Canal St. Martin

This afternoon we set off for Canal St. Martin, a canal used to carry goods to and from the Seine. I'd never seen a canal for barges, and we were all fascinated by the locks, the "water elevators" as Warren and I explained them. We watched the locks fill up, empty, open and shut for at least 40 minutes total, on both sides of this bridge.

Further down, the kids enjoyed watching a barge that we had passed as it slowly went through the locks; now it passed us. Just past this, we found a park alongside the canal route so we stopped to play.

This guy had the longest fishing pole we've ever seen--and he had 2! This picture is you for you, Uncle Sam! We wish you happy fishing. Just past this man you can see more men; they stopped me and said, I think, that they saw me and the kids and my husband and my stroller at Versailles on Sunday. They didn't seem to speak English, and my French is awful, so we couldn't talk long, but how funny that they recognized us.

We have this picture courtesy of Warren--our kids, Avery included--love to take pictures with the camera. We met up with Andy after our walk for dinner: falafel. I've wanted to try it because one of my guided walks recommended it, but the first time I passed it, I'd just eaten. The next time, it was closed--Jewish Sabbath. Today it was open and we were hungry and it was fabulous. I could be a vegetarian if everything tasted that good. We ate at a nearby park; the previous times we were at that park, nearly everyone there was eating falafel. No kidding. Tonight, we were about the only ones, since we eat dinner earlier than is traditional in France. Instead the park was overflowing with people and little boys playing soccer. I saw Warren think about joining the game at one point and run alongside the boys, and I thought, "No! You'll get clobbered!" The kids all look so good about handling the ball and they get their legs all tangled up and still don't fall over--I don't think Warren would have that same result. Luckily, he just ran around them and went back to the sandbox. After everyone left the park and we were still there playing, he got out his rollerblades we brought along and skated around for awhile.
We walked home and passed our church and saw the missionaries outside it. We visited with them for awhile and then they walked us to the Metro. They are so nice. I got some pass-along cards that I'd been wanting and they gave us a fun paper chain we can build with the kids as we do things like study the scriptures and pray as a family, write in our journals, come to church, share our testimonies of Jesus Christ etc. Each time we do something we will add a link to our chain. I'm excited to do it with the kids. It will be a fun way to see how "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass."
As we waited for our Metro elevator, we saw a group of Americans, talking really loudly. One was discreetly saying into her cellphone, "Yeah, all the French here are rude to us because we're American," and I thought how different our experience has been. Once they realized we spoke English, we helped them with some directions and talked with them. But even I was emberassed at how loud they were talking on our usually quiet elevator, how openly--and loudly--they displayed their frustration when the elevator doors wouldn't shut, then how they cheered when they did. Then when the elevator stopped before our floor and they stood at the doors blocking people from coming on and saying, "No!" I thought, "Please--don't be so tacky, I have to ride this elevator every day!" The whole awkward experience was a lesson in how we act changes our perception of other people and cultures. I'm quite confident that the French people on our elevator thought the Americans were horribly rude, yet the girl had just been saying on her cellphone how rude she thought the French were. Our actions truly invite the same in others, as do our perceptions. I continue to marvel at how helpful people are--Metro drivers who wait a bit longer as I get on, people who help me lift, or take one of the kids' hands as they walk down the steps while I'm lifting, people who smile and speak in French to me--I just assume they are saying nice things, or why else would they smile?, people who make room for us on the Metro, nice old ladies and teenagers who play peek-a-boo with my kids on the ride or who try out their English skills on us. I especially like the people who tell me how beautiful my kids are...Anyway, I hope next time I'm annoyed with someone, I'll remember today and look inward first and ask, "What might I be doing that makes this person seem rude?"
Total Steps: 14,676

Rain Boots Make Rainy Days More Fun

Today we had planned to walk the Canal St. Martin, but they day dawned gray and rainy. So we called our good friend Elaine to see if we could spend the day at her house. She generously said yes, so we went to buy some rain boots and then set off. I let Warren and Abigail jump in all the puddles along the way once we were off the Metro. We spent the day eating lunch; making smoothies; playing dolls, blocks and trucks; watching movies and talking. It was wonderful. Avery even napped in their pack and play. It was a great way to spend a rainy day.

