Mom, Is France Inside or Outside?

The top 5 questions since we've been home

2009-02-09T17:53:00.008+01:00

Many people have asked us a lot about our life in France, For my benefit I am going to log a few of them.

#1 How was it? It was awesome! It was the best growing, learning experience we have ever had. The things we saw and learned there will be memories we talk about forever.

#2 Was it hard? YES- it was very hard and for the first 3 months I wondered what I was thinking and I must be the worst mother in the world to make my children endure this, but as time progressed it got easier and we were able to face each new challenge head on with our heads up. The children cried a lot about going to school but I knew it a success when they were crying the last day of school because it was over.
When I say hard, our life in America is just convenient, for instance: the grocery stores are open 24 hours and you can pull up and park right in front of them for free. Not the case in France, there are a few that don't shut down in the middle of the day, but 8p.m. is the latest and you need a lot of change for parking. Everything in France just takes a little more effort, a little more planning and a little more time. Once you adjust it's not that big of a deal, it just reminds you how easy we do have it in the USA.

#3 Did the children learn French? Yes they did. Many people told us that within a few months they would be fluent- if you are planning to do something similar to this prepare yourselves that it takes a little longer than that, more like 5-6 months. At that point they could understand almost everything and say nearly everything they needed to.
It was complete immersion for them, so I guess after sitting in a classroom for 6 hours each day it eventually sunk it. They were so happy when they could communicate with their friends and teachers.

#4 What will you miss the most? This is very difficult question to answer because I cannot narrow it down to just one thing. We will miss many things such as: The food, fresh baguettes and pain au chocolate, our dear friends, everyone was so kind and helpful, and all the family time we had together- that was priceless.

#5 Would you do it again? YES in a minute. If Mark gave me the word I could have us packed and ready to go in 24 hours.

Jour de départ-Day of departure

2009-02-06T01:08:00.010+01:00

July 9, 2008
The last night in our beds in France-I made sure I captured every ones last night of French sleep.

Coming and going we were full to the brim-14 large checked bags and 14 smaller carry ons.This will probably go down as one of the most bitter sweet days in Reed history. We were excited to be heading home-but so sad to be leaving this wonderful life we had created here.

I guess it was good to have some anticipation of going home, otherwise we may not have been able to pull them out of bed-everyone was a little sleepy.
The taxi arrived right on time. When I told him over the phone how many people and how many bags he assured me that we would all fit in one vehicle. I had my doubts-but Charles didn't let us down, everything fit.

Sophie looks happy here, but about 15 minutes later she needed a sick bag. The driver took us on the back roads to avoid the traffic, but they were windy and didn't agree with Sophie.

It was a good thing he had big side mirrors, he couldn't see a thing out the back.

Arriving at Charles de Gaulle.

Checking in. Mark is a Medallion member on Delta, so we hoped that might help us get a few extras with such a big group, but NO. Mark was actually on another flight and try as we might to get us all together it just was not meant to be. He was on the direct flight and we got to hang out in Houston for 8 hours.

When we were checking in we had 2 booster seats that we had brought with us, but because we flew Delta first and then Air France coming and just the reverse coming back Air France was not as easy to work with with the boosters. With Delta there is no charge -Air France there is an extra 200 euro each fee. They were not going to budge. Mark started running around the airport trying to figure out how to get them home for no charge, but time was running thin. I was waiting in line for security with the kids, but it was taking him a long time. The line started getting longer and longer, but still no Mark. Pretty soon you couldn't tell where the lines started (that would make perfect sense if you have ever been in a line in Europe, there is no such thing.)

Finally Mark arrived and had success somehow checking the boosters. Now all we had to do was get through security. A few security guards came to the crowd and told everyone to move out of line and that we would have to wait while they checked out a problem they were having. We were nervous we wouldn't make our flight. People were pushing and shoving at this point, but we were positioned well to get back in line. They started letting people with small children through the ropes one by one, but as soon as the rest of the crowd saw this they started jumping over the ropes and it was chaos like I have never seen. You just had to fend for yourself and forget any rules you have ever been taught about taking your turn. WOW- that was an experience. We made it and said good-bye to Mark and prepared to board the plane to the USA.

I felt lucky that they were such good travelers that it was not hard to be alone with them.

Our flight to Houston was picture perfect, each child had their own TV screen in front of them, so except for a few bathroom breaks it was quite peaceful.

I knew our layover in Houston was going to be quite long and so I had packed a few surprises to help keep the kids occupied.

The first things we did was find somewhere we could buy a smoothie. The kids were dying for one, lucky for us there was a kiosk in the airport and so we were able to satisfy every ones taste buds.Our body clocks are a little off and we were all getting pretty tired.

Everyone was so nice and patient through a very long day.
We made it- we are in Salt Lake City, Utah!

The sign behind them said, "Welcome to Salt Lake City" right before I snapped this photo (that's what I was going for.)
Annie and Jesse were so grateful they had packed their robes in the carry ons, they were freezing on the last flight.
What's more comfortable than being in Grandmas arms.

Yea!! Grandpa!
One last haul of a million bags.

Our darling neighbor made this great "Welcome home" sign for us- it was so fun to pull up and see our little house with the big sign.

The neighbor kids made this for our kids. It was very exciting

but at 1:30 in the morning we couldn't go tell them how much we loved it.

My dear sweet mother! A few weeks before we came home, she told me she was making rolls and I told her I could almost smell them over the phone and that was the one thing I couldn't wait to eat was one of her delicious rolls. Well because she does what she does, she had three beautiful pans ready to go in the oven- so, yes at 1:30 in the morning we were baking yummy homemade rolls.
It didn't take Jesse long to slip back into old ways- before we knew it she had on dress ups and was downing a creamie. The best part was what was written on her stick when she licked her last drop. It read "It doesn't get much better than this".

We still have the stick taped to our microwave, it will always be a reminder that at that moment our life couldn't possibly get any better!

Stay tuned-Spain could be next. See you in our next dream!

Dire adieu-saying Goodbye

2008-10-16T21:26:00.006+02:00

July 8, 2008

The worst part about leaving is saying Goodbye.

As you enter each town or village there is a sign with the name of the village on it, but when you leave there is also a sign with the name on it and a large red slash through letting you know you are no longer in that village. Even though we will no longer physically be in Bourron Marlotte, our hearts will never leave.

Our darling neighbors across the street. Famille Meynier, Virginie, Jean-Phillipe holding Elliott,
Clara and Louise.

We will miss you!! They were so kind and helpful to us.
Clara just loved Jesse and they made a cute connection.

Famille Nidriche-Many, many tears saying goodbye to this wonderful family.

We hope that our relationship will last forever.

How we loved our quaint little village. So many beautiful homes and things to see. I just couldn't take enough pictures of all the homes. I have posted pictures of these before, but I just couldn't resist my favorites again. These will be the ones I see in my dreams.

We let the children pick how they wanted to spend their last night in France. They all voted on the Bistro, the local restaurant right in Bourron Marlotte. The food is delicious and the people have always been so nice.

Sophie with her escargot. She put it in, chewed it gave it a "hmm good" and then spit it out.

The rest of us found it to be delicious.
Well, not quite all the rest of us.
Happy as a clam- oh, I mean snail.

The restaurant owner took the photo for us, and before she did she asked us several times if all the children were ours. We answered every time with a Oui-yes, and then she gives Mark the "Oh, la la".
Our mouths will forever water for the taste of the delicious French food we were so spoiled with.

I think that just means many return trips.

Guédelon Chantier Médiéval

2008-09-24T17:12:00.016+02:00

As our time winds down here, Annie wanted to be able to send off one more letter to Ally, so on our way we stopped at the post for one last letter drop.

Our neighbors had told us of a 13th Century castle being built today as if it were being built back then, using all the techniques form the 13th Century. The kids really wanted to see this so we found ourselves at Guédelon.

This is a work in progress. It began in 1997 and is scheduled to take 25 years. The idea is to be able to see the building of a castle in it's different stages. All the supplies they need-sand, rock, wood etc. are found right there on the site.

The quarry is quite impressive, with it's massive, colorful rocks.

We watched the stone cutters take those enormous rocks and begin to turn them into window arches, door headers and many other parts for the castle.

We decided to take a tour so we could learn as much as possible about the castle and the idea behind it. There was a big crowd for the tour, but when the tour guide came out and called for all the french speakers everyone left but us- so we had our own private tour with Simon. He was a student who wanted to try to improve his English and thought this would be a good way to practice, he was terrific.

A little lesson in geometry.

This was one of our favorite parts, Simon explained the science behind the doors and the secret locks. The big brace he is standing behind actually slides back into the wall of the castle so it is hidden and can be pulled as an extra security.

Everything they were working on was so interesting. Here we watched a man making shingles from logs.

I found this to be a very brilliant contraption. It is the "rain gutter".

We just knew if Grandpa T was here he would have asked if he could have a whack at this arch the woodcutter was creating.

We later saw our guide Simon, apprenticing with the blacksmith.

We are hoping to come back in a few years and see the progress of the castle.
Check out the website at www.guedelon.fr/en
We took the Scenic route home and passed many other castles. We decided to take a peek inside this one.

Chateau de Ratilly. The path leading up to the castle was very impressive and very secluded.

Vive en France

The field adjacent to the chateau was irresistible.
Rooftops and old buildings on winding streets- I will miss this.

We saw many neat old castles, but look at this great house. I made Mark turn around so we could get some good photos. Isn't that just awesome.

Vaux le Vicomte

2008-08-28T06:12:00.012+02:00

July 6, 2008

Oh, how we love the missionaries here in France. They are the cream of the crop, working so diligently to spread the gospel to all the beautiful people in France.

They sang a beautiful song in Sacrament meeting and so I asked for one favor (they received Chocolate Chip Cookies in return) if they would sing it one more time so I could record them. They acted as if they didn't want to, but I think they loved it!! Thanks Elders, I LOVED your song!

