'Tis the season

Just a couple more days until Christmas and there are two wiggly, excited little bodies living in our house who can't wait.

Friday was the last day of school before the break, and they wont go back until January 8th. A nice, long rest from the daily commute to and from school.
Josh also has the same long break, and he's already been chipping away at the thesis he has to write for his class.

That's due in May.

Nerd.

Today we went carolling in Retiro Park with a group from our church, which was a fun experience. The city is so festive it's hard not to get into the holiday spirit, despite temperatures in the 50's.
We've walked around our neighborhood a couple of times to see the lights, or just enjoyed them while running errands.

Goya has gift boxes.

Serrano has circles, and I think it's my favorite. Pictures don't do justice to the lights.

Juan Ortega y Gasset has chandeliers.

And Velázquez has branches. This is our street. We live here.

Our neighborhood also has lots of stores that I'm too intimidated to set foot in. All of these are walking-distance from our piso.

 

 

Other randomness:

My boys on da bus.

I love not driving.
I went shopping with a friend this week at an outlet mall outside of the city center, and it was just strange. Driving to different stores, parking lots, very American. The weird thing is that it felt strange to me-- I guess a year of metro and bus rides will do that to you.

This is how we keep in touch with our family. The hard part is that the kids are usually in bed before anyone in the States is off work. Usually around 11am on a weekday, when the kids are in school and I've run any morning errands, I'll get the urge to call up a friend and chat. Of course, they wouldn't be my friends anymore if I acted on it. Dang time zones.

Last Saturday Derek had an open house at school. He sang a song with his class and gave his letter to the Reyes Magos. After the open house, we had a family from the school over to hang out and let the kids play together. We walked home through the park and it was so pretty we stopped and took pictures. Can't believe the leaves are still falling!

Here are the kiddos lined up for the Three Kings.
Derek has a sheep on his head; it was part of the song. That he sang in Spanish. Because my baby knows Spanish.

But does not seem to embrace the Three Kings. Nor did the sheep hat do anything for his hairdo.

This is my milk in a box.
Another thing that used to strike me as odd that just feels normal now-- the fact that you buy milk in a box, and an unrefrigerated box at that. The eggs are also not refrigerated here.

In the next episode I will tell you guys where we're headed next...
Here's a hint. It starts with an M and it's not nearly as cool as Monterey or Madrid.