Nice and the French Riviera

It's possible that France could be my favorite European country... if it weren't filled with French people. Don't get me wrong, we have met some wonderful Frenchmen, but as a whole, I've never met such crabby people! My favorite incident from this past trip was when we were at a bakery ordering pastries. The shop worker rang us up, and when Andrew asked if we could add one more pastry to our order she threw a mini hissy fit. Holy cow, you would have thought he was telling her we didn't want anything at all. The huffing and puffing and shoving of the extra pastry into the bag was comical. What do you say to that? I'm sorry?!

But, my opinions of the French can be saved for another day. I do love their country, and that is that.

We spent 3 full days in the French Riviera last week, and thanks to the wonder that is Easy Jet, travel hardly cost of anything at all. In fact, our plane tickets were so cheap (30 chf per flight) that we decided to fly to Barcelona from Nice. The best part is that the flights were only 1 hour each. The downside to our trip was that is was planned for the end of June. It was HOT and our hotel did not have air conditioning. Somehow we survived.

We split up our time between Nice and Villefranche-sur-Mer. Afton was sick one day, so Andrew and the boys also went to Monaco.

Villefranche-sur-Mer

Nice

On day 3 we went back to Villefranche and rented a boat. I'm not gonna lie, as we boated along the coast I felt a little like Brad Pit and Angelina Jolie. Maybe a more ghetto version...but still.

Monaco

And lastly, the Marc Chagall Museum. Be still my heart, I love me some Chagall.

Goodbye ISB

I attribute a large part of our happiness here to the International School. It has been such a nurturing environment for my boys and they have really thrived there. They have made wonderful friends, and I made some very dear friends as well. In fact, lots of times my kids had to drag me away from the playground after school because I wouldn't stop talking to them.

Luke had the perfect teachers for him this year. They were extremely caring and really took the time to attend to the individual needs of each child. On the other hand their class motto was "c'est la vie"- which translates to be "that's life". I think that is hilarious for a bunch of kindergarteners. Luke's favorite aspect of kindergarten was "Waldkinder"- which is where the class would go out into the forest about once a week. He also loved hanging out with Sammy and his friends on the playground.

Sam is my child who L-O-V-E-S school. He literally would wake up every morning and say, 'Yea! School today!" It left Andrew and I scratching our heads, but we hope this enthusiasm continues. He had a lovely teacher this year, and I really can't tell you what he loved best because he loved it all. Music, computer, German, PE, math- you name it.

I'm actually really sad to be leaving the ISB, but I'm so glad that the boys will be going back to a fabulous school in The States. Like most things concerning our move back, it is all a little bittersweet.

Sammy at this music concert. I was dreading hearing a bunch of 2nd graders play the violin, but I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised.



And lastly here is a link to Sam's German play. Becca, I know you are the only one who will watch this- Sam comes on at 1:13 and is the one in red.

http://youtu.be/krvnz-UrM3U

More Alpine Heaven

Soon after my family left we took an over-nighter up in the Alps. I think we could go back every weekend and still discover new things. This time we focused on the area surrounding Meiringen and Hasliberg. Our first stop was to Reichenback Falls, which is the setting where Sherlock Holmes had his supposed death.

Towards the end of the hike, we got a little lost and somehow ended up in the middle of a sheep field. I may or may not have slipped on some sheep poo and twisted my knee. Luckily only the sheep were around to see me.

After that we headed to The Aare Gorge which has a wooden walkway that allows you to walk along it. It was amazing- even if I did have a death grip on our children the entire time. That water was raging.

The next day was Sunday, so after heading to church we finally made it to Ballenberg. This open air museum is comprised of over 100 original buildings taken from all over Switzerland to show the various architectural styles of each region. Some are as old as 500 years. The backdrop was magnificent, and they did a fabulous job making you feel like you were seeing the home in its original setting. The kids loved all of the animals and seeing the different demonstrations such as making cheese. It was the perfect ending to our weekend.

Week 2 of the Walkers

The remainder of my family's trip went by way too quickly. We saw lots, laughed lots, and soaked up each other's company. The best part is that saying goodbye wasn't painful at all this time. We simply hugged and said, "See you in a couple of months!"

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

I wasn't expecting much from this landmark, but I was pleasantly surprised. That sucker really is leaning! Would I recommend making a separate trip to see it? Probably not. But if you are in the area (we were for church), it is definitely worth a visit.

The Berner Oberland

We love it here, and visiting with my mom was a riot. I think she was going to die from sensory overload. Everyone was in awe, and we were glad that my family loved this place as much as we do.

Colmar

No one can visit us without making a trip to this magical place.

Backyard Fun

Aside from hikes and castle visits in our area, we spent a lot of time in our back yard. The kids absolutely fell in love with Jacob who spent a lot of time playing baseball and soccer with them. There were also a couple of water fights which my kids are still reliving in their minds. The highlight however was when Ashley and Jacob called the kids over and told them they had a "surprise" for them. The surprise turned out to be leftover birthday cake smashed into their faces. Oddly enough, my kids thought it was the coolest thing ever.

When the moon hits your eye like a bigga-pizza-pie...

...that's amore.

So here's the deal. When you're a Mormon and have been dating someone for, oh let's say, 5 months or so, EVERY other Mormon you know starts to wonder when the heck you are going to get engaged. We're freak shows, I know. For example, my sister Ashley started dating a guy last year and when they were still going strong 6 months later we all started to wonder when they would get engaged. Again, no need to point out how crazy we are. We are fully aware.

Nevertheless, things were serious between those two and my parents and sisters brought the boyfriend (Jacob) in tow with them when they came to visit us this past May. Of course we all kept wondering if he would pop the question in Europe, and luckily for us, we didn't have to hold our breath for long.

Jacob ended up proposing to my sister in Italy. As luck may have it, my younger sister and I stumbled across the happy couple right in the middle of the proposal. It was dusk and Becca and I were taking a walk along the nearly deserted beach. We saw a couple ahead of us, sitting near the water with a bonfire lit up behind them. As we approached we stopped dead in our tracks when we realized who it was and what was happening. The surge of excitement we felt was unreal, and somehow Becca and I managed to keep our squeals down as we clung to each other and backtracked along the beach. We also manged to get off the beach unnoticed (even with me snapping pictures like a crazy women), but once we got to the boardwalk the flash of my camera gave us away. Ashley started calling our names, and then finally yelled, "I'M ENGAGED!!", which led us to screaming and running back to the beach.

Seeing my little sister get engaged was one of those perfectly beautiful moments in life. The bond I share with my sisters is so strong and I feel extremely fortunate to have been able to witness this huge event. I'm over the moon with happiness for those two and we cannot wait to have a new brother/uncle in our family!

This is what Becca and I stumbled across on our walk. Could there be a more romantic proposal???