Jesse & Sophie on our last Sunday.

The very special primary of Melun, France. I was so lucky to be a primary teacher during our stay here, even in French I learned things from these children and I think this last month they actually learned something from me.

So many special friends- it was hard to leave today knowing I may never see some of these people again. I learned so much from these faithful members who make great effort to get to church each week and get through some of their weekly struggles but have such great faith.

After church we took a drive through some old villages with wonderful architecture
and neat buildings. We found this very old church and inside all the seats were hand carved with different scenes from the Bible.
We made our way to the Chateau Veaux de Vicomte (again). This time we went inside and toured the grounds. It's such an amazing place with great history.

Vaux was the tragic setting for the downfall of Fouquet, a faithful minister who paid the price of life imprisonment, because of an embezzlement he did not commit, because of the jealousy of others and also because he went a little too far in bestowing lavish hospitality.

Louis XIV had heard of the lavish chateau and wanted to see for himself so Fouquet held a "Féte in honor of the king coming to visit- well the kind wasn't pleased Fouquet was living in a more beautiful "home" than he was so he decided he would be sent to jail, a story was contrived and off he went to prison. Louis XIV hid under lock and key the information that could have proved him innocent and then increased his sentence to life in prison. Many authors have linked the fate of Fouquet with that of the man in the iron mask.

The Chateau has costumes to rent for the children, so we decided to let them see what it would feel like to be a princess, or a Brave, and very handsome Musketeer roaming the grounds of this 17th century Chateau. (If you plan to visit this chateau and would like your children to wear the costumes, be sure to go on the weekend, the costumes are not available during the week.)

We often talked and wondered what the children were doing during all these fancy fétes, we think they played lots of hide and seek, with such fantastic places to hide they could have stayed busy all night.

I can't get enough of these libraries-the rolling ladders to retrieve the out of reach treasures, the lavish desks and rugs to adorn the room. I try to imagine what it would have been like to sit and study in a room such as this.

Now that is a sink. If your mom told you she had "a sink full of dishes" for you to wash you would be up all night. I think it's awesome.

Once again the display of copper pots is also one of my favorites.

I was explaining to the kids why this particular household appliance is sometimes referred to as "the throne".

They had a beautiful display of old carriages and buggies, we would have loved to climb in one and gone for a little spin. You would either feel very Royal or very carsick.

A little "GQ" from the Dal.
A royal adventure was had by all on this beautiful Sunday in July at Vaux le Vicomte.

Jousting in Provins

2008-08-28T05:29:00.005+02:00

July 5, 2008

When we asked the boys what they would like to do today they voted to go back to Provins and watch the jousting show, and of course Sophie did not want to be left out of the mix so we spent the day with the guys. Mark was the good dad and took them even though it was pouring rain.

I think this is such a great view of Provins.

The bird show was a hit, but this is what the boys have wanted to see for the last 6 months. A Real live jousting show.

Sophie thought the princess was amazing, she told me the entire story when they got home.

They were real troopers and toughed out the rain.

Meanwhile, Jesse was at the Family Fun Park with her friends from school having a terrific time.

She went for Marie's birthday and three other friends got to come along as well, it was a fun way to spend one of her last days.

I always wish I could be a mouse in her pocket on these outings. Not one of these girls speaks and English and so I know there was a lot of French being spoken, even by Jesse.

We are lucky she made such great friends and made fun memories with all of them.

4eme de Juillet-4th of July

2008-08-24T01:54:00.008+02:00

July 4, 2008

The church in Bourron Marlotte.

We started our day with a visit to our local chateau. We had a beautiful chateau right in our village but had not had the opportunity to visit it. We were worried that we would have to leave without even being able to see it. It is a private castle and so they do not have tours, but we read that in the summer months you can visit for a small fee. We went and rang the bell and were escorted onto the beautiful grounds.
The "American" outfits had nothing to do with me-the kids did it all on their own. I had to laugh because most people probably had no idea it was a holiday in the US, they must have figured that we were just crazy American tourists.

We were the only ones on the grounds so they told us to take as long as we needed and then to call on our cell phone to the office and they would open the gate to let us out.

Jesse has always wondered what it would feel like to be a giant.

The princess and her castle.

We had to make one last stop at the marche in Fontainebleau, we didn't need anything in particular-it's just so much fun!

This was the center of a round about we drove through - The kids loved it and made us drive around it several times to make sure we got a good photo of it.

Our second stop was Vaux le Vicomte. This is a very famous chateau and used in many movies. It is near our home and was now open for the summer. (Check out the website for an overview of the grounds-pretty amazing www.vaux-le-vicomte.com)

Dallas was attempting to be as tall as Mark, he was for a minute, then Mark stepped up.

Once we entered the chateau we discovered we could not do some of the things we wanted to until the weekend, and so after some American negotiating we got our money back and plan to return on the weekend.

We didn't want the day to go without a great adventure so we quickly drove to Provins, a medieval town with jousting and bird shows with actors in costuming from the period.

Provins from on top of the city wall.
Waiting for the bird show to start, the kids of course took on the role of bird and bird trainer, the tree was the perfect perch.
The kids on the way up to the city wall.
Waiting for the bird show to begin. We were happy that they sill put the show on since there were only 12 people in the stands and we made up 7 of the 12.

They wowed us with lots of live animals, including this camel.
We got up close and personal with some of the animals. The trainer let each of the kids hold one of the birds on their arm-they were a little frightened at first, but each one didn't want to pass up the chance to hold the big bird.

Mark had no choice where he wanted to hold it-the trained plopped it right on his head. As you can see from the kids faces they thought it was pretty great!

We had owls, eagles, hawks, and vultures come swooping right over our heads.
The kids loved the show! If you are ever in Provins I would highly recommend the bird show-it was really worth the trip.
Another great door to add to the collection. The best part is I saw a little old man come out of this door with his bike and go on his merry way. People really do live behind all these cool doors.
The day came to an end as we celebrated with our American friends the Randall's and the Gregerson's at their home. Hal and Suzi have been living in France for a little over a year and will be here for for about 10 years. Hal is a professor at Insead.

They have a really neat home and have been through not only the nightmare of remodeling but the nightmare of remodeling in France. They have got some great stories. They have done a beautiful job and it will be an amazing home when it is complete.

The kids loved getting lost in the back yard.

Suzi did a nice job making it seem like a real 4th of July-she even made homemade potato salad.

As much as we have loved France and Europe, we are still proud to be Americans and were happy we could celebrate our freedom, even though we were far from home.
It was a great way to end our day-thanks Suzi and Hal!

Le dernier jour d'école- The last day of school

2008-08-02T20:17:00.009+02:00

July 3, 2008

Jean-Pierre was the children's sports teacher. He was always so great with the kids, they learned to like him very much and he loved them back. He was constantly giving them a hard time about being American.

Jesse had the most amazing teacher, Sylvie Poidevin. We loved her! She was also the headmaster of the school, which was nice for me because I formed a great relationship with her and she allowed me to come into the school and sit in on Jesse's class to learn French, but she also kept me very informed on the local scene and the kids language skills.

She did a fabulous job with all of the children and she is a lot of the reason Jesse can speak French so well. She was patient and kind and definitely went the extra mile for us.

Two of Jesse's classmates-Emmauel and Arthur.

Jesse's classroom. The last day of school was a little crazy. It was a day of cleaning, organizing and games.
Jesse and Romane.
Logan and his buddies, Alexis and Matthieu. They were happy to see Logan return to school for the last day.
A peek into Logan's classroom.

Logan and his maitresse Mme. Bauer. She was also very good to try to help Logan learn the language. Logan is sporting his souvenir T-shirt. The kids took T-shirts to school with some sharpies for all their friends to sign, some of them had a hard time writing on a shirt, but I assured them it was okay and it was for the kids to remember each of them.

Dallas in his classroom with a few of his friends.

These two adorable girls, Fleur and Alisa were always so kind to Dallas and very helpful with his assignments.

Dallas with his teacher M. Puissacq. He was a large man and pretty intimidating at first, but as Dallas learned more and his confidence grew he didn't seem so scary.

This is the canteen where the kids ate "school lunch". They always ate on glass plates, glass cups and real flatware. They had quite the system for lunch. There was always an older child at each table and that child was responsible for dishing every one's plate and helping the smaller children. Jesse had this job several times.

The lunch ladies. Marie on the left is the mother of Theo, one of Dallas' good friends. She was very helpful to me in learning French. She just assumed I could understand everything she said and that I could speak back. She spoke so fast and so I really had to be on my toes when I had a conversation with her. After Dallas' last play date with Theo she said, "Dallas speaks very good French, he understood everything I said and he answered all my quesitons." Dallas was very happy to hear this.
The other Theo and his mother Valerie and little Kevin.
The clan- These four boys were great friends and had some really great times together.

Thomas, Theo, Dallas and Theo.

Our cute friends from Romania. He was a student at Insead for the year. They got a job in Romania and were planning to leave just days after us. They have three girls, Nicole, Clara and Isabelle.

We wish them luck in their new job and their new life back in Romania.
Yea! We did it.
This is where Annie spent her days from 8:30 to 5:00, at the college.

These are the girls she spent her day with, Julie on the left and Emily on the right.
The three together well they always had a great time. They were very supportive friends for Annie.
The phone booth. This is where Annie would call me if there was a problem. There was generally a line to use it during the break. One of Annie's classrooms-personal space? what's that?
The college campus.

Chandelles dîner- Candle light dinner

2008-07-04T00:53:00.006+02:00

Luxembourg Gardens As soon as the kids were out of school we drove into Paris to fit in a few more of the sights.

First stop-Luxembourg Gardens. What a beautiful place to be on a warm summer day. The park was full of young and old, readers, tourists, runners and the French, but everyone was enjoying the beauty of these fabulous gardens.

