Bonjour ça va? Ça va, ça va? Ça va.

Bonjour et bienvenue! If you do not speak English like Leo, do not worry that is just about the extent of my French. Let's begin our magical journey through this blog post. Onward to Peppermint Stick Forest!

The newest thing with us that we have a new car! Yes that's right we are moving up the social ladder by upgrading our status of wealth by purchasing an almost new car! This is something that we were only able to do with the help of my father and Ronnie. Our little Suzuki Swift was just more than Leo could handle. Tsk tsk. Not man enough for the Swift. The real issue was that Swift had a bit too much character and liked to unpredictably veer off directions. This feature, included standard with all 2001 models (maybe), no longer impressed Leo which is why he exchanged it for a Ford Ka. Leo loves this little car and has really enjoyed driving it.

Some of you will be glad to know that we have begun the very beginning stages of getting Leo's green card. To those of you who aren't so glad, I told you that you couldn't get rid of me so easily! Banishing me to marriage in Ireland! Only a mere mortal would cower with that kind of sentence but I quell such opposition! The whole process will take about 12 months or so. Plenty of time to get some traveling done!

Which leads us to the caramel truffle plains. We got to France Sunday night and Kelcie was not kidding when she said Saint Ouen was ghetto. We took a taxi to our hotel and  went to bed hoping for a good start the next day. Kelcie had received permission from her Mission President to meet us on their P-day and teach Leo a lesson the following day. As we left the hotel with instructions from the lobby manager how best to get to our meeting spot with Kelcie and her companion, we had very little confidence in our ability to navigate the new and very foreign world we had entered. We failed to find the metro station we were meant to enter, Leo almost convinced me metro was what Frenchies called the bus, and we almost got on the "metro" before we finally found a metro station. The next challenge was purchasing a week pass. Even in English I couldn't find the option for a week pass because it would appear that whoever was translating for the English page got bored or forgot to translate all the options and the weekly pass was in French. Once I "talked" with the gal at the information desk, I was able to figure this out and then we were on our way….in the wrong direction but only for one stop before we were correctly on our way to meet the sister missionaries! Once we got off at our stop we began making our way to what we thought was the exit  when quite suddenly we found ourselves in the middle of a hardware store, which turned out to be the bottom level of a big department store. Once we were able to FINALLY get out, I got directions to the LDS visitor center and we made our way there. Just down the street from the visitor center is what looks like a superhero store. Pretty handy for those vigilantes. No more being mistaken for Captain Underpants now because Paris has your back.

Our reunion was a joyous one where I remembered just how short my sister is. After that we made like the French for a lunch in the park. They brought us baguettes and cheese for lunch and it was a very filling lunch for something not so filling. Then we took a stroll around Luxembourg gardens and made our way to Le Defense for the sisters to email all their adoring fans. After some time had passed we parted ways and the two of us headed to Montparnasse tower. On the 69th floor Leo took some great photos of Paris at night.

The next day started with us thinking we now knew the metro, our mistake. We ended up in a super ghetto area and found some of that lovely shopping cart meat Kelcie had told me all about. 

We eventually made our way in the right direction where a lady wanted something from me and when I told her I didn't speak French, she said she wanted money for food for baby. Now this baby was probably 6 months old and the food she kept pointing at was not something this baby could eat. Or maybe it could and French babies are incredible super munchers. In any case, I told her that the baby was too small for that food but I think she has selective English skills because she proceeded to hassle me in French. We eventually made our way to the catacombs, but not before some chick approached Leo speaking rapidly in French, I'm sure trying to persuade him to give up his first born, to which he flusteredly responded, "I don't speak English." The girl responded with, "Oh ok," and walked off to get someone else's first born. Good thing he's quick on his feet and threw her for a loop ;) We waited an hour and half before we got into the catacombs. They are so cool and creepy! From 6 million deaths, we made our way to sedate a hangry husband, and then to Kelcie. But not before chocolate! That night they took us to a place where we got panini and crepes for dinner. Upon departing we headed to the Louvre for some more night shots. We foolishly allowed ourselves to get lost by thinking we could walk to the Effile tower. "It doesn't look that far away," we said naively. It didn't help that my Morris sense of direction decided to kick in and lead us away from the tower for about 20 mins. After some photos of the tower, we didn't have enough of being lost in Paris and so we decided to lose ourselves while "finding" a metro station. Eventually we had enough of being lost and went back to our hotel.

