c-ing the world

On Friday I decided (more or less on a whim) that I would take a trip to the south of France...in two weeks.

Actually my good friend Mary Ellen will be teaching a class in Nice (in the very southeast corner of France, on the Mediterranean Sea). She had mentioned this to me and invited me to come along. When she sent her itinerary, I said to myself, "Self, that's only a few weeks away, that's crazy to consider!" So I went with the crazy, started looking at flights. Once I start looking at flights, it becomes real to me, and I cant stop my mind from planning...so I went with the whole idea.

I picked up my air tickets on Sunday at the airport, and then a quick stop at Barnes and Noble resulted in a travel book and a map. I will leave on September 12 and return on the 20th.

This will be the first time I will get to really practice the 4+ years of French I took in High School and a couple semesters in college. I can still remember some of it, although I don't think I'll be impressing the locals at all. Of all the places I've visited, I've never been to France, so I am really looking forward to it. I don't have a lot of time to research it, which in a way will make it more exciting, not knowing what to expect. But I'll do some reading ahead of my departure (I couldn't go without ANY preparation).

I used to really love to take last minute trips w/ very little planning. I'm interested to see if that strategy is still as enjoyable as I have "aged" and if it also works when travelling to the other side the world.

Au revoir for now.

Carolyn

Cousin's Float

August 10-12 was spent with extended family at our annual "Cousins Float" get together near Grants Pass Oregon. We were greeted with beautiful weather and a meteor shower. Its always fun to reconnect, share a meal, relax, and take a dip in the Illinois River.

Don't look so surprised Dad, you know who is in charge...Dad (Dennis) and Justin share a moment.

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Aunt Paula soaks in some sun early Saturday AM before packing up to head to the Illinois River for the day.

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My cousin Jim and Dana's kids, Reese and Carsten safe in their life vests are ready to take a dip.

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Hailey shows her 2 year old independance by letting go of mom.

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Cousins Float

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I love the look on Tony's face.

First time blogger

I'm just trying this out. After looking through the blogs posted by other family members, I thought I'd give it a try. Since I love sharing photos etc with family and friends, I thought this was a good place to try it out. Lets see how it turns out...