The Cronicles of Tapa...the cat.

OK Cat lovers of the world explain this....we're going on vacation and wanted to board our cat, but they wouldn't take her unless she used a litter box. (currently she uses the great out of doors to do her business) so for the past month and a half we've been trying to train her. i've been scouring the internet for tricks and tips with no success. i even resorted to cruelty and locked her in my bedroom for a good day and a half in hopes she'd resort to the box...no dice, all i got was a very stressed out kitty who had to go potty.

i'm getting off track, back to my story. we found someone willing to take care of her while we're gone. today i decided i was over the litter box. she obviously wasn't interested and no amount of coaxing was helping. so after i got home from picking up the kids from school i went back to my room and put the brand new box of litter and all the liners in a garbage bag. i walked over to my neighbors house and offered up the fruits of my failure. i returned home and was on my way to dispose of the unused litter in the box and be done with it. i decided to open up the windows to let in some fresh air, and in jumps Tapa (the cat) through my bedroom window. She walked straight over to the litter box......and went potty!!!!! WHAT IS UP WITH THAT!! I just stood there like an idiot, frozen with my jaw hanging open, she's completely nutz!

Rota Lacrosse Club

For the end of the season social, Luke's lacrosse club invited the college players down from Sevilla.  It was such a fun afternoon for the boys.  The luke started playing lacrosse just a few months ago and he loves it.  We'll be continuing it in the fall and look forward to many more exciting games in our future!

Luke's pals, Charlie & DP

El Bucarito Goat Farm

We went with a group of friends from Trent's work over to a local goat farm called El Bucarito.  They produce cheese, cheese and more cheese!!  They also produce ham, but the cheese was the star of the show.

After a quick traditional breakfast of tostada y tomate y queso (toast, tomato and cheese)...secondsies for us!  We donned our protective gear and enjoyed a tour of the factory before making our own cheese.

After the "sanitary" portion of the tour, we headed outside to see the animals.

time to eat!

CeCe loved the baby goats, we had to drag her away or she'd have stayed there all day!

the billy goats have their own pen b/c they have testosterone issues...this one was trying to stake his claim on being king of the pen!

only a mother could love that face!  we enjoyed staring at the pigs while holding our noses.  they sure do stink!

this was my favorite little girl.  i could tell she wanted me to reach out and give her a little love!

again with the baby animals....had to drag her away from the piglets too.  i swear this girl is either going to be a zoologist, veterinarian or farmer's wife...time will tell!

trip trap, trip trap....another pic of the billy goats gruff!

this is the largest pig i've ever seen.  it was also the stinkiest space i've ever been in.  it was a moment of firsts for me.  the kids barely made it through the stench.

About 10 years ago the owners dabbled in falconry.  They liked it so much that they began training and raising young birds.  Now they have a well known training facility as a side business.  We were treated to an exhibition of their skills and the kids were able to hold them.  Very, very cool and memorable experience.

After the bird show we were treated to a light lunch of....you guessed it, cheese!  We sampled all the different cheeses they produce as well as types of ham.  It was really fun and most of all YUMMY! 

here we are with the owner

oh yes, they also have a bunch of cute donkeys!  they're so adorable, i have a sweet spot for them!

The Canary Island of Tenerife - Day 3

Today is our last day, sad!  We were going to go check out another beach and try to see some rock pyramids, but the island was just too busy for Carnival so we decided to go to another animal park that specialized in birds of prey.

The Jungle Park wasn't as impressive as the Loro Parque, but we still had a fun day. 

We saw....

Vultures

The birds of prey show was pretty awesome.  We had front row seats with birds flying right over our heads.  I mean that literally, like you could feel the wind as they passed...a few people even had to duck or get hit!  The kids thought it was very cool!

View out to sea.

I loved this sleepy lion.  We ate lunch just above his enclosure and could hear him roaring, but by the time we'd finished and gotten down to see him he was out like a light.