A few bits of September...

• I started the "Whole 30" and am currently on Day 29. Google it if you're looking for a good way to torture yourself on your path to greater health and indigestion.
• I recommended a book to my book club that ended up being highly inappropriate and I now do not know if I can go back to book club.
• Abby tried Tae Kwon Do. We just aren't ready for that yet. Day 2, she cried. No one hit her, she didn't do anything wrong, it's just that the instructor speaks in a stern tone and she is afraid. We're going to go back to dance classes for a while and make a rump kicking machine (if she's amenable) when she's grown a bit. 
• We had our Primary Program and it was stellar! We have the BEST kids. Abby sung a solo and did a beautiful job! She song the second verse of I'm Trying to be Like Jesus all on her own and was a total pro.
• Aunt Donna came to visit for her 50th birthday! We went to plays, museums, movies, ate and played. I haven't had a trip with my sister in 12 years. This was a total treat!! Thanks for braving the 90 degree weather for us Donna!

Oui Love Paris!

 

I was extremely nervous to go to Paris. People told me horror stories of rude French people and I was petrified about not knowing the language. I worked on my French for three months solid before I went in fear of causing an international incident! Well lo and behold Paris is full of the pleasant people, excellent service and every time I tried to speak my ridiculous French, I was greeted back in English (except for the last day...apparently my Bonjours had improved to the point where people responded back in French...and then I made a face like the ground just shook and they went back to English). 

Our first stop was the Louvre. I loved it! I know the Louvre is so large and so consuming that you either love it or hate it. I'm sad to say that I do not have a good grasp on art history and have not spent a lot of time in art museums. Knowing I was no aficionado, I was really surprised by how moved I was by the experience. I felt things! I was in awe! I even teared up occasionally. Brandon hung in there with me and seemed to enjoy it. 

 

This was one of my favorites. The picture doesn't do it justice. It just pierced my mom heart. If you could just see  how she looking at her child. I think I prefer paintings to photography because they typically convey emotion more authentically. You can't ask a model to look lovingly on their child and have it look as convincing as a painting does. It's also less awkward to stare at a painting than a photograph. It's easier to be immersed without self consciousness.   

 

In the Louvre, they had a whole section dedicated to the apartments of Napoleon I and Napoleon III. I've known about the French Revolution and how destructive it was to French artifacts and history, but to see their crown jewels (above) compared to the entire museum display of London's made me sad. Granted, I've been to Versailles and after seeing that luxurious monstrosity I would have wanted to riot, ransack and melt down all of their booty too. 

 

I cannot say enough about how many stairs there are in Europe. And I cannot say enough about how grateful I was for them...because I ate a lot of really tasty French food and this is the only way that I was able to fit in a single seat on the flight home. 

 

This was the Palace de Vendome which was right outside our first hotel. We stayed in a great spot. We were able to walk to just about anything we wanted to see and had some great restaurants nearby. 

 

Our first full day in Paris we did a historic walking tour and I loved it. We started here, at the very center of all of France. It's called Point 0 and it's right in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral. On our walk we saw street performers, bought art in the street, went to the Deportation Memorial, and saw some of the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen. 

 

While I loved Notre Dame, it was no Westminster Abbey. In Westminster Abbey I lit a candle and added our family to their prayer roll. At Notre Dame I would have had to pay 5 euro for the same. Pfft! 

 

The inside of Notre Dame, which was SO beautiful. 

 

And of course, being the good Mormons we are, we stayed for Mass. It was challenging. I didn't know when to sit, stand and kneel and it was in French, but I can still say I've been to Mass at Notre Dame which is something!

 

This was taken inside San Chapelle which is famous for it's stain glass windows. It has depictions of over a 1,000 scenes from the bible and is breath taking. 

 

The Supreme Court of France. Their lawyers wear black robs and ruffled collars. I am going to try to bring that back. We look so scruffy next to them. It was really a neat thing to see. 

