Home Again

We made it back to Las Vegas safely and are so glad to be here! The flight back was long, but the kids did great. The afternoon we arrived, we got word that Dann and Brian were given a wild card into the Calabasas Challenger in California. Dann drove there the next morning to meet Mark and Brian who were already there. They requested a late start, which they got, and played their first-round match today. They won it 6-3, 6-3. Dann said he is happy to get a win.

The kids and I decided to take a break this week from the traveling and are spending it in Las Vegas. Our sleeping and waking hours are all messed up, so the kids have been getting up around 3 a.m. Hopefully we can all get adjusted soon!

Paris, France

We had a last minute change of plans (surprising, I know...) and are now in Paris, France! Dann and Brian decided to try to play a challenger in Calabasas, California next week, so we are heading back to the U.S. 

They lost their second-round match on Thursday to the number one seeds. They haven't had the best of luck with their draws here in Europe...each week has been pretty tough. Still, they gained a lot of fans in Denmark and sold all of the rackets they had.

We left the hotel in Kolding yesterday and drove about 15 hours (traffic was pretty slow), getting here after 3 a.m. We passed through 4 different countries this time: Denmark, Germany, Belgium, and France. Dann left early this morning to drive to Milan where he will drop off our rental car and then fly back here to Paris tonight. We all fly to Las Vegas tomorrow morning! 

It has been a great trip and I am so glad we came.  We have had some memorable experiences, but I am really looking forward to going home! The kids can't wait to see Nana and Papa and everybody in Roosevelt! We will see you all soon!

Bella Marie

I had to write something about my sweet little Bella. She is now 6 months old and just got her first tooth breaking through today. She also has started sitting up on her own this past week. She is getting bigger, though she isn't too chunky. She is longer than I remember the other kids at this age. She is just starting to splash in the bathtub and really loves to play with her big brother Sam, who loves to play with her as well. She loves to eat, and of course wants anything we eat. She is a content baby and always has a smile for mom, though not always one for strangers. One of her favorite places to be is on her dad's shoulders, pulling his hair. She has been quite a few places in her lifetime and is really turning into a great traveler.

She is such a joy to me and I am so grateful to have her!

Kolding, Denmark

It sure is different here! The weather is in the 30-40 degree range. We don't go outside unless we have to! We have seen a lot of parents with young children here in stores and on walks and at parks. It's nice to not feel like the odd ones with 3 young children. They seem very family-oriented. Also, almost everyone speaks perfect English here. They learn it in school from the second grade on. Pretty amazing. The people here are the friendliest we have met in Europe.

We were excited to see a Mexican restaurant while driving around the other day (haven't seen any in Europe) and when we went there the next day and looked at the menu outside, we couldn't believe how expensive it was! It would've cost us $30 for one burrito. We got a pizza instead, which only cost us $20. Everything is SO expensive here! The restaurant at our hotel charges $20 for one dessert. They also have a different currency in Denmark than the rest of Europe, even though they are part of the European Union. It is called the Danish Krone, or DKK. Five kroner equal one US dollar.

Our hotel is the first one we've been to in Europe that has a pool and jacuzzi, so we spent some time there yesterday. The kids loved it. Lily is pretty fast in the water! Bella even joined in.

The best news is that Dann and Brian won their first-round match yesterday, which was super close! I stayed at the hotel this time, since these matches are indoor (on hard courts) and sounds are amplified, and there's really no place for the kids to play. They will play again tomorrow (Thursday). There is live scoring online if you go to the tournament's website. 

We celebrated the win with a nice dinner out! Thanks to Mark who watched Sam and Lily, Dann, Brian and I (and Bella) got to go to the player's party dinner, which was held at a castle, called Koldinghus, which was built for the Denmark royalty in the mid 13th century. The food was excellent and we had a great time! We took several pictures, but the lighting was quite dim, so most of them don't look great. Here are a few...

The Drive

Our drive to Denmark seemed like the longest we have ever been on. It took us 3 days and we drove through part of 5 different countries. Without our GPS or a good map, I (the supposed navigator) managed to get us lost 3 times. However, it was beautiful. The fall colors are in full-swing, and the views were breathtaking. They made it all worth it! 

The first night we stopped to sleep near Lyon, France. I was so excited that they had laundry facilities! We only had time for 1 load of laundry, but it was wonderful. I have realized what a blessing it is to have your own washer and dryer. I have gained an appreciation for this and many other things since we have been in Europe! 

