Aranjuez was a complete failure.

Sigh. Clearly I have so much to catch up on. This has been my first official full week of October (which means the kids have class in the afternoons, so my days now go from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and frankly I'm surprised I didn't die of exhaust. However, this weekend is a four-day weekend (what the Spaniards call a "puente", literally "bridge") and I plan on sleeping A LOT. I have already done so. Actually, this morning I got up at 12:30 p.m., made breakfast (vanilla Special K with berries...the best cereal ever!!) got dressed, and ventured out into the pouring rain to go grocery shopping. (Actually I went to Corte Ingles, a huge department store with a grocery store inside of it, bought a bottle of dressing, and then walked around the 6 floors for awhile because it always reminds me of Christmas :) Then I went to the cheap store Dia to get veggies & milk). Got home by 3, made lunch, watched my favorite TV show Fisica o Quimica, and then somehow ended up napping around 8. Then I made a not-so-balanced dinner of PB&J, snow peas, a pear, and popcorn. OH and water. Because last Thursday I went to IKEA (I'm in love) and bought ice trays that are shaped like little fish & starfish. It makes ice so much more fun (and so much easier. Our ice trays that we bought from the chinos don't work for shit. Literally, there are currently 15 ice cubes sitting in there currently that will not come out. I banged those damned things on the counter, floor, doorway, and window. Nothing.)

I guess, basically, my point is that I didn't do anything today, and I absolutely love it. Especially because it's pouring outside. "The rain in Spain falls slowly on the plain." FALSE. Whoever said that was completely disillusioned. The rain in Spain falls at awkward angles and when it rains it does not do so slowly. It monsoons. Regardless of my umbrella, I was soaked when I got to the store. Slowly on the plain...liars!

Hmm, well let's see. Where to begin. Last Saturday I adventured to Aranjuez, a town about 45 minutes outside of Madrid that's literally in the middle of nowhere. I was hoping to find fall, and beautiful fall-y trees, but instead Kyle & Billy fought like a married couple over the topic of Billy's hair (and whether he was truly a ginger or not) and we threw Advil at an awkward fountain when we ran out of spare change (not that the fountain was running, anyways, haha...) It was kind of a failure all around but I still had a lot of fun and can't wait to go back near the end of October (because the leaves hadn't really changed yet). That weekend I also figured out how to make Cherry Coke here! (THANKS TO THE HELP OF KYLE NELSON, BECAUSE HE TOLD ME TO USE GRENADINE WITH DIET COKE...THANKS AGAIN KYLE!!!! YOU'RE A GENIUS!!) Happy Kyle? :) heh.

Here are some pictures from Aranjuez:

Well...I feel like writing anymore would be boring, plus I'm currently being terrified by Disney right now, because I'm watching Are You Afraid of the Dark all by myself...and as if the show is generally not scary enough, this episode is about a clown of some sort. I'm only continuing to watch it in the spirit of Halloween, and because I cannot watch Saw here. Any of the 6 (soon to be 7!) Enjoy the photos and I'll update soon on my last week of chaos!