Provence: Roussillon and Swim, Swim, Swim

We made a crazy trip this morning to the russet red town of Roussillon. Rob and the Maddens biked there, while I drove with the kids and Grandma and Grandpa. Unfortunately, our GPS got turned around by a detour and we ended up driving for hours through twisty roads. Grandma Judie was not too thrilled about this, as she is prone to car sickness. But the views of the town were worth it -- warm reds and oranges set against the summer greenery. We ate crepes at a fun little upstairs restaurant and then Rob, Uncle Buck and I rode the 50+ kilometers back through the rolling hills. It was a long haul for me -- but definitely worth it.

Mariah peaking through the door.

Hello, Sunshine girl!

Anna Claire and Grandma.

Go Team Madden!

Back at the cottage, the girls had a blast splashing around in the pool. It's cooling waters were a nice respite from the glaring sun.

Tyler watching all the fun. When can I swim, Mom?

Look at me, Mom!

Provence: Chateaus and Panoramas

Today we visited a beautiful castle in a town just 20 minutes away. As you can see, it is heavily restored. But romantic to imagine it that way!

Mom Judie and Tyler and me.

The view from the castle.

This is it! Mont Ventoux. The giant peak towering over the rolling hills of Provence. And a cyclists' heaven and hell.

Provence: Encore Bonjour!

We are doing it again! We love it so much that we've returned to Provence. Only this time we came with Rob's parents and his Uncle Buck, Aunt Jo and cousin Hannah. Provence is hot and humid this time of year -- but couldn't be more beautiful. I thought this lavendar basket captured a small glimpse of the sights and smells we enjoyed.

On the way there, we stopped at a little town so that Rob could register for his bike race. Anna Claire and Mariah participated in a summer favorite -- riding the carousel. Aren't they darling?

We are staying in the tiny town of Flassan, right at the base of the famous Mt. Ventoux. The house is quintessentially Provencal, adorned it brightly painted colors and cheerful flowers. And it even has a swingset. Don't my girls look like they belong in the Provencal sunshine?

Here is Rob, getting ready for his big race. He rode the Etape du Tour, which is a race that follows a stage in the Tour de France. Only this year, the stage included the grueling Mt. Ventoux. Rob powered through it, but came back a bit dehydrated from the heat. Go Rob!

Daddy relaxing with his Mariah.

Dinnertime in our Provencal kitchen, with Buck, Hannah and Grandma Judie.

Trip to the Zurich Zoo

We headed to the big zoo in Zurich for the first time today. There was so much to see, we could only cover a small of it. But the girls had a great time seeing (and imitating) the animals. I had the most fun taking pictures of them.

Mariah, Anna Claire, Mom and Tyler (always obscured by the stroller bar, poor guy)

Watching the tiger. "Scaaaawwy" says Mariah. But she can't get enough of the thrill of it.

After watching the gorillas, Anna Claire decided to do a little hanging herself.

I had the most fun watching the kids watch the animals. Everything is a thrill to them.

Check this out, Mom!

My little pink princess.

Sisters!

The Three Musketeers

Our kids are really starting to enjoy each other -- Tyler too! Here they are on Mariah's bed having a group snuggle.

Of course, both girls are always trying to hold Tyler. He's not too thrilled about this.

Because we were gone for the 4th of July, we celebrated at home a few days later by making red, white and blue cupcakes from a cake mix that Mara sent. Thanks Mara!

La Marmotte!

Happy 4th of July! We celebrated the day in the French Alps -- at Alpe d'Huez. Rob finished "The Marmotte" for the second year in a row. It's a 174 km cycling event covering 4 enormous Alp peaks. Here is Rob the masochist, ready to start this 7+ hour event.

While Rob is off biking, I'm checking out the beautiful view from our hotel room.

The best part of the day was getting to meet up with some friends from Morges. Anna's friend Nicole spent the day with us. Her father, Duncan, also did the race.

We spent the day at the playground and bouncy castle. Lot's of fun!

