big weekend

Something that I didn't have time to do then was to tell you all about our busy and fun weekend from May 30 to June 1. It started with me heading down to Lakeland on Friday night for a performance with Mobile Performance Group at a reception for patrons held by the Polk Museum of Art. Mommy stayed home with the girls.

It was a very relaxed gig and we all did minimal prep work. It was fun to just get together and let loose for once. Usually we are traveling to important conferences and have to be sure we are very well prepped and ready to impress. This was a crowd that was very new to our type of act and appreciated our little jam session.

Except for one guy. Right at the start of our set, this older gentleman comes up to me while I am performing and asks, "What are you doing?"

Not uncommon. I replied with my stock, "We're making music."

This usually provokes a more specific question. Instead his reply was, "That's not music. I know music and that's not music. It's just noise." This was followed by some muttering that I couldn't make out because after all I am trying to perform. Followed by "Maybe it's 'music' the way Bill Clinton defined 'is'. You know what I mean." He smirked in obvious satisfaction with his joke. I didn't get it. It's not like I am a Clinton fan, it just didn't make sense.

After this his wife dragged him away like she had done this sort of thing before. I that might be a bad omen for the night, but the rest went off without a hitch. We were well received.

On Saturday, mommy was hosting one of her meetings with the ladies at the house. So I grabbed the girls and headed for the grandparents. Maybe you have seen my dad on TV recently as he is now a local celebrity.

Anyway, Penny stayed with Grandma while Grandpa, Bethany and I went on a canoe trip down Rock Springs Run. I have fond memories of doing this growing up and was excited to take my daughter on the trip. It's four hours and 8.5 miles from King's Landing to the Wekiva Marina. Bethany sat in the middle while the men rowed.

We saw turtles, butterflies, herons, catfish, gar, raccoons, a water snake and one big gator. One is enough.

After our picnic at the Indian Mound, Bethany decided we should play pirates to spice things up. She made Grandpa the captain. She and I were the maties. She knew all the lingo from "argh" to "ahoy".

It was just about then that we shipwrecked. Daddy tried to push off with his oar and got caught. We tipped enough that we started taking on water. "What's happening?" asked Bethany rather patiently, but not totally calm.

"It'll be OK," I assured her. I scooped her up and sat her on a stump that was protruding from the water. From there, she watched while Grandpa and I raised the canoe out of the water then flipped it over to rid it of the offending water.

We were underway again shortly, but B had no more interest in playing pirates anymore. I guess things had gotten a little too real.

Toward the end she leaned forward against the crossbar and gently closed her eyes to take a nap while still sitting up. Very tired, but a real trooper.

Sunday started off early with church (website coming soon). I was running sound so we all had to be early for rehearsal, one of the compromises of having only one car.

After nap, we decided to have a family outing together to a Cubs game. Unfortunately Wrigley Field was too far, but we are fortunate to have a class A affiliate nearby. Unlike their Northern namesake, an early game here means 5:35pm and they don't have too many. With two young girls, we didn't want to let the opportunity pass us by.

It is a great little ballpark right on the intercoastal waterway. Lots of history too.

We had a great time. There are lots of kid friendly activities between the innings. B got friendly with the mascot and gave him a hug. I bought her a hat because she had expressed some envy for Mommy's a few days earlier.

After the game, kids were allowed to take the field and run the bases. How cool is that! Bethany lined up at the gate with me, but was very clear that she wanted to go by herself.

Kids took turns saying their name into the mic and home plate and then took off around the diamond. B's motor was about half speed, but she took great pleasure in waving HI to each kid that passed her. When she reached the plate, she was winded but immediately said she wanted to go again.

"No sweetie, we need to head home. You've had enough excitement for one weekend."

new pics

I took the girls to Portrait Innovations yesterday.  I wanted to get a good picture of Bethany in her dance costume, plus some new pics of Penny and some of the girls together.  They turned out pretty good!  Here are the spring pics!  And just so you know, there are almost 100 pictures, if you're wondering why it's taking so long to load!  :)

some updates

I have updated the at home and out & about albums and added a family reunion album.  Check out the new pics.

Penny started eating some rice cereal this week.  She loved it.  Much better first feeding than B's, though I think I tried too early with B!  Penny gets very excited when she sees me mixing up the cereal.  I figure we'll do this for at least another week (until she's 5 months) and then try our hand at some sweet veggies.  But, I'm in no hurry.  She seems pretty content to do this for a while.

B is amazing, as always.  She makes up stories and songs all the time.  We also have a daily dance recital (sometimes 2!).  I watched her learn to skip in dance class yesterday (sniff!).  And, I know this is so silly: I never get sentimental about anything.  But the other day I got her some new "undergarments" and as I was folding the laundry I noticed how big they were.  They aren't these cute little things anymore!  Of all the things...

We had a really fun time at the family reunion last weekend.  It really got me motivated to start that family tree, Matt.  The kids had a water gun fight, we at some good BBQ, had some cake...good stuff.  I can't wait till next year!

Whoops!

Wow, it's been a while, hasn't it? And I just realized that my last post was on my birthday. I don't even remember that.....

Anyway! Kid growth update: Bethany got on the Publix scale and she weighs 33 pounds! She finally broke 30!! She'll look back at this and wonder why I kept everyone up to date on her weight. How long will I continue to do that???

Penny had her 4 month check up yesterday. 13 1/2 pounds, 24 inches! She is such a cutie and smiles at everything. If you are ever mad about something, just come over here and let her look at you. You won't stay mad for long!

So here are some pics -

Bethany after her dance recital:


Bethany and her friend Michael J at the splash pad in the zoo:


Me and the girls after performing on a recital of music by women composers:


B doing a performance after that recital. This is her pose:


A cute one of Penny:


Another cute one of Penny:


This one is random. This spider was in my car a couple of weeks ago. He was smaller than my thumbnail and was very jumpy. If anyone knows what kind of spider it is, I would love to know!:


Sorry I haven't had time to post any pictures on the website recently. I will have more time once all of the concerts are done with next weekend. Yay!!!!!

Also - I have finally finished working on my SAI Chapter website. If you're interested in seeing my AWESOME work, go here. I'm very proud of myself. Of course, I have a lovely husband who gives me a little bit of help...

wrong

Yesterday Bethany, Penny and I were watching an episode of The Little Einsteins. In this episode, the kids have to go find animals to help pull Rocket out of a waterfall in which he stuck himself while they were on a safari. So as they approach each animal, Leo (the leader of the group) asks what the animal is and for fun I say the wrong animal. Bethany then corrects me and tells me what the animal actually is. After doing this 3 or 4 times I look at Penny and say, "Penny, your big sister is so smart. One day you'll be as smart as she is". Bethany says:

"And when she's big like you, she'll be WRONG."

Smart aleck.

bad mom? i don't care!

So some of you may think this is just terrible, but because of what I did Penny took a 3 HOUR NAP!!! (For those of you who don't know, the child sleeps maybe 90 minutes TOTAL during the day)

Here it is:




She fell asleep on my shoulder yesterday (after unsuccessfully trying to get her to sleep in her bed or the swing) and I was tired so I tried laying down. This put her on her tummy on me. Then I just had a thought to try putting her in her bed like that and it worked!

She just takes after her daddy, I guess. And I LOVE her for that!

new pictures!

I can't believe after the past two days that I have a free moment to do this! I've posted some new pictures. Click either of the pictures below to go to each gallery:




And here is another favorite. This was taken on B's camera, that's why the quality isn't as good. But this is a preview of her dance recital!


Enjoy!

Soooooooo Big!

Penny's two month check up today:
11 lbs 9.5 oz
23 inches long

She has gone from 50th %ile to 75th %ile. Maybe I won't have the same clothing problems with her as I did/do with Bethany!

Speaking of, I just today put Bethany's 2T clothes in a bin (though she does still have some 2T pants and skirts in her drawer). She'll be 4 in July. She has a pretty long torso and long legs, but her waist is SOOOOOOOOO tiny. I can't buy any of those cute 2-piece outfits. She can almost wear 4T tops/dresses, but so many pants/skirts she is still kindof in between 2T and 3T. Ugh.

Penny has been sleeping through the night for several weeks now. That's probably thanks to having to give her a bottle of formula at night. She's a pretty sporadic eater during the day and then around 5PM wants to do nothing but eat. I feel like I just can't keep up with her (and don't really feel like nursing for 4 straight hours). So now I nurse her after bath time and then she has 2-4 oz of formula, then to bed. Obviously it's not a problem (even her ped. said so) since she is growing just fine.

