Paris

We just got back from a 4 day trip to Paris. It was great. We laughed at our guide book's suggestions for "Your Romantic Paris Vacation" because it wasn't exactly romantic with our boys but it was fun. We never set foot in a museum or church but we saw pretty much every big tourist attraction and park and walked miles. Here are some pictures from the trip:

Paris has tons of these public bikes that anyone can just take and ride and then park in a new location...pretty cool.

This was our apartment where we stayed...it was in the Latin Quarter and very nice...except that it ended up having no doors or walls which was a little rough putting the boys to bed but we survived.

We took a cruise on the Seine...Eiffel Tower in the background.


Eating FRENCH onion soup and FRENCH fries...we are lame American tourists.


Owen got in on the FRENCH food too.


We stopped at lots of playgrounds to give the boys a break from the stroller. I love that Paris has playgrounds right in the middle of urban areas.

This was a full on carnival right behind the Louvre. Easton and Rob rode the Ferris wheel.

The Louvre


Notre Dame. There was a massive line to get inside here. No thanks. Maybe someday when our kids are older or Rob and I go without the kids it would be nice to check it out but this time it was cool enough just to see.

Man carrying lots of french bread.

This is how Easton and Owen saw Paris. We got tons of stares and comments on our stroller...from everyone. Have they never seen a double stroller before?

The Jardin du Luxumbourg. This was an awesome park that was beautiful, had a cool pond with toy sailboats that Easton loved, and a sweet playground (that you had to pay to go into, by the way). We lounged on the grass, played by the pond and ate crepes. It was a good time. (This pic came from Rob's camera and doesn't quite do the park justice...and it wasn't quite so dark and scary looking outside!)
It was a really fun trip and we were really thankful that our boys were such good and happy travelers. Rob and I felt like stupid American's a few times for sure. I was buying stuff at the grocery store and the lady told me how much the total was and I had a 20 euro bill and a 5 euro bill in my hand. I handed her the 20 and she gave it back to me and took the 5 from my hand. Righto. I think it inspired Rob to take some French lessons.
We can't wait for our next European vacation!

Our Weekend

We had a weekend of firsts. Easton and Rob's first father-son camp out and Rob and I's first concert together.
Easton and Rob went with our ward up to the Wicklow mountains and camped out Friday night. Easton had some of his buddies there too and was sooo excited. He got to cook- not roast- a hotdog, sleep in a sleeping bag and tent, and use a flashlight which were pretty much the things he was looking forward to the most. Funny that there were no fires allowed in the campsite for fear of wildfire...I mean it rains nearly every 3 hours here!? Better safe than sorry I suppose.


Easton at the campsite.

With his buddies and heros Caleb and Noah...Easton LOVES these kids and follows them like a little puppy...good thing they are such sweet kids.

Rob finally put Easton in bed at 10:30pm...here he is just before crashing.

Funny that Rob and I have never been to a concert together huh? I guess not for Rob who doesn't love the concert scene but I used to be pretty into live music in my younger days so it was so fun to get to go to U2 here in Dublin. I will admit that niether Rob nor I are huge U2 fans but Rob's work got tickets and I actaully got really stoked. Seeing U2 in Dublin was an extra bonus as they are from here...it was just cool to know that they were just a little band here on this tiny island and that now they are serious rock stars. I mean, like them or not, who doesn't know at least 10 U2 songs? It rocked. So fun. And it ended by 11pm...bonus! Wow...I am getting so old.

Our friends Seth and Charlotte came with us...she is 9 months pregnant and totally rocked out...awesome. We are flashing our V.I.P. passes...that's right.

At the pre-party we came to the realization that me and our friend Aaron pretty much have the same hair style. Verdict is still out as to whether that is worse news for me or for him.

In front of the cool space ship stage. We had good seats. It was a madhouse...80,000 people there!

U2

Bono...total rock star.

The Edge. Also very rock star-ish.

It was a fun weekend. We ended it with church and hanging out on Sunday. And Easton ended it by perfecting his photography skills...here is a self portrait:

Buddies

We have been really grateful for the good friends we have here in Dublin without which we could not survive. Seriously, we would be sitting inside while rain pounded all day long. Grim, I know. So here is a tribute to some buddies and a few other pics too:

Owen and his buddy Jaden

While Wyatt and Easton were playing the other day it suddenly became very quiet...never a good sign. We came upstairs to find them covered in suds.

They thought it was hilarious. It kind of was.

