Musings of Amy

At the end of May, I got to go on a very special trip.  All by my lonesome, no kids or husband to worry about, to visit my parents.  Haven’t seen my mom in 4 years, and my dad in 6.  It was definitely time.  Before I left I made up a bunch of freezer meals with detailed cooking instructions and taught Sarah how to do laundry.  At least I knew no one would starve or sleep in their own filth while I was gone. 🙂

I was gone for a total of 12 days, so 10 actual days with my parents.  And we really lived it up. I arrived at the start of Memorial Day weekend, and that Saturday was my brother Dan’s birthday.  He brought his whole family down to St. George, and we got to spend quite a bit of time with him.  He has two of the most adorable boys. This is James playing in the ball pit in his grandmother’s living room.  Yes, my sister-in-law’s parents live half a block from my parents, and in fact, her father is my dad’s doctor.  🙂  Anyway, James is Sophie’s favorite.  She loved him as a baby, and is very sad that he will be “all grown up” by next summer.  So I took lots of photos of him so she could enjoy his cuteness. Here he is showing Grandma his sand pit.  I could seriously just eat this kid, he is so cute! This photo is actually from several months earlier, but it’s such a good one of both of them, I had to include it.That little guy is Johnny.  He’s got all the best features of both his parents.  So handsome! I brought him some coloring pencils from Switzerland, and he busted them right out and got to work.  Guess they were a hit. 🙂

Danny actually had a big project he was working on, but he really worked hard and was able to spend time with us on Saturday and Sunday.  Something I really miss about living so far away from my family is that we can have a great time just sitting around talking.  Someone always has something entertaining to say, and we have just enough variety of opinions to keep it interesting.  Danny is a great storyteller.  So even if he is just describing an average day, it becomes the most fascinating thing you’ve ever heard.  And we were able to just sit and chat for quite a while.  What a true luxury and a blessing.

Tuesday morning we hopped in the car and took a road trip down to the old stomping grounds of San Diego.  I haven’t been back there in 15 years.  Cuh-razy!  Dad did most of the driving, and only scared me once. 🙂Mom got all cozy in the back so I could hang out with Dad.  She was awesome at passing up snacks just when we needed them.  Seriously, it is so fun being able to be a kid again, when you have awesome parents like mine.

On our way through the desert, we stopped to visit my dad’s sister, Aunt Betty and her husband.  I haven’t seen her in forever, so that was a nice surprise.  We didn’t stay long, as we wanted to get off the road before it got dark, but we did have a good chat. And her house reminded me so much of Grandma Lasko’s place.  It helped that she had a few pieces of Grandpa’s art in her home, but it was also the smell.  They must both have used the same line of cosmetics or perfume or something.  It wasn’t a bad smell at all, just a familiar one.  Sadly, I don’t think I will ever have the chance to see her again, circumstances being what they are.

Dad had picked out a motel in La Mesa that turned out to be absolutely perfect.  It was right in the middle of all the things we wanted to go see, was clean and well-furnished, and had a pretty decent breakfast every morning.  We could have stayed with family, but it would have been squishy, and this way we were agents unto ourselves, which is just how we like it.

Just down the street from our motel , literally on the same street, was my Uncle Randy’s engraving shop.  He started out as just an employee, but when the owner wanted to retire, Randy bought him out and has been the boss ever since.  He does some really beautiful work, and I definitely want him to make the kids’ mission plaques and the the boys’ priesthood lineage plaques.  He actually did the engraving on the plaques that were handed out at my 8th grade graduation, so he knew what awards I had won before any of the rest of us!

Next we headed over to the old neighborhood in Lemon Grove.  I really wanted to get some pictures of Mount Miguel to show the kids.  I had always tried to describe the open hallways, but they clearly didn’t get it, cuz when I showed them this picture, they were fascinated by the fact that there was no protection from the wind, or snow, or the cold!  🙂And naturally, I had to share the story of how I tripped down these very stairs on the first day of school, in front of a bunch of upperclassmen.  sigh  It was fun to see how little the campus had changed in terms of student body.  There is still every shade of brown/tan under the sun represented, and at least on that day, everyone seemed to be coexisting quite pleasantly.  Sure there were fights that broke out in the quad every once in a while, but I don’t really remember them being racially motivated.  More just regular high school hormone filled punk kind of stuff.

As I was taking this photo, two security guards pulled up in a golf cart and very nicely asked me what I was doing.  I explained that I was an alumnus and they were all smiles, asking me from what year, welcoming me back, and then suggested that if I went to the front office and got a visitor pass, I could roam around campus at my leisure.  So I did, all while Mom and Dad patiently waited in the parking lot.

