It feels like forever since I’ve been back and I STILL haven’t written anything about our trip…BAH! Well don’t worry everyone the suspense is finally over….
I guess our whole trip started when Daniel told me over a year ago that the Chamber Choir (at UCSB) was planning a trip to Paris for the 20th anniversary of the choir school at Notre Dame Cathedral. Prof. Gervais who leads the UCSB choir was the one that founded the school 20 years ago and they invited him back with his American choir to hold a concert with the Notre Dame choir. In 850 years nothing like this has ever happened. No American choirs have ever sung anything with the Notre Dame choir so it was a pretty big deal. I remember Daniel coming home and telling me about it then telling me that he wasn’t going to go because we didn’t have the money. I talked to him about it and convinced him that this was his last and only chance to have an opportunity and experience like this and I told him he had to go. Even if it meant being away from him for 2 weeks I knew it was the right thing to do. He agreed and things started from there. First it was just Daniel going, then after considering how much of a tax refund we were getting this last year (I love having 2 kids!!) we toyed with the idea of me going out there with him. I couldn’t bare the thought of leaving my children for that long (don’t judge me!) so the plan slowly evolved into me meeting him in Paris with the kids at the end of his concert series and spending a few weeks together. Line upon line we made the arraignments and Daniel left with the choir on June 22. I stayed with my mom for the 2 weeks he was there getting myself and the kids ready for the trip. It was hard because internet access was sparse so we didn’t get to skype as much as I would have liked. We still got to e-mail each other and keep in contact that way which was nice. The wait wasn’t too long until I was on my way up to the airport with the kids getting ready for a 10 hour flight on my own. My dad was the one that drove me to the airport and even managed to get a “gate pass” that let him go through security with me and pretty much escort me to the gate. 
It was so nice having him there because I don’t think I could have handled going through security on my own with 2 kids, carry-ons and a car seat.
(I told John to smile for the picture but instead he was trying to make a funny face)
When it was time to get on the plane we said goodbye to my dad and I pushed the stroller down the little walkway thing. The moment I tried to get my stuff and the kids on the plane all hell broke loose! John started SCREAMING his head off and Joshua was hungry and tired and fussing. I had my arms full as I walked onto the plane with screaming kids and immediately I was everyone’s worst nightmare. I had people giving me the dirtiest looks and one lady even had the nerve to say “They’re starting already?” and rolled her eyes and glared. By the time I got to my seat I was ready to cry. Thank goodness there was a really nice older couple sitting right behind me that helped me out a little or I would have lost it. It wasn’t a full flight so they were able to put us in the middle row with an extra seat that was really nice. Once the plane started going and I shoved his hand full of candy John calmed down and was fine the rest of the flight. We left at 5pm so I really only had to worry about entertaining them until “bedtime” and I was so happy I brought our little portable DVD player. It seriously saved my life. The battery life is quite good on those things so I was able to keep both kids occupied (along with the snacks, drinks, and dinners they provided) until they finally fell asleep. I wasn’t able to sleep on the plane and I kept missing parts of the movies so I ended up just “resting” which consisted of me laying in an extremely uncomfortable position nodding off every once in a while and waking back up with a sore neck. Not very fun! We finally arrived and I waited until every single person was off the plane before asking the flight attendants to help me with my stuff. I was a little worried about how I was going to carry everything to baggage claim by myself but God was looking out for me because one of the airport workers who was from France and spoke great English helped me carry the car seat while I pushed the kids in the stroller and carried 2 carry-on bags. She was so nice and I was so grateful for the help. *Side note: We were able to see this same worker on our way home. She saw me and said “You’re the lady with the heavy car seat!” I laughed and Daniel thanked her for helping me out when I got here. It was kind of fun to see her again* Since I was with an airport worker I was ushered to the front of every check-out line and made it to baggage claim in record time. I waited for my bags then went and sat in the lobby and waited for almost 2 hours on Daniel picking me up. The choir was driving back to Paris from a small town in central France so