Anybody see the eclipse tonight? It's really cloudy here. Hoping to get a break.

more pictures

I've posted the family pictures we had taken before Christmas. Go to our website (the link is to the right) or click the picture to take you to the album. Enjoy!

pictures

I've posted pictures from Christmas. Just click the link on the right for the website then click on "Christmas 2007". Or, click the picture below:

7 weeks...wow

Wow, who would have thought that finding time to blog while having a 7 week old and a 3 1/2 year old would be so difficult?????

Sorry for the slow updating. And sorry for the lack of pictures. Our camera is busted. All we get on the display is white. It will still take pictures, but it's not the same when you can't see! I do have some, though, and I'll post them soon.

Yesterday my friend, Sharla, and I witnessed the first time Bethany has "fed" a baby-doll; if you know what I mean. It was so cute! I remember when another friend, Joline, told me about her daughter doing the same thing. I was kind of wondering when she might start doing that!

Bethany has been doing pretty well with the whole baby thing. She has good days and not-so-good days. Even at school. Monday her teacher told me that it has been taking a little more prodding than usual to get her to do her work. Today she told me that she was her normal self again. I imagine it will be like this for her for awhile.

Okay, let me go work on those pictures. I'll let you know here once I've got them up.

she's here!

Penelope Jane
6 pounds 8 ounces
19.5 inches

The WiFi in here won't let me FTP to our server. So more pictures will have to wait.

And the final movement...

For Penelope -

almost done!

Well, this is it. Tomorrow at 5AM we head for the hospital. In less than 15 hours Penelope will be here! I am a little nervous about all of the prep before the surgery, but I am just looking forward to having her with us, on the outside! So, stay tuned here. We'll get pictures up as soon as Nathan can. I don't think they have wi-fi at our little DeLand hospital!

theme and variations

Maybe she's got a whole suite of these:

our b, budding composer

So Bethany decided to sing a little song the other day.  She sat down at the piano and told me that she wanted to sing a song about Jesus and God and how much she loves them.  This is what she came up with:

christmas in the air

Amy and B spent today putting out Christmas decor and playing Christmas music. Tis the season. Fa la la. Deck the halls and such. All and all a relaxing change of pace. B has been in rare form.

Awkward moment of the day: Bethany just started singing Santa Baby. Amy explained that it was on the radio in the car the other day. Amy and I laughed and then stopped, in an attempt not to encourage it. Not exactly something I want my three year old singing. Little too much innuendo.

We'll laugh more later. Hope you do so now. Merry Christmas!

something worked!

Bethany LOVES quesadillas. I've tried putting chicken or beans in them and she won't eat them that way. She likes them with cheese ONLY (as she prefers most things!). Well, while I was at Publix today I stopped in the baby aisle and picked up a jar of pureed chicken. I spread it (very thinly) on the tortilla before putting on the cheese. SHE'S EATING IT!!!!!!! She has no idea what I did! Halleluia!!!!! Next time she wants mac 'n cheese, I may try putting some pureed squash or something in the pot! I hope that this isn't a one-time experiment gone right. It better keep on working!

Ah, fall!

Last night as I was leaving work around 8:30 I could see my breath!!!! I love this weather. Now what is wrong with the weather people??? I was watching the weather report the other day and the guy actually said, "By the middle of next week we should finally see temps warm up back into the 80's". WHAT?!?!?!?!?! What does he mean FINALLY??? We've been waiting since May for this weather and he's ready for it to get WARM again???

sick

Well, it never fails. I have 3-4 days of lots of work to do and as soon as I get a day off, bam!, I get sick. The change in weather probably aggravated it, too. Bethany is even a little stuffy, but not acting sick. I, however, feel like my head is about to explode. I have pictures that I need to post from the Fall Festival that we went to (rather than the traditional trick-or-treating). We've been so busy since that night I haven't had a chance, and now this. But I can't hardly even see what I'm typing right now, my eyes are so blurry! I'll try again later.

Trying the movie thing

Okay, here's a little movie I took the other day. Since school started I've tried to get her to say the pledges for me and the other day, having the microphone in her hand got her going! She did this routine about 5 times in a row! I got the last time, which, of course, was not as good as the first! She was much more distracted my this time! Anyways, sorry it's a little dark, but it's more about the sound anyway! She starts off with the pledge to the flag then "My Country 'Tis of Thee", followed by the pledge to the Bible and "The B-I-B-L-E". Hope you enjoy!

Okay, I'm here!

Thank you, Jen, for hounding me. And thank you, Melissa, for wondering where I was! :)

Okay, not really time to catch up, but I have uploaded some new pics to the website and I've put a couple of pics here for your immediate enjoyment. The first 3 are of Bethany's room. We finally got around to painting a couple of months ago, so here is the fruit of our labor:





And here now is a recent piece of art by Bethany. She went from scribbles to circles to happy faces and now to whole people so quickly (it seems!). This is a picture of Penelope that B wanted to put on Penelope's door. Notice the amount of hair she thinks the baby will have!




So I hope you all enjoy that little update. I wish my life would slow down for a minute! I have some cute video I need to put up, too, and as soon as Nathan's life slows down, he can help me with that! :)

yikes!

Has it really been over a month since I posted???? I must be busier than I realize! Things have been so ridiculously busy here. I don't even really know what to write at the moment. I was just shocked to see my last post was September 10!

I will have to sit down and catch you all up on what's been happening. But it's 11PM right now and I must sleep. Hopefully by Wednesday there will be something here to read. If there isn't, please feel free to hound me.

melt my heart

Last night at dinner, instead of Nathan or myself praying, we asked Bethany to say the prayer that they say before snack time at school. It goes like this:

(to the tune of Frere Jacques)
God our Father, God our Father
Once again, once again
We thank You for our blessings, we thank You for our blessings
Amen, Amen.

After she finished she said, "When we pray, do we close our eyes so we can see Jesus in our hearts?"

Gasp...tears...(a little choked)"Yes, we do".

She takes my breath away.

cravings

So, I've been on a big chocolate milk kick here the last week or so. Only, I have to buy like the Publix chocolate milk. It's not the same as making it myself. I don't know why. Bethany saw it, though, so she wanted some. I mixed it half and half with plain milk. Tonight she was drinking plain milk and she says, "I LOVE plain milk. And I also love chocolate milk. But I wanted plain milk this time."

When we dropped Nathan off to teach his class this evening Bethany asked where he was going. I told her that he had to go teach the students in his class. B says, "Is Daddy a teacher?" "Yes" "Is he going to teach them how to walk in a line?" Uh... "And how to play on the playground?" Um, sure... :)

spiders

So yesterday afternoon when Nathan came home, he took Bethany outside to pick up sticks, one of her favorite Father/Daughter activities. Nathan found a spider and web while they were working and used a big twig to remove it from its location.

Last night B woke up about 10:00 crying. At first she told me that there was a spider in her dream. Then she was sure that there was a spider on her wall. She was laying as far over in the bed as she could to stay away from it. Of course, nothing was there. However, my "squahing" it and throwing in the garbage did not convince her. So, I stole an idea from Melissa. I got our bottle of odor neutralizer and "sprayed" it all around her bed. Some spray did come out of the bottle; just enough to be able to smell it but not make us sneeze. It worked! (Thanks, Melissa!) Plus a prayer to Jesus to keep her safe and to keep the spiders outside. All told, it was about a 30-minute process.

Let's all pray for no spiders tonight!

big words

Yesterday, B and I went to the mall. We took a break from our shopping to grab a slice of pizza. She was eating very slowly and was constantly distracted by one of those Chinese cats (at the chinese food stand) that waves its arm. So I told her that we couldn't go to the Disney Store until she finished her pizza. Here's her response: "You can't go without me. Otherwise you have to come back and get me!"

Yes, "otherwise". I called Nathan and told him what she said. He busted out laughing!

1st week of school!

Well, B had a great first week of school! She has been so excited about going and the big day finally arrived! This is how she looked when I got her up:



Then after she woke up a bit we got her dressed and her bag packed and she was ready to go!



She went right in to the class and had no problem with us leaving her there. We started to say our good-bye's and instead of big hugs and kisses we got, "BYE!!!" We talked her into at least a LITTLE hug and kiss, though!