Wednesday we headed off to Château de Versailles. Horray for history! I was most excited about seeing this site in France. So much history! It was so fun to be somewhere I learned so much about! I gave Leo his history lesson for the rest of the year and he posed as the Sun King for me. It was a good time :) We made our way to meet up with the sisters, for the final time, and lo and behold! They bought me the bag I wanted! They are super nice and I am still in awe at their kindness. We took them to get chocolate and then headed to the visitor center for the lesson they had prepared. It was a good lesson and Leo liked it as well. We ended it with some fun jumping pictures and then said our good byes. It was sad to leave her but I got a message later that night saying that she had an extra boost that will help her get through the next few months. I love my sister and am so grateful I got to see in and have an adventure at the same time. I can't wait for her to get home and share her love for life with all of you in a few months. After we said goodbye, we headed to the Arch of Triumph.

The last day wasn't as much of a success as I hoped it would be. I didn't feel very good and so we ended up at the airport waiting for four hours.  I hope you enjoyed your time on the caramel truffle plains because now we are headed to the luscious licorice vineyard. First, if you want to see more pictures of our trip please click here.

Leo's grandma is still at home and still doing well. We visited them just before our trip to France and they both are glad she is at home once again. She has very limited mobility because her legs just about atrophied away but they are trying to get some muscle back in her. Thanks to those of you who have been sending prayers or good juju her way. 

I met a gal at my work who does the displays and such for our store and she happens to be from California. She is married to a Northern Irish man as well and has lived her for six years. She also misses home a lot. She said that she misses the sun more than she misses her family. She also misses the food and how friendly everyone is back home, even if it is fake and they just want your money. Irish people are wonderful, when you get to know them, but we both agreed that they are a rough weather beaten people. This surprised us both because of the Irish stereotype that the people are super friendly. They are good people, but they aren't the warm cuddly people I imagined they'd be. It is nice to know that I am not the only one who struggles with this beautiful country and it's locals.

Here are some photos Leo took while we were in Paris. 

I am so glad that my sister and the other missionaries in the Paris area are safe from the terrors of Friday night. Thank goodness for their curfew! We were lucky to be able to go an enjoy Paris before all this happened. I'm pretty sure my mom would have lost all her hair if Leo and I had also been in Paris Friday night. You're welcome mom, for coming home Thursday and letting you keep all your lovely blond hairs. 

Prickly Pears

Last month ended with a nice quick break away from Ireland and plenty of Nightvale. I went to London to see Deidre and a live performance of Welcome to Nightvale. It was pretty great. I was even apart of a murder mystery dinner! So much fun! Catching murderers while eating dinner and starring down strangers! Deidre also taught me a fun game where I had to kill off everyone in my family. The worse the death the more points. She's a lot better at it then me. Watch out Tannis and Dalton because she's pretty freakin pro. She also took me to Five Guys. Man oh man! Who knew that a greasy burger chain would a place of refuge! Free refills of strawberry lemonade and actual french fries! I didn't want to leave! Plus the music! You don't hear goo music like that anywhere here! It was a super trip. A nice reminder of how things are outside of the Emerald Isle. 

The kittens at Deidre's place.

We did a really cool walking tour. Deidre has such great ideas! Like smoothies and American bacon!

According to our guide, this is a cannon from the Napoleonic wars with a cannon ball on top. I thought that was some nifty recycling. 

