Paris, Day 1: Versailles and Getting Settled

Back in early June, we drove our crew the six hours to Paris for an extended weekend to see all the sights we could cram into five days. We left Thursday morning around 9am and walked onto the grounds of Versailles Palace at 4pm. I wish we'd had more time, but we enjoyed what we were able to see. Ah, traveling as a family!


The opulent Versailles Palace with beautiful gardens. The palace's self-guided audio tour worked out great for our crew where you just had to point and click as you went along. It was fun to imagine extravagant pageantry back in it’s hey day with powdered wigs, round rouged cheeks, elaborate corseted gowns and fancy duds. Though I’d have loved to see all that in person, I’m sure glad I’ve never had to wear one of those get ups or give birth in a full room of courtiers like Marie Antionette! YIKES!!!

Easton, Morgan and me in front of the grounds of Marie Antionette's retreats from the palace. This lovely tree lined avenue leads to the Petit Palace and then on back to her hamlet where Marie Antionette liked to "play peasant."

I'm currently enjoying absorbing what I can of European history and what life was like for these ruling families. I finally finished reading "The Life of Elizabeth I" by Alison Weir which took me forever but I really enjoyed it. Now I've just begun an audio book about Maria Therese and her daughter, the infamous Marie Antionette. Ryan enjoys the tidbits I share with him but wants to hear about kings, the MEN! I guess you could say I'm also intruigued by women's roles and influence though out time, so I find this all very fascinating.

The hamlets lie around a lily pad lined pond stocked full of fish and one lone swan, at least while we were wandering back there. I wish we'd brought a picnic to enjoy!

Me and the kids playing some tag back in one of the small gardens behind one of the huts. Hearing my kids' give a real good excited gut laugh is one of my favorite things in life! Games of chase are one way to ensure hearing that fabulous sound!

After Versailles, we headed into Paris to find our apartment on the Champs Elysees. Ryan took this picture of the Arc d' Triumph from the Eiffel Tower the next day, but just wanted to give you an idea of what we were driving into during rush hour. Traffic looks pretty tame in this mid-day shot. When we hit it at 7:30pm, there were at least twelve unmarked “lanes” of traffic, some cars just sitting perpendicular to the flow of traffic as they waited for an opening to cross "lanes." I’m so glad Ryan likes to be our driver! He’s pretty much my road trip hero!

Then you should have seen him load up the stroller with our bags, food, and Morgan’s porta-crib! It was as tall as me, quite the balancing act to say the least, and we had a couple of blocks to walk from where he short-term parked the van! You go, Lover Boy! The Champs Elysees is a famous fashionable shopping and eating street so we were quite the sight on this main thoroughfare! Writing this paragraph reminds me of camera worthy moments I need to keep in mind on our trips! However, when in these "moments" I tend to be trying to keep my cool as a navigator for my driver or keeping an eagle eye on my youngins so as to not lose them in an unfamiliar bustling crowd. I know, sorry - tsch-tsch - priorities, priorities.

Our apartment was located within one of the gallery malls and worked out fabulously! It had a couple couches that converted to real comfy beds in the living room, a small kitchen with a washer/dryer, and a bathroom. We spend so little time in our rooms that to be able to sleep, bathe, prepare breakfast, and pack lunches is all we need. The location of this place was just perfect for us on our trip! Love that vrbo.com site!!!

Once Ryan dropped us at our room, he headed off to find long term parking while I headed out with the kids to find a grocery store even though it was 9pm. Turned out the grocers were closed, but we found where they were. We settled in for a good night’s sleep, eager to take on the Eiffel Tower in the morning!

Unplugged

Just a quick note that I haven't fallen off the planet, but am without phone and internet at home since last Thursday. I will catch up once we're up and running again! Sorry to miss Father's Day!!!

She's 8 months today . . .

with a new skill!

