Back in Spain

After waiting two weeks we finally have internet! It is so nice. Our Vonage phone is now working too for anyone who's dying to call us :) It's nice to be back. We've had a great time seeing friends and having our own things again. We've already had several BBQ's with John, Maria and Johnny. Jay just adores Johnny. He thinks that Johnny is the coolest kid ever. It has been so nice that Jay is finally old enough to play with other kids. He and Johnny spend hours together in our basement. Johnny rides a little scooter around while Jay either chases him laughing hysterically, pushes around a plastic grocery cart, or plays with his tractors. They both love hanging out in our blow up pool filled with packing peanuts and throwing all of the balls out of the blow-up ball pit. What a good life! The nice thing is that our basement is huge and the boys have plenty of space to play since nothing is really down there except some storage and toys. I don't know what we're going to do when we have to go back to the States and downsize.
Jay has added quite a few new words to his repertoire lately. He also loves trying to mimic what we say now. His favorite new word is "shoe" but you have to think of it phrased as a question rather than just a word. It's always, "shoe?" Jay has really connected putting on shoes with going outside. He loves grabbing his shoes, bringing them to me and saying in the sweetest voice possible, "shoe?" I can't resist it! He also is very good at saying "more" when he wants more to eat. That's nice. He still uses the one and only sign he knows to say "all done." Some other words Jay says now are yellow (one of my favorites), purple, daddy, baby, BYE BYE (still an absolute favorite of Jay's), agua, go, banana, apple, and hi. Those are the ones I can think of right now. He also loves to meow like a kitty, bark like a dog, growl like a bear and squawk like a bird. He meows all the time to his little white kitty which he's become really attached to. He has to sleep with it at night. It's so cute! We affectionately think of the cat as "Jig."In other news, we just found out is that Maria is having a baby GIRL!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah!!!! I'm so excited for her! We had a baby shower for her at the church last Wednesday and it was a blast.
Spaniards don't usually have baby showers so it was fun to do something special. We had a great turnout and I'd say my creative decorating was pretty awesome. There was no where to buy baby shower decorations so I improvised by covering the tables with baby wrapping paper and stringing ribbon and diapers up along the sides. Luckily I had balloons and streamers to use. I also made a huge stork for the occasion. The best part of the shower was all the food. We made it potluck and some of my favorite Spanish things were there. We had empanadas, tortilla, and tomato gaspacho. I can't wait to get the recipes and try them out myself.

Yes, we're still alive!

Hello one and all. Thank you for all your comments. I'm sorry I haven't been able to blog or comment anyone else's blog for the past few weeks. We're back in Spain again and still don't have internet. For anyone who's ever lived here you won't wonder why. The Spanish take FOREVER to get anything done. It's both a frustrating and endearing quality. Spainards really take things slow and enjoy life to the fullest but man I'm ready to be connected to the world again! We're hopeing that by next week we'll be up and running. Anyway just wanted to let you know we're still here. We miss Germany but we're also really happy to be back in Spain. I've LOVED having the opportunity to practice my Spanish again and I'm pleased to find I haven't forgeten everything :) It's also great to have our own things back again and to have a fenced in area that Jay can play in outside. All in all we're doing great. I can't wait to catch up on all of your lives soon! See ya around.

The Tulips!!!

Finally! What you've all been waiting for :) The tulip pictures... I don't have a lot to say in this post (aren't you excited?). I think writing the Amsterdam post has tuckered me out. All I have to say is that the tulips were incredible! I'm sure the pictures don't do them justice. They were beautiful. I don't know how many different kinds of tulips we saw but it was more than I ever imagined possible. We first visited the Keukenhof Gardens which is a huge park filled with hundreds upon hunderds upon hundreds of flowers. Tulips in every shape, size and color possible can be found. The Park claims that it is the most photographed place in the world. I'm not sure about that but it certainly ranks among the top. After visiting the gardens we took a scenic drive through the towns of Holland and stopped when we found the perfect photo opportunity. My favorite picture is the one Jessie took of Jay and Kelsey kissing. Isn't she a gerat photographer? Anyway, enjoy the pics!