The next day we drove through a lot of rain. We stayed on the highways, so didn't pass through many towns and had to pay a lot in tolls, but it was the fastest route. We didn't get as far as we had hoped with all the stops. The kids passed the time coloring and sleeping.

Our final day of driving was Saturday. We drove through the entire country of Germany and a few minutes of Switzerland (that was one of those lost times). The countryside was so beautiful. I had to thank our Heavenly Father and Jesus for the magnificent world we live on. The more I see of it, the more grateful I am. I took a lot of pictures, but none of them really do justice to what we were seeing. 

Lily had a few meltdowns that last day, but the kids did pretty well overall. Bella was the best! What a blessing!

We made it to Kolding, Denmark about 10:30 p.m. and were so excited to rest!

These are my little monkeys, hangin' around at the hotel in France!

Spain, Continued

Tarragona was great, except for the car vandalization incident (we got the car window fixed). There was a beach just a few minutes walk away that was beautiful. The streets in Spain were very clean, and all of the buildings were new and nice where we were. The streets and driving were good, too. In general, it seemed much more like the U.S. than Italy did. 

       

The tournament site was awesome, as it had a playground right next to the stadium court where the guys played their tennis match. That is always a big bonus for me! Dann and Brian played a decent match, but ended up losing first round. 

                                    

So, off we headed to Denmark!

Bad Luck

Someone broke into our car this evening. It was parked at the tennis club in a busy parking lot, where Dann and Brian were practicing. They took our GPS, DVD player (both of which were hidden), the tennis racket stringer, a tennis racket, and Dann's backpack. That's all we know of for now. They broke the window to get in, so we are working with the police and car rental company to know what to do with the car now.

The good news is that we still have our iPhones, wallets, passports, and computers, since none of them were in the car. It could have been much worse. 

The DVD player had the movie "The Testaments" (a religious movie about Jesus and the Book of Mormon) inside it. I hope whoever took our stuff watches it. 

Tarragona, Spain

We celebrated Dann's birthday yesterday (he is now 33) by driving all day! Yea! Actually, it wasn't too bad. Bella is making up for all of that screaming she has done in the car by being an angel on our past few road trips.  

We made it to Nimes, France at about 1:30 a.m. and stopped for the night. This morning we drove the rest of the way here to Tarragona, Spain. In all, it took us about 15 hours of driving. Dann downloaded General Conference on iTunes since we weren't able to listen to it live, and we listened to it while we drove. Technology is so wonderful, as was Conference. 

Again, we are right on the coast. The tournament hotel is great, and I am so excited that we have internet in our room! Also, there is a park just across the street that Lily, Bella and I checked out a little while ago. I am sure we will visit it again! 

Dann and Brian did not play today, so will probably play their first round tomorrow (Tuesday). They ended up losing in the semifinals of the Napoli tournament on Saturday. We are hoping for another good week!

Match Tomorrow

**THEY HAVE MOVED THE MATCH LATER BECAUSE OF RAIN...DON'T HAVE A FOR SURE TIME. JUST KEEP CHECKING ONLINE IF YOU WANT TO WATCH!

Dann and Brian's match should be online again tomorrow (Friday), around 3 p.m. here, which is 7 a.m. Utah time and 6 a.m. Nevada time. If you go to atpworldtour.com and then click on tournaments, then Challenger Tour, then Napoli live streaming, you should be able to watch the match!

Driving in Italy

I've been wanting to do this post for weeks now because I just still can't believe how people drive in Italy. Here in Napoli is the worst we've seen yet. You really have to see it to believe it. We have to drive with our side-view mirrors in all the time because we are always that close to cars. Sometimes I just close my eyes. Dann has been super cautious, which I am so grateful for, so we haven't had any accidents with the family in the car. 

However, one day Mark borrowed our rental car and had 3 different "incidents," resulting in a few scrapes that will need to be fixed. Another day, he took a taxi that got into 4 different accidents while he was in the car. 

Streets are very narrow, the people here don't drive in the lanes, and if you are turning left, you just go, regardless of whether cars are coming or not. And if you don't, the cars behind you will honk and go around you, squeezing their way into the line of cars. Pedestrians just walk across the street when they want, where they want. Cars are parked in your lane all the time, with the driver having run into a store for something. Also, half of the vehicles on the road are "scooters" or motorcycles, which zoom in and out of cars all of the time, adding to the chaos.

I am so glad that I am not driving here.