The kids' reactions so far

Since the kids are 4, 2, and 1, we weren't sure how they would react to the tremendous change of moving to a new country that speaks a different language. Overall, I am really proud of how they are doing so far! The first few days everyone was tired and having trouble adjusting to the time zone, but since everything happens later in Spain anyway, we seem to be easing into that very well. We eat lunch closer to 2, take naps around 3, then do an evening activity and dinner around 8, not going to bed until 9ish. I would have thought that schedule was impossible for us in the States, but we have found it necessary to wear them out so they will go to sleep, since they are all sleeping in the same room.
But in case you are wondering what moving is like to a kid, here are some quotes so far:

"This town looks just like Ted's town in the Lorax!" (Sophie's statement the first day here. It's not quite Thneedville, but the bright colors and original architecture are reminiscent of Dr. Seuss.)

"This beach has no water!" (Danny's reaction to low tide at the very shallow beach near our hotel. The beach was covered in seaweed, and the waves were almost at the horizon. There are better beaches on the other side of town.

"I love Spanish ice cream!" (Sophie and Danny both think it's amazing that there are ice cream booths scattered around town that are open at night. I ordered them some Fantasmikos, which is apparently a bag of mini popsicles, so they each got to have 3 popsicles and shared with the rest of the family. They were pretty tasty.)

"We are almost to North Carolina! I think I see Granny's house!" (Sophie's remarks after we went for a 1-hour walk in the evening along the boardwalk. We had to remind her how far we are from home and family, but it's probably good she thinks they are nearby.)

"Spain is awesome. It is even better than Granny's house!" (Sophie's comment on day 2. High praise coming from a girl whose favorite friends are Granny and her dog, Simba.)

 "This is the most beautiful dinner I ever saw." (Sophie's reaction to leftover night on our hotel patio. Spaghetti for them, paella for the parents. I guess the right surroundings mean the food doesn't matter!)

"They have playgrounds in Spain!" Sophie's reaction every time I take them to a little park or play area. I guess she was worried that playing is an American thing?)

"Hola perro!" (Danny greets every dog he sees when we go for walks, and the kind locals usually say hola back. One man even handed Danny the leash and let him walk the dog for a few moments! The locals have been friendly, and the kids have been eager to repeat any Spanish phrases I tell them.)

"I want a big bowl of mac and cheese." (Sophie's request for dinner the first night here. She was a little dismayed that Spanish restaurants don't have much pasta. But she ended up saying her rice and meatballs were "bueno!")

"We are going exploring!" This is what Danny tells us whenever we drive in the car or go for a walk. Everything is an exciting new adventure for them, so we try to keep a positive, upbeat attitude, even when we are doing mundane things like completing paperwork or going to the grocery store.)

"Wahhhhhhhh!" (Alex's reaction every time we strap him in the carseat now, since he doesn't know if he is going to be stuck in it for an epically long time. He usually ends up falling asleep after a bit of crying and fussing, though.)

So there you have it. They are having fun, making new friends, and enjoying new experiences, even though this is currently not much of a vacation. I mean, no American family would bring young children to Spain for vacation, and if they did, they wouldn't spend a week doing paperwork and preparing to move into a new house. But even so, that's not what the kids will remember. To them, this is an exciting no place with new yummy food, and adventures around every corner! So we will try to keep it that way for a while until we start to miss the U.S.

Learning to drive

My mom always said that you should learn something new everyday. But when you move to a new country, the learning curve is tremendous. You learn a ton of new things each day. Of course we are learning a lot just by looking at menus, sampling food, walking around, etc. But today I am proud to announce that I am learning something BIG: how to drive a stick shift vehicle! I only drove automatic before, but our rental car is stick shift, and that's all we are going to have for the next few weeks. Dan only works 3 miles from our house, so he could run to work, but if I want to go anywhere I can either learn to drive or take all 3 kids on a bicycle with me. So... driving sounds like a good idea. Dan let me practice with the rental car, and it actually went very well, after the first few choppy circles around the block. I drove from base to our new house and didn't stall once. :-) We are looking to buy a new car for Dan while we are here. He would use it for work, but it would also be our good gas mileage car for weekend trips, so I should know how to drive it, and most options are stick shift here. So I will keep practicing until I feel comfortable enough to drive in town, with pedestrians walking into the street, people parking in the middle of the road, traffic circles every hundred feet, and unexpected 1-way streets. Oh, and with 3 kids sitting side by side in the back seat. Yeah, might take a little more practice for that to be a safe scenario! But I am glad that after years of Dan promising me driving lessons we finally got around to it. :-)