Just when we thought the rain had let up for awhile, and it was safe to walk to the Metro, it started raining again. We tried waiting it out in the park across the street from Elaine's, but after 20 minutes or so of that, it became apparent it wasn't going to let up. Warren wanted to go to the Metro. I told him I didn't really mind getting wet, but that I wasn't sure I'd be able to find someone to help me with the stroller in the rain--less people on the streets, and those who were, in a hurry etc. After a moment Warren replied, "Mom, we could pray for someone to be there." And he did. And there was. There always is. God's love is everywhere. It really is an opportunity to have to rely on someone other than yourself to get around. It makes me feel humble to see how much I need the strangers around me, and how they willingly help me, time after time. People are good. I've always believed that; I believe it more every day. So we set off for the Metro stop anyway. It wasn't far, and the kids had their stroller umbrellas plus mine, so they stayed dry. Even with the rain, I still found people willing to help me carry the stroller down the wet, slippery stairs to and in the Metro. All of the people who helped us almost slipped at some point, but no one actually did, and I am so grateful for that. I'm going to ask God for special blessings for all those people tonight in my prayers. Warren stopped on the way home to look in a shop window and I caught this moment on camera. I love it.
Total Steps: 5,881

Childhood

Today was full of the kind of moments that I can best be described as classic childhood. Warren spent quite a bit of his time this morning climbing one of the trees in our meadow. He has been trying it out for a few days now, and every time he gets to a new branch, he is so proud. As I was bringing their lunch outside, I noticed Warren with a pillowcase clenched between his teeth, starting off up the tree. I said, "Warren, you can't take the pillowcase up the tree!" He replied, "But how else am I supposed to get my lunch up there to eat?" I saw his dilemma, and offered to pass it up to him once he was secure on his favorite branch.
Later he went a bit higher than he had before and couldn't get down alone. Stuck in a tree. How little boy is that? Abigail came running in frantically to get me saying, "Warren is scared mom, Warren is scared!" (I took her seriously enough that I didn't stop to get my camera, but if you go almost straight up over W's head, where it looks like the branch is touching the tree in this picture, that was where he was stuck) So I went out and gave him instructions of where he should step and how to maneuver to get down. He didn't seem completely convinced that I was acting in his best interest, and I finally said, "Warren--you have to trust me that I can see things you can't and that I am asking you to do what is best." After that, he was more compliant, and once he was in familiar territory he said confidently, "Okay, go away mom, I don't need you anymore now that the hard part is over." I could not miss the moral of the story; I wondered how often I do the same thing with my Father in Heaven, calling on Him in my hour of need, a little hesitant to follow when and where He directs, and then as soon as I am in familiar territory again, forgetting the help that brought me there.
Tree climbing lost it's allure for the day after that, and he and Abigail discovered a large snail in their sand bucket. After they got over their first instinct to kill it, they decided they wanted it as a pet. Um, I was not okay with having a snail in the house, so they spent the rest of the morning building a snail house for it. Here, Abigail is making a path for the snail playground that adjoined the house. This next video is Warren, and then Abigail, explaining the features of their snail house.


They really got into the whole affair; Warren later made a snail calendar in miniature for the house, and a sign saying, "No killing or stealing these snails." He also drew a picture of them being reunited with their families, since he assumed the snails were all lost from their mothers. He put the little snail in the "swimming pool" and said to me, "Mom, the little one isn't even drowning in the pool because I dumped the water out and just put my slobber in there." Sorry if that grosses you out, but really, you have to be laughing with me at the snail "swimming" in W's slobber. The next video is the Slug Merry-go-Round. It was too delightful and hilarious not to include. We've been saying how much we enjoy the carousels here in Paris, why not spread the joy?