Posing the children on this handrail was not the best idea, what is the first thing that goes through a child's mind when they sit on one of these? I'm sure you know and I am sure you can only guess what the next photo will be.

There they go, nothing like a good slide down the handrail.

The hunt was on. One of the goals today was to find the 3rd Statue of Liberty. We knew she sat in Luxembourg Gardens somewhere. We asked several people and were mislead each time. (Of course there is not a sign or any markings on a map to guide you, that would be too easy). We didn't give up and when we turned the corner, Voila- there she was.

This particular statue was the model used for the one that sits in New York.

We were pretty disappointed to watch them close all the play equipment at 6:30 so we made our own fun with a little hide and seek. You really have to be sneaky when you are not allowed to walk on the grass.

Miss Liberty made a perfect home base.

The main attraction of the day was our candle light dinner at the Eiffel Tower. The tower was blue tonight, our guess is that maybe they change the color on different nights, but tonight she was glowing blue.

As it started to get dark we lit our candles and had our dinner while we waited for the lights to sparkle. 11:00 sharp it happened. Over the top of the blue lights there was the magnificent sparkle of the white lights that lasted for 10 minutes. We went with the no flash option so we could get the glow of the tower-it makes it a little tricky to see the children, but they are all there.It happened to be the warmest day of the year so far. It hit 97 degrees and so the warmth lingered long into the night and we were enjoying every minute of it.

Each time we come here we're reminded that this is where it all started.

We were having such a great time that before we knew it the midnight sparkle began. Cheers and applause broke out and you could almost taste the excitement in the air.

Feux d'artifice-Fire works

2008-07-03T21:42:00.006+02:00

June 28, 2008

The family tried to light the house on fire by putting 39 candles on my cake, what were thinking? oh yeah that I'm 39. They surprised me and bought me the most delicious chocolate cake I have ever had. There was a big fireworks display in the town of Avon so we figured we better experience fireworks at least once in France. We strolled into the park the usual American way with blankets and pillows under our arms and as we walked past the policemen they said to Mark "Monsieur, pas camping"-Sir, no camping!

They just don't know how to do the whole fireworks thing. They enter the park, find a place to stand, watch the show and leave. We figured we would show them how to really enjoy the fireworks. We found a great spot on the grass spread out our blanket and pillows, we all laid down and waited for the sky to explode.

I told the kids to pretend it was the 4th of July and that they were playing the Star Spangled Banner.

Because it stays light so late the show didn't even begin until 11:00, but we're getting use to this French way of life. I told the kids I thought it was so kind of them to do fireworks for my birthday. Talk about ending the day with a bang!

Nougayrede Bas in Montcuq

2008-07-01T15:29:00.014+02:00

June 22, 2008

Our last journey was to the southwest of France. We stayed in the small village of Montcuq. It was an ideal setting, up on a hill away from any neighbors-we felt like we had the countryside to ourselves.

The pool was the focus of our stay. I don't think there were too many hours of the day that it sat empty. There was a perfect view of the pool from the kitchen window so we could see the activity even during food preparation.

We hit the marche in Montcuq, the same excitment that is at all the other marches was present at this one as well. I love watching the locals come to fill their baskets full of fresh goods for the week and to see the tourists find the fun french treasures.

We found a T-shirt that said "Je ne suis pas gros, je suis que la préparation de mon voyage en Amérique". (I am not fat, I am just preparing for my trip to America.) Mark picked it up and asked the lady if everyone in American was fat. She looked at the two of us and sheepishly said, "you are American?" "Yes" "apparently not", a priceless moment.

The pace of life here is energizing to me. It seems strange that people who are taking it easy would be energizing but the fact that they can sit back, relax and enjoy one another on a beautiful day is invigorating. Granted, I realize these men are all retired so that makes it fairly easy to "take it easy", but I still love it!

Sophie giving us her best "fabulous" pose.

June 23, 2008

Grotte de Roland

We found a cave just 5 minutes away from the villa, when the sun was full strength we took a break and got the grand tour.

This cave was discovered in 1949 and was a refuge for cave bears and lions. There were many claw markings in the walls and several animal bones found in the cave. The stalagmites were very interesting and hard not to touch.

June 25, 2008

Another Marche-this one in Cahors. The fruit is so fresh and delicious it almost looks fake. We picked out some peaches and could not avoid getting all sticky from the juice.

Across the river Lot in Cahors is the town's signature piece, the Pont Valentré. This magnificent fortified bridge was built between 1308 and 1500 and features a trio of towers, battlements and seven pointed arches. Sometimes you really feel as if you have been zapped back in time when you visit some of these monuments.

Logan is a bug magnet, it seems everywhere we go he is finding interesting creatures. Today he rescued an injured dragonfly-he said it was for you Nikki.

They can be in their swimsuits and in the water in 9 seconds flat! It was hard to get them out of the water to go anywhere.

June 27, 2008

The Castle of Bonaguil.

We did get them out of the water long enough to make the hour drive to the old medieval castle in Fumel, this castle dates back to 1271.

There were many secret passages that were naturally inviting to the boys.

Move over Cinderella, Princess Sophie has arrived!

She can't get enough of the princess dresses and what better place to wear one than to a castle. She had many passerbys bow to her and say "Ah La Princess- bonjour mademoiselle".

Her prince was even there awaitng her arrival.

Now that is some front door!

Montcuq is a large farming community-those big hay bails were calling our name.

At the villa it was bug heaven for Logan and Dallas-Here we see one of the thousands of butterflies that made a home on Logans finger.

There are those few times as a mother that you feel inspired, when I saw those butterfly nets I knew I better buy them-am I ever glad I did. They provided hours of exhilarting and exhausting fun. The kids were the proud owners of several lizards, green crickets, grasshoppers and butterflies. Owners only for moments-the joy of the capture, a quick photo and then the release.

Hey good lookin'.

Two caterpillars in their cacoons-feeling comfy and waiting for dinner to be served.

We found the local pizzeria. We had a great view of the lake as we ate our delicious hand-made pizza. This is Mark and Jesses duck pizza -hot from the oven onto their plate.
Bon Appétit!

Marie-Laure mon tuteur-My tutor

2008-07-01T14:20:00.002+02:00

I was so lucky to find Marie-Laure, she has been my tutor for the past several months. She speaks French, German and enough English to help me understand what I needed to know.

She lives in Avon a neighboring village and kept me posted on many of the events that took place all over.

She is an avid gardner and taught me a lot about flowers and trees. Her yard is blooming with all sorts of beautiful things right now.

She is also a painter and had a small exhibit we were able to attend to see her work.

I enjoyed all my time with her and am grateful for everything she taught me and helped me understand about France. I will miss my Friday mornings with her.

Les égouts de Paris et Le Musée d'Orsay

2008-06-30T18:43:00.009+02:00

June 18, 2008

Today Mark had his final return and so once we collected him from the airport we headed to the égouts de Paris-the sewer. This has been on our list of things to do since we arrived and so we made it our first stop of the day.

As you can tell it was stinky!! We were happy for our paper towels to block the stench somewhat.
Annie started to gag a little and we were glad she didn't lose her lunch.
Some of the funny comments that we heard were "This is supposed to be fun right?" A little girl near the end of the tour "Mom, it smells bad in here". At the beginning of the tour one of the tour directors showed us on the map that the tour ended near the bathrooms so you could wash your hands and warned the kids not to touch anything.

It was interesting to see the city under the city but I can safely say that is not a sight we will visit again soon!
How refreshing. The above ground smells of Paris.
We walked from the sewers to the Musee d'Orsay. We really liked this museum because of the mix of art. The kids were taken with the sculptures, and the many works of the impressionists.
Logan knows my love of clocks and he was the first to spot this big one and thought we should take a picture.

The art here is amazing and we got lots and lots of pictures of all of it, but we'll save that for another entry.
The determination of a 6 year old who thinks he is 8. If Dallas can do it so can Logan. I caught him at just the right moment when he finally did get a grip on the ring all on his own.

We found it! Gelato in Paris, nearly as good as in Italy. They were pretty fancy with their scooping technique and made all the cones look like flowers with the multiple flavors. I wish I could post a taste for all of you.
Lucky for Sophie the man working the shop on this day was very kind because hers ended up on the street after two licks, so she got to start over with a brand new one and successfully ate the entire thing. We love Paris!

La dernière leçon de tennis

2008-06-18T00:18:00.004+02:00

June 17, 2008

I know I just posted about tennis, but we are starting the firsts of the lasts, and since this was our last tennis lesson I figured I'd better document it.

William has been a great coach for the kids and we appreciate his patience and all he has taught us through the year.

Logan is smashing one to Jesse.
Grandpa you better watch out Dallas has a mean backhand.

Tonight they played a few mini games one on one and then they played a game of doubles, it was really fun to watch them out there playing together.

Adéle

2008-06-18T00:00:00.003+02:00

We have been so lucky to have Adéle enter our lives. She lives right here in Bourron and was in the play with Annie. I gave her a few rides to play practice and started to learn a little about her. She speaks perfect English because her mother got her degree in the states.

I asked her if she would be willing to come and help us with our homework when she had a free moment.

She has been coming every Tuesday and Friday for several months now. It has worked out well for all of us. We get superb help from a great girl and terrific student, and she gained 5 instant friends.

The kids love it if they only have a little bit of homework becuase then they have more time to play soccer or whatever game Adéle comes up with.
We love Adéle, and her dog-We will miss her very much!

La construction d'une tour

2008-06-17T23:44:00.003+02:00

During their lunch hour while I was making lunch they were so busy doing something-then I heard the screams "Hurry come and look."

They had built a marker tower from the ground floor to the second story.

