Soccer Street

I'm working on another blog that will be published on Wordpress and am saving most of the pictures we've taken for that blog.  In the meantime, I know there are a few of you back state side that are curious about what we are doing here. 

We live in an apartment on the 1st floor, really the 2nd, and even have an interior patio to play on in addition to the four bedrooms, kitchen, 2 bathrooms and living room.  If you add the long hall way, the kids have plenty of space to play... indoors.  We're used to having a large yard and a huge park 1/2 block away from our house and all the time in the world to be outdoors.  While the kids are adapting quite well to the new living arrangement, I feel like they are missing a dedicated green space close by.  There are several kiddie parks within a block or two, but the patches of grass are miniscule.  Barely large enough for a dog to take a break.  If we wanted to walk for ten minutes, there are several parks to choose from, but sometimes, you just gotta play.

We have adopted a nearby street, just a couple store fronts down the block from our piso, and now call it "soccer street."  It is a dead end street with a staircase up to our street Avenida de Andalucia at one end, and a not-very-busy street connecting on the other end.  On one side is a concrete walled church with high windows with bars on them and the other has cute little connected casas, again with windows covered with bars.  The bars are for security, we think, when everyone has their windows wide open in the oppressive hot summer heat.  The convenient part of the bars everywhere is the fact that it makes for a perfect soccer kicking zone.  Que patean la pelota! Bring on the kicks!  With their new red soccer ball sporting the Spanish flag, we've got some major jugadores.

Go and Explore

My mom found this somewhere and just sent it to me. 
Looks like something I might even draw.  I love it. 

Moved in

We arrived at our new home last Thursday afternoon after our friends Lola and Antonio picked us up in Sevilla.  They had to bring two cars to accomodate our luggage and the five of us.  In Spain it appears that SUVs and Minivans are most definitely NOT the norm. 

 

While the trip went quite smoothly, the boys were more interested in watching movies on the plane and playing with their new electronics, so they didn't get much sleeping done.  By the time we reached our apartment, all three kids were fast asleep in the back of the car.  Inside the apartment, all they could do was take off their shoes, grab a quick snack from their backpacks and plop into bed.  We didn't even worry about pajammas. 

 

While they slept, I went to the grocery store called Dia across the street and stocked up on a few things, knowing that the kids would be ravenous when they awoke.  Ron made beds and settled bags while I shopped.  Toast with salami and cheese with clementines was our meal prior to our three hour nap.  We woke up while the kids slumbered, settled in a bit more, checked emails, ate some more, then settled back in for the night.  At 2:00 a.m. the boys awoke, ready for the day and a meal.  With our limited groceries, I was able to whip up scrambled eggs and toast, yogurt and fruit.  Did you know they don't refrigerate eggs in Spain, and in many countries around the world?

 

Louise kept on sleeping until 4:00 a.m. when she woke to go to the bathroom and eat yogurt, then kept sleeping until she had been asleep for 20 hours.  I joined Ron back in bed until the morning and when we awoke, the boys were still reading and playing games.... eight hours later.  Jet lag does funny things to a body, especially these little ones' bodies. 

 

I took this photo today of everyone out on the balconies of our apartment.  From the photo on the previous post, you can see the place.  The window with Gus and Louise is one of the bedrooms.  Five of the windows belong to us.

Home away from Home

Our friends in Dos Hermanas, Spain have helped us find a new home for our stay.  In Spain, most homes in cities or towns are in buildings that are connected to one another, not free-standing houses as we know in the U.S.  In Spanish they are called un piso, or a floor.  Here's our piso, we think above the Dinamika Center  Four bedrooms, two bathrooms, living room and a kitchen.  What more could we need?  (Though it appears with this image to be on the corner, it is mid-block and not warped like this screen shot.)