Sports Camp and Mother of the Year Award

Cameron spent the second half of his Easter break attending a multi-sports camp with his friend, Sebastian. I wanted to send Cameron to a camp for a couple reasons. First, I thought he would really enjoy running around and playing with kids all day. Second, the camp was all in Flemish, so I thought it would be a good chance for Cameron to work on his Flemish through immersion.

First day of camp

One of the reasons I wanted to send Cameron with Sebastian is because Sebastian speaks both Flemish and English and I thought that would help Cameron feel more comfortable. However, after the first day, Sebastian told his parents that he didn't have to help Cameron because Cameron already speaks Flemish! We were pleasantly surprised to hear that because he won't speak Flemish with us very often.

Waiting for camp to start

So the "mother of the year" part of the story…Cameron came home from camp on the second day very upset and told that the last two days he had gone to his lunch box for his second snack and there wasn't anything in there for him. I questioned him a little because he tells me "stories" sometimes, and it appeared to me from the camp paperwork that there was only one snack a day. I decided to send an extra snack with him the next day just to make sure he had something. I asked Sebastian's mom about the snacks when we arrived and she confirmed that there were indeed two snacks a day! So for two days, while all the other children went to have a snack in the afternoon, Cameron had nothing, nada, zilch!!! I felt sooooo bad about it I almost cried! Thankfully he told me about it so I could remedy the situation for the rest of the week. And, I'm pretty sure he still loves me! :)

Runny, spinning, and having fun!

I'm so glad Cameron was able to attend this camp. He was nervous to begin with, but by the end of the week, he told me that he really liked the camp, his new friends, and his teachers and wanted to go again! And since then, I have heard some new Flemish words come out of his mouth. All in all, I would say it was a success!

Trip to Tenerife, Spain

We just got back from a week long family vacation to the Canary Islands…Tenerife to be exact. Cameron has two weeks off (last week and this week) from school for Easter holidays, so we decided that we would take a trip south to get some much needed warmth and sunshine. The Canary Islands are actually situated just off the west coast of Africa (I didn't know that prior to our trip). Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands and formed by the third largest volcano in the world, El Teide. This trip was great for many reason. First, it was warm and sunny every day. Second, we were able to do both a lot of relaxing and fun activities with the boys. Aside from having to take Harrison to the doctor, we had a great time playing at the beach, eating delicious spanish food, and enjoying fun outings. 

After a five hour plane ride, we finally caught a glimpse of Tenerife from above!

We stayed in a town called Costa Adeje, just a short 15 minute drive from the airport.

We decided to rent a condo instead of staying at a resort or hotel, so we found a little place five minutes away from the beach. 

Outside the condo complex

A little terrace outside with a grill, lawn chairs, and a table and chairs. The boys loved this area!

You can see the beach from out back terrace

 Pool fun: There was a pool at the condo complex which was supposed to be heated, but it was FREEZING, so we didn't get a chance to enjoy it as much as we would have liked. But the boys made the most of the opportunity to be around the water.

All ready for the pool!

Beach Fun: As an addition to the many things we've had to adjust to in Europe, we can now add lack of clothing on the beach to the list. Despite this discovery, we still had lots of fun playing in the sand and the waves.

Ride on the Yellow Submarine: We got to see lots of fish, big and small sting rays, sea urchins, and sunken boats.

Boarding the submarine

Beautiful stingray

Fish galore

A diver came around the submarine and played with the stingrays 

Baby stingrays

Submarine selfie!

Sea urchins

Climbing out after our ride

Cameron was very proud of his dive certificate

El Teide Volcano: Like I mentioned before, El Teide is the third largest volcano in the world and is still considered an active volcano. It last erupted in 1909. We planned to drive to the highest point allowed, approximately 6,263 feet above sea level, and then take cable cars to the peak. However, it was too windy to take the cable cars, so we just enjoyed the views and amazing scenery.

Tiny little town we drove through the reach the top

Heading up

Cole would want me to point out that we passed members of team Sky cycling up the volcano

El Teide in the background

Path to the top

Wishing the cable cars were working

Beautiful landscape 

Enjoying a snack while looking over the volcano

One of the other Canary Islands

The moon was visible just to the left of the peak of the volcano 

Cole would also want me to point out that we passed team Astana on the way back down.

 Whale watching: We took a two hour boat tour and were able to see many dolphins (atlantic spotted and bottle nose,) short finned pilot whales, and and even some huge bright whales!

These pictures were taken when we boarded…of course Harrison would not look at the camera!

Huge bright whale!

 Delicious food, family, and sunsets

We ate at a restaurant called Carlos one night for dinner. We sat outside and enjoyed the nice breeze and good food.

Bruschetta, spring rolls, potato skins spanish style, halibut, peaches stuffed with chicken and cheese

 We also ate at a restaurant called Resturante Sebastian.

Stuffed chicken, chorizo, pear and parmesan ravioli, beef and potato stew, bruschetta, apple strudel, and creme brûlée

A little family photo shoot

Dancing to some street music

Beautiful sunset!

Hasta Luego Tenerife!!