More Halloween Stuff and the Trunk or Treat

On actual Halloween day, we were BUSY prepping and celebrating.  

The boys helped me make a few more webs for their class halloween parties at school...

 I'm the class parent for Jake's class, so I was in charge of his party.  We had a blast.  I think we may have been the rowdiest ones down the hallway!  We had donut eating contests, mummy wraps (The one below was my favorite! They had to use 3 rolls of toilet paper up-- first one wins--hahaha!), Pin the Spider on the web, bobbing for apples, a bean bag toss game that I didn't get a picture of either...it was so much fun that when the bell rang, most of the kids still wanted to keep playing!  That's always a sign of success...although my voice was hoarse and I was sweating a bit...but let's not focus on that.

 We raced home after school to drop off all of the party supplies, only to eat dinner really fast, get dressed and pack the car with our trunk or treat supplies.  Then we headed to school again and set up our car for the evening's festivities.  

 We went for a lion tonight with Mack.  Something a little warmer, since we'd be outside.  Thankfully, he let us keep this one on him for most of the time.  When it was time to trick or treat, we took him around and taught him all of the ins and outs of the the asking-for-candy game.  Not surprisingly, he caught on REALLY QUICKLY and was pumped that people were just handing him candy right and left.  (Lots of gummies, cheap taffy and very little chocolate.  How is that possible in the country known for it's milk chocolate?  I'm a bit disappointed.  Actually, I should be grateful.  I'm not tempted to ransack their bags...)

 Mack would say "tick oh tweet" and then sing out a huge "TANK TOO!!!!!"  That left most of the moms melting who were passing out the candy, which would lead to him getting even more candy. 

 It was hilarious.  

 Dumbledore was with us this year!  We were so thrilled because he was in Tokyo last Halloween.  He did an incredible job handing out fistfuls of candy before the trunk or treat even began!  The kids were in heaven...and then we realized, and had to ration the candy for the rest of the evening.  He was always surrounded though, and even had a few requests for pictures :)

 Kate and her friends stopped in to say hello and join us for most of the evening :)  They are an awesome group of girls.  We had a Red Socks fan, a narwhal, cookies and the cookie monster... they were really cute. 

 Now, do I dare say that this is the first year in our entire history of Halloween, that we did not carve pumpkins?!  I'm shedding a few tears over this.  I don't know how it happened.  But we let it slip.  Kate's friends came over last year and we had a huge carving party.  This year, we did it a week later...All of the Halloween pumpkins were gone at the farm, so the girls picked out smaller pumpkins and opted to paint them instead of carve.  Fun!  But we are not letting that happen again next year!  Happy Halloween!  My decorations didn't even make it out.  Man, that's pretty sad!  I guess that means I should just turn on the Christmas carols and start sorting through my Christmas boxes! 

Halloween Primary Party

Halloween in Switzerland is kind of like Halloween in Chile.  It's starting to gain some momentum in certain areas, but not all.  Because it's not really a huge deal, the kids didn't really make a huge deal out of what their costumes would be.  So, when the Primary put on it's annual Halloween party, Luke threw on some camo and called it good.  Jake and I whipped up a last minute Pokemon character costume out of Mack's crib sheet about 15 minutes before we were supposed to leave.  And I grabbed whatever I could find in our bin for Mack.  Perfect.  Hahaha.  

Susan was in charge of organizing the party for all of the kids.  She did a great job!  Everyone was running around having a blast!  Different organizations were in charge of different rooms.

The Young Women did the donut eating contest and pinning the spider on the web...There was a haunted house, cupcake decorating, some fun ball games, touch and feel boxes that my boys HATE (grosses them out), crafts, and plenty of food to eat!  It was a blast!

Josephine and Karin

Jake getting ready to nail the spider right where it should be.

Claire and Jake giving it their best shot.  Harder than it looks!

Mack was a fan of the donuts.

And the lollipops that we were handing out!

Salome was Mack's new best friend!

Oh!  And bobbing for apples with NO STEMS ATTACHED!  

The boys really had to go for it to get their apple.  They got drenched... but managed to win the prize!

 Mack loved his costume last year.  He owned his little pumpkin bum.  This year, we could barely get him to put the fireman pants on.  He refused the cool jacket the entire night, and only put the hat on for the last 30 seconds of the party.  Nice.  At least I had my camera with me during those 30 seconds.

