Say hello to Larry the Lobster and his brother Harold!

Now get ready to say "goodbye" to Harold and Larry ("Laywee" as Eve liked to call our new "pets" live from the market)... We realize that there is a global crisis going on right now but wanted to take advantage of some of the great fresh cuisine that Barcelona is endowed with. Due to the crisis, of course, we decided that rather than go out to eat an expensive lobster we would bring the lobster home with us (we have never cooked lobster at home before, well at least not live lobster).

The day started out with a trip down to La Boqueria market where you can get just about any meat, poultry,or seafood that you have ever heard of before (and some that you've never heard of before). Tricia picked out a couple of good looking guys, large and frisky amidst the buffett of shelled creatures.

We brought them home to Club Struk where Eve played with them in the pool (sink) and then we indulged them with a few nice hot minutes in the spa! Boy, did they sure look relaxed when they were done!



We had fun disecting our new friends... Even Tricia, who did not want to play with them much while at the market, got in on the fun!

Eve too got in on the action...



Eve was especially impressed at how lobsters only need one pinky and one thumb.


Eve's reaction when we told her that dinner was her good old pal "Larry"...

When in Barcelona, do as the Barcelonians do... I think that we enjoy the clean-up at a restaurant better, though.

Chasing all the birds away...

It was another lazy day mostly spent just chasing the birds away... Mark has a much lighter load this term (final term, yay!) and so we headed down to Plaza Catalunya with some bread and just let Eve feed the birds and do some chasing...




Eve has also been busy preparing for her tryouts at the National Ballet. We are still a little unsure as to which nation she'll try out for, she hasn't quite decided yet.


Economic crisis? Come on, mom, I've heard of the paper bag princess but never the Ikea storage box one...

Family Picture

We had these taken about 2 months ago, thanks to Jan for taking such great photos. I thought I should post some, since we weren't able to send out a lot and even the ones we did send out didn't seem to all make it to their destinations. Christmas is over and we had a great time in Canada, despite the horrible weather and some unexpected traveling. We will posts pictures soon.
We are very happy to be back in the nice weather of Barcelona (it is 17C today). If it wasn't for the horrible colds Eve and Tricia have life would be lovely. Once the colds are gone, we will be enjoying the great things that Barcelona has to offer.

Eve's 2nd Birthday

This past Thursday Eve turned 2. She had a wonderful birthday party with lots of toys, friends, and sugar (the perfect combination for a fun-filled day). She very easily figured out the whole birthday routine of blowing out her candles... it took the other girls a bit more coaxing.



Eve and one of her best buddies, Ainhoa. Eve will spend the whole day calling out her name, wishing that she were with her, or crying because she isn't. They are a great pair, like a little gang, and they terrorize every other child near them with their exuberant personalities...sometimes they even scare each other.



Eve opening her first present... it took a bit for her to figure out what she was supposed to do, but once she caught on there was no stopping her.


Eve enjoying a spot of tea, she is the perfect hostess: whenever someone comes to visit she pulls out her tea set and pours them a cup.



All the ladies at the party. L-R: Scarlett, Audrey, Ainhoa, and Eve. It was a miracle they stayed still for this shot.


The party was a hit. The girls played until they were so exhausted that the only thing left for them to do was cry. Eve shed many a tears when the kids left; she still did manage to wave to them and say "good-bye". It was a pretty simple party, not much as far as themes go here... you can't really have a big cake and decorate it.... they don't sell alot of cake decorations, or decorations for birthdays in general.
We ended up blowing up a bunch of balloons and the girls spent the afternoon running after them and screaming. Audrey, the youngest by about 7 months enjoyed herself by picking up a single balloon and holding it for the rest of the night while either avoiding the screaming 2 year olds or sitting with her mom. Eve and Ainhoa ran up and down the hallway competing for the prize of loudest yeller (it was a tie). When Scarlett came they had a happy third to join them.
They had great snacks to keep the floor nice and messy: cupcakes, bananas, oranges, cheese, and veggies. It took a bit to get the cupcake off the floor (I found out it doesn't vacuum up so easily). We had a few more grown-up snacks for the adults.
That evening Eve willingly went to bed and immediately fell asleep (that always means a good day).

La Merce: Festival in Barcelona

We had such a good time at last year's festival "La Merce" that we decided to venture out into the city to see some of the parading giants. The festival is also famous for its construction of human towers (castles)... Enjoy!

Eve and Water

Eve loves water and so here are two more pictures of her playing in the wading pool at Hampstead Heath in London, a park near where we lived.

London II: Roses, Strawberris & Cream, and Wimbledon

Just thought we would post a few more pictures from our summer in London. Mark is now back at school full-time and working hard. We are trying to enjoy our last year in Barcelona but are also excited to be going back to Canada for Christmas.

We waited in line and actually ended up gaining entry into Wimbledon. Here are a few more pics of the grounds... We had to try to strawberries and cream, and we even lucked out and saw Venus Williams coming out of centre court after winning the ladies singles final.








These are the flowers at the Queen's garden in london. Amazing!