Amsterdam!

Amsterdam was an interesting city to see. After flipping a coin we decided to travel into the city by train. The ride was beautiful and once we arrived we were glad the coin toss went to the train. With all the canals, pedestrians and insane amounts of bicycles driving would have been extremely difficult. We took a lovely walk to the Anne Frank house in what I found to be the prettiest part of the city. This museum was on our "must see" list and so we wanted to make it our first stop. As we walked along we were astonished to see garages filled with thousands upon thousands of bicycles. I've never seen so many in once place! You really have to be careful where you walk in Amsterdam because there are so many bikes whizzing by. It's easy to see why people bike though when you consider all the canals and narrow streets. We really enjoyed exploring the city by foot as we meandered toward our destination. We found one little flea market with all sorts of fun things being sold. Jay especially liked the collection of hats he found. Unfortunately Jessie didn't see us walk into flea market area (yep... she was taking pictures ;). After covering every square inch of the surrounding area we decided the best thing to do was walk on to the Anne Frank house in hopes she had done the same. Happily we found her there and to make things even better she was already half-way through the ticket line. We had listened to part of the Diary of Anne Frank on our drive up which made seeing the museum even more emotionally moving. It is impossible to describe my feelings on seeing the house and remembering what Anne Frank experienced; one girl among millions who suffered a similar fate under Nazi control. Quotes from Anne's diary line the walls of the annex. It felt surreal to think she was actually there... living in hiding where millions now read her words and come to understand her experiences. Toward the end of the tour is a quote by Primo Levi saying,

"One single Anne Frank moves us more than the countless others who suffered just as she did but whose faces have remained in the shadows. Perhaps it is better that way; if we were capable of taking in all the suffering of all those people, we would not be able to live."
I think that being a mother has given me greater insight to the suffering. When I look at my little boy I tremble to even imagine him going through something so horrific. And the truth is that such suffering as experienced in the Holocaust is only the tip of the iceberg in the scope of human suffering. When I contemplate such evil my thoughts immediately turn to our Lord and Savior. He who was capable of taking in all the suffering, the sins, the evil of the world. He who experienced and overcome it all. I am so grateful for the Atonement. I always rejoice in knowing that Good has already overcome Evil in that sacred act. And in the end the Lord our God is our judge. He who knows all, He who suffered all, He who loves infinitely will decide our fate after allowing us every opportunity to repent and turn to Him. I love the words our dear Prophet President Hinckley offered us just months after the attack of September 11 in the October 2001 General Conference.

"Now, all of us know that war, contention, hatred, suffering of the worst kind are not new. The conflict we see today is but another expression of the conflict that began with the War in Heaven...Through centuries of time, men and women, so very, very many, have lived and died. Some may die in the conflict that lies ahead. To us, and we bear solemn testimony of this, death will not be the end. There is life beyond this as surely as there is life here. Through the great plan which became the very essence of the War in Heaven, men shall go on living...

God our Eternal Father will watch over this nation and all of the civilized world who look to Him. He has declared, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (Ps. 33:12). Our safety lies in repentance. Our strength comes of obedience to the commandments of God... Are these perilous times? They are. But there is no need to fear. We can have peace in our hearts and peace in our homes. We can be an influence for good in this world, every one of us."

How I love the prophets of the Lord! It is so comforting to hear the words of God and know that He has a plan for us and that we are not alone. After seeing the Anne Frank house we toured around Amsterdam a little longer taking in the sights and general atmosphere of the city. Let's just say if Las Vegas is the city of sin than Amsterdam is the city of... cultured sin? I'm not exactly sure how you'd put it but men can basically find any and all of their vices for sale. There were plenty of good things to see though amongst... other things. :) We really enjoyed our visit.

