Normandy

Here are the pictures of Normandy from our Road Trip......

We were so glad to be able to make it to Normandy as well! We went to the D-Day Museum and then played on the beach for a bit! It is honestly unreal to be here and try to fathom the events that took place on this very beach that the girls are now playing on!!

Above is the little beach city of Arromanches.

There were 5 different beaches along the coastline that the Allies landed on. This beach that we visited was part of Gold Beach. They knew they would need a port to bring in supplies and this place was nicknamed Port Winston. They built a prefabricated harbour, and towed it in sections across the English Channel.

This first picture on the left is what is left of the Causeway they built to help bring in soldiers and supplies from ships to the shore. And the next picture is what is left of the Phoneix Caissons, they were brought in across the channel and then sunk! They had guns set up on them, and they formed a protective sea wall. The largest one is thought to be as heavy as the Eiffel Tower, 7,000 tons!

So there are some facts for you!! It was an amazing experience to visit there!

Samantha Left, Sadie Right

ROAD TRIP!!

Just wanted to post some fun pictures from The Roadtrip we took this past weekend! We headed out to the coast to see the Absolutely Amazing Mont Saint Michel and we were lucky enough to be able to stop in the city of Arromanches to see the D-Day museum and walk along one of the Beaches in Normandy! To start off....driving in Paris, I am so glad it was Jake driving! He did a great job, it was a little scary at first, but that just made it more of an adventure!

THANK GOODNESS FOR GPS! It saved our road trip! That's forsure!

So, here are some pictures of Le Mont St. Michel:

The Abbey was built in the 11th Century. During the 17th Century was used as a prison.

The Monks returned to the Abby in 1874

They still hold church services here and we got to hear the big bells chiming, it was amazing!!
Of course, these days there are a few hotels and tourist shops on the island as well.

Here we are awaiting the tide to come in! The days we were there were "High Tide"! It was so crazy to walk in and see the water far away and then walk out and have it be right up to the walkway! Jake made us get to higher ground, I kept promising him I wouldn't let him drown!

This is the view we had from our Hotel Room! It was actually a lot better than it looks from these pictures! It was the perfect trip!!

In these pictures: Sam Left, Sadie Right

Sorry! I am having trouble getting any of the pictures from Normandy to post! I promise those pics are to come! It looks like I have given you plenty to look at for today anyway!

A Walk In The Park!

Just wanted to post some footage of the Chicks Walking! So many of you have not had the chance to see them in action! Sadie pretty much had it down right before we got to Paris and Samantha has perfected her walking skills here! We were so thrilled that the weather started to warm up, so I got brave enough to venture out of our building by myself with the girls (which I am proud to say we made it out without too much problem!) We are so lucky to have a beautiful park right close to our flat! Here are the Girls In Action.......




P.S.- I promise I usually have their hair done before we go out in public!!! They are looking a little straggly here!!! Their hair has grown a lot!!

Easter Dresses, Luxemborg Gardens and Tutu's!!

Hi!!

So again as usual I have some catching up to do!! To start we had a good Easter, very low key, it was sad not to have been able to do more for the girls due to our everything-has-to-fit-in-a-suitcase situation! But we were able to get them some plastic eggs, and they have had a ball with them! How easily entertained they are!! We went out to atleast buy some chocolate bunnies, and ended up that all of the stores we went to had chocolate hens instead?! But it was delicious! And the girls, of course looked adorable in their Easter Dresses!

Sam Left, Sadie Right

Samantha, I think she just saw the Easter Bunny?!

Sadie!

These next pictures are from Luxemborg Gardens, I don't think you can tell from the pictures how beautiful and fun it is here! Thank Goodness it has finally started warming up a little bit, so we took advantage of a day without rain and a little bit of sunshine to come here and hang out! The girls were especially excited, because most of their time sight-seeing in Paris has been from the stroller, while trying to keep them warm! They were thrilled to be walking around and checking everything out, especially the Pigeons!

A graham cracker picnic!
Samantha is in the pink jacket, Sadie in White!

We are having such a great time here!

And are so lucky to have this opportunity, but we miss you all!!

Okay sorry this post is so LONG! But I promised a few of you that I would post pictures of the cute tutu's that my sister-in-law Holli and I made for our girls. We made them for a Target cousin photo shoot before we left! The girls all looked so cute in them! And the pictures turned out great!!

Sadie front, Sam Back

Be-Lated Birthday Post!!!

Finally!!!

The 1 Year Birthday Bash(es)!!!

We were way too sad to think of Jake not being here for the chicks 1 Year Old Birthday Party! So we had a little one before he left for Paris and then another on their actual Birthday, which embarrassingly was clear back on February 10th!! Sorry we are so belated, but better late than never, right?!

Presents!!

Birthday Girls!! Sam left, Sadie Right

Poor Samantha had pink eye!!

A Great Big Thank You to my cute Mom who made these adorable little cakes for the girls!

I don't think the girls quite knew what to do with the cake! Sadie is not looking real thrilled!!

