Paris

What can you say about Paris! One of the things that Abby and Erin wanted to do most when we found out we would be living in Europe was to go to Paris and, of course, see the Eiffel Tower. One of the best parts of the trip, for me, was being able to take them there and help them accomplish a dream. I remember when I was able to see Paris for the first time, and it was nice to see that look in them.

Paris is a great city. It's even better when you love to walk, which thankfully our family does, because you get to see the city at a leisurely pace and really enjoy their parks and gardens. Of course kids can't spend all day looking at museums and gardens so we threw some Disneyland Paris in there too.

It was a great trip, a little chilly for us warm-blooded Spaniards, but fun none-the-less. And since a picture is worth a thousand words here are some from our trip.

Eating lunch outside of the Louvre in the Tuileries Gardens.

Waiting to get inside the Louvre.

Luke loves monkeys and found these statues on his own. We turned around and there he was. What a cutie!

To say that seeing the Mona Lisa in person is a bit underwhelming is an understatement. Here is what Luke thought of it.

Finally taking a break from the artwork. We decided to call it a day at the Louvre and went out to explore the city.

At the Eiffel Tower!

At the top, looking out over Paris.

Notre Dame was amazing. Abby still talks about the stain-glass windows.

Luke and I at the Lock Bridge. If you have a secret you can't tell anyone you put a lock on this bridge and throw the key in the Seine. There are a lot of secrets out there.

Walking the streets of Paris

A trip wouldn't be complete without Ice Cream!

The amazing Tuileries with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

Just exploring Paris!

Relaxing in Paris.

Finally at Disneyland Paris. It's a lot colder and wetter there than California.

What can I say, the girls loved the Alice in Wonderland Maze.

Cinderella's Castle - Erin was in Heaven.

Ice Cream! The girls only wish they could get a cone like this.

Outside of Versailles.

Abby and Erin in the famous Hall of Mirrors.

America's favorite past time . . .bowling

Well, at least it seems that way here on base. Not all of our family activities are adventures in exploring the different cities and cultures around us. Sometimes we take time to explore our own culture and why bowling is so popular! Although, I do think it qualifies as an adventure when taking three kids bowling. We've had to learn some sportsmanship, and one player gets bored half-way through and wants to hide under the couch, but we just might become great bowlers. As of yet, none of us has bowled above 100 but we've got time and discounted bowling. This may be one of our greatest accomplishments!

Jerez

View of Jerez Cathedral from the Alcazar

Jerez is another bigger city that isn't too far away from us. We actually go there a lot to do shopping, they have some of the larger chain stores like Ikea, Bricor (a home decorating store) and Decathalon (sporting goods store) as well as a mall and the closest zoo.

This trip we decided to venture into the older part of the city to check out the Cathedral and the  Jerez Alcazar. Many of the cities in southern Spain have an Alcazar, which is a fortress palace that was built when the Moors ruled this part of Spain. It is very interesting to see the architecture and ruins left behind. Interestingly enough, right across the street from the Alcazar is the Cathedral, which is several hundred years younger than the Alcazar. We had an fun day exploring the city, and its different time periods.

Outside of the Alcazar

Front of the Cathedral.

60 Years in Rota . . .

Spain loves to celebrate and have parties, and we just happened to be here when Spain and the United States celebrated 60 years of partnership with the Naval Base here in Rota. The Spanish, as always, were excellent hosts and opened up the base and the shipyard to the public so anyone who wanted could tour the ships and see what the military base is like.

We made it down in time to see the official part of the celebration with the speeches by the Spanish and American Naval commanders, The Ambassador to Spain and the Spanish and American troops march by. But since that's only the "business" part of the celebration we had to stay for the party with food, tours, Spanish local art and even a flemenco dance presentation. We had so much fun we only took pictures of the official part, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

The kids and I in front of the Juan Carlos, a Spanish Aircraft Carrier

American Football

The fall, of course, brings us good ol' American football. Since we have at least one rabid BYU fan in the house (not to mention that he is trying to recruit other members of the family) here is how We watched games at our house. Technically it wasn't a "we" since I went to bed long before the games started at anywhere from 11:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. and I'm pretty sure the girls fell asleep pretty quick too. Here's a shout out to all those crazy BYU fans.

Soccer, I mean Football

Abby and Erin decided they liked indoor soccer in Lemoore so much, that they wanted to play fall soccer here in Spain. I'm really proud of how well they did. They tried their best and had a great time, and Abby even scored a goal. Go Bombers!! (That was their team name. What can I say their coach is in the Air Force.)

Playing hard.

Luke got in on the action after they games. Maybe he'll be a soccer player.

Bombers' Team Photo.

Switzerland

Me, my two brothers and mom in front of the old bridge in Lucerne

I had the wonderful opportunity to go to Switzerland and meet my mom and brothers for the Labor Day weekend. I really have to give Patrick the credit here. He gave me the nudge I needed to go and handled everything at home while I was away so I could enjoy this trip.

It was such a great experience to see where my mom was born and the places where so many of my grandma's stories took place. I really felt a connection to the cities, mountains and countryside that I saw.




A view of the Lake and Mountains around Lucerne



Hiking in Appenzell



This is where my mom was born.

Near old town Bern

View of Old Bern from the Rose Garden

My mom and I in front of the famous Zietglocke



I couldn't forget the infamous Kinderfresser. My girls were fascinated and terrified by it.