There is the bookkeeper’s office, where we could pay for yearbooks and buy prom tickets and pay, ahem, fines.  And right next door was the nurse’s office.  That’s where I went when I cracked my chin on the bleachers during swim class.  I probably had a hairline fracture in my jaw, going by the ball of scar tissue that remained for over a year.  It sure hurt like the devil.

We were assigned a new locker every year, according to which grade we were, but somewhere in here was my freshman locker.  I just remember having to wait for a couple that had the locker next to mine to finish kissing every time I wanted to open the door. 🙂

Aw, the pool.  Where I spent so many hours swimming. 20 laps for warm up, and then we would really get started. Can’t imagine trying that now.  My arms would fall off, if I didn’t drown first.  It used to have pieces of plastic through the fence, so you couldn’t see in so clearly.  Wonder why they changed it?   And also, what happened to the diving boards? I am just now noticing that, or I would have asked someone while I was there.

This grassy spot was known as “Mormon hill” while I was at school.  We always sat together during lunch hour and most breaks.  Of course, anyone was welcome to sit with us, and two of them eventually joined the Church, which is very cool.  The picture on the left was our view down into the quad.  That super nice covered area is new, before it was just completely open with the planter boxes to sit on.  Occasionally a fight would break out, providing lunchtime entertainment, but nothing ever too scary.

I didn’t see any old teachers, wasn’t really expecting to.  It has been, ahem, a few years since I graduated.  But it was great to visit the old campus and remember the good times I had there.  Of course, that girl had no idea what a fantastic life she would go on to have, beating anything she experienced in high school.  So glad those years weren’t the high point of my life like they were for so many….

This is the building my grandfather helped build and where we always came to church when we visited from Utah in the summer. When we moved back to San Diego, it was our ward building, and where I attended seminary every morning, except for the year it was being renovated and we met in a classroom at the high school.  I always heard stories of kids climbing up to the top of the tower, but I never figured out how they got up there, and now I wonder if they were just making it up.

Just up the street is the memorial garden my friend Hyrum designed and built for his Eagle Scout project.  I was so happy to see that it is still there and still beautiful.

It is always a bit strange to return to places that were once your entire world.  I have seen and experienced so much since this area was my home, and truth to be told, it does seem like another person lived here, I have changed so much.  But at the same time, it was very fun to relive those old times for a day.  I was a bit sad to see the old house looking so run down.And the yard is completely different.  That palm tree is huge, but I don’t remember there even being one there before.  Isn’t that weird? Do remember Pete falling asleep on the sidewalk out front, though. heehee

So, my kids have been all over Paris, seen some great works of art, some majestic buildings, and what do they spend their first 15 minutes in Disneyland gazing at in wonder?  An adorable family of ducks, of course! 🙂 Nature triumphs over all.

We had a great day, with only one slight mishap. While we were waiting in line for the Pirates of the Caribbean, which originally had an estimated wait time of 5 minutes, woohoo, the ride broke down.  We were pretty close to the front, and the line had gotten much longer after we came in, so we decided to wait it out.  Plus, they kept running that announcement that the ride would be fixed “momentarily” and we believed them. ha!

We must have waited at least 20 minutes, which seems like an eternity, when you are standing around not moving.  The kids were getting a bit antsy, until we learned a new game from another family further ahead in the line.  “Carrot, bunny, gun” instead of “rock, paper, scissors” hahaha!  We had so much fun with that, but were still relieved when the ride finally started back up again.  Still, it was pretty much the only line we stood in all day.  So we didn’t have much to complain about.

We were most happy to see that the Storybook Land Boats were up and running.  The last two times we have gone, they have been closed. 🙁  It is one of my all time favorite rides.  That, and It’s a Small World, and I was crushed not to be able to go on last time.  All the kids had a fun time pointing out all the scenes from the stories they knew.  Alexandra really got into it, which I was happy to see.  She is the perfect age for a ride like this. And they added something new while it was closed down, Rapunzel’s tower!

We were excited to see our first characters of the day out and about, walking around.  And Chris even took a picture of them with the kids. haha.Don’t worry, they have Peter and Wendy’s autographs already from a previous trip. We were just happy to finally see some characters roaming free, like they used to.  Perhaps this meant good things for later?

After we had gone on everything we wanted to in Disneyland, we headed over to Disney Studios to check out the new Toy Story rides.  Mater is an old favorite, even Nick went on with us.There was only one new ride the kids were interested in, the one with Slinky Dog chasing his tail.  The others looked too scary.  (They weren’t, at all, but my kids are kind of wimps.)

