Hola

Hi Everyone,
At the end of last week Jess was down with a stomach bug. She recovered after the second day though. Right as rain for the weekend.
Saturday I took Andrea and Alexa on a hunt for costumes for the school play. Joe just wanted a top hat and said we didn't really need to get him anything. We knew the store was on Grand Via because we'd seen it while we were on the bus to the ice skating rink. We didn't know exactly where on Grand Via so we elected not to take the bus and had a nice stroll a couple of blocks down Balmes to Grand Via...and another few blocks on Grand Via until we found it! It's actually a cool little costume shop called Menkes. They have custom costumes and all kinds of things. Costumes are actually more popular this time of year. Carnivale (right before Lent) is a big celebration where everyone dresses up, much like our Halloween. Some of the stores even have the Venetian style masks. Even though it was after the holiday there seemed to be a decent variety of costumes. We were in search of 70's hippy-wear. Most of what we found was a little on the big side but we came across a rather loud jacket that has a 70 feel to it. I'll try to take a picture and post it for you soon. We even found a vest and top hat for Joe, who is the narrator. We passed by a Zara's on the way to the costume shop and Alexa's friend has a birthday this week so we went in to do a little shopping.
Also while we were walking to the costume shop I realized I had been on a particular corner before but coming from another direction. The corner is on the way to my favorite little Tapas restaurant. So after we finished shopping I took the girls for Tapas. Tapas are little spanish dishes, a small plate of fried green peppers, a Spanish tortilla, potatas brava...good stuff.
Then on the way back to the train station we decided to hunt down the English book store that is on the same street. Just a block from the train station we found it. I was a little disappointed. They don't organize their books the way we do so young adult readers books are more mixed in with older books. The kids books are pulled into one section but it's hard to find things. Plus, there isn't the selection I'm used to...no Romance section with all my favorite authors.*sigh* Still, it was nice to be able to read everything in the store for a change. After a woonderful afternoon of shopping with my girls we boarded the train and headed home. It was a good day.
Sunday, Nick took the kids and puppies to Sant Cugat to play in the park. They played around for quite a while then got a bite to eat. It was a nice way to spend the day.
This week we're gearing up for our big visit on Friday. The kids are counting down the days for Aunt Kim, Uncle Thom, Milo and Omi's arrival. We've got lots of plans to keep us busy. So much to do...such a quick visit!
So, we're all good. Everyone's healthy. And, just a technical note. You all had Daylight Savings time, we haven't yet. Not until the last weekend in March. So you are all only 5 hours behind us now. If you're ever in doubt just check the handy dandy clock up on the side there.

Miss you all! Hope everything is going well in your neck of the wood. Drop an email or comment cause I like to get updates too!!
((hugs))