The holidays began in our house mid December with the purchasing of our Christmas tree. Back in New Jersey we would drive a few miles away from our house and pick which tree farm to pick our winning tree. In Paris picking a tree consisted of Keith walking down to the nearest florist and taking a good guess on what might be a decent Christmas tree. We decided to go with a normal tree, not a flocked one (sprayed with color). Not that we weren't tempted by the bright red or gloomy black flocked trees but we wanted to keep it more traditional. So Keith picked out the best Parisian Charlie Brown Tree. Of course to add to it the lights I bought were all different sizes and had about 6 different settings on how they blinked. We loved it!! I also have to mention that there is no way to water the Christmas trees after you bring them home. The trunk of the tree is hammered into a make shift stand, which is made out of a tree trunk (See picture below). Although we didn't water it, it lasted thru Christmas. None of the needles were falling off but the branches started sagging.

Not our tree but an example of how the the trunk is put into another to make a stand.  No watering required. — Not our tree but an example of how the the trunk is put into another to make a stand. No watering required.

As Christmas got closer we had the Christmas Pageant at our church. Each of the kids took part in the pageant. It was a little iffy with Peyton but she came thru and was a great little sheep and Lance was a great donkey. The Church did such a good job and I am so glad that we were a part of it. On the same day Keith ran a race in Paris where everyone dressed up as Santa. He looked great and the kids loved it!!

We continued to enjoy the activities going on in Paris for Christmas such as the Christmas markets and a Christmas illumination open bus tour. Lance had been begging us to go on the open bus tour since we arrived and when my friend Ashley told us about the Christmas illuminations tour it was perfect. We lucked out with a night that was not so cold and the rain held out until we got home. It was great to go around the city and see everything lit up.

In between getting ready for Santa to come I managed to do my traditional cookie baking. Although I am still struggling finding certain ingredients I was able to make a few of my favorites. The kids also had a blast taking part in their traditional decorating of the cookies. Lots of messes means lots of fun and we did both.

Before we knew it Christmas Eve was here. We headed to the Children's service at the American Church and they did such a good job at keeping the kids interested during the entire service. Normally the kids go off to Sunday school so they don't kill each other in the pews. But for the children's service they showed great clips of an animated movie of the Christmas Story. The people behind us were convinced it was made by Pixar but we later found out it was made by a member of the church many years ago. I loved it because my kids were watching the entire time. Here is a link if any of you are interested. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x12zngy_the-very-first-noel-2006_shortfilms. Then when it came time to light candles for Silent Night they handed out glow sticks....genius!

After the service we headed back to our place and had some great friends over to have Christmas Eve dinner. It was an awesome night. Not sure why but I have no pictures from Christmas Eve, I guess we were having too much fun together. That is ok, we made up for it the next night.

Then it was Christmas and Santa found us in Paris and I guess the kidlets were pretty good because they did well. Santa brought them each scooters, which they have wanted since arriving in Paris. The rest of the gifts consisted of legos, Hello Kitty, Spiderman and a guitar and microphone that Peyton won't put down. It was nice to hang out in our Christmas jammies for the morning. Later in the day we went to our good friends Ashley and Scott's house for dinner. We had such a good time!! All the kids played their toys together and the adults had fun just talking and being merry. We also had the pleasure of meeting one of their good friends and his family, Jeff Gordon. Lance was excited to meet Jeff "Corvette" from one of his favorite movies. He was super nice and his wife was just so pleasant. I think I may have become one of his biggest fans. Our night ended walking home under the Eiffel tower, the perfect way to end a great Christmas.

Although we had a very relaxing Christmas we of course missed all of our friends and family from overseas. We are so grateful for everyone that remembered us during the holidays, with all the cards and packages sent. We are truly blessed to have such caring people in our lives and just so thankful for everyone.

Out riding new scooter on Christmas morning!

A few days after Christmas we hoped on the train and headed for the French Alps. I am such a fan of the trains in Europe, although we took a fast train to a slower train and then to a much slower train to get up the mountain, I still love the trains. We went to Chamonix which was beautiful. The mountains reminded me a great deal of the Grand Tetons, not quite as beautiful but almost. We got the kids in ski school for a few days, although it was tough. When we got there all the schools told us they were booked and come back next week. Thankfully our hotel had some connections to a school and got the kids in. The one thing we always seem to forget is that we live in France, where customer service is not a priority. Lance had a blast in ski school, at least on the first day. During his first lesson there were only two other kids in his class so his instructor just kept taking them up the mountain. He was exhausted, he loved it. The next day was Monday and it was packed with kids, so they split them all up and kept them in the training area. Lance was so PO'ed Thank God it was only half of day because he was so bored. We made up for it the next day by taking him skiing ourselves and he was so happy again. He is still only on the bunny slopes but doing sooo great. He actually snow plowed me at one point. Peyton started out slow. We dropped her off at ski school the first day with tears and even had to pick her up early. We were concerned to say the least. This girl HAS to love to ski, what will happen if she doesn't??!! No panic, it turned out she just didn't want to go to class. The genius husband I have decided to take her on the slopes himself and she had a blast. Wheww!!! The next day she was all excited about ski school and lasted the entire class. She is a little dare devil. Of course all she wants to do is ski with Lance. Unfortunately Keith and I didn't really ski since the kids were only in ski school for a few hours, which didn't give us must time on our own. We still had fun though. It was a great ski town, after we stopped comparing it to where we usually go. The only thing we regret is not staying longer.

Beautiful town with Mount Blanc in the background

We arrived back to Paris on New Year's eve and all we planned on doing was resting at home. Taking the cab home from the train station all the barricades were set up at the eiffel tower and the Trocadera, police everywhere, getting ready for the new year's eve bash. Is there a New Year's eve bash in Paris? The answer is no. There are advertisements saying that Paris is magical on New Year's eve, the truth is that there are no fireworks, no light shows, not anything. Of course there were masses of people that caused problems at the Trocadera. They also have the tradition of burning cars....crazy!!! Needless to say we stayed in and enjoyed a relaxing night.

The kids are back at school and everyday life is back after a great two week holiday break.

2014 has begun and there are many exciting things to come this year....I can't wait!

Thanks for Reading!!!

Life is good...in Paris

Alicia

P.S. as always I have included some extra pictures at the bottom