J-J-J-J-Johners

Well since our last post not much has happened travel wise.
June 1-3 we tidied up around the house, picked some flowers from our garden and prepared for our visitors!
June 3rd mom and I drove into Saumur in the afternoon to pick up Lucas and Rhea Johner as well as Luc's friend Philippe who came to visit from Bordeaux.

June 4th was Rhea's 26th birthday!!! ;) So we did a wine tasting just outside of our town while Connor was at school.

We then went into Saumur and ate supper at the creperie! After that we came back home and Connor made us all crepes for dessert (we had eaten the birthday cake the night before because I'm stupid, but I'll add a picture anyway).

June 5th we went ziplining! Which turned into an acrobatic park - i.e. holding on for dear life and trying to pull your entire body weight from tree to tree (but of course Beth looks like a fricking model). There were a couple of nice, long ziplines though and it was super fun!

 Sorry for the overload of pictures, but I just want you to understand what we went through. After the ziplining we had to go drop Philippe in Saumur so he could catch his train home :(

                                     

After we dropped off Philippe, we went home and ate lasagna. Exciting, I know. 

June 6th we literally did nothing. Lucas, Beth and I slept in until about noon and then woke up and did nothing. Rhea and mom probably did something, I think they got groceries and Connor went to school.
June 7th we went for an awesome picnic at our favourite spot in Montrueil Bellay! Right on the river, below the Chateau.

Afterwards, Mom took Beth and Connor home for school and Cyber school. Then Mom, Rhea, Luc, and I went and visited the castle! 

June 8th was my birthday, as if you didn't know. We spent the day in Angers and Rhea treated us all to a delicious lunch!! We wandered around and looked at some shops, then got treats :) 

After our day in Angers, we came home and played soccer with a bunch of the village kids! It was a blast! Then Beth made a delicious braided lasagna for supper and mom and Rhea surprised me by decorating the table and getting a cake! It really was an awesome day :)

June 9th we went to church in the morning in Montrueil Bellay. Then we came home and FINISHED OUR DISNEY PUZZLE!! 

A few days later, mom had to tidy it up...

Then we had to say goodbye to Luc and Rhea :( :( They almost missed their train but, sadly, Rhea realized at the last minute that they were on the wrong train and they made a mad dash to the right one.

Since then we've been baking, eating and preparing the house for Auntie Cher!! We go pick her up this afternoon.

Wish you were all here to enjoy this with us! And I mean that (as I sit here and eat my eggs Benedict).

Will post again after Auntie Cher leaves :) 

Byyyyye 

PS. Lots of the pictures in this post are courtesy of Lucas and his amazing camera!

A lot of stuff has happened...

Hey everyone... Sorry for the delay between posts.
Apparently it is actually really difficult to find time to sit down and write this blog. Not to mention the lack of internet they have here.
SO! Since we last posted, we have basically been around the world and back... Not literally, but we have done A LOT.
We went to Avignon, Le Palais des Papes (where the Pope lived for 100 years in the 1300s) and Pont du Gard on the Monday after our last post. We were fortunate enough to be able to meet up with the Bells for a nice lunch in Avignon (Connor plays hockey with their son Liam)!

We had tonnes of fun with Becca!

Wednesday (May 18th) we locked the door to our little house in Aumes for the last time :( and headed to  Carcasonne, which is a huge walled city from Medieval times.

Connor saying goodbye to his soccer buddies - Jean, Etienne and Henri - 3 brothers who lives right across from our house. Such great boys and so nice to have them on our doorstep. 

After Carcassone, we headed to Lourdes, a famous pilgrimage site where Mary appeared to St. Bernadette in the late 1800s. 

It's hard to describe what Lourdes is like. It is absolutely beautiful! You can truly feel God's presence there and we all had a fantastic time. We were able to see the grotto and drink the water from the spring. Truly an unbelievable experience.
For those of you who weren't with us, don't worry, there were plenty of souvenir shops and we loaded our bags full of stuff!

Lighting candles to say special prayers for our loved ones. 

The Church built in honour of Mary after the appearances.

Taking water from the healing springs.

The house where Bernadette grew up.

After our two nights in Lourdes, we drove to Bordeaux and stayed in a gorgeous Relais called Le Chateau Julie. It was like a fairy-tale. Of course, there was a boy Connor's age living there so he got to play more soccer! These kids seem to be everywhere. SOOO nice for Connor.

A baby the girls all fell in love with at the restaurant. 

The next morning we headed off to our new home in Le Puy Notre Dame (or as Connor likes to call it; "Puy"). We are now living in a castle... A cold one, but a castle nonetheless! Our yard is covered with all kinds of rose bushes, lilies, vines and other beautiful plants.

Looking back at our town from our running route.

Part of our yard.

After only a few nights in our new house, we took off to Paris!! We spent all day Sunday touring around, and look who we ran into! It's the Cobens, for those of you who don't know (yup, you made it on the blog). 

We did a great bus tour and got to see a bunch of the sights and... Oh wait nope. The buses got cancelled. So after seeing the Eiffel tower, the Louvre and Notre Dame, we spent most of the day trapped in a subway station trying to find our way to the office to get a refund on our tickets.  BUT! Thanks to Lori laying the smack down with the bus company, we all got a full refund and Paris will never be the same. We did find our way to L'arc de Triomphe and still managed to have a great day! It's those kinds of days that make the best memories. 

The famous lock bridge.

After our day in Paris, we went to DISNEYLAND!! Not to minimize our day with the Cobens, because it was a blast!... But Disney is where dreams come true and it really was magical!

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Wednesday we said bye to Becca and Dad :(...

then we decided to stay an extra day at Disneyland! We had to ease our sorrows somehow. 

The 3 musketeers - together again!

They each drove their own car - yes, even Connor! Tough to watch from the last vehicle, I must say. :)

Now we're just chilling in our little (huge) home. Getting things ready for Rhea, Lucas and Phillipe who arrive on Monday!! Will try to be better at keeping you all posted, but I turn 19 next week so I'll probably be spending the rest of the trip at the Bar! Nice knowing y'all!

Totally kidding, I can drink and write the blog at the same time. 

Will post again soon enough! 

Au revoir nos amies xoxo