Spanish Holiday

We spent the last 10 days of October with Charles's family in Spain. Uncle Paul, his daughters Debbie and Alison, and Alison's family, Mark, Maisie and Eliza, came from England, and we rented a lovely villa less than 2 miles from Charles's parents' house. We even had our own pool, even if it was unheated and very cold. The weather was fabulous - we brought some back with us, I hope you all enjoyed it. We shopped together at supermarkets and outdoor markets; we spent one afternoon on the beach; we ate and drank a lot. We even got to spend one day just hanging out at the villa enjoying peace, quiet and company.

It was great to be able to spend time with the cousins, because we only just met them three years ago. Debbie is about a year older than us, and Alison is just a few months younger than Charles. Although we've emailed and web-cammed, we really enjoy being able to sit around the table with them, eating, drinking and playing games. Not to mention the deep psychological and philosophical discussions (proving that every family is nuts, not just mine!).

To be honest, though, the real reason we went to Spain was to see Maisie and Eliza again. Maisie is 10 years old and started secondary (middle) school this year. As a fellow oldest child, we were able to compare notes about being big sisters, and we talked about Magic cards and Harry Potter books. Eliza just turned 8 and is my new hero because she beat Charles at Monopoly - twice! We made pizza together, baked and decorated birthday cupcakes, learned how to do iris folding, and drove up to the top of the world to the Calle Alto Observatory. We even found a ghost town with a dragon's cave!

It had been two years since we were last in Spain, so it was lovely to spend time with Mike and Sue, although it really felt like we hadn't been away at all. Both are in good health, especially with Sue now walking daily. Her doctor warned her about high blood pressure last year, so she started walking and lost a lot of weight. Sue's also met a nice group of women who walk - and shop - together. Mike turned 65 on the day we all got together to celebrate all our birthdays, and got a special two-cupcake salute from Maisie and a song from all the rest of us.