It took them a couple tries to keep it from falling over, but it finally worked.
I have really enjoyed their two hour lunch break that we have been able to spend together. They are always so ready to talk and tell me about what's happened in their day so far and then they do it again after school-it's great!

Cimetière de Bourron Marlotte

2008-06-17T23:25:00.005+02:00

June 15, 2008

After church today we left a huge rain storm in Melun and drove into a dry Bourron Marlotte, it seemed quite strange that they didn't even get an ounce while we thought we might get washed off the road. On that note we thought it was a good day to visit the cemetery in town.

The cemetery is quite large for the small village that it is.

This tree is in the middle of the cemetery, we all found it to be so interesting and we wondered how old it might be.

The kids thought it was so funny I could not keep my heels from sinking into the sand as we walked through the cemetery, I already have one foot in the grave.

We love the cemeteries here and the history that lies beneath, we wish there was a story on every grave so we could know about all the great people of this village.

Pain- Bread

2008-06-15T22:18:00.003+02:00

Among the millions of things I am going to miss about France this is near the top of my list. The bread here is so amazing and we eat a lot of it and love it! The smell, the texture the taste everything about it is wonderful!
I guess we'll get to know the people at Liberty Fresh pretty well when we get home so we can satisfy our French taste buds.

Tennis fête

2008-06-15T22:01:00.003+02:00

June 13, 2008

The tennis lesson season is almost over, only two more weeks.

On Friday they had their little tennis fête where they handed out the certificates for a job well done and your level accomplishment.

Anyone who played tennis this year was invited to come, so there was a small crowd.
The woman behind Dallas (Laurence) is one of the two women in my tennis class.

The traditional "French Kiss" from Eric to Jesse.

We will really be able to give Grandma & Grandpa T's court a real work out now.

Mme Torres

2008-06-15T20:26:00.003+02:00

Madame Torres

I love her! I feel so spoiled to have her come each week. She is my cleaning lady and she actually came with the house. Every Thursday morning at 8:00 rain or shine (definitely more rain than shine) she shows up on her little red Moped ready to clean my house from top to bottom.

She is so cute and has been very patient with my "American" French. She tries to chat with me each week and I think she is very happy we can now carry on somewhat of a conversation.
She loves the children, she actually did Sophie's hair one week.

These are the things that will be the hardest to leave-not the cleaning part but the relationships that have developed over time and the love you have for all the people that have been involved in your life for the past year.

À bientôt

2008-06-15T16:28:00.006+02:00

June 12, 2008 We have some friends who live here but will be moving very soon to Utah. They were in the throws of packing, cleaning, and moving their belongings out of their house, so we were lucky to have their children come and spend the day with us.

Romain & Tristian are just Dallas and Logan's ages- they had a great time being together and good on the French as they do not speak English (yet).

It was Alysée's 11th birthday, so we had a little celebration for her.
She is such a sweet and talented girl. She plays the piano and violin very well and it seems as if whenever she is around imaginations go wild and the children create the most clever games.

We are very happy that this is one family we are not having to say goodbye to, just à bientôt.
(see you soon!)

La ferme de Bourron Marlotte

2008-06-15T15:51:00.008+02:00

June 10, 2008
The farm of Bourron Marlotte happens to be owned by one of Logan's friends Alecis. He has had the opportunity to go the farm several times and do a little exploring and horse riding.
Logan and Alecis.
The donkey on the farm is so gentle and kid friendly. All the kids piled on at once and he was just happy he could hold them all.
Logan got to try out his riding skills with Alecis mom. She used to be a trainer and a riding instructor until the weather became too cold for her to be outside for very long.
She is the nicest, and most patient woman. She had several children from the school class come to the farm on this particular day and she let each one of them have a turn on the horse. She even gave a little instruction to each one of them. She said Logan was a natural.
Annie & Jesse were with me when I went to pick up Logan and she asked them if they would like a turn, of course they didn't turn her down.
When each of the children had had their turn, Alecis got on to show us his stuff. He is a really great rider, such a tiny boy on a big horse, but he was the one in control.

Marché à Melun

2008-06-15T15:44:00.004+02:00

I love the open air markets here so much-every village has one and they are all different. We went to the Marché in Melun one Saturday morning and the food was amazing. All the fruit is coming into season so we couldn't resist buying some delicious cherries, apricots, strawberries and even a watermelon.

The children love looking at all the interesting seafood options there are.

Messe à Notre Dame-Mass at Notre Dame

2008-06-14T12:45:00.006+02:00

June 8, 2008

Today was a new adventure for us all. We drove into Paris and attended Mass (messe) à Notre Dame Cathedral. There was a choir and they sang many different songs. The priest gave several sermons, he even gave a short one in English.

After it was over we discussed the differences between Mass and our meetings. I was very impressed by this things they observed, they even noticed things I didn't. We had a great religious discussion with lots and lots of questions, we were all grateful for the experience.

After church at Notre Dame we walked over to see the magnificence of Saint Chappelle and all of the stained glass.

We learned that the windows were spared during the Revolution because the church had been used as an office and it had enormous filing cabinets up against the windows.

Looking up at the gargoyles on Saint Chappelle-Dallas noticed this great shot.

We were all thinking of Grandma T as we stood on this road-this is the street that

The Last Time I Saw Paris was filmed on. Rue de la Huchette- It was hopping with tourist and Parisians.

The food in all the Greeks shops looked so delicious we agreed we would have to come back for lunch another day.

The Road of the Cat Who Fishes

It is said to be the shortest, narrowest street in the world.

We filled our day visiting many different churches in the St. Michel area. We went inside St Severin-a Gothic church built in 1210, then St-Julien-le-Pauvre-the oldest church in Paris. The present church goes back to the Lonpont monks, who began work on it in 1170.

The Rodin Museum

This museum and the Rodin in Meudon together hold the largest collection of the master sculptures work.

The Thinker, or known in earlier days as the Poet.

In our reading of Rodin and his work we learned that he encouraged reproduction of his art and so you can see many of his sculptures in several museums across the world.
The Thinker is probably his most recognized piece and the kids favorite.

Rodin is buried in his hometown of Meudon with a Thinker just like this one as his tombstone.

Erin this is for you. I know that you wanted Travis to get a picture of this while he was here, but we never made it to the Rodin at the time. I really liked this museum because there is a great collection inside the museum as well as the gardens outside.

Inside the metro stop for the Museum they have large plastic statues the kids could touch them all they wanted and know they weren't going to damage anything.
It was a full, busy day and only took about 35 seconds until they were out.

Lilly's dans le jardin

2008-06-08T08:03:00.004+02:00

June 7, 2008

Lilly's from our yard.

We are starting to get such wonderful surprises popping up everywhere.

For the rest of my life when I see fresh flowers it will remind me of France, I know we have beautiful flowers in Utah, but there is something to all the floral shops lining the streets with buckets of fresh flowers and all the people at market with their baskets loaded with beautiful fresh flowers.

Oliver Twist

2008-06-08T07:51:00.004+02:00

June 6, 2008

Jesse's class put on a small production of Oliver Twist. Their music teacher wrote all the music and taught them all of the songs. She did a terrific job, they children really knew the songs well and sang out so we could hear every word.
All the music was accompanied by an acoustic guitar.

Jesse played the part of a village woman.

The production was held in a small building behind the school where the little children eat canteen. (Bad lighting) It was standing room only when the show started-it was as if everyone in our small village came out to see the show.

Jesse & Emmannuel

L'oiseau noir-The black bird

2008-06-04T22:16:00.008+02:00

June 4, 2008

I'm not sure how this keeps happening, it's no wonder he wants to be a zoologist - he's a natural, but this is the 4th bird Dallas has caught. Logan spotted him in the bushes and Dallas did the rescuing. What a team.
We sure are going to miss the backyard-you never know what might happen next in this wonderland.

Nutella

2008-06-04T22:16:00.007+02:00

June 4, 2008

Nutella-You can't live in France and not love Nutella, they put it on everything.

We have definitely eaten our share of the creamy brown stuff while we have been here.

Tonight after dinner I gave each of the children a ziploc bag filled with Nutella to try their hand at a little plate decorating. It was very fun and they came up with some great designs.

Once the decorating was done we piled crepes and ice-cream onto the plates and had ourselves a little dessert.
Our favorite is Nutella with bananas, but we were out of bananas tonight.

We're glad they sell this in bulk at Costco so we can always have a big jar at our fingertips.

Le chef Xavier

2008-06-04T00:44:00.004+02:00

May 31, 2008

Xavier was kind enough to treat us to a morning in his cuisine. The lesson consisted of Pâte à Génoise, La crème mousseline and Baguette.
From the time Xavier was 14 his father owned a boulangerie, Xavier invited him to come and join the party and show us how a pro makes all these wonderful French treats.

I asked him when he had to start his day in order to make all the delicious pastries the French expect to see gracing the windows on their way to work in the morning. He told us he started at 3:00a.m. everyday!
It was fun to watch the two of them stirring it up, you could tell they had worked together for some time. Xavier felt like this cake needed a little color so he flicked his wrist and gave it an "American" flare-sprinkles.
He made it look so easy-rolling the dough two at a time, one in each hand-a little tricky.
I am anxious to practice all these new techniques so I can produce some real French bread.
The two Tracy's joined the force to help whip up this great looking cake.

It's not everyday you find a friend who will wear a goofy white hat and a twinner apron with you.

Brocante-Flea Market

2008-06-04T00:26:00.004+02:00

June 1, 2008

It is not permitted to have a garage sale in France, or any sale for that matter without a permit, so twice a year, once in September and once in June, they organize the Brocante where people can bring their junk to try to pawn it off to the highest bidder. You know the saying, "One man's junk, is another man's treasure" we decided to go see what the people in France considered a treasure. I guess the kids will be coming home with new guts. Dallas found a scooter at the Brocante and thought that would be a fun "treasure" to own his last month here. The man wanted 5 euro, but after digging to the depths of my bag and pockets all we could come up with was 2.50. I put it in Dallas' hand and told him if he could get it for that-he could have it. I watched Dallas with all the courage in the world confront the burly, tattooed man with his 2.50, a little bargaining (all in French) and pretty soon Dallas was the new proud owner-Way to go Dall!