The best part of the day, though, was that we hit the mother lode of characters.  We were standing near the gateway behind Fantasyland, right where they leave the Backstage area, and come out to the park, when one after the other came out.  We were able to get autographs and pictures with them all before huge crowds formed.  It was awesome.  The kids were seriously running from one to the other, so excited!  That is pure Disney magic!

And of course, we can’t forget the best, the most wonderful, Captain Jack himself!

By now, Chris and Nick were both reaching their limit.  They wanted to get back to the hotel, relax and most importantly, be off their feet. 🙂  The rest of us were still going strong.  So we walked back with them to the car, got a snack, dropped off what we didn’t need for the rest of the night, and then they drove off and we headed back into the park.  On the way to the car, Alexandra decided her feet were tired, so Nick immediately offered to carry her.  I love seeing my children perform these small, spontaneous acts of service.  It doesn’t happen all the time, but when it does, it just melts my heart.  What a sweet big brother!

Before the boys had decided they were really going to leave, we had gotten fast passes to Buzz Lightyear for all of us. Only now we just needed 5 of the tickets.  So we waited by the entrance for a minute until I spotted a couple with no kids about to get in the regular line.  I stopped them, handed them our two extra fast passes, and said “Merry Christmas!”   They were so surprised and happy.  It’s fun to be able to do that kind of thing once in a while. There they are, just ahead of us in line.  I think they were French, at least that is what their accents sounded like.  Hope they have a slightly better opinion of American tourists now. 🙂

The kids and I were so excited to have this chance to stay at the park until it closed.  We have never done that on any previous trips.  At least one of them was always way too small, and Chris was always way too tired.   But since we didn’t have to worry about any of that, it was perfect timing.  And I tell you what, after dinner hour, in the park, during early Spring is the.best.time.to.be.there.  The place was like a ghost town.  Everyone with young kids was gone, just like we normally were, and we went on more rides in 1.5 hours than we ever thought possible.  We even took time to watch a parade, and still had no lines.   And yes, they are eating lollipops for dinner.   Hey, it’s vacation! That’s what we do!

Right after the parade, we booked it over to Peter Pan.  Got there just before the rush and were able to ride it a second time, without fast passes or a long wait.  I don’t know who was having more fun, me or the kids! We headed over to Dumbo next, which always has a line, right? Always!  I think we stood in line for 5 minutes?  Just enough time to take photos of these decorations provided by a no-doubt bored child earlier in the day.

Seriously, look at these empty walkways.  We are doing this every trip, from now on. The Carousel has always been a favorite of mine.  I am so happy my kids like it just as much.  The only hard part is deciding which animal to ride.Noah was having so much fun, fighting dragons with his imaginary sword while on his awesome horse, it was tough to get a non-blurry photo of him.  He was waving his arm and making fighting noises the whole time. 🙂

We wanted to be sure and get a good spot for the show, as that was the whole reason we were staying late, so we decided to go on one more ride.  I talked the kids into going on Star Tours. heehee.  Talk about a blast from the past! They were worried it was going to be scary, like I said, not the most adventurous types, but they ended up having a really good time.  They couldn’t believe how much it felt felt like you were falling, when you were just sitting in a chair!

We did some important shopping, and then headed over to the castle to get a good spot to watch the show.  Finally, we can sit down for a bit! It was amazing.  They were celebrating 20 years of Disneyland Paris, and they did a fantastic job. They projected all these lights and scenes right on to the castle.  Made it look like it was underwater, had Quasimodo climbing it, Peter Pan flying all around it.  Really fun stuff. I don’t know camera settings well enough to have gotten a good photo, but you get the idea.  Trust me, it was awesome.  They also had laser lights, and fireworks and set the whole thing to music, naturally. After it was over, Noah said to me, “It just makes me proud of Disney somehow.”  Yeah, we’ve converted another one. 🙂

Chris came and picked us up at the entrance, and the next day we drove back home.  This trip was so great, and I am so thankful we were able to experience it together.

On Thursday, we woke up a bit later than planned but not too bad, and after breakfast drove out to Versailles.  This wasn’t so bad, as we were able to completely go around Paris, and it was much faster than taking the train.  I was so excited to finally be visiting Versailles.  25 years earlier I had written my AP European History exam essay on Versailles and the Sun King, and now I was actually going to be able to see all the stuff I had been learning about.  It did not disappoint.

