This is it! Paris here we come!

In just 12 hours I will fire up my Uber app and request a car to take Angela and I to the airport. To the airport to catch our 13 hour flight to Paris. Sitting here tonight I'm really having a hard time believing these facts.

Devon loves us!

We had reserved the weekend for last minute preparations but honestly, there weren't too many. There were only a few items on our to-do list yesterday. We made a run to the grocery store for some travel snacks (apples, bananas, Twizzlers, mega M&Ms, cheese and crackers), we made a cheat sheet for the new fancy still-intimidating camera, we charged all of our electronics and the little power banks to charge them again later, and we made some cookies to take the neighbors who'll keep an eye on our house while we're gone.

Then today we packed. We had everything already laid out clothing-wise but spent some time going through toiletries and other miscellaneous. We opened the care package we received yesterday from dear friend Devon and added a few more items to the bags.
We managed to get everything into just our rolling suitcases and our backpacks which was the goal all along. We'll throw our snacks and some sandwiches in the top in the morning and we'll be good to go.

So this is it. Tomorrow we leave! It seems like we've been dreaming of this trip forever, and planning for almost as long. And while we're gone we might check in, well Cedric probably will at least, and we'll make sure to take lots of pictures because, in the words of Audrey Hepburn, "Paris is always a good idea."

One week from today

That's right. At this time next week I'll be sitting on an Air Canada flight about to take off for Paris. It's hard to believe really. What seemed like such a pipe dream for so long (frankly for over half my life) is about to happen.

What's really been so cool is how many people are excited for us, genuinely so. From the comments on Facebook and emails we've received, to the people wanting to pray for us while we're gone, to friends and family members who continuously ask about our planning and express how much fun they are living vicariously through us.

Often times I feel like I'm bragging when I talk about it but I really do try to squash that feeling and feel happy instead. Happy that we have been intentional about saving money, happy that our grandparents wanted us to do something like this, happy that we have had so much fun planning and anticipating and getting ready. I'm almost afraid for what will happen after the trip, when there's no Paris to look forward to anymore. (Hawaii? Italy? Greece? New York?)

We've whittled down our To Do list considerably. I spent some serious time at our bank on Friday and on the phone with them and the credit card companies (we're only taking two cards, it should not have been that difficult). And then some more time at the bank Saturday, adding Angela to my travel debit account (cool thing for travelers, so that if something terrible does happen, the thief will not have access to my main account). And then we bought some money. Yep, bought, not exchanged. Because, frankly, European money is expensive. But it sure is cool looking.

We don't have much else to do before the weekend when we'll pack before heading out Monday morning. Some snacks to buy (anyone have any favorite plane foods?). Our new travel pillows to blow up and try out once they arrive today (they attach to the back out the headrest and go across our bodies, I hate those little horseshoe pillows so I am excited for these, and yes, I'll report back). We'll go through the travel guides one more time to see if there's any exciting stop we've missed planning for. Oh, and we'll practice with the camera a little bit more. Other than that? I guess I'll just keep dreaming...