Sadie's Cake Face!

Samantha's Cake Face!!

We are so glad we were able to party with Jake! As you can see, he is the life of the party!!

These are the pics from the party on their actual Birthday! Thanks to Jake's parent's, they made a delicious dinner! Now this time it was Sadie who wasn't feeling too hot! Poor Girls!

Sadie Left, Samantha Right

The girls along with their cute cousin Hailey, playing a little Birthday Ditty!!

Sam thoroughly enjoying the Birthday cake this time!!

Sadie, definitely NOT!

Me and My Girls!! Samantha left, Sadie Right

I cannot believe how fast this first year of their lives has gone by!! It has been so much fun! I cannot believe how much I love these girls!! It overwhelms me just thinking about it! I definitely feel like I have learned a lot, but have SO much more to learn about patience and mothering skills!!! I also have to say how wonderful it has been being in this parenting-ship with Jake, he is such a fun Daddy, and an amazing example to me of patience and fun lovingness!! (He will love that I am using words from my own vocabulary)! I have to say, it honestly has not been as hard as I thought it would be............. until now!! I will admit, it has gotten a little harder and more overwhelming from time to time!! But, I still love it!! And would not trade this wonderful experience for anything!! Thanks to all of you, who have helped us out so very very much!! I would not have made it through this first year without you!!!

WE HAVE ARRIVED!!

OKAY, I will start by apologizing for the HUGE delay in posting!! 2 Add'l Bags (pak 'n plays), 2 Overweight Bags and 2 Regular 50 lb bags, 2 Strollers, a carryon chuck full of baby food, Big Ziploc Baggies full of formula (I promise, it really is just formula, this is what I had to tell the security man as I got pulled over for this crazy amount of baby stuff!) It was crazy and exhausting, BUT WE MADE IT!!! And to report, the flight was not too bad! The girls did really well! Thanks to an amazing flight attendant, bulkhead seating and Benadryl! Sadie was amazing, she slept for most of it, Samantha had a little bit of a rough time, but it was so funny in the morning as everyone was hitting up the bathroom right by us, they all would pass by and say, "Your babies were amazing, I was worried when I saw you sitting there, but these must be the best babies I've ever flown with! Only a few little peeps!!" So I am very proud of them! Also Thanks to Melo and all of her assistance, too bad Melo and I didn't get any shut eye! We were definetly feeling Jet Lagged when we got here!! But it seems like we have finally adjusted!!

So the reunion with Jake was Fabulous!! It's hard to express how great it was to see him and have him see the girls and get us all reunited again!! I really don't know how military couples do it! The girls seemed maybe a little confused for a minute, but warmed right up!! We were quite the spectacle going through the airport with our mountain of luggage, we had some interesting experiences with the language right off the bat! As we were heading through the cattle herd of Immigration we were being summoned by airport workers but could not understand what they wanted us to do!! So we just stayed where we were feeling stupid, then another worker came up and atleast led us around to where he wanted us to go, it was the beginning of a rude awakening of just how awesome it would be to know French!!! I have got to get studying!

So here are some of the highlights so far!! The apartment itself is great, although there are a few things that are going to take a bit to get used to! I will actually take some pics to show you the funny things and to just show you around the place, I will save that for the next post!

So we got right out and saw some of the sites:

As you can see, it has been pretty cold here and rainy!! I can't imagine how much more fun it will be when it warms up! So far the girls don't seem to mind being bundled up, for the most part anyway!

The Eiffel Tower so far is my Favorite!! I love it so much when it does this glittery light thing!

It does it once every hour or 1/2 hour or so! It is so fun!

Notre Dame

We downloaded these cool podcasts to our IPOD's so it is like a self guided tour, it is good info and it helps you get more out of it!

That is Pont Neuf in the background, from where we are standing there is another awesome view of The Eiffel Tower!

Poor Sadie Janie!! So... since we have been here I think Sadie has got 3 goose eggs and then this one was a real Doozie!! It breaks my heart everytime I look at her! Our apt. has all hard wood floors, which is not ideal for the fact that the girls are learning to walk! This one was a run in with one of the rugs, CARPET BURN!!! This actually looks a lot better than it did at first! I swear I thought she broke her nose, it was so much more swollen and red!! It has been so sad, whenever we get on the metro you can see everyone staring at her racer striped nose and talking about it!! Thank Goodness she is a tough chick!!

This is Samantha already learning to love the Baguette's! Yummy!! I have to give a shout out to the croissants as well, they are my personal favorite!!

