Dirt Rain

For the second time this summer, we had an unpleasant weather phenomenon happen: dirt rain.

  Summers here are hot, somewhat humid, and pretty dry.  Yesterday began as a warm, windy day, but the later afternoon turned extremely foggy and arid.  When it started sprinkling outside, we were fooled into thinking we were getting a random summer shower, only to have the rain last a few minutes but leave lasting effects.

Also known as rain dust, it's dust (most likely from the deserts of Africa) that becomes airborn and brought back down from the atmosphere as rain.  The superfine particles of dust make everything look coated in a film of dirt, even after the water is all dried up.  Sadly, it's not just something that can be rinsed off.  You have to scrub or use a power washer to get things clean.  Our patio, even with a power washer, takes hours to clean because of the other items that get coated, like the playhouse, stationary picnic table, grill, etc.  This was not on the to-do list for this week.  Sigh.

A few of our patio chairs will need to be scrubbed down.

The entire playhouse will need to be scrubbed inside and out.  

The girls really can't play in it until this is done.

All the outdoor plants look like this.

Tile, tile, tile...thank God for the pressure washer!

I'm so thankful Noa realized what was happening this time and grabbed the clothes off the outside line!  

All Things Loved in November

It's the last day of November and instead of trying to write catch-up posts, I'm just going to do a highlight post about all the happenings this past month (it's been a busy one!).  These are all the things loved this past November:

First visitors: The grandparents came to Spain!  We were so fortunate to host Noa's parents for two whole weeks.  They helped us set up lots of Ikea furniture (I guess they like a good challenge?), played with the girls, explored new cities and towns (including Gibraltar!), and enjoyed Spanish life with us (mmm…paella!).  I hope they come back soon! We loved having them here.

Ruby turns 3!  I already posted about her birthday (see earlier post), but this was a big event in November.  We are so proud of Ruby and her birthday weekend was a really fun way to celebrate her.

Room Makeovers: We moved Mila out of her room and changed her walls from a dark, olive green to a crisp, clean white.  We also brought in a carpet and hope to get all the furniture in and some wall decor up this week.  Ruby's room is prepped and we'll be painting this week!

Family Trip to Ronda: We all piled in the car one early morning for a drive to Ronda, Spain.  This old city (founded in the 6th century BC) is probably best known for the bridge or bridges, actually, as three bridges span over a giant canyon.  Ronda is also home to the oldest known bullfighting ring.  It is a great place to walk around, take photos, and marvel at the beauty, architecture, and cultural icons of Spain.  I loved it and I know that we'll be back!

 8 month mark: Mila turned 8 months old and is on the go!  She is crawling and already pulling herself over toys (it's kind of like a cross between standing and doing a plank).  She puts everything in her mouth and can be pretty vocal at times.  We think she likes the sound of her voice.  Mila loves watching Ruby and will laugh when she does.  She is trying new foods and still trying to master a sleep schedule both day and night.  It's so fun to really see her personality emerge!  She's a very happy baby.

Other things: Ruby started riding her balance bike.  She mustered up the courage to tackle this challenge and can now walk and turn it.  The next step is to get her to sit and glide forward.  For now, we are enjoying this progress.  One step at a time...

We took the dogs to the beach for the first time during one of our family walks.  They hated the water, but loved all the new smells.  It can be challenging taking both of them at the same time, so I may alternate who I take on the walks in the future.  Here we are at "our" beach, only a 5 minute walk away!

Oh, and our friend Mandi stayed over the Thanksgiving holiday.  We love having extra doggy friends around, especially her!  She's a great dog and excellent with our dogs and kids.