Zandvoort

While on vacation we stayed in the lovely beach town of Zandvoort. It's about half an hour outside of Amsterdam. The resort we stayed at is called Centerparc. It's a wonderful family resort complete with indoor swimming complex and petting zoo. We had such a wonderful time with my parents and the Price's. The trip was a perfect blend of bright city lights and relaxed country living.

Jay and Kelsey loved the goats, sheep and birds.

Grandpa finally convinced Jay that riding on shoulders provides a good view of the world.

Jay was thrilled to play with the shells and sand.

A few pics of jay and Kelsey playing in the ball pit at KFC.

Nice throw!

Happy 5th Anniversary

Photo by Jessie Price

To my one and only... thank you for the most wonderful five years I could ever imagine. No one could have made a better companion for me. You're my best friend! I love you with all of my heart and I am so grateful to have the rest of eternity to spend with you.

Kinderdijk Windmills

Holland is absolutely beautiful. On our way up to Amsterdam we stopped to see the famous windmills in Kinderdijk. We had perfect weather and walking along the canal with windmills on either side felt like stepping into a storybook. The windmills were built around 1740 and have been very well preserved up until today. In 1997 the site was put on the World Heritage List of UNESCO.
Jay especially enjoyed watching the many ducks and other birds along the waters edge. We watched one little Mudhen for several minutes as it swam back and forth gathering reeds to make it's nest. Many of the ducks had little ducklings trailing behind them. They were so cute!

Breendonk Concentration Camp

After staying overnight in Brussels we went on to see Breendonk Concentration Camp. It was a difficult and educational experience. Breendonk is one of the best preserved concentration camps in the world and the tour through the camp is extremely informative. It is so horrible to see what the innocent people forced into these camps went through. It sickens the human spirit and leaves you with a feeling of ugliness and disgust. 3500 prisoners went through Breendonk during the Nazi regime. Many were sent there specifically to be tortured since the camp specialized in it.

Belgium

Since Jay had only seen 11 countries in his lifetime we decided it was about time to see a few more. To up the count we drove up to Amsterdam for a fun-filled weekend with the Price's stopping in Brussels, Belgium on the way. Brussels was founded in the 10th century by Charlemagne's great grandson and now acts as the capital of Belgium. We arrived in Brussels pretty late and Jessie kindly offered to stay with Jay as he slept in the hotel room while Tally showed us the city. It was a quick trip since it was already late but we were able to see the important things. We started by driving by the Cathedral (once you've see a few you've seen them all, right?;). We headed to the Grand Palace next which was constructed in the 1400s.
It was actually deemed a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. It's beautiful to see at night. As we walked on we turned down a street with about 8 Greek restaurants sitting side-by-side on the same street. Each had a patron shouting at us to come into the "best restaurant in Brussels." Is it really that difficult to figure out you might get more business if you weren't surrounded by 7 restaurants almost exactly the same as yours? Since we were hungry we grabbed a quick bite at the only Greek restaurant without someone trying to corral us into it. After the gyro we had to find a Belgium waffle for dessert. mmmmm.... it was incredibly delicious. The waffle tasted like it was dipped in caramel. The strawberries, bananas, whipped cream and chocolate on top didn't hurt either. Of course with so many toppings piled high most of it ended up on our faces. After our feast we stopped by to see Manneken Pis. It's this crazy fountain of a little boy peeing. A main tourist attraction in Brussels. The statue even has it's own wardrobe consisting of hundreds of costumes provided by the non-profit association The Friends of Manneken-Pis. Sounds strange to me. The fountain of course has a story behind it. One legend claims the boy saved Brussels from destruction in the 1400s when a foreign power attempted to blow the city up using explosives. A young boy from Brussels was spying on the enemy and after the fuse was lit he put it out by peeing on it. What a hero! Well that about sums up our quick trip to Brussels.

Thanks Jessie for the waffle picture!