Las Flores de Primavera

So I decided since the weather was so beautiful to venture out with Takoda. (Sultan stayed home and lounged on the couch with his daddy.) Since Spring officially kicked into gear, the wild flowers have just been getting bigger and brighter. I decided that before we headed to the beach, I would make a pit stop at the small pine forest RIGHT on the base and take some pictures of the different types of Spring wildflowers we have here in Spain. Here were a few of my favorites. Hope you are able to enjoy them as much as we did. :)

POD "These Directions Suck"

It took about 2 hours, but Matt (with a little help from me) finally got the swing put together! It wouldn't have taken so long, but there were multiple occasions when things had to be taken APART again and re-put together. You see, the directions NEGLECTED to inform you that once you finally screwed everything into place... you BETTER have 2 holes facing outward. Yeah, about 3 steps later, you discovered that you needed 2 holes facing outward... only to look and see that you put them inward. I think I heard on multiple occasions "These directions suck" or "aren't those directions just horrible?!" He's right. They were pretty bad. Regardless... Saturday project... CHECK. It was all worth it when we could finally kick back and enjoy it :)

Seabee Ball 2010... just different.

Last night was the Seabee Ball. It was our first ball here in Spain, and I just couldn't get over how different this ball felt. I couldn't believe it was March, and I was wearing a sleeveless dress outside in a courtyard at 6pm sipping on Manzanilla (type of sherry made about 20 minutes from us in Sanlucar). I LOVED our seabee balls in Great Lakes, but March in Northern Illinois (on the water) is a bit nippy! I will admit it was also wonderful to be able to catch a bus to/from the ball so that no one had to worry about driving. By the way, have you ever noticed how BOUNCY bus driver seats are? I have a tendency to get sick on buses, but that was only exacerbated when I found myself sitting directly behind the driver watching his seat bounce up and down... up and down. Thank goodness for a short ride. No but seriously, how much MORE fun would buses be if we all had bouncy seats?!

Okay back to the ball. It was a wonderful night. The moment we entered the courtyard there were servers just waiting to greet us and hand us a drink (see picture). Great food. Matt, as usual chose my dinner selection (pork... the Spanish love pig) and it was excellent. (Thank you for not picking fish babes.) I told another person at our dinner table last night JUST how different this ball was than the balls at Great Lakes. There were probably 100 SEABEES at this ball! All jumping around and singing and cheering. Whoda thunk it! Seabees at a seabee ball!
I'm joking around, but what I truly realized last night is that no matter where you go or what you do... things are going to be different. Shakespeare said "All the world's a stage..." Sometimes if you take just one actor, or one prop, or one piece of the set and change it, you have a WHOLE new play. You can never expect it to be the same, so don't be let down when it's not. People have a tendency to view different as either BAD different or GOOD different. But, if you are open minded, accepting and willing to try new things... it doesn't have to be either. It can just be... different. So enjoy your experiences the first time around. Because that EXACT experience can never be replicated. :)

POD "na,na,na,na BATMAN"

Easily the Spain photo of the day. Without question. Look at this sweet beauty I spotted RIGHT here on base while jogging through the neighborhood. The best part of this story is that I've seen this hotrod before, but by the time I ran home, grabbed my camera and drove back... it had mysteriously disappeared. I guess that's just how Batman rolls. Spotted it yesterday, went BACK with the camera and before I could get a shot... MY BATTERIES DIED! So i'm diving into my purse praying I have a spare set in there. Meanwhile, i'm also hoping that whoever owns this beaut, doesn't come out of the house and catch me idling mid road in front of their sweet rig. Got a few pics :)
FINALLY.

POD "The Headless Tree"

So we live on a cliff here, and there is a beautiful view of the bay, with the exception of the normal wire fence and now the additional construction fences. The wire fences (overall) are there to protect us all from falling OFF the cliff, so that I will let slide. What I was NOT a fan of was this DEAD, headless palm tree that was marring the view! It's dead! Cut it down people! This was my view until TODAY, when everything changed. I was taking Takoda for a morning stroll because I needed to get him pooped out so that I could get ready for the ball. (Sultan is still not quite ready for post surgery walks). Well, from afar, I spotted the hideous palm... but something about it looked different today! Looky what I saw! Do you think they are building a nest there? Have they lived there before? What an amazing lookout for them! RIGHT on the edge of the cliff where they've got this fantastic uninterrupted view. SO I quietly walk past with Takoda, get him home and then QUICKLY drive back with my car praying they'll still be there so I can get my Spain photo of the day. I could get used to watching these guys. OKAY so the headless tree can stay.

POD "Gravity at its Finest"

Haha. Matt came up with the title of today's POD. Walked in and found this interesting creature hanging off the side of our couch. Thank goodness, we've equipped ourselves with couch covers for situations precisely like this.
Gravity at it's finest, right? Can you tell he lives a rough life now that he's here in the Thomsen household? Nice tongue.

POD "Fork Over the Drugs"

Poor Sultan boy got back from the vet last night. He had his special de-manning surgery. He's on pain meds and feeling much better today. Even tried a little gentle play with the Koda monster this morning. This picture was taken this morning after breakfast. Note that he has slowly pulled his leg bandage down around his foot. :) Matt and I left it on last night figuring with that on his leg, he'd be distracted and more inclined to pull and tug at that... rather than the surgical site. We were right. :) Thought this picture was funny because he looks drugged... and yet... this is how he always looks. Sort of like Eeyore, right? Good 'ol Sultan.

