the good of P A R I S

It was an eye-opening trip. I think it will always be known as the trip that didn't quite go as planned out in my mind. There were some stressful moments, but also looking back at a week in Paris, some things that I really liked.

These are the things I want to remember.

1. Free Water- specifically long baths and lots of showers. With a hotel room over $500 a night most nights, I guess it wasn't completely free, but you understand what I'm saying. The boys were all encouraged to take long, hot showers and baths as many times a day as they wanted. With our expensive water in Germany, it was nice to let up a little.
We'll be reconciling our water bill/useage in the next couple weeks, so I'll know exactly how expensive it has been.  Again, I've been told to be afraid: very afraid.
2. Housekeeping. I hope they didn't think for a minute that I'd have the {do not disturb} sign on the door. What mom doesn't take advantage of a housekeeper when they can get one? She may as well have kept the {please clean} side out and hanging for the duration of our stay.
And yes, I let them know {in sign language, of course} I needed clean sheets- every day.

3. Lots and lots of bread- yummy bread. Our favorites were the croissants- enjoyed by all of us every day at breakfast. Light and fluffy. Combined with a delicious raspberry and peach fruit spread, I didn't need anything else.
Ty and I also discovered the crepes- so French, don't you think? Thankfully, they were brought out the last day of our trip, I might have gained a full ten pounds just from crepes alone had they been offered earlier. Delicious.

4. Swimming and The Pool. Outdoor pools in 100 degrees are of course my favorite. An indoor hotel pool is a nice second choice. It wasn't huge or super deep and we had to occasionally share it with the French grandpa in spandex shorts, but it was a pool.

Perfect for draining energy from four active boys, we enjoyed it just about every day. Justin and Ty discovered the steam and relaxation rooms as well after hitting the work-out room.

5. Beautiful buildings and monuments with lots and lots of history. While it wasn't the most romantic city to me, I did appreciate the beauty and history surrounding us as we walked through downtown Paris.

Notre Dame, The Eiffel Tower- it is pretty cool to say we've been there, walked around {and up to the top} and taken in the beauty of them both along with many other massive structures along the way.

6. Down Time which was much needed and long overdue. I even snuck in a couple naps. Not as many as Justin {every afternoon}, but as one who rarely naps catching a couple felt good.

7. Glass-bottled Evian water. I know I'm super silly. For some reason, water just tastes so much better when drinking it out of glass instead of plasic. I just love it.
Not specific to Paris, but it was nice to have a new glass on the nightstand each day.

8. Theirry- a new French friend. Jim's Paris connection is a man by the name of Theirry. After weeks of working together, they became fast friends and enjoyed getting to know each other. It helps that his English is very good. He was a great resource for understanding the French and Paris.

One super late night, Jim returned to the hotel from work with a wrapped-up package for me from Theirry. I was shocked to open it and find a beautiful bottle of French perfume. Unexpected gifts are always the best! I hadn't even smelled it and was so grateful for the gesture- so sincere.

He's invited us back to Paris {many, many times} and asked Jim to stay at his house with our family. A genuine guy- we might have to take him up on his gracious offer.
9. My hard-working husband. The pride I felt as the wife of a husband working so hard and doing such a great job was enormous.

I am always impressed and so in love with Jim's work ethic- it's super attractive to me. I can only hope our boys learn to work as hard as their dad does- they have an amazing example. This assignment definitely displayed what he's made of.

It was a super long three solid weeks especially for Jim, but he did an amazing job keeping it together to get through the air show.

While the crews and most everyone else showed up between 8:00 and 10:00 each morning, Jim was at the airport between 6:30 and 7:00 daily. Days were long and several nights he wasn't back to the hotel until after 10:00 or 11:00.

Even on the one afternoon he had off that we went downtown as a family, his cell phone didn't stop ringing. It definitely wasn't a Paris vacation for him.

He's been in an office for several years, but planes are what he knows and where he excels. It was rough not being around each other very much, but I understood the reason he was there and very proud of the job he accomplished.