Happy Halloween :)

Early Bird

Someone is going through a little phase right now.  He's waking up way too early and crying way too hard in the morning.  Sometimes it's because his diaper has leaked and he's wet.  Other times, I don't have a clue.  When we open his door, he greets us with the most heart wrenching, pathetic, "Hiiii," you could possibly dream up.  But thankfully, when we bring him into bed with us, this usually happens.  And I cherish it.  

Luke Likes to Floss

I wish I meant his teeth.  He flosses constantly.  That little dance where you move your arms and hips in opposite directions at the same time really fast?  You know what I mean.  His little body moves so fast, he almost looks robotic.   Jake does it a little too.  They don't stand still.  Jake's teacher mentioned she doesn't mind the flossing-- "it's so much better than bottle flipping and fidget spinners!!!!"  I understood immediately.  It's a dance move-- quiet, fun, and aerobic ;) 

So, I throw a floss move out occasionally, here and there, just to get their attention and to see if I can make them laugh.  Today, while in the kitchen, Luke ran in while I was getting dinner ready--I decided to floss before he reached me.  He stopped.  Looked at me, and said matter of factly, 

"That's really hard to watch."  

It was hilarious.  I guess I'm a dental hygienist for a reason.  I'll stick to the string.   

Day 3: Jen's Text to Mom

Sums up the first part of our trip perfectly:

Mom:  "How is everyone?  Did you finally make it?"

Jen:  " Yes.  Tonight.  Eiffel Tower on a beautiful night right after we dropped our luggage at the hotel.  (4 miles round trip).  Next morning ran to the Arc de Triomphe, climbed all 286 steps to the top. Ran to a train, rode to Versailles, biked all over and even out to the temple--which made us late.  We had a panic/comedy/pee your pants sprint.  The train back gave us seconds to spare.  We RAN 3/4 of mile- not kidding- across Paris in front of the Louvre to get our luggage at the hotel.  Then RAN with all our huge suitcases thru Paris to the tram.  Up and down stairs, tickets to get thru gates, hauling the stroller and all our suitcases.  Jumped on but it was so crowded that we couldn't fit with our suitcases.  Panic because Matt didn't make it.  Joe pulled the doors open, Julie's screaming, Matt squeezes in.  People are staring.  We are DRIPPING with sweat.  Jump off then and sprint to the train station across town.  More stairs and tickets and strollers and luggage.  We get to the train station and the train to basel departs in 4 minutes.  We jump on.  Wrong cabins.  Have to trade.  Put our luggage on the train full of quiet Swiss and French people.  Find our seats and start profusely seating.  I mean we are soaked.  But we made it.

Got to Basel around midnight and were up early today to go to Lucerne.  We were a tad late so more stress and running.  hahah!  We made the boat.  Just in time to get the cogwheel tram, barely in time to run- again- to make the toboggan ride.  Not kidding one bit.  had to hurry to catch the tram, got off at the wrong exit, had to jump back on, catch a bus and get to dinner reservations.  We had a yummy dinner.  Tomorrow we run again!" 

Looking at the pictures you would never guess... sounds horrific, but surprisingly, we were having the time of our lives.   

Day 2: Versailles, Paris LDS Temple, And the Sprint of a Lifetime

So... we spent a little more time at the Arc than intended.  That's ok,  we would hurry down to the metro to catch our train to Versailles, spend a couple of hours there, and head back to Paris to catch our train home.  We would still move forward with our plan.  

The trams in Paris are NOTHING like the trams in Switzerland.  Nothing.  We ran down to buy tickets to catch a tram to the train station and by the time we had the tickets figured out and which tunnel to walk down to get on the right side of the tracks, we were seconds away from missing the tram.  Had to run. 

We made it to Versailles and walked around and behind the palace to the beautiful gardens that awaited us.  I was a touch nervous at this point, because the clock was ticking a little too quickly.  But Jen captured this and my heart just melted:

 Kate and Gracie & Jake and Brik.  Together.  Finally.  Life couldn't get any better.  My heart aches so much sometimes at the physical distance that spans between these friends.

 Bikes were rented and all 11 of us were off to explore (well, 10 of us...one was trying his best to catch up on some much needed rest)!  

This was the highlight last year for us and quite the experience again this year!  I could ride around these grounds for hours and never tire of them.

