Creative Movement.

Stella is finally in a dance class! She has waited for this for a LONG time and she couldn't be happier. Stella loves her ballet slippers and pink ballet outfit, and most of all she loves her teacher Miss Trisha.

Looking in on class through the the dirty window.  That is Stella in the middle.

Trying out some one-legged moves.

About as flexible as I am--she has to bend her knees to touch her toes.

Stretching out.

Look at me!

I love watching Stella take instruction from her teacher and do all her ballet moves (this week they did a curtsy and some other ballet things that I have no idea what the proper names are--though in Presley's class she told me they did "Sautes, which is just the French word for jump mom").

Bye bye.

You were here for just over two weeks (plus an extra un-planned day, no thanks to Delta) and we miss you and the boys!  Thanks for all the photos, ice cream, and fun!

This was before the flight delay--the boys were so done and ready to get home.

Presley giving Elliott some love.

Jonas and Elliott are getting so big--I can't believe it.

Family.

It has been 2 years since our last family photo shoot, and with Krista in town we had to take advantage of her skills.  Here are some of our favorites of us at Sundance.

We can't go to Sundance without getting suckers for the girls--Presley likes rainbow watermelon best, but had strawberry cream, Stella always gets green apple.  Thanks Krista!  I will let you know when she is back in town for those of you who want pictures of your families.

Ice Cream.

Move over Ben & Jerry's, my sister and I have been busy coming up with yummy, homemade ice creams--and they do not disappoint!  Our first was a re-creation of Krista's pina colada, then a traditional chocolate brownie, and my favorite a coconut caramel cookie--oh my goodness, these were good!  And we even gave them official names.

We used the Alton Brown custard ice cream base recipe (my sister has it on her blog) and then just added yummy ingredients.  More caloric than Thanksgiving dinner!

Chocolate Brownie Chip.

Coconut Caramel Cookie Crunch.

I am not going to lie, the scale and my treadmill are going to hate me now--especially after I get done making a birthday cake for a friend's daughter's birthday later this week.  Maybe a sugar detox is going to be needed when school starts.

Outside.

The weather is AMAZING right now--and to top it off my sister is in town with her boys!  We spent the day shopping and out to lunch, then outside in grandma's backyard with water tables, a little swimming pool, and otter pops!

Otter pop number 2.

Presley's favorite thing to say when you are taking her picture, "I am a pretty, pretty princess!".

So much fun--too bad Krista's boys are so into everything that they practically run in opposite directions the whole time!  What a workout for her.

5 Weeks.

With all the traveling, it has been 5 weeks since Chris has spent more than a couple of hours with the girls.  And the girls were definitely missing their daddy.  So this weekend Chris packed us all up and took us to the mountains (well more into the mountains than we already are) for some quality camping time.

I love how well Presley sleeps--anywhere!  These were taken just as the girls woke up, but before we braved to cold morning.

With all the new excitement, this little bug had trouble settling down for the night.  But not as bad as Roxy, who just couldn't get comfortable all night.

Everyone did well.  Cheese dogs and chips for dinner with s'mores for dessert and pancakes for breakfast.  After camping we drove the long way home--over the mountains and through Salt Lake--with a stop at REI and Cabela's for much needed/updated camping gear.

Swimming Lessons.

This was our second summer of swimming lessons, and with all the traveling we were only able to get in one session.  Next year we will need to do at least two sessions.  My girls of course loved the water!

Stella with her teacher Scott.

Presley perfecting her back float with her teacher Travis (we finally learned his name on the last day!).

She could not be happier than when she is at the pool.

Stella working on her glide (rocket!).

Presley loves jumping off the diving board.  After a few failed (belly flops) attempts to dive off, we decided to stick with jumping.  She can do a great kneeling dive of the edge of the pool.

I love bringing the girls to this pool--thank you Carl and Susan!  I am as tan as I have been in a while--one week at the beach, two weeks in Europe, and another week at the pool for swimming lessons.  It sure feels like summer!  One month left--we are filling it up with camping, a visit from my sister and her boys, and getting ready for school.

Souvenirs.

Welcome home!  I sure missed these two (and Roxy too).  It was so wonderful that my parents could watch them for so long.

The girls in their carnival masks from Venice, Italy.  We are so happy to be home--Presley was so over come, she cried as she hugged us.  What a wonderful welcome home.  Now back to the grind--swimming lessons, Chris traveling (more) for work, friends . . . .

Paris, France.

Brrrrr.  The last time I was in Paris, it was August and so hot I thought I would melt.  I expected the same for this trip but instead we got chilly, cloudy, and just as we finished seeing the sights rainy.  We flew into Paris from Geneva and then hopped on a bus to our hotel on the other side of the city near the airport we would be departing from.  We spent the next day seeing everything we could squeeze into our one day of sight seeing.  Definitely get the day pass for the subways--worth every penny.



Musee du Lourve, as we are waiting in line to go through security and then purchase tickets.  We made it inside just as it started to pour rain.

Mona Lisa.  Under glass and a chained off area.  It was a pushing match to get close enough to look at her.

My favorite painting at the Lourve.

Chris in front of Notre Dame.

A pair of massive and ornate front doors--I meant to get a photo of the back of the church, but forgot.

Looking up at all the detail.

Paris was busy setting up the Champs-Elyees for the finish of the Tour de France.  Bleachers and grand stands were being set up all along the street and flags everywhere.

Arc de Triomphe.

This picture was for my girls--they are always on the look out for the pink car that they will drive someday.

Presley is so excited about the Eiffel Tower, and I promised her a picture.  Built in 1889 it is the tallest building in Paris.

This family offered to take our picture and the teenager was so excited about knowing how to use my camera--but her mom wouldn't let her hold it because it looked to expensive, so we got a kind of blurry photo.

We missed a museum that Chris really would have liked to see--it had all the Monet and Van Gogh paintings.  But we really loved everything we saw and we really went all around the city.  For future travels I recommend traveling in and out of a smaller airport--CDG was the busiest I have ever been too and I don't know if it was worth the hassle for the direct flight home.

Liechtenstiein.

When I was a kid, Liechtenstien was the smallest country in the world (61.7 square miles)--not so any more.  However, it still is so small that we could see pretty much the whole country from our hotel balcony.  It was cool and foggy the days we were here, but it was so green and pretty.  We stayed up on the mountain side in a newly remodeled hotel that was once owned by Hanni Wenzel, she won the small country its first medal in the 1976 Winter Olympics.  We found the hotel after driving the steepest and curviest roads up the mountain and past the prince's castle.

One of the views from our room's balcony.

We hiked around this little lake and through a small village of "cabins" in the mountains just behind our hotel.

The view of the church bell tower from our balcony--the only downside was this bells went chimed on the hour from 6 AM to 11 PM.

The most beautiful cemetery I have seen.  I love the personal flower beds with each headstone.

After closer inspection, nearly half of the headstones were for people with the last name Beck--my great grandmother's last name (on my dad's side, she was from neighboring Switzerland).  I bet we are some how related to these Becks.

This was a charming place to stay and highly recommend visiting if you have a chance!  I loved the hotel and the owners--they also ran the restaurant on the hotel's first floor.  Hotel Oberland (meaning the overland, or overlooking--up on the mountain).