French-tards, eventually gave way to a more fluid option:

Paris-tards

Pronounced: pa-REE-tards

Much closer to the actual word "retard," and therefore, much better.

And today, they left. And that makes me sad. What wonderful guests and wonderful friends. We had an amazing life back in Austin and they were one of the reasons it was so.

Some days, I wonder if it will ever be worth it that we came here. So far, I can come up with: great vacations, improvement in my cooking skills, learning French, and the fact that yesterday, my son answered me when I asked him a question in French.

I need to post pics. The Orsay has a floor call the Salles des Fetes and it's beautiful. Never seen it before! Once I get the pics from Renee, I will post them. There were also other rooms with cute urns and gigantic vases that would look GREAT in my house one day.

French-tards

Our friends, Ryan and Renee, have come to Paris for a leisurely visit! And no visit with them is complete without a new saying/catchy phrase:

French-tard: a person who does not know how to speak French and does not know the standard customs/manners of the country. Example of use: While ordering in English at a restaurant: "Sorry, we are a couple of french-tards. Could we have some water please?"

OK, they earned their keep at our place just from that word alone.

So, The McNiehs arrived on Thursday and we were able to hang out with them all this weekend. We started Saturday with the Rodin Museum and they posed for me. VOILA:

Then, we shopped for a lunch on Rue Cler and had a picnic in front of Les Invalides:
It was delicious until the over-aggressive bees of this season started flying away with bits of our roasted chicken. We were fine with the 2 that kept coming back. But then they told their friends and 5 more showed up. Nice try Mother Nature!

Brian and Ryan threw the frisbee back and forth while Renee and I chatted away. Just like old times!

We had planned to visit Napoleon's tomb and the War Museum...but Renee/Ryan didn't seem TOO interested in that idea so we opted out and walked over to Champs des Mars to see le Tour Eiffel:
Then we dined on takeout cassoulet for dinner while watching Eurotrip. Nice, I know.

Today, we ventured out to Versailles with them. While they toured the chateau, we wandered around the gardens:

And were there to see the fountain displays, which must have been cool in the 1800's because they certainly weren't that cool in the parlance of our times. Michael at least had fun feeding the ducks:

And that was the end of our day! Ryan has been wearing his pedometer and it read 12000 steps today. That's roughly 6 miles.

Not too shabby! We are enjoying eating and hanging out with our friends. I don't think any of us have felt HUNGER since they arrived.

Biblical Marriages and Night Light by Dr. James and Shirley Dobson

Possibly Hot Topic of Discussion.

Now...I do realize that Dr. James Dobson is a Christian Conservative. And when I decide to do a couples devotional on marriage (by myself by the way)...I am inviting biblical marital principles into my life. And to be honest, I'm not quite prepared for it. And I don't quite like it. There, I said it.

Am I saying a biblical marriage is awful? Or that it does not work? Absolutely not. I know of 2 "biblical marriages" that work quite well for the people involved.

I am saying that I am disappointed in Night Light's 2 chapters on the roles of wives and husbands.

Dr. Dobson devotes one chapter to the role of husband. Here are some questions from that chapter:

• What has been my most "shining moment" as your husband?
• How can I (the wife) encourage you (the husband) in the responsibilities God has given to you?
• Am I (the husband) sensitive to your (the wife's) feelings regarding decisions?
• Do you ever miss being single? Why?
• How, as a wife, can I help you be a better father?
• Wife asking husband: Do you ever struggle with trying to care for my emotional well-being? What can I do to help?

Dr. Dobson then devotes one chapter to the role of wives. Here are some questions from that chapter:

• Does the role of "helper" seem insulting to you?
• Is it easy for you (the wife) to serve me as your husband?
• Do you (the husband) feel that I (the wife) believe in you?
• How can we define the wife's duty to submit to her husband?
• If you (the husband) were asked to define my (the wife's) character, would noble come to mind?
• Wife asking husband: What do you think is the biggest setback/failure you have experienced? Did I show you support at that time?
• Husband asking wife: Which of my favorite activities do you enjoy?
  Wife asking husband: Do you appreciate having me join you in activities?

Sense a trend? The husband's chapter is...of course, all about the husband's role and how the wife can help him be better. The wife's chapter is all about...the husband and how the wife can submit and serve him better. Hmmm...did we forget all about the wife's needs?

