11 minutes faster!

This year I have been training to do more triathlons and a half marathon. My friend Amy and I randomly signed up for a sprint triathlon this week to get the season started. It happened to be the same course that I did last year and my time was 11 minutes faster! I have to report, after taking two swim lessons this spring I was NOT last out of the water. WHOOHOO!

Memorial Day Weekend

For Memorial Day we played all day long!  We went from one party to the next.  Our first party we started out at the beach.  It was a low tide day with beautiful weather which is just the kind of day for the beach.  We met up with friends for lunch and had a great day.

Matt biked his way to the beach with a friend.  I couldn't resist taking a picture.

We looked for all kinds of sea creatures.

We even found some.

The boys played in the sand.

They also ate a little bit of sand.

We ended the beach day with a little kite flying.  Even Ethan took a stab at it!

Father and Sons Campout

Matt and Cole went on the father and sons camp out!  This was Cole's first one and he seemed to have a good time.  Matt forgot the tent so they ended up bunking up with some friends.  I'm sure that made it for an even better night!  

I don't have many details because I was asking two boys about the trip, but I gleaned this.....they had a program.

And they threw rocks in the river.  

I'm sure they ate, got dirty and played games as well!

This is their tent mate!

Swimming and the Space Needle

Before Grandma left we got so spend some time together.  

We went swimming.

We threw Ethan off the diving board again.  He seemed to like it a little bit better this time.

We also went to the Space Needle.  

This was an interesting trip!  We got up to the top and everyone was happy.  Both boys were playing around on this bar when a security guard came around and told them to get down.  Ethan didn't quite agree so he decided to throw a tantrum for the next 20 minutes.  It was great.  He was still throwing the tantrum as we were coming down the elevator.  I told him I would go back to Spain if he didn't stop........

Then we met up with Dad for lunch.  

Fun times with Grandma

The boys had lots of fun while we were gone.  I'm pretty sure they didn't even notice that we were missing!  Before we left we bought a GPS so that Grandma could go anywhere and that she did!  

They started their adventure at the Children's museum.  Both boys got soaked so Grandma bought them new shirts to go home in.  

They went to the zoo and got to see the new penguin exhibit.  

They went to the Flight Museum.  Cole remembered that there was a kid play area so he immediately ran off to get there.  

They went to the library.  The story time got cancelled but they were able to check out a lot of books.  

We set up a few play dates with friends and they enjoyed some time with Shelley, Tabby and the Christensen's.    

They went to a park with animals and got to see the baby piggies!  It is always a highlight every spring to see the babies.  

There is nothing like climbing a tree.

Racing is always a good activity.

A few funny incidences:  Ethan got the chicken pox.  He had a very mild case because he had been immunized.  Cole sprayed the hose in the house!  Cole also over stuffed the toilet and Grandma didn't know where the plunger was.  It was a good thing we called when we did. Matt put the wrong address in the GPS for the first stop.  We got it worked out while we were still at the airport and then there were no more mix ups.

Thank you Grandma!  We couldn't have done it without you.  It is a large task taking on two very active little boys and everyone did great.  It made for a really nice relaxing trip for us.  

La moda de Espana

 I have always been intrigued by the fashion that comes out of Europe!  I just thought I would give you a little preview of what is coming back in style!  

Watch out ladies, jasmine pants are BACK!  They were everywhere!  They are shorts, they are pants, they have huge long crouches and hang very low.  It looks ridiculous but very comfortable!  I would love to say that I would never wear them, but I remember saying that vividly about capri pants!  Jasmine pants here we come.  

The mullet!  Not only is the mullet in for men, but it is in for woman.  I can't wait to test out that haircut!

This is a girl!

If you can't pull off the mullet, then you at least need to have a rat tail!  I'm thinking of growing one out for Cole.

Funky sandals.  I'm not even sure of what to call these...  Everyone was wearing them!  If not the sandals than the converse shoes.

The summer scarf.  I brought a few home if you want to test out the new style.

And of course everyone is wearing supa skinny jeans.  I couldn't resist and bought a pair!

Random Tidbits

I LOVE the food in Spain.  There is nothing healthy about it at all, but it tastes so delicious.  I ate lots of tortilla, candy, magdalenas, pajitas de ketchup and so many pastries.  I also got to eat a few salads, garbanzo beans and tons of pan.  They are all white carbohydrates that mess with your sugar levels, but I just can't get enough of them.  

Everyone in Spain drives really small cars.  We rented one that was very small as well.  This one is just about as small as they get.  

I love the metro.  I think it is such an efficient system to get around a large city. I wish us americans would catch on and do it.  

When I lived in Spain we had an affectionate word for the way couples would interact with each other.  We called it the Spanish spider.  We were lucky enough to witness a few such incidences and I couldn't help but smile!