M's 12th Birthday in Paris!

M woke up to his sweet, loving family singing (completely in tune) a dutch birthday song for him. He then sleepily opened his little presents and we were off to start the day. Our tradition is that the birthday boy gets to pick and choose whatever he would like to do on their birthday (within reason!). We began at the market where he shared a raspberry tart with his family (as a thank you for the lovely singing, of course).

Here's a french go-cart track. We found it to be hilarious, but Ash really wanted to try it out. We had to convince him that he was too tall and would never fit.

Walking around and enjoying the sights, but look at the crazies running around in the background.

The boys insisted I include this photo. We were enjoying a lovely lunch in a posh Parisian restaurant and as I leaned over for the picture I almost fell out of my chair. Ash captured it at just the right moment. We got a huge laugh out of it, but I think you just had to be there.

Ash now getting on his brother's nerves with his squeaker.

This is outside the Hotel des Invalides, which houses the armory museum. We spent almost 4 hours looking at ancient weaponry. The boys were excited. The best part was a special exhibition on Napoleon.

One out of the hundreds of knight's armor we saw...

Napoleon's tomb.

Napoleon's uniform.

Yep, you guessed it, Napoleon's horse. His actual horse. Stuffed. It was kind of creepy.

The gardens

My little boy isn't so little anymore! I'm pretty sure this is going to be the last birthday we celebrate in which he is still shorter than me!

Goodbye Barcelona...Hello Paris!

Here's a few shots to highlight our last day in Barcelona.

Here are the boys at the chocolate museum. They are showing off our entrance tickets, which were actual bars of chocolate. That made us happy! We learned all about the history of chocolate, the process from bean to bar, and admired many beautiful displays made entirely out of chocolate, like this one of Asterix & Obelix.

Afterwards, we just had to enjoy our favorite hot chocolate, which is a thick, rich, decadent drink. So thick, our spoon could almost stand up in it alone. Yummmm.

The light show at the fountain at Montjuic.

And now that we have arrived in Paris... First things first... delicious warm crepes are calling our names!

A. got a very funny (but quickly annoying) little squeaker that he holds in his mouth and plays. He's allowed to do it until we go crazy... this is me going crazy.

The boys in the park playing a mini Jeu de Boules game together.

Tonight's stroll to the Notre Dame.

la Sagrada Familia, Guel Park, & more...

Yesterday, we spent an hour and a half walking around the impressive la Sagrada Familia. We also went up into one of the incredibly high, claustrophobic towers. A and I both got a little light headed and dizzy from the height. We had to start making our way back down quickly! Below are a few photos from the church. Notice what looks like the inspiration for Darth Vadar on the solider's mask.

A looked up and put a quick, brave smile on his face for the photo, but look at how tight he's holding the railing. It was a LONG way down. I had wobbly knees and had to brace myself to even take this picture.

M made the comment that he wanted to travel the world and work here and there when he got older... we told him that this would be him in a few years and that we would come watch him perform for spare change. This guy was a character, jumping up and down in his leopard pants and bells on his ankles. M quickly decided that a more secure profession might be a good idea.

Gaudi's Guel Park.

Architectural interests around Barcelona.

The boys enjoying the city and each other.