Rocking Your World 2018; Week 32

Hi folks. Sorry I was missing last week. I had every intention of posting as usual, but I was having a good time with our visitors and simply forgot what day it was! But I'm back today, looking back on those very good times.

Because we have several lots of visitors coming this summer, we decided we needed to replace a couple of our loungers for the patio. So the day before they arrived, I bought one to try it. (We are pleased with it, so yesterday we went and bought a second one.) It came in a huge cardboard box. I pulled it out and took it outside to open up, and when I came back in, I found my lovely Tango had taken over the box! They just can't resist a box, however bad a 'fit' it is.

Fortunately all our visitors this year have managed to get flights into Almeria rather than Murcia, which is only a 40min drive from us - much better than the 1hr 20mins to Murcia. So on Wednesday morning we set off early as this lovely pair and their two boys, were due in at 9.30. They were delayed a bit but not too much.

This is my beautiful granddaughter Emma, and her husband John. I minded Emma for the first eight or more years of her life, and it was lovely to see her with her own little family. She always was, and still is a natural mum, looking after her younger brother as a child, and now with her own two.

The boys don't know us very well, and were a bit shy at first, but they were soon posing for us. Emma had sensibly bought them special swimming tops and shorts, so neither got sunburned, and they were happy to show off their new clothes.

Of course they were eager to jump in the pool. Isaac who is 7 this month, is already a good swimmer, though his main love (dare I say obsession) is football, and it wasn't long before little Alfie, who is 3½, did his first strokes without his armbands. 

The four of them, mum, dad, and the boys, spent hours in the pool and it was so good to see them having such a good family fun time together.

One day we went up to the big public pool at the top of the village. It was busier than when I went with Jonathan and Ella last month, but still not at all crowded, and we had a lovely time there. It amazes me how long little ones can keep going. I gave up long before they did, but eventually they had to get out, and they looked so cute sitting chatting together.

One day I went to the water park at Vera with them. We knew Alfie would be too small for the big slides, but we were hoping Isaac would get on some of them. Unfortunately he was still just 1cm to small, but it really didn't matter as they had such a good time in the children's pool. They must have come down this yellow slide and curved red and green ones on either side, at least a hundred times.

There were not too many steps to get up to them, but even so I was worn out just watching them! We managed to secure some loungers just near this pool so I kept an eye on them while Emma and John went off to try the bigger features. Then we all went into the wave pool. It is good to see the little ones so confident in the water already. Their year of swimming lessons has definitely paid off.

I also went to the beach with them one day, and then they went on their own a couple of times. We had to go down as early as possible to find a parking space, and came home at lunch time as the afternoons were too hot for the beach. The sand was scorching but the water was lovely. The children were equally at home in the sea. The first visit the waves were too rough for them, but the next time it was better and they had such a good time. Alfie thought he was afraid of the waves and would only sit on the sand and dig at first, but once we enticed him in  at the edge there was no stopping him.

We have known for a while that at the far end of Mojacar beach there is an Italian ice-cream parlour, but we had never been there. Somewhat bizarrely, their opening hours are from 4 in the afternoon until 2 the next morning! 

So one day, we had a quiet morning, and towards evening we drove down to the sea. We parked up and for the first time all holiday, we sat Alfie in his buggy to walk along the promenade to find the ice-cream shop. Of course he fell asleep, so he is looking a little confused to be woken up and find an ice-cream mouse on the table in front of him. Needless to say, once he was properly awake, the mouse had a short life!

We all had something special. Mine was a delicious concoction of caramel ice-cream on a sponge soaked in Baileys, with a butterscotch sauce. Very naughty but very nice! 

John's was rather clever. He chose 'steak and chips' which turned out to be a big slab of chocolate ice-cream, whipped cream and apricot halves for the eggs,

and chips made from slices of banana with strawberry sauce drizzled on them. It really looked very convincing.

On their last day we went up to Mojacar Pueblo, the little white village above the beach. I like going up there. It is a maze of narrow, hilly streets with loads of little shops overflowing with nick-nacks, and ideas for gifts to take home. It is very geared up for the tourist trade, and I would not choose to live up there, but it is lovely to visit. In several places, the narrow lanes had bougainvillea growing right across them, often clinging to the many electricity cables that try to spoil the view. This one had such pretty pink flowers, so I got Emma to pose under it for this picture.
Although Alfie sometimes had a little nap at siesta time, Isaac had limitless energy, and he found it difficult to settle down. But we wanted to go out again that evening so we bribed them by saying if they had a chill-out time, we would then go out for dinner down by the beach and they could have a late night swim in the pool before bed.
They are both active little boys so they don't spend too much time on 'technical toys', but when a spell of rest is required, the tablet came in handy and they did both sit quietly for a while. What strange positions they make themselves comfy in! But it must have been comfortable enough, as he stayed there for quite a while.  This one shows how at ease they were with the animals, especially our big boy Kim, and how at ease he was with them.

Eventually we set off to find dinner at one of our favourite beach bars. It was still light when we got there, so we managed to take a few photos. I snuck in on a family group and then we got one of Emma with both her Grandma and Grandpa, which doesn't often happen as I am usually the one holding the camera!

And finally we took one of two lovely sun-kissed boys who had had a great holiday. Everyone went home with a lovely tan and no sunburn, which was good, and I think they had all had a really happy, relaxed week. I was sad to say Good-bye to these two smilers, but I am sure they will come again one day.

And yes, they did get one late night swim. As they stepped into the pool just at dusk, I turned on the under water light and little Alfie said, "Oooh. That's cool!" They had to pack some damp swimmers for the journey home, but it was worth it to give them such a fun last night.

So Wednesday it was off to the airport to see them safely away. I have had a couple of busy days replenishing the fridge and cupboards, and washing all the bed linen and towels. The beds are now remade, the cupboards are restocked and we are ready for the next set of visitors who arrive on Sunday morning. We take them back the following Sunday and at the same time collect son number three who is coming for two weeks. So I can't say whether or not I will post again for a while, but I'll do my best to pop in. Now I will link up with Annie's Friday Smiles and Rocking Your World, and them maybe have a wee siesta!