Lavender Fields

We went for a drive down the "Lavender Road" on the afternoon after the morning of the market in Apt. 

Lavender has to be harvested when the flower is at its peak in color which happens to be in late July, early August depending on elevation. Our trip was in perfect timing!

 Every afternoon we had to take a break in cafe to watch the Tour de France. 

It was hilarious to have to find a cafe and to sit there for an hour or two.

But quite necessary as since we never ate dinner before 9pm! 

We were all relaxed as we could be by the end of the day since the air was filled with lavender. 

It was like floating through a bubble bath in a car-it truly was amazing to see.

Provence

The town of Apt. We loved it. Romanesque architecture. Deserted streets. Super quiet and lovely. I couldn't photograph it enough. 

The sea town of Cassis. It is to the west of Marseille by about 40 minutes. It is known as a "poor man's Nice." That sounds about right to us. 

We loved this town. It was beautiful, lots of people-but we had the Rick Steve's Provence guide book to help us find great restaurants and sites. We did them all! 

I highly suggest picking up one of his books next time you travel ANYWHERE. We used it like a Bible. 

The water was the most amazing blue color. 

These white rocks are called Calanques. And the rock here was used for the base of the Statue of Liberty. Fancy that! 

Super pebbly beach with the usual topless Europeans and men in small trunks. 

Market Day in Apt

Saturday morning is the weekly market in Apt, one of the largest in the region. 

We were so excited for it and planned to spend the whole morning here. 

It was well worth it. The food stalls, clothing and sights were tremendous. 

France Overview

Our trip to France was super francetastic.

This is how the trip went day by day:

July 10, drove from Asheville to DC. Stayed overnight in DC and on

July 11 went running to try to burn off some energy before flying for 9 hours. Flight was at 8pm. We landed in Iceland on 

July 12 at 7am their time, 3am our time. Took off at 8:30am, landing in Paris at 1pm their time, 7am our time. Wow. We had a TGV train booked to take us to Avignon and we picked up our rental car. At dinner in Avignon and then headed to our apartment in Apt. Here is a link to check out the apartment and to book it for yourself: Marston House

Enough can not be said about this apartment. Location, price, beauty. It was fantastic and super awesome. We loved it and the town of Apt like crazy. More on this later.

July 13-20 - stayed in Apt. While there we have visited Avignon, Cassis, Uzes, Sault, Gordes, Rousillon, Lacoste, Menirbes, and Aix-en-Provence. We took a wine safari tour one day and learned about how they make wines in the different regions of Cote du Rhone, and we sampled...lots.  Here is the website for the wine safari: Mike's Wine Safari This was seriously our favorite. Mike was amazing as a tour guide and we loved the whole day. 

July 20-23 - In the Alps.  Watch the tour on stage 19 on Alp d'huez on the 22nd. We stayed in Les Deux Alps. It was a small ski apartment. Pretty basic but PERFECTLY located for Alp d'Huez. And cheap. Which is crucial. And if we had more time, we could have seriously done some summer glacier skiing and mountain biking, which would have been awesome. Les Deux Alps

July 23 - traveled from Alps to Paris through Grenoble.
on July 23, we landed in Paris and took a fantastic bike tour with Fat Tire Bike Tours. More on this later.
We stayed at Hotel Muguet in Paris. It was perfectly located in Rue Cler and had great rooms, very good service and we loved our stay.   

July 24-Final day of the Tour de France in Paris! We watched it on the Champs Elysee. Amazing.

July 25 - Sightseeing in Paris.

July 26 - Leave Paris and fly back to DC

:(

Now the pictures will begin to make sense if you know where we've been and what we've done in the last two weeks!

Updates are coming!

Family

I know it has been a few weeks since I have updated.
We've been a little busy, what with being international travelers and all.

Before we left, we spent the weekend with our extended family at Matt's parent's lake house and had a fabulous time. I was frantically trying to edit the pictures before we left for France but was unable to make it happen.

I managed to get them ALL done today and pull together a little slide show to hold you over until I got to my France pictures.
Hold onto your hat for those things.

I will tell you this about France, everyone should just stay home.
Don't go.
It will ruin it for the rest of us.
It was perfectly lovely and we will be moving there one day.
:)

So here you go, video times:

Let the Madness Begin

We are heading to France in just a few days.

The excitement is welling up within me because le Tour is freaking amazing this year. 

The winner is not even close to a foregone conclusion and we are going to get a front row seat to the days that will decide the winner. I  can't wait. 

Before we go, we are throwing a birthday party for our 6 year old. 

I can't believe he is going to be six. 

And we have about a million little details to go over. 

Like packing our kids for two weeks.

Ourselves for FRANCE for two weeks.

Getting Amy Noll set to dog sit for two weeks. 

And making sure that everything is in order for my job while I'm gone.

Little things like that. 

No wonder I am waking up at 5:30-6 in the morning in cold sweats. 

It is going to all work out. 

Seriously.

All I can think about is doing things like:

the Wine Safari

Fat Tire Bike Tours in Paris

visiting Cassis

Aix en Provence

Lavender Fields

Bastille Day

Alp d'Huez

Champs Elysees

Totally worth it. 

