Boatin' on the 4th

We celebrated the 4th of July Italian style - renting a boat in Sorrento and touring around Capri. The sky was blue, the landscape was beautiful, and the company was fantastic!

 

Jess, Emma, and I at our first "swim stop" not far from Sorrento

The guys swimming under a little waterfall

Another swim stop near Sorrento with Capri in the background

Chris & Jimmy enjoying a beer with a view

Emma was our skipper on the way to Capri

Sweet smiles from Emma as we arrived at Capri

Camden & Chris floating in a little cove

Diver Jess

Those dots up on the side of the cliff are Jimmy, Emma, Camden, and Chris. They hopped out of the boat and hiked up into a cool cave

A wave from Camden

We saw some incredible yachts around the island. Here's how the rich and famous celebrate the 4th of July.

After swimming through the Green Grotto, Camden watched some older kids cliff jumping. He wanted to try it out, but had Jimmy go first. :)

Go Camden!

Emma's up next

Jess's turn

Camden's second jump- without a lifejacket!

Daddy/Daughter swim

Chris's turn to cliff jump

Jimmy & Chris enjoyed Commander Barbee's homebrew

Camden was our skipper on our way back to Sorrento

One last swim of the day

An otherwise perfect day was stopped when our car broke down on the way home.  I wish I could have taken a picture of Jess, Jimmy, and Chris pushing our Saturn through the toll booth (I was behind the wheel steering). This was followed by a 2 hour wait for a tow truck. This is my view in the car on the back of the flatbed tow truck as we cruised down the highway.  Yes, it was nerve racking!!  Luckily we only had a 10 minute ride to Carney Park.



Exploring Paris

We went to Notre Dame Cathedral on Monday morning.  What a beautiful church!!

 Luxembourg Park has to be one of our favorite places in Paris.  We had a picnic lunch and wandered around the gardens.

 Taking a little book break

 The COOLEST thing at the playground.  Emma spent almost 4 hours playing on this zip line.

 Eiffel Tower in the evening

 Adorable napping kitten at a cafe

 Back to the playground at Luxembourg Park for a second day

 Hard Rock Cafe milkshake 

Champs Elysees Sunday

We tried to keep it pretty low key on Sunday after our late night at the concert. Champ Elysees is the name of our favorite neighborhood gelato place, so we had to go visit the real Champ Elysees in Paris.

Fountain  in the Palace de la Concorde

One of the many card games we played during our trip

There was a 24 hour bike ride along Champs Elysees in support of the city's bike rental program.  Emma had a blast riding around the little course.

The adult bike course

Great lunch at a little Italian cafe

Arc de Triomphe

Another afternoon stroll along the Seine

Eiffel Tower and 1D

It's concert day! June 21 has been THE date in Emma's head since her birthday. We decided to visit the Eiffel Tower on the big day.

Personalized shoes just for the concert. Thank you Carly and Brenda!

Lunch at a cafe nearby

Afternoon by the Seine

Emma in Stade France

France won the World Cup in this stadium and now it was hosting Emma's favorite band, One Direction. We had awesome seats and the guys put on an incredible show!

A night we will never forget!

Welcome to Paris!

After 5 long months (that seem even longer when you are 9 years old), it was time for our big trip to Paris.  Emma and I hopped on a plane Friday morning and were ready to explore Paris that afternoon.
First stop: the Louvre

I saw some people walking down a path between the fountains, but it looked like they were in the fountains.  Here's my silly girl swimming her way to the museum entrance.

The ancient Egypt exhibit was our favorite

Beautiful Mona Lisa

Wedding at Cana

Goofy girl along the Seine