Okay... so I stopped writing for a LOOONNNNGGG time... and I can't remember specific dates of our adventures, but I do remember them.  So I will write about what I remember.
Getting to Paris France...
It was sometime in April of 2011, and I was still pregnant with Leo, very pregnant.  Rick made all the arrangements for the train trip there and the hotel reservations, but told me little about it (which proved to be a bad idea later).  He had to work the day we were to leave, so the kids and I were to catch a train in Schweinfurt to get to Wurzburg and then transfer to Frankfurt to get on our train to Paris.  I had ALL of the passports and luggage with me, and Rick was going to drive and meet up with us in Frankfurt (he was going to try to beat the trains there).  I was a nervous wreck as this was my first true outing in Europe on my own and I had 2.5 kids with me.  The kids and I got on the trains successfully, and waited patiently at the station for the train to Paris when I got the phone call from Rick... he wasn't going to make it.  Uh... oh... now what?  It was time to board the train... I had the tickets so I should be fine... do I wait and catch a different train and lose $$$$$?  AHHHH what to do?  Rick said he would figure something out, and to go ahead.  He mumbled the name of the hotel and the address and I hoped that I got it right.  We talked on the phone a couple times during the ride, as he discovered he couldn't fly because he didn't have his passport... so he had to take a train.  We had an issue on the train because Rick needed to be there since he was the one who purchased the tickets...uh oh... are they going to kick us off?  Who's idea was this trip anyway?  ARRGGHHH!  The conductor let us stay because we had Rick's passport with us, so thank goodness for that.  We were on our way, not knowing how or when or if Rick was going to make it to Paris, and the whole trip may be on our own.  I knew Rick was resourceful, so I knew he would make it somehow.  My phone only worked in Germany so before we hit the border I got as much info from him as I could before I was left alone to deal with a foreign trip and 2 kids on my own...
I didn't know we had assigned seats, so I found a "cabin" with a table that we could just chill for the late evening trip.  Another couple joined us in the cabin and they were American with a baby, so I chatted about European strollers, and "mommy" stuff, as Aeris and Elliot rested.  It was nice to just relax for a little while before I had to figure out how I was going to navigate to our hotel knowing 2 phrases in French... Mercy buckets, and seafood plate... okay okay I knew a little more, but definitely not enough to figure out where to go and how to get there.  When we arrived in Paris it was LATE at night and very dark and misty out.  I found the line of cabs, took a deep breath, and walked toward them (I couldn't show the kids how scared and timid I was).  The next cab driver in line didn't speak a lick of English... and seemed to take forever to get to the hotel, which made me nervous because who knows where he was taking us.  I remember sitting in the back seat and caught a quick glimpse of the Eiffel tower in the distance on my left and nudged Aeris.  It wasn't until then that the reality that we were in Paris set in.  Aeris had a big smile on her face and we were happy.
We made it to the hotel, not some crazy place out in the middle of nowhere, and were ready to sleep.  I didn't make the arrangements so I was not aware that the hotel had an occupancy limit of 3 people and therefore Rick was going to have to sneak in when he did arrive.  We made it to our room, but my worries were not over.  The kids and I made it, but how were we going to meet up with Rick?  On our last call before the French/German border he told me he would meet us at the Eiffel Tower... that won't be so bad, right?