The rest of the week was about the same. She did keep me informed of what her teacher wore from day to day. And so far she's been pretty good about telling me what they did at school each day. Sometimes she'll start up with a random song and I'll say, "Where did you learn that?" and she'll say, "At my school".

I just hope the novelty doesn't wear off anytime soon!

PS - you can click on either of those pics to see a few more from the first day.

vacuum help!

Okay, I think that I would like a new vacuum for Christmas. I've never been big on researching the best ones. We lived in Chicago for 4 years and just needed a little floor vac as we didn't have carpet. Then we bought a bagless vac when we moved to Hawaii. Now, our carpet in the faculty apartments I don't know if you could even call carpet. It was exactly like my dorm room carpet at Stetson. So we didn't need anything really heavy duty as most dirt could never make it through the astro-turf-like fibers of the carpet.

Now this same vacuum we've had for 3 years. I has about 4 different types of filters on it that are IMPOSSIBLE to find anywhere in order to replace. I'm also thinking about going to a bagged vacuum because I HATE cleaning out the canister. It's disgusting.

So, anybody out there have a vacuum that they just LOVE? What are your thoughts? Then, I'm going to put that new vacuum on my Christmas wish list.

Potty in the Louvre

I haven't had the chance to sit down and tell this story. Some of you may recall that I promised to tell it in an earlier post. Well hear it goes...

The Louvre is big. I know people tell you that, but until you actually visit it is hard to appreciate the enormity of it. I know I certainly did not.

We were walking in the large hall with works by the Italian Renaissance masters. There were plenty of pictures of noblemen in formal poses, religious scenes, etc. all done in rich browns and reddish tones. During the long walk along the 200 yards or so, i was asking B things about the paintings to keep her engaged. "What color is her dress? What instrument is he playing? Do you see the doggie?" Somewhere along the way though, B fell asleep.

B sleeping was a to become a reoccurring theme at the various museums we would visit. Amy and I learned to appreciate it because it meant we could take our time and not worry about her getting restless.

So with her down for a stroller nap, we wandered through some more areas: Gallerie d'Apollon where you can see crowns used by the French monarchy, and Egyptian artifacts from the New Kingdom.

After about an hour and a half, B wakes up among the mummies and sphinxes. We immediately ask her if she needs to go potty. Bleary eyed, she insists that she does not. This concerns us, because it has been at least 3 hours since she last went. We have only just before the trip stopped using pull-ups at naptime. We asked again and she confirms earlier answer.

Mom and I decide to check the map anyway start heading back. As I started this story by saying, the Louvre is big. It is also old, which means that bathrooms have been added during various expansions. They never seem to be nearby. The age also means that you may need to traverse several stairways to reach your destination. Not an easy thing to do when you have a little girl in a stroller.

So we started meandering to what looks the nearest bathroom, back toward the Gallerie d'Apollon. All of the sudden, B turned to us with an urgent look in her eyes. "I need to go potty!"

We quicked the pace and arrived at our destination. Our expectation was that we would find his and hers rooms with multiple stalls, you know...a bathroom. We expected too much. There was a closet that had a single toilet inside. The door had been cut into the wall so that unless you were looking for the sign, you might miss that it was there. It was a secret bathroom.

But that was not our problem that day. Outside stood a line 6 people deep. We turned to B and asked, "Sweety there is a line, can you hold it?"

Her face quickly soured. "NO! I...NEED...TO...GO...POTTY...NOW!"

I will never forget the look on the people's faces. They turned slowly to look at us, unmoved by her impassioned plea. Perhaps it was the language barrier, but then some things are universal. I knew immediately that we would get no favors from them.

I scooped B out of the stroller and started jogging back toward the large stairway we had passed. As I left I shouted back to Amy where I was going and to take her time catching up. The map showed a bathroom at the base of these stairs we had passed. We had ruled it out earlier because of the stoller, but now the situation had changed.

"Just wait for us at the top."

B was upset and confused. Upset about her full bladder. Confused that she was being carried like a football as daddy shuttled past priceless artifacts from King Ramesses or Amenhotep or whoever.

"Are you gonna hold the peepees for daddy?"

"Yes daddy."

On the way downstairs B asks, "Are we going down steps?"

"Yes, sweetie and if you hold it until we get to a pottie, I will let you walk back up."

At the bottom of the long stairway, tucked around the corner we found a more traditional bathroom setup. I hurried into the men's room, only to find that the toilet seat was missing in the stall!

What do I do? What do I do?

Pants down. One arm under the knees. One arm around the shoulders. B hovered over the toilet.

"Go ahead sweetie."

"Are your holding me?"

"Yes, sweetie. Go peepee."

After she was done and had washed her hands, we headed back to the stairs. There were a lot of them. Big, wide, marble ones that took her two steps to traverse before stepping up again. We made our way up slowly and deliberately. As we rounded the landing at the halfway mark, we saw Amy at the top looking down.

"I was wondering what was taking you guys so long," she called out smiling.

A minute or two later I was close enough to explain my promise on the way down. Like I said, there were a lot of steps. But I didn't count them, because it didn't matter. B had made it to the potty.

Care to take a guess?

Well, we found out at the doctor today what we are having. Take a look at this first pic and see if you can figure it out:


There is a white arrow in the middle (it looks more like a spot on here) that points to where you should look. You are looking at the rear end and the legs are wide open!

Well, if you haven't guessed....It's a girl!!!! You can tell by the absence of boy parts! Okay here are a couple more pics. I call this "skeletor" (we had a skeletor pic of B, too):



And here is one that the sonographer outlined her eyes and nose. You can also see her waving at you (the baby, not the sonographer!):



So Bethany is pretty happy to be getting a little sister. She's told us all along that she wanted the baby to be a girl. She was simply not interested in having a brother.

So that's it! No more suspense. And we can finally start saying "she" and "her" instead of "it". I hate the "it" stage. And when we decide for sure on a name, we can start calling her by her name.

----------------------
We plan on moving Bethany to a twin bed before the baby comes. She is currently in the day bed stage of her crib. So since we'll need the crib again, we'll be moving her to a twin. Bethany has the CUTEST curtains (made by Nahna) in her room, but they are really hard to match stuff to.



Well, a couple of weeks ago I saw these sheets at Target:



And I fell in love with them! Which is hard for me because I am really picky. So, even though we don't have a mattress yet, or the bed painted (it's Nathan's old bed, dark stain, I want to paint it white) I went ahead and bought them because I like them so much! Bethany likes them, too, it wasn't just me deciding! :) I plan on getting a solid color comforter (probably pink or purple) to go with it. We also need to paint her walls still. Again, hard to decide on a color with so many to choose from in the curtains.

I don't think I've made a post this long in quite awhile!

Don't get used to it. :)

"Dear God,..."

Bethany has been discovering the meaning of "missing" someone. It really started to become evident toward the end of our vacation when she started talking about people she missed. Today in the car she says, "I love God".
Me: God loves you, too.
B: Does Jesus love me, too?
M: Yes.
B: Oh. I miss God and Jesus.
M: Well, they're always with us, even though you can't see them. You can talk to them whenever you want.
B: Dear God, thank you for the trees and the car, and thank you for the street and the sticks that we pick up, and thank you for dresses that I can wear, and thank you for bugs that bite me (a child's understanding of Grace?), and thank you for fruit and thank you for making us. Amen.

This is the first prayer I've heard her say. I don't know if they ask the kids if they want to pray in Sunday School or not. We've asked her on occasion when we pray at dinner if she would like to say something and she always says no.

Then inside before we did naptime:
Dear God, thank you for our house that you made, and thank you for my frog (a stuffed animal) and thank you for Oscar (our cat) that you made and thank you for Miss Sharla and Michael J that you made. Amen.

*Sigh*

final picture set

The final round of pictures is up. Enjoy!

Amy's thoughts

I had a lot of random thoughts during this trip so to sum up everything, I thought I'd record them here.