Why Ben is fun to have around:

Someone was LOVING all of the attention he was getting from his aunt.  She had special Mack treats in her purse and all sorts of fun surprises.  He was in heaven.

Mastering the Selfie

I miss Brett in this:

It was at this moment, when we should have let go of our desire to try and bicycle to the Paris LDS Temple.  But... I have a hard time letting things go that are soooooo within reach.  Jen was on the same page, and so after fixing a couple of chains, we were off and pedaling again.  This time not quite so casually-- we had a train to catch at 4:00pm to get us back to Paris.

We almost bicycled right by the Temple!  It was right there on the main road, in between apartment buildings!  Just beautiful.  

We had only a few minutes to take a couple of pictures and then we were off and running.

We were pushing the clock at this point.  Jake took a spill but was being brave.  We cycled all of the way back to the gardens to return our bikes, and started making the long walk out of the grounds, to the palace and back to the train station.  Stopping, of course, for a couple of crepes along the way.  You just can't pass those up!  

Except, unintentionally, we headed in the direction of the bus station.  By the time we realized the direction we were heading (90 degrees off), we corrected our course and realized that we had to RUN to the station.  We only had 7 minutes to get there.  It was the kind of panic...hysterical... pee your pants running as all 11 of us (with the stroller) weaved our way through the streets of Versailles, in hopes that we could catch our train.  I was in full panic adrenaline mode now, because we could not miss this train.  I'm weaving Mack through crowds of people, Kate was complaining that her heels were killing her, and someone was pleading for water.... I ignored them all and we pressed on.  Julie in front with google maps, Joe in the back motivating any child who needed to pick up the pace, and everyone else in the middle.

Somehow, we managed to load all of us on the train with 1 minute to spare.  We collapsed into the chairs with sweat running down our faces and I realize that I had completely soaked through 4 layers of clothing.  Soaked through.  (I attribute that to my Columbia Raincoat that does a fabulous job of insulating, but not so great with the breathability!)

As the kids rehydrated, the adults looked at the bleak situation ahead of us.  When we reached Paris, we would need to catch a tram that would take us as close as possible to our hotel,  run back to that hotel (which would be 3/4 mile), pick up all of our luggage, and then run to another tram that would eventually get us to the train station, where we would depart on the final train of the night to Basel.  

Could we do it?  Would it even work?  As the train arrived into Paris from Versailles, we were like Olympic sprinters waiting at the line for the gun to go off.  As soon as those doors opened, we took off running.  Carrying the stroller up and down way too many stairs, and getting more tickets for each tram we had to catch, getting stuck in the doors of those trams, do to the sheer number of people unwilling to move as we entered...  By the time we were above ground and running that quarter mile back to our hotel, we were losing shorter people in our group.  They had run enough and felt like another step would do them in.  We were yelling anything we could to inspire.  "DIG DEEP!  YOU CAN DO THIS!  YOU HAVEN'T GOT A CHOICE!!!!!"  I could barely voice these phrases as my throat was burning and my bladder was full.  

We made it to the hotel, grabbed way too many pieces of luggage, and were off sprinting again.  We had to catch that tram that would take us directly to the station.  As it neared in sight, I checked my watch and thought, we might just make this!  Down more steps.  This time with a LOT of heavy luggage and carryons and our stroller.  We made it to the platform, 30 seconds before the tram arrived, and we all hooted and hollered... until the tram doors opened.  IT WAS PACKED.  I mean packed.  But if we didn't get on this tram, we would miss our train.  And so, we started pushing ourselves in with all of our stuff.  Crazy, loud, sweaty Americans.  That's what we were.  The doors started closing as Kate was pushing Mack into the tram.  Matt, Gracie and I were still outside of doors.  Kate was stuck.  Joe pried the doors open and got her in, and I jumped in behind her, as the doors slammed closed with me inside and my backpack outside....

