Oui Oui Paris! (pronunciation= We We Paree!)

We went to Paris for the weekend. Oh the perks of living in Europe!


Shelby, Claire, Madison and Emery feeding the ducks behind our hotel villa.


The kids on the teacup ride at Disneyland Paris.


Five girls in a car. (In a few years this will be very frightening!)


At the Louvre Museum.


Shelby and the Mona Lisa. Who's smile do you prefer?


We enjoyed spending a little time with our good friends the Halls. John and Renee and their 5 kiddos are always fun to be with!


We saw the Eiffel Tower all lit up! Obviously, our camera did NOT do it justice.


CREPES!!! (Danny and I both gained two pounds in one weekend. Blast that delicious french food!)


By the River Seine.


In front of the Hotel D'Ville. There are some really beautiful buildings...


The kids chasing pigeons in front of Notre Dame. (It looks like a huge one is chasing Claire!)


Danny and the kids with the Chateau of Versailles behind them.


Us with the gardens of Versailles. Beautiful.


We rented bikes and rode around Versailles. It was so much fun!

We loved our French adventure. The weather was nice and no one was even rude to us! We still never made it to the Sacre Couer and Montmartre- oh well. Maybe someday. We had some typical Carrell moments. Didn't pack enough diapers one day and Madi had to go diaperless for about an hour (things got a bit drippy...). We got to the airport a bit later than optimal, took the wrong elevator that only went as far as the restroom floor. (Why would they even have this???) The girls were very good in unpacking- but not so good in repacking. They put the DVD cases (with most of our favorite movies) in a nightstand drawer without their mother's knowledge. So, when I double checked the room- I neglected to look in the nightstand. Oopsey. Oh, and Shelby's homework and books were in the same nightstand. (I hate telling teachers bad news. I hate feeling like an inept mother. However, this mistake will NOT happen again. Sometimes the learning process is painful.)

Au revoir Paris! Thanks for the memories!

Highlights of Hawaii

Ah Hawaii... Even though it has been over a month ago... I never want to finish this blog because it means the vacation really is over. Thankfully we still have the fun memories.

Danny and the kids at the beach.


Jake playing tennis. (It's blurry- but such great form.)


Kailey looks great in her tennis outfits!


Kailey, a sleeping Madi, Diane, Cheri and Dawn- Don't forget a good book.


Jill challenged Danny to a 5K race. Here is our running man. He looks great.


Dawn and the girls followed the runners in the golf cart.


Jill and Ben as they won the race. Danny finished well- just not quite as fast. (Will there be a re-match next year?)


Cute Claire with one of her funny faces.


Claire in snorkel mode (Dawn is enjoying a good book in the background.)


Emery is getting herself an ice cream bar. (Ice cream is a definite highlight!!!)


Madison is enjoying her ice cream.


Isn't this beautiful? The surroundings are gorgeous and I get to be with some of my favorite people...


We got to watch the tagging of sea turtles. It was really interesting.


Like I said, ice cream is a definite highlight!


Emery was practicing her floating starfish. (I love how her forehead, nose and mouth are the only parts that are not submerged!)


Grandpa and Emery in their chairs- both reading...


The little girls on their sun chairs- Madison is listening intently to everything Emery is telling her.


Shelby is perfecting a new talent!


Grandma and Emery reading. Grandma looks a little tired- probably because of us.


Four cute girls by King's Pond (you can snorkle here- lots of fun fish to look at)


Emery, Kailey and Claire at the kiddie pool- enjoying some creative sand time.


Jake chatting with Madi while Kailey and Shelby are having their tennis class.


Claire, Kailey and Shelby enjoy time in the water with Dad and Grandpa.

Thanks Dawn and David for letting us stay at your home in paradise! Time with family...priceless!!!

Our Own Kind of "Class"

Jake, Claire, Madison, Kailey, Emery and Shelby

Summer is officially over. The kids started back to school yesterday. They looked great in their Sutton Park uniforms and enjoyed a good first day back. It was only a half day- so they are easing into the routine. We are thankful that our children are going to a great school. Sutton Park School is a private school that is accredited in Europe as well as the Northeastern U.S. We are thankful also to live in a great neighborhood.

We live in a subdivision called Drumnigh Wood. The homes are lovely, the people are great and there are loads of friends for the kids to play with. Most of the cars that our neighbors drive are very nice and expensive. Our neighbors on one side have a Mercedes and a Volvo. Our neighbors on the other side have a Porsche. This is typical. We are NOT. Danny drives a 2000 Renault, Laguna. It's a small, gas efficient car and the price was right. My car is a 1997 Nissan Homy Elgrand. You may not recognize the name- no one else here does either.

This is what our Homy looks like (it just isn't as sparkling clean)...

We got the Homy at "Jap Imports" (political correctness isn't such a big thing in Ireland). The Homy was one of the few 8 seaters that we could find- and again- the price was right. Well, our children have been driven around in the Homy for almost 2 years and they don't cringe or try to hide nearly as much as they used to. They do enjoy some of the Homy's perks- how many people do you know who let their children get in and out of the car via the boot (trunk)? Jake, Shelby and Claire love it.