Things I will eat when we get back (not necessarily in order):
-Chick-Fil-A (Sharla, Michael J??)
-popcorn
-red velvet soup at Cook's (Heather, Sharla??)
-a REAL breakfast ie. First Watch trifecta (Cissy??); shoot, I'd settle for IHOP or Perkins
-and I will drink LOTS of purified water (explanation on this in a minute)

Things I have learned from this trip:
-In the future, we will invest in REALLY GOOD luggage. The cobblestones all over the place ate up the wheels on our suitcase. (We also started noticing that many people here have like TIRES on their luggage AND their strollers!)
-I will never think that those rain covers for strollers are silly again. I always thought, "Why wouldn't you just stay home if it's raining?" That's the Floridian in me speaking. We can set our watch by the weather. We were in the rain so much here, I'm surprised B isn't coming home with a cold.
-Mineral water makes me nauseous. This would explain a lot about when I was feeling nauseous in my first trimester and I tried drinking Pellegrino, for instance, that it made me feel worse. All of the bottles of water here are mineral water and every time I drank water, I felt sick. Most cities, thankfully, had very good tap water and that was much better!
-Nathan is my hero. Most of the time, he was carrying a really heavy bag and pushing Bethany in the stroller just so I could keep up. Then, he sometimes would pick up the entire stroller (with B in it) to carry it up or down stairs (what else could we do?). All the while, being very patient with me, dealing with Bethany when I was too tired to do it. Dealing with me being hungry for REAL food all the time (this may not have been such a problem had I been not-pregnant). I love you, honey. This was a trip I will never forget. You did an amazing job planning everything for us to do and making it all happen. Let's promise not to groan at the credit card bill for at least two weeks when we get back! :)

I know that I'm forgetting some stuff here, but I'll have to add things as I remember them. Can't wait to be home and see you all and tell you of our adventures in person!

Day 21, Zurich (3)

Today was another Bethany day. We headed for the Zurich Zoo. It was a pretty nice zoo. Bethany had a great time running all over the place. It was good. She really needed to do that. Nathan is working on pictures right now so they'll be up soon. One of the highlights was the Tiger. We searched all over for him and never saw him. Then, on the way to another exhibit, we saw another viewing area and decided to see what was in it. Lo and behold, the tiger was there, laying in a pond! The best part was that the pond was right in front of the window so the tiger was very close! She saw all kinds of birds and snakes and fish (and tons of other stuff, of course). There was this cool exhibit of llamas and a big slide to come back down. Bethany thought that was cool.

Well, we head out in the morning. We'll be back late Monday night. This has been a good trip. I am exhausted, though. I don't think I could go one more day! See you all soon!

On another note...

I have started to feel the baby move! It started happening right around the 17-week mark (which was this past Tuesday). It will only be a few more weeks before we (hopefully!) can see what we're having. I get tired of calling it "It". Bethany asks me quite frequently, "Mommy, what's the baby saying?" I can't wait until we can start feeling "it" move from the outside. I think that will be really neat for her.

I decided today that if I had been any more pregnant when we started this trip that I would not have made it to the end here. I am getting so tired so quickly the last several days. Don't worry; we've been taking it slow and stopping whenever I need to. Luckily, there are plenty of places to sit in the churches and the museums usually have a chair or a bench in each room!

Day 20, Zurich (2)

Today we went to another cafe for breakfast. We decided that this one was even better than yesterday's. They had a "mini-breakfast" for 4.80 FR that included a croissant, slice of bread and jam and butter. Nathan and I both ordered it and I had planned on sharing my bread with Bethany. However, the waiter brought her a slice all her own! How nice! We also ordered a half liter of OJ. Now, OJ has not been great here (anywhere that we've been). But, I didn't feel like hot tea today so that's what we got to share. Turns out, it was a really good decision. They squeeze their own juice at this place! It was SOOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!! We decided we'd eat there again tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow we were off to see the museums. We started at the Swiss History museum. They had a lot of religious art and we also spent some time in the money museum. They had a neat interactive display with a computer set up. You could type in the number of a coin in the display and it would come up on the screen with information about it. Bethany loved picking different ones. There was also an interesting exhibit on people with Swiss lineage who emigrated to the US.

After lunch we went to the art museum. This was a pretty neat museum. Thankfully, B finally fell asleep so Nathan and I were able to take our time inside. I still think that small art museums are more my style. I love feeling like I can get through the entire collection and still have time to do something else with my day.

Tomorrow we are going to the zoo! Shh, don't tell Bethany. She doesn't know yet. :)

Day 19, Zurich (1)

Today we got up and decided to look for breakfast outside of the hotel. This hotel doesn't have free breakfast like all but one other we've stayed at and they charge 15 FR. per person. I might feel differently about paying that much if I was used to eating a breakfast of cereal, bread, cold cuts and cheese. I think in the US you would get scrambled eggs, bacon and/or sausage, maybe a place to make waffles (or at least the frozen kind that you can put in a toaster). So we found a little place and each got something different to eat (still just breads and pastries, but we all ate for the price of one of us).

We headed into the city to check out a few churches. In between churches, we hopped a boat to cruise around Lake Zurich. We've been telling B practically the whole trip that we would take a boat ride and we finally did! It took about 1 1/2 hours but it was a lot of fun. We started out sitting outside but it didn't take long to realize that the sun was really intense! So we moved inside for the remainder of the trip. Good thing, too. Nathan and I are both pretty red today!

We found another one of those Manora restaurants. Yum. Another good dinner. We even got ice cream for dessert!

Bethany read us bedtime stories tonight. She insisted that it was a show and that we clap for her at the end of each book. It's amazing how quickly children can memorize books.

Day 18, Chur to Zurich

Today was our last day in Chur and then we were off to Zurich. We went to another small museum in town this morning (LOVING these small ones!). There was an exhibit of art by Geiger, which Nathan can go into more detail on. They had a great little place at the front of the museum for kids to sit and do art. Bethany loved this. She drew a flag (basically, horizontal stripes with one vertical one on the left, pretty good, I thought) and some rain.

Once we got to Zurich, B was out for almost 2 1/2 hours and so we just chilled in the room, watching more CNN. Now Nathan is out getting food to bring back up. I'm kind of looking forward to eating in rather than sitting in another restaurant with the B-meister. More tomorrow!

Day 13, Birthday!

07 July 2007

First we must say, "Happy Birthday to Bethany!" Our little girl turns 3 today and it seems as though she is acting older already. Well, at least until nap time! We were very impressed all through breakfast and during the trip to our next destination, Martigny. Then she got tired and started acting like her old self!

So here we are in Martigny. There is no internet at this hotel, so this will be a few days behind as well. Not much is planned for today. Bethany and I are resting while Nathan is out taking care of our reservations for the Glacier Express, which will take us to our next stop, Chur. Tomorrow we are going to visit some of the local museums, including the St. Bernard Museum. This is a new museum in town all about the history of raising the dogs and they even have some dogs there to see. We were going to take a train up to the place where they breed and train the dogs until we learned of this local museum. Now we can just stay and do this as well as the other museums.

Well, since I've taken so long to post this, you've already read all about what we did in Martigny. But I just wanted to make sure that this birthday message got on!

Day 17, Chur (2)

Today was a Bethany day. We found a place on the outskirts of town that is an animal park (I can't remember the actual name of it right now). The weirdest part was that everything was "do-it-yourself". To get in (it was 4 FR) you put in your money and out comes a token. You put your token in another machine (kind of like at a subway station) and the gate lets you in. We walked around looking at the animals and then we came upon a pretty good sized playground. Finally, a place for B to just run around! She spent a lot of time playing there. There was a really cool rappel line that she sat on and Daddy ran behind her (just in case). She loved it!

Next we came upon little bumper cars (again, self serve). B and Daddy went three times! Bethany told me she even drove it and "hit the side!".

We saw a few more animals and then we hit the snack bar for lunch. They serve hot dogs here in baguettes. Bethany has never like eating a got dog on a bun, but she likes pulling off the bread of these, eating the HD alone first, then the bread.

Next we went to the Nature Museum in town. There were tons of cut-out wooden cows (don't know how else to describe it) with tons of information about what they do for us as far as what we eat. (I'm assuming all of this because everything was in German and I don't think even Nathan read everything)

Next to all of the cows were stuffed animals of all kinds. They also had out different animal furs so you could compare what they felt like. Next floor was stuffed birds and lots of butterflies and bugs. Bethany has been a tad obsessed recently with stag beetles because of a book in the current rotation, The Grouchy Ladybug. Well, she found a whole display of them and was so excited! The top floor was all about rocks/minerals. Bethany likes rocks, too, so she also found this fascinating. One more stop downstairs to touch the furs again and we were ready to get back to the hotel.

Rest time for everybody. After B woke up she said, "What's next?" Daddy: "Well, do you have a plan?" "I'm ready to go." "Go where?" "To the next hotel." You can see she's gotten used to the routine!

Pictures are coming soon. Nathan has a couple of day's worth to get through.

