Thoughts from Madrid...

Some pictures from Madrid...

Unidentifiable fish tapas platter

Kayden has officially mastered the slide

Beautiful view near the castle

Old post office/ new town hall

Spanish love

Super yummy churros and chocolate

Fantastic castle courtyard (we couldn't take pix inside)

One of the many beautiful fountains in the old royal park

Kayden LOVED being on her leash. The Italians tourists loved her in return, yelling "Bella, bella"

Gorgeous park

We had an awesome time exploring the city of Madrid. The buildings were immaculately clean and beautiful while fountains frequently dotted the roadside. Here are some musings from our journey....

-When going on a trip, it is important to NOT leave the camera memory card in the computer back at home...
-Traveling with a 1 year old is challenging. Taking her to a art museum, not a great idea.

-The older Spanish ladies with money all seem to look the same- lots of hairspray, makeup and puffy fur coats

-FEW people speak English in Madrid

-When ordering an unknown tapas platter, be prepared to have a plethera of fish and octopus tentacles

-Asian and Italian tourists loved Kayden and followed her with cameras. Quite entertaining.

-Elevator ettiquette is lacking in Spain big time. Belgium too. Make that all of Europe.

-The baristas in Spain make excellent caramel macchiotos at Starbucks

-With a giant language barrior, be prepared to get milk when asking for tea (leche vs te?) and not receive what was thought ordered

-Churros and hot chocolate are amazing. The chocolate was almost as thick as Hershey's syrup, making for a perfect dipping sauce.

-Playing in the park with a one year old can be the high light of a trip when you see the joy shines on their face when let out of the stroller!

-Castles are incredible, but people used to have way to much money to waste.

In a nutshell...

The holidays have come and gone and no blog updates have been posted. Ops! Life has been a bit on the busy side. December kicked off with a 2 week trip to Garmish, a small town in the German Alps. Shane had training here for 2 weeks, so I tagged along to eat the food and climb the mountains. We were able to take day trips to Munich and Innsbruck, Austria and conquered 6 different Christmas markets along the way.

For Christmas, we headed to the States for a month. Shane and I were able to get away for a night and headed to NYC to enjoy the magic of Christmas in the city. Christmas Eve was spent with my family and then rest of the break up in the mountains of NY. We were even able to squeeze in a trip for New Years Eve to old friends in Watertown, NY.

Shane had to head back to France for work, so I took off by myself to California for a fantastic mini girls reunion/ birthday celebration. It was incredible traveling without a baby!!

It is good to be back in France together as a family and I think we have all recovered from the busyness of the holiday season.

Here are pix from the last few months to tell our story!

Number one Chargers fan... even if they choked in the playoffs
Girls weekend minus Ber

So fun meeting up with Cath and Tam

Who said tubing in 0 degree weather was a bad idea? All you need is an orange suit

Kayden's adventures on the sled

Kayden and cousin Alex

3 generations of ladies

Kayden DID NOT like Santa

3 Men and a Little Lady

Opening gifts Christmas Eve

Rockafellar Christmas Tree

Kayden's first haircut

Stuttgart, Germany Christmas Market

Innsbruck, Austria

Munich, Germany

Germany

View from my hike

View from our balcony of the German and Austrian Alpes

Normandy

Shane's parents came to visit and we were able to spend a long weekend in Normandy. We stayed at an amazing house tucked away next to a river and mill, reached only by a dirt road. The best part was that each night we were able to make a roaring fire. So cozy!

Our first day was spent visiting Mont Saint Michel, an old abbey over 1000 years old. It is on an island with only one road that twists and turns through the few store fronts. We were excited to try one of its famous fire roasted omelettes, until we saw that they were almost $50. CRAZY!!!

We all fell in love with the town Dinan, just over the border into Brittany. Perched high on a hill with cobble stone streets and half timbered house leading down to a river, we felt like we had walked into a fairy tale land.

The D Day beaches were a humbling experience. I kept gazing out over the sea, trying to invision the thousands of men riding in on the waves to fight for our freedom. Hard to imagine what our history would be like without the sacrifice.

Our pasties one morning from the local bakery


Omaha beach, American invasion point on D Day

American Cemetary at Omaha beach

Our cozy house

Slacking...

The last month and a half has been very busy and I have been a major slacker in updating this blog! So, in a nutshell, here is our life in pictures!!

Stonehenge- we spent a week in England while my parents watched Kayden. A whole week to ourselves! Marvelous!

Bath

Our Amazing Bed and Breakfast. The food was wonderful, proving that all British food is not inedible.

Oxford, such a beautiful city. We ate at the Eagle and Child where C.S. Lewis and Tolken would gather and discuss their thoughts.

London Tower Bridge

London outside of the government building. A whole week in Southern England and not a drop of rain. SO lucky!

Tampa Bay vs New England game at Wembley Stadium in London. 6 of us from Lille went to the game, including my dad. Everyone wore whatever team jersey they had, so each team was represented in the 84000 plus crowd.

Giving hugs to her bear with bed head. Can she get any cuter?? Oh she can!!

Signing "more" and loving her books.

Cuddley bunny for Halloween. We went to a Halloween party for a little and she was asleep before the trick or treaters arrived.

Helping "unpack" while in Germany for Shane's hernia surgery. He is doing great!

Kayden and her best friend Emilie playing. Kayden first started walking while trying to chase after her buddy.

Decorations at Kayden's party

My beautiful one year old! Where did this last year go?? She brings so much joy to each and every day. God has blessed us incredibly with such a wonderful little Peanut. She had a "Pretty in Pink" party. Everyone wore pink and we had pink food. Fun!

Day trip to Ghent in Belgium