Pumpkin Carving

This is the first time we've been home for Halloween in Belgium....  I tried to organize a few houses in the neighborhood for some trick or treating, but I only got a few takers.   It ended up being ok, because Audrey wasn't feeling very well, so we had a low key day and saved pumpkin carving for that evening after dinner.

Getting started....

Digging out the guts...

Audrey would NOT touch the guts!!

Plotting out design

Having fun!

 The finished product....

 
Out on the balcony...  and what do you know, when I went to put it out there, there were two girls in costume looking like they were trick or treating, so we invited them over so we could hand out some treats.  It was the first and last trick or treaters of the night.  But at least we got some!

Lots of Updates

I'm trying to get caught up on this blog!  I use it to keep everyone posted on our adventures, but also to help me remember what the girls were doing at certain times of the year and where we've been.  And as we get closer to the end of the year, when I start to make the girls yearly books, and our travel book, it's also my main reference point.  So I have to keep it up!

Here's what I've added in the last week or so....

Odd's Farm
Madrid
Seville, Spain - Day One
Seville, Spain - Day Two
Seville, Spain - Day Two Continued
Seville, Spain - The Final Post 
Cordoba, Spain
Trunk or Treat
UN Day 2013

And I have more to come from Spain!  At least one more post on Seville and a post on Cordoba.  And then some other odds and ends of other things.  So stay tuned!

UN Day 2013

Grace and her best friend, Sophia, representing the USA and Germany!

Trunk or Treat

Cordoba, Spain

On our last day in Spain, we took the train 45 minutes from Seville to Cordoba.  The main site in Cordoba is the La Mezquita.  The building was begun around the year 600 as a Christian Church.  In 784, with the invasion of the Moors into southern Spain, the church was reworked into a Mosque.  In 1236, the mosque was converted into a Catholic church.  The original structure of the Mosque was not altered.  They just built the church directly in the middle.  It is an amazing site.

The original Minaret turned into Bell Tower.

More fountains to play in....

Inside the Mosque...

Peering into the church from the Mosque...

The grand Cathedral.....

Spying the mosque outside of the Cathedral....

 

These pictures don't do it justice.  It was HUGE.  Endless rows of columns, and this massive domed Cathedral smack dab in the middle of it. 

Other things we saw in Cordoba.....

Roman Bridge

It was a really beautiful city, and the Meziquita was well worth the visit!  

Seville, Spain - The Final Post

Sooooo.......after the Alcazar, we wandered around a bit, and found a lovely square with another fountain in it.  The girls were having so much fun playing in the fountain, Audrey fell in!  I wish I had captured that on camera!  Luckily, I had spare dresses with us for them to change into....

Posing at the scene of the incident, post wardrobe change....

Next up....a carriage ride through the city.....  this was such a treat for the girls.  Especially Audrey.  She loves horses!

Look at that face!!!

It was a fun experience, and we got to revisit all the pretty sites in Seville, one last time.

Seville, Spain - Day Two Continued

The Alcazar deserves it's own post. 

The Alcazar is a royal palace in Seville that was once a Moorish fort.

Beautiful Moorish architecture...

Lovely gardens....

Playing in fountains (it was pushing 90 degrees outside)....

 
Honeysuckle tucked behind ears....

What a magical and beautiful place!

Seville, Spain - Day Two

On our next day in Seville, we took a walk past the bullring.... 

 and then along the river,

and then crossed the river to the little town of Triana.
 

It is hard to get Audrey to smile for pictures.

And then back on the Seville side, we came to this tower, where all the gold from the New World was brought.

Next up, and it's own post.....The Alcazar!