So it has been soo many months since my last blog. I don’t even know where to start. Instead of getting into the details I am going to do an semi-brief overview of what the Demmerle family has experienced the last 5 months.

Let go way back to February and work our way to June.

Our trip back to my happy place…Breckenridge, Colorado. The skiing was amazing. Lance was skiing blacks, Peyton was on the blues and Keith and I had a chance to ski together most of the week. What was great was the last few days skiing with the kids. All Lance wanted to do is ski in and out of the trees and Peyton was having a blast going thru all the little kids courses. It is so fun now that we can ski with them. Soon they are not going to want to wait for us..LOL!

Then came Easter. We did the Easter egg hunt at Chateau Vaux le Vicomte again this year and it didn't disappoint. I tell all my friends the key is to go the first day in the morning. Kids got about 100 eggs each.

On the same day we headed down to Loire Valley for Easter day. Loire Valley is known for their chateaus and wine. We had been there prior so this time we picked a different area and decided to visit Chateau Ulsee (Sleeping Beauty's castle). It was so pretty.

On the drive back to Paris we just stumbled into a cute village and Chateau de Langeais. I love the Loire Valley for that reason, you can just stumble into something. Very fun!!

Next was our spring break trip. Wow..where to I begin, what a wonderful trip to both Ireland and Scotland. It was so beautiful and memorable. Galway, Cliffs of Moyer, Dublin, Island of Skye, Eileen Donan Castle and Edinburgh. Lot of area covered! I am not sure which area was my favorite...maybe I do, it was Skye Island, Scotland. What an amazing place.

Kids enjoying the rock beaches of Galway!  They could throw rocks in the water all day! — Kids enjoying the rock beaches of Galway! They could throw rocks in the water all day!

Scotland highlanders...these were just sooo cool!

Then it is May. If you don't know about the month of May in France it is similar to November in the States. The kids are barely in school and every weekend is a long weekend. We have tried to take advantage of the long weekends. This year beats all the rest, we went to what I now consider my favorite long weekend vacation....Cinque Terre, Italy. It was just the perfect weekend. Besides the great food, there was great wine, nice people, great hikes and beautiful water. I told Keith I want to go back as soon as possible. (sorry for all the photos) We had a chance to visit 4 out of the 5 villages. We will just have to go back..lol!

another great view  Ahhh the Mediterranean — another great view Ahhh the Mediterranean

So in between all of this traveling I managed to do a half marathon and the Paris full marathon. I got a PR in the marathon by about 6 minutes and another Boston qualifier...woo hoo! What really helped was my family and friends cheering me on at mile 22. It really gave me a boost and helped me finish strong. I couldn't wait to see Keith and the kids at the end. It was a really great race!!!