However, we had this quality vehicle in the garage last week and they haven't been able to get parts for it quite yet. Thankfully, it will start (this is an improvement- the kids and I had to get a taxi to go to church- hence a trip to the garage) but it needs a lot of encouragement. Picture if you will, this lovely area we live in and then try to see what we add to the neighborhood. I hop in the car and start pumping the pedal, then turn on the ignition. After a few seconds- it roars to life along with a huge cloud of smelly black smoke. Classy...

Now add to this, a bit more personality. I watched my sweet husband pull out of our driveway with most of our kids and a couple of their friends as they went to see a movie last weekend. I enjoyed hearing the car start and saw the smoke. Then I noticed that the passenger sliding door was still open. After he turned into the street, he hit the brakes suddenly- and the door magically closed! (The kids thought it was great.) I just had to shake my head. To quote Danny's Aunt Lisa, "Who says we ain't got no class?"

Cute Jill

Danny's younger sister, Jill has transformed herself. Less than two years ago, she decided that she wanted to become healthy. She spent a few weeks at Hilton Head Health in South Carolina. Then she started to change her life.

This is Jill (and her husband Ben) two years ago at Four Corners (UT, AZ, CO, NM). She went from being someone who enjoyed a very stationary lifestyle to an exercise machine! She eats right, too. Jill is amazing and in a year and a half she has lost 70 pounds!

This is Jill in Hawaii 2009. Doesn't she look great?! She is our own weight loss inspiration! We think you are amazing Jill!

Ode to Mimi

Our sweet little dog, Mimi had an unfortunate accident with a taxi this week. Sadly, Mimi passed away. Mimi really was the best dog in the world. So, we will share some of our favorite Mimi pictures and memories with you.

Shelby, 4 1/2 years old (doing BIG eyes) with Mimi the puppy.
Mimi was born in New York on January 6, 2005- on Claire's 2nd birthday. We picked Mimi out of lots of different puppies at the Shady Pines Kennel in Brewster, New York.

Mimi LOVED to have her tummy rubbed. For some reason, Mimi's puppy hair was all different colors but as she grew up (and was groomed) her hair turned almost completely white.

Claire (2 years old) and Mimi
Claire and Mimi have always had a funny relationship. Because Claire was so little when Mimi was a puppy- Mimi felt that Claire was her equal in every way. Claire loved to try and walk Mimi when she was a puppy. However, Mimi would bite on her own leash and try to "walk" Claire. It would turn into a tug of war with Claire and Mimi- it was a toss up who would win. Claire is also one of the few people who would let Mimi kiss her on the mouth. (Ooh! Yuck.)

Mimi in her hula dress.
Mimi wouldn't get to go with us on our trips. So, Mimi got to stay with lots of different families who also loved Mimi a LOT! The Bucko, Flory, Mongelli, Buckner, Parkins, Murray, Economos, Guild, and Silva families all took excellent care of Mimi. Grandma Carrell bought this little hawaiian dress for Mimi before one of our trips. She thought a new dress might make Mimi feel better. It worked. Mimi loved to dress up. (She was a very girly dog.)

Emery and Mimi- both Snow White for Halloween.
As I mentioned- Mimi loved to dress up. If you put a sweater or a little dress on Mimi and told her how pretty she was, she would stand up a little taller and walk proud. Then she would go to each member of the family until everyone complimented her on her appearance. (I think that Grandma Carrell bought Mimi this costume as well.)

Mimi and Jake.
This is one of my all time favorite pictures. Mimi loved it when Jake would play with her. On the day that we brought Mimi home, Jake and Mimi fell asleep together on this huge pillow we had. Mimi loved all of the kids and tolerated them really well. Her favorite games were sardines (the reverse of hide and seek), tag (she enjoyed being "it") and throw the sock/toy.

Our family Christmas picture 2006.
Mimi was a big part of our family. She thought that she was just one of the kids. Every day when Danny got home from work- the kids would usually run to him and yell, "Dad's home!" Mimi would be in the throng. She would try to get to Dad's legs first and would scratch his legs, trying to get some love. If any of the other kids would get in her way, she would growl at them and nip at them- as if saying, "Hey, this is my dad and it's MY TURN!"

Shelby, Jake, Claire, Kailey and Mimi right after Mimi got a haircut.
Mimi thought that she was a big dog. One day we took Mimi with us to the beach. She saw a huge dog and chased after it. The big dog was scared of Mimi and ran away. Mimi came running back looking like she was the queen of the castle. It was a proud moment for her. Danny would always tell her how brave she was and she believed him.

Mimi and Claire looking out the window.
Shelby had just left for kindergarten and Mimi was sad, watching her leave. Claire knelt down and put her little arm around Mimi. Then she said, "It's okay Mimi, I'm here!" Then she kissed Mimi on her little head. It was so sweet. We miss our Mimi. BUT- we are sure that she is chasing around big dogs in heaven and having a wonderful time. Maybe she's even wearing a fun little dress! We hope that if she ever looks down at us, that she isn't sad. No dog will ever replace her place in our hearts, but she had a great life and was loved by all who knew her. Thanks for all the fun memories Mimi!