Zurich: Part 2

We arrived back in Zurich late on Sunday night and it was back to school for Bluet on Monday (bless her heart!) Emily & Ben both had some work to do, so we hung out with Ilona...who was trying to tie the swings together with a paper towel here. Ha! 

Later in the afternoon, we went to the River Limmat (the river that runs through Zurich) to cool off! You can swim in the river and they also have a kiddie pool area plus a playground. The swim was super refreshing and we enjoyed having a picnic to finish up the day.

 I love this picture of the Four Amigos.

On Tuesday, Scott, Nate, Lila & I went exploring around Zurich. This is Lake Zurich and it is so lovely and picturesque. The swans were out that day and there was a little grey baby with its mom and we couldn't get enough!  

Back home, we played outside...

played Play-doh...

and played in the pool. I love these kiddos:)

On Wednesday, we got ready to head back to the U.S. and soaked up all the time we could with Emily, Ben, Bluet & Ilona. We appreciate their hospitality so much and I can't say enough how much we enjoyed our trip. So many memories!

On Thursday morning, we made our way to the airport and back to Chicago. The trip was uneventful if you don't count Lila shouting "MOM, This plane smells like SWEAT!" when we got on the plane and Nate getting air sick...TWICE. Sigh.

I'll be remembering to pack multiple changes of clothing and our own supply of air sick bags on our next international trip!

Please visit Emily & Ben's blog for more pictures of our trip!

Paris: Day 2

We got up early on Day 2 in Paris because we had some paintings to see! We hopped on the Metro and headed towards the Louvre. But first, breakfast at Le Pan Quotidien. It was yummy and I recently heard it was one of Nate's favorite parts of our trip...because it was near one of the places where Thomas Jefferson lived when he was Minister to France. I had briefly mentioned this when we were there but I didn't even know he was listening! 

After breakfast, Emily, Scott, Nate, Lila & I went to the Louvre. We thought Sunday morning would be a good time to go in order to avoid the crowds and it was! Of course, we could have spent hours upon hours here, but we had Lila in tow and all the paintings start to look the same to her after a while. Nate loved it all and it makes my heart so happy that he appreciates art. He asked so many questions and it is always a highlight for me as a parent to get to share part of the world with him.

We had really been talking up the Mona Lisa to Lila...before the trip, on the trip, up and down all of the days. When we finally found it (it is quite hard to find in the museum, even with a map!), she looks up and says, "That's it?? It's so small." Then she proceeded to have a string of questions about Who SHE was? Why was SHE famous? Why don't they know who SHE is?  To say that she didn't get it is an understatement. Ha! I told her she'll have lots to write about in her first grade journal this next year.

Nate & I in front of the Mona Lisa? Priceless. This picture of me? Not priceless.

We toured as much of the museum as we could, seeing the Roman sculptures was a highlight.

Lila was really so funny the whole time we were there. In the sculptures, she kept asking "Why is EVERYONE NAKED??" Sigh. I didn't prep myself for how to handle 6-year old questions in the Louvre. Thankfully I won't have to do it again. Ha!

After the Louvre, we met back up with Ben, Bluet & Ilona for lunch. My oh my, I love these nieces of mine. It was so special to get to be in France (and Switzerland!) with them.

This crepe place was on a corner near the apartments where we stayed. They had a small dining room, but it was warm that day, so they just pulled the tables out in the street (it was somewhat of a dead end for cars). We loved it! Lila had a Nutella crepe (this is after she had chocolate spread on bread for breakfast...all the chocolate!)

The crew! Such an amazing day with amazing people!

It was Father's Day, so we had to get a picture of Scott & the kids. Pretty spectacular Father's Day if I do say so myself!

Before we left for the train, we had one more stop, the Sacre-Coeur (the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris). It was in our neighborhood and was simply gorgeous (and was also approximately 9,456 steps up to the hill where it sits...working off that Nutella!) We were glad we made the time to check it out. 

One more picture before heading to the train, this was the door to our cute little apartment. Bye Paris! We can't wait to go back!

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!!