Paris

It was so fun for me to be back in Paris. I was a little anxious that I wasn't going to remember enough to be a good tour guide, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I remembered. The language came back really quickly and it was incredible what details of getting around I recalled. I was very relieved. It was so much more fun to be there with Matt. I loved showing him around and introducing him to the foods. The most regret I have is not taking a photo of any of the boulangeries. We spent enough time in them, for sure, but we never thought to pull out the camera. When I told Matt my disappointment he simply said, "well, I guess we'll just have to go back." Great!
I finally got my kiss in front of the Eiffel Tower. Well, technically I got one when I was there for my study abroad, but it didn't count because it was just a pose for a photo. Now I have a picture I'm actually going to keep and show my kids.
This is a view from atop of the Eiffel Tower. It's unreal how high it is. The distance we could see was unbelievable.
These are the buttresses of Notre Dame. We had tons of photos of the front too, but I thought the photos of the back were beautiful and not as well known.
We visited the Louvre, of course. I couldn't imagine Matt visiting Paris without a stop there. We spent three or so hours and didn't even scratch the surface. We did see the Mona Lisa, Vermeer, etc. Matt was so fun to watch. It was like a kid on Christmas morning.
For one of my classes I had spent several days and hours in the Louvre, but I had never seen the painters there to make paintings of originals. It was absolutely fascinating to see how prefect their replicas were. I just always assumed replicas in other museums were prints. I never imagined this scene.
This is Sacre Coeur - a beautiful Catholic cathedral on the outer parts of the city. It's kind of up on a hill and lights up a nights. It's gorgeous.
Right next to Sacre Coeur is a painters market. It was fun to walk around a look at all the different original works.
I don't remember the name of this Cathedral. I walked by it every single day and I cannot recall it. I remembered when we were there (although I cannot promise it was correct then either). It's a prefect example of the intricate beauty of Parisian architecture.
This is just to show you how thrilled Matt was to visit Versaille.
This is the hall of mirrors inside the chateau at Versaille. It's almost sickening how massive and extravagant the buildings and gardens are. It's now wonder the starving Frenchmen didn't like their king.
This is just one piece of the several gardens surrounding the castle. They go on for acres and acres. The designs of the greenery were astounding. I was happy to be back for a second visit. It was still just as beautiful.

London

London was our first and last stop. We flew there from Chicago, and spent a few hours touring before our flight to Barcelona. I thought Windsor was beautiful, but of the three cities, London was my least favorite. It just seemed to overcrowded. It was beautiful, don't get me wrong, but I enjoyed the streets of the other cities more. I could see enjoying living in England, just not right in the city.
We attended the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. The horses were my favorite (surprised?). They were so well groomed and uniform in their rows. It was beautiful.
The Rosetta Stone is at the British Museum. Thanks to this stone we now can translate and understand hieroglyphics. It's pretty incredible. There were so many things at the museum that were just fascinating.
St. Paul's Cathedral. Or as Matt accidentally called it - St. Peter's. I laughed pretty hard at that. The Mary Poppins song of "Feed the Birds" was stuck in my head the entire time we toured it. It was incredible how many famous people were buried there. Matt was excited about Alexander Flemming, the discoverer of the first antibiotic.
The architecture of the old buildings is just gorgeous.
I loved the ivy climbing the walls. It was very well kept and looked beautiful.
There are so many gorgeous old churches there.
This is Windsor Castle. We didn't tour it for lack of time, but the outside was worth the visit.
A view of London from atop St. Paul's. We had to climb quite a few hundred stairs to get to this point. The wind up there was so strong that it pushed me around. It was a cool feeling. I'm just glad there were high walls to enclose us in. I wouldn't have liked to be that high up with winds that strong without security.
London Bridge, of course.
You know I love gardens and flowers. They had so many beautiful ones. This was taken at the palace that Princess Diana lived in.

