Trip - Day 6

Yes, I am still doing trip posts. I have to get it all on here before I forget! That way when I am stuck in the house this winter with three crazy boys, I can look at these and remember that I got away once.

So, anyway, we were in the Loire Valley the day before, then woke up the next day and headed north/west to Mont St Michel.

We drove through the beautiful French countryside and saw homes like this.

It took us about 4 hours to get here, and would've only taken 2 1/2 had I not gotten us lost a few times. (Johnny is a very patient man.)

We got here, dropped our stuff off in our hotel, and realized we had half an hour before the monastery closed on the top of the mountain. Needless to say, we were rushed.

After getting onto the island we had this crowd to fight our way through to get to the top. Thank heavens I wasn't pregnant! (I usually am anytime we take a vacation...)

We barely made it in time!

Views from the top

If there hadn't been a piece of glass behind Johnny he could've plummeted 100 feet to the small courtyard below. I wouldn't stand too close to it, it freaked me out.

"Paige, take a picture of me sitting here. This is where I would do Algebra if it were my house"

"Why algebra? On an iPad?"

"I don't know."

"This isn't a house, it's a monastery"

"Hey annoying, just take the picture."

Yikes

We then hobbled down, back to our hotel room for something to eat and rest. I think I watched some movie in French while Johnny slept, and ate my weight in bread and cheese, and green olives.

We went back out to watch the tide come in then made our way back to the island to see it at night. Johnny bought me an ice cream cone, I'd been asking for one for hours, and we walked around a bit.

This place was amazing!

Some Advice...

I got these pots at Lowes today on sale and wasn't a fan of the muddy brown and blue color of the ceramic. I thought I'd paint them a fall color, like bronze, and then decided to throw a little gold on them too. I'm really into gold lately, weird considering I've always hated it.

It seemed like a good idea, but now I'm questioning it.

I feel they are a little Ceaser's Palace-esque

Too gold? Should I just do all bronze? Should I bag it and paint them hot pink?

I'm sure Johnny would love that.

Side note, taking all three boys to Lowes by myself is an adventure. Note to self, you ARE as crazy as everyone thinks you are, and giving them metal rods to keep them entertained will ALWAYS result in an eye, head, and hand injury.

Random

We were able to go to this craptastic game. I was going to wear red, but Johnny told me I didn't want to get booed as the only Ute fan in the sea of navy BYU students.

I shouldn't have listened.

I did enjoy watching the old men throw their hats down and yell at the refs like they had control over the game. Ridic.

Drake has been holding very important "firetruck" meetings in the back yard. The item on today's agenda: Cool Ranch Doritos or Cheetos? You decide.

Allbee Family Reunion

Two weekends ago we took a short roadtrip to California for an Allbee Family Reunion. This event was pretty momentous. My Grandpa Allbee died in 1981, right after my parents got married. His burial was the last time my dad's family had all been together. We have seen his 4 siblings at different times over the last 30 years, but the visits were few and far between and I hadn't seen most of my cousins since we were 10 years old or younger.

My dad's family life was great for a while but turned kinda tragic when his dad was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis that ate away at his ability to work and care for his family. My grandma suffered from a few nervous breakdowns and mentally checked out for a few years.

My Grandpa's grave was never given a headstone. My Uncle Dirk (Derek) decided now was the time to give him one, and this was the main reason for us driving out to Sacramento where my dad grew up. The experience was pretty amazing. My dad gave a great talk about his dad at the gravesite, and we then headed to my aunts home to eat some of their favorite meals from when they were kids.

The new headstone. I'm thinking Wilbur might be an awesome name for my next boy....not (sorry Grandpa)

Johnny did a great job keeping this guy entertained so I could listen

My dad is the oldest of 5, and the shortest brother at 6'2", I hope my boys get their height!

We were also in California for this guy, my 16 year old cousin Connor. He has Battens disease that is slowly taking away his motor skills. He is now blind, hard of hearing, and can't really walk. The disease will soon take his life, but a great desire he's had since he was 8 was getting baptized, and we got to see that the next day!

On Sunday we left Sacramento and headed to Redwood City for the baptism where my uncle lives, which is just south of San Francisco. I couldn't be so close to my favorite city and not stop by!

We had an hour and a half to show the boys the seals, hop on a carousel, and walk back to the car.

This baptism was one of the greatest experiences! Connor's mom had been against it for 8 years and finally agreed to it. My dad baptized him, my brother assisted, and Johnny witnessed, and it was amazing. I love the men in my life!

After the baptism we kicked it at my uncles for a few hours then started our long drive home. We stayed over night in Lake Tahoe then headed home the next morning.

The boys were surprisingly good in the car. They watched movies (Tangled, Cars, Despicable Me, Cars, Megamind, Cars, and on and on and on...)

