August and September in a nutshell continued

4 days after getting home from America we headed to Paris for a week for a family vacation. We were able to stay with some friends who live there which was a ton of fun and it was nice to get away as a family one more time before the summer's end and everyone heads back to school.

Day 1- Arrive in the afternoon, eat our first ham and cheese crepe, take the metro to city center and Notre Dame, eat Brithillion ice cream

Owen loved the street performers and especially liked this guy making huge bubbles. Owen chased the bubbles around the square and he even got to make the bubbles by himself.
Day 2- Scavenger Hunt through The Louvre, playing in the Tuileries Gardens, Seine River boat cruise
We bought postcards of all of the art pieces that we wanted to see and sent Owen on a scavenger hunt to find each piece. I could not believe that our 3 year old lasted 2 whole hours in an art museum. But he loved it! I love it that my 3 year old can identify and name important pieces of art and has seen them with his own eyes.
The Winged Victory of Somathrace
The Wedding Feast at Cana (definitely our favorite piece in the museum)
Mona Lisa
Liberty Leading the People (also known as the cover of Coldplay's Viva la Vida album)
Venus de Milo

Hiding in the mazesEating yummy cheese hotdogs and them feeding the extra bread to the ducks
taking a ride on a historic carousel
jumping on trampolines
our first view of the Eiffel Tower from our boatride
Day 3- drive to the D-Day museum in Caen, visit D-Day and WWII sights in Normandy, eat dinner in Carentan (town in a Band of Brothers episode), stay in an old French Farmhouse Bed and Breakfast
Omaha Beach and The American Cemetery
Owen looking inside old barracks at Pointe Du Hoc
huge craters from where the bombs hit
One of the grosser things Ryan at while in France- this is some sort of pate and the presentation alone was enough to make you sick
Day 4- morning with the animals at the farmhouse, afternoon at Mont Saint-Michel
The Farmhouse was set deep in the countryside and was a wonderful break from the city.
The farm had a llama, ducks, chickens, goats, cats and a dog. Owen especially loved the goats and the cats.Our first view of Mont Saint-Michel, a monastery and church built on a rock island which is only an island when the tide comes in each evening. When the tide is out, the structure is surrounded by land and can be accessed from all sides. But when the tide comes in each day, it becomes completely surrounded by water.
Since the parking lot completely floods when the tide comes in, they post the tide time each day. They say the tide comes in faster than you can run.Before the tide
Watching the tide come in
The parking lot
After the tide
We left at 9:30pm for the 3 hour drive back to Paris. Here is a great solution to a bobbing sleeping head.
Day 5- to the top of Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, dinner at Hippopotamus
Owen was so excited to climb to the top of Notre Dame to see where "Hunchbacker" and the gargoyles live. He was not disappointed.
Climbing just like Quasimodo
We ate dinner at a great restaurant that serves all you can eat Ratatouille. We watched the movie several times before going to Paris, so Owen was thrilled to get to eat Ratatouille. It's actually a vegetable dish, so it's always great when your kid wants to gobble down a second serving of veggies.
I did enjoy the Ratatouille, but I was more interested in my nightly serving of Chocolate Mousse.
Day 6- Day at Luxembourg Gardens and date night for Ryan and Tara (dinner at Chez Papa, a long walk along the Seine, dessert near Notre Dame)
Watching the sailboats
Marionette Puppet show
Playing at the most amazing playground we have ever seen
French Onion Soup and hot chocolate- YUMMY!!!
Day 7- to the top of the Eiffel Tower, Petite Train to Sacre Coeur Basilica
We started with breakfast in front of the Eiffel Tower
View from the top
We bought some "bonbons" for our little train ride to Montmartre
The Moulin Rouge
Sacre Coeur
Day 8- HOME SWEET HOME

August and September in a nutshell

On August 19, Owen and I got on an airplane to take a 15 hour trip to IOWA. That's right, we went to Iowa and what a treat it was! Ryan was about to start an intensive 2 week orientation for his masters program, so we decided to spend 2 weeks at home with the grandparents.
Here are picks of some of the summer fun we had at Grandma and Grandpa's house.
Owen and Willie became best buds.
My parents borrowed this Jeep from some friends for Owen to play with. Let's just say that I'm glad he can't get his license for another 14 years.
He also got to drive with Grandpa down to the pool everyday.
Tractor rides with Grandpa
Riding his princess bike around the driveway. My dad found this bike at a garage sale and Owen didn't mind the princesses a bit.
Hanging out in the kitchen with Grandma. Grandma hooked him up with all kinds of yummy treats from America. I think his snack basket had a bigger selection everyday.
Playing Legos and Construx with Grandpa.
Taking a "worldpool" bath in Grandma's giant bathtub. Owen loved using the jets to shoot the He-Man guys through the water. Here he is pretending to be Daddy with a goatee.
The huge playroom in the basement was this little boy's playland. He really loved it because we never made him clean it up (since it was in the basement where no one could see it).
Grandpa showed Owen his shell collection and taught him how to hold it up to your ear to hear the ocean.
Owen is one of the few who has ever held Grandpa's brain coral. He was very impressed.
Don't worry, we didn't forget what an amazing husband and daddy we have that let us run off for two weeks of fun without him. We skyped with Daddy everyday and kept him up to date on all of our adventures.
While we were there, we had lots of visitors. The first and most important being my new niece, Britta, who was just 3 months old. Isn't she a doll?
Owen was super excited to hang out with Uncle Benner. Especially cause he remembered all of the names of his old He-Man guys.
Of course Grandma couldn't be happier to have her 2 grandkids in the same room with her.
Owen and Uncle Benner spent lots of time playing baseball and soccer. But Owen's favorite activity was swimming.
Let's talk about swimming for a minute. Owen's first day at the pool he was pretty determined to not set foot in the water.
But with Uncle Benner's encouragment
And lots and lots of swimming with Grandpa
By day 5, we was like a fish swimming around all by himself (with the help of his Popeye Muscles, of course).
Grandpa gave Owen a medal for being such a brave swimmer, crazy driver, fast soccer player, and excellent bike rider. As you can see, Owen thought he was pretty much the bomb. It really was such a joy to watch him enjoy some of the summer activities that are harder to do in a big city.
Owen LOVES his cousin Britta. It is so fun to have a cousin and the next time he sees her, she'll really be able to play with him.
Our favorite nighttime activity was cooking hotdogs, roasting marshmallows and playing with sparklers. Owen enjoyed helping Grandpa build the fire and I enjoyed eating smores.
Great-Grandpa got lots of hugs once we discoverd that he made a great base when playing tag.
The other super special treat of our time in America was when Anne and Papaw showed up to play for a few days. Life couldn't get much better for Owen.
Dancing on the table before breakfast
Showing off his new swimming skills to Anne and Papaw
"Papaw makes me fly like Buzz Lightyear!"
Storytime with Anne
Playing hours of "you can't get me you better watch out" in the yard
On our last night with Anne and Papaw, we had a Mickey Mouse Party complete with hats and Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Sundaes. Even Great-Grandpa got in on the fun.
M-I-C-K-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E!!!! are you singing it?
We have the best families in the world. They are so suportive and generous and we couldn't have had more fun with them. Thanks for the great time!