Adventure is out there!

If living in a foreign country isn't enough adventure. You might as well sign up to do a half marathon. And that is exactly what we did, Melissa, Rachael and I. October 6th, we will be ready to run the Lyon Half marathon. No big deal or anything. hehe. 

I also got my ears pierced. One just wasn't enough. So I got a second one. And don't worry I don't plan on getting any more piercings. Great News though, they did my piercing right over the freckle on my ear. Freckle no more. Sounds good to me. 

(What do you think, mom? It's just as cool as I told you it would be, right?) My cuff earring is pretty awesome!

Disney Princesses

I thought about writing about church today or the funny things the kids have said this past week. But instead I decided we could all use a good laugh. And since princesses have been a very common subject lately, I thought I would share a video with you guys about what truly happened to Ariel, Jasmine, Belle, and Pocahontas that Disney forgot to tell us about.

I personally like Ariel and Jasmine the best. This makes me laugh a lot. Hope you get a laugh from it too!

I miss my dog!

I miss my dog! The big furry love of my life. I try not to think about how much I miss him cause it kinda makes me homesick. But last night I was woken up by some ruckus, what sounding like to be squeaking and whispered talking. It kinda freaked me out! I sat up in bed to reach for my dog. Who naturally was not there... So I convinced myself that I had mice in my room and that it must be the Stoner's talking and none of that could hurt me so I fell back asleep. 

When I headed upstairs to talk to Melissa this morning, I over heard the other missionaries talking about the noise too. So it was a relief to know I don't have mice in my room but my second thought was, "who was talking loud enough for everyone in the apartment building to hear. So by the time I made it back to our place I asked Rachael what had happened last night. And it turns out our apartment trash can was blown over by the wind which happens to be right outside my bedroom and some of the other missionary family went outside to see what was happening. 

I was happy to find out nothing was really wrong after all. But I still miss my dog. And I know if he was with me last night he would have figured out the problem a whole lot faster then I did. 

So in honor of my dog today, I thought I would share some pictures. 

Isaiah has always been there for me. Letting me try to drag him on runs, helping me get ready for prom, and taking my senior pictures with him. 

But I know he is in good hands and everyone is taking care of him back home.

Monopoly

We played monopoly today. I am starting to think my grandma was half Wonder Woman. When Lydia asked me to play monopoly today, I thought why not I use to play monopoly all the time with my grandma. It was alright. But it was more of me scolding a very whiny two year old and playing against myself but it made Lydia happy. 

It doesn't help that I have a sinus infection-cold-headache thing going on. And in other words I feel miserable and the idea of sleeping in my bed it sounding more wonderful by the minute. Hope your allegories aren't getting to you and you have a good start to your weekend. 

The Circus is in Town!

Yesterday I told Rachael part of me wants to go out and do something fun and the other half just wants to lay in bed and read a book. After I had made up my mind to stay in bed and had already changed into my sweats ready to start reading my book when Rachael informs me that she heard the circus was in town tonight. (Just to let you know she told me in French so it took me about five minutes to figure out what she was trying to tell me. It's a work process.) Then I shared the message with Rachel. And we decided this might be the only exciting thing happening in Albertville for a while, so we decided to venture out and check out the circus.  

And oh was it so much fun!

The circus was so much cleaner then the carnival. And you don't have to understand much french to watch a show with animals and dancing Cubans. 

My advice to all: 

The circus is fun for all ages!

Five Times

Five is the number of times we have watched Tangled since I gave it to Lydia for her birthday.   Between the holidays, rainy days, and sick days this past week. Tangled as been the movie of choice to watch. 

Who doesn't love a good fairy-tale mixed in with some fun clean action, making it fun for everyone in the family. Even Isaac! 

Hope you had a great weekend and maybe find some time to watch Tangled for yourself this week :) 

The Perfect Little Trail

In my mind it is the perfect trail... a trail to run my long miles, a trail walk and talk to friends with, a trail to remind me of home. 

The trail along the river is so beautiful with the view of mountains and the sound of the river. It reminds me of the towpath back home and it's a nice quiet escape from town beside the many bikers on the path. If I could capture the beautiful surroundings for you I would but I don't think it would be doing it justice. So I thought I would just share with you a picture of Rachel and I on our many walks on the trail. 

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

We like reading... A LOT!

We also don't like smiling when Shannon is taking our picture. But we know she loves us anyway. 

P.s. If I randomly start quoting Dr. Seuss or the Berenstain Bears don't be surprised.

Rainy Days

The perfect thing to do on rainy days beside stay in bed with a good book and a cup a coffee is to bake!

I found a great cookie recipe on Pinterest that is only three ingredients. Two bananas. A cup a oats. A cup of chocolate chips. In other words a great recipe for kids. All they have to do is smash of the ingredients. 

Only bake for 350* for 10 mins...

They are pretty much healthy :) hehe. I love this recipe!

Chambery - Take 2

Saturday, Rachel, Rachael, and I  headed out to Chambery to go out for lunch and do some shopping. It was tons of fun, filled with lots of cute clothes and yummy food. We ended up being able to go into the Chateau (castle) just to check out an art show we weren't allowed in to the real castle part but just to be able to see a glimpse was pretty cool. I got a few cute new shirts and a dress. So I am sure I will be posting pictures shortly with my new clothes on. 

Have a good hot Wednesday, hope your rain doesn't ruin your day!

Birthday's

I don't think I have ever experienced a birthday with so much crying, tears, laughter, and smiles. Only Lydia .... as Rachael describes her "sweet and spicy". Which is so true!