Home Sweet Home

After our trip to Europe, Hailey and I had a chance to spend a week with my parents in Idaho. It was so wonderful to be home again. There's something about the place and the company (my parents) that are so replenishing to the soul. I love to get out and mow the lawn, work in the garden, enjoy the beautiful flowers in my mom's flower garden, cook with my mom, eat fresh produce and meat, feed the horses, milk the cow, gather the eggs, work the cattle, see old friends and just be on the farm. I loved introducing Hailey to it again. This was the first time she was old enough to join me in the barnyard and enjoy it. She was still a little hesitant when the cows came too close and I wasn't holding her, but she kept asking "horsey, horsey" and got so excited when she heard the animals "talk." She LOVED the swing, driving the tractor with me, the gumball machine and Grandma's dolls. It was wonderful to see my siblings and their families while I was there too. I even got to meet my new niece, Caylee. She's four months old now, time flies so quickly and she has already changed so much.
My beautiful mother and eldest niece (who's waiting for her mission call!) and my handsome dad with our community lake in the background.
Hailey with her bouquet from Grandma's flower garden. She loved wearing her boots all the time and thought it was so cool that she got to sit up on the seat by herself. Also note the grin. I don't know where's she's learned it, but when we tell her to look at the camera and smile, this is her look.
Showing Grandma her loot.


Sitting with Grandma while we work in the garden. It was a treat for me to work in the garden with them, but Hailey wasn't too sure about it. "Dirty, dirty." My mom was sweet enough to hold her by the side so I could work for a few minutes.
This was before my mom came out and I was trying to hold her and plant the potatoes. Isn't the soil beautiful? I've always been impressed by my parents' garden.
One of my favorite things to do at home - mow the lawn. It may sound silly, but I LOVE it.
Hailey and Uncle Shane at one of her favorite places - the swing. She'd often grab my finger and lead me to it. It was fun when Shane was there because I told her to get Uncle Shane, and she did. It was sweet to see them play.
I even joined in and sat in the tire swing beside her. It wasn't nearly as comfortable as I remember as a kid. I couldn't figure out how to get out - this belly of mine kind of gets in the way of my flexibility.
This is Megan - Hailey's oldest cousin. Hailey loved playing with Megan. My parents' kitchen and living room are back to back with doorways on both ends creating a "roundabout" that Hailey loved to go around and around. She thought it was the coolest thing when Megan chased her. She had so much fun.

While I was there we vaccinated the cattle on the home place. There were some that needed tagging, banding, and branding. I forgot how bad branding smells. It was fun to be out with my dad, brothers and nephew. I was the needle loader and let them do the dirty work in with the cattle.
I was so glad my brothers and family could come up. It was so fun to see them, even if it was just for a few hours. Hailey had so much fun with them.
Most people know - but I was raised on a horse ranch and my parents still have them. This colt was born just a couple of days before we got there. He's got an incredible bloodline.
Hailey and I spent quite sometime on the tractor helping my dad. He's got a broken collar bone and has several bales of hay to feed everyday so he uses the tractor to be more efficient and less stress on his shoulder. It was fun to drive and Hailey loved to help me turn the steering wheel.

These are two of the doll carriages of my mom's that Hailey loved playing with. Her blue teeth are from the gumballs...see next photo.
I made this gumball machine in shop class in seventh grade and my mom has kept it around all these years - I love that she has. Hailey thought it was the coolest thing. You spin the nose and the gumball comes out the mouth. One day I was cooking dinner and I heard Hailey playing the piano. Well, after a few minutes I went to check on her and found that it was her feet playing the piano as she stood on the keys to reach the gumball machine on top of the piano. Little turkey.
While I was there I experimented and made my parents a few of my favorite French dishes: quiche and pain au chocolat (croissants w/ chocolate inside). These little pain au chocolat took eight hours to make. They were delicious, but next time I think I'm going to double the recipe. Eight hours for twelve didn't seem very efficient. It was after 11pm when these finally finished.
As I mentioned above, I was able to see lots of famil while I was out. Above again is Megan, my niece.
This is Tammy, my sister. She's the one that gave me the delicious freezer meal ideas from their company (there are those reading this that know what I'm talking about).
These are Tammy's children, Janeen, Makayla, Parker and Calvin.
My brother Shane and his wife, Chelsea.
My sister Christine holding her new little Caylee. Hailey and Caylee - it was tough to call the right name.
Cousins of Hailey's who were so excited to see her. Unfortunately, Hailey was a little overwhelmed and hungry at first so she didn't take too kindly to their immediate friendship. By the end of the visit though, she was in heaven. Isaac, Natalie and Carrie are pictured.
This is my sister, Sondra. She's the one who, in the past 10 months (I think) has lost 105 pounds. I'm so, so impressed!! She was embarrassed because she had been working in the yard all day, but I still say she looks incredible.
Some of my nieces. Alicia, Kami, Natalie and Carrie. Cuties.