March--PARIS!

Hannah and I were able to take a quick weekend trip to Paris, France.

We hopped on a train and made it there in 4 hours.  Love those ICE trains!

We came upon the Seine River and Hannah was sitting on these steps on the otherside.

Can you find her?

She's in the PINK!

Just to her left was Notre Dame.

We had every intention of climbing the stairs to the bell tower until we saw the line wrapped around the back of the building and down the street quite a ways.  They said it would have taken 2 hours!!  Our time was limited to so we quickly walked inside, looked around and headed on our way.

We decided to take a cruise on the Seine River to see all the sites and map out or routes for the following days.  I got a really good picture of the backside of Notre Dame.

We then headed straight for the Eifel Tower and on to the Arc de Triumph.

We took a stroll down the Champs Elysee and then headed on down to the Louvre.

I know....predictable, huh?

We had an amazing sunset that evening.

While inside we caught a glimpse of the Mona Lisa.

They've moved it to a much bigger display area since my last visit

I swear it was much smaller than that, but I guess my memory doesn't serve me to well.  They did have it enclosed in this small little podium instead of placed on an oversized wall last time.....maybe that has something to do with it!?!

Walking like an Egyptian??

We loved this area of the Louvre!

Then we headed over to the Love-Locks Bridge.

All along the bridge are these locks with names and dates of lovebirds!!

It was amazing to see how many locks were on this bridge.

We sat for awhile and enjoyed the sunset and the many musicians lined up along the bridge.

On our last day we headed over to the Eiffel Tower one last time and cruised on over to the other side of town to the Sacre Couer....one of my favorite buildings in Paris.  I love how beautifully white this building is.

We sat on the steps and listened to more musicians and watched some guys doing Capoeira.

We got to overlook the city and take it all in before we headed back home.

It was so wonderful to spend a weekend alone with my "baby" girl!!  Definitely a trip to be remembered.

VOLLEYBALL!!

Hannah made the FIS 6-8 grade Volleyball team last school year!!

They had limited games, but it was quite the experience for her.  The team got to travel to Vienna, Austria and Basel, Switzerland for their games.  They only took 10 girls and Hannah was chosen to go each time!!

If I do say so myself....she is quite good!  She has really taken to the position of setter, just like her mom and Aunt Laurel.

IN ACTION!!

Her serves made it over the net 99.99999% of the time.   They were only allowed to serve underhand.

It also helps to have your own cheering section!

Hannah thrived in the team environment and loved playing the game.  She had a great coach to teach her the basics and get her excited to play this awesome sport!

Tryouts for the middle school team are in 2 weeks (Jan 18-20), so say a little prayer!

February--Koln/Bonn

We had to make one last trip to Koln/Bonn before we headed out of dodge.

Here we are in front of the Koln Dom.

We then headed over to the Fruh for a quick lunch.

We had Goulasch Suppe!!

And of course, what trip out on town would be complete without a stop at the local bakery.

Berliners!

We headed off to Bonn to stop by the Haribo factory store.

The kids were in heaven!!  You could even get gummi bears by the bag fulls in each separate color.

We then headed down to the river.

It was pretty cold that day so it was a quick stop.

No pictures, but we headed over the Trattoria!!  Oh the memories.  It's a little Italian joint our family used to  eat at when we lived over there in the early 90s.  Still there with the same staff!

Centerparcs--The Netherlands

Our friends, the Bauders, told us about these cool little resorts called Centerparcs.  We went to one in Belgium last year and decided to go back but try a different one in a different country.  We took this trip in February during the kids Ski Week off from school.  What we LOVE about these places is that we are cut off from the world.  We had a bungalow with a functioning kitchen so we could cook for ourselves and they have a small grocery store on site.

So, we are out in nature!  You park your car on the outskirts and there are no cars within the living areas.  The main focus of the resorts are these indoor waterparks that are very tropical looking.  Waterslides, pools, you name it.

The kids outside our bungalow.

We were right on the lake.

Ella.

They have a playscape area and these motorized carts.  One of the kids favorites.

