Spain Highlight

 

End of Post

Jokes. Above is my favorite photo of our crazy adventure through Spain. We were rolling deep.

Kid count: 6 Adult count: 4

Biggs Luggage Bag Count: 10

We went for a trial run on not checking bags. The airports were less a zoo during fall break versus summer. However, the photos of thousands of lost bags from German airports continues to be burned in our memories. Here are some amateur tips on our bag breakdown:

1. Travel stroller (Our model folds down to less than 25 cm so we could bring it through security in Berlin and even on the plane from Madrid.)
2. Empty stuffable travel duffel with trolley strap. In theory this is stuffed in your backpack and available for all the jackets and sweaters you'll take off during travel. 
3. Three rolly cabin bags. 
4. One cabin sized backpack with trolley strap. We kept this one light with dirty clothes so Paul had it on his back mostly.
5. Four backpacks 

Carmen does enjoy looking like a backpacker, but she's currently off the hook for carrying any of her stuff.

We spent one night in Malaga in an airbnb. The next day we were off to a small town an hour and a half away called Frigiliana. As October is the off season, there wasn't a direct connection between Malaga and Frigiliana. We first took a bus to the beach town, Nerja, and then a connecting bus inland to Frigiliana. As we were busing there, I thought to myself "why are we going to this small town again?" But then I remembered, small towns are my jam. 

We do the usual, one day walk around the city.

Park with a view

Hike along the aqueduct above the town.

Sleeping-toddler-in-ergo-while-hiking selfies. 

View from our hike above the city

Well timed tourist train:

Moving around nap time is our best bet for getting this man to recover a bit.

Missing Halloween in Berlin was a big snafu for Crosby. Our friends found a Halloween party in a neighboring town, which also was located near some caves. 

This photo of a print of our crew in front of a green screen with the caves photoshopped back in does not lie. The caves are fun for all parties involved.

This playground at the caves with the adjoining picnic area was an unexpected bonus for our Zen ninja.

From the caves we walked down to the town of Moro for "Moroween". Halloween has mostly been adopted as a scary holiday in Spain, so our costumes were a bit out of place.

Paul's spur of the moment, "Cousin it" from Adam's family and Jesse's tiger using a puzzle piece from our Airbnb.

Mario with tired Butterfly

On All Saints Day we head back to Malaga for more of this:

Shirt optional ice cream

Chocolate and churros

On Paul's and my anniversary we head to Malaga's museum of music to see if we could start a family band. They do have the look; time will tell about the talent.

That evening, our friends Jesse and Beth offered to watch the kids for Paul and me to go on a date. We went to a Hammam (not pictured - you're welcome) and to dinner. 

The day after we arrived back to Berlin, I was listening to this audiobook while walking back from the Kita.

Habits of the Household has some great ideas for anyone looking for something deeper in the rhythm of our everyday lives. Judaism does a good day of combining the sacred with the everyday, but the Christian tradition has lost some of these life affirming practices.

The quote from the author, and father of four, that really felt like it tied a bow around our trip was, "Vacationing with small children is really just going somewhere scenic and working overtime shifts of parenting hours. Great memories for the kids. Hard work for you." 

For this particular trip, the hardest part of traveling in Spain is the calendaring being totally off with meals. Our kids could sometimes hang for an 8 pm dinner, but I definitely could not after a 6 am wake-up. I do not see us going back to Spain until our kids are at least a few years older. But, as our friends are only in Malaga for this year, I am glad we went when we did. We got a last little vitamin D burst before we (hopefully) spend the next few months doing this:

Hibernating, not sleeping on planes.

Real Talk: Christmas Letter

Last night in the hour between putting the kids to bed and going to bed myself, I lamented to Paul that yet again, advent is owning me. I didn’t fall into any time sucking traps (or joy bringing activities depending on your perspective) - sending holiday cards, making homemade gifts, or even cooking thanksgiving dinner. And like last year, we didn't even get a tree. And yet, this is the season where the true limits of my self-proclaimed “strong brain chemistry” are tested. 

A core sanity stealer this advent, which is a bit of the theme of 2022, is childhood illness. I’ve been up since 5 am this morning wondering if Hugo’s third round of illness in six weeks is covid or bronchitis. The silver lining of him being home more is our new bonding activity - watching marvel movies. He randomly clicked on “Love and Thunder” on his first sick day and since then we’ve been making our way down this list. 

When I used to have a healthy emotional range, the marvel movies were too scary for me. They continue to be too scary for Crosby. When Carmen is also home sick, Hugo and I start the movie when she starts napping and then she can usually join for the last half-an-hour or so. 

Hugo asks a lot of questions, “So they are brothers? But one of them is a bad guy?”. Carmen's commentary is reminiscent of the literal music video parodies.

The general consensus around children and screens is that it is better if they have an adult watching with them. So, I am going to go ahead and shine up my gold star on this one. We need some victories around here.