Now, to Dobson's credit, he didn't ignore the wife's role completely. He did ask questions about how the men could be sensitive to the wife's feelings in decision making. And how to care for her emotional well being. But let's look at the data:

Husband chapter:
22 questions total

4 questions recognizing the wife's feelings/rights to have them/her self improvement
6 general marriage questions that are good for any marriage
12 questions about the father/husband's needs/wife's need to submit and support

Wife Chapter:
20 questions total

3 questions recognizing the wife's feelings/rights to have them/self improvement
2 general marriage questions that are good for any marriage
15 questions on how the wife can better support her husband, submit.

And so I finish these chapters disappointed. I would have hoped for some more questions about the husband considering the wife's interests and joining HER on them. Or maybe some questions on the difficulty of being a wife/stay at home mom and how the husband could help her there.

But no. No discussion as such in the wife chapter. Just more focus on how to help your husband in his bad times, taking on HIS interests as your own and well, basically being his helper without any focus at all on YOU.

So...there. I don't like it. And maybe that makes me a bad biblical wife. I have my own interests, my own needs, and my own necessity to be treated as Brian's equal, not his subject to lead.

But in my marriage, Brian loves me anyways. And it works for us.

Discuss. Conservative and not so conservative opinions all welcome.

Prayer

If you read my blog and believe in prayer, please pray for our friends. We met a wonderful little family who is friends with Brian's brother. We vacationed with them in London and they have a gorgeous 15 month old little girl.

The little girl is currently in the children's hospital because of second and 3rd degree burns on her hands, forearms and forehead. She got them from touching the glass in front of their fireplace. She goes in to surgery in the next week for skin grafting and our thoughts are with her. If you pray, please keep this precious little girl and her family in your prayers.

We certainly are.

Love,
P

Michael

So I don't talk about Michael enough in my blog...

Yeah...right!

I love this most recent picture of Michael. So full of joy, fun, speed...and of course, a bubble blowing thing.

Michael's "latest"

• When naming people he's going to do an activity with...he sometimes names the same people 2-3 times each. Ex: "Mommy, do you want to play wood choo choo with Michael, Daddy, Mommy, Daddy, Michael, Mommy?"
• He's starting to name emotions to things that happen to him. He told me on Friday that "I am sad because I lost my Mommy." This was what he told me when I picked him up from preschool and it broke my heart.
• He loves to help cook, blow bubbles, run with abandon down hills, ride on scooters/bicycles, play with trucks/cars, hunt chestnuts and throw them in the stream.
• Lately, he's been picking the color pink for stuff. Drives me crazy. He knows this so he continues to pick pink so I think I better play nonchalant about the whole thing. He likes trucks/cars/boy things though...so I'm trying not to make a big deal out of it.
• He climbs in our bed and sleeps between us without us knowing. So we wake up and voila, there's Michael.
• He recognizes Edith Piaf songs and has a favorite one he goes crazy to.
• Michael knows our CDs and picks them out to listen to. He'll choose some Alan Jackson and announce that we're listening to him. Lately, it's been U2, which we do not contest.

I think that's it. This is for me. So I don't forget what he's like at 2 going on 3 years of age.

For every child, there is a small kingdom that is just for them to roam: Happy 3rd Birthday Karstyn!
We had a great time at Karstyn's 3rd birthday party today. Great food, great company, and fabulous fun. I had an awesome time doing a mini shoot. The lighting was Oh-So-Yummy. Who would have guessed at noon that it would be the case. Will proof the pictures soon!

The kids couldn't have had any more fun I don't think. There were balance bikes, balloons, parachutes, playgrounds, big hills, sand pits...my word. An awesome time.

Love,
P

Dijon!

Well, we planned a vacation - Daniels Style - meaning we decided on Saturday to go somewhere. Booked a hotel the following Tuesday. And were off on the train the following Saturday morning, August 22nd.

Vacation Destination: DIJON!

Yup, the home of Dijon mustard. I know, you are jealous. :o)

Here are the Daniels on a street leading to one of their town cathedrals:
On Saturday, we spent the day relaxing and wandering around the town. Here are Brian and I on the main square:

The boys slept through the carousel on the first day and us parents had a nice break with un cafe to boot. We enjoyed a relaxing stroll, ate hearty bourgogne cuisine, and just took in the sights and sounds of a cute little town. Here is a picture of the boys being happy, adorable, and the same size:

We made it to another large plaza with these fountains shooting from the floor. We stripped the boys down to their skivvies and let them go wild. This resulted in Michael slipping and ending up with a big knot on his head. While doing this, Brian and Jonathan shopped for our picnic dinner.