POD "Smelly Spring"

Happy first day of Spring! It's FINALLY here and the weather has REALLY turned around. About 15 days ago it stopped raining and it hasn't rained SINCE! I know what you're thinking. Smelly spring. Where I come from, spring smells like mud and dog poop. Well, let me tell you, spring smells FABULOUS HERE. No really! Hard to believe right? As proof, I will list some of the various scents I have excitedly sniffed thus far:

1. The smell of this beautiful flower, along with many others that are now beginning to bloom
2. With the good weather comes grilling season, and that means every evening around 6pm, the neighborhood fills with a smokey, amazing deliciousness I'm not used to smelling until June!
3. The scent of the ocean air is stronger than ever and it now dances with the coconut-y scent of suntan lotion.
4. The mouth watering aromas are floating out of open restaurant doors onto busy streets, welcoming you inside.

Ahhhhhh. It's like summer, only not so deathly hot. Oh... annnnnnnd it's in March. :)

POD "Lazy Saturday"

Woke up, and brought both the puppies and some coffee to the beach. The boys are always VERY excited to have Daddy along, because that means they'll get less walking and more fun-time with the ball. "OH BOY! A BALL! OH boy, oh boy a ball! Please master, throw it to me. Yes, I would so very much love to have the ball!" If you haven't seen the movie UP, you need to in order to understand why this is funny. :)
There may be lots of PODs (photos of the day) being taken at the beach for the next couple weeks. We have to spend as much time as possible there with the pups before tourist season kicks in. After the people arrive, they won't be able to go. :( That's when, of course, we'll be investing in a kiddie pool.

POD "WTF"

So it's Tuesday morning, and I decide to take the pups to the beach nice and early while the tide is low and before the people start to arrive. Well, through the morning mist and fog I spot... JESUS. YES, JESUS was out walking on the ocean. I zoomed in with my camera and took like 8 different pictures trying to figure out WHAT the heck this guy was doing. Rowing? Walking on water? All of a sudden, he catches a small wave. Hahaha. Too funny. Someone should tell that guy that if he swam on his board he wouldn't have to bring a paddle.

POD "Hairy St. Patrick's Day"

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Well, while you were enjoying your corned beef, cabbage and green beer, I was combing my dog. And combing. And combing. Sultan is a MACHINE shedding right now. Look at the pile. I must add that a few days after this picture was taken, I combed him again ... and threw away the SAME amount of hair that day too. AYE!

POD "Just Watchin the Game"

A couple Sunday mornings ago, Matt and I took a nice walk on the Rota Promenade (walk way near the beautiful beach). It was the first NICE weekend of the year so the beach was VERY busy. Thus, the pups had to stay on leashes. At the end of the promenade is a lovely little pine forest with wooden walkways. We ventured off the side of one of the walkways when Matt heard one of his favorite noises: a whistle. Why a whistle? Only because that meant a Sunday SOCCER match was going on nearby! Well it didn't take too much searching to find the game. We sat on a hill under the pines and watched the kids play a full half. Koda liked watching the ball go back and forth. Sultan, on the other hand preferred digging in the dirt. :)

POD "Rondevous in Ronda"

The gates of heaven? No, but you might feel a little closer when you visit Ronda, Spain. Wow, what a gorgeous town.

POD "The Knees Aren't Pleased"

This morning... was not a good morning. In case you can't tell this is my knee. Yeah, so ... allow me to explain. I have been attempting to walk BOTH dogs at the same time. Sounds easy right? Yeah? Do you have a "special" dog? No? Well then you have NO idea. Anyway, they have been doing very well walking together, and I have been trying to push it a little, so occasionally I do a small stretch of jogging. Sultan can't usually keep up all that well, but he is learning and slowly getting better. Allow me to also explain that Sultan has THREE speeds. Deathly slow (This is his usual toe-nail dragging stroll), a nice trot, and his wild deer leaps (over which he has NO control. Yes, I know. Normally that WOULD be funny). Well, typically when I jog, Sultan maintains a nice trot and does a great job staying in line. On THIS particular morning... not so much. Sultan either a) had a random burst of energy b) saw a bird in the sky that he apparently thought he could catch or c) is just an idiot and commenced the uncontrollable deer leaps MID run. Before I could even utter the word "NO" he lept (happily) in front of me, yelped and went flying, and I found myself on the ground with THESE knees. What a way to start a morning right?

POD "Good to know!"

Found another sweet entrance to the beach! This is all good to know, because when the tourists get here and start taking up all the parking spots... I will have other options. OH, ps. This is also where Takoda decided he would take off after poor Mr. Spanish poodle. We WILL return... but the Koda monster will remain on a leash until we hit the sand! No more chasing innocent Spanish bystanders through the streets.

POD "Pooped Puppies"

I took the dogs for a LONG walk and really pooped them out. Just look! They are snug as bugs in a rug! ;)

POD "A Sign of Spring?"

When I woke up one morning to THIS out my back door, I KNEW we were almost through with the rainy season. YAY for spring!!!

POD "The Sunshine Showdown"

These two are JUST as happy as I am to have good weather. So happy they are willing to have a showdown for the flower.

POD "Happy Boys"

Just a snap of two smiling, happy boys enjoying a bit of sunshine. I know what they are thinking. FINALLY! Good weather!

POD "Cafe con Leche"

Took a little time for me. Mmmmmmmm it was a nice afternoon, so I opted for a pastry and cafe con leche. I must say, the pastry was de-lish! Just a hint of fresh coconut. Yummo.