CANNOT WAIT!

As you know by now since I shout it from the rooftops at every chance-- Neal and I are going to FRANCE tonight! I CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS:

Er, I mean this:

Actually, truth be told.... I'm more excited about the first thing-- PAIN AUX RAISINS! Don't be fooled by it's cinnamon roll type appearance-- it's a flakey pastry with plump raisins... YUM! The second picture is Versailles, Hall or Mirrors, which is pretty cool. Because I've spent so much time in France, I have to say I am more excited about the FOOD at the present time..... what can I say? I am, of course, THRILLED to show Neal off to my French family and show Neal around France and Switzerland... but the food is still very exciting! The forecast is for RAIN RAIN RAIN every day, but what can you do? Hopefully it's clear for 5 minutes in Switzerland so we can see this view:

But if not, oh well! Wish us a bon voyage because we're OUTTA HERE! We'll be back April 5th! AU REVOIR!

Wonderful Weekend!

This weekend has been extra nice! As previously mentioned, the weather here is GORGEOUS and Spring-y. On friday night I took Neal on a surprise picnic at Round Tree Park-- which is where we got engaged. It was precious!

My very well balanced picnic, as you can see, consisted of Fritos BBQ Twists (the best chip in the entire world), Subway sandwiches, and Orangina (the best carbonated drink in the entire world). Oh, and real glasses... classy!

Neal was very delighted with this surprise! I was proud of myself for being sweet-- usually Neal is the sweet one, as witnessed by this:

Tulips are my favorite flower, as you might recall. I was thrilled when Neal brought them home for me last week. Saturday we watched Piper so Cali and Josh could go mountain biking, and then celebrated Cali's birthday with Neal's homemade pizza and lemon bars. YUM! Her birthday is actually on Sunday, but we'll be.... you know.... IN FRANCE!

It should also be mentioned that Neal shaved his beard... kind of.

Yep, pretty gross right? But then we decided to go here:

So he shaved for real! He was tired of the beard and ready for it to go. I like the beard a lot, but was ready for it to go for a while.

Also-- lest anyone forget... on Thursday we'll be leaving for PARIS! YAHOOOOOOOOO!

When bad hair happens to good people....

It's been brought to my attention that I used to have big hair. I must admit, I fell victim to the "Utah Hair" trend during my college days... unfortunately. Some of the pictures of truly horrendous! I have included some below for your viewing pleasure. Too bad I don't have my old Utah license, that was the real deal, folks! Anyway-- here are a couple of examples:

Don't be alarmed, it's just my hair!

Pretty huge right?!? The sad thing is..... you can still see people (especially in Utah) with this same hairstyle! YIKES! Bikes. I poofed until I moved to DC... then I noticed people's hair was a lot more tame, so I tamed it down too. Who had Utah hair? Don't be afraid to admit it!

Ain't no sunshine when he's gone....

Actually that's a lie... there's PLENTY of sunshine right now, even though Neal is gone--it feels like Spring!!!! I went for a run today and it felt so good. The sidewalks are now clear of snow so running is a LOT less tricky and I even got to run in short sleeves. Spring makes me want to post some Spring pictures:

Dad and me in Amboise--this was the dreaded bike tour I did with my parents when they came out to France to visit me. They are hardcore bikers and I am NOT, so when I kept seeing signs to Amboise and it kept on getting farther away because we were going the "scenic" route, I got a little frustrated. It was still lovely and fun (especially for my parents!)

Holland! Always and forever Spring will remind me of Holland... this tulip park, Keukenhof, was one of the most gorgeous places I have ever been in my entire life. Tulips are my favorite flower, and this park did not let me down! My friend Steph and I literally had to be escorted out by the guards (we could have outrun them, but they were on bikes!) when it closed because we did NOT want to leave!

And last but not least, Spring reminds me of Neal! We got our engagement pictures taken in the Cherry Blossoms:

And, of course, we also got married in the Spring!

BRING ON THE SPRING!!!!