Amboise

Visiting the chateau in the town of Amboise was one of the days I will always remember from our trip.  It happened to be a chilly and wet day so when we finally ventured up to the chateau there was hardly a tourist in site.  The raining had just recently stopped and consequently we were able to run around the grounds and tour the chateau pretty much by ourselves.  After standing in long lines for tickets or shuffling in crowded room it felt great to be free to explore the burial place of Leonardo Da Vinci all by ourselves.

Cheverny and Leonardo Da Vinci

Cheverny was a beautiful chateau to visit and had a little different feel from the other places we had visited.  When you walk inside you can explore the first 2 floors but can't go up to the top floor because a family still lives there.  You can also hear about 50 hound dogs on the premises that are occasionally taken out for hunting.  The grounds were also beautiful and the kids preferred spending most of our time running around the gardens.  

Right in Amboise where our apartment was located is the house of Leonardo De Vinci.  Apparently he lived his last few years there and was buried nearby.  Inside felt a little more Italian and the kids loved it because there was a cat sleeping on Leonardo's bed.  Outside there were some replicas of some of his inventions and we found it to be a pretty kid friendly place. 

Chaumont and Chambord

So the photo below is of a chateau called Chaumont.  The most memorable thing about Chaumont was the rain.  The chateau sits on a cliff above a small town and river and after walking up to what we thought was the entrance we headed up a steep incline in the rain.  After carrying Lila up the long, winding, very wet and steep road we soon discovered that we had taken a wrong turn.....back down the hill and finally up another one to this majestic chateau.  Everybody wanted to kill me as the rain and wind pounded down and completely soaked us.  Despite the rain it did have a lovely courtyard and view over the river.  Ben spent 5 euros on a plastic poncho that looked like a garbage bag and broke in 5 minutes!

After recovering from our trip to Chaumont we headed to another well know chateau called Chambord.  Chambord was a hunting lodge for the French kings.  It is definitely a sight to behold even as you approach it by car.  As you can see it has more chimneys than you can count.  Three stories up it has a great view of the countryside.  It also is known for its winding exterior staircases.  This was an impressive chateau and the largest one we visited the whole trip.

Loire Valley and Chenonceau 2013

I was definitely apprehensive about bringing the kids to Europe but am so glad Ben and I decided to go for it.  I went when I was 4 and still remember things about the trip.  Hopefully Liam and Lila will take something away from this trip....if nothing else we can go on more trips since I know long flights are manageable with them now.

After routing through JFK we made it to Charles de Gaulle with only a minor incident of spilled apple juice all over Lila.  We then rented a car and got stuck in Paris traffic as we try to make our way to the Loire Valley.  The ride seemed long but we did pass a lot of lovely yellow mustard fields along the way.

After several hours of driving we made it to our apartment in Amboise that we found to rent on the internet.  I think this is the best invention since we had a kitchen, washing machine, several bedrooms and everything we needed to be comfortable with kids.  It was located on a small street near the bell tower and local chateau.

  

After recovering from jet lag and orienting ourselves we went to the first chateau only 10 minutes away.  Chenonceau is probably one of the most well known chateaus in the valley and for good reason.   

Unfortunately we didn't make it to the garden of mazes since it started to rain and sent us running to the car.  Although all the chateaus are beautiful this one is like visiting a real fairytale castle.  Definitely beats the Disneyland version!  

Easter 2013

I always loved getting a new dress for easter every year as a little girl.  Lila apparently is a lot like me and was very happy to continue this tradition.  She actually let me dress her is something other than pink this year.

Another family easter egg hunt at Grandma Johnson's house.  We were lucky it was a very nice, fairly warm day in Logan.

The Grand America always does a nice job of celebrating the holidays and we are often finding ourselves running down there to see their displays and grab a bite.  

The piles of snow and freezing temperatures are thankfully ending.  So happy to see spring finally make it to Utah this year.

Birthday Boy

Ben told me we could celebrate his birthday this year if nobody would mention how old he was turning.  I told him it was all relative and he was in the prime of his life!  

On a more serious note, Ben recently had a close friend die and it really made me appreciate him all the more this year.   Somehow a tragedy forces you to refocus and remember what is important.  I'm lucky Ben is a great dad and husband and gives so much to us as a family.  He also keeps life interesting and fun and I count myself and our 2 kids fortunate to have him in our lives.  Happy Birthday!

Tween in the House

Liam turned 10 on February 25th and declared he was a tween.  He has turned into a sweet kid with lots of interest in learning magic tricks and playing with friends.  Although he isn't particularly fond of piano and doing homework he is turning into a good student and musician.  His teacher said he is always kind to others at school and likes to write stories in his journal.  He still loves Star Wars, legos and his cat, Lucky. 

Liam is also a pretty good big brother to Lila, making sure that when I'm not around she is taken care of and watched out for.  He just lost 4 teeth in just 1 week and growing out of all of his shoes.  Life just wouldn't be the same without Liam and we love having this tween in our house.      

Instead of having a big friend party this year Liam decided to take 1 friend to the Grand America hotel and swim, watch movies, order room service and have a sleepover.  I had no qualms about doing that this year.  He ended up getting plenty of gifts from family that I don't think he felt like he came up empty handed in the present department either.