It finally stopped raining so we could all enjoy the weather outside (we had another rain storm on Wednesday and Friday/Saturday, one again cancelling Ethan and Alaina's games this weekend).
This weekend, we saw rolling storms all day on Saturday. Alaina was supposed to have her softball opening day parade, and a game. Both were canceled. We kept going outside to hit and could only stay out for a few minutes before the rain began again. Made a nice rainbow though!
Ethan had better luck. His baseball team was participating in the Dante Benedetti Classic, which was a baseball event at Oracle arena where the Giants play. The varsity team played a game--and the JV team got to come and hang out in the dugout, and warm up on the field. Ethan says that it was "the coolest thing he ever did". Imagine if he actually played, ha ha!
Ethan also had a concert this weekend for his Jazz Ensemble. He was a featured as a soloist in the song "Slim Chickens" and did a great job. I have to say he is getting better at trombone!
This spring, Ethan has joined the baseball team at his high school. While he always loved little league, there was not a team in our town last year, so it has been a bit since he played. But he decided to pick it up again, and has been having a lot of fun.
Between his baseball and Alaina's softball, we have really become a baseball/softball family.
Ethan is playing on the JV team, and is not a starter, but still gets some playing time. This weekend, the team had an overnight trip to Santa Cruz, where they played 2 games and had time for team bonding. It was his first time away from us in awhile, and he seemed to really enjoy it.
Meanwhile, the three of us had planned to go skiing for the weekend, so we brought up Alaian's best friend to join us. The girls had a great time skiing together, and we were really lucky with the weather, having the best weather this season--and about 10 feet of snow a couple of weeks ago.
So everyone was happy!
The hike is not too long, but steep, and up a fairly long and windy road. Because it was superbowl Sunday, it was not too crowded, which made it pleasant!
Last week for mid-winter break, we were fortunate to go to Southern Spain. Our flights took us to Lisbon, where we rented a car and headed southeast.
We first visited Seville. We were lucky to have great weather (it was almost 70!), and enjoyed the Real Alcazar and the Seville Cathedral. As per usual, we had come trouble adjusting to the Spanish 10pm dinner time (didn't help jet lag!).
After Seville, we crossed the straight of Gibraltar to Tangier Morocco. We spent a night in the old city, which was a fascinating and beautiful place. It was also neat for the kids to see the Muslim culture and learn about their traditions. Morocco especially, but really all of Southern Spain ties in well with Ethan's history class, where this semester, they are studying the history of the Middle East. So much of southern Spain was influenced by the Moors. Anyhow, we really liked Morocco, although in the morning we went for a run on the waterfront and the Moroccan ladies seemed to be quite offended by my running shorts and t-shirt. Also at night when we went for dinner--no alcohol on the menu-- the cafes were filled with men--but not women. Both Ethan and Jason got cool Moroccan haircuts--but the women's beauty parlors were sealed off behind closed doors with thick curtains. So all of that was weird for me.
Our next stop was Granada. We found Granada to be a bit of a touristy place but we were really there to see the Alhambra--and that was magnificent! Such a beautifully preserved palace, plus so much history. It was an originally a Moorish fort--then a castle, and then became the winter palace for the Spanish Monarch. Definitely one of the coolest sights I have been to in Europe. they all built on the same site, but mostly managed to preserve the old sites as well.
We spent one night in Cordoba on our way back to Lisbon. Cordoba was a lovely city along a river, and much more charming than Granada. It also felt somehow more authentic. We enjoyed touring the Mezquita--also a mosque that was interestingly converted into a church, as well as the old Jewish quarter there.
Finally, we had one last night in Lisbon--where we revisited a favorite restaurant from our 2021 trip (""). The city was so, so, so much more crowded than in was in 2021--so many tourists! and backpackers! But the restaurant was just as good as we had remembered!
Returning home was a bit of an adventure--our flight from Frankfurt to SF was cancelled, so we were re-routed via Newark with a long layover, so that was a bit rough.
But, all in all a great time!
Last weekend, the kids had a piano recital. As mentioned last week, Ethan was sick with a fever, so he managed to finagle his way out of it.
Ethan meanwhile, is dying to quit, but I am using him to keep it up a little longer so he doesn't lose all of his skills....
This week Ethan celebrated his 15th Birthday! One more year until he can drive! 😳
Unfortunately on the night of his birthday, he had his last soccer game of the season. It was dark AND pouring. Jason and I went out to see him, but everyone was pretty miserable. Afterwards we grabbed a quick bite a at a nearby taqueria and called it a night.
This weekend, we had a little more time to celebrate. On Saturday night, my dad came over and Ethan got to have his birthday meal--crab! And he picked out his favorite cake too--an ice cream cake with mint ice-cream and Oreos.
Sunday, we planned to take him and two friends went to Sandbox VR to celebrate--playing some VR video game and then to Chinese food for lunch. However he woke up sick and with a fever, so we had to postpone.
This year, all Ethan asked for for his birthday was cash! Teenagers.
Anyhow, not a bad birthday in the end.