We dined like kings at a park nearby Dijon's version of Arc de Triomphe. We had some delicious cheeses, tons of rillettes, some jambon cru, and lots of wine. Well, we drank 1 bottle but bought lots at least. Michael had another injury where he tripped and then fell on the stroller wheels. OUCH.

After dinner, we found a park for the boys to play on. And THIS awesome thing:

Would have gotten much more awesome pictures, but the light was fading fast and 1/60th shutter speed just DOES NOT take clear pictures when you have adults pedaling as fast as they can.

The next day, we woke up, had a slow breakfast and took the boys to the carousel. I mean really, can you say no to these 2 faces? Well, YES. Especially since they are 2, going on 3, so they do lots of things that make you say "STOP THAT!"

We had an awesome time exploring this quaint little town. Thanks go out to Brian's parents for recommending it to me! And here are some other pictures, just because I love them:

1st Day of Preschool!

So we did it! Michael went on his first day of preschool and was a star. Here he is outside our apartment, ready to go:
He took off running down the street to catch our bus. Got him to turn around really quickly:

And we made it to school just fine! He was a bit scared in the beginning, but 3 French teachers immediately welcomed him and helped him feel at home. Here he is getting the nerve to attempt his first craft:

I think he was really scared...but he didn't cry and was a big boy! The teachers were all very nice and he is in the same class as Aiden, so he has a friend already.

So I picked him up later and he didn't have any peeing/pooping accidents at school (knock on wood THERE!). When I got there, he was sitting in a circle like all the other kids and was happy to see me! Some funny observations:

• When I picked him up, he was the only kid not wearing shoes. Do not know how that came to be.
• When the teacher said: "Prends tes chaussures," he went to his shoes and picked them up. NEAT right? Well, she WAS pointing to them at the time so we can't take full credit there.
• He knew exactly how to use the bathroom there and flush. I took him before we left and he knew the drill.
• Have no idea what he did with paint, but it's all over the bottom of his shoes...and had little specks on his face. Look closely around his left eye:

SO VOILA! Let's see how the 2nd day goes. With all our friends so far...the 1st day isn't bad because they are not fully aware of what's going on. Then the 2nd day they burst into tears because they know they are being left!

Michael said he did have fun at school though and he wanted to go back tomorrow. SWEET!

Me, I went to a cafe, had breakfast, read my Gourmet magazine and wandered up some side streets. It is really great fun to get to explore a new neighborhood intimately!

**Aside** I know some of my readers live in Paris and want some photographic services. I now have mornings free and would love to do some shoots in the Musee du Rodin/etc! E-mail me if you are interested. *Aside done.*

Downward Facing Dog

Well, I spoke too soon with the potty training. Michael still has accidents and they are no fun to clean up. One day, he peed on my rug. Then peed on his rug. The pooped a bit in his underwear. And then decided to draw with green marker on the rug he peed on already.

It wasn't a fun day.

Lately, Michael will do the yoga position Downward Facing Dog and just pee...pee...pee. I suppose it helps him to see his pee stream better and where it's going.

Fountainebleau

While The Mom was still here at the beginning of August, we took a field trip to Fountainebleau, a chateau outside of Paris with lots of forest/hunting grounds. Here's Brian and his mom with a posing European in the background:
Before visiting the chateau, we enjoyed lunch in their little town center. Michael purchased himself a squeaky new friend:
I actually don't have much to write about the chateau because I just ran through it with Michael while Brian and his mom enjoyed the informative audio guide tour.

Afterwards, we explored the grounds of the chateau and rented a boat on their little pond. You can almost imagine what it would have been like for the royalty to enjoy some tea and then go boating along the little lake.

We decided to employ child labor:

Brian and I argued a lot on this ride. We played musical chairs on the boat because the weight distribution made the boat easier to row. I just thought Brian wasn't that great at rowing. You can imagine how fun that was. But in the end, it was a lot of fun.

Afterwards, The Mom and I enjoyed tea on the veranda while Brian and Michael took a horse ride around the property:
Then, we decided our day wasn't long enough and we went and had Indian food near Gare du Nord at our favorite place.

It was a beautiful day!

Transportation

Ok. I've had this blog now a while and not talked much about "public transportation."

On most days, I enjoy not having a car, walking everywhere and taking the metro/bus.