Getting your ears pierced is a very dramatic event. Especially in the eyes of a five year old. Lydia has been talking about getting her ears pierced for a pretty long time. So this was the day, it was gonna happen! Little did we know it was gonna be filled with crying and begging. But she put her big girl pants on and went through with it. And oh how she loved it!

All her wishes came true! Getting her ears pierced, her bunny cake, hello kitty, and  her Rapunzel movie :) She was one happy five year old!

It's only necessary...

That I blog about the three most supportive women in my life. Considering yesterday was mother's day. 

This is a little shout out to my mom and grandma's for loving and supporting me even an ocean away!

Happy Mother's Day

p.s. It's Lydia's birthday today so I am sure I will put up photos shortly about all the exciting plans we have today :)

Borders of the Heart

This book was about romance and suspense. It was a pretty good choice to read while at the beach. 

Desperate to escape haunting memories, J. D.  travels from Nashville to Tucson and volunteers on an organic farm. The hardened landowner has one prevailing rule: If J. D. sees an "illegal," call the border patrol. But when an early morning ride along the fence line leads him to a beautiful young woman named Maria, near death in the desert, his heart pulls him in another direction. Longing to atone for the choices that drove him to Tucson, J. D. hides her and unleashes a chain of deadly events he could never have imagined. Soon they are running from a killer and fighting for their lives. As secrets of their pasts emerge, J. D. realizes that saving Maria may be the only way to save himself.

A very good book and it's by a christian author so you know it's gonna be clean. I would give this book a four star rating out of five. 

Abbaye De Hautecombe

Yesterday was Wednesday so naturally we had it off but it was also a holiday. Celebrating the end of World War II. So yesterday we went out with a couple of the other missionary families, went to go check out a local Abbaye. 

To get to the Abbaye, we had to ride a boat across a lake. 

The view was so pretty.

This abbaye is considered a historical abbaye in France. It has been around since 12th century and was build by a Queen and King of France. 

Even though this abbaye is home to many monks and studying students, we didn't get to see any. We did meet a young American who was taking her vows later to become a nun. I guess that is pretty cool. 

This abbaye mark church number 20 for me here in Europe. I only have 80 more to go to reach my goal of 100. 

Friends & French

Many who know me know that I enjoyed watching the show Friends. I find it very funny. And I ran across a clip of Friends the other day that I feel like I can relate to a lot. 

Oh. How I can so relate to Joey and how I very often I feel like that. I hope you all got a little smile over this video. 

Sisters ♥

This post is a little call out to my sisters...

Even though we are miles apart. We find a way to stay connected. Right now it just happens to be through blogging. Andrea blogs about family and friends, Rachel blogs about politics and I blog about traveling. Even though there all different, it's our way of staying connected. Check out their blogs from the link on the left side :)

On a cold cold wet day!

I am sure it is beautiful bright and sunny back home. I know this because I checked the forecast :)

Unlike our forecast which is mostly rainy for the rest of the week. And on a rainy day like this there is nothing more perfect then to grab a cup a coffee and a couple of books. Josiah and I read the "Cat and the Hat" and a few Berenstain Bear books. But with having break this past week and Rachel being in Holland I have had a lot of down time. So I have got a lot of reading done myself. One of them being, "Fatherless Generation". 

This book was very good. It was recommended by my mom who had read that it had a really good review. This book is about our generation growing up without Father's and how it is affecting our family lives, society, and even our government. I would recommend this book to anyone working with kids. It helps us understand why our society is the way it is and how we can prevent it from getting worse. This book was also a really short read. I read it in less then a day. It was very interesting and had my attention the whole time. Have you read any good books lately? Let me know I wouldn't mind reading them myself. 

   

May the fourth be with you!

As Isaac kept reminding us this is the only day of the year, may I repeat the only day of the year you can say that. So in honor of Star Wars we made cupcakes and watched episode one...

The cupcakes turned out great. The icing not so much but everyone was fine with using nutella as frosting :) Yum!

Market

One of my favorite places to go is the market every Thursday morning. To see nice smiling faces of the french people and them not making fun of me when Rachael asked me to try out the little french I know. Sampling the coffee and and the saucisse. And actually feeling like people aren't judging me for being American. It's a nice way to start out Thursday mornings. And having fresh fruit and veggies to eat the rest of the week is a plus too.

Spain!

While on vacation we had a few rainy days so we decided to go a little farther south and head to Spain.  I was super excited to get to see Spain and add another country to my list. 

We ended up eating lunch in a little local restaurant in the town, Cadaques,Catalonia. I tried to go with something original for Spain and chose a Spanish omelet which was rather yummy and went well with my tiny strong European coffee. 

We finished off our trip to Spain by driving up into the Pyrenees Mountains checking out a local lighthouse. 

It was an amazing view and getting the opportunity to stand on the Pyrenees mountains looking over the Mediterranean sea was an amazing opportunity. I am truly blessed!

Le Cap d'Agde

There are many things people should know before traveling in France. When driving/riding in a car remember there really aren't that many restroom stops along the road so don't be drinking too much before hand. While traveling you will have more of a chance to find a bakery that sell sandwiches rather then a fast food place. And thirdly I don't think there is such a thing as non-nude beaches..

The kids loved playing on the beach but we could never be on the beach very long till usually an old lady would be dropping her top. So we never spent much time on the beach. 

The french do pizza a little different in the south.. Adding an egg to the middle of the pizza.yum.

We got to go on a boat ride and take a closer look at the old prison on the shore.

We got to do some shopping downtown.

And take a visit to Spain... I will post those pictures later. So you all will have something to look forward too ;)