Con had a 3 hour threshold, then cried and threw things. If Con threw a car at my head then Bubba hit Con, then Drake would reach across Con and hit Bubbs, then Con would hit Drake while he was across him, which resulted in 30 hours of me yelling "Quit hitting, no touching, I'm sorry Con - I won't yell, Drake you're not the mom! (Why?) I'm the mom! Bubba, don't bite Con! I'm sorry Con, its ok! (and on and on and on...)"

The car ride was magical.

We won't be taking any more road trips for a while, but I'm very grateful for this experience. I learned a lot about my dad's side of the family and I'm grateful for the life my dad provided me, considering where he came from.

And I guess I'm grateful for the opportunities my boys gave me to practice patience and love.......I guess.

ChubbaCon Turns One

My baby just turned one and I can't believe it! Little, chubby Conrad brings so much joy into our home. He smiles, dances, growls, and has more attitude than his older brother's combined.

He smiles at me every morning when his Dadda brings him in to lay by me in bed, he gives me big, slobbery kisses, and he loves to be tossed, squeezed, tickled, and fed.

I'm so lucky to have this sweet baby, and I'm so grateful for his first healthy and happy year of life!

Father's Day

Johnny's Fathers Day present from me

(because every year all he asks for is me not to spend money...)

Bubba

I took Bubba to the dermatologist last week and he made quite an impression at the office.

When we walked in the receptionist smiled at him and said, "You must be Pierce!"

He gave his most upset, mad face (one might say 'pissed off' face, which resembles the photo above) lowered his voice and replied, "I'm Bubbaleeshee." The receptionist wasn't quite sure what to do with that response and just said, "Oh, ok!"

I then had to explain how Bubba received one of his many nicknames. Bubbaleeshee comes from Mimi, who called him Bubbalicious, which Bubba couldn't pronounce, and then turned in to Bubbaleeshee, sometimes just Leeshee.

I appologized for his unfriendly demeanor and they just laughed. When the nurse came out to call us back the receptionist told her to ask Bubba his name. After the nurse asked Bubbs replied, still mad, "I'm Bubba Pierce."

We then sat back in the patients room and the Dr. walked in and said, "I heard I'm supposed to ask him his name. What is your name?" Bubba, still mad, replied "I Senor Bubbs." (which comes from his Uncle Dave). The Dr. laughed and said, "Well, Senor, if you are good you can get a treat from the treat door!"

His reponse, "I don't want treats! I want gummies!"

From then on, any questions directed at Bubbs were answered with "Cars 2" for the remainder of our visit.

**Disclaimer, I have no idea where this angry, bitter Bubba comes from, but I can't help but laugh when he shows up.

Yesterday Drake told Johnny to rub noses with him. Johnny said no, your nose is stinky. Drake, after inhaling, said, "Dad, my nose isn't stinky!"

"Then what does it smell like?"

"It smells like ham."

New House!

We're soon to be the proud new owners of this lovely home:

I know what you're thinking, "What?! This place looks a 60 years old and doesn't even have a driveway!" Well, it's actually 85 years old, has no driveway, no bathroom, no kitchen, no insulation, no carpet (it was melted by vandals attempting to light the place on fire), and is 897 sq ft.

But the lot is huge and it happens to connect to our backyard! The house isn't in livable condition and would require too much money to fix it up, so we'll be tearing it down, taking down the portion of our fence that connects, fencing the whole thing, and making it a landscaping project. I can't wait!

Trip - Day 5

After spending the day in Versailles, we drove down to Blois to spend the night. When we woke up we grabbed our usual breakfast - croissants, strawberry tart thing, and coffee eclair (my fav) - and headed out. We were in the Loire Valley and I had 5 chateaux on my list to see. First stop, Blois Castle.

This castle is made up of four castles (I'm standing in front of the 4th). It's history is pretty interesting, and the views from it are amazing!

It prides itself on housing Joan of Arc for a couple of nights before her big crusade.

Pretty field on our way to castle #2.

This is Chambord. It was built as a hunting lodge for one of the French kings, and was only used 2 weeks out of the year. Ridiculous.

Cheverny was one of the more humble castles, but still huge and beautiful. The descendants of the original owners still live in it.

Chenonceau was my favorite. This was built for the kings mistress, lucky skank. As soon as she died the queen took it over and kicked the mistress into a different castle.

I looooove these topiaries and the planters. I've already got the plans drawn up for Johnny to build me some of these. We'll see if he ever gets around to it.

Because it was the week before Easter, there was a pretty flower arrangement in each room and hallway.

I want this.

Johnny loved this girls pants. As unattractive as I find them, they were all over Paris and I think they're coming this way soon.

The last castle was Amboise and sadly we got there right after it closed. We bought our usual bread and cheese for dinner and walked around the charming town.

The castle sits up on a hill and is where Leonardo da Vinci is buried.

Next stop, Mont St. Michel