Spain: First impressions

Well, we are here! After months of planning, packing, moving, and living out of suitcases, we have arrived in Rota, Spain! The plane landed yesterday morning at the airport on base, and we were immediately greeted by warm, sunny weather and palm trees. :-) Also, lots of gorgeous tile signs, like this one in the airport arrivals area:

The passports got stamps, and the kids hands did, too!
We have a sponsor, who is actually the guy whose job my husband will be taking, so they have been communicating for the last month or so. The sponsor, his wife, and daughter were all there to greet us, help with luggage, and check us into a hotel (since there is no housing available on base this week). The hotel is gorgeous! It's in a rustic Spanish style, with tile floors, stucco walls painted in light pastels, huge flowers blooming outside, and even a little kitchenette for our convenience. It's a little tricky trying to get all three kids to sleep in the same room while Dan and I have the sleeper sofa, but they have been so tired and off schedule that it is working ok so far, and we only have to deal with it for a few more days, since we should get keys to our house on Monday!

We spent a lot of our first day in Spain driving around base, checking into various offices and completing paperwork to get Visas, Spanish id cards, and a rental car. But by evening we had some time to drive around the city of Rota and enjoy our first Spanish meal at our hotel's restaurant. First impressions of Rota: 1. It's a small city, only a few miles in each direction, so it will be easy to find our way around. The "old town" area has several narrow, pedestrian-only streets, as well as a beautiful beach! We are actually surrounded by beaches here, since the city is built on a point, with an old lighthouse at the very tip.
2. The base is small too, but seems to have everything we need. Housing is just a few kilometers from Dan's office, so he can run or bike to work. there are parks, playgrounds, pools, and a school all within walking distance, so I can take the kids anywhere I want. The NEX (Navy Exchange/ shopping mall) is well stocked with household goods, furniture, kitchen gadgets, baby equipment, etc at reasonable prices. The commissary imports American food, with english brand names and labels, so shopping will be easy if I want it to be.
3. The surrounding area is actually a disguised desert, much like Southern California, with olive trees, shrubs, and some flowers. But there are nice gardens, carefully sprinkled lawns, and flower pots everywhere, so it looks much more lush than it is.
4. The Spanish people on base and in the hotel have all spoken English very well so far. Of course, they have to, dealing with so many Americans here. It will be different if we go to small restaurants or shops in town, or anywhere else in Spain. But so far I am pleased with my minimal Spanish and my ability to ask for things like keys, pillows, breakfast, etc. And they seem pleased with my attempts to speak Spanish instead of english, so I will definitely keep working on it.
5. Driving has been interesting. Only Dan has been driving so far, since the rental car is a stick shift, but the drivers and pedestrians have very little hesitation going right in front of you! Some of the lanes and roads change abruptly, or just end for no apparent reason, so it is certainly an adventure! I think tonight we will try walking around instead-- much safer, and less likelihood of heart attacks. :-)
6. Our house is amazing! Much more about it later, but we got to drive by it yesterday and do a walk through today, and it is ridiculous. They just finished renovating the 2-bedroom duplexes into 1 single-family home. So it has a 2-car garage in the front center, with 4 bedrooms on one wing, and a big dining/living space in the other wing. But best of all there is an open-air courtyard in the center of the house with an awning cover! It is an amazing space for the kids to run around, ride bikes, and we can relax, grow some flowers, and enjoy outdoor living in our Spanish villa!