I went to pick her up from her afternoon nap and she was STANDING there, holding on for dear life to the railing! She's been pulling up for about a week now, but this was the first time in her bed which means she's also mastered rolling from her back to front, something she's pretty lazy about. I was so excited for her that I tried to call Ryan at work. I would have run to grab the camera but I know that'd induce an abandoned screaming fit and McKay was still napping so we couldn't have that! Instead, I caught her later when Ryan was home to witness it and fear of waking McKay was no longer an issue.
Many tears have been shed this past week. It's been a rough week of tough love around here as she practices her new skill. If I try to protect her from every fall, every tight spot, or even try to console her after each bump, I'd go crazy . . . er, I mean, she'd never learn to be confident and self sufficient. See, I'm all about teaching life skills. But seriously, she scares herself good sometimes and makes my heart stop many times a day with all these hard floors.

I've had many thoughts lately relating to how different each of the kids' lives as babies has been. With Easton I was working full-time and he spent his first year in the office at my feet and many of my loving coworkers doting on him. McKay enjoyed the idyllic days of us being home until I had to go back to work when he was four months old. He too learned to crawl and be spoiled at NRLC. I've always felt a little sad that the boys didn't get my undivided attention, but they seem none the worse for the experience. Now Morgan has survived our crazy move and has the perfect baby life with mom and brothers home to see to her every need. Her plight is these hard floors. I've pondered a couple different metaphors related to this. How each of us comes into the world in different circumstances with unique relationships with our parents and our Father in heaven. How our abilities to communicate our wants and needs evolves.

As Morgan has become more mobile, each time she comes to find me I have a flood of thoughts. Sometimes she crawls all the way to me, whining, especially if I appear to be waiting for her. I love how grateful she is when I come to her rescue and even gives kisses now. I can think of so many instances in my life when I've felt like I was crawling to my Savior seeking relief from a trial, probably a bit whiney. Sometimes I am the approacher and other times He is. Either way, I always know He is there.

Tonight we made a poster for FHE about the Plan of Salvation. Ryan gave this lesson yesterday in Sunday School so I thought it was perfect timing to make it into an art project for the boys. I know I'm a visual learner and this might hold their attention longer. At the end as we were reviewing it with the boys, Easton said, "Well, I want to make good choices so I end up in the golden place." We've seen a lot of beautiful, ornate palaces lately. Our celestial kingdom was a yellow circle he'd cut out to be a sun. His words have stuck with me and I'm glad we have our poster on the wall to keep the discussion and reminder fresh for a bit. In the end, I'm just so grateful for my understanding of eternal progression, repentance and mercy, and eternal families! Now if I could just get these kids to stop growing up so quickly!

The Prowler

Ahhh, McLay enjoying a nice picnic lunch.
[Que the theme music from "Jaws."]
Morgan is on a mission.Introducing the Prowler and her usual victim. This pretty well describes many of McKay and Morgan's interactions.Mom fixed it and Morgan is off on her next adventure . . . or is she?What, Mom? You talkin' to me?Soooo, whatcha got there, big brother? Wanna share? (ie. the diplomatic approach)Huh? You wanna share?Now that's what I'm talkin' about. Hmmm, this is different, refreshing but I can't quite put my finger on it. . .Let's take a better look at what we've got here . . .Now back to business.

Where Am I?!!!

I'm not really a techie, by I married a guy who loves gadgets and gets a hankering for a new one at least once a year. A couple years ago when Ryan ran his first marathon, his bosses gave him a brand new iphone. We've grown quite accustomed to this gadget and I've coveted it for quite some time now, although I'm not a huge phone user. It's all about the features!!!

I took that first new iphone on my birthday day out back in 2007. I think I posted about it. I used that phone to call and check in with Ryan. I took pics with it on my shopping spree of things for our house that I liked but didn't want to buy without knowing Ryan's opinion. I remember using the internet function to check prices on a few items. I was in heaven, not only because I was a free woman for a day, but that was one useful gadget! Here in Germany, I use the unit conversion, map, and weather tools a lot when it's around.

