BEST MOTHER'S DAY EVER!!

My Mother's Day this year was spent walking around beautiful Versailles, seeing the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. Then coming home to relax and having the riot police right outside our window of the hotel!!!! I love seeing action like that, not being apart of it, but just being the spectator, and we had a fabulous view of everything going on!! We had protesters across the street from our hotel the whole weekend. It was about the things going on in Sri Lanka, and the Tigers (what the group of people were called) were out there. Well they had just been on the grass by the huge roundabout, but they decided that afternoon/evening to start chanting in the streets and sitting down in the middle of this busy intersection. The drivers were not pleased, and so the police came to push them back. It wasn't anything too big, but a guy did almost get arrested. So here are the pictures to commemorate this event! :)

Versailles, Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame

 Enjoy! :)

Yummy, Yummy Crepes!!

When I talked to my Mom yesterday and told her I was going to go buy some crepes for dessert, she told me to take a picture and then write about how yummy the crepe was and since it is Mother's Day today, I decided to fulfill her wishes.  I love crepes, and always have.  Usually I go for the Crepes sucre (sweet crepes) as opposed to the crepes with fromage and meat. So in between dinner and taking Spencer on a Carousel, Becca and I bought two crepes, one with sugar and one with honey.  I ate the honey one.  For anyone not familiar with crepes, or those whose American pride don't allow them to call crepes, crepes, then you can just call them very thin pancakes. 

Here in Paris they have a honey crepes, Nutella, crepes, sugar crepes, crepes with jelly and various other crepes.  As mentioned earlier I ordered the honey crepe.  It was delicious, and although it probably didn't taste any better than crepes eaten back in the United States, the fact I was eating it in Paris made it all the more delicious. I plan on buying several more before we leave in two days.  

We will post more pictures later of the sights around Paris, but I thought I would add a few pictures of Spencer on a carousel near our hotel.  He loved it, even though he didn't discover how to make the jet move up and down until the ride was about to finish.  Needless to say he has already been on three carousel's and probably will go on two or three tomorrow.

In Paris!

Just wanted you all to know we've made it to Paris and are having fun. We'll update as soon as we get back to Congo. :) The only thing so far that we've done is walked around by our hotel, since it was raining today and we couldn't see Notre Dame or the Eiffel Tower. But I do already feel under-dressed, everyone here seems very spiffy in their dress. O-well, I am the American/Congolese tourist. :) Spencer did go on one of the carousel's today, he loved it. Tyler has gotten his crepes already, which were really good. And tomorrow for Mother's Day I get to go to Versailles, we are all happy. More later! OH and you can't see the Eiffel Tower from every window in Paris. ;) 

Days 4-8 of Vacation

The blog below will be full of pictures and this one short on words...hopefully. :) Quick run-thru: Monday to Thursday it was just Spencer and I at the house. Our routine consisted of us waking up at 9am every morning, for some reason Germany makes Spencer sleep-in (which I love!). We would get up, eat breakfast, get ready and then play the Wii...most likely MarioKart for an hour or two. Lunch would come next and then after that Deric and Stephanie would be coming home from work. Wednesday night Stephanie came home and picked up Spencer and I for a girls night out, Spencer just tagged along. We went shopping and saw "Confessions of a Shopaholic"...which Spencer did really good at! :) It was fun going out with Stephanie. 

One day for lunch Deric picked us up and took us on base to eat some Popeyes, and then Tyler came home on Thursday night. We were excited to see him back with us, and today on Friday we went out and got pictures and ate one last time at Taco Bell, and that's about it. We did go by a playground and Spencer had a blast at it, I think he really thought this was all too good to be true. Tonight we are going out to eat with Deric and Stephanie and then tomorrow we get on the train to Paris. More to come after we get home after Paris.

The Pictures from Germany

Church (and church bells that ring at 7am!) by Deric and Stephanie's house

Down the street from their house.

The pastry shop we walk to from their house. 

Village road.

Germany houses.

Yummy gelato place we eat at, it's sooo good! 

Road signs to Air Base.

Road signs.

Doorway I thought was cute. :) 

This is how most of the villages are out here, just kind of on their own, so quaint. 

Windmill energy type things up on the hill.

Bridge that are over most roadways and usually have TONS of bikers on them, young and old. 

Cute houses.

Deric and Stephanie's village from afar.

Church door by Deric and Stephanie's.

Seats/chairs outside of the church.

Colorful house.

Street and houses in Germany.

"The hills are alive, with the sound of music!!"

House we saw driving around that had a wildflower garden on the roof, or as the roof. :) 

Plane in sky is from the Air Base.

Deric and Stephanie's street. 

Deric and Stephanie's house, cute, eh? 

Church from their house. 

Hope you liked them! :) 

Day 1-3 of our Vacation

I decided since the internet is so great here in Germany that I would write some blogs and keep you all posted on what was happening with us here. :) We left Thursday for Germany, and got on a flight at around nine at night (flights only leave at night from Congo), and started on our way. Tyler had a business class seat while Spencer and I sat back in coach, but oddly enough there was no one really sitting by us!!! No one in front, next to, or behind me! Tyler wanted to give me business but I thought since he would be driving mostly on Friday...he needed the sleep. So Spencer fell asleep on the way to the airport which meant he didn't fall asleep on the plane till way after midnight! I can't ever sleep on planes and I think I only got two 30 minutes naps that whole night. Needless to say on Friday when we landed I was tired!!!

Crazy looking trees in Germany. :) 

We got off in Paris, RAN through the airport to make the connection and got to the next plane just in time! Short flight into Frankfurt and when we took off from Paris I actually got to see the Eiffel Tower and the whole city! It was beautiful. :) Got to Frankfurt, got our rental car, and started on our way to Hiedelberg Castle....except we were all too tired and decided that since we saw a McDonald's right off the highway we would go eat our first Americanized meal! :) IT WAS DELICIOUS! The best meal Spencer said he had ever had! We devoured it, and then went on our way. Since we didn't go to the Castle we just went to Deric and Stephanie's. We met at the base Deric works at and went onto it and just kept having our mouths drop open.

 Beautiful yellow flowers we saw all over Germany while driving. 

It was fabulous being where everyone spoke English, and there was shopping, and Taco Bell, and Baskin Robbins, and movies to buy, games to buy, just pretty much EVERYTHING! We bought some movies, then had some ice cream, then went onto the commissary to get some snacks for the week. We walk in, and no joke, Spencer is just a talking and then he looks around and says: "Holy Cow! Look at this place!" He was in heaven, as were I and Tyler. We bought WAY too much, and stuffed our faces on Friday, but it was great! :) We went to a restaurant close by Stephanie and Deric's that had some great schintzel(?). Spencer had the Hawaiian pizza but it was still great, compared to Congo pizza. OH OH OH...AND we got Dr. Pepper, A&W Root Beer, Grape Soda and Sunkist! The little things in life are so grand to us!  

Saturday we slept in and decided to go bowling. It was so much fun. I won both games, but not by much. In the first game Spencer came in second! I was 106 and he got 102!!! A 4-yr. old that can bowl (although he did have bumpers and we didn't). Then we went to get an Xbox for Tyler for staying on his healthy diet, and then went and ate at Taco Bell. We came home and watched TV then got ready for bed. Today, Sunday, we went to church and had a good time. Tyler left today to do his training and Spencer and I are excited to spend time with Deric and Stephanie, even if they have to work. 

It's weird to think that just getting out of Congo for a short time revitalizes us so much! It was well needed, although by the time we get back, Spencer and I will only have 7 weeks left there! Congo has been great, but sometimes you need a break in the routine, this is such a wonderful break from that routine! :)