1. Go out for an American breakfast
I am a total sucker for going out to breakfast. The whole scene is just so leisurely. Steaming pitchers of coffee alongside the Sunday news, all accompanied by heaping plates of eggs and fried potatoes. There's no pressure to dress up, the food is cheap, and generally it is acceptable to go home and take a nap afterwards.
Here in Spain they don't really "do" breakfast the same way. Breakfast for most folks here is either a couple slices of jamon y queso on a hard baguette (a bocadillo), or some kind of pastry and espresso. They seem to be more of a lunch crowd around here, skipping breakfast altogether on the weekends and heading straight into the beer and olive part of the program. Respectable. But just not the same.
The morning after our big bash, we rallied the troops to head out to a new local diner close to my sister's house. Our (available) family tends to flock together like hens when one of us is in town. If two people are together, then the rest shall gather in the same spot. Emily likes to refer to this as the T Family Jamberoo. Nothing is quick or easy, and often we are making a scene because of the mass confusion that ensues.
Breakfast that morning was classic Jamberoo. We descended on this tiny little breakfast joint like an army about to take over a tiny village. The door burst open and there were all 14 of us, everyone talking (yelling) over each other with kids running up and down the aisle.
"HERE'S A BOOTH! STEPHIE! HERE'S A BOOTH OVER HERE! MER?! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
"CAN YOU FIT? WHAT ABOUT THE COUNTER? EXCUSE ME! SIR! (insert frantic waving) CAN WE SIT HERE?! (insert frantic pointing)"
"EVAN! MIA! GET BACK HERE!" (That was me)
There were a handful of local regulars sitting at the counter that stopped chewing midbite to look up from their newspapers and take in the circus that just busted in on their quiet breakfast. The cook actually stepped back from his grill, folded his arms, and stared at us with equal parts annoyance and shock.
After what seemed to me to be an excessive amount of time trying to figure out where to sit, we all finally found seats and settled in. Just then, above my menu, I caught a glimpse of my mother and sister motioning to get my attention from the other side of the restaurant.
"DOES EVAN WANT TO SIT HERE? (insert large hand gestures and waving) WE CAN GO THERE? (I mouth the words 'he's ok') YES? (I mouth the word no) NO? (I close my eyes and shake my head) DOES HE WANT TO?"
I noticed at this point my sister's husband was trying to discretely hide behind a fake plant in the corner of the restaurant.
Classic.
More shuffling and 10 minutes later, our poor waitress brought us our long awaited plates filled with breakfast heaven. Evan's pancake was bigger than his entire body, and the drip coffee never tasted so good. It wasn't pretty, but the first item was now checked off our list.
2. Grill. Often.
Not that we can't grill here in Spain, we just haven't gotten around to making the trek to Alcampo to buy one and haul it back here. Plus, we live on the bottom floor of an apartment building with four floors of folks above us hanging their laundry over our patio. Not sure they would particularly appreciate the smell of smoking meat saturating their newly washed clothes.
Furthermore, Spain is not a country known for its beef. There isn't a large selection of beef as we know it to be, and they tend to mix their ground beef with pork and sugar. Yummy, right? This is, actually, a good thing -- it has really cut back our red meat consumption to practically zero, making room for healthier options like fish and chicken...but on this trip home, we were all about chowing some burgers and steak fresh off my brother-in-law Jason's bad-ass dueling grills.
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| Quite possibly the best wings EVER. Jason has a gift for grilling. |
Mission: accomplished. Checked off the list.
3. Go to the splash park
Evan loves this place, and has been asking if he can go there starting around 3 weeks before we left for the US. Actually, as soon as the plane landed in Boston, Evan cracked open his little eyes and squeaked, "Want to go to the splash park?" The place is a small little spray/splash park near my sister's house that has spouts of shooting water and huge buckets that dump on your head...nothing too special but Evan loves it, and for some reason has it burned in his brain as the promised land. I think the best part of this trip to the splash park was seeing how my sister Meredith's oldest boy, Jake, took Evan under his wing...holding his hand nearly non-stop and carefully guiding him down the slide and over the handle bars. Those two are kindred spirits I think...
4. Start a quilt with my sister
Our quilt collection has grown over the years, thanks to some incredibly talented quilters in the family including Chris's Aunt Mary and my sister Emily. With every celebration, comes a new carefully crafted quilt, put together with love and presented with pride.