Bon Anniversaire Lilly

2008-06-04T00:10:00.002+02:00

May 30, 2008 "OK guys it's my birthday, so just do exactly what I say and I promise you will both have a great time!"

Lilly turned 5 and we had a grand celebration all day long at Disneyland with these three princesses.

Sophie, Mia and Lilly

Luckily as were we walking out the door Spencer (Janet's 14 year old son) had the thought to have Janet grab some princess clothes for the girls. She told him that we didn't want to have to drag them around all day- he said, "Mom they are 4 year old little girls, you've got to take them."

Needless to say they wore them all day long and loved every minute of it.

Thanks Spencer!

We did have to wait in a line to see Minnie, but we were so glad we did! It was worth every second. Minnie was so friendly and cute with the girls, they were all in heaven. We spent our entire day in Fantasyland. It was one of those trips that was just for the girls. We rode all the rides they wanted to, including Snow White at least 25 times. We were fortunate to not have huge crowds to fight with so the girls really felt like it was truly their day.

After getting our fill of the rides we went to a "Tea Party" with several of the characters. We were not sure who would be there so each one that arrived was a big surprise.

It was magical for the girls to get up close with their large fury friends.

A special part of our day happened at the Tea Party. There were several special needs children there and each character made certain that they met each one of them. We were sitting next to a woman named Judy and an 18 year old girl named Ellie. From what I could tell she does not have any real control over her limbs and needs constant care but Ellie's entire body got so excited when each character came to her table it was an experience just to watch her.

Judy told us that Ellie loves Disneyland so much but she cannot go on any of the rides except "It's a small world" and so this is how she has her fun at Disneyland.

Judy is not her biological mother or any relation, just the woman who has cared for her since the age of three when Ellie's mother died. She is a woman of true charity. She was kind and gentle and very delightful to talk to, you could tell she really loved Ellie.

What's Disneyland without a little pink hair on a stick.

Janet told me that when she was a little girl her mom took her and he nephew to the circus and he kept asking "Grandma can we please have a stick with blue hair on it?"

That's exactly what it looks like, and I bet you won't ever be able to eat cotton candy again without thinking of Marge Simpson.

(My new favorite cotton candy story) Thanks Lilly for such a great birthday party, Sophie and I had a fabulous time.

Sacré-Coeur

2008-06-04T00:05:00.008+02:00

May 28, 2008

We had another appointment with the dentist for Logan, so when we were done Logan got to pick what he wanted to do. His choice was the Sacré-Coeur.

We found a parking garage close by and caught the metro for the two stops.

You get quite a view of the city from here.

We climbed the stairs to the dome, there were two sections of stairs outside so we got a close up look at the bell and some of the gargoyles.
It was very windy up in the dome, we felt like we might blow right off.
There is not much room in the dome, it's a lot smaller than it looks.

We found a spot on the busy steps and enjoyed a French musician sing in English while we fed the birds. There is always lots of interesting entertainment around these parts.
After our lunch of crepes and paninis, we found a man selling slushies and tried a few of his refreshing treats.
If you ever wondered what a mother with five children looked like on the streets of Paris......here you go!
The kids were good navigators and got us back to the parking garage without any trouble. We were fortunate to be parked next the the Mairie (city hall) which had free restrooms- nice surprise.

Président Uchtdorf vient à Versailles

2008-06-04T00:04:00.005+02:00

May 25, 2008

It was Fête des mères (mother's day) in France today.

The little primary kids sang for the mothers, just like they do at home.

This is the Melun Ward we have attended the last 9 months.

With a picnic all packed we left church in the direction of Versailles. President Uchtdort was coming to speak to two of the stakes in Paris so we decided to make a day of it.

I wanted to drive by the building first to make sure I knew where it was. It was very easy to find-it was directly across the street from the Chateau de Versailles. Once we found it I drove down the street to head to the back gardens of the Chateau to eat our picnic. We passed a park with a very large pond that looked nice so we decided to stop there instead. There was free parking on the street which made it even better.

We pulled the picnic out of our car and headed toward the water. I could see another family in their Sunday digs and wondered if they were here for the same reason. I was about 20 feet from them when the dad hollered to me "Are you Mormons?" They most certainly were there for the same reason, so we spread our blanket next to them and had lunch with the Passe family. They have 4 children the same ages as ours and so they all had instant playmates to spend the afternoon with.

After chatting for a while I learned that the father was there to do security at the meeting. He had to leave early for the meeting but told us he would ring us when we could come to the building and he would get us in early. Now we were really glad we decided on this park.

When he called we walked up the street a few blocks, walked right past the crowd waiting outside and found our seats on the third row.

The primary passed out little booklets filled with church activities for the children to keep them occupied while we waited.

We were fortunate to see and talk to several of the missionaries who have served in the Melun Ward. The kids were so excited when they saw Elder Hamilton walk down the aisle they all popped out of their seats.

The meeting was something none of us will ever forget. The spirit was so strong and President Uchtdorf 's talk was very inspiring and uplifting. The children listened so intently to everything he had to say. It was a refreshing change to have the meeting in English.

That morning I had told myself if it rained at all we would not go because it would be too difficult with the children, and I had a small headache and was basically trying to talk myself out of going, but the children were so excited and the weather was perfect after church that we went. I am so happy I followed the promptings to go because it was such a great opportunity for all of us to be there and soak in his spirit. Satan is so tricky-he did not want us to be there.

Another neat part to the meeting was to watch all these beautiful French saints who had travelled long distances, flow into the building so excited to see and listen to an apostle of God. Just knowing how much this meant to each of them, made it that much more special for us.

After the meeting each one of the children was able to shake President Uchtdorf's hand. They all said that was the coolest thing ever.

Jardin des Tuileries et Musée de l'Orangerie

2008-06-04T00:03:00.009+02:00

May 21, 2008

Jesse's tooth had been bothering her, so I put a call into our favorite German dentist to see when he might be able to squeeze us in.

He called this morning and said 3:30 was his only time-we were happy he would see us so we packed another picnic and climbed into the car to spend the rest of the day in Paris.

Unfortunately for Jess he had to use quite a bit of anaesthesia, which meant several shots, but once the magic stuff kicked in-he pulled out her tooth.

As we left the dentist and drove into Paris we drove right along the Seine and had a great view of the Statue of Liberty and the Tour Eiffel.

I found a great parking spot, if I don't say so myself. It was right at the end of the Tuileries at the Place de Concorde-and it was free.

I am beginning to drive like a real Frenchman.

The plan was to spend the afternoon in the Gardens and go into the Orangerie Museum.

Place de Concorde-Jesse's tooth (or no tooth) was really starting to a give her some pain-therefore the sad face. She was a great sport to hang in there with us.

The dentist did tell us the best medicine would be an ice cream cone and they happened to have several ice cream vendors right in the park, I think it made her feel a little better, especially since it was prescribed by the dentist.

The small gallery of Renoir paintings has some of his best.

While we were waiting to get into the Museum, we read a little information on Monet and about his Water Lillies that hang in the museum. I showed the children a few small pictures of what we would see inside.

When we entered the first room of Water Lillies the children actually gasped-it is breath taking. The buildings roof is glass so there is a great amount of natural light and the only thing on the 4 white walls are the huge paintings.
There are two rooms 4 paintings in each. I told the children to pick their favorite painting to have their picture taken by. It was difficult for Logan to choose just one.

Each room has benches in the center, so we took a seat and talked about what each one of the paintings reminded us of.

This one all reminded us of Great Grandma's house because of the weeping willows.

It was the perfect size museum for us today, small enough you can see everything in about 30 minutes and all the art is fabulous.

We found a grassy spot for our picnic and watched the sky turn very mysterious on us. Speaking of the picnic reminds me of a very funny thing that happened today was when we were entering the museum. I took off my backpack to go through security and then I was busy making sure the children went through the detector without a beep. I hear Jesse saying, "Mom, mom" I look over and see the security guard with my big long bread knife between his two hands, with a stern look on his face. "Oh, my goodness, I am so sorry-it is for our picnic." Luckily it was nestled in the bag right next to the tomatoes and avocado so he knew I wasn't pulling a fast one. The kids were all giggling at their goofy mom. He was kind and let us just check it with our bag until we were done in the museum. He did remind me that "normally zis is not allowed".

Versailles avec Les Degraws

2008-06-04T00:02:00.016+02:00

May 18, 2008

After church we wanted to see the gardens at Versailles. We were unaware until we arrived that on the weekends they turn the fountains on, so for a small fee you can enjoy the beauty of all the great water features.

I don't recall ever seeing them on so it before-I was happy that we were able to have this be part of our day.

We thought he looked like the "you know who"
What a great guy-he took all of our lunch supplies back to the car so we wouldn't have to have it hanging about the rest of the afternoon.
We introduced Carly & Megyn to our traditional "jump off the bench"- we didn't want their trip to Versailles to be incomplete.Our other tradition-Bikes. The kids are always so happy to be able to ride a bike again, it's always so fun to be able to do it through the beautiful gardens.It's a trick to be the photographer, the umbrella and backpack porter and stay on your bike all at the same time.
Two women, one man, lots of children-yes we got a few funny looks.
The Swans at Versailles had new goslings. The kids were amazed when they climbed in the water one by one in a perfect line after their mother, "how do they know how to do that?".
Tobyn couldn't hold in his excitement in for one more minute.
Having fun at Marie Antoinette's palace. The courtyard was empty and it was the perfect spot for a photo shoot. Tobyn hadn't taken enough pictures yet ha ha (I think he was up to 1,200 at this point) so he was so cute and patient and let each of the children take their turn at being the super star. I think he liked playing with his camera-click, click, click.