 

We popped into a museum that was a former castle which was turned into the prison where they held prisoners before they were executed during the French Revolution. This is a letter from Robespierre who himself was held in this prison and eventually executed. They had a display with a name listed for every person who was sent to the guillotine along with their crime....one included just being the sister of a royal.   

 

We had a great dinner right by the Eiffel. I had all the good stuff- foie gras, escargot. Brandon tried the foie gras but when I told him it was force fed fatty goose liver, he turned as green as hericot vert! We didn't actually go to the top, we stayed at the bottom and had a lack luster crepe, sat by the Seine, watched the dazzling light show and had a wonderful time. 

 

Mr. Paris himself. Right after we took this picture we found a rat who was running around in the gardens nearby. It was kind of a nice sight. Paris and rats like peanut butter and jelly. 

 

You can't really tell, but this is right by the river. I love that there are so many places you can walk right to the water. What I do not love? Paris is rather stinky. I sat by some stinky people and boy! can you smell when you're in the metro.

 

Who got a free suite upgrade? 

 

Of course we had to do Versailles. The chateau, the gardens, the summer homes...all 1,045 miles of it.  It was beautiful! At the end of the day, we paid 7 euro and took the tram back to the chateau. It was funny because pretty much everyone on the tram was overweight and American. Being European is a lot of work!

 

We decided to rent a row bot and row on the canal. It should have been romantic except A.) I was constantly concerned we were taking on water. B.) We had a bit of a language barrier with the boat rental guy. He was telling Brandon in French to put his oar in the correct place and Brandon looked at him, panicked and answered, "Como Estas?" 

 

I had to see my man Napoleon's tomb. It was inside the army museum and was super interesting. We spent a long time on their WWII section. Learning about WWII while being in a city that experienced it first hand made the experience much richer. I learned a lot and it made me proud to be an American. 

 

Rodin museum. We went inside, saw all his sculptures and I left swearing that Abby could never date or marry an artist. It was so disturbing. I knew his more popular pieces like The Kiss and The Thinker...but I didn't know what a creepy deepy he was. I'm pretty sure he had a problem with women and I therefore have a problem with him.

 

We had to walk the Champs! And see the Arc. It wasn't my favorite thing to do. It felt a lot like Caesar's Palace here in Vegas. 

 

Who got ANOTHER suite upgrade at their second hotel? Two spoiled Leavitts, that's who!

 

This marks the square where they chopped off all the heads. I don't know why an Egyptian obelisk was chosen, but I didn't ask any questions....for fear they'd chop off my head. We ate great, lived large, but ultimately our heart is with.... 

 

Home and Abigail! She loved her souvenirs. Our hotel was write by thee Opera house which is the one depicted in Phantom of the Opera. Since she wants to be Christine for Halloween, we bought her this mask and fan and told her it came from there (shh, it's really from the British Museum). 

I can't believe they let us in the country!

 

So the Leavitts did Europe! (Well Brandon and I did. We left one angry Abigail with grandparents back home.) We decided to hit London (my dream city) and Paris (Brandon's dream city) for our first big overseas adventure together. We were really concerned about jet lag, and we really should have been. We had an overnight flight and thought we'd sleep on the plane and wake up ready to go, but they kept coming by trying to give us duty free catalogs and muffin tops. But even the perky flight attendants could not crush my enthusiasm. When we flew over England I was euphoric and when we landed we were too jazzed to remember we were tired. We took the tube straight to our hotel in South Kensington and then headed straight to Westminster Abbey, which is the sight I really wanted to see.  

