Today we finally checked out of the hotel! The boys were sad because it meant no more pool, but on the other hand they were excited because we were finally going to France. We checked out of our room, only to move all of our suitcases to a room next door so Timmy could take a nap. There was no way I was going to risk flying out at 10 PM and not have him take a nap. I enjoyed some peace and quiet and some final internet time. Who knows when I would have internet access again. We are to be in our temporary apartment until April 18, and I don't imagine that there will be the internet hooked up there temporarily. Doug did some pretty impressive luggage Tetris in the car and I'm happy to say that we fit it all in the car! We left the hotel around 2:00 PM and headed towards the airport. We went to the Dulles Towne Center which is a big mall close the the airport so we could walk around and ride the train and carousel at the mall. Also, that way we beat the traffic heading west. After returning our rental car we took a shuttle to the airport. (yes, this all our stuff)
We made it to the airport around 5:30 and prepared for the process of checking in and going through security. Although we were flying Delta, we actually had to check in at Air France. It seemed that everyone else checking in was speaking French and the boys were very excited to hear it. We only had to wait a little while in the security line because there was a separate line just for families. Finally! I'm so glad that airports are catching on! I didn't feel totally rushed with hoards of people waiting behind us. We were at our terminal about 3 hours early and we let the boys play and walk around. Timmy was good natured and ended up being a little punch-drunk giggly. When we boarded Timmy and I got the window seat and Doug and the boys took the middle. Thomas fell asleep before we even reached 9000 feet. He slept for more than half the flight. The attendants passed around little earplugs and sleep masks. Matt put on a sleep mask and he even slept for a few hours. Timmy, on the other hand, held out until after midnight. He finally fell asleep when the overhead lights were turned out and when I learned how to turn off the TV. (Each seat had its own TV in front and there were even video games to play. Matt and Thomas really liked that!)
They also served dinner. Let me share the menu:
Appetizer: Couscous à la provençale et saumon
Main: Fricassée de poulet sauce suprême, riz sauvage, julienne de carottes et courgettes jaunes.
OR
Pâtes pennne à la bolognaise
Fromage
Gâteau à l'orange et aux canneberges
BIENVENUE À FRANCE!!! When was the last time you had a meal like that on an airplane?!
I even got to sleep a little. Well, enough to make my contacts uncomfortable. Doug on the other hand didn't sleep much because he was wedged in between two sleeping boys.
After landing I prepared myself to stand in line for the passports check. Once again we were pleasantly surprised when one of the workers opened up the gate for just us and let us cut in line. Maybe they cater to families of tired children. I wouldn't want to be in line with a bunch of tired whining kids. Anyway, kudos to the French for their airport customer service! Who would have thought!
We quickly found our luggage and not so quickly waited for our stroller and boy's car seats. (yeah, we always take our stroller with us and have it tagged at the terminal gate. So this time, it was not waiting for us when we got off the plane and we (well, Doug) had to haul Timmy and carry-ons through the airport until we got our stroller. Thank goodness for bags and bags of fruit snacks!) I have to say that I have always hated the Charles de Gaule Airport. Every time I've been here I was so lost and confused. (Even when I spoke french). Maybe it was because all of the other times I was making a connecting flight. Anyway, things are labeled better and bigger. They even have a nifty shuttle train. So I was pleasantly surprised once again.We met one of Doug's co-workers and our shuttle driver. It was a long drive from the airport to the apartment. All three boys fell asleep. The driver pointed our various land marks. Matt was excited as we drove by IKEA. But I'm pleased to say that he was very excited as we drove past the Eiffel Tower. Thomas even woke up briefly to see it as we drove by. It was weird to see that Paris is not all pretty as people expect it to be. There is a lot of the old and pretty mixed in with the brand new and shiny along with the run down and graffiti written. There were a lot of places where there was a ton of garbage just piled up next to the road. I'm still amazed at the drivers here. Especially the motorcycles. They seem to have their own rules. In fact at our street corner there are five streets that intersect. And none of them have a stop sign, so who has the right of way?
We arrived at our TLQ (temporary living quarters) and it is quite nice. (Not as nice as our permanent apartment will be, but way better than a hotel). I'm happy to say that we live right across the street from a boulangerie!
We also live around the corner from the Eiffel Tower. If the building in front of us wasn't there, we'd be able to see the Eiffel Tower from our living room. So we walk out the front doors and go to the end of the street, then turn left and...voila, there it is!
I'm getting ahead of myself. Upon our arrival, the boys had to go to the bathroom. They ran in and found the bathroom. Here in France there is a bathroom (with the bath/shower) and another room with the toilet (pretty smart if you ask me). Well, what the boys found was the bidet. Then Timmy discovered the bidet and that he could turn on the water and fill it up and splash around. So my question is, why wasn't the bidet in the same room as the toilet? Isn't that what it's for? In any case, we have to keep the door to the bathroom closed at all times because any time Timmy sees it open he runs in and tries to turn on the bidet.
