APRIL 2010- A REAL BANG

So I sit here at the computer while my three boys are crashed out on the couch and floor. We just got back from a long day at the beach and we are all exhausted but I just had to take advantage of this opportunity to work on my new goal. I am tired of always being behind in this blog so my new goal is to do at least a monthly review so that we have some kind of record of all the things that happen to us during the month. Considering the fact that it is already June and I am just doing the post for April, I am still a bit behind but I am confident that I can finish this post and and do the post for May before July even gets here.

Well, here it goes! April was a good month: of course because it is my birthday but also because it started off and ended with a real bang, literally. Since Holy Week was the beginning of April this year and here in Spain Thursday and Friday of Holy Week are bank holidays, we got to spend some quality family time together. On the 1st of April Leo decided we needed to go on an adventure. Since the city where we live, Cartagena, is located in a very strategic location, throughtout history it has been important location for the the armed forces of every civilization that has occupied this part of the country. Even during the Spanish Civil War it was considered a an important location. For this reason there are several forts, ancient and not so ancient, built on top of the mountains that surround Cartagena that were used to locate the enemies and protect the area. Leo had heard that one of these forts built during the Civil War was built like a medieval castle, so we decided to go visit it with Leo´s mom, sister, nephew and cousin. We didn´t know exactly where it was. the directions on the internet were not very good and the person we called just could tell us the general area were it was so in the end it took a lot longer to get there than it should have, but we had fun along the way. In our adventure we first stoped to have lunch on the beach, then we started to look for the turn off to the fort again. We missed it the first time as well as the second time going by, but after turning the wrong way and literally almost running into a shephard and his sheep, we were finally able to get some good instructions and we found the turn off with out any more problems. It was a very steep road and a bit scary at times considering how narrow the path was, but it was well worth it as the pictures below can testify.

lunch at the beach

At this fort there are still 3 huge cannons. I am sure during their day they caused a few big bangs but luckily today they are just decoration.


The whole family on top of the cannon.

Sometimes it was a bit scary how steep the drop-off was near the cannon.

The three cousins together.

The medieval fort.

Enjoying the beautiful views.

The entrance of the fort.

After we got back to Cartagena we dropped off Leo´s cousin and stopped to visit his aunt and uncle. When we left to go home Leo and his mom took the three boys in one elevator to go to the car but unfortunately the elevator got stuck. Although later we were told we should have never taken the boys out in case the elevator had started again, luckily nothing happened and we were able to get the crying boys out and then Leo and his mom only had to wait 30 minutes for the technician to come and let them out.

On one Saturday in early April we took the boys to a park where they had set up some attractions including a small car rollercoaster. We put all three boys in one car but in the end the operators had to stop the ride because Clark was crying so much.

Charlie was swallowed by a giant Bart Simpson.

All three once again entered a fun house with lots of balls but the operator had to enter and save Clark as he was drowning in the pool of balls.

Charlie had lots of fun using the trampoline and got some good air.

As I mentioned before April is very special because it is my birthday and this year was even more special because I received some very nice birthday wishes from people here as well as family and friends from the other side of the ocean. (You got to love Facebook) It was also special because we celebrated my birthday three times. First we had a intimate celebration with the immediate family. Then with Leo´s mom and sister we went to an American restuarant to celebrate and then on another day by Charlie´s request we went to Burger King to eat with our extended family plus Leo´s aunt, uncle and two cousins and then we went to bowl and play a few arcade games. It was a very good night. I don´t know if it was because everybody was being nice to me because it was my birthday, but I beat everybody and even scored over a hundred, which for me is a good bowling night. In the last frame I got a strike and a spare. Yeah me!

The whole family bowling.

Clark was in heaven with the arcade games.

Actually I think all three of my boys were in heaven.

In late April, Charlie went on a field trip with his class once again this year to the learning farm. They took 300 kids from the ages of 3-6 to this farm and I guess it was a success because at least all the kids returned home safely. Charlie is good friends with the boy next to him, Jose, but his best friends, Dani, is the tall boy behind him.

Charlie was gone from 9am until 4 pm and then we picked him back up at the school. Clark was excited to see his brother although he did try to escape through the gate of the school without anybody noticing. Good thing I saw him escaping from the corner of my eye.

After we picked Charlie up we got back into the car and we were waiting at a red light when a mother who had just picked up her son, did not see us and backed right into us. Our car was already pretty dinged up from other incidences but since this time it was somebody elses fault, the insurance covered the repairs for the bank portion of the car and we paid for the rest to be fixed as well. The car now looks brand new. Who new someone running into you could be a blessing in disguise.

Well, there it is. My review of April 2010. It was a good month which started with a bang or should I say a cannon, and ended with one as well, that is a banged up car. Stay tuned for May.