France.

After a few fabulous days in Nice, we headed north.  On the way to Arles, we stopped by a cemetery that Brian wanted to go to.

Then we drove along the "French Grand Canyon."  It was very impressive!

Nice, France.

We met up with Michael, Krista, and Tristan in Nice and it was great to see them!  The first day together we took the bus to Monaco and walked around there all day.  Unfortunately our camera battery was dead, so you'll have to ask Krista for those pictures : (

Tristan had some jet lag so slept in a lot later than our boys.  Here they are waiting patiently for him to wake up.

Our second day together we spent at the beach.  It was a rocky beach, so not as relaxing as I would have hoped, but the boys still had a great time playing.

Look how amazing these two look!  We hadn't seen them in over a year and they look great!

Genoa, Italy.

Last month was our big road trip of the year.  The purpose of the trip was to meet up with Michael, Krista, and Tristan in France!  Our first night of the vacation was a stay in Genoa though where we went to the amazing aquarium there.

First day of the trip and first pacifier lost!  Owen dropped it off the balcony into the locked dock with video surveillance so we were unable to get to it  : /

JJ was soooooo excited for the aquarium and was a great tour guide.

Villa d'Este.

Brian's been wanting to go up to Villa d'Este near Rome for awhile now, but I wasn't that excited.  He kept saying it was a villa that a cardinal lived in.  Well, we finally went up there and it was amazing!! It's has a beautiful interior and expansive gardens, including multiple very impressive fountains.  The rain started to roll in just as we were leaving, but it was a nice day in unexpected beauty!

Venice.

Our cruise ended in Venice, so we booked our flight for later that evening so that we could see the city again.  It was the boys first time being there and they seemed to like it.  I enjoyed being in Venice again and I think it really is one of my favorite places we've been to in Italy.  Brian, on the other hand, was done with family vacation and ready to be home!  I had a lovely day though : )

And then our vacation was over . . .