Saturday April 3
We went walking around and grocery shopping. There is a grocery store down then street about 5 minutes and it's right next door to a McDonalds. (and a GAP and H&M). We've been doing a little grocery shopping each day carrying whatever we and the stroller can hold. I'll have to get used to making my menus and shopping lists accordingly each day. I do love grocery shopping, so I don't mind. I wonder, however, it if is going to make my food budget more expensive. We'll see. While at the store I saw “facination” (the french translation for “Twilight”), so I bought it. Doug was worried that he would loose me into a book for the whole weekend. However, reading in french right now gives me a headache. I'm not at the point yet where I can read and automatically know what it says so I'm still kind of translating things in my head. Although I practically have “Twilight” memorized, I'm using it as a learning experience and looking up words that I don't know (even though I know what is going on in the book). So it is slow reading right now. We have been walking around the Eiffel Tower grounds. Today it was cold and rainy. The boys enjoyed puddle jumping. They quickly learned the phrase, “Attention la boue!”
Sunday April 4
Pâques
Today was Easter. I haven't really had some time to prepare for a nice Easter meal, so we had cheese pizza for lunch and crèpes for dinner. We had a nice lesson on why we celebrate Easter and talked about the Atonement and the Ressurection. What a wonderful gift our Saviour has given us. I'm grateful for the power of the Atonement and the miracle of forgiveness. Christ really did atone for our sins and he knows how we are feeling. Whatever it is that we are going through, He has already gone through it so we don't have to suffer. I hope my kids learn this and know that they are never alone. Although today was General Conference (a worldwide satellite broadcast for the Church), our chapel wasn't able to receive the satellite. The closest place it was being broadcast was by Versailles and since we don't know our way around (and don't have the internet to figure it out), we opted to have a lesson here and talk a big walk around the Eiffel Tower. I also took a walk to find various patisseries with chocolate sculptures in the windows so I could post them here, but alas, even la Petite Chocolaterie didn't have a window display.
Monday, April 5
lundi Pâques
Today is a holiday in France. So Doug will go to work tomorrow and fill out paperwork and get things prepared for us to get ID's and a bank account. We went shopping once again and now everyone is taking naps. We finally figured out where to take our garbage and how to work the washer machine.
I am reminded of lundi Pâques in 1998 when my mission companion and I wanted to make crèpes. We had completely forgotten that all the stores were closed and we needed to have our Nutella. So we went Nutella contacting. (asking people if there was a store open to buy some). I'm happy to say that Nutella contacting works 100% of the time if you want to find a new investigator! The woman that helped us also started taking the missionary discussions. I wonder whatever happened to her. I went home a month later, so who knows.
Today we went shopping once again and then to a playground. There were a few little kids around Timmy's age and then some other girls playing soccer (with a pink ball). I hope that the other moms didn't think that my boys were crazy loud American boys (well, they are, but we're working on that). I try to teach the boys that we need to talk in french when we are out and about because it is more polite. I think that Matt will learn quite a bit once he gets to school.
Tuesday, April 6
This is my first day going solo. Doug went to work. It would have been much better this morning if we all slept in, but Matt needs to practice getting up earlier. He will start school on Monday and he needs to be at the bus stop around 7:30 AM. (that's early for all of us). I talked to his school and found out that once a week they have a swimming class. Matt is excited and I am grateful that he had the opportunity to enjoy the pool at the hotel. Of course, he can't swim without floaties. I guess he'll learn. I did find out that he needs to have a Speedo swimsuit. This morning we went to H&M, GAP Kids, and Monoprix and none of them have Speedos for kids. So, where in the world do I buy a Speedo for kids?! Help! While in the states I always avoided taking all three boys to the store. It was such a nightmare. Now it's unavoidable. This morning we went to the store to get things to make pizza. Timmy kept trying to grab everything in sight and I even caught him trying to gnaw on a head of broccoli. Thankfully I only got a few things and it was for a good cause (pizza) so the boys helped out. Still, I think I'll save the grocery shopping until the early evening when I can leave all of them home. Then again, it sure it nice having the stroller carry the groceries for me. I invested in one of those mommy clips to carry multiple bags at a time and hang it on the stroller bar. So far so good. This afternoon we are going to play on a playground that is next to the Eiffel Tower. There is a huge area with 3-4 play areas, a carousel, go-kart riding, and a place to play basketball. Doug wants to play basket ball to show them how we really play in USA. I'm not quite sure that Church ball counts! Anyway, he's excited to know there is somewhere to play.
That is all for now. I hope all is well with you in the states. Until next time when I mooch off of some free “Wee-Fee”...Au revoir.
Today is Matt's 7th birthday. Wow! Seven years ago I became a mom. I can't really say that it's gone by quickly. Tonight Matt is having a sleep-over with a friend, and then tomorrow he's having a video game birthday party. He just wanted to invite over a couple friends from his class and have pizza, cake and ice cream, and play video games for 2 hours. Sounds more like a play date than a birthday party. Works for me! He's requested a light saber birthday cake this year.
I love how much Matt has grown up in the past year. He's learned so much at school. I love watching him pick up books and settling in a chair to read them. (he even reads in his head, so it's nice and quiet). I like having him read things and then ask questions about them. He really wants to understand more and more. A simple, "because" doesn't suffice anymore. He's becoming a good friend to his peers and his brothers. He teaches Thomas how to play video games and they are just about equals now. He loves to make Timmy laugh and smile. He really is very gentle with his baby brother. 
Thomas turned five years-old today. Five seems so old, but when I look at him I still think he's around 3 sometimes (not from how he acts but from how cute he is!) This past year Thomas has been going to preschool and really learning a lot. He's working hard to be able to write his letters and numbers to be prepared for Kindergarten.
