Season of Spetacles

Like most countries that celebrate Christmas, France is looking forward to December 25. Most villages deck the streets with lights and garlands. Santa pays a visit to each village one way or another--Vinon-sur-Verdon has a Santa that comes to visit on a plane.  No Christmas party is complete without every attendee showing up is a Santa hat of some kind. While the society is very secular, December is time for performances and pageants: "les spectacles" in French. Here are a few ways we've made a spectacle of ourselves this season.

Anna, Sophie and J performed in a church pageant last weekend. While not the traditional story of Christ's birth from the Bible, it was a story about finding Christmas. Taken from a story written by an American, the youth of our stake sang, danced, acted, and even roller-skated as they portrayed the story of a French au pair looking for a way to give a gift to the Saviour in New York City.

Anna played the lead role of the au pair, Ursula. She sang a solo at the end of the show and did a great job (even though her knees where shaking under her dress). Sophie danced the waltz during a party scene and played the mother of the family Ursula worked for. James put his energy into a few group dance numbers and was part of the chorus.

As the youth are spread out over a 150 km radius, it is difficult to get together to practice. There were only three rehearsals before the show. It was a remarkable feat. We were so grateful to youth leaders and branch members who supported our children and helped them get from here to there.

E started taking a Zumba/modern dance class this year. Her teacher, Ivana, put together a petit spectacle de noel so parents could see what their children have been learning. The room (a sort of cultural hall for the village) was decorated with red and white boxes, red fabric and a Christmas tree. All the dancers wore Santa hats in true French style. It was a very festive recital. I am so proud of E for going to class even though she has to go by herself and everything is in French. She's quite a kid.

This week J's music teacher put together a winter concert--the first of its kind in the history of the school. In addition to singing, J's class got to play the drums. As drumming is something he has always wanted to do, he looked pretty happy. Hopefully, it compensated for the singing part.

Our last performance is in the form of a piano recital for Sophie (and maybe E if she works up her courage) tomorrow night. Here is a one of the pieces Sophie will play.

We wish you all a joyeuse fête.

Meredith

Vienna

Every October we get a two-week break from school. Although we had lots of homework we also had many great adventures--and because Grandma and Grandpa F. were here, they got to join us!

Anna, Grandma, Grandpa and I got the opportunity to go visit some friends (the Minerts) in Vienna. Here are some of my favorite parts of the trip:

One of the highlights of the trip was experiencing Europe's second largest Ferris wheel. It was VERY high, but there were some VERY pretty views of the city.

Anna and I also went on the world's largest chain swing. (It took some persuading to get me to do it with her.) In the end it was tons of fun! We enjoyed walking around the amusement park.

We took a walk down the Danube river with the beautiful autumn leaves falling around us.

The food we ate was impeccable! Our diet included wienerschnitzel, goulash, some delicious potato salad and homemade cookies ;).

The last day of our visit we went to an apfelstrudel demonstration at the Schönbrunn Castle where grandma earned her apfelstrudel certificate, proving she's a pro.

After the demonstration, we went and toured the castle. It's the place where Marie Antoinette's family lived while she was growing up.

It was lots of fun! Let's just say I wish I was still on vacation...

From, Soph

Foux Du Fafa

Patrick introduced the girls to this song when he and Chelsea came to visit in May. We have French moments like this everyday where we know just enough French to fake our way through conversations...until we don't. Enjoy our funny interpretation of this Flight of the Conchords classic, "Foux Du Fafa."

A Happy Week

Hi everyone!

This week was the best week ever for two reasons: First, my grandma got to stay. She brought us lots of candy. She gave lots of hugs and I haven't seen her for a long time, so it was nice of her to come. We went on lots of walks and she read me stories. Sometimes she came with my mom to pick me up from school.

One of the bad things this week was when I hurt my arm doing a one-handed cartwheel. I bent my arm back the wrong way. I cried for a long time. My grandma comforted me and read me a story. She said that Sour Patch Kids were medicine if you were hurt.

The other awesome thing was I started a dance class. It was the best dance class ever. I haven't had so much fun in ages in a dance class. I do a Zumba/modern dance class. My teacher is really nice. Sometimes she can be really funny too. I haven't made friends with any of the other kids yet, but they seem nice. I can't wait to go again next Tuesday.

The rest of my family started activities too. Sophie started swim, my brother started BMX, Anna went climbing and my mom started Zumba and Piloxing. My dad goes to work, but at least he has time to spend with us on the weekend.

In France you have to go to the doctor to get a medical certificate that allows you to do a sport. We all went to the doctor this week to get ours. When the doctor filled out mine she asked me if I was doing rugby. She uses that joke on everyone. In America you don't have to go to the doctor for sport so... you're lucky.

On Wednesday my friend "Squid"got to sleep at our house because her mom was having eye surgery.  We ate apple pie and played outside for a little bit. We got eaten by mosquitos. When it was time to sleep, we snuggled into Sophie's big bed. We would have slept better if J hadn't been in the same room keeping us awake, but mom sent him to the couch anyway, and then we slept great.

Saturday grandma left really early in the morning. That morning, I went into her room to wake her up but she wasn't there. It made me sad. I can't wait until she comes again.

Later that day my mom and I had a game night. It was so fun because we got to play the wii, we got to watch a show and read stories because everyone else went to a youth activity in Marseille. It was awesome because it was just us and we got to eat Macaroni and Cheese and Oreos. It was soooo good.

That's the week.

Love,

E

New Additions and New Beginnings

This past week we have had a new addition to our home. My friend Victoria moved in with us. She and I are sharing a tiny room in the upper floor of our house. It has been hard sharing everything I have but I'm glad we could help her out. Our room is cluttered and close quarters for two teenage girls but we have had fun doing homework together and going to bed at nine thirty on the dot every day. She attends seminary on the phone with us--although we aren't sure the teacher is aware. 

