Kya Goes to Omaha...

We wanted to go on a quick getaway over Labor Day weekend and with Omaha being just under three hours away, it was the clear winner.  Since we were driving, that meant that Kya could go with us!

We left on Friday and came home on Sunday since I had to work Labor Day as one of my holidays (it was actually my first day as charge nurse!).  We stayed at the Magnolia Hotel and it was extremely pet-friendly.  Kya got to stay for free and everyone loved her.

Here is our weekend in pictures:

Enjoying post-run cocktails 

Kya was loving the cooler weather and getting to hang outside!

She loves to ride on elevators

On Friday night we left Kya at the hotel and went out to dinner.  After dinner, we found a speak-easy called the Wicked Rabbit and stopped off for drinks.  Our drinks were quite delicious and Ken may have enjoyed the most expensive drink he has ever had.  That's right, out of all the places we have been to, the most expensive drink that Ken has ever ordered was in Omaha, NE.

Why yes, this is the most expensive drink that was unintentionally ordered

Having fun at the Wicked Rabbit

On Saturday we drove Springfield, NE and went to Soaring Wings Vineyard for a little wine and beer tasting.  Kya joined us and loved the fresh air.

The owners of the winery were so sweet and let Kya go inside so we could do a tasting.

Taking in the view

Wandering around the vines.  She is so beautiful!

Back at the hotel and enjoying wine outside with mom.

We drove home on Sunday, but before we left we walked over to the footbridge that crosses into Iowa.  Why you might ask?  Well, Kya needed to check off another state.

Checking off Iowa!  Aunt Michelle (An Iowa Native) said Kya is a better girl just because she visited Iowa.

She is such a goofball!

Family selfie

We had such a great time on our little road trip with Kya!  We are excited about all the Fall things we can do together now that it is not 100 degrees!

Girls' Time!

Last week, Jill, Michelle, and I went out for dinner.  Michelle had been dying to get to the Melting Pot, so we had big plans to indulge in cheese and chocolate.  The Melting Pot ended up being absolutely horrible, but we still had a ton of laughs.  After the Melting Pot, we stopped by Coopers Hawk for a wine tasting, which was lovely.

These two make me pee my pants every time I am around them.

Some serious shenanigans were taking place.  

No, it does not come in any color other than blonde.

We spent the remainder of the night out on our new deck laughing and laughing.  We also finalized plans for our Chicago trip in December.  Lord help us.  Thanks for the fun evening girls!

Europe 2019...Day 13: Traveling Home

I always hate the end of a wonderful trip, but I love getting home to our girls.  We woke up and enjoyed one last breakfast at our hotel before making our way to the train station.  I had booked Alpy Bus to transport us back to Geneva and we had a private ride all to ourselves.

Once we arrived to the Geneva airport, we learned our flight to Paris was delayed.  It was delayed so much that we thought we might miss our flight back home.  I will never forget Ken turning to look at me and saying "You might get to see the Eiffel Tower after all!" 

I knew there was not a lot we could do about it, but I was still worrying about it.  When we arrived to Paris, we literally had to run from onside of the airport to the other.  We determined it was about two miles.  We were able to check in for our flight and check our luggage, but only by a minute.  I think we got lucky that the gentleman that was checking us in was American and felt bad for us. 

We had an uneventful flight home and got delayed again in Dallas.  Thankfully, I did not have to work for a few days.

The Tour du Mont Blanc was so amazing.  I cannot put into words the amount of fun that we had doing this trip.  I would love to do it again, but I highly doubt we would get this lucky with the weather again.  We cannot wait to get back to the Alps soon!

Here is a little video I put together of our hike.  Happy Trails!

TMB, July 2019

Europe 2019...Day 12: Biking Around Lake Annecy...

Our last full day in Annecy, we rented bikes and road the perimeter of the lake.  This had been on my list to do for a very long time and I am so glad we were able to do it!

We stopped in Talloires for lunch, which is a beautiful village along the lake.

The boat ramp in Talloires.  You have the option of taking a boat back instead of biking the full distance of the lake.  Much to Ken's dismay, we biked the entire thing.

Talloires is a very sleepy little village

Views for days around Lake Annecy

We enjoyed a delicious lunch before hoping back on our bikes to finish the trek around the lake.  

Vacation life at the Jackson's house

There is a bike path that runs about 3/4 of the way around the lake.  The other portion requires road riding, which is really no big deal as most of the drivers are used to bike riders around the lake.

Our blurry lake selfie

Enjoying the day.  I cannot believe it was cool enough that I could wear long sleeves in July!

We stopped at this adorable cafe for drinks just a few miles from Annecy.

We ended up at table #10, which was funny because 10 is Ken's number and my birthday is on the 10th.

We were having such a great day, that we ended up stopping at another spot just outside of Annecy.  We were delaying turning those bikes in and Aperol Spritz seemed like a good reason to stop!

Lake views that look more like an ocean.

For our last night in Annecy, we found a place on the canal to enjoy fondue.  We love Swiss fondue and wanted to try the French version.  

The view for our last French meal.

We ended the night wandering around town finding chocolate to buy for Kyle and Katelyn.  After that, we stopped off at the sports bar by our hotel for a late night cocktail.  Annecy was definitely a great spot for us to finish our TMB adventure.

Europe 2019...Day 11: Annecy and Bastille Day...

I got up and went for a morning run around Annecy.  Running on vacation is one of my favorite things to do.  I love seeing cities before they are completely awake and see people go about their daily lives.  It is pretty relaxing.

As I was running, I noticed that a festival of some sort was being set up by the lake.  After I returned to the hotel we investigated it a little bit more and learned that it was Bastille Day, which is France's Independence Day.  We decided that we would go to the market and get picnic items to enjoy later that night when the fireworks were being displayed.

Going to the market in the old town was definitely a highlight of the trip.  We bought cheese, bread, peppers, salami, and cherries.  Everything was so fresh and so delicious!

Everything at the market smelled so good

We were able to sample different things to decide what we wanted.  We had some of the most delicious cheese from the market.

After we shopped, we dropped everything off at the hotel and walked back to the lake.  We had big plans of renting a pedal boat and spending some time out on the lake.

The views from the boat were unbelievable

Ken braved the cold water and jumped in.  It is glacier water and waaaayyy too cold for me!

We had such an amazing time soaking up the sun on the lake.

Ken enjoyed our time on the pedal boat.

After a few hours on the water, we turned the boat in where the guy at the boat dock that I was from Texas???  We had a good laugh about that because in the US, we all know my accent is far from Texan.  We paid and wandered back to the canals and stopped off for a drink.

This was the view from our table.  Oh how I love Annecy!

We relaxed for a bit and then got everything together to make our way toward the lake for the Bastille Day festivities.

Everyone lays down blankets and enjoys the weather and the band while waiting on fireworks.

The best picnic I have ever enjoyed.

We had so much fun listening to the band and watching everyone around us.  

We were laughing so hard watching people around us making out and getting frisky.  There were at least two babies that were made out on the lawn at Bastille day.  It was insane.  

The best part was that we could not understand a word that was being said around us.  We just enjoyed the atmosphere and our time together.

My favorite picture of the day

Cold (in July!) and ready for the fireworks!

Annecy fireworks

The fireworks rivaled any firework display in the US.  I am glad that we got to see a fireworks show since we missed Independence day in the US.

The fireworks finished just in time as it started to rain as we packed up our stuff.  We went back to the hotel and enjoyed a glass of wine.  We had so much out on the lake and enjoying our French picnic.  France for the win.