It is amazing how much paperwork and official stuff we have done in the last 24 hours! The kids have been pretty good sports, spending a lot of time at the playground or in the car with one parent, while the other goes into an office and gets things done. But after waiting in the housing office, Danny thought this shaded bench was a great place to lay down for a few minutes. The artistic tiles are everywhere, and I just love them!

After a long day, we have pretty low-key plans tonight: take a walk, find some dinner, watch the sun set over the ocean, and then maybe sip some sangria on the hotel patio. Oh yes, I think we are going to like it here!

First plane ride!

We made it to Spain!!! Before I tell you more about this beautiful city, I know all you moms out there want to hear how our flights went with 3 children and way too much luggage in tow. Let me first say that it was not terrible, actually better than expected. Let me next say that traveling with young children is no joke. It was a LONG, exhausting day. We checked in to the Baltimore airport around 6:30am. It was a little unwieldy carrying 3 carseats and all our carry-ons through the airport, but we didn't have to go very far. At first, the kids were excited and entertained watching the planes come and go.

The first flight was very short. We were only in the air for about 30 minutes to get to Norfolk! Alex fell asleep as soon as we boarded and slept right through takeoff and the entire flight, which was amazing. The older two were excited about their first ride and enjoyed the thrill of both the takeoff and the landing, with no complaints. So far, so good.

Then we got to Norfolk, and things got a little more complicated. We landed at Norfolk Intl airport around 9:30 am. We knew we had to collect our baggage and get to the AMC terminal for our next leg. What we didn't realize is that those flights go out of the military airport on the Norfolk Naval base-- a completely different airport! We had planned to take a shuttle to a hotel near the main airport and spend the morning in the pool and the afternoon taking naps, since we didn't have to check in until 5pm for the flight to Spain. However, the shuttle that ran from the civilian airport to the military base left at 2 pm. So... we had to spend a lot of time at the Norfolk intl airport with a HUGE pile of luggage.

The saving grace to the day was the USO! There is a USO lounge in the Norfolk intl airport available to all military members and their families. We were some of the first ones there that morning, so the kids got to relax and watch a movie and eat some free snacks. They had a "quiet room" on one side for resting, so Alex and Danny got naps in the middle of the day, much to everyone's relief. The staff was all very friendly volunteers who kept offering us more candy. :-) Then, when we started getting bored there, it was time to drag all our stuff downstairs to a shuttle bus and ride over to the military base, where we unloaded everything and waited in line for security checks.

 This is the part of the day where the kids started to drag. It took at least an hour to get through the lines at the military airport. Daddy was dragging around both carts of luggage (about 300 pounds!) while I was dragging around the 3 kids (less weight, but more whining!). But FINALLY we made it through all the lines and got to eat some dinner and wait for our 8pm flight. Sophie actually laid down and fell asleep on the floor underneath the benches in the waiting area. Danny enjoyed the USO playroom with tons of toys. And Alex was fussy unless I held him and walked. So it was a relief to finally get onto the plane and get everyone into their seats!

Sophie and Danny went to sleep right away, even before dinner was served. Alex slept on and off most of the night. I was sitting beside him massaging his ears, and it seemed he would wake up every hour, cry for a moment, let me comfort him, then go back to sleep. Frustrating for me, but at least he wasn't that baby on the airplane who screams the entire flight. So, after a 7.5 hour flight, a small amount of sleep, and two in-flight meals, we arrived in Rota!!!!! We were all here together, and our luggage made it to, so even though we were a little tired, it was a GOOD day. Thank you all or your prayers, because I know that is what got us through the part of the journey I had been dreading so much. It was tiring and frustrating, yes, but I expected that, and honestly I am really proud of the kids because I think they did SO WELL putting up with so many lines and waiting periods on their first plane ride. Hooray!

Last night in America!

