Tuesday, December 26, 2023

Normandy Christmas

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.

Gala had a lovely Christmas Eve

Benjamin and Noah

Le Père Noël came!

 

Monday, December 18, 2023

Benjamin: back home!

 After a great first semester at Missouri S&T, Benjamin came home for Christmas. 

The first thing he wanted was cheese.

We celebrated his birthday with a peanut butter pie.



Saturday, December 16, 2023

Swim Meet

 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!





Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Flying: From Frédéric's Perspective and from Noah's Perspective

Another quick before-school flight for Noah today. 

Frédéric waited in the control tower


flying over the Aisne department

Flying above the clouds

Sunday, December 3, 2023

Benjamin swimming with S&T

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. 



Saturday, December 2, 2023

Cité de la Langue Française

 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!


inside the courtyard

the "ciel de mots"


there were a lot of word games to play


the "word sky" lit up at night


Sunday, November 26, 2023

Normandy Thanksgiving

 We happened to be in Normandy the weekend after Thanksgiving to work on the house, so we celebrated Thanksgiving while we were at it.



Mmmm look at that spread.

pecan pie

banana pudding

Not the same as Thanksgivings in Madill, but we did what we could!

Friday, November 24, 2023

Disneyland Christmas

 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. 






Wednesday, November 22, 2023

More flying lessons

 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. 

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.

Tuesday, October 24, 2023

Flying lessons

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. 

Tiny control tower

Last landing of the day

Log book after the flight

 

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

Money Pit Progress, or Lack Thereof

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.



 
The masons finally showed up again after taking all of August plus a week off - boy, did they make a mess.



But then they also poured the floors for the bathroom and two bedrooms, shown here.


Sunday, October 8, 2023

Settling in at S&T

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.


As the token Frenchman, he represented France in the Parade of Nations

He ran into our friend James Castle at a field trip to Boeing

In October, he went with the physics club to the Argonne National Laboratory

Saturday, September 30, 2023

Foire aux Pommes

 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.


Saturday, September 16, 2023

Gilliand Visit

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.

Mike and Noah share a passion for aviation


 

Tuesday, September 5, 2023

Back to School

Noah, première (11th grade)

 
Benjamin, college freshman