Carla Tiene Quince Años

 She’s only been here for 11 days but she already feels like a part of the family. And she’s handling our crazy schedule like a champ! We were so honored to help Carla celebrate her 15th birthday here in the USA!!! We hope it will be one to remember for years to come. She was treated to Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake and the always beautiful and delicious Sara’s cookies. Felicidades, Carla! ¡Nos alegra que estés aquí! 

Sunday morning we went to church and the girls were all happy to meet the student Adriana, from Madrid…she’s staying with the Cushing family. Sunday afternoon-evening we went to Charleston. Macy took the girls for a cruise. Cynthia and and the boys were home sick, but we had a wonderful Lasagna dinner at Gigi’s. We sang Happy Birthday and Carla opened gifts. A Kate Spade jewelry set from us, lotions, perfumes and chapstick from Gigi and a Starbucks gift cards from Matt and Cynthia.

On Mobday Carla didn’t know but I ordered cookies to celebrate with Mrs. Abbotts focus period. Josslyn, Avery, Tammy, Genta, Valeria and Vanessa were all there to sing Happy Birthday. When she got home from cross country there were gifts waiting from Spain. Don and Holly sent over a gift bag with all sorts of Reese’s peanut butter goodies. I think she had a good day.

Sophmore

 

Here she goes!!! I can’t even fathom what this must be like for her, stepping into her first day of school…a new town, state, country…all new faces…and more importantly a new language. She’s brave beyond her years and we are so grateful to be on this journey with her. Wishing you a great year of American High School, Carla!

Meet me in St. Louis!

 When in St. Louis!!! She’s only been in America for 48 hours but she’s already crossing National Parks off the list! The Cardinals were out of town, or you know we would’ve shown her our favorite ballpark!

Originally we had hoped that Carla would be able to arrive in the States around Aug 10-13th, but it didn’t work out that way. And even before we knew she was coming we had enrolled the girls in a swim class down in St. Louis. So while it wasn’t ideal to be in St. Louis immediately after her arrival we made the most of it. We were happy to show her a little corner of our favorite city. We didn’t scratch the surface of  St. Louis but you may as well start with the best part.

We had a little bit of time to kill on Sunday morning before camp so we went to Macys and she found a homecoming dress. We lunched at Freddy’s and then Carla and I had to rush up to Bloomington for her student orientation with ICES. We were excited to see so many students from Spain. Here’s to hoping it’s a great year for all of us.

Bienvenidos Carla!

 Oh happy day! Tonight we finally celebrated the much anticipated arrival of sweet Carla from Spain. We are so excited to share our hearts and home with her this year as she learns the ins and outs of being an American teenager. Bienvenidos, Carla!

On Friday we were busy, busy, busy! She came to the High School and got her schedule. She got a tour of the school, mastered her locker, met a few teachers and got connected with the international girls. After school we got her sports physical so she’s ready to start cross country!

Edit: Hattie was home in bed because it was late 🤪😴

B2S

 Back to School!!! 

All the way from Valencia, España…a big “welcome back” to the Schultz girls as they re-enter MtZ Schools!!! We had a guest appearance from dad courtesy of the Ring doorbell camera and then FaceTime. Things certainly look a little different for us right now, this is the first time Mitch has ever missed the 1st day of school but we’re trying to make the most of it. Hattie is in 5th grade, Kiersten is in 7th grade and at the Jr. High with me. And believe it or not, Leah had her first day of High School! Here we go 2022-2023. 

Reunited

I don’t think a year has ever gone by as quickly as the last year in Spain. If you’d have asked me a year ago, I would have told you that I would be without a doubt ready to come home after a year. But if you’d asked me a week ago my response would’ve been much different. Simply put, I didn’t want to leave. I grew to love the country and “some” of the culture very much. 

Mitch and I were in a great routine of sitting in our garden every night. We walked every weekend and we’d stop at the cafe around the corner for cafe con leche y pan con tomate for breakfast. Or we’d walk into L’Eliana for REALLY good cafe con leche at Cafe de Italia. I’m gonna miss it so much. But all good things must come to an end, so here we are, back in Illinois. It’s bitter for sure, even more so because we came home without Mitch, my partner and my best friend. 

We got home last weekend and hit the ground running. We bought a new car, got Kiersten a phone, had five different medical appointments. Oh, and I went to work while the girls started sports. The highlight was the dogs arrival. They had a seemingly easy trip this time around. It took them quite awhile to get through customs so they didn’t come home until the next day but they knew were they were and settled right back in at home. 

Hasta luego

I keep telling myself it’s not goodbye, it’s just see you later. I’m feeling so heartbroken to be leaving this beautiful country. And what’s even harder is seeing how hard it is on the girls. You don’t prepare yourself for this when you begin an expat. Leah is feeling all the emotions, Hattie too…and they don’t want to go. Kiersten has a good poker face. But saying goodbye to her friends was hard.

I couldn’t help but cry when we drove away from our house. I won’t miss the house at all, but the memories made. Man, we made a lot of good memories. I’m feeling guilt for going home…guilt for leaving Mitch alone, for taking the girls away from him. I know it’s for the best. Hattie doesn’t have a school in Spain, but that doesn’t make it any easier. I’m so grateful for the time that we had in the beautiful place. I’ll never take for granted the growth it provided as a family and as individuals. It was beyond an eye opening experience for us. And now we look for ways to keep growing. 

Turia de RIBAROJA

 While making our bucket list of things we wanted to do before we left Spain the girls threw out hanging out at the river. We drive past this little park near our house ALL the time…every time we go to and from swim, every time we go to Hattie’s school and it seems like a popular place. So with just a few days left we made it happen. We threw all our stuff together and while the temp was nearly 33 Celsius (yes, that’s pretty warm) we enjoyed the cool water. 

The current was moving pretty good so it was fun for the girls to take turns floating. Another fun adventure in España!