I knew the day was going to be good just by our experience at the parking lot.  When we pulled up, there was a line of about 5 cars waiting to get in.  The lot was full, and we were about to drive away and try to find street parking when the attendant started talking to each car in the line.  We waited to see what he had to say.  He assured us that if we just waited a bit, cars would leave and we would be able to get a spot, no problem.  Wouldn’t take more than a few minutes, he said.  I didn’t think that was possible, since we were there just an hour after opening time.  Who would already be leaving so soon?  But sure enough, about 5 minutes later, car after car started leaving, and we were soon in the lot and able to find a spot.  Turns out lots of locals drive to Versailles early in the morning to run through the gardens, which are free and open to the public ,and when their work out is over, they leave, freeing up lots of parking spaces. Thank you, awesome parking attendant for the tip!

Hmm, even from this far back that looks like an awfully long line.  But I am so excited to be here, I just don’t care!

The lines were very long, someone was saying it would be at least 1.5 hours before we got in to the castle.  No one was very happy about that, but you do what you gotta do, right.  Chris even told the kids, “Look, Mama has wanted to come here for almost her whole life.  So we’re just going to be patient and happy for her and let her enjoy it.”  ah, so sweet.  But still, not so fun standing in the sun for so long.  But about 10 minutes into it I remembered a tip from the website.  So we left the long line, went around the corner and entered the gorgeous gardens with absolutely no wait at all! Just past the entrance we saw some golf carts that you could rent for 40 Euro for the day.  Chris was very tempted, but we would have needed two for all of us, and that was a bit too much money.  But if you are ever at Versailles with a group of 4 or less, do it!  There were many more grounds we didn’t get around to seeing because it is just so huge.  The golf cart would have been perfect for that.

The kids’ favorite thing was all the statutes lining the walkways.  They stopped and gazed at every single one, making some commentary or other, and trying to mimic them as best they could.

Most of the walkways were paved with small rocks.  And halfway through the day, Alexandra’s pockets were absolutely bulging with them. We had her empty them on to the ground and just choose a few to remember her trip by.  She left the rest at Versailles, thankfully. 

More statues to entertain the children.  I guess it’s a good thing they take the time to admire them, rather than just walk on past.  We may not see everything, but what we do see we truly enjoy. 🙂

These beautiful, incredibly straight rows of trees were lining the path that led to the Petit Trianon.  You know, where the king stashed his mistress.  Oh and Marie Antoinette liked to escape all the hubbub of the big palace out here as well.  The girls pretended we were dressed in big fancy dresses, carrying parasols as we walked along the path.  And for some reason, there is this creepy carving/mold of Medusa’s head once you get inside the building.  Maybe to ward off unwanted visitors?

I cannot stress how lovely it was to walk the grounds and visit this and the other outlying buildings.  There were so few people around, we could just take our time and look at whatever we wanted without worrying about being in anyone else’s way.  Thanks again for the tip, official Versailles website!

Hee!  Chris took this shot just to prove he really was there! 🙂

Seriously, look how empty it is.  If we had stood all morning in that big line, we never would have had the time or the energy to walk all the way out here and see this, but it was gorgeous.  And the gardens here were even more colorful than the ones by the big palace.This is actually the Grand Trianon, where Napoleon and his family lived.  I liked this palace very much.  It felt more like an actual family home, although a very grand one to be sure.  There was a giant black and white marble floor between the two wings, and the kids immediately said it would be so fun to play chess on it.

Chris likes to dance with me in the kitchen.  This room wouldn’t be so bad, either. 😉

We had walked quite a ways, and decided that we would hop on the train that picks you up from the Grand Trianon and drops you off at the Grand Canal.  Very good decision.  And also extremely cheap, as we only had to pay for the two adults. woohoo!

After we got off the train, we walked a tiny ways towards the palace and got some lunch at a small restaurant hidden among the trees.  It was beautiful, and had bathrooms with flushing toilets nearby.  But it was also popular, and so most of the things the kids wanted to eat were already sold out.  Apparently, they truck in a certain amount every day, and when it’s gone, it’s gone.   Still, everyone found something to fill their tummies with and well-rested we headed up to the palace.

Of course, we had to stop and look at every single statue on the OTHER side of the walkway. 🙂  When we finally did get to the palace, we pretty much walked right in.  There were more people, but as long as we stayed ahead of the tour groups, and didn’t get stuck in between them, we were fine.

Reading up on the art, so you know what in the world you are looking at.  They did a great job with the displays.  Our kids were very interested and occupied the entire time. This is one HUGE painting.  I loved it.  I wonder if they hung the canvas in the frame first, and then had the artist paint it, or if it was already done, and they built the room especially to frame it?

