Christmas Bike

My baby girl wanted a bike for Christmas and what my baby girl wants, my baby girl gets.  It was a super windy day, but she was a trooper and took right to it.

Paris- The Palace of Versailles

There is a saying that enough is never enough and nowhere is that more true (that I have seen) than the Palace of Versailles.  It started out as a hunting lodge in the early 1600's and then one building campaign at a time, it became the largest palace in Europe.  To hear the story during the tour is fascinating.  One Louis wanted this and another wanted to add that.  Then there were the additions of the gardens, the opera house, the chapel, the grand apartments, the farm house, the summer home, and the smaller version of the summer home until the palace finally totaled 721, 206 square feet.  The last residents of the palace were Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI.  They were beheaded.  Hmm.

Here are a few pics from my day at the Palace of Versailles.  I kept imagining myself on a horse riding through the gardens.  That would have been cool.

Paris- The Eiffel Tower

One of my favorite parts of my trip to Paris was photographing the Eiffel Tower.  We went first at night to see it all lit up and then returned a few days later during the day to go up to the top. Here are some of my favorite pics of and from the Eiffel Tower.

Paris- The Latin Quarter

Trent and I just returned from a quick trip to Paris.  Move beyond the part where it rained and was COLD, and we had a great time.  This Houston girl just doesn't know what to do with temperatures below 50 degrees.   We stayed in the Latin quarter and loved the way it fit our style.  Every evening we walked up and down the streets sampling the food and checking out the shops.  Trent loved that we could see Notre Dame from our hotel window.  Here are just a few pics from our trip and I will post more in a few days to break it up a bit.

You Had Me At Chocolate

On Wednesday I received a call from work that they were not going to need me on Thursday morning.  After a short identity crisis of what on earth I was going to do with a day off, I decided I would take Ruthie on a special outing.  I put a shout out to some friends for ideas and let's say I was sold on lunch in Rice Village with dessert at a place called The Chocolate Bar.  I mean how on earth can you turn down a place like that?  Yep my friend Bernie did not need to add a description to that idea.  She had me at Chocolate.

We also went to visit a friend's new baby. Ruthie was amazed by her view from the 14th floor.

Words of Wisdom Remembered in Lights

My cousin used to say, "you can't put a price on a good time."  I think of those words often like last week on a road trip home from a family funeral.  Having been reminded that life is short and time together is sweet, we decided to make a stop in College Station at Santa's Wonderland.  We rode a hayride through a maze of lights, wrote letters to and visited Santa, and shared a funnel cake while being serenaded by Elvis.  I snapped a few pictures while we were there.  Keep in mind it was dark and I did not bring my flash so they aren't the greatest of quality but they are a memory from a priceless good time.

Thanksgiving in T-Town

I heard Dr. Phil say the other day that holidays are a time when too many people get together in too small a place for too long of a time.   It made me laugh.

In my family we remedy the overcrowding by heading outside to shoot guns.  That time was made extra special this year when my dad gave Sam his first Red Rider BB Gun.

Jack put on his gloves in case they decided to shoot a squirrel instead of a can and he needed to go get it.  Luckily that didn't materialize into anything.

In the suburbs of Houston (or at least the one I live in) we don't shoot guns much.  We also don't have many trees in our yards that are taller than our homes (or us).  I regularly long for wide open spaces and my friends wonder why I am not more at home here.  Well.....

That is because this is where I spent the first 18 years of my life.

There were more trees around the lake then and the bridge wasn't there, but my house was.  My dad sold our home 6+ years ago to Texas A&M and what you don't see in this picture are the educational buildings that now sit on it for the Bringle Lake Campus.

My mom planted this Magnolia Tree and it sat right outside of my brother's bedroom window.  It was much prettier then and hasn't weathered the construction well.  We took the kids there the day after Thanksgiving to let them fish where mom grew up but we quickly discovered that A&M not only killed my tree but my fish too.

I miss you Texarkana, tall trees, fall colors, and wide open spaces.  Until we meet again...