10. Time with my boys. Whether they'll admit it or not, I love that my boys love each other. While the little guys have always gotten along better than the big boys, the dynamics between the four are normally exciting with tender moments from time to time. If I don't blink, I get lucky enough to catch these sweet times.

Being away as a family forces us to be together with fewer distractions. My friend says she calls it FFT {forced family time}, I have to agree. They're still smiling and we had lots of laughs. I am realizing our time is limited before the big boys head off to college. I'm trying to treasure the time we have before they start to leave the nest.

In the end, I like to think we're closer as a family. Thanks, Paris.

happy J U L Y

Happy July! We're busy packing and moving around here. Lots and lots of work. Moving is never fun- we're just focused on the end result which will be wonderful once we're out of Oberstaufenbach. We just saw the new {rental} listing for our house and see that they increased the rent {AGAIN} and added another fee.

This makes us even more grateful to be leaving without a thought of regret. I just love making those decisions that you know are the 100% best decision- no question about it. This is one of those times that we have no doubt. Rather than stay up all night wondering if we should be moving or not, I stay awake wondering how I'll be arranging furniture and decorating each room. Believe me, I've lost some serious sleep. I hate that I can't shut my mind off sometimes. How do you fix that?

Should be completely finished with our move two weeks from today. After three weeks straight of long hours at the Paris Air Show {12-16 hr days}, Jim's had a little time off to catch his breath. I'm so happy for a long holiday weekend as well. We all know I can't ever get enough of my husband!

I'm beyond excited to have him back.

not Q U I T E as planned

Slow train, super fast ICE train, bad subway, public bus, airport shuttle, nice RER city train, PLANE and taxi. We did it all this week. We had our train tickets purchased to return home this morning all together.

Jim finished up with his last plane last night, so we were set to leave this morning first thing.

Sunday evening, one of the crew members told Jim that we could all just jump back on a plane with him instead of the train.

One hour- straight to Ramstein, I jumped at the chance. Not that I didn't want to come home with my husband... but, with four kids and lots of luggage, this was much simpler. Plus, we could get home two days earlier. No one resisted.

We were supposed to leave around 12:00, but ended up having a L O N G delay, sitting in the sun and a super hot, broken-down chalet at the airport for hours and hours waiting for the plane to get loaded and ready to go. The boys did fairly well in spite of another day going not quite as planned.

I think that's kind of a theme for this whole Paris trip.
M E M O R I E S : not quite as planned

Oh, we were sooooo hot! This was on the taxi- the next-to-last leg of our trip home.

a lot of L A U N D R Y

Sixty {60} pairs of underwear, maybe even more. Laundry. Six of us for ten days, plus all of Jim's from the entire previous week. That's a lot of dirty, stinky clothing. I'm not sure how or why I used to save it all for one day.

That's what I've been up to all day. I'm grateful for the 90+ degrees outside which helped speed up the drying process. It was ready to come down just about as quickly as I hung it up.

We're home, we're safe, we're exhausted. I don't think I could have paid the little guys to leave the house today. We all also have a greater appreciation for Germany. Justin's first words when we got to the van were, "Oh, I love Germany."

Maybe we should have visited Paris back in January. Our transition might have been quicker.

More stories and pictures to come from our adventure in Pairs. Just as soon as I get through these mountains of clothes.

tour E I F F E L

We finally made it downtown. Jim was able to get off around noon {his first time off in two weeks} and we headed out to check out the city. There is a tourism office just down from our hotel, so I made a visit for some advice on the best way to make it to the sights.
I've learned that there is the Metro {of which I'm not too fond}, and also a train system called the RER which is way better- faster, some above ground, roomier.

It's all pretty dirty, but the Metro is more of a nasty, underground subway. On our way in, we somehow made it to the Metro. Jim was on the RER- which is part of the reason he didn't understand why I was so freaked out. He gets it now. Thank goodness we're all going back together.

Don't know if I could handle doing it on my own again!