he had to wait until they arrived in Paris to catch a train to the airport to get me. I was so excited to see him when he arrived. I felt completely exhausted but ready to start exploring. We grabbed all of the luggage and headed towards the metro. It took us about 2 hours to get from the airport to our little studio apartment but it was a fun adventure. We had to try and squeeze on to the Metro with a stroller, 2 kids, 2 large suitcases, 2 car seats, 2 carry-ons, and ourselves (we were staying in Europe for a month so we needed to bring a lot of stuff!). We had 3 or 4 transfers which was annoying because each transfer we had to carry everything off then try to find the right line then the right train then get everything back on before the doors closed. We took our time and tried not to rush things or we would have gone crazy. Finally we arrived at the place where we’d be staying. Thank goodness Daniel had already been there for a few weeks so he had figured out exactly how to get there before hand. Origionally we were suppose to have an apartment that was down a few blocks from the Metro station but once Daniel went to check in they told him that they gave that room to someone else but they would give us a room in the building right across the street from the Metro instead. It worked out so great. I really liked our tiny little studio because it was the perfect size for us. We got everything up the stairs (we were on the 2nd floor) and immediately shoved the boys in the shower (they both pooped and we hadn’t been able to change it because of traveling!). 
(Me standing in the front door looking in on our tiny little studio apartment)
Later on the evening we went back out into the city to the Hostel where Daniel had been staying to get his stuff. Again it was an adventure getting suitcases, a pack-and-play, and the stroller with the kids back to our studio but it wasn’t too bad. I was just excited to be there and be able to see France for my first time. The Hostel that Daniel had been staying at with the choir was just a few blocks away from the Louvre Museum so we ended up stopping by there and letting John run off his energy for a little bit. 
(The wind was blowing and once the sun went down it was really chilly but still a lot of fun)
While we were there we watched the sunset and they lit up the Eiffel Tower (you can see it off in the distance from the front of the Louvre) and it sparkled for about 20min or so at dusk. It was so beautiful and I just couldn’t believe I was there seeing all of this wonderful stuff with the 3 boys that matter most to me in the world. 
(I didn't actually take this picture but you can see how incredible it would look while the lights are all flashing on it. It's a really spectacular sight)
We made our way back to the apartment and I completely crashed. The boys on the other hand slept for a few hours then were up for hours. Jet lag was one of the biggest challenges for us on the trip. It was hard for me because I hated being up when I wasn’t suppose to and the kids got to take naps during the day but I didn’t because there was too much to see and do so I ended up just being really tired because I was up all night with the boys then out all day doing things. It was worth it though even if I was exhausted a lot. 
So anyway, there’s the first part of our trip. I know this was super long but this is pretty much my journal so I want to write down as much as I can so I won’t forget.
Stay tuned for more exciting tales of.... The Tuutau's in Europe!
We kept walking down to the McDonalds where we were going to meet Daniel’s friend that he use to be in the LA Children’s Choir with when they were little (her name is Julia and she is great!) and jet lag hit the kids and they both fell asleep. This was one of the only days we didn’t bring the stroller with us because Daniel thought it would be more difficult to get on and off the trains and subway with. It is more difficult that’s for sure but after carrying sleeping babies all day we were exhausted and decided to never forget the stroller again! We ate at McDonalds while we waited for Daniel’s friend Julia to get there. When she arrived we sat and visited with her for a little while then walked through the “Jardin Des Plantes” together (which is the main botanical garden in France). We walked through the garden (which was huge) and John saw a merry-go-round that he couldn’t pass up. We let him ride it once and he was ecstatic. Julia then took us over to a little café across from the garden for drinks. It was the cutest little place. There were these cute little birds that kept flying all around the café looking for crumbs. John was in heaven and wanted nothing more than to catch one of the birds. He never got close but he would get so excited when a bird would land close to our table. We walked Julia back to the Metro and said goodbye then sat in the garden a little longer to feed the birds some of the hardened croissant I had in my bag.