So hope that gives you an idea of what we are up to! I will hopefully be able to get some better pics once it warms up! I miss the sunshine!! We are having a great time, there have been some experiences that make me so grateful for the U.S.A.! I can tell it is going to be quite an adventure! That picture of Samantha and the baguette actually was our first and probably last time trying to eat out at a restaraunt!! Jake and I realized this as we looked across the table at each other fighting to keep the babies from falling underneath the table or taking everything on the table with them, or throwing little rocks at the neighboring tables!! You just take things for granted, like walking into a restaraunt and just expecting they would have highchairs, or atleast being able to communicate that we needed some! It might just be that we dont' know the right places to go, but so far it has not been quite as kid-friendly as I had hoped! The metro is awesome, except for all the stairs that we have to hoist the strollers up and down over and over!! It will be interesting to see how Jake and I figure out to get around by ourselves with the girls!! But that just makes it all the more adventurous, memorable and exciting, right?! Thanks to Melo and Eric and how much help they have been! We are so glad to have been able to see everything we have!! I am so glad Jake came first and got things all figured out! The little French he knows he can fake very well!

We miss you all!! And I promise to be on the ball and post often now that we are settled!!

AuRevoir, for now!!

ALL ABOUT "THE DOLL"

I am finally owning up to a "Tag"!

What’s his name? Jacob Spencer Hunsaker aka: "The Doll" (This is a funny nickname that I somehow started calling Jake when we were dating, and all my friends, family and coworkers started to refer to him and call him this!)

How long have you been together? 3 Years 1 Month, 2 Weeks and 5 Days Exactly!

How long did you date? Almost 6 months, we decided we knew we wanted to get married after only dating about a month, we knew we were crazy for knowing that soon, so we tried to stick it out a little bit longer!!!

How old is he? 32! I always tease him about being an old dog, but I'm turning 30 this summer so I better zip it!

Who eats more? I will of course give this one to Jake!

Who said I love you first? Well Thanks to the journal entry I know it was on January 19, 2005 at "our park" a park across the street from my apartment and technically I did, but I could see it in his eyes that he was going to say it right then too! So I said "I love you"! And then he said "I love you too, and I seriously mean it!"

Who is taller? Jake, by like 2 maybe 3 inches!! He swears he is atleast 5'7"!! It has been a funny joke from time to time, because in tall shoes I will often feel that I might be a little taller, I have seen this in the mirror though, and Jake is right it is all in my head!!!

Who is smarter? I will gladly give this one to Jake, I have realized with him being gone how much I rely on him to figure things out with the computer etc... But I must say I have figured out a few things on my own recently! I probably need to give myself a little more credit!

Who does laundry? I will say I do, the majority of the time! Although, I can generally bribe Jake into folding it, as long as he can watch ESPN or some sort of sports event at the same time!!

Who does the dishes? I have to say probably 1/2 and 1/2?! I may be giving a little more credit than is due in this case! But I especially love it when we share the chore, Jake is great at washing them and I always volunteer to dry!!

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I guess I do, I tried sleeping on the left the first night in our new house and I couldn't take it, I feel way to vulnerable being closest to the door! Thank Goodness he is a doll and he traded me sides!!

Who pays the bills? I do. Jake tries to act interested when I inform him of our financial situations, I have threatened for him to take them over, because it stresses me out! But then he left the country, Go Figure!!!

Who mows the lawn? Well, luckily our HOA does that for us! If we did have to do it ourselves I would hope that Jake would! I have never been one that is much for yard work! My sister and I took over my brothers lawn mowing jobs while they were on their missions, it was the most helatious summer of my life!

Who cooks dinner? I would say mostly me! But Jake does make some awesome Sunday night popcorn!!

Who drives when you are together? Jake ALWAYS! Every time I do, I end up regretting it! He is convinced that every woman is a horrible driver! WHATEVER!!!

Who is more stubborn? Well, I know Jake would say me, But I would say I just really think I have the best ideas! Ha Ha! I always am the first to give in and apologize, I do win the prize for that one!

Who kissed who first? TOTALLY JAKE!! And on our first date even!!! He will say that I hugged him so tight and looked up at him like I was totally asking for it!! Whatever! I was totally impressed on our date, but after he kissed me, I thought Oh No! He's just like all his friends a Player!!!! Thank Goodness he proved me wrong, right away!!

Who asked out who first? He did! It is amazing that it ever worked out because things kept getting in the way, it was probably a couple months before it actually happened! He will try to tell you that I totally dogged him, but don't listen to him IT IS A LIE!!!

Who proposed? He did! And it was so Awesome! He cooked me dinner! That was the first big deal thing! And he was all dressed up, and on the table there was 100 Beautiful Red Roses! And the doll wrote out a list of 100 Reasons that he loved me!! It Was Perfect!!!!

Who has more siblings? I do. I have 3 He has 1

Who wears the pants in the family? Jake will definietly say I do! Thank Goodness he is so obedient! Just Kidding! I would like to think we both have a leg in!

This was so much fun to write about Jake and our relationship!! It is a perfect day for me to post this because we are apart for Valentine's Day.

So...........

JAKE THIS IS YOUR VALENTINE TRIBUTE!!

THANKS FOR MAKING MY LIFE SO WONDERFUL!!

I LOVE AND MISS YOU LIKE CRAZY!!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y

I now tag anyone who will do it! It is so fun to hear people's stories!