It’s the French Sistine Chapel.  (I have never been to the Sistine Chapel, I just know the whole ceiling is painted, much like this enormous room.  What I really wanted to do was lie down on the floor and just gaze up at the whole thing for about 20 minutes.  But my family would have died of embarrassment if I had, so I just craned my neck and spun in circles for a while.

I keep saying how the crowds weren’t that bad.  And they weren’t.  Really.  Until we got to the Hall of Mirrors.  That place was packed.  So packed, you can’t get the full effect of the mirrors.  Which, by the way, are kind of warped, very tarnished and really don’t give off that great of a reflection. I wonder if that is the age affecting them, or if mirror making has greatly improved in the last 150 years.  Probably both.

This picture just says it all, doesn’t it?  It’s late afternoon, they have been on their feet for two solid days, and they are just DONE.  But then we left the residential part of the palace, and entered the art museum part, and they got a tiny second wind.  Each painting had a number by it, and you could punch it in to your audio guide and it will tell you all about it.  Some of the kids wanted to learn about every painting, others wanted to leave right then.  So we compromised and told them to pick 5, and then we would go.  It seemed to pacify most of the group.  I love the natural light in this room.  I kind of wish this had been at the beginning of the tour, rather than the end.  We would have all enjoyed it more without sore feet.

Thank you family for letting me fulfill one of my dreams.  It meant even more that I was able to share it with you.  Goodbye Versailles, you totally lived up to all the hype and then some!

We had a great first day at Disneyland.  Even if we did forget the nice camera at the apartment. 🙂  It was a good day, and the crowds weren’t too bad.  I had researched it before hand, and knew that the Germans, French and English were not on vacation as the same time as us.  But it seemed that the entire population of the Netherlands was there, if the license plates in the parking lot were anything to go by. Still, no tremendously long lines, except for some of the newer rides, which was to be expected, and even those only took about 30 minutes.  Now that the kids are older, waiting in line is easier to handle.  Plus we all have fun being silly together while we wait.  It’s part of the fun!

We were a bit saddened to see that some changes had been made to It’s a Small World.  There used to be a fun little indoor maze to walk through at the end of the ride, that had little video screens set into houses and buildings from around the world.  And in those screens were little scenes being played out.  We would sometimes stay in there for 15 minutes after the ride just looking at everything.  And now, it’s a Princess Pavillion where you can get a ticket to come back and meet some of the princesses.  Boo! Hiss!  I know this is how they do it at the original Disneyland now, but I liked the old fashioned way of just walking around the park and being surprised when you saw a princess.  We were afraid that this was how it was going to be for all the characters as we saw pretty much zero the entire day. 🙁

There were several parades to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Park. (We also went for the 15th anniversary, do we get a special pin?) We watched them if we happened to be in the right spot at the right time, but mostly we went on rides and enjoyed the ambiance of the whole park.

I did talk the kids into going on Snow White just one more time.  Maybe it wouldn’t be as scary as they remembered now that they were older?  Um, wrong.  There was slightly less screaming and no tears, but they still hated it and made me vow to never, ever, ever make them go on it again. ha!  They still have never been on the Pinocchio ride, either.  Or most of the roller coasters.  I tried to talk Sophie into going on Space Mountain with me and Nick, but no dice.  At least their reticence means they will be able to enjoy the park for many more years to come. 🙂

We stayed longer than Chris would have liked, but not as long as some of us wanted to stay.  They were having a special evening presentation for the anniversary and I really wanted to see it.  So we decided that we would stay late on Friday and see it, since the only thing we had to do the next day was drive home.  We had a late dinner at the apartment, and then got into bed.  Two things we tried this time really helped with the tired, sore feet we have always gotten on previous trips.  One, I made sure everyone brought two pairs of really comfy shoes, usually a pair of Crocs and a pair of tennis shoes.  We traded off each day, which pair we were wearing, so our feet didn’t get used to being in the same pair of shoes and getting rubbed in the exact same spots.  Second, I brought some peppermint oil spray to put on the soles of our feet.  It really helped at night to refresh our feet, and by morning, any tiredness they had felt was gone.

We woke up to slightly overcast weather, with a bit of a chill.  But we had checked the weather forecast before we left home, so everyone had warm clothes and a light jacket.  Rather than try and figure out Paris traffic, we walked over to the station and hopped on the next Paris-bound train.  We don’t like French trains as much as Swiss ones, everything seems just a bit dirtier and more run down, but they still get you there in the end.

