Sweet Summertime

Last Wednesday, when the temperature hit a high of about 75°F, Frédéric decided it was time to let the boys be ice cubes. He pulled out the pool, but only filled it up enough for them to splash around in.



I was skeptical - our well water is freezing! (Frédéric says, "But it was 62°!") - but his plan worked. Both wore themselves out and went straight to sleep at bedtime!

Becky & Jeff come to visit

Becky came to visit us back in August 2009, and this time came back with Jeff, at the end of their honeymoon.

Saturday afternoon we went out to visit the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery, where more than 6000 World War I soldiers are buried, at Seringes-et-Nesle.

On the way, we unwittingly drove on the race course of the Tour de Picardie bicycle race. The only cyclists we saw were having a pre-race picnic, but we saw a lot people (comparatively, given that it's the middle of nowhere) on the side of the road, waiting to see the cyclists go by.

Entrance to the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery.

Over 6000 World War I soldiers are buried here.

Parental mythology moment. (Even better than a Kodak Moment.)

The memorial.

The map room.

Becky and Jeff.

Benjamin being a soldier.

We tried to visit the Château de Nesles near the cemetery, but it is closed to the public until further notice for safety reasons. So we just took a few pictures of the outside.





Thinking we'd have better luck at the Château de Fère en Tardenois, which we have visited before, we headed that way... only to find the door downstairs marked "Danger" and locked up tight. There were other people up on the castle, but it adjoins a hotel and its gardens, so we suspect rather than being closed for "danger" it may have been closed for a private reception. (Our invitations must have been lost in the mail.)

So we took pictures from afar again.

My 3 cute boys!

Another year older

Frédéric had a birthday in May. He got a lovely present from a coworker:
(and a very expensive one, at 1.60€ ($2.27) for the can!)

and I made him his favorite strawberry cream cake that we shared with his cousins who came over for lunch the Saturday before his birthday.

Boys are still cute

I know, it's been a long time since I updated the blog (and yes, mom, I'm fudging the dates), so I'm sure some of you were wondering if the boys were even still cute enough to post. I hereby confirm that they are.


Even if they do both need haircuts.

Child Labor Law Infractions Continue

They don't get paid, so does it count? At any rate, they still enjoy "working" for now, so we've got them vacuuming the car, sweeping, and washing dishes.

Benjamin prefers to supervise.