We got a lot of snow this winter, but that meant that we got to go sledding a lot. Click here for some pictures of us having fun in the snow.
Category Archives: Family
Easter Break in France
First we spent a couple of days in Burgundy (Beaune, Dijon). Beautiful vineyards and cool little towns. Then on to Antibes (on the coast). We had a nice little apartment next to the market and not far from the beach. We went over to Cannes for lunch (Lottie had to buy his own train ticket). Very relaxing. Then stops in Beaux-en-Provence and Lyon on the way home. All in all a really nice trip. Click here to see more photos.
Thanksgiving in the Carribean
We spent Thanksgiving on a Carribean cruise on a quasi family reunion. There were 14 of us in all and we had a great time. There were lots of things to do on the boat and of course food everywhere we looked. We stopped at Aruba, Curacao, St. Maartens, and St. Thomas. On one of our beach days an iguana (shown here) visited/terrorized us for about an hour. Another day, Maddie went swimming with dolphins (click here for photos).
Every day around 6pm we met up at a pub called the Duck and Dog for a drink or two before dinner. We corrupted many of the family members by teaching them to play roulette and had a wonderful and relaxing time. Click here to see more photos.
Last Minute Trip to Paris
At the last minute, I decided to go to Paris for the day to see Chad, ID and my aunt Geri. They were celebrating my aunt’s birthday and staying in a nice apartment in the Marais neighborhood. We sent to the Eiffel tower, had lunch in a street cafe, sat by the fountains at the Centre Pompidou, came back to the apartment for some wine and cheese and then had a great dinner at a restaurant called Chez Janou. The night ended with a wine-fueled call to Geri’s son Scott (Chad’s brother and my cousin). Click here to see pictures of the trip and a video of the phone call.
Northern Michigan
Maddie and I spent a week in Northern Michigan with my parents. this is where I grew up and I still think it is one of the prettiest areas I have visited. The photo shown is from the pool in my parent’s neighborhood. The area is somewhat famous for its sunsets too. Click here to see why.
I took some other photos from around town as we played putt-putt and had an early birthday party for Maddie. I also took a lot of photos of us playing in the pool. There was no lifeguard so we could jump and splash all we wanted.
The highlight of the trip was probably a day on Mackinaw Island. Click here for the details.
Charlotte and Atlanta
We set off for our annual US vacation about a week after Maddie’s school let out. We landed in Charlotte and spent time with family, went out with some of Steph’s high school friends, went to Katie’s 1st birthday party and spent a lot of time at the pool.
We went to Atlanta for a weekend to see the Stockfields and the McGaugheys (no they weren’t feuding 😉 We also got to spend the afternoon with our friends the Wards who had just moved back from Belgium. The photo shown here is from that Atlanta institution The Varsity. We got to see the aquarium too which was really cool.
On the last week of the trip, Maddie and I went to Michigan to see my parents. Click here for more photos from Charlotte and Atlanta.
Norway
We went to Norway for the 4 day Ascension weekend. I have always wanted to see the fjords and I was not disappointed. The weather was perfect and the scenery absolutely stunning. We took a train through the mountains, another train from the mountains down to the coast and a boat through the fjords. Click here for photos (even though they do not do it justice).
We rode a bus from the boat back to the train station and the driver was playing Norwegian country&western music on the speakers. Even though there were steel guitars and the singers had a heavy twang, I wasn’t sure because it was all in Norwegian. Then I heard the words “county jail” in English and I knew I was right.
Disneyland Paris
We lucked into some free tickets to Disneyland Paris so we drove down for a 3 day weekend to celebrate my birthday. Maddie took her friend Olivia and we all had a great time. Ask Maddie about the hotel pool and her first time riding Space Mountain. Click here for some photos.
Barcelona
Paul, Lisa, Katie and Jill came to visit and we went to Barcelona for a few days. Chocolate and churros for breakfast, lots of tapas and fresh fruit from the Las Ramblas market. Yum!
We also played the “Dancing Game” every day and have lots of embarrassing video to prove it. One day we went to the beach and everybody (even Katie) dipped their feet into the Mediterranean. Click here for photos.
International Festival
Today was the 32nd annual International Festival at Maddie’s school. Booths from 35 different countries showed off the food, costumes and decorations of their homelands.
We ran the USA booth. Lots of stars and stripes along with apple pie, hot dogs, southern BBQ and root beer floats. Maddie was our best sales person by far.
The day started off with a parade of nations (see photo of Maddie) that was led by Scottish bagpipers and ended with a pie eating contest at our booth. Lots of fun for everybody. Click here for a few more photos.
The Bedrick Family 