Good thing we have Alexandra mapping out our route for us, otherwise we might get lost. 🙂

After we finally arrived downtown, everyone was in serious need of the facilities.  We finally found some, but many of our party had to be convinced to use them.  Especially after Noah got locked in and couldn’t figure out how to open the door to escape. Here he is getting comforted after he finally got out.  What are the girls looking at with such interest?This ad for a chocolate bar.  We saw it everywhere, and sadly, never found the actual chocolate to try it out. 🙁

We had only planned to see three things on this day; the Sacre Couer, the Obelisk, and the ancient Egyptian section of the Louvre.  We managed 2 out of 3.

We stopped for a quick snack at the base of the beautiful stairs. While we were eating, we saw a policeman jogging up the center of the grass, either showing off his form, or off to break up a disturbance.  We never did find out which.

This was our first time visiting this amazing building, and we were all impressed.  I especially loved the story of why it was built, as a way for Parisians to show their penance and committal to do better after years of excesses and war.  It was mostly paid for largely by small, individual donations, collected over several years.  Reminds me of how the early temples and chapels were built and paid for by the Saints.  It’s also cool that the stone gets whiter every time it rains.  There were tons of people inside and out, but it wasn’t so bad that we felt like we couldn’t see what we wanted to, or that we were being crushed.

One of my favorite things about these old churches is having Nicholas read the Latin inscriptions for me.  This one says, “This temple is dedicated to penitence and worship.”

No pictures of the inside, they weren’t allowed.  But on our way back to the city center, we found my new favorite part of Paris, fabric heaven!  Store after store with giant bolts of fabric piled up on the tables on the sidewalk.  The bolts were so long, that they were placed through the store windows.  You would point to what you wanted, and a worker would come cut it right there, outside.  And the stuff was cheap.  At least the few prices I saw were 2-3 Euros a meter. what?!?!?  Unfortunately for me, no one was in the mood to stand around for 30 minutes while I had a proper look and bought goodies.  Instead, Sophie and I got 5 minutes to run around the inside of one haberdashery shop, looking and touching everything we could.  Too little time and too much stuff to make any kind of decision, but I am going back.  Oh yes, I am….We were off to see the Obelisk and the Louvre next, but first we were in need of some sustenance.

We found a little bakery where some of the kids picked out sandwiches and gourmet hot dogs to eat.  But Sarah and Alexandra wanted fruit, so I bravely ventured into a little shop to try out my french.  I had been telling the kids the whole time that I do speak French, and then I would do my exaggerated “hauh!Hauh!Hauh! Oui!Oui!Oui!” in a horrible impersonation of a stereotypical Frenchman in an old Hollywood movie.  I promised them that I would use it at least one time while we were in France.  This was my chance.  🙂

I pointed to some delicious looking apricots and said, “Hauh!Hauh!Hauh! “with a big smile on my face, and had the gentleman working there put them in my basket.  Then I grabbed a couple of bananas, and went to pay. The girl told me the total, which I understood not at all, but I just nodded and said, “Oui!Oui!Oui!” and handed her a hopefully large enough Euro note.  It worked!  I got change back and my fruit. Goal accomplished.hahahaha

The kids ate their food while I performed a little emergency surgery on the giant blister on my heel.  Apparently the newish shoes I brought along because they were worn in enough, weren’t.  I could barely hobble down the street, until I finally popped the thing and put on a giant bandage.  Hurray for me actually being prepared!

We also passed a bridge covered in little locks, complete with people attaching more as we watched.   We figured it was a like the bridge we saw in Salzburg covered in locks.  I remarked to Chris that most of the couples probably broke up within 6 months of attaching their lock to the bridge.  I am not normally a cynic, but attaching so much significance to such a meaningless act usually means the foundation of your relationship probably isn’t that strong to begin with. And there are a LOT of people who have now broken up, if the number of locks is anything to go by.I don’t know how people even find room to add anymore. The thing was literally covered in them.

Along more of our walk to the Obelisk and the Louvre we passed these cool statues.

The armpit sniffer and the crybaby.  hee

They dropped me off at the Louvre, my heel just couldn’t manage all the way to the Obelisk and back.  Even though it could be seen , it was still a ways off in the distance. They actually saw these statues after leaving me behind.  They also needed to take a second rest at this fountain.

It was much farther than it looked on the map, and in hindsight we should have maybe hopped on the metro, but then we would have missed all the fun sights we saw along the way.  It gave us a true sense of Paris, and no one complained about the distance, so perhaps it was better this way after all.

In the end, they did finally reach their goal.  Sarah and Nicholas were the two who really wanted to see it, but the others got caught up in their excitement and happily tagged along.