Day 16, Chur (1)

Today we explored the old town of Chur. It's really a neat city. We visited a couple of churches (one evangelical, one cathollic). Then we walked around and looked in a few shops and then stopped for lunch. This turned out to be a bit of a problem. Lunch was really great. One of the best meals so far. Turns out, though, they don't accept credit cards! Nathan ended up having to go down the street to the ATM because we didn't have enough cash on us!

After lunch we came back and B and I took a nap while Daddy took our clothes to the laundry. Yeah! Clean clothes!

Here in Chur we've been enjoying simple dinners in our room while catching up on the day's news on CNN (ick). It's the only English channel!

Day 15, to Chur

Today we rode on a really neat train called the Glacier Express. They called it a panoramic train. The windows are really big and there are even windows on the top so you can see above you. The only drawback was that it has been pretty rainy and cloudy these days. So a lot of the view was blocked. :( On the other hand, it was absolutely beautiful, as you may have seen in the pictures.

The highlight (for me, anyway!) was lunch in the dining car. I had potato noodles in a cream sauce with mushrooms. I think that I already nominated a meal for the best since we've been here, but this may actually have been it. And it was cooked on a train! Nathan had a yummy piece of pork (which, twice, he has had with a side of garlic butter - he's declared he will always eat pork this way now). I've never seen these potato noodle things before, but I need to either find a way to make them, or find a store that sells them!

We made it into Chur (where it was really raining) and got to our hotel. It is a pretty neat place. More free WiFi! We pretty much just relaxed tonight and we'll head out tomorrow for more fun adventures!

Day 10, to Aigle, Switzerland

Today we left the lovely chalet that has been our home for almost a week and head to Aigle, Switzerland. We took a train called the Mont-Blanc Express. It was a neat little train. One of B's observations: "Look at ALL the Christmas trees!".

We arrived at our hotel in Aigle and we were greeted by a sweet dog, Max. He really loves people and Bethany loved seeing him everyday while we were there. We headed out around dinner time and found a little place to eat. Turns out, we arrived 15 minutes before dinner started. I've mentioned this before. We have had a hard time getting used to this part of the culture. I usually have dinner on the table between 5:30 and 6:00 at home (depending on level of hunger and/or when Nathan's last class ends) and it is just really hard to adapt to this. And, you don't actually EAT at 6:30. If you order at the start of dinner, then you don't get your food until about 7:00 and by the time you finish eating, get the check, it's past 8:00. Anyway, the food that we found was very good. There was a LOT of it, too. I thought we Americans were the only ones who did too-big portions!

Day 9, Annecy

Today, Renaud wanted all of us up early to go up to Annecy for a trip to Les Gorges du Fier. This was very cool. Bethany really enjoyed this. You can see from the pictures how amazing it is. Bethany had a lot of fun climbing the rocks once we got through the Gorges part. Renaud helped Bethany throw a coin to make a wish. She wished that she would be a princess. How cute.

We then made our way into Annecy for lunch. We ate at a really good pizza place. The woman serving us turned out to be a little snooty, but, what can you do. It was still really yummy. The street market was neat. Aunt Mary bought some yummy cherries. I don't think I've had better. We had some ice cream after lunch and, as usual, B got it on herself. But she was cute.

On to the castle! Renaud next took us to the Castle of Menthon. We had a nice guided tour and the castle was beautiful. We weren't allowed to take any pictures inside. :( But Bethany later told us that her favorite room was the bedroom.

Renaud then took us the back way back to the chalet, through the mountains. I think we were all a little carsick afterward! Bethany, of course, slept the entire way home!

Day 8, Geneva

2 July 2007

Since booking hotels in Switzerland became such a task, we decided to make a day trip to Geneva as part of our France time. The drive into Geneva didn't take very long and it was nice. It was pretty rainy and chilly when we arrived, but after not too long the weather became pretty decent. Which was good, because we were going to be doing a lot of walking!

Our first stop was a Starbucks for some much needed caffeine for Daddy and some warm tea for Mommy. Then we were off to see the sites of the Reformation. It took quite a bit of effort to get up the hilly cobblestone roads but we made it! Before getting to the church we saw several things with Calvin's name on them: a street sign and a few memorial plaques. When we got to the Cathédrale St-Pierre the first thing that struck me was the difference between it and Notre Dame in Paris. There was virtually nothing inside. Then of course I remembered, "Duh, Amy", that it was part of the reformation that everything was stripped. We saw Calvin's chair and then Nathan and B headed up one of the towers to see the views. I'm sure you've seen these pictures already.

Next we headed down to see the Mur de la Réformation. It is in the middle of a beautiful park and the wall itself is impressive.

We made our way back to the center of town to grab lunch and head back to Combloux. Of course, as we were finishing lunch, it started to rain again. We waited as long as we could, then decided to just brave it and get back to the car!

When we got back to the chalet, we were exhausted! Tomorrow, Renaud wants us up early for a trip to Annecy!

Day 7, the day after

01 July 2007
The day after

Not much happened today! We were up around 8AM and even Uncle Pete and Aunt Mary were up between 9 and 10. Most everyone else slept until about noon. Well, they all stayed at the party until 4:30AM!

Around lunchtime some of Pammie and Renaud's friends came over and we had a nice lunch outside at the chalet. After that, we mostly hung around the chalet until about 4:00 when some of us went out just to get out for a while. We got a bite to eat and some ice cream and then headed back. Leftovers from the wedding for dinner. YUMMY!!!

Day 6, Wedding Day!

30 June 2007
Wedding Day!

This morning we got up and went for a walk. It was nice to just go a little slow today and not have the feelng like we have to get to a certain place. We went to the ceremony at the town hall around 4:00. All of the family and friends crammed into the little room to see Pamela and Renaud get married.

Some of us went back to the chalet afterward for a snack and a nap before heading to the reception. We were forewarned that wedding celebrations in France can go until 4 or 5 in the morning! We brought Bethany's bed with us and around 10PM she crashed in a corner. Nathan and I decided to head back around midnight. Now, I was never a "party-girl" and I don't know if growing up in a culture where it is normal to do this would have made me any different. But, other than church lock-ins and prom night, I have rarely stayed up that late. I don't know how people do it. It was a great party, with lots of great food. And you'll see in the pictures that everyone had a great time!

Congratulations, Pamela and Renaud!

Day 5, going to Combloux

Okay, still playing catch up. Bear with me on the next handful of posts.

29 June 2007
We arrived at the chalet in Combloux in the early evening. It was nice to see some familiar faces after travelling just the three of us for a while. It was also nice to be able to sit down with family and friends and tell jokes and stories!

Not much happened today. Just travelling and then a nice big dinner. I really needed that food! We ate a traditional meal for the area of France we were in called Raclette. Potatoes, cheese, meat...it was really good.

Tomorrow is the wedding day!

no WiFi love in Martigny

OK, so apparently I chose the hotel in Martigny without WiFi. I must have gotten it confused with the other place. The room is nice otherwise. So as I type this I am sitting in a McDonalds and eating a McFlurry (thought about espresso, but it's late). The 30 minutes here at the hotspot cost 7 francs, but hey, I gotta check email and get these pictures posted and let you know that we are alive.

Martigny is nice. It is really close to the St. Bernard Pass into Italy and therefore has a museum focused on the dogs who patrol the mountains above us. Had a lot of fun there today. We also visited a great art museum here in town. They were having a special exhibit on Marc Chagall right now. Good stuff. B especially liked the sculpture garden. She kept wanting her picture taken with the statues (not up yet, but soon).

Something the hotel also was without was laundry facilities. We could have paid piecemeal, but that would have been a fortune. Second problem was that every cleaners in town closed at noon Friday and does not re-open until Monday at noon. Apparently this is normal. So today's travel tip to check on local business practices when you are expecting to do laundry over a weekend in a foreign country. We eventually got a tip on a machine at the camp site on the edge of town. Quite a haul, but we now have enough clothes until Wednesday. Have to find something else quick in Chur! And we have a story to tell about hanging out at the camp site.

Oh, almost forgot the Roman amphitheater here. Have to wait as time is expiring! Pictures coming. Really cool.

OK they are done uploading now, so the first three days of Switzerland can now be found here. Tomorrow we head off on the Glacier Express to Chur. Should be quite spectacular!

