Summertime

Since today is officially the last day of summer, I figure I need to document what we've been up to.  So here is a snapshot of some of the fun things that we have done.

We visited my sisters many times down at BYU and always got ice cream at the creamery.

Hike to Turtle Rock.  We even took a "Dora" map and backpack.  Belle thought it was pretty cool.

Hike to the "V."

We celebrated our 5 year anniversary!!

The 4th of July Centerville Fun Run.  Belle and Olivia ran together, and Belle was dead last.  Really.  But she does love to wear her "race shirt" to bed.

This is us waiting for the parade to pass by!  The other perk about running in the race for Belle was that she got this little toy.  I don't actually know what it is...but Belle likes to pretend it is her microphone, like Sid on Sid the Science Kid.

Sparklers on the 4th of July.  Surprisingly, Belle wasn't scared.

Happy little guy playing next to the bounce house at the Davis County Fair.

Riding on a bull.  Belle didn't actually ride this, but Platte did...for about 2 seconds.  :)

Belle just loved going up the ladder and down the slide.

Belle loved riding this little horse.  Even better, the horse's name was Daisy, which is Belle's doll's name.  She just lit up when they told her that was her name.

Ready to go home from the fair.

We loved playing in the water in Grandma's and Grandpa's backyard.

And we loved playing with "The Green Monster" in many different swimming pools.

Platte is definitely not as timid as Belle when it comes to the water.  He just loves it.

The first time we visited Daddy at his new office.

Europe 2011

Platte and I were able to go to Italy and France for two weeks at the beginning of August.  It was so amazing!!!  Here are some pictures and highlights of our trip.

ROME

Just walking down a little street the first day we got there.  We were in LOVE already.

The Trevi Fountain.  Very cool, but sooooo many tourists.

St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.  We loved going here.  Seeing the Sistine Chapel was one of our favorite parts of the whole trip.  

The Amazing Colosseum.  It was so neat to go here and experience it firsthand!  It is just massive and incredible.  

FLORENCE--our favorite city of the trip

Taken from the top of the Duomo, looking out at all the red rooftops.

Sitting on a bridge, with the Ponte Vecchio in the background.  Oh, how we loved Florence.

We hiked up to the Piazzale Michaelangelo to get this gorgeous view of the city.  You can see the Duomo, the Ponte Vecchio, the Uffizi Gallery, and most of the amazing places that are in Florence.  Our very favorite thing we did on our trip was see Michaelangelo's David, but Platte is so good at following the rules, so we didn't take a picture of it.  We were surprised at how much we both loved it, but love it we did!!!

VENICE

A typical street in Venice.  :)

Fulfilling my life long dream (and number one item on my bucket list) of going on a Gondola Ride.  Yep, it was everything I had hoped for.

MILAN

The Duomo in Milan.  Very beautiful, plus it was right next to the main shopping center.  :)

PARIS

 The Eiffel Tower.  We had to wait in line for hours to get to the top, but it didn't disappoint.  It was a gorgeous view of Paris, and we were glad we did it.  (Plus, I'd been waiting for 7 years to get back to the top to kiss Platte, since he didn't show up the first time I went.  Ha ha.  But really.)  Seeing it at night was also a highlight.  It is so beautiful when it lights up and does its sparkly show.

We learned our lesson from the day before, and got to the Louvre an hour before it opened.  We were 15th in line and got right in to see the Mona Lisa!

The Sacre Coeur.  From here we got another beautiful view of the city.

Classic Arc de Triomphe picture.

Versailles--we did the palace and the gardens, but my favorite place in all of Paris was...

Marie Antoinette's estate that is located about a mile and half away from the Palace.  I never knew this place existed.  The picture doesn't even come close to doing the place justice, but I was in heaven.  There was a little lake, a hamlet with pink flowers going all the way up the circular staircase, gardens galore (complete with flowers, vegetables, etc.), rivers that run up to the houses and waterwheels to bring the water in, and a farm with every farm animal you can imagine.  It was the most quaint and perfect, peaceful place.  Plus, it was raining a little bit which made it even more heavenly.  Really, Platte and I want to bring the kids and live here.

Notre Dame.  After seeing the amazing Duomos in Italy, Platte didn't quite think the Notre Dame was that amazing.  We were a little churched and museumed out.  :)  

We had an amazing time full of incredible food (in Italy), delicious gelato (like twice a day), breathtaking train rides, and historic and memorable sights!  It was the perfect trip!  We feel so blessed that we were able to go.  We also were so ready to get home to our kids!  We missed them like CRAZY, and I had plenty of good cries at night just missing them.  Thank you so much to my parents for having them and taking such great care of them!