Espana!

 We flew from Phoenix to London on a red eye and M managed to have a blow out before we even officially took off. No worries though, that's why I packed a change of clothes for him. The kids were great and slept more of the flight. J enjoyed watching all the movies she felt like until she passed out around midnight. Husband and I were even able to sleep some too. Near the end of the flight, M had yet another poop blow out so he rocked out in just a diaper. The plane was stuck at the gate for over an hour because there was a plane waiting for a tug or something. This was the only time M really fussed much and no real screaming. Unfortunately, the delay made us miss our connection in Barcelona. We made our way down to the booking desk and  suffered some stares from some Scandinavians most likely criticizing our mostly naked baby. I was going to put him in something of J's as soon as we had a minute. The British Airways folks offered him an adult tshirt, but we declined. At this point, J decides to mutiny and runs off, chased by Husband. I would much rather the kids be rough in the airport than on the plane so it too big a deal. It did make me wish I understood Norwegian though :)

They offered to put us in a hotel or try and get us on the next flight to Barcelona, boarding in 30 minutes. They said we could probably make it if we hurried and might even make our second connection to Malaga. We decided to go for it, and I was irritated we had to go through security a 2nd time. I had to throw out my $5 airport bottle of Fiji water. And drain all of J's camelbak. And test the bottle of formula we had made. In the US they put it in a scanner. In London I had to drink some. Bleck.  The experience wasn't as rough as it sounds though since everyone was very kind and super accommodating to families.

We made our gate just in time for boarding. J was happily entertained by birthday party presents I had hid away. I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was when she remembered and asked for each specific one. 3 cheers to my aunt Chris who gave her the most perfect collection of airplane entertainment. The Pez alone bought us a half hour. We had an uneventful flight into Barcelona, had to go through security AGAIN, and had some trouble with two of the boarding passes. Thankfully we were able to pull up the itinerary on my phone to appease the security folks, then ignored the instructions to go to the ticket counter and headed straight to the gate. We were so tight on time that if the gate people couldn't fix the problem, we'd have to go to the counter anyways since the flight would have left. We made it to the gate right as the end of the line was boarding. An easy one hour flight later and we made it to Malaga.

Unfortunately, only one of our four checked pieces of luggage made it. Since my bro-in-law had recently been peed on at the airport, we packed full changes of clothes in our carry-ons as a precaution so no luggage wasn't a big deal. The second bag was delivered to us the next day. The booster came the day after, and the car seat a day after that. My parents found car seat at the mission home and brought it with them to pick us up so it really wasn't too much trouble.

My parents live in a city called Fuengirola, about 20 minutes from Malaga. It is pretty much the San Diego of Spain, only better since it is on the Mediterranean. Their piso or apartment, is a 7 minute walk from the beach.

We grabbed some kabobs (they wrap them in a tortilla instead of a pita) and headed to the beach.

J had a pizza that wasn't that great. They had a sour cheese on it instead of our standard mozarella.

M fell asleep so he isn't in many pictures.

They had several fun playgrounds on the beach and J had earned some time to do just what she felt like doing. I think it's important to schedule time for that when you travel with kids.

They had the most interesting fitness equipment.

"Look! A shell for M!" (He managed to find it 3 days later and almost choked on it. I thought it was cute that she wanted a little shell for her brother after finding one for herself)

A little farther down they had this boat playground and a gorgeous sand sculpture.

Pop Pop is so much fun and played with her.

I had to laugh at this shop name.

They also have the most beautiful fruit stands on the corners. We bought a persimmon and a cherimoya since I hadn't had them before. My mum said they call the cherimoya a custard apple and it does have flan like texture. The persimmon was like an apple crossed with an orange. J and I enjoyed both of them.