When they finally came back to get me at the Louvre I had to give them the sad news.  Despite my research on the internet beforehand about what tours were available at the Louvre and which section we wanted to see, I had failed to read anywhere that it is closed on Tuesdays.  Yeah, major bummer.  Nicholas was most excited about the museum, he didn’t even care about Disneyland.  And it was closed. 🙁 So, so sad.  Fortunately we could easily promise him that we would come again and make sure it was open before we did.

On our slow, leisurely walk back to the train station we saw this cool chalk art.  For some reason it took much less time to get back, maybe because we took a more direct route? No idea.  We were glad to get back to the somewhat scary apartment/hotel at a reasonable time for dinner.  That way we were in bed early, and well rested for our day at Disneyland!!!

For our big trip during spring vacation, we decided to return to one of our all-time favorite destinations; Paris and Disneyland Paris.  We broke the trip up rather well, this time.  Instead of doing Disneyland for days in a row, we broke it up with visits to Paris and Versailles in between.  That gave our feet a bit of a break, and helped us from getting burnt out on any one thing.

But first things first.  In preparation for our trip, the girls and I researched fun Disney nail art.  Then spent Sunday afternoon painting our nails.  Packing?  Sure, but you have to set priorities, you know. 🙂

I am not the greatest at nail art, having just gotten started, but we sure have fun with it.  Also, many designs are meant for large adult nails, and it’s hard to shrink them down for tiny little girl nails, but everyone was very pleased with the results, and that is what matters most.

Alexandra wanted the cute aliens from Toy Story.  They are actually upside down here.  The eyes are on top, and then the clothes start underneath.  But if she made a fist, she could see her aliens right side up, which is how she wanted them.

Sophie went for red and white dots, with Minnie mouse heads.  I should have left the “face” off, but the bows turned out super cute.  Can’t wait to try them again.

Sarah’s was a very understated Disney style, but it also turned out the best.  Notice I learned from Sophie’s and left off the face.  She wasn’t sure she wanted them at all, so I was very happy she changed her mind and joined in the fun.

I went with Mickey pants and had to just giggle every time I looked down and saw them.  It was such a fun, easy way to get really excited for our trip and make it seem extra special.  I think this might need to become our new tradition; special nail art before every trip.

We spent most of Monday driving to Paris, with plenty of bathroom stops and a freeway-side picnic lunch.  We were all excited to get to our hotel, as it was a place we had never stayed before and it looked so nice from the website.  They were actually all individual 2-story houses, with small yards and a nice balcony.  This way we could save a bit of money on eating out all the time, and Chris would have a chance to eat, well, anything. 🙂

Oh.my.goodness.  When we pulled up early Monday evening, we were shocked.  Rather than the individual houses that were shown on the website, it was rows and rows of connected houses, with no yards, and a tiny strip of cemented over patio in the back.  The different rows were crammed so close together, that the kids started a new hobby of spying on what the neighbors were having for breakfast!  The furniture was not nice at all, and the whole place stank.  They said they were non-smoking, but we are guessing that was just a suggestion, not a guarantee, going by the odors that were embedded in all the fibers.  Oh, and there were ants.  Lots and lots of ants in a trail from the porch, under the huge gap by the front door, through the living room and into the kitchen to the trash can.  So we had to move that outside, and open the door every time we wanted to throw something away.  Fortunately, Noah is a great ant stalker and managed to smash most of them for us.

We seriously considered packing up and trying to find another place to stay, it was that nasty.  But it was late, we weren’t sure anything would be available, and the kids were not nearly as grossed out as we were, so we decided to tough it out.  After all, we were only really going to be there for a short time in the mornings and late evenings.  But we vowed to never stay there again.  shudder

Anyway, once we decided to stay, we quickly unpacked our bags and headed over to the grocery store to buy some supplies.  We all love this giant mall that is right close to Disneyland Paris.  It has fun playgrounds, and tons of fun shops, plus a giant grocery store.  France has fun stuff like Golden Grahams, Doritos, and those squeeze pouches  full of different flavored applesauces, that we just can’t get in Switzerland or Germany. And brioche, lots and lots of brioche, both plain and chocolate-filled.  yum!

We got to bed at a semi-reasonable hour, considering it was vacation, and the next day we headed out to explore Paris.

The last Friday before spring vacation in April, Sarah had a violin concert.  She had been practicing really hard, especially to conquer the tricky fingering required, and with the piano it really did sound quite nice.

