FRANCE!

The kids have an entire week off during Thanksgiving break so this year we decided we would spend it in France visiting Ryan, Heather and fam. The kids couldn't have been anticipating a trip more! It's not an easy flight over but they were the absolute best travelers! The flights over went very smoothly. It was a little on the tricky side fitting all of our luggage into the "minivan" we rented in Paris (not your typical American minivan I assure you!) But we finally made it!! It was the most joyous reunion!! 

We traveled overnight and arrived in the early afternoon the next day. I learned from our Ireland trip that the trip over wrecks you so we didn't have anything planned... and we didn't need anything planned! We visited, ate a collection of all their favorite French snacks and ventured out locally later that evening to pick some things up for dinner the next evening. We all crammed into Ryan's 7 seater (the 9 of us!) - not to worry, we didn't travel far. 

The next day was Sunday so we attended church together, took afternoon naps and had family dinner together that evening. 

The kids were in school all that week and we didn't really have anything specific planned so Monday we went to Carrefour with Heather (a large grocery store there) and that was an adventure in itself! They've got some weird stuff in France. But also some of the most delicious yogurts and crepes and jams and spreads. Yum. Tuesday we went to Costco (Heather and Ryan had a zone conference they were prepping for, plus we needed to get stuff for our Thanksgiving dinner!) We made a wrong turn at some point and ended in, like, a 13 mile long tunnel... and had to circle back. I believe it was this venture that we got our traffic tickets (not to worry... mailed to us after our return!) 2 to be exact. For speeding. Darn. 

Did I mention that Maddie and Ben came down for the week as well? That was a real treat!! We gamed almost every night. And puzzled. It was the best. 

Wednesday was the day we designated for Paris! Our plan was to meet up with Ryan and Heather at their zone conference for lunch and then venture out but traffic was so bad we missed it. We did however manage to charge the Arc de Triomphe and circle it a few times... Daniel drove like a boss.  When we finally did arrive we actually missed our turn into the parking garage Heather said to park in and it took us 20 minutes to circle back around. (side note - taking the train in next time). We joined them for a few minutes to hear a musical number and then set out with Maddie as our trusty tour guide. It was the best, most beautiful day in Paris ever!! The kids were in great spirits! We did a whole lot of walking but there was no complaining. We enjoyed every bit of the day. Riding the subway, seeing the Eiffel Tower, eating a variety of delicious food, having the most expensive but equally delicious and well worth it hot chocolate, walking through an amazing Christmas market, and the Louvre. You've never seen so many pictures of the Eiffel Tower, I will tell you that much. Enjoy.

After such a long, busy day in Paris we were ready to take it easy for Thanskgiving. Daniel and I crashed Maddie and Ben's turkey trot and made them do a turkey walk. It was a beautiful walk along the Seine river. After that we prepped for our dinner. We had 2 senior missionary couples join us in addition to Kael and it was the most perfect Thanksgiving meal ever! We were so happy to be enjoying it with our family that we've missed so much!

The day after Thanksgiving we went to Versailles! It was extremely cold so we didn't last long but we also made a quick stop at the temple! We decided to venture back into Paris that night for dinner at a restaurant they all enjoy and we stopped at another Christmas market. Plus the kids all rode the Ferris wheel together and were able to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle from up high!

At one point, we were all stuck in an elevator. It was a little alarming. Luckily we were able to pry the door open!!Yikes!

Sadly, all good things come to an end and Saturday we came back home! It was an epic visit, that is for sure! We are excited to go back but we will say this... we love the USA!!