Paleo Festival

Rob and I went to the Paleo Festival last night. It's Europe's second largest outdoor music festival (a modern-day Woodstock) and it takes place right here in Nyon. I noticed that Crosby, Stills & Nash were playing at it so I snagged some of the last tickets. (They sold out in one day!) The whole experience definitely took years off of me -- it took me back to my high school and college days when outdoor concerts were a regular thing. Of course, I kind of stood out in the crowd -- I think I must have been the ONLY pregnant woman there.

Here is Rob. Can you tell that he's thinking "How did I end up at a place like Woodstock? What did my wife drag me to?"

Crosby, Stills & Nash on the big stage. These guys have been around for over 40 years now. I was introduced to them by my brother who was a huge fan of 60's and 70's classic rock. But their music is basically known by pretty much everyone. Even Rob was impressed at how many songs he knew. Of course, their singing abilities have deteriorated a little -- they are just OLD!

Soccer Camp

Anna and Mariah just finished their first soccer camp today. They really had a great time and learned a lot. While we were in the U.S. we outfitted them with soccer gear. (It would have cost us 3x as much to buy the stuff here.) They looked so cute in their cleats and shin guards. It brought back memories of when I was little -- running with the crowd of kids, eating orange slices. Anna was proud to have scored a few goals each game.

Go Anna!

Line up kids.

Ok Mariah. You have to kick the ball!

Tyler was desperate to join in. Actually, he kicks the ball amazingly well for an 18-month-old. Even the coaches were impressed.

Both girls received a special certificate and medal for completing the camp. Hooray!

Tour de France

This year, we didn't have to travel to see the Tour de France. It came practically through our backyard. Well, about 30 minutes away in place called Lamoura, France. Our good friends, the Plourdes, came and stayed with us for a marathon Tour de France weekend. Rob and Ryan biked up Saturday morning to scope out a spot. Then Melanie and I piled the kids in one car and headed off. We took a back route to avoid the crowds, then hiked through the woods so that we could watch the riders on the last part of the final climb to the finish line. The kids loved the parade of freebie paraphanalia, which always comes before the riders. They got a pile of free candies, snacks, hats and other random stuff. Unfortunately, my camera battery ran out so I'm missing good pics. But Chelsi got some great pics of all of us, including a perfect shot of Lance Armstrong, which I will upload later.

The next day, Anna had to say goodbye to her best friend Ella, who is moving back to the US next week. They spent the last year seeing each other almost everyday, so the transition is going to be a little rough. Fortunately, they will be living about 10 minutes from Rob's parents, so we will definitely get to see them the next time we visit Grandma and Grandpa!

Mariah, Ella and Anna doing what they love in front of our new house.

Alpe d'Huez

Rob was scheduled to do the annual Marmotte Bike Race at Alpe d'Huez this year, but, what with his crazy new job hours and our massive trip to the U.S., he didn't feel like he could race well this year. But we had booked the hotel 9 months ago, so we decided to do a little anniversary trip to Alpe d'Huez anyhow. I am still extremely weak from my anemia, although I am finally getting injections, so I mostly sat around, walked and read while Rob rode his bike. I dropped Rob off at the bottom of Col du Glandon and met him at the top here. It was beautiful at the top -- just me with a bunch of sheep. Unfortunately, the sheep brought flies, hundreds of which infested the car and refused to leave. I think they enjoyed munching on all the cracker crumbs left by my kids!

Here is Rob, riding the last hundred meters up Col du Glandon. Isn't it beautiful?

Yeah, Rob!