 

Westminster Abbey did not disappoint. Having read about 100 books on London history, especially Tudor times, I was just star struck by this place. I really wanted to have a chance to hear the Westminster boy choir sing (which they do every evening), but we could never time it right. We did, however, hear an organ concert and stayed for church. I was so surprised by how few church attendees there were (30 maybe?). I mean, it's Westminster Abbey and we're having church in the exact location every monarch has been crowned and married since the 11th century!  The sermon was actually really good...except...we were in terror the entire time. Before the sermon started I noticed there looked like there was melted chocolate chip ice cream on the floor in front of me. I'm thinking about the jerks who dropped it...when all of a sudden SPLAT! Brandon's program flies out of his hand on to the ground because it was hit by a dive-bombing, 30-story high pigeon poopie. I then realized that was not melted ice cream. I looked right in between our chairs and saw another pigeon pooper. I then panicked. We were right. in. the. line. of. fire. And there was no escape! Because the super somber priest and processional were headed up the cloister. Fortunately, we made it out unscathed. 

 

London does an awesome job of preserving their history. I was rubbing everything, repeatedly thinking "I just touched a 700 year old..."

 

Our first sight-seeing stop on the tube kicked us out at the foot of Big Ben. We came out right as it struck noon. Magical! 

 

This was right by our hotel. I didn't really know my London neighborhoods well when I booked it, but I'd say I did OK! (It was much nicer than our neighborhood in Vegas.) On our street we had really tasty restaurants and even one day had a little farmer's market. I tried brown sauce, loved it! Brandon had a full English breakfast, regretted it! 

 

You know we had to take one of these shots. This is at the horse guards on Whitehall. It smelled like..well...horse poo. But it was seriously cool.

 

We, along with every other tourist in London, watched the changing of the guards. I guess you have to see it once in your life, but I daresay once is plenty. Considering the pressing crowds and the anticlimactic change of the guards, I think time is better spent elsewhere. 

 

This is the business end of all of those horses. The park nearby, St. James' Park, is just lovely. We had 4 days of sunshine and barely any crowds. I could move there tomorrow, but everyone keeps telling me I saw London at it's best. Boy did I ever!

 

On Sunday we went to Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park. I loved Hyde Park. Squirrels, roller bladders, people with comfortable chairs they charge you 5 pounds (about 9 dollars) to sit in.  But Speaker's Corner was amazing. I love how comfortably the British disagree with each other. In America, you'd be concerned who was packing a gun or when the riot and looting would ensue. This character was an American and an embarrassment. His pants read "Jesus is Lord." He set himself up to blow his candy apple red plastic trumpet and preach the gospel to the Godless Europeans. Oh, how they heckled him! It was awesome. He was quite rude and deserved it.

 

We went to the Victoria and Albert Museum. London has fabulous museums. This particular one had a history of fashion that was really interesting. This is Brandon in some replica medieval duds. They were heavy and scratchy. And if you notice his rump, it is not in reality triangular. That is his man purse underneath that he carried around. Hey, it's European! The museum has this fabulous fountain the kids play in and this great cafeteria. I want to bring Abby back!  

 

We did a walking tour of Whitehall. We saw #10 Downing Street and their government buildings. 

 

10 days together and Brandon and I only had one fight and it was over this man. We were behind him, and his hair, in line. Now this hair is probably the nastiest I have ever seen. And at the bottom was this obvious brown clump. To me, it looked like he had weaved in a rock to make his hair stay flat. To Brandon, it looked like a rotten clump of hair poo. We have had a heated debate which has yet to be resolved. 

 

The Tower of London was just fantastic. I expected big things and it over delivered! The tour was awesome, the crown jewels dazzling, and everything was so well explained.

 

The sole man responsible to guard the crown jewels. It's a big upgrade considering in the 1600s they were kept in a box under the stairs. It's a lonely job. 

 

Brandon applying for the job of being guard of the crown jewels. He wasn't accepted.  He was disqualified on grounds that he smiles when getting his picture taken. 

 

I am obviously trying to figure out how I could get this Flemish cannon to look good in the dining room.

