The Thinkers

Great Minds

Anna Louisa Maynard, great mind of modernity. Plato, great mind of antiquity.

Sorry we haven't posted more from the trip - we have so many pictures and stories to share. We should have Internet in our actual room in Paris, so it will be a lot easier. We hop on the plane in a few hours. Auf Wiedersehen...and Bonjour!

Guten Tag!

Nate, Anna and I arrived in Berlin yesterday! Woo-hoo! Here’s a quick report. The flight from San Francisco to JFK went well. Both girls were awesome. No crying from either of them. Cate was super excited about her new polka dot suitcase and she even dragged it around everywhere. So cute.



Here's Anna on her very first plane ride!


We spent a day in NJ, and then left Cate in the able care of her grandparents and boarded the red eye for Berlin. We think Germans are nicer than Americans to families with babies on planes. Seriously, everyone was so friendly, passengers & flight attendants alike. They are also much quieter than Americans. We were in two German airports yesterday and they were both silent as the dead. I’m not exaggerating. We felt like we had to whisper. It was quieter than church, by a long shot. Anyway, we were able to check into our hotel early and then forced ourselves to stay awake all day. I’ve never felt like a worse parent in my life. Anna was SO tired yesterday but we kept dragging her around town. We just couldn’t stay in our room or we would have fallen asleep. We just felt sooooo bad for her. Oh, yeah, bad parenting move #2 - we took a taxi without a carseat. In fact, one cabby wouldn’t drive us, but another agreed to. So despite the fact he was the stinkiest cabby in europe, we’re still grateful to him. Anyway, we all went to bed last night at 5 pm Berlin time and slept well over 12 hours, with several Anna feedings mixed in there. We’re feeling much better today and ready to actually enjoy our time in Berlin.

Yesterday we went to register Nate for his conference. I could not keep my eyes open on the subway ride. It was really funny. Nate kept telling me to do things, like count, etc…I couldn’t stay awake! Anyway, we didn’t get much fun stuff done yesterday because we were so wasted. Hopefully we’ll have more fun things to report soon! I’m also going to be posting on the food blog while we’re traveling, so check in there as well. Sending our love across the many miles!! ☺

Oh - here's Anna NOT sleeping in the little bed on the plane to Germany. She did really well, though, and actually DID sleep part of the way. Good girl.

happy 4th from the girls!

Happy 4th of July everyone! We had a great day in Menlo Park...we joined the town parade (everyone decorates their strollers, bikes, etc.) down the main drag in town and finished up at a big park with GIANT bouncy houses, games, live band. Cate had a blast.

I don't know that I've really mentioned it before, but I LOVE Menlo Park. It's a pretty small town around here...and definitely has a small town feel. Every time I go out for a walk, people are so friendly. We couldn't believe the turnout for the parade today. So fun. Come visit if you can!

are you havin' a laugh?

anna looks just about as silly as ricky gervais' sitcom character in extras...are you having a laugh? are you having a laugh? (I think nate's the only one out there who knows what I'm talking about...)


we found these glasses in our diaper bag at church, so I put them on her during sacrament meeting (the big main meeting at church). she left them on for a while. it was so so so funny. I was having a hard time holding it in. not very reverent, I know.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NATE!

Happy Birthday!!!! Cate, Anna and I can't wait to party with you! :) We love you!

Second Day of School...

Day 2 of school life for Cate and she already doesn't want to get out of bed in the morning! It took a WHILE to get her to wake up, and then when she was awake she wouldn't get up. She even got back into bed twice after I finally got her out. We have a long 15 years of school mornings ahead of us!!

One quick thing I don't want to forget: Nate's family used to say the following rhyme to his little sister Hannah. So, of course, Nate says it all the time about Anna.

"Anna Banana with the meatball eyes, put her in the oven and you've got french fries."

We don't really know what it means. But it just rolls off the tongue like pure poetry. Except when Cate says it. Here's her version, that she thinks is HILARIOUS, and makes even less sense, if that's possible!

"Anna Banana with the meatball eyes, put her in the oven and you've got LUNCH CAKE!"

First Day of School!

Today was Cate's first day of school! Yes, "Baby Cate" is now a preschooler! She has a great teacher named Jeanne (thanks Jen Mo!) and she's very excited about it all. Last night we talked about what she should wear and she said, "I think I should wear a dress." As we were getting her backpack together this morning, she really wanted to bring her scriptures. It was so cute. She also left her "biss" (blankie) behind without much a fight...I just told her big kids don't bring their bisses to school and she didn't question it. When we got in the car to leave, she told me, "I think Anna will miss me. But, you can drop me off later, and bring me home, and then she will be happy!" It was so sweet. When I left her at school, no problems at all. She's ready. It's just so cute. Our little girl is growing up way too fast.

(more pictures to come)

A few other things to remember...
At dinner the other night I asked Nate what time it was (the clock was hanging behind me) and Cate said, with authority, "7-6-o'clock." We thought it was cute and just random numbers, then Nate looked at the clock and sure enough, it was 7-6-o'clock (7:30).

Anna discovered that if she bangs her toys on the high chair, it makes noise. And she likes doing it. A lot. She is also really close to sitting up on her own. Not quite, but we're getting there. We already knew this, but Anna is a mover...it's amazing how she can get around the room with her simple rolling skills. I think she's going to be a LOT more active than Cate...and I may even have to babyproof the house this time around. Dang.

Berlin & Paris, Here We Come!

I just booked our apartment in Paris, so now I'm starting to get giddy about our trip this summer! Nate got invited to a conference in Berlin this summer, so Anna and I are going to tag along! We'll be in Berlin almost a week, then we're heading to Paris for a week. We are finally doing our trip to Paris. Yea!!! I'm so excited I don't even care that the cost of our plane tickets is going to put us in the poor house.

So, here's the apartment we're going to stay in: Rue de Beaune

And here is the neighborhood we'll be in: Go to Google Maps and copy & paste "Rue de Beaune, 75007 7ème Arrondissement Paris, Paris, France" in the search field.

Literally a hop, skip and a tiny jump to the Seine, Musee d'Orsay, the Louvre...Paris here we come!

Oh, and how stinkin' cute is this?!?!


Our parents are making this possible by taking Cate the two weeks we're gone. THANK YOU!!!

Anna's First Food!

Anna ventured into the world of real food on Saturday. It was kind of successful. She started out pretty happy with it and swallowed some.


But suddenly things took a turn for the worst...It was so funny.




My mom was in town this weekend and got to witness the big moment in person! It was great having her here.


I have tons of pictures from Utah...we'll see how long it takes me to get them up here!