Now that's encouragement?

Jace told me the other day, "Mom, I just want you to live long enough to take care of my kids." Why, thank you. He said, "I want you to homeschool them and stuff, you know." I said, "Don't you think Hope will be a good homeschool mom?" He said, "Well I want her to be but I think she's just gonna be one of those fancy moms."

Paris!

What the?!

More reasons to love the French...........

Powers Court

Paris

What can I say about France? Ex.Pen.Sive.

Really, I wouldn't recommend Paris. Not for that reason because none of these places are bargains but because I really got the feeling that they did not like Americans. I'm sure you've heard that before but really, it's the truth. The Louvre, The Eiffel Tower, and Napoleans Arch were pretty amazing but above all? The bread! The French know bread! If you are headed to Paris I would suggest brushing up on your French because there is not much English goin on over there and hang out in the Pastry shops! Orvwah!

Powers Court/Count of Monte Cristo

Do you recongnize this place? It is the house The Count purchases after he finds the treasure in "The Count of Monte Cristo." If you haven't seen the movie I highly recommend it. This was a beautiful place and definitley had the 40 shades of green you hear people talk about that Ireland surely has. This was one of my favorite field trips for sure!

West Coast of Ireland

Back in the USA!

Have I ever told you how much I love the USA? Well let me tell you how wonderful we have it over here in case you don't know or may have never realized it! I just spent 12 days in Europe and it was quite a field trip. I think the first few days I had major culture shock and spent a while trying to figure out why anyone would want to live there but after I spent a few days I think I got over it. Don't get me wrong, I still don't want to live there and appreciate the USA much more than I did before I left. They may be simple things like free water, hot water immediately, giant rooms, lots of food, cars, chairs/hallways/furniture/beds-that I actually fit in, prices, parks, Dr's,......well the list could go on. I may not be used to city livin' either-who knows? We did see some awesome sights and eat some delicious delicasies as well. Some places we visited (not necessarily toured all) were, The Cliffs of Moher, The Louvre, The Eiffel Tower, Napoleans Arch, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, Metropolitan Tabernacle, The Eye, Shakespeares Globe, Westminster Abbey, Trafalgar Square, Guiness Brewery, British Museum, and many other gigantic old buildings that were interesting. I'm not a history buff and was mostly excited about all the exercise I was getting as I picked up treats everywhere we walked to. I love french crepes and hot chocolate from France, and pizza anywhere over there. BUT, my absolute favorite thing about the entire trip was this French Bakery called PAUL! I first discovered it in London. It was like my hair stood on end when I was near it and people were gathered around it and I had to go there. I didn't even know what it was but I was sensing deliciousness! They had THE BEST croissants I have ever ate in my entire life! Everything in the window looked like heaven. I tried only a few things there but every one of them was incredible. I went on their website hoping I could order from there or that there was one somewhere in this state! DANG! They are only in Florida so far! Anyway, the food was great in france but the weather and peeps were cold! No Minnesota nice in that land at all! Not English friendly for tourism and I did not feel welcome at all. Enough said about that. London was cool and very friendly and fun and Dublin was primitive and the people really seemed to keep to themselves and didn't really make eye contact with you when you were walking around. I WILL say that a Guiness tastes delicious in Dublin and no good at home! I had to bring one back for a Guiness connoisseur to see if he agrees. I hope to post many pictures as soon as I get some from my hubbies computer and share many more stories with you! Until then I'll continue enjoying the land of the supersize!

Levi

This morning Levi came in the bathroom and said, "Good morning mom. Did ya sleep good?" I said, "Yeah. How about you?" He said, "Yeah. I slept like a pig."

Dublin

http://www.guinness-storehouse.com/virtualTour/index.html

Tomorrow in Dublin we will be visiting the Guiness Brewery! We will be doing some shopping downtown and ending the day with a tour of the place. Guiness is EVERYWHERE here-I mean to the point they should maybe consider changing their flag to the Guiness logo! We have already driven across Ireland to the West coast to see the Cliffs of Moher and also stayed in a little B & B. Mmmmn? I can't tell you all I think of Ireland til I get home for fear my sister might read my blog-ha ha. :o) I give her a lot of credit for making such a move in her life and envy the way she can live with so little in such a different place than the US! I miss my kiddies and friends/fam and my church! Tuesday we are headed to London and France and then back to Dublin on Sat. We return to the states on Monday and hopefully I'll have some pictures and more stories to share!

Hilarious! I love it!

My fave!



Too funny!



Ha ha!

Balloon dress