 

This was a riot! They had this random reenactment of the crown jewel theft of 1667. This man was our hero and he included us (the tourists) in his plans to catch the thief and woo the woman he loves. It was hilarious! I think my favorite moments are when he asked me not to faint in jealousy as he has already given his heart to another  and when the thief tried to include Brandon in his wicked plot since his hair indicated that he was of a most unsavory character. I keep telling him it's a mistake to grow it out! He looks like a 17th century jewel thief.

 

Henry the 8th over compensating. 'Nuff said. 

 

This is taken from the bathroom in the original white tower inside of the tower of London. You would lift up a piece of wood which was covering a hole that dropped down 4 stories, plop yourself down, and let your business fall to the moat below. Sounds gross, but if this was my view, I might grow accustomed.

 

The home built for Anne Bolyen. The King had it built as a wedding present and she had her head chopped off before it was ever completed. 

 

I did not do my hair or makeup this trip since there were a 1,000,000 more important things to do. That's my disclaimer :) And even though I looked that rough, they still let us into Kensington Palace for high tea (or in our case, hot chocolate). We were starving, had been walking all day, and had skipped lunch. The dainty tea made us giggle. I think you need to come full to enjoy the experience. 

 

The British National Museum. You could spend you entire trip to London in here. AND they have a bucket of ice for your drinks in their cafeteria. Unheard of! I love this place.

 

The streets were clean, the traffic was light, the city is quiet. 

 

This was our hotel room. Brandon said it drove him crazy but I didn't think it was overly small.

Other unpictured notables: The hotel room had a groovy blue light option which made us feel like we were "up in the club." We tried every British convenience store chocolate bar and they were all gross to us. We went and saw a movie and on our walk home, a real English Fox popped out of a garden and walked beside us. The Chunnel makes your ears hurt, even though they said it wouldn't. British TV is really interesting. Everyone was super polite, this is my favorite city!

Adjei's last night in town

 

These videos are of Elder Adjei and Elder Livai at our house home in August. They were regulars at the Leavitts for the last few months. Elder Adjei is from Ghana and Elder Livai is from Hawaii. Elder Adjei was getting ready to be released from his mission, but due to his visa status, he wouldn't be able to go home and see his parents.  He would have to go straight to BYU. It has been 5 years since he has seen his family. We were lucky enough to be able to help figure out a way to get Adjei home to Ghana for Christmas. Easily the most fun thing I've done all summer! They wrote a little song to say thanks and performed it for us. I'm not sure which video it is, but it's the "Home" song. I think it's hilarious that a pair of broken lady's sunglasses gave Livai the courage he needed to perform.

A few things (or 888) I've missed...

 

The worst thing about summer ending and full time school starting was saying "goodbye" to our friends that we won't see as regularly. These two have been playing EVERY week since they were two but go to separate schools. Lucky for them, their mothers are as dedicated to their play dates as they are and are squeezing them in every chance we can!

 

The closing events for the Leavitt 2012 Summer Fun Committee were epic. We hosted a murder mystery at our house and it was awesome! The costumes, as you can see, were stellar and everyone really got into it. I was a Mexican man who owned the bar and served out mystery shots of prune juice and grapefruit/lemon juice. I am pretty sure this needs to be an annual occurrence. We were still dickering over the murder weeks later. 

 

In case you needed a closer look at that sweet 'stache. 

 

We had our annual primary idol and it may have been our best one yet. We do this each year to make sure our kids know the songs that will be in the program. On the left is Shaniqua Smiles (me), Wanda Words (Brityn) and Vinnie Volume (michele). It's a super fun Sunday and I love being in Primary. There is no where else I want to be!

 

Abby had her first day of school and she is rocking it! She loves school and is happy to go each day.

Other unpictured August notables: I broke the washing machine by washing rubber-backed bath mats. Who knew they could fall apart into confetti pieces and gum up the works? I had my first PTO meeting. Who is an old lady? Me! The 2012 Summer Fun Committee also had a their first annual Summer Fun Run. I won for fastest female and best use of spandex. It was a great time! We had a great ward swim party at Whitney Ranch rec center. It was a great month!