But yesterday, was not one of those days.

I had to go drop off Brian's computer cord at work.

So I went to the bus stop that would drop me off right in front of his office.
No bus. Road work being done so who knows where the bus stop has been moved. No sign telling anything.

OK...so I'm going to have to take the bus to the RER. Involves a transfer, but there is no other choice.

Get to the RER. The next train's terminus is one stop before the stop I need to get off. RATS. The next train isn't for 20 minutes.

So I get on the RER train. Get off one stop too early and walk 15 minutes to Brian's office.

The story does not end here.

To go home, near naptime, I figure taking the bus is best. Michael can sleep in the stroller and I don't have to deal with stairs. Thanks to Michael dawdling and picking up 4 rocks at Champs de Mars, we miss our bus by 30 seconds. Next bus isn't for 15 minutes.

Walk 7 minutes to nearest metro, take that without event. Get to our metro stop. Carry a stroller with a sleeping 30 lb toddler in it up 3 flights of stairs.

Walk home 10 minutes.

Get home. Elevator in my building is broken.

Pick up 30 lb toddler with my heavy purse, etc...carry him up 4 flights of stairs. Leave stroller downstairs.

Later in the afternoon, find out elevator is now working.

*sigh*

Williams Sonoma's Pancetta and Provolone Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Yesterday, Michael and I went with all our 2 year old friends to Cite des Enfants, which is like a Children's museum here in Paris. It was great fun and pictures to come later.

We went home for lunch and Laura tells me that she has absolutely no food in the house to feed her 2 starving boys. I don't have much food either but I have more food than "no food!" So I invited her over for a very impromptu lunch.

Well, that lunch morphed into a huge day affair! We fed the kids. Then put them down for naps and had sushi "takeaway" for lunch while watching Spanglish on Emotion. For us, that was SUPER fun. :o)

Then, we both looked at each other and said, well, we don't have anything for dinner for either family. So we decided to grocery shop together once the boys woke up, and Laura and I watched the kids and made dinner together.

We tried this William's Sonoma recipe and it was a DELIGHT. Laura was the one who did all the hardwork with the chicken stuffing and sauteeing! Props to her for an amazing job.

Pancetta and Provolone Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Photo Credit: WilliamsSonoma.com

Recipe credit: WilliamsSonoma.com
Don't want to get in trouble with anyone for posting this stuff on my blog! Givin' credit where it is due!

A savory stuffing of provolone cheese and pancetta gives a flavor boost to chicken breasts. Provolone is a cow's milk cheese from southern Italy that has a firm texture and mild flavor.

Ingredients:
1 tsp. plus 1 1/2 cups olive oil
6 oz. pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs. minced fresh sage
5 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, each about 8 oz., pounded 1/2 inch thick
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
3 oz. aged provolone cheese, grated
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 egg whites, lightly beaten
3 1/2 cups toasted bread crumbs


Directions:
In a fry pan over medium-high heat, warm the 1 tsp. olive oil. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until crispy. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Transfer the pancetta mixture to a small bowl and stir in the sage.

Create a pocket in each chicken breast: Lay the breast on a work surface with the pointed end away from you. Insert a long paring knife in the center of the end closest to you (the rounded end). Move the knife around to enlarge the opening, forming a pocket; be careful not to cut through to the outside of the breast. Then remove the knife. Repeat with the remaining chicken breasts. Season the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. Stuff each chicken breast with 2 Tbs. of the cheese and 1 Tbs. of the pancetta mixture. Set the chicken on a wire rack-lined baking sheet and freeze for 5 minutes.

Put the flour, egg whites and bread crumbs in separate breading pans or shallow dishes. Dredge the chicken in the flour, then dip into the egg whites and coat evenly with the bread crumbs, pressing so they adhere. Set the chicken on a wire rack-lined baking sheet and refrigerate for 15 minutes. In a wide pan over high heat, heat the 1 1/2 cups olive oil. Working in batches, fry the chicken until crisp and browned underneath, 5 to 6 minutes. Turn the chicken over, reduce the heat to medium and cook until the chicken is cooked through, 7 to 8 minutes more, adding more oil to the pan if needed. Drain the chicken on a paper towel-lined plate. Transfer to a platter and serve immediately. Serves 5.
Williams-Sonoma Kitchen.

Here is a good link on the technique to stuff Chicken breasts with pictures:
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/tipTechniqueView.cfm?objectid=92F4ABA6-A53B-FCA0-2B4434084DD5034C

Gorgeous. Again.

