Living Parallel Lives

The kids and I went to Costco tonight for dinner (what? you expect me to cook every night Brian is gone?!)...yummy, cheap, greasy pizza and hot dogs - and best of all, no clean up for me! As we were sitting under the table with the umbrella (thankfully it was unoccupied so I didn't have to try to convince McKenzie that umbrella tables are not all that cool...come to think of it, why does Costco have umbrella tables set up indoors, anyway?), we heard this loud, unfamiliar sound fill up the whole warehouse. I lifted my head to see what in the world was going on, and noticed that everyone else was either looking around as well, or staring out the front doors. I turned around in my seat to glance outside and saw sheets of rain dumping from the sky...seriously, more rain than I have seen for about 4 years here! The tin roof covering Costco was taking a beating, hence the noise. We tried to wait it out, but it just kept getting later and later, so finally we packed up and headed out the doors. I stopped just outside the doors, underneath the awning, and yelled over the sound of the rain to my kids, "WELL, IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE GOING TO GET WET!!!" Kenz was less than thrilled...
I looked to my left and noticed another young mom with two kids watching me with a smile. I gave her a smile back and she yelled, 'HEY! I HAVE AN IDEA! Do you want me to stay here with your kids while you go and get your car, then you stay here with the kids while I go get mine?" Fantastic idea! I thought.
After the switch, she pulled her car up, jumped out, and I started pushing the carts to our cars. It was then that I noticed we each had one, single item in our carts: baby wipes. For some reason, this struck me as so funny, I had to point it out to her, and we both buckled in laughter. "We're just living parallel lives!" she yelled.

Well, I needed that tonight. I needed to buckle in laughter, and I needed to share it with a friendly face. So, to Shannon at Costco, THANKS for a great idea, and a kind smile. :) I'm glad our parallel lives crossed for a moment!

One of my Favorite Things About Being a Mom:

Finding random kids' stuff in odd places... upon further investigation, I found out that Cuddles was tired and needed a 'dark, quiet place to take a nap.'

What a fun thing to find as I was going about the mundane task of putting laundry away! :)

---------------

I must, unfortunately, supplement this with sharing one of the grossest things I've ever seen as a mom: Coming into the kitchen after taking a shower today and seeing that Carson had gotten into the fridge, and had devoured half of a RAW hamburger patty.
Maybe I should get one of those fridge locks...

France - Post 2

To those of you who care about our trip to France...I've posted a few more pictures and shared a few more stories and events of our great vacation. To those of you who don't care, feel free to skim or entirely skip! I won't be offended. :)

Paris
Ahhhh - Paris! The most romantic city in the world (that I've been to anyway). Seriously, there's something about walking around the streets of Paris that makes you want to reach out for your loved one's hand and give it a little extra squeeze! In Paris, there seems to be more of an attitude of embracing, and celebrating love than there is anywhere else I've been. It was a perfect place to start our vacation - enveloped in a love that seems so much stronger now than it did 6 years ago while we were planning our wedding...



It was in Paris that I found my true love, however: rich, smooth, incredibly satisfying, chocolate mousse. After our first one I exclaimed, "Oh... we're going to have to have one of these every day." Thankfully, Brian wasn't jealous...in fact, he seemed pleased with our enriched relationship. :)




The Louvre. Interesting and beautiful...it kind of made me wish I appreciated art more.








The City of Langeais

"Marie! Hurry up! The baguettes!
There goes the baker with his tray like always.
The same old bread and rolls to sell."

Beauty and the Beast! What a great Disney movie...and the one that definitely stuck the most songs in my head while we were in France! (Le poisson, le poisson, he he he, ho ho ho! What a sweet little succulent crab!) Anyway - back to baguettes - could there be anything more satisfying than sitting in the streets of France eating a baguette and cheese for breakfast?! This was a frequent lunch for us...the cheapest, easiest to find, and most filling.













This city is BEAUTIFUL! Castle after castle, river after river, mountain after mountain. We rented bikes for the day and rode 30 miles on small village roads. We visited the castles, saw the landscape, and breathed in the fresh air. It was unforgettable! (Especially the part when it started down pouring on us - dripping sweat into our eyes...by the time we got back to the bike rental place, we were SOAKING! Plus, I was in jeans and a sweater...so it made me feel that much more water-logged. :)












The Drive Around France
From the time we picked up our car in Paris and returned it 10 days later to the same building, we had logged 1600 miles. Driving was maybe one of my favorite things - we took back roads the whole time (mainly to avoid the toll-roads) and saw some of the most beautiful scenery God has created. We had hours and hours to talk, listen to music, and enjoy the companionship that sitting in the car forces upon two people. :)

Now, obviously, we didn't just drive the whole time we were there. We stayed in beautiful bed and breakfasts.....









...visited many of Brian's old mission stomping grounds (this was one of the apartments he lived in...it was a little weird to be taking a picture of someone else's house while their windows were wide open...so, we tried to hide behind a tree)...








