SUNNY BARCELONA!!

So....Obviously with the pictures of another trip.... We are trying to live it up with what is left of our time here in Europe, without "breaking the bank"!! We found a great deal to Barcelona so we took it! And we had a blast! Too bad it was so short! We woke up way before even the crack of dawn on Friday morning to fly there and came back Sunday afternoon, so yes, it was a very short trip, but so worth it!

The first day we took a Hop On/Off Bus Tour, which was a great way to see the city in a short time. Here are a couple of the sites:

Port Vell- The statue of Colombus

The Sagrada Familia by Gaudi-This place is one of a kind, one of the craziest things I've seen! It was amazing!

Montjuic! It looked so cool at night too! They light it up really neat! None of our pictures at night really turned out! :(

The Ramblas- This is a super crazy street with lots of street performers and tourist shops! They have a huge market - Boqueria Market, it was fun too! Too bad our camera broke right after this picture!! But.... it had to be meant to be, we looked up from trying to fix it and spotted a PC City store right off on one of the side streets! Thank Goodness we were able to buy a new camera, or you wouldn't be seeing any of the pictures below! But Funny that right after we got home, OURS STARTED WORKING AGAIN! Oh Well!!

Probably our favorite thing we did was go to the BEACH!! We had read it wouldn't be warm enough to swim so we didn't bring suits, Whatever! It was so warm! Oh Well, we'll save that for next time! The girls were not to sure what to think about the sand and waves!

Here is Samantha, Cracking Me Up! I guess you really can't tell from the picture, but she has her left leg up in mid air, she kept holding it up trying not to have it touch any sand! She sat like this forever!

Sadie Jane

Samantha, again not a fan of the sand!!

Sadie and Daddy

Samantha and Daddy

By the end Sadie was all about the sand!!

I just had to put this one of Samantha, This girl LOVES Ice Cream!!

Sadie! This is the girls on the way to the Airport to go Home!

Samantha! Looks like we wore them right out!!

Sorry there were so many pictures, but we had such a fun time, I could not leave any out!

Hope you enjoyed!

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!!!