Mason.

An since we are out in the boonies....there has to be a petting farm right?

They had goats roosters, peacocks and all sorts of animals....not all for petting, but fun to look at.

Hannah got to do 2 activities.  I didn't book things very far in advance so she got "stuck" with rock climbing and zip lining.  What you won't see in pictures is that it was FREEZING COLD!! 

She was such a trooper and did really well.

She ended up getting to the top!

Inside the tropical walking area.

One of the slides....Ella didn't shove off as fast as the other two.

And YES, they are outside!!  There was a lazy river OUTSIDE!!  You start off inside and then flow outside for the whole river!!  Insane, but so totally cool.  I think it snowed at one point too.

And another outdoor attraction!  This is just a pool, but off over in the distance is an ice pool.  It's not heated so took on the outdoor temperature.  So, we hadn't seen anyone get brave enough to try it out but wouldn't you know....MASON jumped in but jumped right back out into the cold pool.  It was hysterical!

Just to give you an idea of what the indoor pool areas looks like.

Here's Hannah ready for the zip line. 

Why is she wearing a life vest?

Check out below!

And she's off!!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Yep, the zip line went over a lake!

They are picked up by this little pontoon boat.

She LOVED it!!

Such a fun vacation.  Last year we went for 3 days, this time we stayed the whole week.  It was nice to get away from reality and be in our own little bubble.  I love spending good quality time with the kiddos.

Istanbul, Turkey

I must say that this was probably, next to Prague, my favorite trip I took while in Europe!

It may have had something to do with the fact that I got to go with a bunch of friends w/out kids, but you'll see from the pictures below that Istanbul is an absolutely beautiful city!!

Turkey's flag

Our Hotel

The view of the Med from the back of the hotel.  That windowed room off to the right was our breakfast room....I can't believe I didn't get any pictures from there cause the view was absolutely amazing!

The Blue Mosque

(as seen from the entrance of our hotel)

PROOF!  I was there.

I'm usually the one behind the camera and rarely have pictures of me in all the wonderful places we've been so I made sure to have someone snap a couple of me with my camera.

The Blue Mosque at night.

Being that we were literally right across the street from the Mosque we were woken every morning with the call to prayer. Pretty amazing, an experience you couldn't completely appreciate unless you've been there and heard it.  They have LOUD speakers throughout the city so that you can hear the call no matter where you are.

Hagia Sophia

Absolutely amazing!

This is an old church that was turned into a Mosque.

You can see depictions of Christ from the Bible and yet here on large discs are words from the Koran.

And the Grand Bazaar!

Again, amazing!  Shop after shop.....let's just say I did some damage!

The toilets!

Yes, it's a glorified hole in the ground.  We had to pay to use it too!

Our tour guide walking down the main drag of the bazaar.  The little alleys (literally) that branched off this were so jam packed and narrow.  It's truly amazing how many vendors they squeeze into this place.

It is absolutely HUGE!!

58 covered streets and over 4,000 shops!!

My carpet!

The colors in the picture are a bit off, but it is sooooo pretty!!

It is hand embroidered and hand woven.

The Spice Market

It is the other popular market in Istanbul.  It pales in comparison to the Grand Bazaar but it is mainly, well spices that are sold here.

I don't know how sanitary this is.  They are just out in the open.  No glass enclosure....nothing!

BEAUTIFUL colors though.

BAKLAVA!!  YUM!!!

I bought some on our way out of town and wouldn't you know....I left it at the airport!

Bummer!!

Did I mention the colors?

So vibrant and beautiful!

These lanterns were everywhere!  Each one unique and beautiful.

Of course, I bought one to bring home!

This is just the tip of the iceberg!  We took a boat tour down the Bosphorus.  We drove over to the Asia side of Istanbul so I can now say that I have been on the continent of Asia!!

We walked and walked and walked so we decided to treat ourselves to a true Turkish Bath experience.  A little out of my comfort zone, but soooooo worth it!!

This is definitely a trip that I will remember for a LONG time!