Another castle, lots of hills

Today was our last day in Aigle and tomorrow we head back down to Martigny for a couple days. We've already pretty much decided that Nathan will take Bethany out to explore in Martigny tomorrow afternoon while I stay in and rest.

There is a little castle here in town called Chateau D'Aigle. Since the town is so small, we just walked to it. It was a neat little castle. Yesterday's was better, though. The Chateau D'Aigle is also part of a winery and they do wine tours and tastings there. So the castle isn't so much a look back at what it used to be as it is a museum of sorts of the vinyards in the area. That was fine. Bethany just didn't find it as cool. However, in the first room we entered, she made her way over to a "loophole" window. All of a sudden she says, "That's a bird's nest! And those are birds!". When I went over to see what exactly she was talking about, I saw the bird's nest and at least seven baby birds! They all started to stick their necks out and chirp. The mommy bird was out gathering food. We had to get Bethany to move back from the window because as the mommy bird tried to come to the nest, we think we were spooking her. When we moved back, she came right back and we got to watch her feed the babies. It was so neat!

After the castle we made our way down to the train station to head to Lausanne. We decided to go there instead of a town called Vevey because it looked like there was more to do. However, when we got there, we saw that all of the north/south streets were pretty much at a 45-degree angle! How exhausting! We made our way to the top of the town to see an old church. There was a small string ensemble rehearsing inside for an upcoming concert. Bethany liked listening to the music. Unfortunately, she was also enjoying running and eventually we had to take her outside because she wouldn't calm down.

We found a pretty cool place to eat. It was kind of cafeteria-style where you choose your food and then pay at a cash register then seat yourself. It was called Manora. It was really good. This saved us some time since we didn't have to wait to be served.

We decided to head back down toward the lake to see Parc Olympique and the Musée Olympique. It took FOREVER to get there, and again, all downhill at a 45-degree angle. We decided to find a bus to go back up when we were done. Today was finally a nice day, so we were able to really appreciate how beautiful the area around Lac Leman is. We headed into the Museum and it was pretty neat, nothing fantastic. They had a projection of a luge ride in one room and Bethany had fun sitting on the floor with Daddy pretending to ride. It was cute. B was also taken by the video of Katerina Witt ice skating. She just loved that. She also thought the skiing was neat. We'll have to get her to watch some of the Olympics next year (though I'll have to get her interested in the summer games - she should like the gymnastics, I think).

So afterward, we found the bus (hoorah!) so we didn't have to hike anymore. We couldn't believe how quickly we got back to the train station!

We told Bethany that her birthday is tomorrow. She's pretty excited.

Well, packing up again in the morning and looking forward to an uneventful day tomorrow. Nathan will probably write about what he and B do in the afternoon. I'll be sleeping (or something very close to it!).

Bonne Nuit!

What day am I on? Day 11?

Okay, well since the internet at the chalet was a little spotty and I didn't get to blog there, I am going to start and go backwards for a bit. I hope you don't mind. I think it will be easier for me to remember this way. I was going to start last night, but I fell asleep waiting for B to fall asleep and when I woke up at midnight, I decided that I would rather go back to sleep. :)

Today started a little slow. I have figured out that the day after a travel day I am just pooped. We started with breakfast downstairs (included) and then Nathan headed out to see if there was any place that was selling some warm clothes. There was no way to tell when we left what the weather would be like 2 weeks out. But since we've been here, it's been between 60 and 65 degrees everyday. And rainy. Anyways, having no luck, we decided to take the train to Montreux, which is a little bigger city, to try to shop and then go to the Castle Chillon. We found Bethany the cutest jacket right away. She looks adorable in it and she just loves it. Nathan also found a light-weight pullover thing that he can wear over his shirts and under his jacket if it's really cold. We then went to the Castle. It was great. It is a self-guided tour and everything is numbered. You get a guide to take along that explains what everything is. Bethany had so much fun running around. She really loved it.

We came back into Aigle for dinner and decided on a place called La Nonna. Wow! This place was great! (I know, not a great website, but what can you do?) When you come in, they bring you a drink. Nathan thinks it was like cognac or something. I guess to cleanse your palette? Anyway, then, our server brought Bethany a glass of orange juice. The whole time he speaks to her in French and she just stares at him. She is mesmerized by the language. We ordered a pizza to split and salad and milk for B. The salad was so yummy and when the server brought B's milk, it had a tall plastic giraffe in it! She is still playing with it! The pizza was delicious and then we ordered some ice cream. The server brought it out with great flair and presented it to us, complete with a little paper umbrella. Not to mention, all of the employees were on top of everything. Just by paying attention to us (particularly Bethany) and clearing dishes quickly. Everyone said good-bye as we left. (An aside, B just looked at me with the little umbrella on top of her head and said, "does it fit on me?" I said, "Not really". She replied, "No, definitely not!" Where does she get it?) The best part (in my opinion) is that is was big enough that people smoking did not bother us and we didn't come out smelling like smoke.

Well, okay, I think that's about it for today. Nathan may post some pictures later. Tomorrow I think we're off to another castle (in Aigle) then maybe the food museum or into Lausanne for sightseeing. It will probably depend on how long it takes us to get out of here tomorrow. Thing is, it's 10:20PM right now and B is just now going to bed. This is partially due to the fact that you can't eat dinner here until at least 6:30PM.

Okay, I'm going to take a short break before moving back to (I think) Day 10. Bon soir!

wedding pics added

Just a quick post to let you all know that pictures from the day of the wedding are now available. I know those in the family will be very interested in seeing these.

Connection in our room is a little spotty this morning. I had to come downstairs to post this. Amy or I will write more when we get back from today's activities. The WiFi in the rooms is supposed to be fixed then.

Pompidou and Notre Dame

Well, if you've looked at the pictures yet, you've seen what I'm going to talk about tonight.

We started at the Pompidou Center. Actually, outside it, at that fountain. Bethany really liked it a lot. The museum was amazing. Don't get me wrong, I loved the Louvre. But this was really awesome. I made it through all of the special exhibits fine, but once we got to part of the museum's permanent collection (which was our last stop), I couldn't walk anymore. My legs and back had had it, and if we were going to make it to the Notre Dame afterward, I had to sit down. So, I had a good 30-minute or so rest while Nathan and a sleeping Bethany perused the 5th floor.

Once we left, we thought we ought to stop for dinner. Not knowing what our options would be once we crossed over to the island, we decided to hit the Mickey D's just before the bridge. I know, we're in France and we ate at McDonald's? If you had eaten at that Universal Burger last night, you would have thought McDonald's sounded good, too. Plus, since it was getting a little late and we wanted something that we knew would be fast, we went for it. It was SOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOOD. Okay, it was better than UB. (WAY better) Bethany had her first chicken mcnuggets in France! And she ate them ALL! Here comes the best part - the Happy Meal dessert is this stuff called Pommes-Potes. It's like applesauce (or whatever other fruit you get) only in a tube (pouch). It's a little more creamy, too. Since B and I both ordered a Happy Meal, she happily ate them both! We stopped on the way back here to get some at the grocery store! They are so great! Much more portable than our little applesauce cups. Oh - and - the Happy Meals here still come in boxes.

Okay, on to the important stuff. Notre Dame - amazing. I did think it was a little weird, though, to have tourists walking through while a mass was going on. Not only that, but to have those little "take a coin and turn it into a souvenir" machines in all corners of the church. Whatever, I won't judge. When the priest came out, I told Bethany that a priest was similar to what our Pastor Mike is. She said, "Pastor Mike is our Pastor!" I said, "Is he a good Pastor?" "Yeeaahh" (in that swoopy voice) was her reply. I really wish we could have explored the church a bit more, rather than being herded through around the inside perimeter. It was absolutely breathtaking, though, and the pictures do it zero justice.

We decided to take the bus back rather than the metro tonight, just to do something different and not haul B and the stroller up and down MORE stairs. It may have taken a bit longer, but we got to see some things we wouldn't have otherwise. And we got to witness the crazy drivers once more.

Well, Bethany is sleeping now and we're almost all packed to go down to Sallanches tomorrow. I told B that Stephen (Nathan's cousin) would be there and she said, "Stephen will be there????" Bethany became enchanted with him last summer. He's like the only male (other than Nathan and the grandfathers) that she has warmed up too so much. I don't know if it's because he's not as old as the other men in her life? Anyway, I think she's excited to see him. She also keeps asking if she's getting married here. We keep telling her that Pamela is getting married and she insists that SHE is. Well, who knows? Maybe one day she will get married here!

