Paris: Day 1

We spent Thursday hanging out with our people and went downtown Zurich for lunch. Then we grilled out at their house before getting a good night's sleep before our next big adventure! 

On Friday afternoon, we all boarded a train to Paris! Here is the kids side of the train. It is about a 4.5 hour trip and they really did so well. Love them!  

We arrived in Paris around 8:30 PM and quickly found a taxi to our apartments. Driving around the city felt surreal, and despite our driver's erratic driving, we made it safely to our home for the weekend. We stayed in apartments in the same building in the Montmartre neighborhood. I loved this location!

The next morning, we were ready to get out on the town!  First stop, coffee and pastries! Then we stopped off at a little park to eat them before boarding the Metro.

Eeek! The Eiffel Tower!! It was simply breathtaking to see it in person and I kept having to pinch myself! My sweet ones...

We never, like really ever, take a good family picture. NEVER. But it must have been the loveliness that is Paris because everyone looked and smiled for the camera!

Not once, but TWICE! I was so happy.

It's all so picturesque, I can't even describe it. I loved Paris, all of it, and can't wait to go back!

Walking across the bridge to get closer, the kids were fascinated.

Walking in the lane next to the Eiffel Tower. There were apartment buildings/houses that lined this area and let's just say, I want to live there!

On the other side of the Eiffel Tower, with my special one.

Can I just say how wonderful it was to be with Emily in Paris? It was simply a dream.

After oohing and aahing over the tower, we ducked into a restaurant to get some energy. Lila tried mussels and LOVED them. Say what? Yes, she did. She was fighting Scott over them!

One more picture before we left the area...we'll be back!

We decided to get on one of the double decker tour buses so that we could cover more ground with the kids. It was the best decision. We could hop on / hop off and we never could have seen as much as we did had we not done this. Paris is beautiful, and so historic. I loved all of the old buildings, they were one of my favorite parts. Scott probably has better pictures of the sights than I do, as he takes the time, and I don't (allegedly).

Case in point...this is Notre Dame, and who knows why I didn't get a better picture!

It was amazing to see from the outside, but sadly we did not get to go inside. There was a long line and the kids weren't really down to stand in it, so we moved on to the next sight.

The Champs-Elysees! It was lovely, but wasn't it all. Scott & the kids went over to the Arc de Triomphe while the rest of us got ice cream. Because of course!

That night, we went to an Italian restaurant in France. Ha! We were trying to go somewhere the kids would eat well. Turns out, it was very delicious!

Lila was loving that every meal had ice cream and every menu had Nutella on it.

Next up: Day 2 in Paris!

Off we Go! Zurich: Part 1

On June 12th, we said good-bye to our kitties and left our house for a big adventure! We drove to Chicago and spent the night near the airport (it was way cheaper to fly straight from Chicago!) The next day, we took off for Zurich, Switzerland! Lea even got to come with us:)

We left Chicago at 3:00 PM CST and landed in Zurich around 11:30 PM CST (6:30 AM Switzerland time), so basically we lost a night, but it was all worth it! Emily was there to meet us at the airport and we got our first glimpse of Zurich. It is very beautiful!

We were so excited to see Ilona and Ben who were waiting for us (Bluet was at school)! Lila and Ilona quickly got to work on the swings.

That afternoon, Bluet had a dress rehearsal for her dance recital, so Emily, Ilona, Lila & I tagged along. Her song was about fish, and she was excited about the sparkly scales on the costume!

We were all so tired that night but so thankful to be with our people! The kids & I were so sleepy the next morning, but Scott got up and played puzzles with Ilona while we worked to shake the jet lag.

Jet Lag. In a picture. Ha!

More to come!

A Quick Trip + Food Corner

Over Memorial Day weekend, the kids & I made a short trip to the cabin to see my parents. The kids love their new dog, Sheila! She is an Australian Shepherd and will hopefully be helpful in moving the cows one day when she's old enough. 

She's super popular, I tell ya:)

We came back to St. Louis the next day and went to church on Sunday. Lila was getting wrapped up like a mummy in Sunday school and was such a good sport!

I am so tired of cooking the same thing over and over again. How 'bout y'all? Also, I feel like my go-to recipes don't transfer to the summer months well. So I decided that we would try Hello Fresh. Overall, it probably won't be a fit for our family long term (the kids are not super adventurous in their eating), but it was fun!