The weeds and wild flowers were plentiful and made a lovely bouquet.

What fun we had with Tobyn & Fran. They truly know how to have a good time.
Tobyn has many talents, one is voice impersonation-the favorites are Donald Duck and some little guy with a Mexican accent. The kids just loved it when he would use one of these voices. When this photo was taken I am not sure which voice he was using -but it was very entertaining.

We loved having them here and hated when it was time to go.

Tobyn filled the gap for Mark this week; He wrestled with the boys, entertained the girls in Paris, entertained the kids at the house, and entertained us all with his photos.

The girls got along wonderfully and had such a fabulous time being together.

Fran was a huge help and always tons of fun.

Memories to last a lifetime.

Flying standby can always be tricky-so we are crossing our fingers they make it home.

My girls were crossing theirs that the flight would be full and they would haveto stay another week.

La Crosse

2008-06-04T00:02:00.008+02:00

June 17, 2008

Today was the La Crosse at the kids school. This is a foot race that they run every year. Each class takes their turn girls first and then boys to run the route that is mapped out for them in the forest.

Logan was the first in our family to run and the smiles are the same start to finish, so I would say it was a success.
Dallas was next-here he is all lined up with his classmates.
I guess that sport class twice a week really paid off-he was pretty quick.
Jesse's class, she has a few girls in her class that are very athletic-so this is serious business..
Jesse is on the right in white, just under the arm of the man holding the banner

Jesse's course was longer than the rest, but she still placed 7th.
They each received a medal from their sport teacher.

Way to go guys!

The Loire Valley

2008-06-04T00:00:00.020+02:00

May 12, 2008

We left Millieres and decided to take the long way home and drive through the Loire Valley.

Nikki, thanks for being such a good sport about all the travel in the car.

With over 300 chateaux in the Loire Valley it was tough to decide where to go, but we decided
first on the Le Chateau D'Azay Le Rideau.
Nikki wondered how we liked her new home.

Total French story-we are snapping these photos of the girls in the windows, I am standing in a huge courtyard below, there is also a tour group off to one side of the courtyard. We are laughing and having a good time when the tour director turns to us and tells us we need to be quiet. You just never know.

The furnishings in this castle were really amazing.

"Here I am"

Dad, do you think this is too complicated for your machine?

I was in love with all the fireplaces and their enormous mantles.

It's red!

Everyone thought this was the perfect castle, great protection with the water, not too big, beautiful gardens-they were ready to move in.
Chenonceau Chateau
The original chateau was was put up for sale in 1512. Bohier bought it and demolished all the old buildings except for the keep. He was very busy and could not supervise this project so his wife Catherine took charge and gave it the great flare that we see today. It was completed in 1521, but Bohier and his wife had little time to enjoy it becuase they died in 1524 and 1526.

It is build across the river Cher. It was quite a magnificient piece of property.

Jesse decided this one was for her.
The tower outside the castle is now the gift shop.

Another red one.
The furnishings were again quite lavish- the children each claimed their room and tried to imagine being a child back in the day living in a castle.

The next part was my favorite-The kitchen and dining room. It was amazing. I could really cook up some meals in this room.

There was so much to see and I loved it all-so I will let the pictures do the talking.
The boys had great interest in the butchers blocks.
One of the balconies that over looks the entrance.
The gardens are always so beautiful and so well manicured, I can't imagine what it takes to keep up a place like this.
We were so glad we decided on the long way home-it put the icing on the cake for a fabulous trip.

Fête des mères

2008-06-03T23:59:00.015+02:00

May 11, 2008

We found our way to Coutances, where we attended church.
It was a tiny branch-with the eight of us there was a total of 33. I think we shocked the primary, they weren't sure what to do with us.
Next to the building where our meetings were held were two cathedrals. The meeting had just ended in this one as we stepped inside.
This was one of the buildings that made up the square outside of the cathedral. I loved all the flags. As all cathedrals this one had gargoyles too, we'd just never seen one with hair before.
Happy Mother's Day Nikki!
Just down the street was another big cathedral.
It was empty inside so we gave ourselves the mini tour.
Jesse thought the chairs were pretty neat and decided she would take a seat, well the seat fell a lot easier than she thought and with the church empty there was a great echo of noise. It scared her to death-I got the whole thing on video.
Do we look serious? Because we are trying really hard to be.

Across the street was a beautiful garden and the perfect spot for our lunch.

My Mothers day gift.

The best Mother's Day Ever!

It's not Mother's day in France so we were the only ones who thought today was a special.

We visited a town which is one of the largest manufacturers of copper. There was plenty of shiny gold pots in every shopkeepers window.

They had some beautiful memorials for the children who were lost at war and for the men who served their country.

Pat, the cottage owner mentioned that there was a very large beach near by and when the tide went out you felt like you could walk across the country. She wasn't kidding. We tried to reach the water just to say we did, but it was out!

We had a great time searching for more creatures and treasures of the sand.

Utah Beach & Saint Mere-Eglise

2008-06-03T23:58:00.026+02:00

This was a favorite stop for the kids. After watching so many WW2 movies they were ready to see where the action really happened and the planes and weapons that were actually used.

The church Saint-Mere Eglise is a famous landmark, because one of the parachuters landed on this church and watching his buddies getting killed he played dead, which saved his life.
You can still see one of the bullet holes in one of the paintings inside the church.
Across the street from the church is the Airborne Museum. The museum houses many of the soldiers personal belongings. To see the things they had in their heavy packs-pictures of their family/girlfriends, passports etc. made it very real for our children. It wasn't just a movie now.

Of course the big trucks, tanks and planes were very exciting to see close up.

We're grateful for those who would share their personal things and stories so we can learn about this important day in history.
The highest priority was to obtain a cricket for everyone, and let me tell you they have had a lot of use. We had to restrict them to outside only.
We told the kids to try to imagine it was cold, you had on an extremely heavy pack on and you had to jump into the cold water. Hard to imagine.
The beaches seems so sacred to the children, that they weren't sure how they felt when they saw people swimming there.
Road to see Freedom

Point du Hoc
One of the landmarks that has been left untouched. To see the massive craters left in the earth and the big cement bunkers sure gets your imagination going as to what it was really like on that day.

The boys couldn't get enough of this place. Running and diving from the bombs. They were too far away for me to hear what they were saying so I just had to imagine, but if I were to guess it would have gone something like this.

"Oh man, I've been hit"

"Don't worry brother, I'll get ya"

"It's going to be OK, hang on!"

It's a good thing it has closing hours or I don't think we could have ever convinced them to leave.

Mark surprised us and drove to the German cemetery. I didn't even know it was there, he seems to be good at those kinds of things- knowing where everything is and how to get there. It was a good reminder that we were not the only country who lost loved ones.
I feel lucky we got to walk through time and be up close and personal with all this history.

Mont St-Michel

2008-06-03T23:58:00.015+02:00

May 9, 2008 Mont St-Michel

Depending when you arrive, you can watch the tide come in and come all the way to the edge of the island-it varies from the time of year and time of day.

Today it is a historical monument, (or huge tourist trap) but in the past it was used as an abbey and then a prison.

Annie at the drawbridge.
Views from the top of the Abbey.
The little alleys were packed with people and so we had to squeeze our way through the crowds.
Jesse trying to lift the giant cannonballs that are near the front entrance.
Dallas giving it a go.
Wow, What muscles! He lifted that thing that like it was a feather.
There was a Japanese man who tried to lift it and had about as much luck as Dallas & Jesse. So Mark showed him how it is done. They all burst into applause. They thought he was amazing.
When we left St-Michel we were in search of a beach. We didn't have too much luck in the beginning. The first thing we found was this huge mud pool.

The best part about the mud was all the creatures that we discovered hiding underneath it.

We found a great beach with lots of sand and lots of rocks for more sea life hunting. They found all sort of crabs-big and small, oysters, dead squid and millions of cool sea shells.

The rocks were a bit hazardous -and painful.
The crabs took us further and further from the sand, which was a problem without shoes.
So you never know what one might encounter on any particular day in France. This was quite the group as they caravaned across the beach. I have no idea where they thought they were going- they were headed straight for the water.

We couldn't let that little pool go unused one more second, so after a long day at the beach everyone jumped in-well not everyone.

Normandie-Omaha Beach & The American Cemetery

2008-06-03T23:56:00.014+02:00

May 8, 2008

We were packed and on the road at 9:00 only to be delayed by the great Paris traffic. We were on our way to see all the history and wonder of Normandy.

We drove straight to Omaha Beach and walked through this old Germand bunker up on the hill.

It is now a memorial site .

Who can reach the water first? On your mark, get set GO!

Needless to say they all had wet shoes and muddy clothes after this one.

Mark showing the kids how the soldiers used the rocks (shingles) as protection from the German guns.

Logan signing in at the American Cemetery.

The cemetery has a wonderful museum with lots of information and a few films with soldiers sharing their memories of the tragic day.

It was such a surprise to turn around and see an old high school friend Dave Stott and his wife Denice on vacation in France.

Most of the tombstones are crosses, but there are several Star of Davids. If you look closely there are a few rocks resting on the top of this star, we have been told that Germans leave a small rock whenever they visit a grave.
I don't believe this is any relation, but it is a great reminder that we did have loved ones who fought for our freedom and the freedom of those they did not even know.
As we were leaving they had a small flag ceremony and removed the flag for the night.
There are 9,387 soldiers buried here and until you see a white headstone for each one you don't realize how many that truly is. It is a bit overwhelming. It makes me proud that they have made such a beautiful resting place for all those valiant young men who had no idea what lay before them.

