Barcelona

warning: picture overload

Im finally going to try and tackle blogging about our trip to europe. Pretty much i haven't blogged all summer so i guess i have to start somewhere. We were so lucky to go on a European cruise with Drews work. I invited my parents along. It was and amazing trip!

We sailed out of barcelona so we got to spend a few days exploring there. I have to say i was really surprised how much i LOVED barcelona. It was such a beautiful, modern, clean city but still had old charm. Drew loved it too. It was definitely on our top list of places we visited.

when we all arrived we decided to venture out even though i was feeling soooooo jet lagged. i really really really hate being jet lagged but i knew i couldn't go to sleep for the night at 2 in the afternoon
so....

we hopped in taxis

and headed to the market

drew was absolutely in heaven. there were just rows and rows of local food. He especially loved the cured ham. we bought some saffron too for a really good deal.

everyone found some delicious treats to enjoy

there were some not so delicious things as well

like skinned goat heads

our dads thought they were hilarious 

the next morning we went to see Sagrada Familia

its a catholic church designed by Gaudi. Its basically been under construction since 1843 so the scaffolding is kind of a permanent look. Its too bad because it really distracts from the whole presence of the church

the inside is really amazing. It was super modern

the stained glass was beautiful

and the design was so unique

it was was different from old gothic style churches you see across europe

my personal favorite was jesus floating away on a hot air baloon

the outside of the church is soooo intricate

there are these little biblical scenes all over the outside

we took the elevator up to the top of the bell tower. the view of the city was prety cool. You took the elevator up but the stairs down

these stairs were the craziest things i've ever been on. there was no rail in the middle to keep you from falling hundreds of feet to your death. im not kidding when i say my legs were shaking with fear.

on our way out we noticed that the doors to the church was carved out will all sorts of scriptures. Very cool, and very modern.

the rest of the day we spent just exploring barcelona including visiting all the Gaudi houses

all the detail is amazing

we stumbled across a political protest going on in catalunya square

and ate tapas, ofcourse. 

drew had to order the angulas (baby eel) they looked like little gray noodles and tasted super garlicy

we found some fantastic local art

and just enjoyed a fabulous day

our last day in barcelona was the day we got off the ship. we just wandered around. 

saw some churches

went inside more chrches

and just enjoyed the cute little streets of barcelona

the skinny streets are one of my very favorite parts of europe. i took millions of pictures of streets :)

niya was such a trooper. of course we had to bribe her at times with candy

we had such a fun group. it was crazy at times trying to all be going in the same direction at the same time. but it was worth it. I believe scott took this picture, and im pretty sure my dad was lost on some tour bus by himself at this point

the last thing we saw was the christopher columbus monument.

this was where columbus landed back in europe after he discovered america

kinda cool

that pretty much does it for our visit to barcelona!

 i do have to add one more thing that happened on that last day. When we got off the ship we went with my parents to their hotel. We were just going to leave our bags there, because we were heading out on a train that night for madrid. So we were all there waiting to meet up with the quists. Niya was ofcourse running crazy around the hotel lobby. All of a sudden i see her run toward the revolving door. Before i can get to her,  i see her fall down and her leg get sucked underneath the revolving door. I let out a blood curdling scream. I grab her leg and literally have to rip it out from under the door. As im doing this im thinking her leg is broken for sure. And if its not broken then im breaking it right now by tearing it out from under the door. She's screaming. The hotel people are around me. I get her loose and am just kind of in shock. She's just crying, and I'm trying to examine her leg. It looks totally fine! After a couple minutes she gets down from my arms and runs away. sheeeeesh!