Okay, good night. I'm not sure when I'll be able to update next. Having free Wi-Fi is great, but we won't have that after today. So, I'll email more frequently to let you know when there is an update.

Bon soir!

day 3 pics

The next round of pictures is available here.

So much for sleeping in. B woke up at 7am. I think because she was hungry. Of course once we got downstairs, she would not eat anything. Finally settled on cheese.

I need to remember to tell you all the story about finding a potty for B in the Louvre. Right now, we need to get her out of the hotel because she is getting restless! More later.

Champs-Elysees and museums

First of all let me just say that the sun not going down until after 10PM has made it difficult to get Bethany to bed at a normal time. She has been sleeping until about 8:30AM.

Yesterday we headed out for the Champs-Elysées and the Arc du Triomphe. When we got off the metro we didn't know which way was what so we just started walking and soon realized that we were headed toward the Place de la Concorde and away from the Arc. No problem, we were going to see both anyway. We think that they must already be setting up for Bastille Day celebrations because the main sidewalk on the way was blocked off with chairs and bleacher seats. They diverted everyone to the gravel walk on the other side of the trees. That was fine, too, except it really messes with the stroller! We couldn't even get up to the basilisk because of the same reason, we think. So we took some pictures and headed back the other way.

We decided to stop for lunch before we got to the Arc. We stopped at a little pizza place and had some really good pizza! It had tomatoes, basil and big chunks of mozzarella. Man, it was good. Of course, Bethany decided that she needed to go potty while we were there. We were sitting outside so I had to go into the restaurant and the toilettes was on the 3rd floor! Not fun being 4 months pregnant and carrying a 3-year-old up 3 floors (a spiraling staircase, mind you)! After pizza we decided to splurge and get dessert. We got some ice cream (totally worth it even though it was about 60 degrees outside) and it was SOOO GOOOOOD! It's hard to describe. It had so much flavor. I think if ice cream in America had so much flavor, we wouldn't eat so much of it.

Then we continued to the Arc. We decided not to do the climb to the top because it was just too darn cold. But we walked around it and took lots of pictures and Bethany had fun walking through the underground tunnel to get to it.

We stopped a lot on the way back to the metro station to look at some shops. There are tons of arcades that go off of the main strip that have tons of little shops in them. We didn't even notice until we were right on top of them. I found a really beautiful pair of shoes that were only 800 Euro (in case you don't know the exchange rate off the top of your head, that's about $1100). Nathan told me we could totally write off the purchase if they were for work! :)

When we got back we napped a bit and then went to the café next door for dinner. It was really good!!! I got this salad with big tomato slices, herbed chicken, apple slices and raisins. I'm not entirely sure what the dressing was but it was so good. Nathan had basically a kabob with chicken and peppers and it came with rice. He really enjoyed it. They made Bethany some plain penne noodles with butter but she didn't even want that. No problem - I had it for a midnight snack.

Today we headed for the Musée Marmatton that has a great collection of Monet paintings which his son bequeathed to the museum. It was a great little museum. It was nice to just be in a small museum and know that you can take your time because there aren't 7 million things to see.

After the museum we let Bethany loose in a little park across the street. She had a great time on the playground with the other kids. Then we headed for the metro to go to the Louvre (a little bigger than the Marmottan). That place is humongous. There is no way to put into words how big this place is. We saw the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. And we went into a room that had "princess crowns". That was B's favorite. We had a really good lunch in the museum cafeteria before we started our tour. Bethany fell asleep in the Mona Lisa room and slept for a little more than an hour. That was good because it allowed Nathan and me to really look around without her whining.

For dinner we checked out a food court that was just to the outside of the museum. We decided on the burger place. Nathan and I both agreed that it was the worst meal we had ever eaten. However, Bethany ate all 4 of her chicken nuggets! That is the best that she's eaten since we left the U.S.! I guess we couldn't complain too much. What made it even more surprising is that the only chicken nuggets she will eat are Chick-fil-A (which, as I mentioned before, she has asked about several times). Yesterday, when we were getting ready to leave to get dinner she asked, "Are we going to Moe's?" Have we damaged this child?

I think that about sums everything up. I'll leave the picture posting to Nate since he did such a fine job last time. :) Looks like we'll be in bed late again tomorrow morning. Bethany just fell asleep after an hour and a half. It is 11:15 here. Well, good night everyone!

no sleep, so pics

Well this evening we ate a lovely dinner in the cafe attached to our hotel. Although the menus look a bit pricey around town, we have learned that prices include tax and gratuity. So no hidden fees!

Anyway, after dinner B and I went for a walk while Amy took a shower and break. When we returned, we cleaned up and got in bed. I crashed around 9pm and slept until Amy finally felt tired and laid down after midnight. Then I was wide awake (of course).

So in an effort to get tired again, I set up the picture site. You can find them here. It worked; they're now done and so am I. Back to bed. I'll let her describe the day more when she gets up.

One last thing: today was our wedding anniversary. It has been eight wonderful years! She has no idea I am typing this now, so I'll just take the opportunity to publicly say, "I love you! Now and forever. God truly blessed me when he gave me you... And I hope that shopping and sight-seeing in Paris with our daughter was a good present. It is a day I will not soon forget." :)

Some details from yesterday

The trip started very well. Bethany was great from Orlando to Houston. She was so cute eating her pretzels and watching "Finding Nemo". When we got to Houston and got our stroller, they had completely popped off the canopy! We went to a Continental Customer Service desk and told them what happened, that we just needed a screwdriver and could get it back on. They were of no help. We realized as we were walking to our gate that we had been in this airport (and terminal!) before when we were returning to Hawaii after Nathan's interview at Stetson. And after speaking to the customer service person, we realized that we had asked them about something back then and they were of no help. What are they there for?

Anyway, we finally found a jewelry stand and asked the woman working if she had a screwdriver. She did, and we fixed the stroller. We got some dinner and got on the plane about 6:00.

Bethany had a little more difficult time this flight. It was hard for her to fall asleep with all of the lights on in the airplane. Then, just as we thought we could get her to try to sleep, they served us dinner! We had no idea they were going to do this. I figured on breakfast, but with a 6:30 flight, I didn't expect dinner. Anyway, Bethany didn't want any of it (surprise) and she couldn't even eat a roll because it was as hard as a rock! After dinner (it was about 10:00, I think) they turned off all the lights and Nathan read about 8 books to Bethany and then she totally zonked out! Nathan fell asleep, too, but I have an awful time sleeping on planes. I think I slept for about 30 minutes and then woke up from the infant 4 rows up screaming. Then about midnight, Bethany woke up screaming. I think she was just trying to turn over (hard to do in a seat) and was frustrated. We took her out and laid her across us and she zonked out again. This was difficult for me as I felt the need to empty my bladder at least once an hour! At one point, I could do nothing but stand up for about 30 minutes because my arm was so tired from not having a place to put it (B's head was in my lap). After that, I asked Nathan to turn her around so I could put down my arm. I slept for about another 15 minutes and that was it for me.

They turned all the lights back on for breakfast and so Bethany (though it seemed she wanted to) could not go back to sleep. She didn't want anything to eat or drink and was just cranky. I don't remember how, but I finally convinced her to get back in her seat and she played with her little Noah's Ark magnet board. She played with that until we landed at about 11:00.

We couldn't believe how cramped the baggage area was! Being so used to the gigantic Orlando airport it was weird that getting off the plane, through customs and to baggage was so close! And the baggage area was really small. It was hard to just stay out of the way while Nathan went to get our suitcase. We then went outside to catch a taxi. I think we waited in line for about 20 minutes. The line was really long! It then took about an hour to get to our hotel. And let me just say, people drive terribly here! Bethany fell asleep in the car, and I really wanted to!

The owner of the hotel is very nice. He gave Bethany a little Eiffel Tower keychain and she didn't want to let go of it the rest of the day! We found CNN on the TV (the only English Channel - and it's like British/European CNN so not much American news, but it was background noise that we could understand!) and I fell asleep while Nathan and Bethany cleaned up. After about 30 minutes I woke up and showered and we headed out to the Eiffel Tower. It took a good 30 minutes to walk there including stopping to take pictures. We then waited in line for an hour to get to the ticket counter and go in. Bethany was great! We went up and it was VERY WINDY and VERY COLD!!! We only went to the second level as it was another 30 minute wait for the lift to the third level. We took some pictures, got some food, bought a magnet for myself and then came down. B was getting cranky and I think both of us were, too.