There are 307 unknown soldiers buried in the cemetery.
I found my time at the cemetery to be very moving and gave me a greater appreciation for those who lost loved ones during this time of conflict. I have never been more proud to be an American citizen. Our experiences in Europe have been absolutely amazing, and I love it here, but I would not sell my American passport for 100,000,000 bucks.

Mark found a cottage as our homebase for the week that was off the beaten path in Millieres. It is owned by a couple who left their busy pheasant farms in Scotland for a simpler life in France.

Their fields surrounding the cottage were so beautiful and full of sheep and chickens.

One day we found a delivery of fresh eggs at our doorstep, what a treat.

2 jours à Paris avec mon ami Nikki

2008-06-03T23:55:00.013+02:00

May 5, 2008

Our transfers of guests worked out perfectly. Mark took Deena & Jared to the airport and picked up my good friend Nikki. Nikki and I worked together at the same salon for several years and were instant friends. She is a ball of fire and willing to try almost anything, I have great memories with her and her husband Rusty. Unfortunately Rusty lost a hard battle with colon cancer 2 years ago-everyone misses him very much.

Nikki is rock solid and I learn a million things from her everyday. Her new life of mother, father, basketball, baseball coach, dance, karate, and school chauffeur, classroom volunteer, business owner, landscape artist, carpenter, aunt, sister and friend must be taxing and exhausting, but she is full of positive things to say about life and everything in it.

Once she arrived we helped her unwind with a walk to the bakery and lunch, then I took her on a tour of the Chateau de Fontainebleau.

That night my kids could hardly wait to treat her to a dinner of Raclette.
We are very happy she is here and that her kids were willing to share her with us.

May 6, 2008 The markets are bursting with the most glorious fruits and vegetables as spring leaves us and summer tries to break through. We started out our day in Fontainebleau at the marché.
We had to tempt her with some delicious French pastries.

Once we dished ourselves a good serving of the marché we took the 11 train into Paris to show Nikki her first sights of the great city.
You gotta love what you end up with when you ask a stranger to take your picture. Thank goodness for digital-can you imagine returning home and this is your one picture of Notre Dame.
We hit all the main attractions-Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, the Tuilleries, a boat ride on the Seine and........
The Eiffel Tower.

We waited to to see the Tower until the sun was setting so we could catch the glow of the great structure.
At 10:00 it starts to sparkle with additional lights flashing-it was something to see.

We were on top just as the sun was going down.
Nikki is full of energy and even after her long flight and little sleep she was a treat to be with all day.

May 7, 2008

Back into Paris for another day of thrill and adventure. The main attraction was the Louvre.
We spent hours strolling through the great halls of beautiful art trying to read the descriptions in French.
This is one of my favorites.

Élisabeth-Louise Vigée-Le Brun is my favorite woman artist. She is the most famous woman painter from the 18th century. Most of her paintings are portraits and are very soft and most of them seem content. She painted many portraits of women, a favorite of Marie Antoinette.

I love to see Paris through others eyes, what sights a first timer wants to take home-these are a few of Nikk's picks.

When we arrived home that night, they boys were busy at work on their own piece of art. The jardin behind the house is full of mystery and adventure.

Muguet de bois-Lilly of the Valley

2008-06-03T22:33:00.007+02:00

May 1, 2008May 1st is called May Day and is a National Holiday-Labor Day.

The French do have a most charming custom to usher in the month of May: the buying for oneself or one's loved ones or friends a pot or bouquet of lily of the valley (muguet de bois). Lily of the valley is referred to as a "porte-bonheur"--literally, "bringer of happiness" or perhaps what we would call a good luck charm. A few days before May Day, you begin to see vendors popping up on every corner selling lily of the valley. Although at all other times of the year, selling any kind of flowers or anything else on the street requires paying for a permit, merry May Day is exempted from this evil tax, and anyone can sell the blossoms anywhere without a permit. And of course, every florist has pots and bouquets of lily of the valley dominating their outdoor displays. Commuters are everywhere clutching their lily of the valley, to be offered to girl- or boyfriend, husband or wife, neighbor, boss, you name it.

Here is my Muguet de bois from my dear friend Janet.

Atlantik Wall

2008-06-03T22:24:00.006+02:00

May 4, 2008

During WWII the Germans built a wall of concrete and steel, the Atlantikwall, from Norway to the Spanish border. It's purpose was to stop an invasion from England and to protect Hitler's secret weapons. It was started in 1941 but never finished due to the D-Day landings.

We drove to see what was left of this great undertaking.

It was quite a journey to walk through their concrete mazes, many of which are hidden with brush or camo netting.

The kids have been very intrigued with all the WWII stories so a trip the the Atlantikwall really made it come to life.

There were a few of the large weapons and machines left to to get a feel of how they tried to protect themselves.
The boys have a real knack of making these machines come to life.Across from the Atlantikwall, the beach was scattered with tiny sand dollars, the shell collection always has room for a few more.

Brugge, Belgium

2008-06-03T21:04:00.009+02:00

May 3, 2008

Today we hit the road at 6:00. We wanted to meet Jared & Mark in Brugge before the day was gone so we got up tros tot. Jared had a conference up in Belgium and at the last minute, really second, Mark decided to join him-so we figured we should join them to see the beautiful sights there.

I don't know if it was the early hour or the late night or both that were the hardest on Sophie. She occasionally gets car sick and decided today would be a good day for that.

Thank goodness for a brave big sister-we could tell something was going to come up, but could not reach the bag in time and so Annie cupped her hands and caught it, but then with a sick voice of her own said, between gags "I don't think I can do this". Deena had tears in her eye either because she didn't know how to get out of the car or because all we could do was laugh.

Creating great memories huh?

Obviously it didn't last long-she's back to her happy little self again.
They call Brugge the "Venice" of France, because of the beautiful canals that adorn the town.
As we wait to board our boat for the tour of the canals, we were so happy to be blinded by the sun. The weather is so unpredictable and had given us our fair share of rain, so we were ever so grateful to need our sunglasses.
You all think we're crazy anyway so Marks newest goal is a mustache like this and this mans job-he's the guide on the boat tour.
Of all the beautiful sights to look at on the tour-this was my favorite.
He was happy for a little sunshine and a few boats to pass the time.
Up in the brush protected from the path of the hustle and bustle of tourists, were several swans guarding their grand nests full of new life.

We got to see the candy man first hand, busy at working his magic potion from the great copper pots to the huge marble slab and then mold it into small bite size candy. The kids were fascinated and wanted to know if I could do that.
The people in this picture are great, but check out the rooftops.
No, we don't know them-but I watched them for the longest time. They were just having a great time enjoying the day together and watching the people come and go. There is something to be said about sitting back and taking it in, if I've learned anything from my experience here, I hope this is something I can take home with me.
I will be adding Brugge to my list of most picturesque cities in Europe.

Trois filles à Paris-Three girls in Paris

2008-06-03T12:39:00.004+02:00

May 2, 2008

With Deena here the Three Musketeers headed off to the big city.

It was the perfect day of sunshine, girl talk, food, shopping, and experiencing the sights, sounds and smells of Paris, thanks for the memories ladies.
Janet with her favorite flowers at the flower Marche. We nearly had our hand cut off for this photo, the man was not too pleased we touched his flowers.

The Rutters

2008-06-03T12:19:00.002+02:00

April 29, 2008

We were so excited to welcome our good friends Jared & Deena Rutter. They arrived just 2 days after we returned from Switzerland, good timing. Jared had a conference in Belgium and said we could keep Deena for a couple of days.
For the kids their second mom had come home, it was a tender reunion.

Deena and I really hit it off when we moved to Salt Lake. Our kids are the same ages and best buds. Deena is extremely gifted in almost every area of life. She is musical, with voice and instruments, very artistic-she designs papers and every imaginable thing for scrap booking companies (Provo Craft, cricket, Adobe etc.) She is organized, calm and patient. I am lucky to be able to call her my friend!! Logan has spent thousands of hours with Deena, in her home, in her car, at lessons you name it-she really is like a second mom.
Deena caught this picture of the boys when we took her to market in Milly-I just think it's so cute.
Deena & Jared were missing their kids and so were we, so we skyped them when we returned to the house.

I still think the boys were hoping for the ultimate surprise of Jack and Will popping out of a suitcase. That would have been a grad reunion but we will be having one happening shortly on Browning Ave.

Switzerland

2008-06-02T13:30:00.013+02:00

April 26, 2008

We woke up to the beautiful town of Florel, which is near Lausanne.
They live in such a beautiful area in a 100 year old farm house which has been restored. There was plenty of room for the kids to run around, which they did a lot of.
It was a gorgeous day full of sunshine, so we hiked the hill next to their house up to the

Tour de Grouze.

At the top of the Tour de Gourze with our backs to the city.

On one side of the tower you could see the town and on the other the majestic mountains and the big blue pond.

We headed for the hills armed with a picnic so we could kill the hunger pains we knew would hit just about the same time we arrived at the top. Picnicing seems to be one of our favorite past times lately.

As the kids rounded the hill I thought they had just popped out of the book Heidi.

It's always so fun to visit locals becuase they know all the hot spots. Kirsten knew of a really hot one-Tristan's chocolate shop in Bougy-Villers. Tristan is not just a chef of chocolate he is the Le maitre chocolatier. (the master of chocolate) This little gem of a shop was full of the most delicious chocolate I have ever eaten. They have little baskets with small samples so you can spend your money and calories wisely.

Everything in this little gem of a shop is divine. It is full of the most delicious chocolate I have ever eaten. There are small baskets full of samples all around the store so when it comes to placing your order you can spend your money and and calories wisely.

