Grandpa & Grandma visit!
We were all happy to see my parents after more than two years apart. It was their first visit here, so we gave them the grand tour of our city and introduced them to some of our friends. We also traveled outside the city a bit. Evan and Ellie were happy to be with Grandpa and Grandma again.
Enjoying tea and schawarmas
Evan and Kevin with our good friend Hadi
The street we live on with the entrance to our building being just behind Wendy’s head
Mom hanging out laundry
Dad & Mom enjoyed visiting Evan & Ellie’s school and meeting their teachers and some of their friends.
Ellie with her friend Evelyn
Evan with his friend Paco
Ellie’s classroom
Evan’s classroom
Here we are visiting the Alhambra, the Moorish palace and fortress complex in Granada.
My Dad, who has been a carpenter and builder his entire life, commented about the architecture, “I always thought I was a pretty good craftsman, but now I’m not so sure”.
A delicious meal at Pablo & Judi’s…rice and beans with Lizano sauce, chicken, fried platanos and salad with avocado and cilantro is hard to beat! Thanks Judi!
One morning we had breakfast at our friend’s café/hostel, where we stayed when we first arrived in Spain.
Our friend Margarita’s mother Matilde showing us all the different plants growing in her patio garden at the hostel where she also lives.
Ellie with her friend Elisa
Some special days for Evan and Ellie included activities like going to a favorite park, Carmen de los Martires…
…an open-air bus tour of the city…
…and a visit to their favorite place in the city, The Science Park. Here they are, ready to go.
Sunday, May 3 was Dia de la Cruz (Day of the Cross). After a worship time and food on the grill with our friends Pablo & Judi, we headed out to see the festivities.
Pablo & Judi
Decorated crosses are set up all over the city
Some children decorate their own crosses and display them along the streets, hoping for a small “donation” from admirers. We met Evan’s friend and classmate Paco transporting his cross to set up.
Babies, little girls, young women and even old women dress up in their gypsy dresses for the day to parade around the city. Ellie joined in on the fun this year.
Ellie with her new play glasses from Grandma. She informed us “now I’m just like Judi!”
Little girls in our neighborhood
Horses and riders parade through the streets
The guys all joined Kevin, Miguel and Luis in watching some Granada fútbol.
Evan and Miguel
Luis and Miguel
Pablo and Dad with matching heads:)
We visited the Sierra Nevada mountains close by, where there is still enough snow for a snowball fight!
My parents wanted to visit Gibraltar, a British territory close to the southern tip of Spain. After driving about 3 hours, close to arrival, we realized that only two of the six of us had remembered to bring our passports, which are necessary to enter the country. Here are Mom & Dad on the Algericas beach with Gibraltar in the back ground. Sorry you didn’t make it there! Almost!
Ellie on the beach
Since we couldn’t go to Gibraltar, we changed our plans and went to see Ronda, a city split in two and perched over a canyon.
Evan and Ellie found a patch of beautiful grass there to cuddle with for a minute. We don’t often see grass as you can tell.
The last part of our travels took us to Cabo de Gata, a natural reserve situated along the Mediterranean Sea near Almeria. The weather was cloudy and cool, enough to keep me in a jacket and out of the water. But not the kids (and Grandpa)!
Of course after the cold water, a warm towel was greatly desired for a shivering little girl
Planting flowers in the sand with Grandma
Kevin with his kiddos
Game time with Grandma
He’s got the whole moon in his hands
The gang
Grandparents and Grandkids
Back to Granada, a last walk in our neighborhood and a goodbye kiss from the local graffiti
Thanks for coming Mom & Dad, Grandpa and Grandma! We will miss you!
Comments
Yay! I've been waiting for you to post some pictures! It's good to see some of mom and dad- I was looking at theirs last night and they didn't have very many of themselves:) Looks like you had a marvelous time!! Wish we could have come again with them!!!!
Posted by: Catrina | May 14, 2009 05:54 PM
Thanks Wendy for the post....so glad your parents were able to come see you guys and that you all had such a special time together! We miss you guys lots and are anxious to see you this summer! Can't wait!
Posted by: Wava | May 14, 2009 09:55 PM
Thanks for sharing your time! It looks so precious and like so much fun!!! We want to visit you!! We feel the same about grass as E and E- we have to cuddle with it when we get a chance. :) Ellie- you were so fancy in your pretty dress! SOOOOO happy you finally got a chance to spend time with your parents. I know that it is so incredibly special! HUG
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May 15, 2009 07:16 AM
So fun to have Gpa and Gma visits. Loved, loved Ellie's glasses (and dress). Laughed heartily at her comment. I already had a comment brewing about the picture of my Dad and Mom and they're looking very European. So funny!!And yes, we feel the same way about grass. The preference is clean grass with no dog poop. :)
Posted by: Kristin Bucher | May 18, 2009 11:29 PM
Wow! A good display of fun and many sight and activities. We wish we could have joined you but this is second, no third best.
Thanks for sharing your many scenes. Very good!
Posted by: Willard & Esther Mayer | May 20, 2009 08:02 AM
Thanks for the many glimpses of great times with the Bylers. We enjoyed each scene. Wow! We wish we could have joined you but this is second or third best.
Wendy you did so well in giving descriptions of the various scenes.
Posted by: Willard & Esther Mayer | May 20, 2009 08:11 AM
That "craftsman" quote from Norman is classic, I can just hear him saying that.
Posted by: Curtis | May 20, 2009 12:44 PM