It is GORGEOUS. Again. Sunny, not a cloud in the sky and about mid 70s for temperatures.

I think that THESE are the days people imagine me having in Paris. Like every day of my life is sunny with no problems and highs in the mid 70s. Having lunch and sipping wine at cafes. Yes, this is what people think my life is like I suppose.

But the reality is...we only have days like these probably 5-10 days out of the year. That's it.

Every other day, you could climb to the roof of my building and touch the deep dark clouds as they roll by.

Week Recap

Our weather has been INCREDIBLE this week. Fall is rolling in, but with the sunshine of the summer still. So we have been enjoying sunny weather with highs in the upper 70's. Gorgeous.

On Tuesday, we visited our friend Mary and George out in the suburbs of Paris. It was a bit of a trek, but it was well worth it! Michael had a great time playing with George, and I had a wonderful time catching up with a friend and enjoying her delicious lunch!

On Wednesday, Kirsten/Jonah/Ella and Katie/Karstyn/Eleyna came out to my local mall where the kids watched a free puppet show and dined on McDonalds afterwards for lunch. Michael decided he couldn't sit still and eat so we had to go home early and leave all the fun.

Thursday, we ventured out to the 16th and had a playdate with Jonah/Karstyn/Elise. As always, great fun. And then we had Natalia and her new baby over for dinner. She is married to one of the funniest Frenchmen I know. Well, I only know 4 and they are all just so funny. The exact opposite of what I imagine a Frenchman to be, stuffy and snobby.

Friday, we stayed around the neighborhood to rest. And met up with Laura/Oliver/Henry at our park to catch up with them. As always, great conversation and Oliver has started to say "Michael!"

Saturday, another French family in our aparment invited us over at the last minute for "aperodinatoire," which means appetizer extravaganza which results in dinner. What's not to like about someone making all the dinner arrangements for you? We had a great time catching up and their 2 boys played well with Michael. It was really cute. And great French practice for me! Luckily, I did ok! Despite not getting my one lesson a week, I am still conversational!

Today is Brian's day off. He went running with a friend and had breakfast with him. Came back and we went to church and had lunch together. Brian cracked up Michael with his muscle poses.
Then, he played American football at Les Invalides, Fantasy Football draft at the Atkins and then poker night.

One point - we changed our seats at church. We used to sit in the back with all the families. We never understood much because of the echo of the speakers in church.

Now, we sit RIGHT next to the speaker so we can understand better. And -Oh-My-Word. Made a WHOLE lot of difference! We could actually take care of Michael while at the same time listen in French and understand most if not all of the readings and homily. Makes going to church much more worth it for me because I am getting something out of it and not just taking care of Michael the whole time.

Just wanted to write about our week before I forget. Scroll down for posts with pictures.
P

2nd Part - Brittany, France

After our grand D-day tour, we headed to Brittany to savor the region and see Mont St. Michel.

We lost our Rick Steves book while in the American cemetary. And all our hotel information for Brittany was in that book. RATS. Luckily, Brian had written the small town it was in on our itinerary, Plouer-sur-Rance. So we drove to that town based on my superior navigational skills and just hoped there would be a billion signs for the place when we got there. And THERE WAS! So we made it just fine.

The first day in Brittany, we drove along the coast between St. Malo and Mont St. Michel. The views were spectacular. We got out of the car and played on this beach with an island home in the backdrop.Along the way, we stopped and bought some Calvados, a French apple brandy, from a guy selling some from outside of his van. Sweet. He also sold some of the best apple juice and raspberry apple juice I've ever tasted.

Finally, we made it to Mont St. Michel and were greeted first by crowds of people and then HUGE rainstorms. Luckily, we got some family pictures before that began:

After hiking uphill towards the abbey and taking the stairs, Michael decided he was tired and ready for his nap:

Don't know how he got so tired when he didn't actually DO any of those stairs! :o) We signed up for an English tour of the abbey and were so glad we did. Despite all taking turns taking care of Michael, we all learned a little bit about medieval times and society. Some random interesting points:

• None of the stones used to build the abbey were from the actual rock island it sits on. The land/material from the location is considered sacred so it was not used.
• Quicksand and the fast rising tide are 2 of the dangers of the abbey.
• Pilgrims have been making the religious trek to this location since the 900's.
• It is suspected that the abbey was built structurally to represent the heirarchy of their society and religious life.

