So much beauty!

- February 18, 2019

Everywhere we go I can't stop gawking out the window at all of the natural beauty that surrounds us here. It's hard to imagine how it will look in the spring and summer with everything in bloom. I'm impatiently waiting for the amandiers and cerisiers to bloom (almond and cherry trees) along with all of the iris bulbs I see around.
Is it just because I have time to take in all of the beauty that it's so breathtaking? Would I notice all of the little things as much if I were working and juggling the mass amounts of kids activities like usual? Sadly I'm not so sure I would. It makes me wonder what I am missing out on in Victoria in terms of all of the beauty that surrounds us there. Add it to the list of what to do when we get home... so far my list might include making more time for family, getting together with friends more, appreciating the beauty that surrounds us, getting out and being more active, possibly throwing out a bunch of unnecessary junk, and buying fancy road and mountain bikes :-p.
The kids are currently on winter break here in France with lasts two weeks. I will write more about where we went last week in another post, but I want to include a bunch of photos of other beautiful things we have seen on our day trips too.

Reading together on Kindles in the car

Kids being goofy on our hike through the Dentelles from Gigondas. We have eaten so many carrots!! We have always been fans of eating carrots but this is getting a bit ridiculous.

These kids are building some strong hiking legs!

I drove into town for sunset to try and capture the horizontal light on the buildings.. sadly a cloud was blocking most of it. The sounds of the birds chirping and the beautiful sunset were enough for me to leave feeling so calm and content :)

Jeff teaching Elena how to tie her hiking shoes :)

The boys in their mountain biking club group!

Just a few hundred metres down the road from our house I took this picture of the clouds one day on our way into town... Today I noticed that the soil has been plowed and it's ready for spring!

Attempting to get the kids to journal a little more than they have been. After arriving home from our little getaway last week we had some ticket stubs and pamphlets to cut up and write about :) So nice to see Landon enjoying his cursive writing. I took part in the journaling too and made sure to write in French :)

Don't leave the windows open! The kids were so thrilled to find a lizard in their room the other day. He was adorable and we kept him for a few hours before letting him go. It looks almost identical to the lizards we can find in Victoria.

Family run/bike ride! A few days ago we made the most of the kids being off school and fit in our run while the kids biked alongside us :)

The temperatures at night are still getting pretty low.. around 2-4 degrees. However, the daytime temperatures are starting to soar and later this week it is supposed to be 19 degrees. In February... hmm. Jeff has a slight sunburn from yesterday. I think it's time to stock up on sunscreen!

This is the Roman theatre in Vaison la Romaine. It's 2000 years old! The Roman Ruins of Vaison were breathtaking and hard to comprehend. I know I have traveled all over Europe and visited many historic sites and museums, but I was 18, and apparently had no concept of time. I was blown away by the beauty and history here. The museum at the site of the ruins was perfect for us all to grasp a better understanding of what life might have been like 2000 years ago.