Virgin Mary Day

For Nana and Grandpa Allan's last day in Spain, we got to attend James' school production of Virgin Mary Day.  It's a day of song, prayer, and remembrance.  And super cute kids.  The production that is 110% Catholic. Obviously we're not Catholic, but we love the school, and the language immersion is critical, so we're willing to allow for the religious education along with everything else.  This is the sort of thing I'm going to miss when we go back to conventional life in the U.S. It was fun to share it with Nana and Allan. 

Do you see cutie James, back and center? 

Parque Monasterio de Piedra

Ben's been a gem lately.  Friday night we were laying on our bed exhausted as we were recovering from a long week and he asked me what I was thinking about.  I said, "What we're going to do tomorrow." I always have to be planning ahead with out family. I mentioned that maybe we could go to Parque Monasterio de Piedra, which has been on my weekend bucket list for months now, but even as I said it, the thought made me tired. He said, "Let's go for it."  I said, "Are you sure?  It's a 2.5 hour drive."  And he said, "That sounds fun. I'd like to do it."  Sometimes you just need that extra push from your partner to make things happen.   

I often feel our Saturdays have gotten away from us.  There's usually always something going on between birthday parties, play dates, baseball games, events for Ben's work, or church obligations (Ben just got released from being YM president for over a year).  So, we reclaimed our weekend yesterday and it was such a fantastic day!

The drive up there, in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon was really beautiful... we passed through red rock scenery, green plains, and quaint quiet little towns... we even passed a couple castles. Plenty of sunshine too. The roads were clear and mostly empty, which is something I love about Spain after coming from Germany when it seemed the roads were always packed on the weekends. We eventually made our way to some mountains where this park is located, it has loads of waterfalls thanks to the river that flows through this canyon.  And it has a 12th century monastery which we didn't have the time to visit, but maybe next time!   

The kids really loved our day out which made me so happy.   There was plenty to explore, to climb and run around, and spectacular scenery all around.  Caroline even said this was the best day ever!  Which means a lot, coming from her.  I've heard more than once that it's been the worst day ever... this is the first I've heard her say best day ever.  

Me with the littles.  

Seriously, what's not to like?  It's the type of place that we would go back to with our visitors, which are going to be plentiful over the next few months.  The place reminded me of southern Utah, like a miniature version of Zion National Park, which is probably why I found myself so happy there.