The Mayer Family

Find us on facebook...

2009-11-15T15:52:10Z

...for pictures and updates!

Cuteness

2009-07-27T17:05:40Z

Ellie with Makoto, the adorable daughter of my friend Asako. Suddenly Ellie looks very large.

Father and Son Hike

2009-07-27T17:01:48Z

Kevin and Evan spent a day with our friends Miguel and son Miguel hiking to Veleta, one of the highest peaks in the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Since they had the boys with them, they took the ski lift up as far as possible to cut down on the amount of hiking necessary to reach the top.

Evan and Miguel

The four of them at the top.

Haircut

2009-07-27T16:59:07Z

Before…

…and after

Much cooler for the summer heat.

Bloopers

2009-07-27T16:55:33Z

The monster.

You make the caption…invent the best one and you win a small bottle of olive oil from Spain (if you live in Delaware, Ohio or Florida)!

“Attending” my sister’s baby shower…

2009-07-27T16:47:52Z

…by Skype.
Thanks to amazing technology, I was “there” and even got in on the pictures.
My mom and sisters. Catrina (in the green if you can’t tell) is due near the end of August, and we hope to meet their baby girl during our visit to the States!

The cousins and I…neat, but just not quite the same as being there.

More parties!

2009-07-27T16:44:18Z

The day after Evan’s party we went to our little friend Liam’s birthday party.

My good friend Marjorie with her two daughters….we are sad that they just moved back to France.

Evan’s 8th birthday!

2009-07-27T16:40:27Z

June 27 was the big day and we celebrated with a party at McDonalds.

Thanks to all our friends who sent gifts for Evan!

Last day of school

2009-07-27T16:34:56Z

Evan and Ellie ended this year of school on June 19 with a program for the parents.
Evan with some classmates, ready for the play.

Evan was the narrator for their little play.

Ellie and her friend Evelyn were little pigs.

And Ellie’s class danced to a cute song.

Summer visitors

2009-07-27T15:35:12Z

Friends and family who stopped by to see us this summer included…

Two groups whose paths happened to cross in Granada.

The girls group (left to right): Deborah, Holly and Rachel
And the guys: Dan, Dan, Matt & David (find them here for more on their adventures)

Rachel & Holly with our kids

Evan conquered one of the highest mountains in Spain with these guys.

Kevin’s aunt Verda and cousin Marilynn.

The best tower ever, he says

2009-06-08T22:16:01Z

Things people do without thinking

2009-06-08T22:07:44Z

Here’s one of them. Every now and then, someone decides to park their car “for a minute” on the street outside our apartment where the bus passes. Which turns into 10 or 20 or 30 minutes. And then when the bus comes through and can’t pass, it causes many, many angrily honking cars to line up behind. How embarrassing. Glad it wasn’t me.

The faith of a child

2009-06-08T21:57:22Z

Around Easter time, we each received a card and a little money from my sister…all except Evan. Ellie's card had $5 in it, so he was quite distressed about not getting his. Time went on, and he didn’t forget. He kept wondering if it would ever come. Finally he starting begging us to give him the money…”it just isn’t fair”. One day after we’d heard enough, Kevin told him to talk to Jesus about it. So he stopped right there and prayed. As he did, I must admit that I wasn’t feeling much faith. Enough time had passed that I was sure it was lost for good.

Just a couple of days later I opened the mailbox and there was the letter! I couldn’t believe it! I thanked God for being so good to our trusting Evan. And I was reminded to ask more and believe.

As you can see, the card went all the way to the Caribbean Island of Grenada before traveling to Granada, Spain.

Happy 5th Birthday Ellie!

2009-06-08T21:37:16Z

It’s hard to believe our little girl is 5! Here’s how we celebrated…

…by Skype with some family members

…with a party at our house
Ellie with her friends Evelyn and Elisa

This morning before school…being 5 didn’t change the sometimes grumpy attitude

…with cupcakes at school
Singing their hearts out…especially brother. (Evan’s class joined us.)

Evelyn and Ellie

Some of Evan’s classmates

…with a trip to her favorite restaurant…McDonalds of course.

Grandpa & Grandma visit!

2009-05-14T12:49:41Z

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!