One of the great things about France is the school vacation schedule. The French believe in following the "rhythm" of the year, which mean that kids have a two week break every six weeks. This means that they have a fall break, a Christmas break, a "ski" break, and a spring break. They don't get out of school until the end of June, but a shorter summer means that less learning is lost from year to year. Unfortunately, the American school (where Kevin teaches and Serena is a student) only takes one of the weeks in the fall and one of the weeks in February, so they can finish the year mid-June. But, hey - it's still a break every 6-7 weeks, which is pretty great! So, for the week off this February, we decided to stay in Paris and pretend to be tourists (it IS the top tourist destination in the world). A visit to the Louvre is a "must-do" if you visit Paris. Bonus: the French give priority admission to people with disabilities, pregnant women and people with babies. Thank you, Ian, for letting us skip the line! It was actually funny, because I had him in the Boba wrap instead of the stroller. The sign showing who gets priority has a picture of a mom with a stroller, and I think that's what the guards are used to, so they were very confused. They didn't know if they should let us skip the line, since we didn't have a stroller. I was like "hello?...BABY." So, if you're visiting Paris while pregnant or with a baby, DON'T wait in long lines...go right to the front.

I love Easter time, with all the pastel colors, the themes of new life and fresh starts, and the promise of spring. I must admit, we haven't really created any new traditions for our kids - we've stuck with the tried and true. I set up the cookie decorating, egg dying, Easter baskets and egg hunt just the same as my mom did it when I was a kid, and I love seeing my kids carrying on the traditions. We always leave the baskets and eggs (both hard-boiled and plastic) out the night before, and in the morning the baskets are filled, and the eggs are all hidden. The girls are getting a little too old (and too cool) to be really excited for all of it, but they play along. And now we get to start all over again with Ian! Holidays really are so much more fun with kids.