Viva la France

We have just completed one of the great adventures of our life. When Matt was called to the France, Paris mission we decided that we were going to try to pick him up when his service was complete. Katie is in school at BYU so we had to shoehorn two weeks worth of sights into 7 days so that we could get her back to class. It is hard to describe the experiences and feelings that go into trip (not really a vacation) like this.

The very best part was meeting the people in some of the areas where Matt served and getting some idea of what they meant to him. (We will never understand completely, but at least we have a better idea now).

I have to admit that I had some anxious moments about Matt going to France. All the stories about how closed the people were and all. I would like to say, we have never been treated better anywhere we have gone. The people that we met, the Inn proprietors, the shop owners, and the members of the Church were kind, thoughtful, helpful and patient. I'm sure that it helped to have Matt with his ability at the language; but the kindness was there, even so. I can hardly wait to go again, at a more leisurely pace next time.

Just a couple of simple suggestions: If you drive make sure you have GPS. We wouldn't have even made it out of the airport without it. It saved our life multiple times. In fact, we would turn off the "freeway" and drive through the country or take the long way to another town. The countryside is beautiful even at the beginning of December.

The following are a few sights on our trip. For the real action, you need to visit Katies site.



The hug that every missionary mom looks forward too! It didn't get any better than this.

The hug that every missionaries dad likes to get.


Shopping the Champs-Elysees.

The second best part for the girls. Shopping in France.

Omaha Beach in Normandy. It is a very sobering place to realize that on one day in 1944 that many thousands of young men, around the age of your missionary son, were killed on this very beach for the cause of freedom. The citizens of Normandy are very kind to Americans, even to this day.

There is not a lot that one can add to this picture, other than to hope that one day the wars & battles will end.

The cathederals in every town were amazing. So big, so old, and so ornate. Wow. This particular one was built in 1077. This is a real antique, not like the "fake" stuff we have in the States.

Concord plaza. Where 10,000 to 15,000 people were beheaded during the French Revolution.


The Arc de Triomphe at night from the middle of the Champs-Elysees.

The Eiffel Tower at night.

We would like to say a special thanks to the many missionaries, members and non-members of the church who may have worked with Matt or helped him out during his two years in France and made his time there so memorable. We will never be able to repay your kindness. May God Bless you all.

Viva la France!

Mom Has Skills Too!

Hooyah! It is November. Since it has been 6 weeks since the previous post we just thought we needed to get something out there. Katie upped the ante by posting her halloween skills but I think that Mom did one better! Or would that be two? In any case here are her efforts:

This is Matt in his French Beret!

In memory of the Moki Dog! (We miss him).

Ashley guarding against trick or treaters! She scarfed up all the Kit Kats herself. Only a few more years and this will catch up to her.

It Doesn't Get Any Better Than This

A couple of Sunday's ago, Jo and I were at the Marriott Center (BYU Campus) for a regional conference. It was an inspiring meeting and on the way out the weather was just gorgeous. A beautiful fall day, a touch of crispness in the air. Everything was perfect. I was holding hands with Jo and just happened to comment, "It just doesn't get any better than this...A good family, a beautiful day, and everything just seemed to be going good." OOOOOOPs. Big Mistake. We hadn't gone 20 feet and were going down the stairs and about 5 from the bottom. Jo stumbled. She started to fall and since we were still holding hands I just about landed on top of her. Right in front of 22,000 people. We recovered as gracefully as possible, Jo took off her high heels and walked barefoot to the car. The next day, when I was going to get on the computer, it quit. I lost all my email and other files...Bad day! Well, then as I was rebuilding this computer, I was looking at the kids computer and it was loaded with viruses. When I tried to clean them off, you guessed it another computer crash. So last week I spent about 40 hours fixing computers... and I hate doing that. The only good thing...I did get all my files recovered thanks to a neat little piece of software called File Scavenger. ($49).

Then today, when Jo was calling people for the job that she has, got yelled at bad by a California dude. Kinda ruined her day.

I guess we were right when we said that it doesn't get any better than this...It is just possible that things can go downhill in a real hurry.