It wasn't suppose to be a nude beach! - Barcelona, Spain

When we were in Barcelona, Spain we decided to spend basically an entire day at the beach. It was nice to have a day of rest after all the walking and sightseeing we had been doing. I love the Sagrada Familia, but I also love the beach!

We knew we didn't want to go to a nude beach, so we headed out for the non nude beach. What we didn't realize that All the beaches in Europe are apparently top optional. At least in Spain they are. We got to the beach and caught on quickly. I did not go topless, because that just isn't my thing...at all. I tried to focus on the beauty of our surroundings and not on the ta-ta's all around. I must say it really creeped me out for mom's and their adolescent daughter's to both go topless. I just don't get it. My friend from England thinks it's no big deal, so I guess it just comes down to what you are used too.  Here are a few photos of us....hopefully there are no boobies in the picture. If there is, I am so sorry it wasn't intentional. Nor has thing become an "adult" kind of blog.

At the beach they had chair rentals for 5 Euros.  You could also get a massage for $5 or 5 Euros.  

Beware!

I should also mention that with in minutes of getting to the beach we saw someone's bag get snatched!  A few elderly looking people were walking around waiting for an opportunity to steal.  Luckily the young women had no problem chasing down the older lady.  So, beware of your stuff in a crowded open beach.

  

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

Riding around Barcelona on a bus

By the time we got to Barcelona we were worn out. We decided to get on a tour bus and ride around seeing the sights. After comparing the two tour bus companies we saw in the main plaza we decided to go with Barcelona Bus.  The two companies were practically the same, but the Barcelona Bus covered more areas.  Barcelona Bus had two different routes.  One route towards Mt. Tibidabo and one towards the Olympics and everything in between. 

Barcelona has some of the greatest architecture in the world! Here are a few pictures of what we saw.

Plaza Catalunya - This plaza seemed like a great starting point.


National Art Museum of Catalunya






The next two are picture I took while we were in the Olympic Village area.  The first one is this outdoor artwork called Pergolas on Icaria Avenue.  Created by the architects Carme Pinós and Enric Miralles. I wondered what this was when we passed by.  It was large and lengthy.  It took a awhile for me to find out. Apparently this sculpture/artwork was suppose to be much bigger.  They were not allowed to plant trees for sewage reasons in this area, so they built what were meant to be big metal trees shading the street.  Although that wasn't acheived (maybe that is what drove them to divorce) I must say it was a very memorable thing to see.  So much so I came home and researched it!





Museu de Zoologia





La Seu Cathedral in Barcelona's Gothic area.  These pictures do not do justice to the size of this cathedral.  We wanted to go in but the line was an hour long and we had seen at least two dozen churches in Europe.

What to get a 9 year old boy for Christmas

Today another mom asked me what I was getting my nine year old for Christmas, because she needed some ideas for her 8 year old boy.  Well, once I thought about it, turns out I hadn't actually thought about this yet!  I have not even asked him what he wants!  I had no answer to give her, but I did suggest some things I know he likes. 
Toys like Bakugans, Bionicles, legos
book series he enjoys: Percy Jackson (the Lightening Thief), 39 Clues, The Edge Chronicles.  (the cheapest place to get these books are through your kids scholastic order they bring home from school.  You can talk to your teacher about keeping them a secret)

So, I ask you what would be some good things for 8 &9 year old boys.  Turns out I could use some suggestions my self!

I did get them a Wii Fit Plus at Sam's club for 84.08 (that was the cheapest I could find it)  I also got one of the Toy Story lego sets there for $39.

Booga Booga Land

My kids love these short silly movies.  This one comes with 3 episodes and each one has a parable as a theme.  It is not just like the parables from the bible, not a re-enactment.  Instead it is a completely new story with the same lesson learned.  They present the material in a fun and silly way.  My kids laughed and laughed through the entire dvd. 

Wordless Wednesday

Adventures in Odyssey - Cause and Effect

The Adventures in Odyssey are cds that you can listen too.  I like the idea of listening to stories in the car, because normally my kids just watch movies.  I was glad for an opportunity for them to use their imaginations.  My older kids instantly liked the stories.  My three year old kind of  listened, but I guess he is still too young to get it.  The other two kids have loved listening to the stories and enjoyed finding out what happened.  Each story is a fairly long mystery with a variety of characters, with some of the characters appearing in each story.  At the end of the story they give a little lesson that ties the story into a learning opportunity. 








Thank you to Tyndale House Publishers for providing me with a complimentary copy of this ARC.

5 things I like about Houseboating

We have been house boating three times with kids. This type of vacation was new to us, but had been highly recommend by a friend. I must say with kids this is a very relaxing vacation. I know what you are thinking, "What?  On a boat?  Over water??"

Here are some key things I liked about it:
1. You have your own room because there are multiple rooms.
2. There is almost always a hot tub on the upper deck.
3. It is a lot like camping, but you don't have to sleep outside on the ground.
4. You can pick a different spot to beach at every night and have a camp fire every night.
5. Depending on which lake you are on there are marked places to beach and then go on a hike.


Here are some important things to keep in mind:
1. You are on the water so make sure there is adequate railing all around the boat. The front deck, the back deck and up top. Make sure that the top has railing all the way around including gates that will keep the children from being able to go up and down the stairs.
2. Take your own life jackets.
3. Houseboats do not get good gas mileage. You will spend a lot of money on gas depending on how much you drive it around.

Here are some fun extras to take with you: Kite, bubbles, water trampoline, ski boat or jet ski (if you have one), and fishing rods.

 house boating at Lake Shuswap, BC, Canada
Lake Shuswap, BC, Canada