Summer is Truly Here

Now it really feels like summer. Mara left us last week. We were so sad to see her go, but she leaves on her mission to Atlanta today, so we wish her the best of luck. Anna had her last day of bilingual pre-school yesterday and her dance class also ended this week. Things are starting to wind-down for us. But we've got lots of plans for the summer, including "summer school camp" -- my own version of learning and fun. Plus, we're planning lots of trips to the Badi. The "Badi" is basically a big swimming area along Lake Zurich. Almost every town along the lake has it's own. Today we went to the "Wadi Badi", which is the one in our town. The girls brought their buckets and shovels and had a great time splashing around. The water is actually quite warm.

Anna Claire and Mariah at the Badi.

Anna Claire and Mariah with their friend Kaia.

Tyler is just enjoying the show and wondering when Mom is going to dip his toes in.

Biking in Italy!

Rob and I just returned from a wonderful trip to Riccione, Italy (on the Adriatic Coast) where we stayed at a biking hotel on the beach. We left the kids with Mara and spent four days just biking, walking on the beach and eating scrumptious Italian food. We took the train down, which delayed us significantly. While Mussolini may have made the trains run on time, the current government is not doing the same. An eight hour trip ended up taking about 20 hours for us. We spent the night in a wonderful Marriott in Milan, but hopped on a train promptly the next morning, only to wait again in Bologna. Anyhow, when we finally arrived, it was all worth it. The hotel offers bike tours with tourguides for different levels. I did the easier stuff while Rob went with the former cycling pro and did all the really hard climbs. Mine wasn't easy -- we did about 50 km a day -- but it only involved a little bit of climbing. We rode into the tiny country of San Marino one day -- up the mountain to the castletop and then rode back out. Rob and I did a couple bike rides together and that was great fun. Best of all, the food was all-inclusive and absolutely delicious! I think I ate too much of the all-you-can-eat gelato.

Sadly, I broke my camera at the Museum of Transport so I haven't been able to take any pictures since. My bike guide took lots of photos, though, which I'm hoping he'll someday email to me. :)

Baptismal desires. . .

Today we went to the baptism of Tate, the daughter of some friends in our ward. The baptism was after our three-hour church session, so the girls were a bit wild by then -- especially Mariah. After the baptism, we returned to the chapel. Everyone was quiet and reverent during the rest of the meeting, except Mariah, who kept repeating loudly, "I want to get baptized, I want to get baptized. Jesus got baptized. I want to get baptized." She did not want to wait another 6 years, she wanted to do it right then! We all admired her sincere desires, but after hearing it for the entire meeting, it wasn't quite so cute!

Luzern: The Swiss Museum of Transport

Rob did another long ride again today (taking advantage of the long weekend) so we set off to meet him in Luzern at the Museum of Transport. The museum had fantastic views of Lake Luzern. (Whenever I come here, I think of yogurt, because growing up we used to eat "Lucerne" brand yogurt from Albertson's. Weird thought, huh.)

Mom with the kids at the yogurt lake.

The Museum of Transport is fabulous -- it covers the history of cars, planes, trains and space. Everything is in four languages -- including English. Anna Claire and Mariah loved seeing all the old trains.

Mariah and Anna Claire playing in front of the giant airplane.

A little ride in the airplane. . .

Mom's trying it too.

Picnic in Schwyz

Rob did another long bike ride today -- so we met him partway in the town of Schwyz. It's an old, very Swiss town with beautiful views. (See below.)

We ended up eating by a big concrete plaza so the girls could ride their scooters. "Watch my trick!" is Mariah's favorite new phrase. She then puts both feet on her scooter, scrunches down and wiggles her behind. Very cute.

Anna is Speedy Gonzalez on the scooter!

Daddy time with Tyler! "Hi, my son!"

"I love all this attention."

Mariah is ready to drive us back home.

Tyler seems pretty happy about Mariah driving. I'm not!

On the way home, we stopped off near Einseideln and Rob and I biked around the lake while the kids played with Mara. We forgot to bring Tyler's formula (a first) so the trip didn't last long.

Tyler again

I feel bad, but I just haven't documented Tyler's little life with pictures the same way I did with Anna Claire. Poor third child. But he is such a delight. He's calm and really only cries when he's hungry or tired. He loves his little tummy swing. He can push it with his legs. Looks kind of like a baby pilates thing!

Anna Claire and Mariah love him -- sometimes a little too much -- as this picture demonstrates.