Northern Spain

We took a misty hike in Parque Nacional de los Picos de Europa.

 Where is Sam?

 Taking an unknown trail is even more adventuresome when you can't see 10 feet in front of you!

 "Baa. Baa. I'm a sheep." - Paul

 This group of girls got quite lost on their misty hike!

The Gondola must be going somewhere...

God lifted the clouds so that the next morning was even more shocking, exciting and beautiful than what I had imagined might be behind the clouds.

We rode the gondola up to here and posed with Sarah and Stephanie.

 MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE!

 Joyful trudging

Joletta was glad to be in the snow in mid-April!

 Three generations on top of Europe.

Anthony slid down from climbing the rocks with Micah and Paul to help students on the challenging hike. Who needs a snowboard when you have balance like his?

 Is it Paul or Micah up there?

I consider this trip the grand finale of the JMU excursions.

 Sarah.

Again thanks to Stephanie, we have some extra beautiful pictures.

Only true photographers are willing to get hit by a snowball for the sake of the picture! 

In Stephanie's photo, you can see Sam, who is taking a break on his way up to spend time with his beloved Eliana. You can't see Micah and Paul because they are climbing so far up.

Now you can see Eliana and Paul a little better.

 We have so many Christmas card photos for this year that we will have to send a whole album!

 I am so thankful that we got to experience this adventure with Joletta.

 After his millionth fall, Jesús treated Sam to a ride.

 Awwwww how sweet.

 I think Charlie's mom will think this one is sweet, too.

 I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine. - Song of Solomon 6:3

Pauline turned Paul into Caesar or a flower-child.

Santillana del Mar is a cute town.

We visited two caves with 30,000-40,000 year-old paintings in them! Sam was inspired to use a stick to draw a fox running into a trap near a man and his house. Clearly, he absorbs more of what the tour guides say (in Spanish) than I realize.

Stephanie puts smiles on these faces.

Grandma time was really refreshing for all of us.

  Beautiful Santander

Micah stood in the Bay of Biscay for 40 minutes because of a dare. 

After all of the castle exploring we have been doing, Sam's sandcastles have become much more accurate!

Salamanca Springtime

It is springtime in Salamanca! We found the fastest slide (based on our extensive research of playgrounds around the world.)

We saw a fabuloso movie!

Culture shock -- There are many of these displays around Salamanca in springtime, in preparation for Catholic processions during Holy Week when people wear these costumes. It is impossible for me to separate these costumes from the KKK, so I can't walk past without feeling anger. Surely a Spaniard would not feel that.

Ethan and his bride Kara came to see us and Salamanca in springtime.

Our town is beginning to bloom! I praise God for this symbol of rebirth!

I finally visited the bell tower of the cathedrals

and then promptly brought the boys.

Watching the thunderstorm come to Salamanca -- was it a good idea to climb a bell tower while an electrical storm was coming?

Joletta was here and we LOVED our time with her!

Salamanca Scavenger Hunt -- can you find the face?

Salamanca's cathedrals in springtime.

It is so good to be with family.

We have chosen to stay in Salamanca for the month of May after the JMU program ends. We will be renting an apartment near our favorite park.

10th Birthday in Italia

For his 10th birthday, Micah wanted to see Venice, Italy "before it sinks." 

I try to make sure there are incriminating photos for my future daughters-in-law to see that their husbands weren't raised quite right. We had ice cream bars for lunch on the train, after taking a shuttle, a plane and a city bus that morning. We ended up eating gelato (the real kind) every day!

Beyond Expectations: Even having seen pretty photos of Venice, I was surprised at how unique it is!

Beyond Expectations: The gondolas were more ornate than I had envisioned.

Beyond Expectations: The Grand Canal was hustling and bustling.

Beyond Expectations: The boys thought it was so cool to go two days without seeing a single car, bus, van or truck.

We walked along numerous alleys without always knowing if we were headed to a dead-end, a sharp turn or a bridge across another canal.

 For Andrea (the S. stands for Saint)

and Joletta (almost).

Beyond Expectations: Fancy carnaval masks were ubiquitous!

The birthday boy was thanked many times for bringing us to Italia.

The bell tower offered great views

in all directions

and deep discussions.

With all of the beautiful art around me, I wanted to try my hand at making some.

These guys could have cheered for the boats to make bigger waves for hours.

Venice at night; featuring the Tongen men.

Do gondolas have traffic jams?

Beyond Expectations: Venice is extremely expensive. No, we did not spend 80 Euros for a brief gondola ride,

but we did spend 50 cents for this photo!

A birthday water taxi ride to the island of Murano,

where we learned about glass blowing and they gave Micah a horse like this one as a birthday present.

He turned 10 on an island in Italy while eating (his favorite) mushroom pizza. Yes, Italian food was even better than our expectations.

We learned about how they make violins

and took a few breaks along the Grand Canal.

We lost track of how many bridges like this one we crossed per day.

Profile of a 10-year old in Italy.

Micah and I went to hear an outstanding concert of Vivaldi's Four Seasons, with 4 violins, viola, harpsichord, cello and a bass.

Beyond Expectations: Early morning on the Grand Canal.

Water bus ride to the train station.

Ciao Venezia!

Beyond Expectations: We spent a half day in BEAUTIFUL Florence.

"Look, mom, I am Italian because I have a mustache."

An Islamic woman (visiting from Saudi Arabia) asked for Paul's photo and gave him a kiss.

4-year-old tourism: We have the same photo from Valencia.

We are afraid that Paul hasn't learned to tell the truth, so he is dealing with the nasal consequences.

Beyond Expectations: Florence is like a beautiful, outdoor art museum.

Oh no! They looked at Medusa's head and turned into statues.

Yes, we had our luggage with us, so it won't work to look at our clothes to determine which of the 4 days it is.

Beyond Expectations: the Duomo

The boys' favorite part of Florence was playing hide and seek for an hour through this telescope.

Will he backpack through Europe in another 10 years?

I am so thankful that God has entrusted me with these three boys.

Little Paul and Little David -- may he similarly be a man after God's own heart.

We enjoyed the beauty of Florence and a sunny afternoon.

The boys' dream -- Within one hour, we went from riding a double-decker bus to riding a double-decker train (with some "real" pizza and biscotti in-between.)

Beyond Expectations:  I was captivated by the beautiful Italian countryside.

Beyond Expectations:  Tuscany lives up to its great reputation!

It turns out that staging this picture is hard when the photographer can't stop laughing.

I finally collected myself to display my husband's great strength.

The next morning -- "I am sure that it is leaning even more today than yesterday!" - Paul

Anthony wins the pushing contest.

Beyond Expectations: We came to Pisa because Paul and Sam really wanted to see the leaning tower "before it falls."  It is leaning even more than Anthony and I expected!

Beyond Expectations: Flying Ryanair was part of our surprisingly smooth travels, considering the crazy quantity and diversity of transportation we used.

One last picture of Venice with my thoughts about travel. We saw a LOT of tourists last weekend. There are many people, myself included, who long to see the world. Traveling is wonderful: we experience great things, meet people from other cultures, try delicious food, and learn a lot. However, it doesn't necessarily put a sparkle in my son's eye or fulfillment in my heart that I am really longing for. Only God can do those things.

We are all happy to be home. Upon returning, Micah decided that Salamanca is our home away from Colima, which is our home away from Harrisonburg, which is our home away from Heaven.