March 30, 2013 - Top of the Eiffel Tower

It's my final Paris post, 4 years and 1 day after our last day! We end with a pretty exciting event: heading to the top of the Eiffel Tower! The day was once again cloudy and COLD (we seemed to have burned our one nice weather day the day before), but that didn't stop us from heading up there.

We stood in line for the elevator ride to the...middle. Check out that view!

That's right, we weren't at the top yet. Here was the view UP from where we were on the balcony walkway.

See that square part sticking out way up there? You can get there, on a smaller elevator straight up the middle. I have to say, I was not a huge fan of that elevator ride, but I am really glad that we went. Check out how much higher up we were! (gotta say, I love this photo)

Here's Kathy at the "ruler" at the top. 280.5m above the ground!

AT that moment, we were standing higher than the Washington Monument. So high!

And, proof that Evan and I were at the top of the Eiffel Tower. Although I suppose the lack of background means you can't really tell where it was taken, but I swear that's where we were.

On our walk to the Eiffel Tower, we walked across the "lover's bridge" which is covered in locks that couples inscribe with their initials/names. 

The tradition is to put your lock on the bridge and throw the key into the Seine, so that your lock (love) can never be broken.

Totally cheesy tradition, but since Evan is a pretty cheesy guy we had to participate.

Of course, the locks make the bridge so heavy that they all had to be removed for fear of the bridge collapsing, and now you can't do this at all anymore (or so I've read). So our lock isn't there...but it was nice knowing that it was, for at least a little while.

We miss you, Paris, and want to go back! Maybe this time when it's a little bit warmer.

March 29, 2013 - Montmarte & Musee Rodin

Well, it's now been 4 years since we spent a week in Paris, so I think it's time to do my last two posts! And I am even getting this post done 4 years to the day! That's right, on March 29, 2013, 4 years ago, we did quite a lot on that Thursday!

This was the first day when we split up for a bit. Evan wanted to go do a few historical things that didn't really interest the rest of us, and Eric wanted to relax at the hotel. So, Kathy and I took the Paris metro up to Montmarte. It was the first real nice day that we had on the trip - slightly warmer, and the sun actually came out while we were there!

 We quickly realized we were going to have to climb a LOT of stairs to get up to the Sacre-Coeur. And once we did, we realized why there were so many people there - it was some special holy day (I can't remember right now what it was), so the church was actually closed and we couldn't go inside.

 

So instead we took lots of photos of the outside. It's a gorgeous building!

 

We then wandered around the hilltop, and found this fantastic open air market with lots of artists and restaurants. We ate delicious mussels and frites at this lovely place!

We somehow managed to avoid eating all of these macaroons (so tasty).

 And just enjoyed all of the stores and local feel of the area!

 We did walk down from the hill to find the original Moulin Rouge. This area was a lot of fun - it also had a Museum of Sex nearby with some VERY interesting sculptures in the window.

At that point we went back to the hotel, and then headed out with the boys. We ended up at the Musee de Rodin, which I have to say was one of my favorite things that we saw on the whole trip. I didn't know much of Rodin's work other than The Thinker (which of course I have photos of below), but his work is really impressive, and it all being outside is so different from so many other museums.

Here you can see The Thinker from across the garden, with the Eiffel Tower in the background.

 

I spent a lot of time looking at one of his larger works - the Gates of Hell. It's rather disturbing, and very detailed. The photo on the left is the whole thing (you can see how large it is); photo on the right is a close up detail of one sculpture.

And I end with a view of the museum from the rear of the garden. 

A pretty great day...certainly better than how I spent my day today, laid up sick on the couch. So I'll just remember back to our time walking around Paris and wish I was there instead!

Saying goodbye to Calla

One week ago, on March 16, Evan and I made the difficult (but correct) decision to end Calla's time here on Earth. The end came suddenly for her, which I believe was a good thing, as it prevented her from being in pain for an extended period of time.

I'm sure I will share her final moments here on the blog at some point, but I'm not in a place to do that right now. It's still too raw. I'm sure I will also share photos of her as a pup (since I didn't have the blog when she was one), but I haven't been able to look at those photos yet either.

