Thanksgiving 2021

 Our hearts are happy and our bellies are full. A little late, but these kids don’t seem to mind. On Thursday, Thanksgiving day, the girls had school, and cello practice and Spanish tutoring, and lastly swim. So we celebrated today. We watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade on YouTube. It was missing all the live music performances. I always enjoy the ones from Broadway shows.

Leah made the deviled eggs, Hattie and I made the green bean casserole with from scratch cream of mushroom, and Kiersten made the pumpkin cheesecake. I made mashed potatoes and Mitch handled the Turkey. I was a little bummed to only find Turkey breast at the local Lidl but it did not disappoint. It was tender and not at all dry. Mitch thinks that’s because it didn’t come from an American Turkey farm. After searching several stores I was just happy we had Turkey at all. We are thankful, especially for the experiences this year has and will provide our family.

Felíz Navidad

Tonight we trimmed the tree and got into the Christmas spirit! I only packed one small box of Christmas decor back in the states. I’ll have to get a few more things, but it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. 

Mitch had to run out and get some lights, but after we were done decorating we enjoyed our first Panetonne…the Ferrero Rocher from Horno Pastelería de San Antonio and some hot cocoa! Now we’re ready for Gigi and Papa to arrive in a few days.

Sunday in the City!

 Back in September I KNEW I was going to want to get family pictures done in Valencia. I was fortunate to find an English speaking photographer so I reached out and we picked a Sunday in late November. Friday and Saturday were overcast, rainy and cold. I was getting a little nervous about our Sunday morning session but the weather was perfect!

We started at the Art Boutique Colón, our first apartment in the city, followed by Mercado Colón and some more beautiful spots in the city. I can’t wait to see what she got.

After we were done we headed back to Mercado Colón. The girls enjoyed some ice cream…leche merengada, of course. Mitch and I had a coffee and we shared some ibérica and queso. It’s always so good. Out in the suburbs everything shuts down on Sundays. Now that we’ve experienced what the city has to offer we’ll definitely head into the city more often for Sunday Funday!

San Antonio de Benegaber

 Today we said goodbye to the San Antonio House. Carrer Tort, 1 served us well. I'll be honest, the first day we arrived I thought there was no way I could make it there for more than a few weeks. But we ended up staying there for over two months. We lovingly began to call it the Addams Family House...because of the super outdated decor. It was fitting that we were there for Halloween. Even though I am glad to be gone, in our new place, with our things, it will hold a special place in my heart. I sent my kids to school in Spain for the first time from this house. We celebrated Mitch's birthday...the first in Spain. And Halloween too! We played lots of Euchre at the card table in the living room. Actually, I'm going to miss that card table. Thanks for the memories, Carrer Tort, 1. 

Getting Settled

 After being here for two months and 4 days we FINALLY got our cargo from home. It was definitely a  crazy few days getting unpacked and getting settled. But we were so ready to sleep in our own beds. This will make it feel like home. 

We're getting settled in a small suburb outside of Valencia. It's on the border of L'Eliana...the girls can walk to school and music in about 10 minutes. But our address is La Pobla de Vallbona. It's a sweet little place, with lots of little shops and charm. I think what I like the most is the location. It's a nine minute drive to swim team...and considering we are back and forth to Club Natacion Riba-Roja several times a night that is VERY convenient. It's about a 8 minute drive to Hattie's school. She can't ride the bus anymore so I'm chauffering her to and from every day. 

It's a brand new house. Very contemporary and modern in design. But also very different from what you would find back home. There is drywall mud on the trim and on the floor. The floors aren't level in most places. There are already tiles falling off the walls. I keep going back to the line in the 90's movie Clueless: "She's a full-on Monet. It's like a painting, you see. From far away it's ok, but up close it's a big'ol mess!" But it's temporary. This isn't our forever home, so we're going to enjoy the big open windows and the pool as much as we can. It's doing my heart good to see the girls making themselves at home finally.