When people here find out that I am from the States they usually ask me two questions. There must be a handbook for talking to Americans when in your own country because it's usually word for word the same questions. It must be part of their curriculum in high school to memorize. That or they are all programmed robots sent to make me feel like a broken record. The first question they ask is if I like it here. I tell them that I do but I miss home a lot. This is an amazingly beautiful country but I miss the sun and mountains. I miss my family and my dog. Leo doesn't have a big family like I do and so I get very lonely at times. But I am trying to enjoy my time here because it is only for a little while and then I will have my family, dog, and sunshine and I know I will miss how green and pretty it is here. The second question they ask is if people here are friendly to me. Yes and no. I smile and say hi to people on the street and I am usually answered back with a stare that says something like, "What's wrong wit ye, ye @$#% (your choice of cuss word)!" That doesn't stop me from saying hi because it always catches people off guard that you would acknowledge them. Where in the States if you say hi to someone they will usually smile back and say hello. Not always, I know but generally speaking I think American's are much more outwardly friendly than Irish people. Saying that, the Irish, to me, seem more genuine when they do talk to you. I have found a lot of people back home would be very fake. Now maybe that's just because I am a prickly person and they want me away before they become a pin cushion but that's what I have observed. 

Speaking about observations. Irish people can't handle heat at all. It gets to the high 70's and they start complaining about how "roasting" it is. It gets into the 80's and you hear them talk about how it was sweltering and miserable. If they have ever been in 90, or heaven forbid 100 degrees, you will hear them talk about how they just managed to escape the great infernos of hell. With all that said it should surprise me that it is fairly common for adults to get heat rash or prickly heat. It's most common in babies but adults can get it. It is caused by sweating so much that your sweat glands become blocked and become infected. I had never heard of it before but it seems like many people have suffered from it where I work. A lady I work with recently got back from a vacation in Greece complaining of prickly heat. The things that surprised me was that it wasn't that warm. She said it was around 80-84 degrees while she was there. All I will say is that those poor starving immigrants must have been in a world of pain when they got to the states where sunshine is actually a real thing and not just a pagan myth. 

                                      

Leo's grandma almost died but has made a huge recovery and is back home. She also lived past another birthday and is 78. Hopefully she will continue to do well. It sounds like Grandma J is doing better too. Horray for healing grandmas! I have also heard that Kyler and Marci are now parents. congrats to both of you! I hope that you are both able to adjust to this new transition in life smoothly! I have also heard that Elsie is going to be a sister. Congrats to Loren and Clint. Tristan, you are such a trend setter! First you married a balding man, then you had two kids, and moved away and it seems like everyone has to follow suit. Who knew that you were such an inspiration to so many. Too bad you weren't a trend setter in high school. I think that mustache of yours would've been a big hit. You're slogan could have been, "Be aerodynamic, people love it."

One Centricher

The epic trip of trips around Ireland already happened. Poo you because you missed it. There were good times, laughing times, oh-my-gosh-we-almost-crashed times, good times licking hands, good times getting hands licked, and so much more. Yup!! If you missed it you REALLY missed out on a super great trip.

For those of you who want to know more so they can vicariously relive through the epic trip via this blog post, my ex-friend Taunya and Nicole came to visit for a week and Leo and I took them around the whole island and went to as many places as we could. They arrived in Ireland Monday morning and took a bus from Dublin to Belfast where we picked them up. The plan was to get them and head straight on to sites in the north and stay the night in Londonderry. Just before we left a certain husband checked his due dates for his last project for his summer class and found out it was due Sept 11th. Too afraid of not having good internet connection we skipped what was planned for the first day and stayed the night at our place. It ending up being a good thing we did because Taunya was so jet lagged and tired she didn't know what one centricher meant. Nevertheless, I took the tired two up to Scrabo Tower and then to Bangor for a seaside walk before coming home, playing two crazy games of Uno, and making dinner. Taunya kept saying silly things  to me like, "I can't understand you're accent," and "speak like a normal person." It's clear as poison that I totally have an American accent, dug Tauyna! Nicole could understand me!