Easton and his friends Connor, Clara, Wyatt. This was at this great farm/petting zoo...really cool.

I do have friends too...really...I do. But this shot of me with the giant chocolate slab that Rob brought me back from London will have to do as my 'buddy shot'. Chocolate is my friend...yikes...good thing my sister is going into psychology.



Unfortunately this huge thing lasted only about 4 days.


Here is Easton at that same farm. Delinquent child.


And here are some shots of our sweet Owen. He is sitting well on his own now and is pretty much the sweetest thing.

Back in the Groove...

We have now been back from our U.S. vacation for a few weeks now...sorry it has taken me this long to post. I guess really here are just a few pictures of the rest of our vacation and what we have been up to back in Dublin.
In Colorado I got to meet up with some of my best friends from high school...it was so fun to meet some of their kids and to chat a bit. I didn't feel like I did too much chatting chasing after Easton but it was still a great time. I wished we all lived closer (or at least I did...the rest of them live fairly close to each other) so that we could hang out more often. It made me so happy to see all of them so happy and doing so great. Here we are:


Leah, Me, Cami, Jenny, Carrie (not in the pic but at the BBQ were Jill and Ben)


Easton on the riding lawnmower at Grandpa and Grandma Nancy's...can anyone say child labor?


Easton baking...I feel like I have baked pretty much everyday since we have been back...those posts will show up on the baking blog ASAP. Easton is a good little helper and I thought he was looking pretty cute in those jammies.



We went on a little weekend trip to a golf and spa resort in the Midlands with our friends the Meade's. This is Easton and Wyatt going down the slide. Rob and Robert golfed all day long (seriously) Saturday and we all hung out that night. It was a good time even if our kids got a bit beastly by the end of the day.

A big thanks to my dad for coming with me and the boys on our flight from Denver to Atlanta. The flight from Atlanta to Dublin was actaully alright. It was 8 hours and Owen slept the entire time...what a champ. Easton took a while to settle down but slept too. We were in the very back row of the plane which is nice for the engine noise that tends to keep the kids asleep but bad for the flight attendant noise that tends to wake kids up. I didn't sleep at all because I was so stressed that the chatting and banging of carts were gonna wake up the boys! Here we are:


Think Easton is close enough to his movie? Glasses here we come.


I had to add this pic of Owen (left) and his cousin Andrew. They are only about a week apart in age and got to hang out with each other while we were in SLC. Pretty cute.

Owen is a champ with solid food now and we have tried and failed with Easton at potty training round one. We'll try again in a month I think...any advice is welcome. We are headed to Paris for a long weekend at the beginning of August but other than that will be enjoying the summer here...it has actually been pretty nice!

Our Vacation So Far...

You may have noticed our new blog look. My sister's boyfriend, Stephen, took our family pictures this last week and we think he did a pretty darn good job. He took some great shots and maybe I'll post more of them later. Here are just a few pics of what we have been doing here in the good 'ol US of A:



We had a little reunion with my college roomies and families in SLC...it was pure madness at Mimi's but it was a good time.


Owen passed out at the zoo in SLC.



Rob's brother Jeff and his daughter Sydney...she is pretty adorable.

Easton's first s'more experience in CO...he was not as thrilled as we thought he might be.

But he appreciated the end result.

Easton and his cousin, Aubrey, at the zoo in SLC.

The little boys and I are here in CO for another 11 days and Rob heads back to Dublin tomorrow. We'll post more of our vacation (and I'll try and take some more pictures) when we're back in the Emerald Isle.

Cliffs of Moher and the Whitman's

We had a great time last week with our friends the Whitman's. My college roommate and friend, Lizzy, and her husband 'the Doug' came to visit before they welcome their little baby this fall. They were troopers dealing with our kids especially because their vacation involved a trip to the West of Ireland to see the Cliffs of Moher and that meant at least 7 hours in the car with 2 little guys. Here are a few pictures:

Pretty spectacular. The Cliffs, not me. The tumor looking thing on my chest is Owen's head...he was in the Bjorn and it was really windy and wet so in the jacket he stayed.




Not the best Cliff pic but it was the only one with all of us.


I hope that these pics inspire more of you to come and visit us!

We also saw lots of old castles. One, Bunratty Castle, has been totally restored and is surrounded by a little park that shows how castle life was like way back when. Here is a picture there...no castle just a view:

Me and a cute 4 months pregnant Lizzy.

Here is a random Sunday afternoon pic:

Like father like son