Cynicism or Joy

"For me it is amazing to experience the daily radical difference between cynicism and joy. Cynics seek darkness wherever they go. They point always to approaching dangers, impure motives, and hidden schemes. They call trust naive, care romantic, and forgiveness sentimental. They sneer at enthusiasm, ridicule spiritual fervor, and despise charismatic behavior. They consider themselves realists who see  reality for what it truly is and who are not deceived by "escapist emotions." But in belittling God's joy, their darkness only calls forth more darkness.

People who have come to know the joy of God do not deny the darkness, but they choose not to live in it. They claim that the light that shines in the darkness can be trusted more than the darkness itself and that a little bit of light can dispel a lot of darkness. They point each other to flashes of light here and there and remind each other that they reveal the hidden but real presence of God. They discover that there are people who heal each other's wounds, forgive each other's offenses, share their possessions, foster the spirit of community, celebrate the gifts they have received, and live in constant anticipation of God's glory.

Every moment of the day I have the chance to choose between cynicism and joy. Every thought I have can cynical or joyful. Every word I speak can be cynical or joyful. Every action can cynical or joyful. Increasingly I am aware of all these possible choices, and increasingly I discover that every choice of joy in turn reveals more joy and offers more reason to make life a true celebration in the house of the Father."

Return of the Prodigal Son

Henri Nouwen

p. 109

I followed a blog for a long time called "The Happiness Project" and the book about the project has recently been published in paperback where a Gretchen Rubin pursued all the ways that one can make herself happy.  In a semi-healthy way.

She came upon this truth along the way: "I'm not happy unless I think I'm happy." 

What does that mean? 

It means, it is a choice. 

We can do all things. With Christ. 

Today.

You can choose to be joyful. Full of life. 

Or you can be dark, lonely, annoyed and overwhelmed. 

This is my push and pull that I deal with. 

Today, I am going to do my best to be joyful.

How about you? 

Summer Fun Bucket List

Here it is people.

A free-for-all, bucket list for you and your kids summer bucket list.

Matt has been on Sabbatical for only three weeks and we already are frustrated at how quickly the time has passed.

We need a little list like this to keep us moving to do the fun things while are kids WANT to play with us.

JOY!

summer fun.jpg - Google Docs

Kids Party Playlist for Playlist Friday

Maybe you are having a party this Memorial Day weekend.
Perhaps you have to spend some time around the elementary school set at some point this summer.
You NEED kid-friendly dance party music.

Thanks to Matt and I dj-ing the school dance at Asher's elementary school two weeks ago, I am here to save the day.
Two songs I want to point out to you:
1. Hamster Dance
2. Do you like waffles?

Both are required to COMPLETELY change the mood of any morning around our house.

Here we go:

Just Dance: Lady Gaga
Don't Stop the Music: Rihanna
Top of the World: Mitchel Musso
The Hamster Dance Song: Hampton the Hamster (seriously-dumb)
I like to Move It: Crazy Frog

Group Dance Section:
Limbo Rock (Reggae Rock): Chubby C and OD
Hot! Hot! Hot!: Go Diego Go!
Hokey Pokey: Starsound Orchestra
The Chicken Dance: The Hit Crew
The Macarena: Los Del Rio
Born to Hand Jive: Sha-Na-Na
YMCA: Village People
Cupid Shuffle: Cupid
Tonto (Jump on It)
Casper Slide
Hoedown Throwdown: Miley Cyrus

Musical Interlude:
Hey Ya: Outkast

Back to Dance Party Times:
Baby: Justin Bieber
Firework: Katy Perry
Dynamite: Kidz Bop (I hate kidz bop, but some songs have slightly questionable content but popular to dance to when you have to play them in group settings are just safer. AND the elementary set are used to bad sounding songs. So it's not a reflection on you.)
Just the Way You Are: Bruno Mars *not a winner
Fire Burning: Sean Kingston
Forever: Chris Brown
Party in the USA: Miley Cyrus
Pool Party: Aquabats (from Yo Gabba Gabba)
Kung Fu Fighting: Air Fighters
Who Let the Dogs Out: Baja Men
Life is a Highway: Rascal Flatts

Fun Extra Music:
Crazy in Love: Beyonce
Gitchee Gitchee Goo: Phineas and Ferb Soundtrack
Peanut Butter Jelly Time: Chip Man and the Buckwheat Boyz
Do you like Waffles?: Parry Gripp
You Belong with Me: Taylor Swift
Replay: Iyaz
Airplanes: B.o.B
That's Not My Name: The Ting Tings
Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go): Dierks Bently
Eenie Meenie: Sean Kingston and Justin Bieber
Love Me: Justin Bieber


Our kids had a blast at the dance and their friends keep walking up to us and saying, "HEY DJ!" It's hilarious. Matt did a great job leading the group and keeping them actually dancing. Because all they really wanted to do was run laps around the gym. It was something special. Trust me.

Happy Anniversary!

Matt and I are celebrating 10 years of being married today!
I can not believe that it has been 10 FREAKING YEARS.

That.is.a.long.time.
But it really doesn't feel like it.

Maybe because of moments like these:

Life is a little easier when you are married to your best friend. 

Not easy. Just easier. 

And yes, we laugh. A lot. 

That helps too.

Only 40 more years to go. 

Just a small explanation on that video:
We were hiking at Carolina Point, a Young Life property in development and they have a wildlife camera set up to see what kinds of game are present on the property. Matt and Asher used the opportunity to do what they do best. I am so proud.