She has had a hard time with her violin.  It is more difficult to play than she thought, and finding time to practice in between all her homework is really hard.  She asked to quit a couple times but we explained that in our family you only have the option of which instrument you will play, not whether you will play.  So she decided to stick with the violin.  Now that the pressure is off of trying to get into Gymnasium, she is finding it easier to practice and she is making a lot of improvement. But this concert was before all that and I still think she did a good job.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sf_sLiGUqA&feature=youtu.be

Kids as in baby goats, that is.  Do you all know this little fairy tale?  It isn’t a super famous one like little red riding hood, but it is very popular here in Switzerland.  The story is of a mother goat who leaves her 7 children home alone while she goes shopping for their dinner.  While they are gone a wolf comes and tricks the children into letting him in the house, where he promptly eats them all up, except for one who hides in the grandfather clock.  When the mother comes home, the little kid comes out and tells her what happened.  She hunts down the wolf, who is sleeping in the nearby forest after his giant meal, cuts open his stomach to release her children, and then fills his stomach back up with rocks and they all toss him down the well for good measure.

Well, Noah participated in the same theater class that Sophie was in for several years, and this was the play they performed for us just before spring vacation.  We recorded the whole thing, and I have included both links if you want to watch it.  For those who don’t speak German, there isn’t a whole lot of talking.  The story is changed a little bit, as the one wolf brother who is nice, (Noah) does not agree with the whole “filling the stomach with rocks and tossing him in the well” part, so they decide to fill him with hearts instead to make him nicer when he wakes up.

http://youtu.be/hBRmGdUh6Vs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=359lCAPVCbM&feature=youtu.be

Nirmala, the teacher, asked me if I would be willing to make the costumes, and I happily agreed.  She didn’t pay me directly, but she did give me a small reduction in tuition costs, which I think was a fair trade. 🙂  Anyway, I sewed the hearts the kids used to put in the wolf’s stomach, and I designed and sewed the wolves and goat costumes as well.  They came out so cute, I was really pleased, and the kids loved them.

After the play was over, the actors took their places at the back of the room and signed autographs for whoever wanted them. 🙂  Nirmala had printed out a poster with a photo of the kids on it, and the name of the play and had them in a pile that the audience members could take around to all the cast members and get signed.  We have several copies all over the house, tucked away in treasure boxes and special places. Nirmala also gave all the children a little gift as a thank you for performing so well.  It’s a candle and we have it proudly displayed in our fireplace.  yeah, we don’t build actual fires in it, we just burn candles in it. 🙂

There was also a large buffet of snacks and desserts provided by the parents that the kids enjoyed.  For some reason, the food at these things always tastes better than the snacks we have at home. My kids eat like they have never seen food before.  Weird.Congratulations, Noah.  You did a great job!

We held New Beginnings for Young Women’s a bit later this year, but it was still before both new Beehives turned twelve.  I was super excited for this one since we would be welcoming Sarah into the young women’s program.  Eeh!  Can’t believe she is going to be so old!

The theme was “Stand in Holy Places” and I saw on Pinterest some really cute invitations made to look like Converse shoes.  So at an earlier activity, I brought all the supplies and the girls all made one paper shoe, complete with laces.  Then I took them home, filled in the information and handed them back out to the girls, including the new ones.  This way, no one got the shoe they made, and it was still a bit of a surprise.  Those girls are amazingly creative.  They were all decorated so cute.

There was a lot more that we did to the theme, but my major contribution was the dessert.  For our activity that introduces the theme for the new year, I had made shoe cupcakes which were a huge hit.  The girls extra requested that I make them again, so naturally I did for New Beginnings.  they turned out so cute, even if they were a bit time consuming. I wish I could have found colored cupcake liners to match the color of the shoes, but alas, here in Switzerland that kind of thing is pretty difficult to find.  Also, even with my awesome American food coloring I still couldn’t get the icing actually black.  So they were more dark grey pumps.  Still my favorites, though. Getting them to the church was an adventure in itself.  Nick carried the tray for me, and he devised this very clever way of tilting and turning it around all the corners and twists in the road to prevent the shoes from falling over.  I was driving really slowly, but still required lots of concentration as the road between our house and the church is very zig zaggy.  Thanks, Nick!  We ended up with only one casualty thanks to his application of the laws of physics. 🙂

The girls had quite a bit of free time over the long Easter weekend, and ended up being rather creative.  They wrote a little Easter play, and made up a beautiful poster to invite us all to the one time only showing.

They used Alexandra’s sheet for the curtain stage, and there was lots of giggling and scuffling behind the scenes.

Alexandra was the star of the show, and she was a bit nervous, but once they got going, she did great.  Do you wanna see it?  Well, alrighty then.  Here you go.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3cACXsedO8&feature=youtu.be