The mandatory beach trip

Philip spent a month at the beach every summer as a child, and I lived so far from the ocean growing up, that a beach is a real treat for me. Therefore for us, no summer is complete without at least one day at the beach. So when the weather turned warm right before school started, we dropped everything and drove the two hours to play in the sand and sun.

 Family tradition of building a sand castle too near to the rising tide.

Sand castle gone wild...

Taming the dragon

Other activities on the farm (Vacation 3)

 Camping out.

 Playing instruments.

 Picnicking.

Celebrating Nathan's birthday

 Playing ping pong, lots of ping pong.

Star gazing. We saw lots of shooting stars.

Castle, Castle, Castle (Vacation 2)

Now the Loire Valley is famous for its castles, or châteaux. And they are rich with French history. We couldn't spend a week there without visiting some of these incredible places. At least that's what the adults thought. But by the time we saw castle number two, the kids were moaning and groaning about one more château.

 First on the list was Chambord.

 I guess this photo doesn't need a caption.

Break time.

Light show on the castle of Chambord.

We had help to carry the moaners and groaners.

One more moaner...

 Blois was second on the list. It is less impressive on the outside but lots of history on the inside.

 Amboise was right across the river from where we were staying.

And my personal favorite, Chenonceau.

The gardens are as beautiful as the castle.

Bee School (Vacation 1)

We spent a week of summer vacation in an apartment next door to friends who live on a farm near Blois. In many ways it was a bit like being at home. They have a beautiful garden, kittens running around waiting to be played with, and lots of space for children to run. But the weather was nicer and they have bees !!!!!!! One of the highlights of our vacation this year was collecting honey! 

Peter and Laura taking off the protective honeycomb and freeing the honey.

Wesley and Nathan operating the centrifuge to pull the honey out of the honeycomb.

One of several filterings of the honey.

 The sweet, delightful result of lots of work!

After the wedding...

 My dad has always been fascinated by Deux Chevaux, or as he calls them, "Uglies." Stéphane thought he ought to get to take a drive in it!

 The "newlyweds" chatting together.

Saying goodbye to the Rojeks at the airport in Berlin.

Wedding Dinner Photos

Our dear friends the Tassots MCed the evening of fun and games that accompanied the dinner after the wedding on Saturday night.

 Nathan had moaned and groaned about going to Germany and eating sausages three meals a day and even for dessert. So Hanna's siblings gave him the gift of a sausage cake.

One of the boys wasn't happy with the choice of color for their shirts, but I thought they looked pretty sharp! 

Jérémie composed a song for the bride and groom. Remember, Jérémie is the family clown.

 Laura and cousin Haley, changed the words on a Veggietales song for Stéphane and Hanna, and taught it to all the kids.

Not sure who taught Stéphane to dance, but he managed to look pretty graceful!