Kiley indulgence

if you are sick of hearing about my children avoid this post! I am just so amazed at Kiley's experience, it is just a once in a lifetime opportunity(she seems to get a lot of those though). she was gone this whole week with her group and  proffessor and had to have seen most of spain but really didn't. she said they are getting very spoiled because things are starting to look the same and they are like yeah yeah a cathedral. i understand because it is kind of like that in hawaii you feel like it all starts to look the same but the reality is the beauty is there and in your perception. she really does appreciate the places she has gotten to go though. it is very tiring but in a good way. she takes amazing pictures and tries to choose through them and post some on her blog, her latest post is so beautiful. she said she took 200 pictures on this trip. that is hard to sort through. i can't wait to see them all in person, that is going to be one large photo album! she is having a great experience. she has had 2 scary experiences which really scares me but i know she is a strong girl and will be o.k. i just told her she has to be more aggresive with these creepy guys to get away. i told her i want her to buy pepper spray and show it every time someone bugs her and spray them if they don't listen! don't touch my baby!

otherwise things are good, she is eating a lot of gelato especially when they don't have good food but i am happy she might put a little weight on. i always think of todd beamer from 9-11 they had been in Europe and he was going to start a diet when he got home but was splurging on gelato while he was there and then he died a few days after their trip on the flights on 9-11. he is my hero first of all and second of all we must enjoy the small things in life(in moderation) because we never know. check out kiley's post, it is amazing! (i need a thesauraus for more amazing words)

little bit of heartache

Kiley, Spain 2009

So kiley has been gone for about a month and i have really done pretty well. we get to talk by skype on the computer every sunday and i get to see her and talk with her about a half hour a week so it's not bad but it's just not the same as her being in laie, chatting with her daily  and seeing her weekly or running out to her work to have lunch with her or taking groceries to her house for her and her friends. i really miss her and right now i can't imagine her being gone 3 more months but i know it will go really fast. i am glad she is there, it is an amazing experience and she is getting a valuable education of the world. She is learning to appreciate a lot of things. her family doesn't have a dryer and in the winter it is taking forever for her jeans to dry so she is really appreciating the conviences she has at home, even in her little house in laie. she has to shower at night since they wouldn't have enough hot water for the family in the morning. we are so lucky! she has expressed much love for matt and i which i truly appreciate but she makes me cry.  you don't know what you have until it's not there for you. in so many respects.

she is an independent, adventurous girl and will probably not stay long once she gets home but i know she will always return. in the mean time i just pray for her safety and try and hold in my tears ;)

Update on Kiley

Kiley has been in spain about a month now, she is adjusted and loving it. she has had a little bit of a hard time with the food especially since she is trying not to eat gluten but she did some research on line and found some places to buy gluten free food and she was so happy. she went to a store that had tons and tons of food for her and pastries and cookies. she said it was very differerent than what we have in america and that it is good food. i am just glad she is eating!

she has been having a problem with her foot and i told her she should have taken some running shoes with her, she said she could never wear running shoes in spain. everyone wears boots and dresses up and she said she has to always match!  everyone is very fashionable! 

she has done a lot of traveling and will be very busy this week with 2 trips and 2 tests. she is trying to keep up with  posting on her blog but has a lot going on so i am just happy she is posting some pictures. check it out. she got to go to see the temple which was really nice for her to be there. the time is going so fast...

Spain post

New pictures: i haven't been on in a little bit but i was happy to see Ki post some more pictures, she was thin when she left and i was hoping they would fatten her up a little but judging by what they are feeding her that is not going to happen! poor thing and she can't even eat the fresh loaves of french bread they have each meal to fill up on!

she is doing well and enjoying it, things are just so different she is really appreciating home. they have to shower at night since there would not be enough hot water for the 4 people showering in the morning and she is very cold, even her classes at the university are cold. they say feb. will be better so she is hoping for some warmer temperatures.

Kiley posted her first pictures on her blog, i was so excited to see them. her day is our night and reverse so it is a little tricky catching each other so we haven't talked yet but she has sent a few e-mails, she has internet but i think it is a little touch and go so not always reliable. i really miss her already but i know it is going to be a life changing experience. it looks so beautiful there. check it out. link to the right.

Letter from Ki

Hola Mama
I am trying to just not eat the obvious stuff but its hard because they eat a loaf of French bread at every single meal. I just have to keep telling them I have full because they ask every time. They eat a lot of seafood and meat besides that so I should be ok for the most part. We made paiea today, I don't know how that is spelled but it was really good, rice with a lot of seafood. I didn't like all the seafood, there was muscles and clams and oysters and shrimp. Some of it was super fishy. And last night I went to the supermarket with Ana and it was the most wretched thing I have ever seen. It was a market for only fish, meat and fruit. They had a ton of butchers and the case was full dead lambs and chickens just sitting there and if you wanted a piece of lamb, they pulled out the entire thing and cut it with the biggest knife I have ever seen. And then the fish was just the whole fish sitting on ice, no case or anything so the whole place smelled bad, they had octopus, shrimp, clams and these like baracuda things with teeth. I did not enjoy watching everything get chopped up right in front of me. So I was sure that we were all going to be put with families that were members but I don't think mine is. Its weird, they have a statue of the salt lake temple in my room and a book that you can tell is LDS but then the Dad drinks a beer at dinner and the house smelled like smoke when I woke up. So I have no idea, but either way we will go to church on Sundays so it might just be with the group. After our big lunch everyone usually goes off by themselves and some sleep but not everyone. I haven't been out in town at lunchtime so I don't know if everything closes or not but they all just relax after lunch. Last night I went to bed at nine o'clock because I was so tired I finished dinner and went to sleep. But then I woke up at 2am and couldn't go back to sleep, it was only 1 in the afternoon at home. Then I finally went back to sleep at like 4 and woke up at 10:30! My body is so thrown off. We are going to pick up the girl who is going to live with me in an hour so Im happy someone else is going to be with me. Everything is good though, I just keep forgetting I am going to live here for the next 3 months, its crazy, but I am more excited today, I know once I get used to everything and school starts I will get into the groove of things. 
I love you, tell everyone I say hi.
ki ki