I think I used to be quite independent and much more adventurous. Sticking me out on five acres off our dirt road in Kansas took any of the city girl out of me that I might have had left.

Yesterday, we bought one-day passes for us mostly on the RER- what a world of difference. I'm still not a huge fan, but I wasn't freaked out. Maybe having Jim take charge had something to do with that as well. So, for transportation alone, we took the shuttle to the airport, the RER train downtown.

Just for transportation tickets down and back for our family, it was about $140.00. Nothing fancy, either. For real, this place isn't cheap. Everything is pretty pricey.

My plan was to get off at Notre Dame, then walk to the Eiffel Tower in order to see the sights along the way. After an hour or so of walking and barely moving on the map- we hopped on the train and took it across town. The 30-45 minute walk that I anticipated was way longer.

It was hot, sticky and crowded. There's no way we would have made it on foot. While we were all exhausted, the boys did great. Feeling the aches in our feet and bodies, we were especially proud that the little guys made it with very little complaining.

Notre Dame was closed for indoor tours, but walking around it was pretty cool. The size and history here is impressive in itself. We later ran in to a Priest on the street that told us they had four new priests ordained. Maybe that is why it was closed.

He asked where we were from, I said, "Germany." He said, "Wow- your English is good- not like German." He then told us he's from Houston. Maybe not the brightest, but nice enough.
We made it to the Eiffel Tower- it didn't disappoint. What a beautiful, massive structure. While there was a bit of a line for tickets and crowds {and crowds} of people, we made it to the top and enjoyed the amazing view.

Today, no one wants to go anywhere. Jim has a long day as this is the last day of the Air Show. We plan to relax. I'm not even sure they have the energy to go swimming- not a bad thing.

I'm thinking somewhere calmer and cleaner for our next trip. Maybe, the Alps, Switzerland or Austria. Perhaps rides on chair lifts instead of graffiti-laced Metro systems.

I think we've had our fill of corruption, smoke, crowds and big city for a while.
I never thought I'd say this but, I think we're ready to get back to Germany.

more A I R show

More from the Paris Air Show. Justin took these first ones sticking his head out the top of the massive C-5. Pretty amazing view.

paris A I R show

It is very cool- the largest air show in the world. Jim got us passes and had us picked up at the hotel so we could see what he's been up to all week. It was Professional day, which he didn't know. They didn't allow any kids under 16. After passing the protest on the main street, we made it as far as the first security point before being turned away.

No worries- he called his new {French} friend who met him at another gate and walked us through after talking his way through. Helps to have someone who knows the language. Even he said everything in France is difficult. I'm seeing a common theme going on here in Europe.

We had a bit of time to walk around with Jim which was nice to cut through the barriers to avoid waiting in the lines. Kind of nice to know someone on the inside.

The US planes were mostly open for tours, and the crews were kind enough to let the boys get the VIP tour through them as well sitting in each cock-pit at the controls- the C-5 {huge}, C-17, C-130, and the Chinook helicopter. The C-5 was a little too high for me- Justin and Ty both were able to stick their head out the top.

There is also a Customs and Borders patrol plane here {all remote control} that the boys got to play with the simulator. Kind of cool.

I've never been too excited about Air Shows. In Anchorage, they come through every year it seems. My dad loves them, so it was the cool grandpa thing to take Justin and Ty when they were younger.

They both have very fond Grandpa memories and still enjoyed it. Dad- you would have loved this one. I think your son has a hat for you! xo

day F O U R in paris

Day one {1} in Paris: Had the door close on me on the Metro: Justin saved my life. While walking out of the Subway up to the bus station Caden's first words were, "Look, mom- a rat." He was excited. I looked away to avoid seeing it which would have caused more nightmares than I already anticipated after our long travels.

Day two {2} in Paris: Scared for my life walking through the park with a shady bunch of guys staring me down... ids and money made it to my bra for the walk back.

