Happy 4th of July!

Happy Birthday America!

Over the 4th of July Weekend, we had a neighborhood block party at my parents house and were able to visit the Nunnally family. At the block party, we enjoyed music, games, and fireworks. And of course, lots of food. The kids had a great time playing with waterballoons and watching the fireworks.

Sharing ice cream

Uncle Jim visited us!

Alyssa and Matty with the hula hoop

My patriotic beauty

Water balloon toss

The next day, we joined the Nunnally's at their house for some fun. Our kids are the same ages, so they always have a great time. The daddies rigged a water slide (using old fashioned daddy power) and the kids flew down the water. Thanks to Amy for sharing the video!

The kids had a nice nap in the car after we left - they were exhausted

Notice the sweat and slobber :)

Cave of the Winds

While we were at Colorado, we visited the Cave of the Winds in Colorado Springs. Before we headed to the mountain, we stopped for some great BBQ (what is more perfect than spending the 4th of July weekend with family and eating BBQ?!)

A sign at the cave entrance - we thought with three kids 5 and under that we may be escorted out. Thankfully, they all did great.

Mimi-waiting for the tour

Amma, Alyssa, and Harper waiting for the Tour

Brian and I inside the cave

Matty and Mo playing in the cave

So beautiful!

Family Updates

Whew...what a summer! The kids were gone for four weeks and we spent the last week of their summer camp at Mama/Papas with them with my sister and cousin (http://www.jagdfelds.com) and his wonderful family! Pics are coming soon.


We have had a crazy week settling back in the swing of things. The weather has been HOT and HUMID and just plain awful. The temps dipped into the 70s this evening with a cool breeze so we headed outside to play. Morgan hasn't had much time to ride her bike this summer but we spent about an hour or so tonight practicing and practicing and she finally did it (dress and all)!



She is proud to say she has a loose tooth* AND she can ride a bike - she had quite the week!

*the loose tooth is according to her dentist - we really can't feel it but she did say that it was loose. Morgan was thrilled to hear that even if she can't really wiggle it yet :)

And so Matty doesn't feel left out, here is a picture of him being Matty (silly and goofy). He is also wearing his sister's shoes which added to the silliness.

Montreal - Our Final Stop

On Tuesday, we drove from Quebec City to Montreal which we stayed through Thursday.

Jen attended her conference on Wed so we explored the city Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday night before we left Thursday am.

While in Montreal, we walked through downtown and explored Old Montreal. While we were there, we visited the Notre Dame Basilica of Montreal. It is an extraordinary church that is absolutely gorgeous.

Sites in downtown Montreal

The Waterfront in Old Montreal

Lunch on a rooftop cafe by the waterfront in Old Montreal

The Last Supper in Notre Dame Basilica

This is the wedding chapel which is a separte part of the Basilica

The organ within the Basilica - it has over 7,000 pipes within four stories

GORGEOUS! By the way, this is where Celine Dion was married (if you care...).

Such a beautiful sight

Outside view of Notre-Dame Basilica

Those are the highlights of our vacay! We definitely recommend a trip to visit our northern neighbors. It is a wonderful European experience without the expense of flying overseas. It is also neat to see the history that is a part of these two wonderful cities.

Quebec City - Day 2

On day 2, Brian and I headed on a day trip from QC. We first stopped at Montmorency Falls before we headed to Ile d' Olreans.


Montemorency Falls is 27 stories high - twice as tall as Niagra (although not nearly as wide). It is a quite a hike from the top to the bottom. There is also a bridge that allows you to cross over the falls.

You can see the stairs that take you down the cliffside to the bottom of the falls - trust us, there are a lot!

At the bottom of the falls, there is literally a log jam - someone people are able to spell out their names or names of special meaning (such as Jesus above)

This is Brian and I walking along the bridge that takes you over the falls

This is the water right before it heads over the edge - it is surprisingly calm


At the base of the falls you can see the tram that takes you from the top to the bottom (if you don't want to walk)

In the winter, the Falls freeze to form a giant loaf shape cone known as the Pain du Sucre (Sugarloaf). Thankfully it wasn't that cold when we were there, but we saw pictures and it would be amazing to see in the Winter.

This is a nice subdivision right outside the falls - Brian and I had to drive through it once we saw the incredible views these homes have

From Montmorency Falls, it is a short drive to Ile D' Orleans which is full of century old homes and churches and road side stands selling maple syrup and fresh fruit. On our drive around the island, we stopped for fresh bread and jam before we headed back to QC (for a nice nap before dinner).



After dinner (I ate more Italian in Quebec than I have had in a long time!) we continued our tour through QC. We stopped to admire the view the St. Lawrence River and to walk around the fortifications and Le Citadelle. Le Citadelle is the largest British fortress built in North America and is still an active military post.

Our hotel - in the midst of Old Quebec

Le Citadelle

Views of other sights as you walk along the walls of the Citadelle

An incredible view from the Plains of Abraham

Hmm...which way should we go?

Brian wanted me to take this picture specifically so he could say "My guns are bigger than yours...."

Next stop....Montreal.!