Sunny Spain

Now that we're back home and wading through a foot of fresh snow, it's only appropriate to revisit some of our pics from Spain. Yes, it's definitely winter in Madrid, but there are still days when the abundant sunshine pushed the temps into the upper 50s and it feels gloriously like spring is around the corner. So we took advantage of that a couple of days and took the girls first to the sprawling urban park Casa de Campo and then later to the newly built riverwalk area closer to city center. Because so many kids typically go to daycare at a younger age there, the parks were virtually empty on a weekday afternoon which was a big change from New York. But hey, having the place to ourselves wasn't all bad...the only person Elisa had to fight with over prime real estate was her sister!

And later in the week at the riverwalk, we checked out the area with huge slides. Again, it was completely empty and we had a great time climbing back up again and again to slide til our hearts' content. I realized after just a few runs up that steep hill it was actually quite a workout, especially carrying Carolina up. And the family slide look pretty docile, but I can tell you it was one heck of a drop! My stomach floated right up into my throat as we pushed off and I haven't had that happen in years. Weee...indeed!

All in all, our two weeks with the family went by in a flash and the girls both really adjusted to all the changes we threw at them. Sometimes it's nice to see how adaptable they really are because it reminds you that although routines are nice for keeping the the day-to-day stuff running smoothly, it's okay to mix it up now and again. The whole world doesn't fall apart and it teaches me to be a little less uptight. I'm not the same mom that packed an entire suitcase of food and snacks for Elisa at this age. It's all a learning curve and I'm still in it. But I see progress, so I'll take it.  They are growing up and really becoming their own people who experience things differently than I could ever predict.  They dealt with new rooms, new beds, new food, and being left without us a few times with great aplomb. They kept each other company and at the same time amused their abuela with all their crazy dancing and playing.  And they traveled like pros making this the best family trip we've had so far. I even watched two airplane movies--bad ones, but hey. It was a nice surprise. And of course, it means I'm even more excited about our trip this summer. I think the worst part of traveling is behind us. At least I'm really hoping it is.