Day three {3} in Paris: Witnessed a fight in front of our hotel between a bus driver and taxi driver. We were driving to grab some food and saw it only because the bus driver stopped his bus while pulling out of another hotel blocking traffic from both directions in order for all to see the brawl. It wasn't a pretty sight. Wow- these guys are no joke. Police showed up shortly after.

Day four {4} in Paris: Watched a protest in front of the airport where the air show was taking place. Lots of cops carrying huge shields. Of course, Jim had to run straight through it as he was trying to get someone to open a gate for us. We were turned away at the main gate as the French security said no kids were allowed today. We made it in, I'll post some cool pictures tomorrow.

Just another day in Paris, I guess.

Four down, six to go- yikes! Looking forward to seeing why this is called one of the most romantic cities in the world. More than anything today, I'm realizing I'm not a big city girl feeling a little overwhelmed.

And yes, I know I'm a wimp.

open at S E V E N

As soon as we arrived at our hotel, downloaded our baggage and boys, Jim and I took a quick walk to the adjacent village in search of dinner Sunday evening. On the back side of the hotel, it was about a ten-minute walk through a nice park past a cemetary. I noted how clean and peaceful it felt. We held hands and enjoyed the cobblestone roads noting signs of France in every direction.

We ordered pizzas from one of the only places open and walked around the block while waiting. While Germans seem to be all about business, the French seem to be the opposite and not in a hurry to do anything.

Our walk was fairly uneventful as we returned with dinner ready to feed our exhausted and hungry bunch. Monday night, I headed out on the same path toward the village for dinner. This time on my own as I knew Jim would be working late. After an afternoon of swimming and games, the boys were tired and settled. Without thinking, I decided to just race out and back as quickly as I could to have dinner here when Jim returned from work.

Not too far down the trail, I noticed a group of young guys- three or four of them sitting on a park bench on the edge of the walkway. I wasn't too suspicious at first, then saw the one then another stand up and look directly toward me. They were whispering, of course if they were screaming I wouldn't have been any closer to knowing what they said. Then, a third one stood and looked me up and down.

I felt an immediate panic and looked around knowing no one else was in sight. I was on my own. I took a deep breath and tried to convince myself they were just looking at my disgraceful flip flops. Of course, my heart was racing.

I knew I couldn't turn around, so I charged forward putting my shoulders back a little and standing as tall as I could. That's what you're supposed to do when confronted with a bear, right? Of course, I stepped up my pace a little faster, too. As I got close and noticed them all staring straight through me, I turned and said, "Halo." What a dork, I know. Halo? It just came out.

They kind of looked at me and watched as I walked by. What a relief, but I knew I had to get back. I thought this trip was supposed to be sans stress. It was bright daylight, too. Not in the mood to venture any furthur, I stopped at the same pizza shop and ordered pizzas. I walked a bit further to the grocery that was open and bought some bread. When given my change, I sneakily took my military id, driver's license {I worked hard for that thing}, the Euro and American money I had and stuck it in my bra leaving very little in my wallet. I stuck it back in my {Nike} backpack with my bread sticking out the top and headed back to grab my pizzas.

I made it back just fine. This time, I watched as I entered the park and noticed them doing the same thing to others walking through. Yes, they were still there and said something to me as I walked back. I just shook my head and they all laughed- rotten kids. I was just glad to be safe with the hotel in sight.

From this little outing, I realized mostly how much I realized how rare if ever I'm alone. Also, how much I rely on the strength and security of a strong, confident husband. He did let me know that one day he walked through and saw that same group sitting there. While not afraid, he said it was uncomfortable. I won't be going anywhere here without one of my big boys or him. Lesson learned. I need and love the men in my life.

Last night, I took Ty with me in search of dinner. We struck out as we quickly realized everything was closed until at least 7pm for dinner. We were out at 5pm and NOTHING was open- how crazy is that? It was a nice hour-long walk with some great forced mom-son time. I enjoyed it, not sure he felt the same. The French eat late dinners as well.

I thought that was bad for your health to eat so late. How do they stay so skinny?