When Emily gave me my first baby quilt at "Sophie's" baby shower, I was thankful, but didn't truly grasp how important this little blanket would become. Evan sleeps with it every night, and drags it downstairs when he is extra tired in the morning and not ready to fully embrace the new day. He asks for it when he feels sick, and his body relaxes the minute it covers him. Our quilts have recently become our beach blankets, our picnic blankets, and our everyday go-to blankets when we want to feel extra taken care of. They go well with a cup of tea, and most importantly -- they remind me of family and home.
I was thrilled to receive another beautifully crafted blanket from Emily in the months before Mia was born, and am already plotting a third child just so we can get her to cough up one more. Kidding. Sort of.
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| Evan cozied up with his quilt |
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| Picnicking on Mia's quilt |
What I love most about the quilt my sister made for "Sophie", who ultimately ended up as Evan, was that it was kind of a masculine quilt...lots of plaids with primary colors and a blue back. Somehow the quilting gods knew...
Not ready to have a baby just to get the next quilt, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I figured I'd start with a child sized quilt to add to our collection, and go from there. I knew we didn't have much time for us to do a full turn by turn lesson on how to start, but I figured if she could get me started with some tips and pointers, I could figure out the rest.
Emily, excited to have a convert, whisked me to the fabric store mid-week to poke around. Not to be corny, but I could have spent an entire afternoon there. The possibilities are endless...rows and rows of fabrics screaming at you "I'm perfect for your living room!" "I would make a beautiful doll dress!" I had a blast picking out the fabrics for my "feminine vintage inspired patchwork quilt" (that is its official name).
We spent our last night in the US with just Emily and myself in the kitchen, alternating between chatting about life and going over pointers on how to quilt. I got all my squares cut out while Emily whizzed away on her sewing machine to create the boarder (there is a specific name for this part of the quilt, but I keep forgetting...clearly I am not hardcore yet). With some last minute suggestions, her favorite how-to book, and the promise to skype me through any snags, Emily sent me back to Barcelona ready to tackle this first quilt.
Here are the beginning stages...
So, who knows...If I'm successful, my hope is that I can pay if forward and give someone else their own handcrafted baby quilt!
5. Make smores
Admittedly, this one was a bit rushed. The kids happened to be overcooked hams on the verge of a meltdown on this night, but with one night left, we were determined to make it happen. Evan, ever the cautious citizen, was careful to stay back from the fire and use sticks long enough to avoid burning his little arm hairs off. Mia, on the other hand, true to form, was determined to climb into the fire. We finally distracted her by just giving up the entire bag of marshmallows for her own eating pleasure. Worked like a charm.
Delicious mission accomplished.
6. Go fishing
Sadly, we did not make it to this item on the list. Evan DID however take a walk with Grammie, Auntie Emily, and their cousins to the gorgeous local park -- home to forest trails, duck ponds, frog ponds, and immaculately manicured gardens. Feeding the ducks kind of counts, right?
7. Go to Six Flags
Oh YEAH. Not initially on our list, but when we caught wind that my sister's family had season passes and were generously offering free passes for our entire family to join them -- we were in! Grammie generously offered to watch little Mia for the day so Chris and I could indulge in some big kid fun at the park riding all the roller coasters. Not a fan of the roller coasters, Emily happily took Evan to the kiddie section park to ride the rides then proceeded to wine and dine him on chicken and ice-cream. Whenever we tried to call her cell to check on them, we were abruptly stopped with:
"We are riding the antique cars. Evan is driving, can we talk later?"
"We just boarded the world's smallest helicopter, and it is about to take off. We'll call you later."
Clearly they were having too much fun to talk to us.
Midday, Emily took Evan back to the house for a nap and Grammie time, and rejoined the rest of us so we could all head over to the water park section of the park. We slipped and slided until 6pm, and capped the day off with beers and pretzels. Perfection.
8. Order Chinese food
There is no footage from this, and I'd like to keep it that way. Let's just say, Chinese food was eaten and it was damn good. Check.
So there it is. Our USA summer vacation, more or less. Thank you again to all of our family members who welcomed us with open arms and showered us with love and hospitality. We are so thankful to everyone, and already sad that it will be a whole year before our next trip home to see you all...We love you XOXO
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