Swimming Pool Inauguration

The municipal pool where the boys swim had its locker room and entryway renovated last year. They officially inaugurated it this year, so the boys and their teammates were invited to swim a small race for the local officials.

Noah warming up

Benjamin warming up

Noah during his 100-meter medley

Benjamin during his 100-meter medley

Bilingual Monkeys and Franco-American Museum

In September, we had the great fortune to welcome Adam Beck, of the website Bilingual Monkeys, to our house for a short stay during his trip through Europe as he works on his next book, based on interviews with bilingual families.

Adam and I met online a few years ago through his website, and have stayed in touch. I had the pleasure of reading early copies of his first three books, Maximize Your Child's Bilingual Ability, a helpful guide for parents with practical advice, How I Lost My Ear, a hilarious novel for children (or adults!), and I Want to Be Bilingual, a cute, fun book for new bilingual parents about the advantages of raising a bilingual child - from the baby's point of view.

The boys were in school during his visit, and Frédéric was at work, so Adam and I visited the Franco American Museum in Blérancourt, which re-opened in 2017 after extensive renovations. The castle, built in the early 1600s, was later used by Anne Morgan and the CARD volunteers to help the French during and after World War I. The museum now traces the shared history and friendship of France and the United States through the years.

 We snapped some quick photos before the boys left for school Thursday morning, and before Adam took the train for Paris for the next leg of his trip.

School started, but the fun's not over yet

School started, but our Parc Astérix passes are still valid, so we met up with some friends for a fun day out this weekend.

Me & Benjamin

Noah clowning around waiting for the Oziris coaster

It POURED down rain at the end of the day, so we left like drowned rats!

But that got us these beautiful rainbows on the way home.

Benjamin took these photos as we drove home.

Back to School!

Back to school time is called "la rentrée" in France, and it's quite an event. Since much of the country is on vacation for a large part of August, it's also "back to work" or "back to the routine" time even for those who work. 

Noah is going into 5e this year (7th grade), and Benjamin is going into 3e (9th grade). They will be in the same school, since middle schools covers 6th through 9th grade, then high school is 10th to 12th.

 

As soon as the calendar changed over to September, the temperatures dropped quite a bit, hence the jackets despite hitting the upper 80s last week!