Ok, Alexis is skipping her morning nap, but I am typing anyways! FYI - I finished uploading Week 3's photos. We now will start a Week 4 gallery!

This past Saturday we went to the Grand Louvre Museum and to the surrounding sites. It was amazing. Saw the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo amongst other amazing works of art. The place was amazing. We only had time to see half of it before they closed. It is so massive – we will need to go back to see the rest. Before you get to the museum there is a huge garden area with tons of beautiful sculptures. We also saw the Egyptian Obelisk from the Luxor. We spent the whole day in that area. I could not quit taking photos; one could take hundreds of photos easily!

On Sunday (Father’s Day) I surprised Ronnie with a “D-Day Beaches Day Trip”. It was interesting taking Alexis out all day/night. We have to take the Metro at 7:30AM, then hop on a train for 2 hours to Normandy, then get on a bus for the tour. Then flip it around to get home around 9:30PM. She was a trooper though, did very well. On the train and bus she was hamming it up for everyone making them laugh. She fell asleep during the longest part of the tour away from the bus (Pointe du Hoc) – so mama carried her asleep in her arms for 45 mins. Ouch my back! That is all she slept the whole trip. I thought for sure she’d sleep on the train home and we could get a nap in. Oh no, not our sweet Alexis…too busy socializing! It was a great yet exhausting trip. Ronnie seems to really enjoy it. Makes your emotions go crazy when you see it all in person – it is fascinating, but so sad at the same time.
Here is what we saw: Highlights of the tour included:

American Cemetery - Technically United States territory, the cemetery is the final resting place for almost 10,000 fallen US soldiers. The grounds are beautifully kept and offer a stunning view over Omaha Beach and the English Channel.

Omaha Beach - "Bloody Omaha" extends to the east and west below the American Cemetery. Viewers of Saving Private Ryan have an idea of what happened here.

Pointe du Hoc - Today the small peninsula looks like the surface of the moon - hundreds of bombs and shells were dropped here to disable the two long-range guns that could fire on both Omaha and Utah beaches. The Rangers suffered terrible casualties here.

Omaha Beach Memorial Museum - Enjoy photos, videos and exhibits that tell the tales of D-Day.

Longues-sur-Mer Battery - Four long-range German guns and their bunkers still intact after heavy Allied aerial bombardment. Be sure to also take a walk to the observation bunker that hangs over the cliff above the English Channel.

On Wed night Ronnie’s work had a team outing where they got to go to a cooking class. He had a lot of fun, they got to prepare and eat a Moroccan dish. While he did that Alexis and I went out and hung at the Volleyball Tournament, they had the games going on and different booths set up doing all kinds of stuff. Got to see USA against Brazil – pretty cool! I never knew how tall Beach Volleyball players were either! It was fun for Alexis to watch. Also took her to hang out under the Eiffel at the Champ de Mars lawn area. We then met up with Ronnie’s co-workers wife for dinner by the Eiffel.

I also finally got to go out and have sushi - YES – 3 weeks I lasted without. I was going through withdrawals – nevertheless it was wonderful!

Alexis has her top 3 teeth sticking out now and her 4th tooth - front, center (YAY to fill the hole) is starting to poke out now. Been some craziness with her a few night waking up screaming etc. Teething fun!! She’s also “pressing” buttons well now on her toys and really has a funny personality. She was making the volleyball players laugh at the tournament because she would dance to the beat. What else, oh she also started nodding her head. It's so cute - praise God she does that one first and not shaking it "no" yet! :)

It has been raining a lot here on and off, but not enough to ruin any plans. We are still enjoying ourselves and can’t believe we only have one week left. So sad. We love you guys! – Us 3.