Ryan and I just saw a news clip about a new compass feature on newer iphones! A map lover, I have always loved how many cars have your direction on the dash somewhere. I don't know what it is about being in Europe but I can't seem to get my bearings! I continually feel like I've surfaced from a metro stop in New York or DC. It's very disconcerting!!! I've always kinda prided myself on my sense of direction and use of the sun to get my bearings. I have to wonder if I've always lived in homes that primarily faced either north, south, east or west. Or is it how most US zoning for home building is done? Here in Germany, our apartment faces northeast which really throws me off. Growing up, the house faced north. I spent my college years in Utah and with those gorgeous Wasatch mountains in the east, you always knew where you were. Our town home in Virginia faced east and I loved having the morning sun in the kitchen, but once I hit the roads I was easily lost since streets change names and wind around this way and that.

I know my Dad will enjoy this next statement. It seems the further East I go, the worse my sense of direction becomes. I don't mean this as some large metaphor, it's all about that internal, literal compass. Does anyone else feel their internal compass is out of whack? Is it a post-pregnancy thing? Perhaps shell shock from our quick move so close to just having a baby? Or is it just that the perfect North-South grid layout of my youth set me up for disorientation in the wider world? I don't get it because Ryan's sense of direction doesn't seem to have been affected.

I'm telling ya, that new compass feature along with dropping the price really are silly selling points for me! Now I just wish the service plans were more affordable AND that these European versions allowed the web functions to work continent-wide since we're in travel mode! In my perfect world . . .

Home Again, Home Again, Jittity-Jig

The kids and I in Versailles' Hall of Mirrors


We rolled into town around 5pm tonight, officially concluding our family trip to Paris. Our maiden voyage as an entire family in the minivan! Well, I mean as in a long distance trip anyhow - about six hours. I'm sold! The kid's had their dvd player in the back watching a Scooby Doo flick over and over while Ryan listened to Angels and Demons. I was in and out as usual, but loved having the option of sitting next to Morgan to feed or entertain her or sit up front with Ryan. I'm all about options!

I think that Morgan was the happiest to be home! She spent two hours surveying her stomping grounds on the homefront, literally not caring where I was. When I rolled up the roulunds (exterior window blinds) in the playroom, she actually squealed with delight and crawled her little bug of a self on in. Ryan and Easton headed off to catch the last showing of "UP" on base as promised while McKay continued his nap in bed. We really wear our kids out on these trips trying to see as much as we can with late nights! I started unpacking and doing laundry, listening to a new audiobook, and then viewing our trip's pictures.

It'll take a bit of time to sift through the 550+ pictures, but I have finished writing up yesterday at the Louvre and just need to attach pictures which is my least favorite chore when posting. ARGH, it just takes so long to upload and place them!!! I'm so sad to realize we ever got a picture of all of us together. I was able to jot down memories of our entire trip last night when Ryan called his mom. They'd made a trip to France last fall and Ryan was just like a little kid reporting on a fun day at school!

Our accommodations were very basic, a studio apartment on the Champs Elysees, close to the Arc de Triumph. I must say we're sold on the VRBO site forever now. It's worldwide Vacation Rentals By Owners at vrbo.com. Here's Morgan enjoying the fresh air out our windows after somehow navigating the sheer curtain. Traveling with a young family is so much easier and cheaper when you have your own kitchen and laundry! And we've usually found it to be cheaper than staying at hotels. This place was small, but considering we only slept and ate breakfast there before heading out from 9ish-midnight typically.

We lucked out once again with the weather! I can't get over how much cooler Europe's weather is! I can't remember the last time I needed a jacket every day in JUNE!!! Ah well, I'm not complaining since I'm not a fan of being hot. Good thing I remembered the sunscreen! Even with it, we all had nice sun-kissed faces which looks real cute on my lil ones and my man.

Alright, posts with pics are coming - I promise! Stay tuned!