Tomorrow - Paris!

I just finished getting everything packed and organized before we leave for Paris tomorrow. I'm excited about the trip - even though I've been there a couple of times before, it will be so fun to see it through the kids' eyes. Gaute has never spent any time in Paris, either, so it will be exciting for him.

I spent a lot of time yesterday putting together a tentative plan for what we will be doing during the week we will be there, as well as making any reservations that needed to be made. I want to have time to relax and wander around, but it's good to have an idea of what we really want to prioritize, too.

Our plane lands at Orly airport tomorrow at 7 tommorow evening. If we have time, we might take an evening cruise along the Seine after we find our apartment. I know that we will want to get right out and do something, and they have cruises every half hour - the last at 10:30 - and the place to get on is close to where we will be staying (52 rue Lhomond for those of you who want to look it up on Google Earth).

On Thursday, the plan is to take it easy in the morning and just wander around. At 3 pm, I've reserved a 3 1/2 hour guided bike tour for all of us. The place has gotten great reviews, and I reserved a tandem bike for Gaute and Johan so that we don't have to worry about him keeping up. I think it will be such a fun way to see Paris - much better than sitting on a bus.

I think we'll head over to the Eiffel Tower later that evening. It's supposed to be less crowded in the evening, and beautiful when they turn on the lights.

Friday is Notre Dame and the Catacombes - both of which the kids are really excited to see.

Saturday I think we'll head out to Versailles and walk around there.

Sunday is the final day of the Tour de France when all of the riders take several laps on the Champs-Elysees, so we'll be standing there with the thousands of other people cheering someone on. Gaute is in to the Tour de France and watches it every day, but I've never really paid any attention. I'm sure we'll all catch the fever on Sunday, though!

On Monday, it's off to Disneyland Paris, about a 30 minute train ride from Paris. I already bought our tickets online, so that's one less line when we get to the park. I'm sure it will be packed, though...But, it will be fun...

No plans for Tuesday, our last day. Just going to see what strikes our fancy.

And then, we leave early Wednesday morning...

Smoky

A few days after we arrived in California, there was a big lightning storm which caused fires all over the state. From then on, smoke was our constant companion. Some days it was less noticeable than others (when Josh and his family were there, we bare noticed it at all). Other days, you could barely go outside, it was so bad.

This morning I put on a top that I bought in California and haven't worn yet (the off-white linen one, Mom). It smells like smoke!

Aaahhh...it brings back memories of my summer vacation...

Home again!

We're back in Norway. The flight home went well, but it's always so much more grueling to fly east than it is to fly west. A long day is easier than a short night. The kids slept quite a bit on the plane, though, and when they weren't sleeping, they were happily occupied with watching movies and cartoons on the inflight entertainment system. Virgin Atlantic is great when it comes to entertainment! The kid's meal was even good this time. Mac and cheese, string cheese, carrot sticks, raisins and Scooby snacks.

It was raining when we landed at Gardermoen yesterday, but it's fairly nice weather today. Partly cloudy and 66 degrees. Typical Norwegian summer weather...

I've spent the morning unpacking, but I still have a bit to go. The trick is finding space for all of the things I bought!

Happy 4th of July

For the last two weeks, I've been at my mom's house in California. It's been a strange two weeks. There have been hundreds of fires in northern California, and the smoke from them was intense last week. It looked like everything was covered in fog, but it was smoke. Hanging out in the pool has not been very appealing. But spending time in stores has been great.

This week has been much nicer, though. And just in time, because Josh and his family arrived last Sunday. We have had a really fun, busy time. Our kids have SOOO much fun together. I love being able to get them together.

Today is the fourth of July - lots of fun and games as usual. Right now there are 20 of us up here at Mom's and Jim's house. The musicians in the family (Josh, Dan, Jim and Denny) are jamming on their respective instruments and the rest of us are hanging out and enjoying being together. A big game of Catch Phrase is scheduled for later this afternoon.

Fun, fun, fun....