Cooper's Trip to Espana

 Cooper's Trip to Spain

Boarded on their first plane!

At JFK Airport, going through security again...

At Customs in Paris:

In Spain:

Exchanging dollars for Euros:

Waiting in the Metro:

On the Metro heading to the hostel Casa Gracia:

Casa Gracia, their hostel in Spain:

Dinner at LaColosal in Las Ramblas:

This was quite the day(s) of travel. Definitely had a few fast paced moments! Due to some very overly thorough security agents in Paris, we ran and made it to our flight to Barcelona just in time! Due to very large airports and a few missed turns by Jon, we walked a lot!!  We rode the metro, saw parts of Barcelona and of course ended with Gelato! Tomorrow is a slow morning then we will be off to see the Picasso Museum and, my favorite, La Sagrada Familia. We are tired and off to bed. Thank you for letting your “kids” come on this trip. They are incredible! They are so fun and have kept incredibly positive attitudes!  First Day in Spain, and first round of gelato:

It was tough to get up for breakfast after a long day of travel - but we are doing it! Heading to the Picasso Museum and La Sagrada Familia later today. 

At El Born CCM exploring ancient Catalonian ruins. 

Arc de Triomf on the way.

Alba, our tour guide, shared so much passion and knowledge about Gaudi, architecture, and the basillica.

Up and at 'em early this morning, day 3.  Heading to Zaragosa on the high speed train.

Enjoying some Aragonian bakeries in Zaragoza:

The Basilica de Pilar was breathtaking:

Mercado Central:

The bombs dropped in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War:

Lunch at Leone - Spanish Pizza and Tapas.  Eating croquettes!  Medeja con pimentos de padron!  We have some brave eaters!

Here we are at Aljaferia Palace:

Got haircuts!  These are some. good looking Goyas!...mind the pun!

Heading back to Barcelona after a full day!

Day 4:  We have arrived in Park Guell

At the Sant Andrue football game

We went to a Georgian restaurant tonight.  We didn't understand anything on the menu, so the owner brought us random plates of food to "try."  I counted 14 huge dishes served before she stopped.  It was delicious and we counted pronounce anything!  We tried hard to eat it all but didn't cone anywhere close!  This was a very fun experience!

Monserrat:

Celebrating Doug's Birthday

Birthday Affirmations for Doug

Nightly Gelato stop - this time at Badiani's

Lunch at Mimo's

We are here at Montjuic:

Dinner at Barcelona Steakhouse.  Francisco was the best server ever!!

Our last night of gelato:

Traveling Home from Barcelona Airport.  A long day of travel.

Tae Kwon Do Tourney

 Owen participated in his first TaeKwonDo Tournament.  He performed yellow belt form and earned a 3rd place medal.  Way to go Owen.  He shows lots of confidence and pride.  Great job!!!

Owen has moved up into Camo belt at Tae Kwon Do.  This is a big step, as he now gets to wear sparring gear, attend more skills classes and begin learning non contact sparring.  He is doing a tournament next weekend using his Yellow belt forms.  He was also named Student of the Month this month!  Way to Go Owen!!  Keep it up!

College Deep Dives

 Jaxton and I went back to visit BGSU and Purdue to do some deep dives into housing options, specific schools within the colleges and major choices.  

BGSU is such an inviting place; they are Falcons, which is fitting since Oak Farm is also Falcons.  It is very community driven, social and welcoming.  The learning communities help to create groups of friends right off the bat.  It is a beautiful campus and we were able to get our questions answered and figure out all the pieces for Jax if he were to attend there.

Purdue was a different kind of visit.  Jax was interested in exploring the business school and so we went to meet them without an appointment.  A staff member sat with us for over an hour describing the school, the professors' qualifications, the opportunities, the different major choices with class tracks and answered a lot of our questions.  Then a business school student gave us a thorough tour of the two business buildings.  It was phenomenal.  It was a sophisticated, professional, high quality experience that went a step above BGSU.  Jax was sold.  He has chosen Purdue for his fall adventures and we support him 100%.  We explored housing, and were also very impressed with the spaces. We got a full housing tour and dining plan explanation from a current student guide.  The feeling on campus was different from BGSU.  The whole place felt like it encompassed a higher caliber of students, driven for success.  The business school offered so many opportunities, including student paid researchers and data analytics tracks that sparked Jaxton's interest.  He put down his admittance $500 payment, and applied for housing.  He is going through the Purdue checklist and moving forward.  It is exciting!!

Suzuki Piano Recital

Nathan & Owen still take Suzuki piano lessons from Mary Todd.  They really are learning so much.  The respect and order with which Mary presents lessons is pretty incredible.  It empowers the kids and drives them to succeed.  She is patient, kind and asks a lot of questions during their lessons.  Since Mary no longer teaches at Oak Farm, we go to her house for lessons on Sunday afternoons.  Its often a 2 and a half to 3 hour adventure each Sunday.  She spends a lot of time with them, more than 30 minutes, and we spend time in her living room with her dog Monty.  Sometimes the kids will bring a basketball to play in her driveway, or a book, or something to do.  Its a relaxing few hours with Mary where the kids are truly learning another language.  

Pep Band & Senior Night

Pep Band at Garrett High School is always a fun time!  The basketball games are super entertaining and the band is great.  Of course we are partial to our piano player out there making music.  Garrett celebrates Seniors during basketball season also, so while I was in Utah, Nate was able to walk with Jaxton during halftime at the senior night celebration!  Congrats to our Senior!