Europe Trip 2018: France

Bonjour from Paris! Paris was our last stop (well technically not since we did travel to another town for Andy and Laura's wedding) on our European adventure. By this point we were traveled out, so we definitely did Paris more low-key than the rest of the countries we visited. Laura's aunt Valerie let us stay at her flat while she went to the wedding location to help get things ready, and we were so grateful for that. It really allowed us to do things at our own pace, and the view from her balcony over the city was beautiful. At night you could see the Eiffel Tower all lit up and it's spotlight spinning around and around. And while we did do a lot of sightseeing in Paris, I would say my favorite night was when we went to the supermarket down the street, bought some wine, beer, cheese, meat, and bread, and had a little picnic and family time on Valerie's balcony. Those are memories I'll always hold near and dear to my heart.

One of the first things we did in Paris was take a boat tour of the city. We saw all sorts of sights, including the Louvre, Notre Dame Cathedral, and of course the Eiffel Tower. 

The next day we got up close and personal as we climbed the 674 steps to get to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower (mom and dad paid for the elevator to take them up). It was a pretty amazing view from all the way up there!

We saw the Arc de Triomphe, and enjoyed time looking at all the artwork in the Louvre Museum. I failed to take any pictures inside, so you'll just have to believe me that we were there!

One of the last things we did in Paris was visit the Notre Dame Cathedral. I loved looking at all of the stained glass windows inside, and the architecture on the exterior of the cathedral was just stunning. 

We wrapped up our European vacation with Andreas and Laura's wedding! I wrote an extensive blog post about that on my photography blog here, but I'll share a few details on this blog as well. Their official wedding was in the town courthouse, and after that they had an unofficial ceremony outdoors at the reception location. Following the outdoor ceremony were drinks and appetizers until dinner around 8/8:30, cake around 10:30, and dancing until morning. And I'm not joking on that one- Eric and I were up until 4:30 that morning dancing, and Andy told us that they were up until 6 still partying! It was definitely a wedding, and vacation, that I will never forget!

Europe Trip 2018: Italy

Up next on our European adventure this past summer was Rome, Italy! I think I was most excited about this stop because I hadn't been here before, and there's so much history in Rome. One of the very first things we did was head to the Vatican to listen to Pope Francis give a brief little talk. I would have loved to attend a church service by the Pope, but he wasn't leading a service when we were there. Regardless, we actually got to see him, and fairly close at that! It only took us waiting hours in the hot sun with no shade and thousands of people next to you, but I thought it was totally worth it. It's not every day that you get to see the leader of the Catholic church.

Up next was the Pantheon. The details and artwork on and in these buildings is just incredible!

After the Pantheon we made our way to the Trevi Fountain. After tossing a coin in the fountain we stopped for a little photo shoot. We were there at the wrong time of the day to get great pictures. Full on sun and a white monument aren't a good mix.

Close to the Trevi fountain was the Spanish Steps. We actually came out of the metro station at the top of the steps, and it was a beautiful view from up there! We made our way down the steps to see them from the bottom and check out the fountain at the foot of the steps. 

The next day, we went back to the Vatican to see the Vatican Museums. There were so many statues, paintings, and tapestries, and everything in between. Even the ceilings were covered in artwork! We were able to go inside the Sistine Chapel to see the ceiling Michelangelo painted. Unfortunately we couldn't take pictures inside the chapel. We had plans to go inside St. Peter's Basilica, but the line was ridiculously long so we decided to skip it. Maybe next time we come we will have to check that out!

One of the coolest things about Rome (and most of Europe really), is that you hop on the metro and when you get outside at your stop, you are literally feet away from all of these historic monuments. I'll never forget coming out of the metro station by the Colosseum and saying, "I wonder how far away the Colosseum is", only to be staring it in the eye as we reached the top of the steps. 

This was one of my favorite stops- you hear so much about the Colosseum and the fights that went on here, it was amazing to actually see it in person. It is huge, and while there aren't many of the original seats left, they told us that the entire stadium was lined with seats. The tunnels under the stadium were visible to see, and thinking about the gladiators forced to walk through those tunnels to their likely death gave me goosebumps. 

Right next to the Colosseum was the Roman Forum. You really felt transported back to the Roman days walking through the Forum. The fact that this piece of history is right in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the city amazes me.

Our last day in Italy we hopped on the most packed train I've ever been on (with no AC and little personal hygiene of fellow passengers), and made our way down to Pompeii to check out the ruins left after Mount Vesuvius erupted and covered the town in ash and pumice. 

It was another scorching hot day, but we all thoroughly enjoyed walking around Pompeii and seeing what the archaeologists have uncovered. We saw amazing tile work on the floors, and I'm talking one inch or less pieces of tile, check out that tile floor with the dog! There were also so many painted walls. We found lots of walls with penises on them, marking the brothels in the town. Walking down the stone roads, you could see the tracks of wagon wheels that have been worn down into the stone. There were holes in the rocks on the side of the roads used to hitch up horses as people went to the market. We even found a mini "colosseum" on the outskirts of the town. We did see one of petrified bodies of someone caught in the town, but the majority of those bodies are in a museum in Naples. 

And that wraps up our stint in Italy! While there's so many pictures of things we saw, what we didn't get pictures of includes eating real Italian pasta and pizza (which I regret to say just isn't as good as American pizza ha!), walking the streets and going in to many of the gorgeous churches on every street, a date night with just Eric, having a cappuccino and pastry in the corner store like the locals, and so much more. Stay tuned for our last stop of the trip, Paris, France!

2018: A Year in Review

2018 is officially over. Whew! 2018 was a year filled with great friends, great adventures, and lots and lots of love. It was another year without Ian and Madison, and that will always leave a sting, but I'm learning to be stronger because of them, to love harder because of them, and to cherish each moment because of them. So let's take a look back at all that 2018 had to offer!

We started the year with my best girls (and their husbands and kids). We don't all get together as often as we would like, but we make the most of it when we do. This year's gathering included a complete kid photo, including Ian and Madison!

My birthday this year included a trip to Cameo, the Firefly, and beautiful diamond earrings. Eric spoils me.

In March, we hit up the wine trails with Eric's sisters and their husband/boyfriend. We had a blast playing Speak Out and watching Eric drool everywhere, saving humanity from infection in Pandemic, and of course binge-ing on some of our favorite wine.

March also marked Madison's first birthday. My Facebook feed was flooded with posts #becauseofMadison, and I still get teary eyed going through and reading how much Madison has affected everyone's lives. 

Eric and I celebrated 5 years of marriage this year. Where has the time gone?

The summer started with some fun on the lake and never stopped! We went on countless jeep rides, I attended a Pro-Life Women's Conference, got in lots of snuggles with Grant and celebrated his first birthday!

August was a big month for us- we traveled to Europe! I'm still working on finishing editing our pictures from Italy and France, but I have posted on London and Germany. We were all there to celebrate Andy's wedding- what a fun time it all was!

Eric ran in his third Tough Mudder this year- so proud of this guy!

Eric also started coaching Fresh/Soph basketball at NCHS this fall. I don't have any pictures of him in action, but here we are cheering him on!

And I'm realizing Eric had a big fall as he shot his first buck this year too!

October brought a trip with Grant to the Zoo, and a visit from the cutest little monkey for Halloween, and celebrating my Godson Bennett's first birthday.

In December we celebrated Ian's fourth birthday in Heaven, and enjoyed spoiling Grant at Christmas. He loved the little basketball hoop and ball we got him!

2018, what a year you were! 2019 if full of endless possibilities, and I can't wait to see what's in store for us.