After naps we went to the park for Warren to practice rollerblading--he did well. Abigail made "pea soup fog," as she called it, and carried the sand and water mixture around with her for about 30 minutes, making various culinary adjustments. She is such a domestic diva. It started to rain, and continued, so we headed home in the constant drizzle and spent the last few hours before dinner trying to not go crazy in our small apartment.
This last picture is actually from yesterday; a good friend here took it while we were waiting for Elder Uchtdorf to speak and then sent it to me. It made me so happy I had to include it.
Total steps: 6,059

The Weekend

Friday night we went for a walk, en famille, around Montmartre, the area we live in. We didn't take the stroller along since Andy was with us. It was fun stopping at new parks and trying new streets that were previously inaccessible because of the stairs to get to them. Warren ate this cookie at dinner. He's been coveting one like it for a few days, so I bought one as a surprise and then told him, "Warren, I know it's hard sometimes to try new foods. Tonight we're having French Onion Soup, and I know it will be different and hard, so that's why I have this cookie for kids who eat their dinner tonight." Needless to say, Warren and Abigail both ate their soup without complaining, decided it wasn't that bad--previously they wouldn't eat it--and then split this cookie with Avery after dinner.Saturday we set out to explore the Marais area. Of course we started out by having lunch at a Jewish deli/boulangerie and we had the best sandwich ever. Pastrami and all sorts of other yumminess on an onion roll. The kids' favorite is the challah bread since it is so soft. We had it a few days ago, and they requested it again. They really appreciate it after all the baguettes we've eaten.
We stopped by a park in our explorations and Avery was obsessed with putting stuff in the trash. I thought the signs on this one were funny: "I am a trash tree--nourish me," in French, of course.
After wandering for awhile, we set out on the Promenade Plantee, a raised walk that stretches 3 miles from the Bastille to the Bois de Vincennes. It used to be a raised train route, but is now a beautiful bike/skating/walking path. Our objective: let Warren try out rollerblading. He's wanted to for 2 weeks now and the kids store up the street from us had some in the window for sale, so thanks to birthday money from Great G-ma/pa Blake and Aunt Sarah, we bought the roller blades--complete with training wheel inserts--and a helmet.

Here is part of the Promenade. Remember, this is all about 25 feet in the air. It is a neat walk that we will definitely do more of when my sister Natalie is here.
Sunday we went to church as usual, ate our picnic lunch after and then set out on the RER train for Versailles, a nearby town where President Dieter Uchtdorf, 2nd counselor in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and an apostle of Jesus Christ, was going to speak. The kids loved the train ride, of course. Once we were in Versailles, I saw this suspiciously Mormon-looking group of people, so I stopped to talk to them. It turns out they were BYU students studying abroad in Paris and in Versailles for the same reason. We visited for awhile, made all the Mesa connections we could, and the kids started up an impromptu game of Duck Duck Goose. It was fun.
It was neat to hear Pres. Uchtdorf. He talked several times about having a temple in France--currently there isn't one. He said he had been out looking at sights and the question came up, "What do we need to do to get a temple here--impress a mayor of a town, improve public relations, maybe?" No, he surmised, the answer is faith. Just as the apostles of old asked "Is it I?" he said each of can look inward for the answer and do our part to grow in faith, and promised that as we ask, the Spirit will teach us, and that someday, there will be a temple in France. He was so cheerful and bold and spoke joyfully about living the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am glad we made the trip there and back to attend.
Total Steps today: 11,968
Saturday: 19,977
Friday: 11,081