And we're off to Spain in the morning! The bags are packed, the kids are in bed, and we are enjoying our last night in America: steak dinner, milkshake dessert, and football on TV. Things are going to be so different from now on! But I think we're ready for it. We have said our goodbyes to family and friends, and yes it is a little sad that we are going to miss so much and be so far away from those we love. But... I think it is all going to be worth it. Yes, I am a little nervous, anxious, and afraid of our ridiculous layover and flight tomorrow... but there will be a time in just a few days where we will be sitting in a hotel just off the beach in Spain, with bellies full of sangria and paella and just loving life!
So, ignoring the crazy travel day ahead of us, here's wha I am looking forward to the most in the next few months:
1. Spanish food! My husband and I are both excited to experience new food, learn to cook it, and enjoy lots of wine and seafood.
2. Living right near the beach. Warm weather, beautiful location, we are going to love it!
3. Exploring new places as a family.
4. Making new friends. This is usually a slow challenging process for me, but rewarding once I finally get comfortable opening up to people.
5. A new church community. I really really hope to make some good Catholic friends. There will obviously be plenty of churches to check out, so I look forward to new communities.
6. Christmas in Rome!!! This is our first big trip that we are planning, and my husband and I are really looking forward to it!

So I will just keep thinking these happy thoughts as we get through our layover and 7 hour flight with the kids tomorrow. I am sure we will miss plenty of things about America, but for now I am feeling prepared. I'll see you all on the other side (of the Atlantic!)

Passport nightmare

In June we all applied for 'no-fee' passports through the military. They are free, processed through the military, and only get us into Spain. In August we still hadn't received them, so we applied for regular passports through the State department. Last week the passports started showing up - everyone's except mine. One week before our flight I still had no passport, and calls to the State department indicated a big problem : they would not issue my new passport until the old one with my maiden name had been canceled. And that one had already been surrendered to the military for the no-fee passport. Calls to the military could not locate my passport since they are processed through an independent company. They had taken 10 weeks, but apparently for the first 5 weeks it sat on someone's desk not being processed at all. Suddenly there was talk of canceling our flight for a month until I could fly.

So yesterday we drove to the passport center in Philadelphia to get it straightened out. Apparently the military only had a photocopy of our marriage license, not a certified copy. If they sent a request for more paperwork, it either went to our old address or to my husband's old unit. Either way, we never got it. So the military couldn't process it without our original marriage license, which was with the State department, and the State department couldn't process it without the old passport, which was with the military. Ahhhh, bureaucrats! After a lot of waiting and checking with supervisors, the surprisingly nice lady at the passport center told me they would overnight the regular passport to me from New Hampshire. We keep checking the tracking number, and it is on its way here right now! My stomach and nerves will feel so much better when I have a passport in hand and I can actually get on a plane with my family! We fly in 4 days, so I would like to relax and enjoy my last few days in the States.

Homelessness

In 9 days we will be leaving the country, and possibly not coming back for 3 years! It's crazy. We have been so focused on visiting family that I don't think our move has become real to me yet. I keep waiting to take our suitcases back to North Carolina, unpack, and be home. But we no longer have a home in North Carolina. We are homeless, and will be living out of suitcases for a while longer.

We just learned that even though we are already on the housing list in Rota, our house won't be ready immediately (we expected that) but there is no temporary housing available either (we didn't expect that). So it looks like we will spend next week at my parents' house, then fly to Spain and spend about one week in a hotel off base in Rota, then about one week in temporary housing on base, and then hopefully move into our actual house on base! So it's going to take a while before we have a house in Spain, and much longer to make it a home.

All the visiting and activities with family have been lots of fun and are giving us great memories, but it is also getting a little exhausting. Each time we go to a new place it takes the kids a few days to adjust, and we have been wearing them out. Mommy and Daddy aren't getting as much sleep as usual either. So after saying goodbye to the Lightfoots and Tuttles this morning, I am feeling drained and a little down. We are on our way to the annual Prosser Labor Day party for Mass and a crab feast. Maybe a day outside with good family and food will perk me up, then we need a slow quiet week at the Pennsylvania farm to get rested up for our long flight. Happy Labor Day everyone!