There seem to be a lot of Normandy-themed posts lately, but that is what happens when you spend every spare few days renovating a money pit, I guess. We spent Christmas in Normandy, and Frédéric stayed the rest of the week to work on the house.
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| Gala had a lovely Christmas Eve |
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| Benjamin and Noah |
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| Le Père Noël came! |
After a great first semester at Missouri S&T, Benjamin came home for Christmas.
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| The first thing he wanted was cheese. |
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| We celebrated his birthday with a peanut butter pie. |
Noah quit swimming this year, as he decided he had other priorities. But he couldn't resist participating in the club meet anyway. He's still got it!
Another quick before-school flight for Noah today.
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| Frédéric waited in the control tower |
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| flying over the Aisne department |
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| Flying above the clouds |
One of Benjamin's requirements for college was to be able to swim. He joined the swim club at Missouri S&T and they participate in meets with swim clubs from other universities.
This one was at SLU in St Louis.
Our friends Dominique and Mathieu came over for dinner, and they suggested we visit the newly renovated Château de Villers-Cotterêts, Cité de la Langue Française, beforehand.
We thought the guides were overestimating when they said it would take at least two hours to visit, but they were not. We didn't even quite have time for everything in two hours! If you speak French, it's well worth the visit!
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| inside the courtyard |
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| the "ciel de mots" |
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| there were a lot of word games to play |
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| the "word sky" lit up at night |
We happened to be in Normandy the weekend after Thanksgiving to work on the house, so we celebrated Thanksgiving while we were at it.
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| Mmmm look at that spread. |
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| pecan pie |
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| banana pudding |
Not the same as Thanksgivings in Madill, but we did what we could!
Well, not quite Christmas yet, but Frédéric's work lets us go to Disneyland as a Christmas present. Since Benjamin wasn't here, Noah invited a friend.
Noah even manages to squeeze lessons in before school. As we head into winter, which usually means rainy weather, not ideal for visual flight rules, he's taking advantage whenever he can. He doesn't start school until 10 a.m. on Wednesdays, so he got a flight in this morning.
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| Sun wasn't even up yet. |
He flew with a different instructor this time, who also thought Noah was ready to fly solo - unfortunately for Noah (and fortunately for his concerned mother), you can't fly solo until you're 16 years old.
Incidentally, he hasn't yet taken his driving theory test, so he can't practice driving a car yet, for those keeping score at home.
Noah enjoys nothing more than the flying lessons he started this spring. His instructor was full of compliments today.
In English, he told me, "This guy flies like an eagle! He flies better than me!" and in French, "Il peut devenir pilote comme une fleur. Il prépare tout; il est rigoreux." (He can easily become a pilot. He prepares everything; he is rigorous.)
They did 8 or 9 take-offs and landings today.
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| Tiny control tower |
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| Last landing of the day |
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| Log book after the flight |
How is the house coming, you ask? Well, here is the progress - slow, slow progress. Frédéric and Noah spent a week in August putting rails and insulation in the living room.
But then they also poured the floors for the bathroom and two bedrooms, shown here.
Benjamin's first semester at S&T is off to a great start. Orientation week began with teamwork and a Back to the Future theme.
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| As the token Frenchman, he represented France in the Parade of Nations |
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| He ran into our friend James Castle at a field trip to Boeing |
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| In October, he went with the physics club to the Argonne National Laboratory |
Rose Mary came out to her country house this weekend and we met up at the Foire aux Pommes (Apple Fair) in Neuilly Saint Front, complete with apples, ciders, a small market, and these dancers in traditional costumes.
We had not seen Mike and Pennie Gilliland since we met up with them in Paris in 2007, so we were thrilled to hear they were coming through and would have time to stop overnight to see us.
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| Mike and Noah share a passion for aviation |
