Vive la France!

Our second stop on the cruise was La Havre, France. Of course, with Paris being less than 2 hours away, thats where we spent our day! With only one day, and a limited amount of hours, we had to try to cram as much as we could into what time we had. SO, like all good tourists, we took the double decker red bus around the city. We hopped off and on thru the day, and were able to see more than I had expected to see. I have to go back here someday. There was so much to take in! My favorite part: the Eiffel Tower. I was just amazed! I think Les got a picture of me "taking it all in so I could remember".

I'll show you our day in photos, because it's much more fun than reading...and i don't feel like typing all the details. But in 2 words, overwhelmingly amazing!

(oh, and if you notice no Dave, it's because while we were in Paris, Kevin, Mike and Dave were at Normandy. Which maybe he can guest post about? haha...yeaaaah riiight!)

[THE.tower]

[on.the.red.bus]

[arc.de.triomphe]

[relaxing.on.the.tour]

[lunch.at.a.little.sidewalk.cafe]

[the.louvre.and.the.fam]

[sister.in.laws!]

[notre.dame]

didn't get to go in. next time!

[randoms]

[baby.takes.eiffel.tower]

[the.opera]

There are alot more pictures, that the family has, that I don't have copies of yet. So i'll have a "best of" post later!

Out of our trip, there are two places i want to go back to.
1. Paris.

2. Rome (which you'll have to wait to see!)

Stay tuned for: Spain!

I'm baaack!

I'm back! I have mixed feelings about being home. I was sad to say bye bye to our cruise ship, having someone else clean up after me, serve me my meals, and turn down my bed at night while leaving me a little chocolate....BUT i'm glad to be in my own bed, not break a sweat just by stepping outside and to be done with flying accross the country. So I bet you're all wanting me to get to the good stuff, right?! Well i'm going to do this in installments. There's just too much for one post. We saw alot of amazing things and visited alot of fabulous places. Detail wise, we flew into London and spent the day there. We took the tube all over, and stayed the night by the airport. We left the next morning and boarded the ship. The next day we woke up in France, went to Paris, then Cherbourg, Vigo, day at sea, Lisbon, Gebraltar UK, Cartagena, day at sea, Barcelona and ended in Rome. We stayed the day there, spent the night near the airport, and flew out the next morning for home! Phew!! I can only say that by the end, London seemed like such a long time ago, but the cruise flew by!

Now for Europe stop # 1:

London, England!

[buckingham.palace]

[and.mind.the.gap!]

[parliament.at.night]

[big.ben]

[baby.in.awe]

[us.again.with.david.&.baby.in.back]

[westminster.abbey.at.night]


Stay tuned for: Paris, France!

suitcases and passports and airplanes, oh my!

i'm done with work (for 2 weeks)!!!! but i'm still busy before we fly out tomorrow. i need to...
- get a pedicure & manicure
- get a massage tonight with dave
- finish packing my big suitcase
- get our carry ons packed
- shower
- eat!
- sleep

gotta run, but i'll see you all when i get back! pictures will come shortly after!!!!
can't wait to share the experience with you all!

xoxo

just checking in

today was a lonnnnng day. we took my center to the oc fair. and can i say...my children were SO good! i am so happy about how beautifully well behaved they were! we saw lots of animals (chicks, steer, goats, sheep, pigs, piglets, birds....) and of course what would a trip to the fair be without some rides? so we tried to appease, key word tried, everyone. we did a 4-d mummy ride, the big slide, and a measley log ride (that they all loved). they partnered up like pros, held my hand, were quick at the bathroom breaks, did 2 finger touches while petting animals, and even said their pleases and thank yous!

i have a few, meaning at least 3, to-do lists on my phone and work desk for pre-vacation things. i have a list of carry on items to be sure to pack, a target shopping list, and a general to-do list. i like lists. they make my brain feel at ease. if it's on paper, i can refer to it, and either delete it or check it off. so rewarding! and then there are the things i keep remembering at inconvenient times, like while i'm driving. like setting up an auto mortgage payment. nothing big right?

well, i should get back to eating my pizza that dave ordered so i didnt have to cook...oh and setting up that payment!

.the frustration has passed.

About my blog deleting. a few of you posted nice help afterwards. Les, I will try that control key thing next time this happens, and Cindy, i looked up the last edited version it saved, but because of my fabulously fast fingers...it was only like the first two sentences!

Ok, on to the meat of the post. Saturday for Mel's bachelorette partay we dined at The Mayan, then went to the SkyBar at the Red Lion for dancing. (Editors Note: Ash, myself, Leah and Audrey didn't dance. We chatted and sipped pina coladas).The rest of the weekend was not really documented with pictures...but there was shopping at the Park City outlets, and some laying out at the pool (with molcasalsa for lunch!)

Monday evening we walked Ash's roomates dogs, Cassius & Laila (as in the "boxers" Muhammad Ali and daughter) to 7-11 for some sodas.

Mel and Brent Hawker were married on Tuesday. The Draper Temple was amazing and Melodie looked fabulous!

And I can't leave out the homes, no more like chateaus, on the hill above the temple.

V-Ron with the sparklers we waved as the newlyweds left the reception.

It was a great little vacay. It was great to see my friends, especially now that we're growing, our lives are changing and the quality time together is fewer and far between. And thank you to my wonderful hostess with the mostess...Ashley!

Not the post I was hoping for

I am so mad. I just spent like 10 minutes writing about my trip to Utah for Mel's wedding and staying with Ashley :)
Then somehow I highlighted it all and backspaced, deleting everything. UGH :(
So over it for the moment. I'll post pictures later when I'm not as angry.
P.S. My birthday is on Saturday!! Yay.
P.S.S. SO excited for vacay...2 weeks from today!!

weekend update with sarah anderson

Hello all. Well, I'm back to the daily grind, and I won't lie, I am not too enthused about it! I mean, who really wants to go back to work after a weekend of sun, family and relaxation?! Not I!
I really didn't take many pictures. Too busy doing nothing! :) I hope all of you had a great 4th with family, friends, and hopefully some fireworks!

Does anyone else feel super tired coming back from a 3 day weekend? I'm thinking early bedtime tonight!