A Weekend Away and the Last Few Days with Mom and Dad

 Our final days with Mom and Dad we spent just relaxing and enjoying some time with them at home.

 The days were lovely and we ate and played outside as much as possible! 

They were also gracious enough to watch the boys for a weekend so that Kevin and I could have a getaway sans enfant down to the south of France!  We ended up going to Cassis and the surrounding area.  We found an amazing Mexican restaurant one day for lunch.

In Cassis...

vineyards along the way...

and the beach at our hotel.

Amazing dinner along the sea Saturday evening.

It was such a gift to be able to get away for a couple days just to relax and reconnect!  We had great weather, amazing food and just some much needed time to talk and enjoy each other without constant interruptions and the demands of parenting!  Thanks, Mom and Dad, for letting us have a much needed getaway on our own!

Then Monday, the last day with Mom and Dad, we took a walk down by the Batie in the morning.  It's an area down by the Isere river where there are some lakes and ponds with lots of wildlife (birds, frogs, and even a nutria or coypu family - like a beaver but with a round tail and orange teeth -  were spotted!)  The boys have taken a few field trips here, so I thought Mom and Dad would appreciate the habitats as well.  No wildlife in this picture, but you can see the Dent de Crolles in the distance (on the right).

After school, we headed out to the other side of town to do a short hike to a lovely waterfall.  Unfortunately, after a long day of school the younger two fell asleep on the way to the hike!

You can see the waterfall in the distance that Kevin, Mom and Dad and E walked to while I stayed with Piper and CJ sleeping in the van!

I forgot to get the rest of Mom and Dad's photos, so these are all I took from the parking area post-hike..

 coming back from the short hike...

 Mom gathering some wildflowers.

Then the boys woke up and we all went down to 'Pizza Row', a line of Italian restaurants along the river that all serve amazing pizza!  It's one of our favorite places to eat with the boys because it's fast and relatively inexpensive and always the food they love!  Everyone was happy ;)

 The pizzas being prepared for the brick wood oven .. yum!

And the next day, we said a sad goodbye to Mom and Dad / Grandma and Grandpa!  It was such a wonderful visit, and we're SO thankful you took the time to come all this way to see us!  We enjoyed visiting with you, showing you a bit of our region/mountains, the south of France, Paris, etc. and also loved traveling to Switzerland to learn more about our history and heritage.  Thank you for the special weekend away for Kevin and I as well - our only one during 4 years in France!  We hope that you can better understand what has made us fall in love with this country, it's people and culture (and let's be honest, it's food!).  I am so blessed to be a part of your wonderful family and we are so thankful for your love and care and most of all, the Godly example that you are to us and our children.  We love you!