Vignettes

Everywhere we go in Paris, people are astounded that:
1. I have three children
2. I have a stroller that carries all three children.
These friendly Italians were no exception, they were just not shy about their interest in us at all. Imagine every stereo-type you have about expressive Italians, and you would probably be right. We were filmed and photographed by many in their tour group. They commented, like so many people here do, what beautiful eyes my children have and how beautiful they are. I don't mind the interest people have in us; I hope we are a walking testimony that families are a joy. Other funny reactions we got today include: "Wow, you and your husband must be working hard"; "Are they all yours?"; a man calling to his wife who was walking ahead of him, pointing and then holding up 3 fingers; double-takes from people who are seated at outdoor cafes or who are walking the other direction; random comments in French that I don't understand except "trois"--3.
Store displays are so delightful to gaze at; here, the chess board and pieces are made of white and dark chocolate, as were the flower pots and the trees in them, which you can't see in this picture. We stared so long at this window that the nice lady brought us each out a piece of chocolate. It was such a kind gesture. At the next chocolate shop, which included an ice cream stand, my kids each said something like, "Maybe they will bring us out an ice cream cone for free!"
One of the great things about Paris is the daily surprises. Warren and I saw this exhibit and went in, intrigued by the mobile you see above, and we ended up staying almost an hour moving and playing with the various sculptures. There was even a sign that said, in French, "You can touch and play with the sculptures." All of my kids really enjoyed experiencing the art moving, making shadows, taking on different forms, feeling the textures and making sounds with some pieces. I included several pictures in the slideshow above. Warren was trying to reach this statue and couldn't and this woman asked him if he'd like her to pick him up--which she did! I was surprised, because Warren is very heavy for me to pick up these days, and she did it for awhile. The French are friendly, what else can I say?
We passed a street performer dancing with a glass ball and Abigail said, "Mom, stop! Let's watch." We stopped and watched the entire act, and I let Warren and Abigail get out to get a better view in the front. This was my favorite part of the entire show. Sweet.
They love giving money to performers; yesterday there was a tuba player on the Metro, and we gave him some change, too. Other times we have seen accordians and violin players on the Metro as it carries us around.

It's a Beautiful Life

Total Steps: 15,671
French words: piscine: pool; anniversaire: birthday; bien sur: of course
I'm 26 today. It was a beautiful day. Andy bought suiss-chocolat pastries and made oatmeal for breakfast. The kids and I met Sister Shirtliff at Concorde and spent the day at Parc Floral. The tulips were gone, but there are hundreds of other blooming bushes, trees and flowers. Sister Shirtliff rented one of the bike-car-things (rosalie) and she and I pedaled the kids around--it was a great way to see the park. She had some extra tickets so Warren got to play in the ball tank--piscine des boules, pool of balls--and race the horse-bikes. Warren loved the ball tank; he gives his whole heart to playing when he does it. We had a picnic and the kids played on the toys. During the picnic, Warren says, "Excuse me. Sister Shirtliff, panda bears and the bald eagle a long time ago used to be endagered because people were cutting down their bamboo forests because they wanted more places to live. But then, to save them they made zoos," or something close to that. It was his version of a lesson I taught him after we rode on the Dodo Menage--the carousel of endagered and extinct animals--yesterday.
Both of the girls napped on the walk/ride home. Friendly, helpful people kept materializing to help me with the stroller. On the way home, we stopped by "Chupi Chausser" to buy Avery some more shoes. The ones I got last week are cute, but she still takes one off all the time, and they have really stiff soles that trip her up. I was pleasantly surprised. We were the only customers there, and the owner sized Avery's feet, asked about what features I wanted and then came back with 4 boxes to try. About this time, Abigail and Warren discovered there was a kids play area so they spent the rest of the time there. We tried the shoes on Avery, found a pair I liked, but then I asked, "Combien ca coute?" "58 euros." Yikes! That is like $90! I know I am cheap, and occasionally tacky, but at that price, I didn't feel bad asking, "Avez-vous moins chere?" (Do you have any less expensive). She showed me a table of shoes that were the last of the line, but none were the right size for Avery; she was very helpful in finding a good fit, you could tell this was her business. So I started looking through the jellie-shoes and the displays. During this time, she blew up balloons for each of my kids and then helped me try on the shoes I found. Tucked away in a display, alongside all the very expensive shoes was a cute navy blue, canvas, Mary-Jane style shoe, for 22 euros. And it fit Avery! She retrieved it's partner from the back room and we bought them. She was so helpful and never made me feel lame for not buying the super-expensive shoes. She helped me with some French words I asked about--she didn't speak English--and wished me a happy birthday when the kids started singing to me. It was really a nice experience, and as long as I think of it as that, I don't mind the expensive shoes. Plus, they have buckles so Avery can't take them off anymore and she doesn't trip in them. Peace of mind like that is worth the price.
For dinner I made a salad and green beans, Andy brought home a rotisserie chicken and vegetables cooked along with it, as well as a baguette. It was heaven. They were the best veggies I've ever had. Potatoes, carrots, onions, some ham/bacon pieces, all cooked in the dripping juices from the chicken...I'm not sure I can re-create those ever. Andy also brought me home a pink geranium plant--geraniums are my favorite. I wish I had a picture of him coming home; I bet he looked so French with his baguette under one arm and his flowers in the other.
After dinner, Andy and Warren ran to the store across the street to get ice-cream and chocolate sauce. Abigail and Avery and I had a tea-party with her set. Abigail was darling. She kept asking me, "Would you like some lemon in yours?" She would make conversation like she was grown-up. She said, "Friend, my grandsons are doing really good." Then she would pause trying to think of what to say next. It was hilarious! She says her grandson's name is Andy and he plays soccer at school.
When the icecream arrived, we had birthday dessert. I had a beautiful chocolate mousse covered in more chocolate and chocolate squares--like Andy had a few weeks ago--and everyone had icecream. Vanilla icecream here is so good. So good. For my present, Andy said he wants me to take one of the French cooking classes I'm interested in here. There is a French Cooking School in English geared towards tourists nearby that looks like it is really neat, so I think I will go there.
Before the kids went to bed they both came out and asked, with big smiling faces, "How was your birthday, mom?" It was beautiful.
It's fun to live my day through the eyes of the people who will see it on our blog; today Abigail kept saying, "Mom, we have got to put this on our blog tonight. Take a picture." (Unfortunately, our USB cord is flaky, so no pictures for today).