Now, I might take a moment here to explain a little something about me.  A long time ago, when I was in high school, my dear friends, Will and JB, came to see me play a basketball game against the girls team at their school.  I had no idea they were in the stands.  I was pretty vocal on the court and a touch competitive.  I didn't trash talk, but I may have grunted and growled fighting for jump balls and yelled to try and distract my opponents.  Shock value more than anything and often it worked.  But after that day, I had a new nickname.  To them, I was "Animal" from then on.  It always made me laugh, because anyone who knew me and heard that, thought it was ridiculous!  I wasn't a wild beast!  But they had never witnessed me on the court.  Haha!  YEARS later, our family walked into church one Sunday, only to hear, "Oh my gosh, Animal!!!!!"  Joe and the kids looked at me strangely as Will came up gave me a big hug.  They had just moved into our congregation, and needless to say, he needed to explain my nickname ;)

I was stuck in the doors of a Paris Metro, and it hurt.  I unintentionally let out a noise that was much louder than planned, much like a beast, and with enough physical force, I freed myself from it's grasp.  But now, all eyes were on me, as the sweat, again, started to pour.  Joe and I turned around in time to see the doors close, only to find that Matt was on the other side of those doors.  He threw his hands up in defeat.  "Oh well," he seemed to say.  He had run from one door to the next, trying to get on.  Well, Joe and I were NOT going to let that fly.  What happened next is still a bit of a blur, but with shear force, Joe and I pried those doors open for a third time, as I let out an animal sound that resembled, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"  And I grabbed the luggage and Joe grabbed Matt as we pulled them both into the safety of the Metro, piled together like sardines.  

And then we began to move.  It was SILENT in that car and everyone was staring but refused eye contact.  I didn't want to meet their gaze either as what just occurred sunk in!   I was just trying to keep the sweat from stinging my eyes.  I still had those 4 layers on, and it wasn't helping!  To say we were a spectacle would be an understatement. After texting each other to make sure all were accounted for, we reached the stop for the train.  Again, we ran.  I witnessed a Hercules strength in my daughter than I have never before seen.  As we approached a lengthy set of stairs up to the next tunnel,  I went to grab one side of the stroller so we could carry Mack up together.  But before I could, in one incredibly smooth swoop, she whisked the stroller up in her arms and started charging up those stairs.  Water bottles and umbrellas fell out and rolled down the steps, but she kept charging, and the SWEETEST WOMAN who had pointed us in the right direction, and was cheering for us, followed behind her and picked up every lost article.  

"Good Luck!"  The angel called, as we sprinted to our platform-each person carrying more than their share of luggage!  The Hansens were in car 8 and we were in car 6.  As we ran to the train, the Hansens loaded up in car 6 and we headed for car 8.  Wrong cars!!!  Quick!  Again, we hurried passed each other in hysterics and we got to the right cars and loaded the train.  

We made it. It was nothing short of a miracle and a lot of blessings from above.  Welcome to Europe, Hansens!  Sometimes our trips can be a little hairy at times, but it makes for some great memories :).  

The fun was just beginning.  And we were tired of running.

Day 2: French Cafes and the Arc de Triomphe

Day 2 and our final day in Paris was originally for an all day trip to Versailles.  But due to the fact that we didn't get to see all of the things we wanted to the day before, we had to calculate our course with some precision.  No matter what, we had to catch the bullet train from Paris to Basel that night at 6:30pm.  Otherwise, we'd be "stuck" in Paris without any hotel reservations or train tickets, and the rest of our week would need to be altered significantly. Not an option ;)

And so, after walking till our feet ached the night before, we decided to hit a french cafe for breakfast, check out the Arc de Triomphe and then catch a train to Versailles for a little bike riding.  That was the plan.  We checked out of our hotel,  stored our luggage in their big closet, and headed out to eat some of the most divine breakfast treats one could imagine 

(Who wouldn't want French Toast in France?!). 

 Someone was truly enjoying his chocolate filled croissant.  

Those flakes are a true sign of a pastry at it's finest.  

Unfortunately we got hit with rain today, but we didn't let it stop us.  I had packed 9 umbrellas. 

We were ready to get out and explore!

 Finally a family shot of us in front of the Arc de Triomphe!  Thanks Hansens!

 Cloudy and Rainy view from up top

 I wasn't thrilled about the visibility, but we had such a perfect night on the Tower last night, that I couldn't complain.  Love seeing this crew together.  

And how grateful I am to have "big brothers" for my kids.  Ben (and Brett) have always treated their cousins just like siblings.  They are the best examples.  We always find ourselves saying things like, "How would Brett shake hands?"  "What would Ben do if..."  No pressure, boys, but you have sure made an impact on the Berryhills!

 I seem to laugh harder at this one every time I see it:

 Stairs, steps and more stairs... this trip was all about unintentional exercise...which was great because it kind of offset all of the french goodies we were sampling...kind of.

Peek a Boo!  See Mack?