Paris!

Oh, Paris! 

 I really never had a real desire to see you.  I thought you would be just another city.  Full of crowded streets and pickpockets that would override any redeeming beauty held in the Eiffel Tower or Arc de Triomphe.  My husband, however, had a plan (because he secretly knew I would LOVE you!) He took me to Paris in March.

 The weather was chilly, but clear. There were relatively few pickpockets and scammers, and almost no crowds!  We roamed freely under the Eiffel Tower, we had our pick of seats on the bus tour, and we had no trouble getting a table in the adorable café where I learned what all the fuss about froie gras is really about! Seriously - it is FABULOUS! Who knew?

I feel so incredibly blessed by the opportunities we have had living here in Europe.  Doubly blessed to have a husband who insists we take life and live it to the fullest. Even if that means being taken to places I really didn't think I even wanted to go.

 

 At 11:00 the Eiffel Tower sparkles for about 15 minutes - one of the many surprises Paris had in store for me!

 

A little blurry, but this was the view from our hotel.  We could see the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel tower!

 Eiffel Tower and the best husband on the planet.

 Arc de Triomphe

 Some of the amazing art in the Louvre.

We saw the Mona Lisa, the Venus de Milo and countless other works of art. Winged Victory was our favorite.

 

 Sweetheart, he has absolutely nothing on you! (;

 Notre Dame

 Views from the bus tour

 A tired me on our evening boat tour of the Seine.

Day two began with fancy French pastries!

 Sacre Coeur

 OooLaLa!

Musee d'Orsay - We loved this museum!  Unfortunately, they were pretty strict about taking pics inside.  We saw most of the great French Impressionists work here.
We ended our trip on Sunday morning with Mass at St. Ferdinand near our hotel.  It was a completely "French" experience and we have now participated in Masses spoken in Portuguese, Italian, French, and  Arabic!

Menwith Hill Basketball 2015

So proud of Ramie, who stuck it out, playing on a team full of boys all season and playing against all boy teams all season!  It was so much fun watching her play along with Drew and all the guys I have come to love.  As the team Mom I got to ride the bus with them to all the away games and had a fantastic time getting to know everyone and see them improve over the season. Go Mustangs!

Somebody's Seven!!!

 Football party at the club!  Thanks to Daddy buying lots of Superbowl Party decorations and then not getting home until the day AFTER the Superbowl! At least there was no question about the party decor...

 Mommy was so proud of her tootsie roll footballs....until they "deflated."  Drew said "That's OK, Mom - they are Patriot footballs! Hahaha!" He is pretty witty....Charlie thought they were awesome and that is all that mattered!

This seven year old is ready to play! Anything! Football, Baseball, Soccer, Basketball, you name it and he can play it!  He can also juggle and ride a unicycle!  He is an amazing guy and we love him!

Christmas in Scotland

Christmas 2014.  All the kids back under one roof.  In a beautiful Scottish A-frame with a hotel full of amenities right next door.  It was a pretty amazing experience.....here are some highlights.
1. After giving EVERYONE dramamine, Maggie still got carsick, which inspired Emily to get carsick as well.  This happened less than two hours into our trip. Fortunately, Em tore her pillowcase off of her pillow and used it as a barf bag so we only had one kid's puke to clean up.  It was, thankfully, funnier than it sounds.  It gets funnier every time I think about it, actually.  Maybe it was because EVERYONE kept asking each other, "do you feel sick?," "No, do you feel sick?" until someone actually did get sick!
2. Maggie and Charlie giving everyone presents that they had made or bought.  They were SO excited that when they passed out their gifts, they stood in front of the recipient and bounced up and down, smiling ear to ear, until the lucky brother or sister opened the present.  They then proceeded to shout excitedly, "do you love it?! do you love it?!" Which of course, they did!  It was so wonderful seeing how happy they were to GIVE.
3. Santa's reindeer visited the hotel.  We downplay the "Santa" thing and have "St. Nick's" gifts delivered on St. Nicholas day but the kids really loved getting to pet real reindeer!
4. The scenery was fantastic.  I only hiked one day (the rest did two days) and was blown away by the beauty of the area.  It was no surprise why Queen Victoria decided to build her home away from home, Balmoral Castle, here.
5. Having the kids all together again.  This was the first time we had seen Joseph since January and had only seen Em once in May.  I can not stress how much we miss those two and having them with us was the best part of Christmas, by far.