I Think This is What the Old Ladies Talk About...

Have you ever been in a grocery store and some sweet old woman stops you and your children to comment, "Enjoy this time with them. They are so sweet and they grow up so quickly." Usually, I smile and think, "She can't be talking about the time in the grocery store; this is like h-ll on wheels!" Well, I think these pictures illustrate what the old ladies are talking about.Yesterday we saw this sculpture while we were walking and Warren wanted a picture by it. All of the sculptures were modern and strange and I was reading the titles aloud as we walked by them. Finally Warren asked me, "How do you know the names--do you just make them up?"
Warren is in love with RER trains, and this bridge has them frequently running underneath. So we stopped to watch them pass beneath. On the 3rd one, we waved at the driver and he honked and waved back. Who says the French are snooty?
Today after we got back from the park, all 3 kids went and played in our meadow. They looked so cute picking flowers so I went take some pictures. Warren saw me and started walking to me singing, "Oh Mother, I bring you my love with each flower, oh mother all flowers remind me of you." It was so sweet. French Mothers' Day is this coming Sunday, so they are still learning Mothers' Day songs in primary at church.
Abigail is such a super model. It's a good thing we're related or I'd be jealous. This video of Avery is pure joy. I think Avery will be the big surprise when we get home; she is growing up so much and interacting with us all so much. She also has this really soft, snuggly side to her, and it always catches me by surprise.