...stopped to play in the wildflowers a time or two....













...and to have our breath taken away by the beauty of the ocean












Switzerland

To finish off our vacation, we drove into Switzerland and went hiking in the Alps. Many of the trails were closed due to the snow...but we decided to try and go for it anyway. Perhaps not the smartest idea...






The snow was deeper than my knees in some places...and you can see the dark clouds looming in the distance. We were a little frightened we'd be caught in a snowstorm - but everything ended up being great.










The landscape was picturesque...
the breathtaking mountains in the background, the wildflowers in the foreground....and, of course, a handsome hubby in the middle. :)










We had so much fun, and made memories that will last forever - I can't wait to return! I suppose I should stop letting McKenzie have all those pennies she finds around the house...

Be Prepared to Ooooooh and Aaaaaaah!

Bathroom Before:
Who knew that removing old, gross, stained lynolium, ripping out a urine-smelling vanity, replacing some soft floorboards, fixing major holes in the walls, adding fresh paint and buying new accessories could be so fulfilling! That's what we've been doing the past two weeks to the old bathroom pictured above.

First, Carson helped Daddy with the plumbing (you can't really see Brian's face in there...but trust me, he was pulling some nasty faces as he tried not to think about the smells being harbored in those cupboards!)











After lugging out the old vanity and pulling up the toilet, we had some very, very, VERY good friends spend a couple of days down on their hands and knees, helping us rip out the old lynolium, replace rotted floorboards, and lay tile. (Thanks, Becks! - I wish I had pictures of you!)















After the tile was laid, I spent the next couple of days working on the 5 major holes in the drywall, and painting the old moldings.









And, after a couple weeks of hard work, we have a beautiful, new bathroom!

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can....

Kenz and I went on a bike ride around the neighborhood the other day, and as we trudged our way up a slight incline I overheard McKenzie whispering to herself, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..." as she used all her little muscles to pull herself up the hill. It was very cute, and after a few seconds of chanting, she said, "HEY MOM! When I say 'I think I can', my muscles all come out and make me go faster!!!"

Real life will be starting soon (like, tomorrow) as Brian starts his year of Internal Medicine Residency. (Seriously, WHO decided that a SATURDAY was the best day to start?! This does not bode well for the rest of the year, I fear!) From what I understand, this year will require much patience, understanding, endurance, and love from me...but I feel prepared, and whenever my muscles of patience start to get tired, I'll just start chanting, "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..." until they all 'come out' again and push me along faster.

Brian has been going to orientation this week, so I've had a little introduction to what life was like before he was my constant helper - and I've been pleased to remember that I really can keep the house clean, the kids fed and relatively happy, and my e-mail checked all my myself. :) I really do love being a stay-at-home mom...so, to this nasty intern year of which we've heard so many horror stories about: BRING IT ON!

France - Post 1

~
How do you capture a moment?

Is it possible to remember every detail of a day...of an hour...of a moment? Why is it true that time must erode all memories? True, there are some memories I am glad to have been dulled by time...but there are others - so many others - that I never want to fade. Isn't this why, in fact, I reach for my camera so often? But there are those things that a camera can never capture...the things I really want to remember. The taste of a freshly baked baguette; the sweet voice of a little girl as she told me, in French, about the elephant she colored; the smell of a homemade dinner as it filled the narrow alleyways in the city of Langeais - proving to me that people really, actually live in such an indescribably beautiful, beautiful place; the sheer size of the Alps; the heartache and uncontrollable tears some nights when I could think of nothing but how much I missed my kids, and the freedom that came with their absence; the excitement I felt from Brian when the language started to click again; the sound as the most beautiful water I've ever seen crashed as waves into the rocks; the lightheartedness and giddiness Brian and I shared together; the fear as we drove down narrow, winding roads at the posted speed limit that felt way too fast; ... I won't bore you with so many others - but these are the things I want to remember most about our vacation to Europe. And these are the things that are impossible to share...they must instead be experienced.

Here is a brief slideshow of 16 of the most beautiful pictures we have...

I drink heavily from this moment,
And sadly know
That almost every drop
Will be lost.

So,

I will cherish the drops that remain,
And fondly remember
That there is so much more
That was lost.
~

Some pictures are just SO ugly, you have to share...

So, while we were in Thailand, my mom captured this picture of Amber. After seeing it, I caught a case of the giggles so badly that my stomach hurt the next day. I tried to justify my laughing to her: "There are four categories of pictures," I said, "Pretty pictures, normal pictures, ugly pictures, and pictures so hideous that you have to laugh, and strongly hope that you don't actually ever look like that!"

Well, she was a little less than amused...so, Amber, I want you to know that after I saw this picture of myself (taken by Brian in France when we were caught in a mighty wind and rain storm), I had to laugh - because I hope this, too, falls in that final category. :) Just think of it as something else we have in common - we can pull some nasty faces!

PS - to all of you who keep asking me to post pictures of France, I promise I will! I'm still in the process of sifting through them all.......