driving distance from here.

Ready to rock n roll to York for the day...

So we did a casual tour around York - no particular aim in mind (that I'm aware of), just wandering around and taking in the sights.  And of course, going to the Gap - despite only bringing carry on baggage for this trip, I made sure we would have ample room for our purchases!  This is a beautiful city full of history and adorable streets filled with equally adorable shops.  We saw a lot of candy shops and confectionaries including some fabulous fudge (unheard of in Spain).  Upon my research after the fact, it turns out that at one point in time, York was known for it's confections.  You learn something new every day!  It is also home to the shortest street in England with the longest name!

Not sure what this is but it was at the top of a hill that was covered in daffodils - it looks like perhaps it was a lookout tower.

The boys!

We start our walk thru York

Beautiful old buildings

We especially liked the sheep being hung over the door

Chocolate heaven??  Why yes it is!!

We saw a lot of statues of cats - not sure of the symbolism of them but there were enough to see it's a trend of some kind.

What you can't see is that this "dog" is actually holding his leg up to "pee" on the pole next too him.  Notice the look on Aidan's face!

Watching how fudge is made

Every city we go to has these human statues - the kids never get tired of it... and this guy was great!

Odd devil statue

Awww so cute - Liam and Angus are adorable ... but then Aidan photobombed the next one!

Fiona, Eden and Julie

Another human statue kind of deal only this "Yoda" was "floating" somehow.  The kids figured it out (there was a pole going thru his cane and thru his pant leg to a platform he was sitting on) and had fun trying to solve the mystery!

This was near The Gap - my happy place :)

yoga bunny detox???

This is the shortest street in England with the longest name - see the description below...

After a fun afternoon in York we headed back to Ripon.  The kids ran and played outside which they needed!  By evening they were spent!  And for dinner, the most amazing meatballs ever!  The secret ingredient?  Apples!  I need to make them and think I could actually attempt to do so based on the somewhat simple recipe that Fiona told me (though going to need a refresher on that recipe!).  With Josh now with us, we had yet another late night chatting which was so great!!

Aidan's new thing is photobombing... 

I know this pic is out of proportion with the rest of the day in York but it was too pretty to not blow up a bit bigger than the rest.  Ahhhh the beauty of sunset in the English countryside!

Four very tired kids...

We were up early on Sunday with a busy day ahead of us.  After a proper English breakfast, we headed into Ripon because there are shops open on Sundays here.  Woo hoo!  We don't get that in Barcelona.  And it's taken us a long time to get used to and while we definitely like it now that we have to just chill out and relax on a Sunday afternoon, when we are on vacation it's nice to have stores open the entire time you are visiting!  However, that doesn't mean that all the stores were open and Eden was especially disappointed to not be able to show me one of her favorite shops - I guess that means we'll have to go back to Ripon one of these days!!

After doing a little shopping, we went to Fountains Abbey.  I think this was by far the best part of the trip (aside from visiting with our family of course!).  Green grass as far as the eye can see.  Words nor pictures can accurately describe the beauty of this park.  Set amongst fields and woods with a small river running alongside the ruins of an Abbey that dates back to the 1100s and walking trails everywhere.  Not only was this the perfect place for the kids to just run and run and run some more, but it's a photographer's dream.  The lighting was beautiful and we were lucky to have a sunny day.  The kids made up games, climbed on the ruins, ran some more and just had a great time!  The smiles on their faces were priceless!  This is what our kids need more of and no matter where we land for our next home, I think it's time to move out of the city and into the burbs where we can get more time like this. Though it will be hard to top Fountains Abbey for sure!

Cousins united!

Action shot!

That's part of the Abbey behind Liam

What is it with boys and sticks??

Ready, set, go!!

Running across the field - full of energy!

The Abbey

Another view

Little river that flows amongst the ruins

Tiny waterfall

I love how the river runs right alongside the ruin

Happy kids getting to run around

How high can you climb? (answer: not far)

A good place to hide while playing hide n seek

Run!!

Cousins

Great cousin picture!

Aside from great lighting, I love that the river is running alongside the ruin again

This would be an awesome family pic if it weren't for the bunny ears Aidan is giving me (and is doing in all the other pictures we took!)

Planning out a new game

The new game involves running a lot!

Aidan so happy!  And Eden and Liam as well!

Off to chase Eden and Liam!

Headlock!

Such a beauty!

Selfie!

Another great cousin shot!

After running around for a bit, we started to make our way back to the car.  But no park is complete unless you've hit the playground too!

We headed back to the house for yet another fabulous meal made by Fiona before Josh had to head to the airport around 3:30.  As he left, Eden and I went into town to do some shopping - a girl after my own heart :)  Our first stop was the grocery store where I bought absolutely nothing of any healthy redeeming value - but that I couldn't get in Barcelona.  And then we did a little clothes shopping,  my new favorite store now being Fat Face.

The kids were in bed at a normal time on Sun as Fiona had her radio show and quite honestly, they were all very obviously tired.  School for Fiona's kids on Monday and the boys and I just chilled out til we had to head to the airport around 12:30.  Colin took Liam's puking in his car incredibly well - and for that I'm thankful!!  It's not a good time unless Liam throws up at least once!!

The best part of the trip?  Well, there were so many that it's hard to pin down.  I love that the kids all bonded.  I love that the whole weekend I felt like we were with old friends rather than family that we've hung out with on the rare occasion (and only the 2nd time for the kids).  I loved the beauty of the city but also of the countryside.  I really loved it all.  But my favorite part?  It was such a great time that while we were hanging out on Saturday night, Colin and Fiona booked a trip with the kids to come and see us in Barcelona over the Easter break.  We are all so excited to get to show them our home!! Something to look forward to in just a matter of weeks!

Besos,
Julie