Small and Simple Things

Andy and I spoke in church today. It was neat to speak to a much smaller group and without the microphone it seemed more intimate and less formal. I had Abigail sing "Count Your Blessings" to start off my talk. Before we spoke, they asked us to share why we were here in Paris. When I got up I said, "The short answer is that my husband is doing reasearch for his Ph.D., but the long answer is that I always wanted to study abroad and gave up that dream when I married Andy. Yet, the Lord didn't and here we are! And this is much better, because I don't have to pass tests or go to classes!" I then spoke about noticing the Lord's hand in each of our lives. It was so sweet to share some experiences I've had here in Paris and other times in my life with complete strangers. Andy spoke on the Sabbath day and how it reminds us of the eternal life offered to each of us by our Father in Heaven.
After church, we ate the picnic lunch I packed and then walked along the Seine. It had rained and still seemed threatening, but we walked anyway. After about an hour of cold, gray skies, the sun burst through and it was cool and beautiful! We strolled around some beautiful gardens we found and watched the trains pass underneath a bridge we were on. Warren loved that. We were right by a switch on the tracks I shared with Warren Pres. Hinckey's story about the train that got off track by only a few inches because of a switch and ended up in another state, and how our lives are like that. Their course i determined by the small decisions we make each day. I'm not sure he got anything out of it, but it was a great reminder to me, especially since I used the scripture, "By small and simple things are great things brought to pass" several times in my talk today.
Tonight we ate dinner at the Shirtliff's; it was fabulous as usual. While Bro. Shirtliff was in Puerto Rico last weekend he picked up a bunch of toys at an American toystore--mega blocks, stacking cups, Skipper/young Barbie doll sets, trucks--for the kids to play with when they come over. They loved it. And, he got his wife a Wii for Mothers' Day, so Andy and Warren got to bowl on it. There is a senior missionary couple from Hawaii here, and they were at dinner also. After hearing Abigail sing in sacrament meeting today, she gave me a CD of a Hawaiian Christmas song she wrote for children, so I am getting in touch with my Hawaiian side here in Paris, of all places!
Later, as Andy and I were carrying the stroller down the last step of the station we got on the Metro at, I tripped and twisted my ankle really strangely. I thought I might have sprained it. Thankfully, the senior missionary couple who ate dinner with us was right there at the station waiting for the same Metro and Sister Murray--who is from Hawaii and loves me because I am part Hawaiian--came right over and it was nice to know immediately that if we were going to need help, it was already there. She had me move it around, and I could do that. Then suddenly, my ankle felt warm and much improved, almost as quickly as it started to hurt. I really feel like Heavenly Father performed a small miracle for me right there at the bottom of the staircase. The Metro pulled up just after I fell, and the driver was so nice; he noticed us not getting on and came out to see if we needed help with the stroller. When he saw me crying and holding my ankle, he went back in to call a doctor, but by then I felt better and we told him I was okay. So we still even made that Metro since he waited for us! I am constantly impressed with how nice and helpful people are here.
Total steps today: 18,057
Yesterday: 19,732

Abigail's 3rd Birthday

Cheerios. Of all the things Abigail could've eaten for breakfast on her birthday, she wanted Cheerios. Luckily, General Mills and Nestle are "cereal partners"--it says on the box--here in France, and Abigail's birthday started off with several bowls of Cheerios.
Next we rode the Metro--we let Abigail sit in a seat instead of the stroller and run around in the huge elevator since we were alone--to the Cite des Enfants, our favorite children's museum. Avery really liked balancing on these round stands; it was fun to follow her around and see what she was attracted to.
Afterwards, we picked up some food--pizza, hamburger and Merguez frites sandwich--and picnicked in the park surrounding the museum. Andy and the kids all raced eachother in the grass. Warren loves to race; he really thinks he is pretty much the fastest and best at anything.
In the Park de la Villette, there are several themed gardens. Unfortunately, most of the really interesting ones were closed for repair, but there were still a few neat ones. This one, for example, is a forest with mirrors all over it. We played hide-and-go-seek for a while in it. I was surprised by how well Abigail and counted when it was her turn.
After the ride home, we stopped off by Arnaud Montel, our favorite upscale bakery, and Abigail chose her birthday dessert. She wanted a pink one.
At home, we had a birthday tea party with herbal tea, grape juice, chocolate cake, cherry sorbet and of course, Abigial's dessert. We opened her presents first.
It was so fun that Abigail requested a tea party b-day party, because I had already bought her this darling wooden tea set a few weeks ago. She and I have already had a tea party with it; it is so funny how she tries to make polite conversation while we pretend. She says funny things, like, "Hannah is doing well." Who is Hannah? She calls me "friend" and I call her "tea lady." She also received 2 French children's books: Un Lion a Paris and Piou Piou. We read them tonight for bedtime stories. Hopefully all her gifts will be life-long reminders of her time here in France. It is kind of neat to note that I spent my 3rd birthday in Mexico City while my dad was there for work, and now Abigail has her 3rd birthday in Paris while her dad is here for school.
The weather turned chilly, and ice cream just adds to the sensation, hence the addition of the coat. I think Abigail's face says it all here.
This video is long, but it is so cute to hear Abigail sing, "Happy Birthday to Me," that it's worth it.

Luxembourg Gardens

Within the Jardin du Luxembourg there is a children's playground that you pay to play within. We were at Luxembourg about 1.5 weeks ago, but it was almost closing time, so we didn't go in. Today we took a picnic lunch and then played and played and played. Warren played on the zipline--no, they don't have those in American parks--for at least an hour. This one was really long, too. There were lots of helpful adults, and nannies, that helped him pull the rope up the platform each time, it was too heavy for him.