The next day we were up early and headed off to the Marble Arch Caves. They were super cool and looked like something you would see at disneyland because the walls had this fake man made look to them but it is all just years of water erosion. From there we made our way down to Galway. The traffic in Galway was a nightmare. We were stuck at this one round about for close to thirty mins because traffic was so insane. Our hotel was a nice hotel/bar right next to the ocean. It was my first time in Galway and it seems like a fun city. Our American zombies were still a bit jet lagged so after some live music at the bar we headed off for an early night sleep.

Wednesday we headed on to Cliffs of Moher where we encountered our first strong winds. Unlike my sisters we had great visibility and were able to get great views of the cliffs. No puffins in sight sadly. From there we moved onto King John's castle in Limerick. That was fun to see a big castle from so long ago. Taunya liked it so much she decided to take a nap. I was a bit weary of being in Limerick because it is suppose to be a pretty dodgy area but I didn't think it was that bad. That night we drove through Kerry to our charming b&b in Kenmare. If you are ever in that area I would recommend the Belveder Lodge to anyone. Our host, Julia, was very nice. Taunya and Nicole both agreed they hope someday they can be that nice. We all know how nasty those two are so wouldn't it be refreshing if they were finally pleasant?!

The next day we went to a stone circle dating back to 2500 BC and then took a lovely luxury stroll down a country road in search of Dunkerron castle. The ruins were pretty cool and I think it was worth the walk but then again I'm not the one that got stung by nettle, this time. The Blarney castle was our next stop, or Little America as Leo liked to call it. It was so weird walking into the grounds because all you could hear was Americans. That's something I definitely am not use to anymore. The Blarney castle has pretty cool grounds and we did a bit of walking around them before making our way to the castle to kiss he Blarney stone. The only one who didn't kiss it was Leo. Who knew a crazy downhiller racer would be afriad to kiss a super smooth stone. Speaking of which, some of the people who kiss that stone must have course sandpaper for lips because that stone was way too smooth for lips as soft and sweet as mine to smooth it. Even Nicole conquered her fears and kissed the stone, after immense peer pressure from my ex-friend Taunya. That night we stayed at a b&b I was sure was haunted but it didn’t seem it once I went to sleep.

Friday was the drives of all drives for Leo. It was the longest he has ever driven as we made our way from Cork to Newtownards. We broke it up with a stop at Newgrange where we saw the neolithic burial site Knowth. It was really interesting and cool to see a new one because my parents came we saw Newgrange. We made another stop at Tullymore Forest park. I love that place! It is so great! We took them on the walk along the river and they really liked it. When we got back to our place Nicole, the nice person that she is, cut Leo's hair while Taunya and I got dinner. Later Nicole also cut my hairs. Thanks again Nicole!

After Taunya blew up her plug, we took a jaunt to Carrick - a- Rede rope bridge. Everyone did that one, even though an Australian had fallen off the bridge earlier this year. Way to go us for surviving! Then we went to the Giant's Causeway and learned about Finn McCool the giant. When we got back Nicole and Taunya were our guinea pigs for this video Idea I had. Watch that idea here. Sunday we dropped them off in Belfast and sent them on their long way home. I managed to save all my tear till after they got on the bus but alas I shed them in error! We got home and thought that our adventures were over but we were wrong. Under the blow up bed was none other than the infamous Lambo! Friend I think not! And then as we were going to bed Leo found a letter under the pillows.

It was a super great trip and time. I haven't felt so normal in a long time. With the culture and people so different I haven't felt myself for a long time so it was nice to feel normal even for a week.  Other big news is I got my passport back with my residence card in it. That means I can leave this island! Wahoo! The last big news is that Barbara isn't doing so well. We got a call Tuesday night from Leo's grandpa saying that the doctors didn't expect Barbara to make it through the night but she did. We heard from Ronnie last night and he said she is looking a lot better so hopefully things will be alright.

That’s all that is new with us. What's new with you? That was rhetorical. Bye folks!