a few more cute ones.....

the family

the Goan´s: our extended family

she looks like a little doll!

with Wil at our 10 year reunion

Casey & Drew, Kellye & Cole

i love this face

having fun with Ricardo

a day at the park

lessons from the pro

Nikki and Sailor at Addie´s bday

splishin´& splashin

another "wink" pose

what a cute picture!

A nice long trip to Tennessee

I´m back after a nice little break to Tennessee. It went by so fast! Spending time with family and friends, celebrating Addie´s 1st Birthday, my 10 year class reunion, tailgaiting with the girls and the debut on public television! Oh- it was great to be back. I can´t wait until Christmas. It was sooo sooo great to see everyone! Here´s a little snapshot of the 2-weeks home. (more cute pictures to come....)

Kenz, Raph and Cabe met us at the airport! It was so great to finally meet him!

The Richards´ family celebrating Addie´s 1st!

with couzins Sissy and Annie- can we try to make this more often!!

Mom and I enjoying the park with Addie and Suzanne

Suprise appearance on Channel 12 Outdoors!

and Musical appearance by "Love Division"

pre-game with Rod, Suzanne and Addie- Touchdown!

"Say Cheese"- we heard you! =)

tailgating with the Adpi girls

spending a little time with little Gaines- Christy, I cannot wait!

HOT wings with the Bowman´s

my oh my I´ve missed you girls

RHS Class of 98´

Happy Birthday Addison Grace!

Happy Birthday Addie! I love this picture of you from when you were just a little bitty girl. We can´t wait to celebrate with you next weekend! Love Aunt LeeAnn and Uncle Ricky

Javi and Ani: La Boda

Last weekend was the wedding of 2 of our dearest friends here in Madrid, and the lifelong friend of Ricardo. So much fun! and such a beautiful event. Weddings in Spain are quite a bit different than back home. Since it was a catholic wedding, the ceremony lasted almost an hour. Afterwards, cocktails in the garden, a 6 course dinner, and then your typical D.J. party (but with lots of Spanish music!) Ricardo and Javi used to play in a band together and always talked about playing "live" for their weddings. Javi didn´t know, but Ricardo decided to suprise him with a special concert with all the guys from the band. It was amazing and such a special moment!

The Drive to Asturias

What a dress!

I thought these little girls were adorable!

Check out the hats! They were everywhere!

Pablo, Iratxe, Ricky, me, Alfredo, Elixabete, and Jon

An Asturias specialty, cider

The guys having a little fun

With the bride and groom

Celebrating with the Bilbao crew

The Basque Country

I love the Basque country. Yes even though it rains every time i go.... This is one of the top highlights of Spain! Hmmm I would say a combination of Spain, Switzerland, and Tennessee. It´s so very green, mountainous, and has a great local feel. Another unique thing to mention is that they have their own language (basque). It´s very different from Spanish and you can see in some of the below words. Often it gets overlooked, but since we just spent a nice 3 day weekend traveling around various cities- I thought I would pay tribute.

San Sebastian- located on the coast and known for the great beaches and cuisine or Pintxos (the basque word for Tapas).

Bilbao- and the Guggenheim Museum

Sorry- just had to throw this in here. I´m so excited for my long hair! and yes this moment was completely staged. i know that´s so unlike me. =)

Urdaibai- this is the part that reminds me most of home w/ a twist of Switzerland. You can see the mountains in the background, with a large lake in the center, but what you can´t see is that this opens up to the ocean behind me. Such an amazing, peaceful place.

Elantxobe- an old fisherman´s village. Also known for the great summer festivals.

lunch in the port of Elantxove

Each village is known for it´s summer festivals. We caught the opening night of the "Fiestas de Bilbao" and the firework show.

Plaza Santa Ana

Farewell to summer hours! For the months of July/ August we have a reduced work schedule to 3:00- today celebrates the final day. This allows the spanish people to enjoy their nice siesta´s at home. =) Last week we enjoyed an early evening in one of our favorite Madrid spots- Plaza Santa Ana.

Barcelona

A bit of a delay posting.... but 2 weeks ago Ricardo and I went to Barcelona to celebrate my birthday. Truth be told- we went to a festival in Madrid the night of my birthday to see the Sex Pistols and the Kaiser Chiefs. Though I loved seeing the Kaiser Chiefs, I had a bit of a tough time with the other. Thus we realized that a more "LeeAnn style" celebration was needed. He planned well- 2 days on the beaches of Costa Brava and one of the most fantastic dinners of my life. Good Job Ricky!

Restaurant El Xalet, Barcelona

Sitges, en la Playa

Costa Brava with Oscar and Esther