Last weekend in Madrid!!

Well, my last weekend came... and gone! WAY TOO FAST! I am all packed up... and we are leaving to England in about 2 hours! AHHHH! I will spend the rest of my time there, and then I fly out of London on the 25th. Back to the 801 to real life. I CANNOT wait to see my family... yay!!! Here are a few last pictures of me in Madrid!

My bus stop! No more bus rides into the city for me... but the 628 was my best friend!! I will miss it!!

I FINALLY got to see a bull fight!! You cannot come to Madrid, and not see one!

I went to the famous Rastro market in Madrid for the last time!! :( It was PACKED with people!

I sai my goodbyes to Gazpacho. YUCK! I hate it!! I am SOOO relieved I don't have to eat it anymore!! YAY!

I showed the new nanny that is taking over for my family a little bit of Madrid. She came to the bull fight with me and we had a lot of fun getting to know eachother. Sad to officially know my time is coming to an end and she will be taking over, but she is going to be really good!! yay!!

Poor bulls and horses hahaha!!

Me in front of the Madrid bull ring. It was a really fun last weekend, and I cannot believe it is time to leave! It definitely was not the same without my Madrid friends... but I had a good time. This experience has been more than I could have EVER asked for. I feel so blessed, and I am so excited to see England before I come home!! When I write my next post, I will be back in Utah!! YAY FAMILY HERE I COME!!! :D

Our final "excursion" in Madrid!

First off... My Dad is feeling better!! Still on oxygen, but they released him from the hospital today to go home!! I am more at peace, and am able to enjoy my last two weeks here, knowing that he is stable!! YAY!

Well, my time is winding down here in Madrid and before I leave, my host Dad wanted to go on one more "excursion."

Our Checklist before leaving the house:

1. Kids hats and Backpacks

2. Dog leash, water, and water bowl

3. Walking sticks

4. Sunscreen

5. Bathing suits and a towel

6. drinks and chips for a picnic

We went up to the "mountains" and had a lovely walk along a river. Charles, my host Dad, doesn't go anywhere without his dog, Athos, and he was the leader. No one was allowed to pass Athos, and we were not allowed to step off the path that Charles made because, "you never step off of the path the leader makes!" hahahaha It turned out to be a lot of fun.

The kids were able to get into the water, and we ended up catching a bunch of tadpoles! I have never seen one in real life, so it was pretty cool!

We were gone for the entire day because we had lunch on our hike, and icecream at a restaurant on our way back home! I am going to miss these little adventures with my Spanish family!

Oh I almost forgot. On our way home, we stopped to see my host Dad's horses. He pays to keep them on a piece of land, with about 150 other horses. When we arrived, little Ana and I walked up to the fence to look at all the horses. I was standing behind her when all of a sudden she started SCREAMING....followed by her turning around and punching me in the legs. She was crying and screaming "YOU HIT ME!!!" I had absolutely NO idea what was going on... for all I knew, I was standing right behind her looking at a horse that was biting another's bum, laughing to myself! Turns out she had grabbed the fence in front of her and it was electrical, so the horses are not able to escape, and she got electrocuted!!! She had no idea and thought that I had hit her from behind. She was so sad and would not come to me for a little bit, until she realized what had really happened. I felt so bad!! I promise I am not a child abuser!

my hero.

If you know my Dad, you know that he is never wrong. He always gives THE BEST advice, and always has the right answer for everything. My Dad and I became EXTREMELY close during my parents divorce, and ever since then... he has been my best friend. He has always been there for me. He is a spiritual GIANT, and I cannot remember how many times people have come up to me after he gives a lesson in church to tell me what an amazing job he did. I can talk to my Dad about anything. When I cry, he is usually the person I go to. When I was living down in Provo for school, whenever I was having a hard time... I would drive straight home to be able to talk to him. We have gone through so much together, and it has made our relationship so strong. He has always been there for me no matter what... but right now he needs my prayers. Not too long ago he got phnemonia and was flat in bed for a while. To our shock... it came back to haunt him, but ten times worse this time. I feel trapped in Madrid not being able to be there for him, or to help him. I call home everyday to check up on him and he just sounds miserable, and out of breath. Recently he was put on an oxygen nasal cannula to help him breath, because his breathing wasn't good enough on his own. He has been going to the doctor everyday to get his medicine through a vein to get in his system quicker, and then back to bed. Yesterday after my Step Mom and him left the doctor, they didn't feel right about it. They went to see another doctor who did some scans and noticed his heart was enlarged. He was then taken to the hospital where he is now in the ICU. They found two blood clots in his legs, and he has double phenomia which is effecting both of his lungs. They also think he may have the Swine. He is strong, he will be able to pull through, but it is hard for me to be relaxed over here thinking how miserable he is at home. He will be able to leave the ICU soon... I know it. He has been given priesthood blessings, and I know he is being watched over! He always caters to my every needs when I am sick on the couch with Strep, or something that seems so minor now... and yet I am not home to be there for him!! Why do I have to be so far away right now? Prayer is all I can do in hopes that my hero will be comfortable. Our family loves you so much Dad!! I cannot wait to see you!! Feel better soon!! :(

Back in Madrid again!!

Well... the day finally came. After a month in the South, it was time to say gooybye to the beach! We cleaned, packed up, and crammed back into that mini van to head home to Madrid. Andrea and I felt like we were sitting on a wooden table.... that's how amazing the ride was. Luckily it went by fast!! 6 hours of watching Disney movies in Spanish got a little old, but those are little memories that I will never forget!!

Last picture of our house in the South... with the finished pool! On our way home.... we had to do something to entertain us!!

Being back in Madrid has been good. The days go by slower because we are home all day long and the children are out of school, but we manage to keep having fun! We made paper chains for our countdown to England... one week from yesterday!!

Playing dressups! Wish the clothes actually fit me so I wouldn't have to wear the tutu on my head!

Yesterday we went on an "excursion" into the "mountains" to have a picnic and see horses!! It actually was a lot of fun!



My host Dad is going on a week long riding trip in September and wanted to see the horses that he will be riding. The kids all got a turn to ride on a very old horse... and they ended up giving the horse to my host parents so the kids can learn to ride as they grow up!!
ANA....

VICTORIA....

and CHARLES!
I am in love with my host family. I got extremely lucky, and I feel so grateful. This picture was at our picnic. It is going to be REALLY hard to leave!!
I couldn't have asked for a better experience here. It is all coming to and end WAY too quick. We leave for England next week to visit my host Dad's family... and then I fly out of London on the 25th. My host Mom asked little Charles the other day if he was ready to have me go back to America. He started crying and ran downstairs. It will be a hard goodbye, I have grown to love my little Spanish family!