Calla: April 25, 2004 - March 16, 2017. Photo taken in 2014

Calla had a really good last few days: she got to go out in the snow one more time, which was one of her favorite things. And because of the snow day, we were all home together for a day and a half too, which doesn't happen much anymore.

On Wednesday night, her last night at home, she and I cuddled in my chair for a few hours - her curled up beside me, like she always does, while I cross stitch.

Tonight when I came home from my trip (I've been gone since Monday), she wasn't there to greet me at the door like normal, or to curl up in her bed in our room while I unpack my suitcase.

She's not there on the couch tonight where I always look for her, every time I walk into my living room.

She's not there for me to snuggle.

She's not there to be underfoot in the kitchen while Evan cooks, or to eat the food that falls on the floor.

She's not there in the way she has been for nearly 13 years. This is not a grief that Evan or I will get overs soon, although I had gone since Saturday without crying (I'm crying some as I write this, however). I know each day will get a little easier, and I believe that someday I will want another dog. Right now, though, all I want is more time with our first pup, who made us a family.

Despite that desire, I know that she's in peace, which means a lot after the rough year she had last year (health wise). There will never be another like her, and she will always be missed. 

Kathy & Katie's birthday fun!

In January I had the pleasure of celebrating two fantastic people's birthdays: my friend Kathy, and her daughter Katie, who happens to share a birthday with her lovely mom! Even better, we were able to celebrate both birthdays on their actual birthday!

For Katie's party, we all headed over to Woodbridge for a fun party at Kid's Choice Sports Center. There was bouncing:

Games in the party room (who doesn't love parachute fun?)

And slides!

Oh, and food and cupcakes too of course. Katie seemed to love her party, and I know my kids had a blast. Thanks for throwing such a great party!

For Kathy's birthday, four of us ladies headed out to dinner later that night in Alexandria, and then to the new MGM casino at the harbor in DC - a fun ladies night out!

 Happy birthday!!!

Christmas weekend 2016

Finally....Christmas 2016! I think this is my last post of 2016, and I made it in less than 3 months later. Phew boy, I need to be better about this blogging thing this year.

Anyway, back to our Christmas celebration! The first thing to do was decorate, which we did on the weekend after Thanksgiving, as is typical for us. The kids love getting out all of the decorations and helping us with the tree in particular.

 We have a small tree that goes in our TV room, and each year I give it a special theme. Last year we hung all of the ornaments from places we've traveled to; this year I decided to put all of the kids' homemade ornaments there. This was definitely the right call - they loved having them all in one place!

 I love all of my mantel decorations! And the personalized stockings that I splurged on from Pottery Barn last year. (Doubly good since we couldn't have spent money on something like that this year!)

 And here is a collage I made of everything lit up at night.

On Christmas Eve, after my family arrived, we all headed out to dinner at Magnolia's in Purcellville. Unfortunately, the dinner wasn't quite as good as we had hoped it would be (we should've chosen somewhere we'd been to before!), but being together for something like that is always fun. Don't we look nice in our red and green? :)

 After Christmas Eve dinner, it was time to head home and get ready for Santa! We put out the cookies for Santa, and treats for the reindeer (I can't get the photo turned, sorry about that!).

 After reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas", and getting the kids tucked away in bed, it was time for Santa to come!

 I think everyone made out quite well. The kids loved their gifts (some pics below). Carrie and I did our usual shopping trip prior to Christmas, and of course ended up getting some similar gifts for each other. I bought us matching Christmas leggings :)

 Some of Natalie's favorite gifts were the scientific equipment that she had asked for! She had the best time with this microscope. We even went out to the pond to collect some water and see if anything was swimming around - couldn't find anything then, but maybe when it gets warm!

As could be expected, Henry's favorite presents were his new Lego sets, and his new books!

It was so warm out on Christmas we were able to sit outside for a while! Kind of nice with the fire pit, and unexpected in December! 

 We always cook a big dinner on Christmas night - typically steak and seafood - and it was delicious! I love using my Christmas table settings, although this year we used more of our china and less of my Christmas dishes, but I love how the table looked!

 Christmas with family is always lots of fun - piling on the couch together!

 Overall a fantastic Christmas weekend. I hope everyone else had a wonderful holiday as well!