handsful

As I mentioned a while back, we hosted a Spanish exchange student for the month of July. We tried to provide a fun time for Hayde’, with lots of American experiences.

Her month is over now, as she left to return back to Valladolid, Spain on July 26th. We will miss her!

Here is her time with us, in pictures…

First picture of her, as we met her at the airport. She seemed very tired, and also ended up getting sick because she said the airplane food was no good! (She made sure to make a sandwich for the flight home)

The big kids were still on tour with their Testify choir, so it was just us and the littles at first. We went to a museum downtown and let the kids (and us) play.

jellyfish!

A lesson in the pulley system :)

We joined the other students and host families to watch the EuroCup, where Spain and Italy were in the championship game. Spain kicked some Italian booty and won easily!

With the big kids home, we quickly introduced her to the lake. During her time with us, we went boating about 4-5 times. I lost count. I think the lake was her favorite thing.

Abbey and Hayde’ realized they both love volleyball and, despite the incredible heat, went out for a short volley.

Soon after this, it was the birthday weekend frenzy where she went roller skating with the big kids and joined the teens for party food and a movie.

The kids played Scene-It…Abbey gets a little competitive with this game. (Is anyone surprised at this?) I think Hayde’ enjoyed watching her as much as playing the game itself.

More boating. Hayde’ LOVED tubing and decided this day to try kneeboarding. She got up on her first try.

Lainey and Dylan LOVED having Hayde’ around, and she was always extremely sweet and gracious with them. I reminded her more than once that she could say “no” to their requests for playing, holding them, etc. She would usually just smile or laugh at me :)

We took her to a certain restaurant (rocking chairs on the front porch, checker tables, gift shop…) to introduce her to southern food. As hard as we tried, she still declared on the day she left “Spanish food is better”. Ha!

While Hayde’ was here, Randy’s brother Tony, his wife Dee Dee, their 6 kids, and their dog came for a weekend visit. It was a full house…

Samara gave them a little makeover and hair session.

A kid pile-up!

We quickly realized (and her dad confirmed for us on Facebook!) that Hayde’ could shop with the best of them. She had a long list of things to buy for herself, her family, and friends. I think she loved every minute of it.

One day, Hayde’ informed me that she wanted to make a traditional Spanish dish for us. I was thrilled, and the girls jumped in to help. I don’t recall the Spanish words, but it translates into “Potato Tortilla”. It reminded us of an omelet with potatoes, but creamy and delicious! I’m hoping I can somehow copy it, but I need to find out the ratio of eggs and potatoes. Marley helped her to turn them on the stove, which was very precarious!!

Oh, I wish we still had them…(and, yes, those are tomatoes and corn from our garden!)

It’s not a great shot, I only had my phone camera…but, this shows the 3rd water sport that Hayde’ tried and succeeded in. She’s a natural in water sports :)

Another shopping trip, this time the outlet malls. Abbey tagged along, too.

More shopping, but this time just playing around. Lainey and Hayde’ share the same taste in shoes! She did spend this trip grabbing up some American foods/snacks that she’s learned she likes. Mac n’ cheese, rice crispy treats, and veggie straws to name a few!

Since we’re only about an hour from mountains, we had to give Hayde’ that experience. She did some exploring, we visited an old general store that sells candies by the barrel, and then attempted (again) to turn her into a southerner by eating at the Daniel Boone Inn. I think I’m still full from that dinner.

I’ll be adding the rest of the mountain pics in a separate post later on ;)

On her last night, we asked her what kind of food she’d like for dinner. She chose Mexican, so we took her to one of our fav places, Sauza’s.

And, then it was time to take her to the airport. One more errand beforehand…she wanted an American flag to take back and we found a beautiful one. Then, we all climbed in the van to wish her farewell. Not goodbye, because we’re hoping she can come back next summer :)

Our month with Hayde’ was fabulous, and we hope she can look back on her month and smile, remembering the fun we had.