The Chocolate master himself. He seemed genuinely excited to have so many happy customers flocking into his little shop. He had just prepared some small samples and invited us into his kitchen for a goûter.
I must say if I were to return and indulge myself again I would order up a couple kilos of the noir truffles. If you are going to make your bank account and hips suffer such a fate, at least make it worth it.
Looking down on Lake Léman (Geneva lake) from the hills of Bougy-Villers. Not only was the chocolate delicious, but so were the views.

Lausanne is the largest city near Florel.

We found these amazing statues in the park.

On our way home we decided to take a quick tour of the beautiful lake. Mark gave everyone rock skipping lessons, and they all tried thier hand at it, The new record is 7 skips.

Sophie & Sabrina, when you both love princess' it's hard not to be immediate friends.
April 27, 2008
After church with our cousins-McKay, Logan, Dallas, Brayden, Jesse, Sabrina, Annie & Sophie. Do they come any cuter?

Kirsten had told me in an email "I'm sure a weekend in our area would go a long way toward satisfying your desire to see Switzerland." She was right, we loved every bit of our stay with the Monsons, we just wish it could have been longer. Our palettes have now been cleansed so we need to come back for the main course.

Kirsten, thank you for all the delicious food and being such a great hostess.

We made our way home through Beascon, a beautiful village in France. We got out to stretch and wandered through another fabulous park along the river.

Baalborn, Germany

2008-06-02T09:22:00.009+02:00

April 25, 2008

The well in Baalborn.

We are now on the search for the Reed ancestors. We had some records of them being in Baalborn, Germany so this was our first stop.

The little city of Baalborn.
We found a few cemeteries in Baalborn but didn't have any luck and were directed to the cemetery in Otterberg, and just like ducklings they are all following in line to try to find it.

Once we found it there was a nice man and his wife working in the garden who were very helpful, and spoke a little English. They went inside the small church and brought out these huge books of names. We searched the books but could not find any Reiths. They told us of some other cemeteries that were older that we could check out.

This church was across the street from the cemetery and were told that it housed all the records of the old cemeteries. It closed at noon (of course) and we were there just a little after.
The door was open and so we went inside to see if anyone was around that could help us. The church was empty-not a soul around, sometimes that can be a little eerie in these big churches.
The kids began to get nervous that we were not going to be able to get out.
The door was still open so we could all get out. The church square had a fun water fountain that the kids found very entertaining.
Of course the playing would not be complete without at least one scraped knee. Logan was the lucky one today-thought he could make the jump, but his legs just aren't as long as he would like them to be.

We bought our lunch of roasted chicken in this small deli/bakery on the side of the church. It also had the most delicious pastries, we could have eaten 10 of their giant cream puffs.
We were led to another small cemetery where we found Harald and Heidi Meyland. They were busy at work on her grandmothers grave. In Germany their small plots are gardens and they plant bushes and flowers that will bloom all through the year, it's really nice-I am so sad I didn't take a picture of it.
We started a conversation with them, they both spoke English because they learned it in grade school, and they knew of some older cemeteries and said they would show us where they were. We followed them to a very small Jewish cemetery up in the hills, but they felt like we wouldn't find what we needed there. She had a friend who had done a lot of ancestral research and they drove us to his home. It so happened he was home that day and spent a good half hour with Mark and looking over t the names and dates. He told Mark when he found anything he would send it our way.
We were sad that we didn't get to see any names on headstones, but were thrilled about the wonderful people we met along the way.

There was a Lutheran church in Romerburg way up on the hill. We are pretty sure that this is a church they would have attended. It was very old and had a small cemetery in the back. Many of the tombstones were old enough you couldn't read the writing on them anymore.
We felt like we found some real treasures. Just knowing you have been in the same places that they once were was an emotional experience.
Mark and I think when we are retired this would be a very fun hobby, driving through beautiful countries looking for your heritage.

The fields were so green and lush throughout the countryside.
We were now on our way to meet up with our third cousins awaiting our arrival in Switzerland.
Kirsten is the daughter of my mother's first cousin Terry; Our grandparents were brother and sister.

They are here for work and loving it. They were kind enough to open their home and adventures with us for a few days.
When we finally arrived Kirsten had a beautiful meal waiting for us.
Her husband Keyne was out of town with their oldest son Taylor, but were excited to spend the weekend with her other children Brayden, McKay and Sabrina.

Luxembourg

2008-06-02T08:05:00.008+02:00

April 24, 2008

What good travelers we have. We spent many, many hours in our car on this journey and the kids were terrific. There's no end to the fun you can have in a tiny minivan.Ah Ha! We have found the place where we belong.

More than once we have been reminded how "weird" we are".

Dallas is so excited to get out of the car for one more photo he can hardly stand it.
This was the photo we made them get out for. I just love driving down these little streets and right in front of you there is little church. In most cases it is the church the village was built around. I saw this one and couldn't resist stopping.

It appears to be in great shape and still in use.
The doorknob reminded me to "Hold to the Rod".
As we were standing there posing so nicely a certain aroma came over us that was quite overwhelming, there were animals in the field next door but we're still not sure what it was coming from.
It's not everyday you can find a castle for a potty break. We were fortunate to find this one in a very small village in Belgium, and to have it open was even better, it was one of the cheap ones it was only .15 per person.

The grounds surrounding the castle were beautiful and had reindeer roaming about.

This is some of Jesse's creative photography in giving Sophie antlers.

The rear view of Castle of Lavaux Sainte Anne

rue du Château 75580 Lavaux-Sainte-Anne - Rochefort Province de NamurPhone : +32.84388362

What a beautiful city. We found a parking spot in the center of town which allowed us a great view. It sort of took your breath away as you looked down.This photo will always make us smile. There was a group of Asian tourists looking over the bridge and snapping photos just like we were. We decided to ask one of them if they would take a family picture for us, the gentleman was happy to help and counted all of the children before he took the picture. When he was done he motioned for us to take a picture for him. Mark took his camera to get ready and the kids started to move out of the way so they could stand where we had been standing and he said, "No, no" and stood right next to the kids. He wanted his picture with our kids. I only wish I would have snapped one with our camera. The kids thought that was so funny.

The city streets in Luxembourg.
It wouldn't seem complete without at least one beautiful door from Luxembourg.
After a long day in the car we arrived in Saarbuecken, Germany. We found a beautiful park with several huge play structures-the kids were in heaven. The river ran along side the park and it was such a great night to be outside, the perfect ending to a long travel day. I love the graffiti eyes watching Jess.
The sand was calling to Mark, he has always wanted a backhoe to play on.

The sights of London

2008-05-27T14:56:00.010+02:00

April 23, 2008Leaving in the morning for more adventures in London.
First and most important stop Hamley's toy store.
It is 7 stories of every toy you can possibly imagine.
It didn't take Sophie long to find her favorite section.
The store is very hands on and so the kids could really put the toys to the test. Westminster Abby. Big Ben!
Strolling through the park, Sophie gets a great view.

Trafalgar square was hopping with all sorts of people. People were loving the great weather and the excitment of the city.
Kids and water-it's hard to keep them apart. I guess with their rain gear on they feel pretty secure.
10 years ago when we were here it rained everyday and so hard that we couldn't keep our umbrellas from blowing upward. We have the greatest picture of Mark in front of this statue with his turned up umbrella-here he is 10 years later in the sun and no rain!Buckingham Palace

Do you think these legs have put in the miles? We seem to be good at wearing them out.
Logan-he was the model for this great statue.

Jesse-she always knows how to make things fun! She has taught Sophie many things this year including hand slapping games.

Annie at Buckingham Palace.
One of the most exciting parts of our experience is all the new friends we have made. The boys instantly had friends in London. They played football, capture the flag and everything else you can cram into an afternoon of fun.

This little boy's name is Patrick and he asked Mark with his darling British accent, "Are these your boys?" "yes" "Oh, I like them".

Saying goodbye to our new friends.
A little bit of heaven on earth!

We had such a great time with the Smith family and Andrea was such a great hostess. Thanks for making our time in London so memorable.

The boys are bigger than the car. We had such a hard time saying goodbye that we had a nail biting ride to the ferry. Mark put the pedal to the metal but we still missed it. We had to pay a 20 euro fee and wait an hour and a half for the next departure. We were just happy that there was another crossing that night.

London is Wicked

2008-05-27T12:18:00.012+02:00

April 22, 2008

How lucky we felt to wake up to blue skies and the sun shining! As we were walking to the underground we passed this neat church.

These two pictures are the result of Logan and Sophie practicing their photo skills.

We went straight to the Tower of London where we spent the bulk of our day.
Logan was making sure we always knew where we were going and what we wanted to see next.

He was a great guide.

Dallas trying to see if he has what it takes to be a knight.

We got to see the guards march around the grounds and shout out their commands with their British accents. Our kids have their march down pretty good.

The Yeomen Warders or Beefeaters, wear my favorite uniforms at the Tower.
The Tower Bridge.
We couldn't stop saying this little phrase, now the kids say it on any public subway system we go on, just make sure you get the accent right. We couldn't believe it when Logan spotted Travis-He was right there in the underground. We aren't sure where he had been, but he looked like he had a good time.
We miss you Trav!
The famous phone booths of London.
We surprised the kids and bought tickets for Wicked before we left for London. We weren't going to tell them until we got there, but they were having such a great time in the beautiful communal garden behind Andrea's house that it was a little tricky to pull them away, so we told them and they ran in like lightning. They were hooping and hollering. Annie, Jesse in their seats. The man we sat next to didn't know anything about Wicked (hard to believe since we have the entire CD completely memorized), so we tried to fill him in a little but I'm not sure it worked because at intermission as we left to go to the restroom he said, "See you later, have a great trip!" We had to tell him it was only half over-the best was yet to come.
The girls thought that was hilarious.

The kids were completely mesmerized the whole time-they loved it. When I asked Logan if he would want to see it again he said, "Yes, like 100 times".

I must say it was totally Wicked!!

Thanks Mark for continuing to make my dreams come true.