Cinderella had a little lamb



It's that time of the year again for kids to get dressed up in costumes and parents to take lots of pictures of them all in the name of candy.  Several weeks ago, the women's social club I'm involved with here had their annual kids Halloween parade up and down our neighborhood's high street.  Since we will be out of the country on October 31, this was the girls' one opportunity to get dressed up in their costumes for treats.



May we present to you Little Lamb and Cinderella



 

Seriously, have you ever seen a lamb cuter than this one??

Along the little parade route, there were people passing out candy to the kids.  Much to my disappointment (but to the betterment of my health and thighs), the Halloween candy here in the UK is gets a score of 2 on the 1 (never, ever putting that in my mouth)  to 10 (MUST eat this before the kiddos find it) scale of parent stealing worthiness.  None of the yummy mini Snickers or little bags of M&Ms I grew up with.  No siree.  It's all about the rock hard taffy and lollipops here.  I guess it's ulimately a good thing though since the girls try one bit, realize it's uneatable without pulling their teeth apart and then spit it out into the garbage.

Games faces on!

I guess Olivia already had a hunch as to the quality of the treats to come

Be still my heart...

 

After the costume parade up and down the street, all the kids and parents piled into the nearby cinema for food, treats and a Halloween themed animated movie.  True to their personalities, Olivia couldn't make it through the whole movie while Ashton was perfectly content to sit on a lap and peacefully watch the whole thing. 

Post movie...in a sugar induced coma



Destination: Paris, France #3

Geoff and I have a statement that we've said while on every single trip we've taken in Europe.   It goes something like this: "We need to come back here again someday...without kids!"  While we are beyond thankful that our girls have had these incredible travel opportunities, traveling with toddlers is well, really hard and sometimes stinks.  Don't let the adorable pictures of them all over Europe fool you!  As with parenting in general, it requires an extra dose of planning, patience, flexibility and money.  On top of all those, the list of things you really want to do and see at any one destination has to be rung through the "kid-doable" filter usually leaving you with skimpy leftovers.  

So when my brother Doug mentioned to me over the summer that he was going to be in Paris in early October and that it would be great if I could somehow get down to see him, my head instantly started swimming of all the Paris to-do's that have had to be eliminated from the list in our two previous visits to the City of Light.  That was quickly followed with glorious thoughts of not being responsible for and continually needed by two children for a to be determined period of time.  Thanks to some additional outsourcing of childcare to our nanny and her roommate and sacrificing on Geoff's part of a golf tournament in Houston that he had to miss, we were able to make it work out for me to get away for all of about 40 hours for a whirlwind visit to one of my favorite cities. 

At the Musse d'Orsay, famous of its many Monet, Van Gogh and Renoir masterpieces among other works of art  

Taking photos of the art wasn't allowed.  The next best thing?  Massive clocks.

The museum was followed but a lot of wandering around various Paris neighborhoods and dining at local cafes.  How nice it was to sit at the cafes for as long as we wanted and not be in a rush to get the girls feed before having to bolt. 

Eventually we found our way over to Notre Dame Cathedral.  While I had already toured it once before on our first visit to Paris in 2013, it still continues to awe inspire.  What an incredible piece of architecture!

The Place de la Bastille 

Musse d'Louve

Day #2 in Paris included me laying in bed for a long time after I woke up...because I could.  Oh, it was so nice not to be needed by anyone and to just lay there.  Eventually, I did get out of bed and headed out to meet Doug at the Catacombs de Paris.   Back in the late 1700s -early 1800s as Paris's cemeteries were beginning to max out, it was decided to move the remains of many long dead to underground caverns beneath the city, thus creating the catacombs which they estimate now hold the remains of over 6 millions Parisians.   For a wait in line of around 2 hours (which we did), you can see skulls, femurs and clavicles stacked neatly into piles 4-6 feet high and 8 feet deep for over a mile beneath the surface.

Interesting and a bit creepy to say the least.

Before hoping on the train back to London, we again enjoyed some leisurely strolling, cafes and delicious french pastries.  Ahh...such is the Paris life!

Macaroon anyone?

The Love Lock Bridge

Au Reviour, Paris!  Someday I'll be back again without the kids (but hopefully with the husband!) for more of your magic.  

April showers bring May flowers

What do May flowers bring?  Pilgrims, of course!  Sorry...I couldn't help myself with a bad joke from 2nd grade. :)

Last week I had the opportunity to go the annual Chelsea Flower Show in London. I don't know much about flower shows, but apparently this is a good one. It's difficult to get tickets, selling out quickly. One person said it's the garden design equivalent of Paris Fashion Week. I got a ticket through the women's club I'm apart of and while I probably wouldn't go again in the future if the chance presented itself, it was a cool one time experience. 

I brought my camera along and took lots of photos of flowers. Here are my favorite ones. Enjoy!

          Not flowers but still impressive!

            The 2014 1st place flower

Flowers and Wellies. The perfect British combination.