All in all, a very informative and beautiful stop. For dinner, we ate at this funny little Restaurant du Terroir, which was not only open, but practically empty, good, and reasonably priced. And to boot, they had 2 goats. Which once Brian and Michael discovered that the goats would eat anything...well....brings new meaning to "dining entertainment."

Brian spent the rest of the meal asking us, "Are you going to eat that vanilla bean? Let's see if the goat will eat it."

And Michael running around asking each of us, "Do you want to go feed the goats?"

I would not have been surprised if those goats had the runs after what Brian and Michael gave them to eat!

Well, after taking a bit too long in Normandy, we decided to extend our stay by one night in Brittany. After asking our hotel owner and stressing him out a bit and changing our train tickets, we found ourselves on vacation for another night.

The next day, we set off for Dinan, a town in Brittany. It was a normal European town, small, quaint, with cute architecture. We enjoyed the rampart views, despite the rain:

We finished with Dinan by early afternoon and decided to visit Dinard, a cute beach boardwalk town. But on the way, the entire car fell asleep and a storm cloud rolled in and spoiled all the fun. So we just relaxed for the remainder of our last day.

On our travel day back to Paris, we headed to St. Malo and wandered along their ramparts and enjoyed their beach views with sailboats.


Brian got our train tickets switched to get back to Paris an hour earlier! So there we were. At the end of yet another successful trip exploring France.

La Belle France. I could go on and on about how absolutely delightful the countryside is in France. Paris...you can take Paris from me and I would be absolutely fine. But in my heart, I'll always carry around my memories and sights from Collioure, Sarlat, the Cathar castles, and driving along yet another small windy country road in France.

It is THOSE moments that have made my stay in France something to write home about.

1st Part - Normandy, France

In mid July, we took a vacation to explore the Normandy region of France and, of course, visit the D-Day beaches. Prepare yourself for a very mini and hardly expert history lesson. I welcome any corrections on my info because it is VERY possible that I am mistaken at times.

We 1st visited a small charming port town called Honfleur:
There, we began our vacation in slow fashion by having a delicious seafood lunch. Michael got this amazing fish in a wine cream sauce and mashed potatoes and loved it! After this, we wandered around the small town, Michael rode the carousel a million times, and we hiked up to the top of the town for views of Le Havre, another French port.

After exhausting Honfleur, we checked into Madame Sebire's bonafide farm, which was about a 10 minute drive from Arromanches. She had new calfs in the barn and real cows in the pasture. Michael L-O-V-E-D that. At the end of everyday in Normandy, he would ask us, "Go home to farm?"

The next day, we drove to Arromanches to see their memorial and the D-Day 360 movie. Here is the view of the town from the top. See the mulberries in the ocean in the distant? These were used as a man-made dock to unload supplies etc. for the Allies.
After this, we drove to Longues-sur-Mer, which is where 4 German artillery bunkers still stand today. You can see 3 of them built kind of into the hills here:
Despite being bombarded by Allied naval fire, they are still standing. Incredible. Here is a closeup of one of the canons:
After this, we drove to the American Cemetary, where we were in awe of how meticulously kept it was. It was beautiful, serene, peaceful, and such a great dedication to our nation's soldiers who died for something really worth fighting for, freedom:
If I am not mistaken, the walkway between these reflecting pools and the memorial behind the photographer is the exact point where American soldiers first broke through enemy lines at Omaha and penetrated the top of the beach. If not here, it is somewhere here along the cemetary that it is.

Michael at the cemetary:
From the cemetary, there was a tremendous view of Omaha Beach. There was a hiking trail that took you down there. Instead, we followed Rick Steve's recommendations and drove to Vierville where we parked...and walked 2 minutes to Omaha. I think I prefer that way!
Michael and Brian rolled up their jeans and went playing on the beach with another French family. It was a quite necessary part of the day as Michael had to be well behaved everywhere we went. So he needed that time to blow off some pent up energy!
Because one day full of history wasn't enough, we continued our D-day touring the next day at the Caen Memorial Museum. They had amazing on-site childcare with a certified childminder and lots of new, clean toys. It was like we had stepped back home to America instead of being in France. And it was FREE.

So us 4 adults had the chance to actually read the things in the amazing Caen Memorial. I won't go into details about everything we learned. But I will say that by halfway through the exhibit, I gave up and had too much of information overload! It was very well done though and we learned a lot. We also saw their very good D-day video which included German footage as well as American.

