We made it!

We arrived in Strasbourg yesterday morning. The trip actually went better than we both expected, although it is so much more work to travel with kids! There was so much stuff to take! Thankfully we had 2 cars to get us to the airport. My Mom had come up the day before to clean our house before we left, so she was able to bring some stuff and Laurie got her parents minivan to take the rest. Airport good-byes are the worst, especially when it is your Mom and best friend. It was not pretty at all.

We first flew from Grand Rapids to Detroit. Since Ken had flown so much lately, he was actually moved up to first class for the first time. Unfortunately for him, he didn't get to experience it because I quickly went up to the counter and changed his seat so that he could take a kid next to him. Sorry Ken, maybe next time! In Detroit, we quickly got some dinner and got settled  to fly to Amsterdam. Both kids were kind of tired at this point so we gave them some Benadryl to "help" with the sleep and Ken and I thought we were going to have the perfect kids that slept the whole flight. Not so much! It was a 7 hour flight and Ava slept 3 of the hours and Beckett slept only 2. They weren't bad, there was just too much going on that they wouldn't settle down to fall asleep.  By time both kids (and Ken) were totally out, they turned the lights back on to serve breakfast which was still an hour and a half before we landed and that was it for sleeping for Beckett. We went through customs and more security in Amsterdam. I guess there is some benefit for having 2 young kids, a huge stroller, carseat, and more bags than we can carry - they let us go to the front of the lines and we flew through. Our last flight was from Amsterdam to Strasbourg. I pulled out a new toy for Ava so she was happy. Beckett was just done at this point - thankfully the flight was only an hour and wasn't even half full. Once we arrived in Strasbourg, we took taxis to the short-term housing/apartment we are staying in until our furniture arrives. It is a 1 bedroom with a small kitchenette. It is in the city, so it is really easy to walk around and get places. I think that it is better than I thought, but it is a challenge with 2 little kids. They are sleeping in the main room, so Ken and I have to stay in our bedroom and bathroom when the kids go to bed. Not ideal, but there are beds to sleep on. I also think I saw a mouse in here today. I am not totally sure, but I have had 1 other mouse incident and I am pretty sure I saw one. We tested the mouse and put a piece of bread on the floor when we went to dinner. It was still here when we got back. I will keep you updated!

 A HUGE thank you to the Swaymans for giving us some groceries right away.

 A nice family room, although the only TV that is in English is CNN.

Ava did start watching some French cartoons this afternoon.

Ava's "Murphy" bed. Too bad she only lasted about 2 hours in it last night. She was wide awake from 1-3:30 this morning, which also meant that I was up. She was very sweet about it though - just wanted to talk and cuddle for a while. We are hoping for a better night tonight.

The hotel had a high chair, changing table and crib in the room when we got here. That has been so helpful!

Today we rested up and took the tram to our new place. Ava keeps asking where our home is and is this one our house. She has also started asking if she can take some toys back to our house in Michigan. We try to tell her that we will be here for a while, but it is alot to understand for a 3 year old. I think things will be better once we get on a schedule and our stuff arrives and we can feel more at home.

Riding on the tram. 

Tomorrow is another big day. Ava starts school at the International school here in Strasbourg. It is going to be totally different than "School with Libby" like she is used to. She picked out her clothes and we packed her backpack with her morning snack. She is so excited. I am hoping that her enthusiasm will rub off on me between now and tomorrow morning because right now I would rather keep her home with me. But, I know this is what is best, so she will go, and I will cry...