Easter

Every year drews moms family spends easter weekend in st geroge. it was a tradition for drew growing, up and has become a tradition for our little family. this year was no different, and we had a great time.

of course there was an easter egg hunt

i wasn't sure niya would get it but she picked it up right away

it was so fun to see her get all excited as she spotted another egg to put in her basket

the egg hunt rapidly came to a halt when she figured out there was candy inside

she couldn't believe her luck

of course she turned into a candy mess.

she is SUCH a sugar monger 

niya also discovered how much she loves the pool

it was so fun, that she threw a fit when we took her out

it wouldn't be easter without decorating eggs. 

niya decorated her very first egg

she had to get a little help from drew though because she started to try to get wild with the dye

my mom sent an easter package for niya

she was so excited to open it

it was the cutest little owl and fluffy chick wearing high heels. niya kept saying "shoe, shoe, shoe"

this was the only "easter family pic" i got. drew and i had already changed out of our pretty easter dresses. i was a little bummed about that, but niya fell asleep on the way home from brunch and we didn't want to spend all day in our sunday best. 

so oh well

Happy Easter!

Air Supply

before i can post about Europe, i need to catch up on what we've been doing lately. Things have been wild this month. We've been traveling a lot. We went to st george for easter weekend. Then straight to florida and new york. We came home for two weeks then left for europe. I haven't had time to catch up with my blog so im a bit behind

so......

in st george the whole fam went to the Air Supply concert. To say i enjoyed myself would be a gross understatement. It was pretty much amazing. I LOVED air supply in highschool. I may have even spent some nights alone, in my room, in the dark learning every word to their greatest hits album.

the concert was at taucahn. id never been there before. it's a really pretty venue

they were promoting their upcoming performance of the little mermaid

who can resist sticking their faces in these things?

and greece 

can you tell how excited i was, and how much drew was making fun of me

i even heard lisa singing along

grandma patsy even came

lovely

home

its 5:30am, and no thanks to niya, and jet lag we've been up since 4:30 but were home!!!!! we had an AMAZING trip to Italy, Spain, and Portugal. We saw so many amazing things and amazing new places. Niya was overall, a little dream (okay maybe thats exaggerating)

Pics to come!!!

dad-isms

my mom and dad came to visit. its always so fun when they come to my house because usually its me going to theirs. its nice to have them in "my world" once in a while. Even though they're in my world, my dad is still, my dad, and has little ways to make "my world" into "his world" 

welcome to "his world"

first things first. the bed in his room was turned the other way, and up against the wall, so my mom had to climb over him to get into bed and. that would simply not do, so he rearranged the room and moved the bed. 

problem solved 

 the closet in his room is full of my fabric and craft stuff. so there was no where for him to unpack his clothes (my parents LOVE to unpack) so he went to home depot and got him self some shelves so he had a place for his stuff.

problem solved.

it seems there was some confusion as to what garbage can was for trash, and what was for recycle. i've never been confused about it before, but apparently it wasn't clear. so he wrote TRASH with PERMANENT marker on my trash can

thank goodness there will be no more confusion

problem solved.

obviously the tools i had in my tool box were not sufficient.

dont worry, he and home depot also took care of that

problem solved.

he was a nervous wreck with niya outside, with no grates on the window wells. i told him it was on our to do list for spring. spring couldn't come quick enough 

so he ordered us some

problem solved

he didn't like the shower head in his bathroom either. 

naturally he replaced it with one he liked

problem solved.

these are my dad-isms. 

in "his world" problems get solved

im used to it. he's my dad. its a little endearing, pretty funny, and maybe some things even a little annoying. but im used to it,  he's my dad.

i love that he makes my world his, and spoils us rotten all the while

thanks mom and dad for coming to visit

we love you

come again soon!!

soccer is kinda fun

we got to go to the REAL soccer game the other night. it was a big game, they played costa rica. i guess there in some north american championship. its kind of a big deal. anyway we got to go!

i was a little worried about niya because it started late, and it was pretty cold. she loved it. she clapped when everyone clapped, and cheered when everyone cheered.

scott and lisa had some "club' seats. these come with free food. so we had fun eating pretzels galore.

the thing i like most about these games is that they're so lively, and full of energy. the crowd is wild. niya joined right in.

they won 2 to 0. that makes it even better1

thanks for the fun night scott and lisa!