We all liked the spinning things; here is Abigail on one of them, at the bottom is a video of all of us on another one. Today in her morning prayers, Abigail prayed, "Help me to be a potty train." We're working on that. When she "goes" 3 times in the proper place, we are going to be ice-cream, and not from the store, but from the people who sell it everywhere. Abigail wants purple ice-cream tha we saw this week.

This is the palace or whatever it is for which the park is named. Usually you can rent toy sail boats to sail on this fountain pool, but since rain was threatening, they weren't out. Maybe another time. We ate dinner very near here by an amazing fountain. Andy bought pitas from a place near his school and then walked to this park, which is very close by, to meet us.

Avery has taken to spontaneouly snuggling with Andy on the Metro ride home yesterday and today. It think it is her way of saying, "I'm glad we're together again." It is the sweetest moment of every day. By the way, today I didn't know where my keys were and Avery noticed, so she pointed them out to me hanging on the wall. Although she doesn't talk much, she is very aware of what is happening around her.

It Was Supposed to Rain Today

Yesterday's steps:11,401
Today's: 10,565
word: choc: shock; toit: roof
I took the kids to the Palais de la decouverte, a children's science museum. The first half of our visit was pretty stressful because we weren't in the best exhibit area for them and I was trying to do it without the stroller. So at lunch, we started over. We got some help to take the stroller up the steps to a different exhibit level and with full tummies and Avery asleep in the stroller, the museum was much more fun. Warren especially likes learning about earthquakes and all the exhibits that went along with that. Tonight, he was telling Abigail, "Abigail, all the continents used to be one continent, but then the tectonic plates that are under the land moved and made all the continents break apart." He was so animated telling her about it, he didn't seem to notice she was crying because she'd hit her head.
Afterwards, we rode the Metro home and when we got off at our stop the elevators were out of service! Thankfully, the first of several people to volunteer were a mother and tween-age daughter who carried Avery and our bag up the 112 stairs, while I carried the folded-down stroller. Other people behind us picked up objects that fell out of our stroller basket as I carried it. About 2/3 of the way up another nice woman picked up Abigail and carried her.
We hurried home to meet our friend who we know from the French ward here. She gave us blueberry muffins she made one week, so I asked her if she like to cook. She said yes, so I asked her to teach me something French. Today she came over and brought all the ingredients to make quiche and a little recipe book I could use to make all kinds of tarts. Unfortunately, my gas tank, which we just filled up again this morning, wasn't working to light my oven. So she explained how to do it and I wrote it all down. She is a great teacher because dinner was great. My kids really liked it too, which is a good indicator. Warren and Abigail are not picky eaters, but they are distracted eaters; staying focused on food at dinner is hard, but not tonight. Avery, of course, ate second helpings, no problem :)
Besides learning from her, it was so nice to have someone in our home. Sure it was messy, sure Warren pulled out his pipe from the flea market and I had some explaining to do, sure my kids were even a little bit more crazy than usual, but she was so friendly and a joy to visit with. I asked about how people do food storage here; she, for example, has a place smaller than ours. Yet, she has food storage. I smiled as I thought about all the people around the world, living the gospel in their own countries. I'm so blessed that I can be here in Paris and already have a built-in community of friends because of the gospel. I look forward to her next visit; we must not have scared her off because she said, "Next time I come I'll bring my camera!" (The comment was prompted by Abigail's face after just finishing a slice of bread with Nutella.)

