June 29, 2010

Last night I stayed up pretty late with Alexia and woke up at 7:15 to my snuggler sneaking into my bed. Paul had camp so we got him ready and he was soooo excited to head to school in a taxi with his driver. I unpacked and showered and made beds and worked on my blog all morning until Alexia got up around noon and we started getting ready for the day.

We caught the bus and picked up Paul from school early and we almost passed out walking up hill in the heat. But it was worth it because Paul was sooo excited to see his sister picking him up. He was wide eyed and in such a good mood. We got back on the bus and headed to Plaça Tibidabo and met Toni before taking the tramvia up part of the mountain. Then we had to take another thing up the rest of the mountain to Tibidabo.

Not all of the park was open today, only some of the rides... but theyre the ones Paul likes so it was good. We all enjoyed the ferris wheel which is by far his favorite besides the plane...

We took the high basket ride up and Alexia was TERRIFIED!!!! She could hardly look around and enjoy the view because she was soooo scared! She had never been on it before and neither had Toni and I think he was a little scared too... they should have sat like Paul and I tend to do...

Alexia took Paul on the plane ride by herself.. testing her limits with him. She did wonderfully. She kept him in line and he they both enjoyed the small red plane.

Alexia isn't used to taking care of Paul; she's only 15 and is very busy with school and activities like basketball and piano, and she's not expected to be his babysitter. But as she gets older she's felt as if she's missing out with him and she wants to be able to take her brother to La Rambla or Tibidabo for an afternoon alone. I've been coaching her through it a little and explaining how to deal with his temper tantrums, which haven't happened in weeks (thank God). The only thing that might be difficult for her is his strength... he is very strong and she is petite so if she needed to use physical force to get him up or get him away from something she might be outmatched... but he loves his sister and the time he spends with her. =)

The park closed at 5 so we took the metro to La Rambla to walk around and explore. Alexia and I got pitas and Paul shared with me but wouldn't eat Alexia's because he could see the corn in hers. I had corn too, but it was hidden. He started picking off the pieces from my tray and throwing them over his shoulder very quickly and I thought it was hysterical but didn't get it on tape... so I told Alexia to put her tray in front of him to see if he would do it again...

I laughed soooo hard.... he is quite funny even when he doesn't know it. His face said it all.... "WHAT THE HELL IS ALL THIS CORN DOING IN FRONT OF ME?!" Hahahahahah

We walked around the Rival which I had never been to... just the other side of La Rambla from where we usually walk and explore. Some shops caught Alexia and my interest so we got Toni to babysit for 5 minutes while we took a break and checked out clothes.

Paul seems to like Toni; it must be the male presence. Toni always says he is "too much male"... so Paul must realize that.

We ended our trip at McDonalds, which worked out because Leila was stuck doing a delivery and didn't have time to make a proper dinner for Paul.... as if McDonalds was proper. But he loooves his cheeseburgers and I helped him finish off his food before leaving.

At 7:15 we went to catch the metro and they weren't letting anyone through until 8 because of the strike... but Spain was playing at 830 and I was supposed to be leaving at 745 to go watch it! So we ended up taking a taxi home and Paul LOVED that and it was a lot quicker and not too expensive.

Alexia and Ignacio stayed home with Paul while I went to a bar with Toni and Juan and their friends to watch Spain play Portugal. I bathed Paul before I left and Ignacio dried him off... but he called Leila and bragged that HE bathed Paul... haha I don't think so!

The game was so intense and stressful until Spain scored and we all could finally relax... the Spaniards are crazy people. They scream and holler at everything that happens and yell profanities (which are some words I actually understand).

And since Spain won I got to wear the flag as a cape on the way home on the moto