Continuing on our D-day tour, we also visited the Ranger museum in Grandcamp Maissy, which was actually very cool. It was very small...no where NEAR as big as the one in Caen or high tech. But it outlined the creation of an elite unit of soldiers called the Army Rangers whose first mission was to capture Pointe du Hoc. The trip was made really special because we were with a real live Army Ranger. Here he is at Pointe du Hoc: I learned a lot in that little museum. One special fact being that Aggie Lt. Col. James Earl Rudder was the Commanding Officer of the 2nd and 5th battalions of the Army Rangers at Pointe du Hoc. I'd seen statues of him at Texas A&M and there is an entire tower named after him...and it is just now that I know why. I hate to admit it, but there it is!

At Pointe du Hoc, Michael and Brian played in the craters that are still there today from Allied cannons:
I couldn't possibly post all the pictures we took. It was an amazing part of our vacation and we learned a lot. Stephen Ambrose's book on the D-day invasion made it even more meaningful as I learned about all the planning and execution it took to stage such a history-changing event.

Paris Plage

We took the kids to Paris Plage this past Wednesday, the 19th of August! In the summer for about a month, the north side of the Seine is transformed into a mini beach/ mini boardwalk.

There is some sand, misters, etc. It is a bit cheesy, but welcome for the kids! And this past Wednesday afternoon, our temperature high was in the low 90's WITHOUT air conditioning...so we were baking.

The kids loved the misters in the hot weather:
We are very fortunate to have this new little playgroup! There is an even balance of boys and girls and they are all within a month of each other, which makes for great play! AND they are all good kids, with good hearts, and play well together. I think we are going to find some great times ahead of us!

Here's a picture of them by the Seine:

And holding hands while walking down the boardwalk. I was pretty proud to be the adult getting to hold their hands. I love being a mom:

Love,
P

biggity biggity boudin

I made this lunch for Michael a while back.




We have boudin noir (black pudding/blood sausage) with apples, mushrooms sauteed in butter, some cucumbers (gross), and then some charcuterie (rillettes, Serrano ham and "Grandma's pate"). He loves the ham, the rillettes (some kind of fatty shredded goose meat), the pate and the mushrooms. The boudin not so much. I don't know why. It's one of those French things that looks and sounds disgusting, but is super delicious especially with the apples. Phuong and I were craving the boudin noir this evening.

Catchup - June visit Home!

This year, we took a super quick trip home to Houston because Brian was going to be in North America for a conference anyways!

So I spent 2 weeks relaxing in Houston and enjoying the quiet pace of life. We did a whole lot of nothing except playing and well...playing! Our local library had a nice story time/craft hour so we went to that a couple of times.

I got to catch up with my neighbors, The Folkes, who have known me since I was born! They have an awesome pool where they taught me how to swim. Here is a picture of all of us.

Top row: Michael, me, and their daughter Kimberly who is 3 years younger than me
Pool row: Mr. Johnny, J (their grandaughter who is Kimberly's daughter), Mrs. Glenda, and Brian.

Michael LOVED the pool and would ask to go over to Mr. Johnny's house all the time.

My parents have 2 dogs. They are chihuahua - weenie dog mixes. VERY funny. Michael, of course, adored them. Here is Michael picking up Chewy:

One of our hot days, we went to the Houston Children's Museum which was pretty cool and CRAZY. Full of kids, of course! Michael had fun at an outdoor water display that showed the effects of water, pressures, waves, dams, etc. Here is a picture of my parents with Michael there:

Inside in the air conditioning, they had a pretty cool little toddler/baby play area. Michael loved this giant glo-art thing:
And there was also a little market. Check out my healthy shopper:

Lots of fruits and vegetables there! So proud of him!

Those were the highlights of our trip! Two weeks is really not long enough for a visit at home. By the time we had recovered from the jet lag, we only had about 10 days left. In that time, we did get a lot of playing done, but I wish we could have seen so much more! We also spent a day at the Woodlands Children's museum, which was interesting.

One night, we visited with my old college friend, Shane, and his new wife, Erin. A lovely couple who we wished we lived a bit closer to! We had a nice dinner on their porch of barbequed steak kabobs. DELICIOUS.

That's it! We did a lot of shopping, a lot of playing, and a lot of relaxing. The best vacation!

Ok...up next is Normandy/Brittany!