New Shoes for Avery

Today I ventured into no-man's land: shopping in kids' clothing and book stores with three children. It was a very succesful experience. Here's how it went: Avery needed new shoes so I packed play-doh, crayons and paper, and W's favorite magazine and walked down the street with all three kids in the stroller to D'un mome a l'autre, "From One Kid to the Other," a kids resale place. I told the kids that I had suckers for kids who stayed in the stroller the whole time. I lifted the stroller up the huge step into the store--we took up half of the open space with our mobile home, as I like to call it--and saw the cute shoes you can see Avery wearing and holding in this picture. A few minutes and 6 euros later--a fabulous price for kids shoes here or anywhere--we were off to a bookstore/toyshop by a nearby park. For Abigail's birthday, I wanted to get her some French children's books, and this store looked promising. We walked the short distance and went in the store, no step this time, and the kids stayed happily in the stroller sucking their suckers--thank you G-ma Lindy!--while I perused the large assortment of books and then coveted all the cute toys, too. My French isn't good enough to understand the entire book of any book I looked at, so we played at the park until Andy met us there after work and we went back to the store together. This time it had begun to rain, and the store was busier, so I left the stroller outside and took the kids in without it. We did okay, but I was glad to go. Luckily, it had stopped raining.
Now the kids are asleep and Andy is working. I just walked up to Sacre-Coeur and back; there was a light rain, the lights were reflecting in the streets, people were eating dinner in their apartments, the windows were open, couples were snuggling under umbrellas..it was picturesque. I saw the Eiffel Tower lit up for the first time. Sacre-Coeur, too. Paris is so beautiful at night.

Life is a bag full of cherries...

"Mom, take a picture of the cherries!" That is what Abigail requested, I decided her presence improved the picture, you can be the judge. After picking up Andy from school, we were re-tracing our steps of our walk earlier, and we decided to buy a big bag of cherries to go with our pizza and mergeuz frites sandwich.

We stopped and ate at the park at some church near Andy's school. Then we let the kids play for a while on the toys. It was our 3rd park of the day.

This was the fruit rouges tart that we ate for a mid-morning/put-off-lunch snack. Whenever I purchase food, Avery knows. If I don't immediatley bust out a piece for her, she starts grunting. This time was no different. It helped a little, that I tool the picture with the food on her tray.

The first park we stopped at was the Arenes de Lutice. It is an ancient arena from the 3rd century, when this was a Gallo-Roman stronghold, long before Paris was Paris. The arena was discovered over 100 years ago when they were digging a metro line. Now it's a park. The arena was cool, and there was a nice-sized park adjoining it. We ate lunch on one of the staircases befire heading to the park. For lunch, we hunted down a boulangerie I read about on the internet that was also on the walk I had planned today. We had the yummiest dessert bread--escargot canelle: cinnamon snails (think cinnamon rolls). They were made with croissant dough and filled with a creamy cinnamon filling....Needless to say, we went back with Andy tonight to buy more and eat for dessert once we got home. The other breads we bought, also on the reccomendation of the article I read, were excellent. I love French bread of all kinds!
We met the nicest American couple and their cute 14 month old son, Harry, there. We had a great time swapping sites and stories. I really enjoyed the time we spent together and we may even meet up this weekend at the kids museum we like so much here. They loaned us sunblock, we told them some great parks to go to, it was a great exchange. It was fun to share why were in Paris and how well everything has worked out in answer to our prayers.

Other fun moments of the day: our walk started off near this church, St. Etienne. We went in and among all the other cool things, saw a beautiful sculpture of Christ being placed in the tomb by His friends. I was reminded of Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin's conference talk a few years ago, "Sunday Will Come." It was all about how there are "Fridays" in all of our lives, but there is also the beautiful promise of "Sunday," just as Christ was resurrected on that day, to the astonishment of all. http://lds.org/conference/talk/display/0,5232,23-1-646-11,00.html
We passed this beautiful courtyard and I thought of Lindy and wished she were there to see it. It looked just like something she would paint if she could get the right picture. I put my camera through the gate, but as we left, a lady who lived there went in, and I bet we could've followed after and taken pictures.At the second park we were at, again, at some church, Warren discovered this toy. You sit in it and your body weight pretty much just keeps you going, and going, and going...
We passed this shoe store and I stopped to look in the display windows. Avery was so excited. She was pointing and making all sorts of sounds about the shoes. She really likes shoes, and she needs new ones, since she has worn holes in the ones she has on here, and on Sunday threw one from her other set down somewhere while we walked home from church. She does that a lot, but usually she would immediately cry or grunt frantically to let us know. Or some nice passerby would notice and bring it to us. It happened at least 50 times, so I suppose I can't be shocked we lost it. I'll let you all know how buying shoes here goes once we do it...tomorrow.
Total steps today: 17,936
French word: monter (verb): to come up, to get on, to ascend, to climb, to mount