I did like the fact that the instructions are very detailed and for the most part they supply the exact amount of ingredients needed. This made it very easy for Nate to cook dinner for us!

This was a summer pasta with chicken sausage and Scott & I thought it was very good. Nate was so-so and I'll let you guess how Lila felt about it. Ha!

During this week, we also made food boxes for the Missouri United Methodist Conference. One of our family missions is to help feel the hungry. The kids each did their own box, and I tried to help them understand the concept of "if you can't feed them all, feed just one." I told them I hoped their boxes would go to kids their ages whose families needed help. Now more than ever, we think it's important for them to understand that hunger is a real issue, and since we are capable, we want to do our part to help those in need. We also worked at the Food Bank this month, and I think this helps reinforce the concepts for them in addition to what we do at home, school and church.

Action shots...no one would stop working long enough for me to take a good picture!

Next up: Our BIG adventure!!

Lila's Dance Recital

The next week was her dance recital and right before we walked out the door to rehearsal, she lost her first tooth! It happened so fast and it really was only loose for a couple of days before she pulled it herself. All while I'm trying to keep blood off the dance tights! Ha!

My sweet ballerina! Her ballet dance was to "A Bicycle Built for Two." It was super cute!

Her fellow dancers...this was such a sweet class! 

Her tap dance was to "I'm from Texas Too." It's really too bad that there were no speaking parts. She hammed it up to the max and this was my favorite dance.

My mom came to watch the recital (I don't know why I don't have a picture!) and Ms. Jane Ellis did too! Lila was so excited that they both came!

Sweet girl:) I don't know that she will do dance again as the gymnastics bug has bitten her, but it was fun while it lasted!

Triathlon 2017 & Start of Summer

Mimi & Paka came into town on the last day of school because Scott & Kevin were doing the St. Louis Triathlon again. The day before, we threw a neighborhood party at our house in conjunction with Taste of Maplewood, which is a festival in downtown Maplewood...in front of our house more or less. We all had a great time and I took no pictures. The story of my life! 

Scott & Kevin both did well in the triathlon! It's somewhat of a nerve wracking experience, especially waiting for them to come in from the swim. But they survived and I'm sure are already planning next year's race! 

I missed Scott getting out of the swim because we had just arrived, so here he is on the bike and run. 

Paka finishing strong on the run!

Mimi & Paka returned home the day after the race and we started to settle into summer. I caught Lila reading a book on my bed in her pretend glasses. Ha!

We went to Tower Grove Park one day and climbed all over the ruins.

And some of us tried to avoid getting their picture taken.

They have neat and different equipment at the park and our resident monkey really enjoyed herself.

See the theme? Dodging pictures.

My SIXTH grader and me!

The splash park was operational that day but no one was in it because it was only like 65 degrees. Of course that didn't stop Lila and she had a ball!

She is a picture of seizing the moment. It's her motto in life. I'm learning to keep up!

Catching Up - Last Days of School

Well. Ahem. It's been a while. Bear with me while I try to catch up! 

The kids ended their school year with a bang - field trips, activities, award ceremonies. Nate and I went to the symphony so that their class (and the whole 5th grade) could play their recorders during the show. I was quite impressed with the event and was so proud of Nate, as he took it very seriously. He had so much fun doing this!

Lila had her Kindergarten Music performance. She was placed right in the center of the stage and insisted on wearing this sequined dress. So needless to say, we all could see her very well!

Lila's class did a Celebration of Learning the week of the last day of school. They made tea cups a few weeks before out of clay (then a parent put them in a kiln) and we used them for a tea ceremony. She had such a wonderful year and we are all sad to leave her amazing teacher. But Lila grew and learned so much and is excited to move on to 1st grade!

Nate made the Honor Roll (woohoo!) and received his awards the day before the last day of school. We are so proud of him and his diligence of trying his best and working hard throughout the year. Can you believe we have a 6th grader?!?! Sigh. Where does the time go?? He is excited because it will be his last year at the elementary school! Again, sigh.

Last day as a 5th grader! With Truman peeking around:)

 Last day of Kindergarten! The face was the best I could do, ha!

It was such a wonderful year for both them, and I pray that next year will be just as good!