I thought I should post a warning and a pre-emptive apology. There are going to be a lot of pictures posted on this blog very soon. Probably more pictures than you want to look at. Ever since we got back from vacation I have been slowly chipping away at the editing on the hundreds of pictures we took in France. But it is slow going. Brad is busy at work and hasn’t been getting home until 9 or 10 every night. He worked 60 straight hours last week, and he worked straight through the weekend, so he still hasn’t had a day off since our vacation. That leaves me to do all the usual stuff, plus running errands, grocery shopping, putting the kids to bed, cleaning up dinner, etc, etc, etc … There is nothing like having your husband gone to make you appreciate all the things he does. I am anxious to share all the fun things we did and the beautiful places we saw, but it will have to wait just a little bit longer. In the meantime, Annika hasn’t made an appearance on the blog for a while, so here is a picture from our visit to the Dinosaur Park before we went to France.
We just got back last night from a wonderful 10 day vacation to Provence, France. Two days into the trip I was wondering if taking all of our kids on an extended European vacation was the worst idea we ever had, but it turned out to be one of our most memorable trips. Traveling with kids is different, for sure, but is equally rewarding. Seeing the world through a two-year old’s eyes is pretty exciting. We played at the beach, toured castles and Roman arenas, drove through fields of lavender and sunflowers, and ate about a million pastries. I took pictures of all of these things and will share some after I wade through all of the editing I need to get done. For now, I couldn’t pass up this picture of my babies. Look, they’re sitting! (sort of) I love these beautiful, patient, easy-going girls that let us haul them all over the continent with hardly a whimper. Now I think I will go enjoy my bed. I missed it.
Oh, and I keep getting requests to clarify who is who. Elise is on the left (and is actually the better sitter). Lucy is on the right (and tipped over soon after this picture was taken).
We went to the pool this weekend to celebrate my niece Avery’s birthday. Annika has shown quite a bit of fear of water in her two years, so we were very proud of her when she jumped right in (quite literally). She went down this slide over and over again, and it was fast! It shot her right off the end, and catching her was a bit tricky. I got two feet square in the chest a couple of times.
This is a four day weekend for us, and then Brad takes leave starting Tuesday. We are leaving on Friday for a much anticipated week long trip to Provence, France. There is a lot more sun and water in our near future!
And, on another note, Happy Father’s Day! I have a wonderful Father and all of my girls adore their “Opa”. I have many happy memories of riding bikes, playing at the beach, working in the garden, and backpacking with my Dad. He was my biggest fan and I could pick out his voice over my coaches’ when I was playing basketball. His example has inspired me to be a harder worker, a more loving mother, and a more devoted follower of Christ.
Opa and newborn Annika
A fun grandpa, no?
If I can say so, I think I got a pretty good husband who is a wonderful Dad as well. I don’t know if you can tell from the pictures on the blog, but Brad is the “fun” one in our house. Annika has an acute sense of hearing when it comes to the door downstairs and she is usually rushing down the hall yelling “Daddy’s home!” before I even know what is happening. He likes to pretend that he really wants boys, but I know our girls have him wrapped around their fingers.
This is from a month or so ago -- Brad is now "Cap'n Holland"
by Erica Holland Photography
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