On the way back it was SO COLD! I knew that it was not going to be warm here, but the wind made it so much worse. Bethany and I at least had a sweater. Nathan was so thankful for being off the hot airplane that he did not take one. B tucked her head in the stroller and said, "It's too cold!" She then fell asleep for the entire walk back. We put her in the bed when we got back and covered her up and she did not move for about an hour. Nathan went out to buy something she would eat and we woke her up for some yogurt and milk. She threw a fit over the milk because she'd been asking for juice all afternoon and we promised her some and now still did not have it. We put on some warmer clothes (It was about 8:00PM now) and asked downstairs if there was a bigger market nearby. There was, and it closes at 8:30. We booked it down there and got B some juice along with some fruit and water, and then she was very happy when we got back.

I think we all laid down to sleep for good about 10:00. B woke up about 12 saying her tummy was growling. She ate 2 crackers, went potty and then fell back asleep. I expected her to do that a couple more times, but here it is, 8:12AM, and she is still out. I would be too, if it weren't for my stuffy pregnant nose. I couldn't breathe anymore! Oh well, I got to do this!

So I think that's about it. I have no idea what we're doing today past breakfast but we'll let you know! Hope everyone is well back home. We miss you all and we miss America (Bethany was asking for Chick-Fil-A all day yesterday)! Talk to you again soon.

Au revoir!

We made it!

Well, we're here! I'm not going to write much right now because je suis très fatigué!!!! It is now a little after 7:30PM and we just returned from the Eiffel Tower. We took a bunch of pictures but we will post them later, when we are not so fatigué. Bethany is konked out on the bed right now and Nathan went to try to find a little store to get some fruit. I'll sit down and give you all the gory details of the trip a little later. Right now, I'm going to lay down!

3 days to go!

Well, we leave for France in just 3 days! I can't believe that it's here already. It seems like we've been planning forever and it seemed so far off and now here it is! I haven't packed ANYTHING yet, is that bad?

If you were around during our Toronto trip last summer you know that we kept a daily blog of what we were doing since we couldn't call anyone. Well, we're going to do that again this time. Only it probably won't be daily since we'll be gone for 3 weeks! But keep checking in if you want an update on what we're doing.

Okay, I think that's it. Say a prayer for safe (and sane) travel and for safety while we're there. And keep checking back for updates and pictures!

testy

I am doing a demo of RSS feeds for my parents. ignore because I will be deleting it later.

new pictures!

Sorry, I know it's been forever. I realized when I looked at my camera the other day and it had pictures from MARCH. So there are new pics on "at home" and "out and about" on the website.

Enjoy!

...and a player to be named later...

So if you'd read the sub-heading of my blog title you may have wondered, "What does that mean?". Well, this is what it means:



That's Bethany's little brother or sister! I thought I would be due right after Thanksgiving, but the ultrasound measured 3 weeks smaller!! Ugh! So now we're due in the middle of December. A C-section will be scheduled sometime within 7 days of the due date. I'll have another ultrasound in a few months and we'll get a better idea at that time. I'm sure it's pretty hard to tell when you're talking about something that's 3/4 of an inch long! And, I'm pretty sure about my calendar, so we'll see.

We'll keep you posted!

Hunny

I left Bethany at the table to finish up her yogurt tonight while I went to start the bathwater. When I came back, she had put down her spoon and had yogurt all over her hand. I said, "What are you doing??" She answered, "I'm eating hunny!"

Curse you, Pooh.

conversation in the car

In the car this morning, Bethany out of the blue asked, "Where is Ruby and Aunt Dayna?" (Ruby is Aunt Dayna's little dog).

I said, "They're at home, in Arkansas."
"Arkansas?"
"Yeah, Arkansas."
"Oh, Arkansas. That's what I thought."

Too funny. And I HAVE to get a map for her!

Preschool

Well, we went out this week to visit some preschools in town since we've decided to send Bethany next year. Thankfully, our decision wasn't very difficult. Bethany even joined the class at this particular school in an activity they were doing. And the teacher spent some time telling us about the curriculum the school uses, activities they do and she showed me around the 3-yr-old area. She was really nice and Bethany liked her right away. The classroom wasn't very big, but it wasn't cluttered, either. So starting August 20, my little girl will be off to school! Bethany is very excited. She wanted to stay at the school yesterday when we went back to register her! She'll be going 3 days a week (MWF) for 3 1/2 hours. I am so excited about this, too. I can't wait to see how she'll do!

funny sign

A Progressive Insurance billboard at our I-4 exit (which is one exit before you get all the way to Daytona:

"Welcome Bikers.
Everyone else, it's not too late to turn back."

Ha Ha! It's so true!

Unbelievable

Read this:
Boston woman sues for child-rearing costs after failed abortion

I feel really sorry for this woman's daughter.

Phonics lessons

Bethany has been playing teacher lately. A couple of weeks ago, after helping her pronounce a word correctly by emphasizing the beginning sound, she started...

"Can you say, 'Duh, Duck'?"

"Duh, Duck"

"That's correct!"

She continued with Lion, Snake, Tiger, then this...

"Can you say, 'Nnn, Nemo'?"

"Nnn, Nemo"

"That's correct! Can you say, 'Nnn, Nemo's Dad'?"

Then we just had to bust out laughing.

tornadoes

Well, I've talked to just about everyone, but just for posterity's sake...

We survived this round of tornadoes. I was surprised to learn this weekend that Florida is actually 2nd in the country for number of tornadoes!

About a half a mile from our house there is some pretty significant damage. Power lines and trees down, a couple of houses (they are pretty far apart in that area) with part of their roofs missing. We got really lucky. I woke up about 3:30 Friday morning from the storm and heard this terrifying wind. It didn't sound like the "freight train" sound like most people describe, just really strong, loud, long wind. It was pretty scary.

But we're okay, thanks be to God.

more singing

The other day Bethany started singing the ABC song, but then transitioned into another:

"A-B-C-D-E-F-G,
How I wonder what you are?"

I think it is so great that she realizes that it's the same song!

Then the next day as we were getting ready to brush her teeth she starts with this:

"Up Up Up Up in the sky,
See the stars go Twinkle, Twinkle"

Not sure where the tune came from. It's not anything I've heard before.

She continues to amaze us with her singing and composition!

it's time to rake

Prior to her nap, I told B that we would finish raking the yard when she got up. She responded, "No, I wanna rake now."

She and I really do have a good time working together in the yard. Having her out there helps me pass the time. She has her own toy shovel and rake that she will actually use to help out (although sporadically).

Well, Amy just went to get B up from her nap. As soon as she opened the door B declared, "I'm ready to rake now."

i want...

...an iPhone. Check it out. If anyone wants to help me attain this goal with a financial contribution, please contact me.

Oh!

This is one of Bethany's favorite sayings right now. Whenever we "explain" something to her, she says, "Oh!" (but with that swoopy inflection)

Today she put on a dress up dress and told me she was dressed "just like uh angel". So I took a picture of my angel:



Then she went and a horrific nap today. Why does it always seem to happen when mommy isn't feeling 100%?

oscar

My crazy cat...he normally likes to sleep in the rocker in Bethany's room, but lately has taken to actually jumping into her crip to sleep. See?

i love...

the Dollar Spot at Target! Has anyone ever bought stuff out of there? I find the cutest little things for Bethany. Recently I bought some child plates, utensils, a little sport bottle and princess shoes! And during different holidays they always have little decorations or holiday-related gifts. It is so great. I've also noticed, though, that other store are starting to have a little "dollar section". Even when I was in Walgreens today they had one.

Copy-cats.

new stuff

We recently bought a digital piano which arrived not too long before Christmas. It is so great. Bethany loves it, too. Check out some pics.

Happy New Year!

I hope everyone brought in the new year the way you wanted. Nathan and I spent our new year's eve re-painting the dining room. I'll take a picture and post it later. I think you'll like it better. I know we do. It makes everything look bigger.

Today we're FINALLY putting the baseboards back up. You may recall about a year ago when we had to replace all of our floors due to our shower leaking. We took off the damaged base boards then decided that since we had to redo the floors we might as well take off the rest in the kitchen/dining room and family room since it would be easier to do that to put down the flooring. Well today is the big day! We got them all painted a couple of weeks ago and Nathan's dad is here with his handy-dandy nail gun to help put them back on! We really know how to stretch out a project, don't we???