Paris -- Part "Une"

Finally -- pictures from Paris!!

The Carousel at the Place de Concorde on our first night in Paris.
Dale & me by the Seine

Our "Paris" daughter!!

Our first sight of the Eiffel Tower . . .

the Musee d'Orsay . . .

and Notre Dame seen from our boat ride on the Seine.

The Louvre

Me and Dale relaxing by the pond at the Tuileries -- trying to look like Parisians, but I think we still look like tourists!

End of Part "Une" -- Part "Deux" coming soon!

WE'RE IN PARIS!

Dale and I are in Paris with Caitlyn!!

Paris is amazing --- and tiring! Unfortunately, there's been a museum workers strike so many of our plans have been rearranged -- but we've made the best of it by filling in the gaps with good food:)
We started off our first day with lunch at Laduree highlighted by their famous macarons for dessert; today we had Angelina's famous Chocolat Chaud (hot chocolate) after consuming coque madame; last night we ate an amazing dinner at Le Train Bleu featuring lobster bisque, veal brisket and tangerine mousse; and Sunday we had a great evening with Caitlyn's host family in La Vesinet and they served us a fantastic dinner of Raclette (?) followed by a heavenly homemade chocolate ice creamy dessert.

The French sure know their food -- how come they're all so skinny?!

Lest you think all we've done is eat, we've also seen some fantastic sites. I'll post more later when I'm not so tired and when I have time to download some pictures!!

NO TV times 7

For Emily's NOVA class (newer version of DARE), they were challenged to turn off the TV for a week. We're on day three and it's amazing how much more time we seem to have. No last minute finishing homework because we forgot, no hurrying through dinner, and no constant distractions. We've completed a puzzle, played a board game, cleaned out my closet (10 DI bags) and read aloud to each other. I almost feel like a pioneer -- with indoor plumbing & electricity :) Okay, so maybe that's a going a little too far!

After next Saturday when our seven days are up, I'm sure our TV will go back on -- but hopefully we'll have learned to modify our viewing and make more time for other things!

Thanks Emily!

They're Ookie and They're Spooky -- the Ainge-ee Family!

Okay, so I loved the Adams Family when I was a kid.
Saturday was our third annual Halloween Party.

The gang, minus Wizard Dale who was taking pics.

What party is complete without lots of food!?!

Complete with Finger Dip, Skewered Eyeballs, Graveyard Mud Balls, Mummy Dogs and Salty Bones!

Emily, Grandma Darlene & Dani (Em's "twin-sister")

Jeff & Amber and their little Monster William!

Brycen -- notice the "tats" on his arms
( in case you can't tell he's a rock star!)

Britt & Jace and their little Turtle Janson

Dani, Diana & Joe (Joe's a tarheels fan)

Grandma Judy -- the Witch!

The boys enjoying the "loot" from the party!

Exchange Time!

It's that time of year again!!
The following is the Christmas 2009 gift exchange:
Amber to . . . Brycen
Jeff to . . . Brittany
Brittany to . . . Jeff
Jason to . . . Emily
Brycen to . . . Caitlyn
Caitlyn to . . . Amber
Emily to . . . Jason
Note: Names were picked by Emily; overseen by Amber & Brycen; and audited by mom!!

Witches and Pumpkins and BOYS!?!

One of Emily's favorite places when she was little was going to Gardner's Mill at Halloween to see the witches.
Since it's Fall break, we thought it would be fun for Emily and me to take the "Boys" (and their moms) to Gardner's Mill, thinking they would love the witches as much as Emily!Well, the witches were okay, but the PUMPKINs were the BIG hit.

Will loved touching every one of them . . .
. . . and Janson thought the straw around the pumpkins was pretty cool.Oh, well, Emily and I still loved the witches!

ee-i-ee-i-oh!

We had a great afternoon at the Thanksgiving Point Farmyard with the animals -- the horses, goats and llamas were fun too!

"Giddyup,
Horsey!"

Janson wanted to reach the horse's hair.


While Will didn't want to touch any part of the horse!

But he did want to check out the llamas teeth!

Emily made friends with a goat by giving him a nice nose rub -- and he showed his thanks by sneezing all over her pants!

This goat didn't want to be left out, so he jumped on the fence to make sure Emily and Janson noticed him!

Will thought this little guy was cute! (But he wasn't getting too close)
TIME TO HEAD HOME!

Here's Looking at You, Will!

Will and Amber were hanging out at our house while Jeff and Dale were at a meeting when Will had a diaper "blow-out" and had to wear one of his Aunt Emily's t-shirts. He wasn't too sure about it -- but ended up all SMILEs!

Doggie Time!

Janson and Dia have play time together:

(Dia got one last kiss in when no one was looking!)

Grandma Judy

A few pics of my "BOYS"

William

Janson