We don't have much time to spend time doing recreational activities because this school year is high pressure and high work load. I feel like a homework machine, except for when I have a pleasure reading book, then I'm a reading machine. I can't help it. 

We finally made it through the first full week of school. I just can't wait for vacation. 

Love, Anna

The Final Countdown and Birthday Cake for Breakfast

This week marked the beginning of the end--of the summer that is. After spending two care-free weeks in Spain we returned to real life and tried to enjoy our last week of freedom. However, school preparations soon began niggling our conscience so off we went to gather the dreaded "fournitures," better known to you as school supplies.

In France, the school supply lists are intense. They include a massive quantity of incredibly specific items. For example a red A4 notebook with 96 pages and 5x5 squares. Everything must be covered in new plastic to keep it from deteriorating. Instead of pages being threaded into binders with holes in the page, everything is placed inside a plastic sheet protector known as a plastic pocket. Needless to say we usually end up with stacks of paper and the pockets to put them in. Our first year here, someone was kind enough to walk us through the supplies. Now, on our third year, we have our system down.

Armed with our lists, four sacks and a scanner we began our game of school-supply hide-n-seek. I nobly waited by the cart while each child found things they needed so I could scan the item and place it in the correct bag. I received more than a few odd looks as I waited--a family our size is unusual. I just smiled. We finished in less than an hour. Hopefully, we won't need anything else.

Tuesday afternoon the girls and I headed to the coiffuse for a bit of pampering. Four haircuts later and looking fabulous, we headed into the centre ville to pick up our school-bus passes at the town hall. Unfortunately, I neglected to bring individual mugshots to put on the passes. I laughed when the woman sitting in the office told me, "It's the same as last year." Frankly, I'm lucky I understood what she was saying then, let alone the procedure from last year. Sometimes it's hard to always appear less than intelligent. But again, I just smile.

Ellie finished her run at the village vacation school with an African dance class. They painted her face red with a big black eye on her forehead. This is her scary face.

Friday I took a hike in the hills in our village with J & E and some other friends. There are several marked trails, so we thought it would be no problem. It was super hot. Despite us following a map, we ended up on a farming plateau with nothing but a signpost pointing to other destinations instead of the chateau we were aiming for. Our exhaustion and dwindling water supply convinced us to turn around instead of continue. We never made it to the castle, but we did get granitas (slushies).

The most important thing by far we did this week was celebrate Anna's birthday. We started with breakfast in bed--crepes with peaches and whipped cream. This was followed by a chaser of birthday Rice Crispy treats (her birthday cake of choice).  We spent the day at Lac d'Esparron peddling around on a pedalo (a paddle boat with a slide). We jumped off some low cliffs, had a picnic and swam while soaking up the sun.












Anna finished the day with a trip to Aix-en-Provence where her dad helped her pick out her birthday present--a guitar. (She has played non-stop every since.) It was a great day and a great week.

Fingers crossed the first week of school will be as good.

Meredith

At the Beach

Last week was great. One of my favorite things was going to the beach in San Sebastian. Let me paint you a picture. 

Soft warm sand that your feet sink into as you search for a place to lay down your colorful towels. You can hear kids talking and playing. All around you there are people laying out, many only half dressed.

As you near the water the sand darkens and you can hear the small waves crashing in, you can taste the salty air. The water isn't too cold, until it covers your shoulders. Then its freezing. Out there, you wait with those who are patient enough to see a big wave. One that, when it nears, makes you feel like you are going to drown before it even hits you. And then impact. You're flying! The wave carries you back toward the shore until it dies down or passes you by and you tumble to a stop. You go back out to the the shoulder deep water and you wait again, and again, and again. You're having the time of your life. 

We were sad to leave Spain, but it's time to face reality. School and work here we come.

More Barcelona and We Head to Madrid

Saturday completed our first week in Spain. It was a lot of fun! We went to a labyrinth park by the Metro and wound our way through the bushes. E and I tried and tried but Anna had to come and help us find the middle.

That same afternoon, we went to the Sagrada Familia church and enjoyed its amazing architecture and designs.

On Wednesday, after staying in Barcelona for a couple of days, we headed to Madrid. On the way there, every once in a while, we saw a bull propped up like a billboard in the distance. I really like cows!

After a couple hours, we stopped along the way to take a small hike at the Monestario de Piedra. For me, a hike doesn't sound like a lot of fun, so I was not excited. We started off by touring the monastery where we learned the monks who lived there made wine and chocolate, then we started our nature walk.

As we ventured further along, I began to enjoy it more and more. As we journeyed we came upon an enormous water fall. It sprayed mist onto our faces. Continuing, the air started to get moist and as we stepped onto an unfamiliar ground, we looked down and saw IT. The most picturesque scene appeared. The water below us was bright blue with rubenesque fish waiting for food. The light shone off the moss on the walls in just a way that was inexplicable and the drips falling from the ceiling broken away from the grand waterfall ahead of us.

Although I tried, the pictures just didn't turn out the same. But I guess you'll just have to go visit there yourself. You can stop by France on your way.

Soph

Lizards, Bugs and Spain Oh My!

On today's blog post we will be talking about bugs, pets and going to Spain. So let's get started.

This week we actually had a lizard in the house. My mom called me to come catch it. I chased it and was able to trap it but I knocked its tail off. It kept wriggling for the next three or four minutes. We also found a snake curled up in a corner on the pool deck. I kept squirting it with a water gun even though my mom told me not to. I also found a big scorpion on a wall near our garden.

Saturday we left for Spain. It took 5 1/2 hours to drive to Barcelona. We left really early (4 a.m.) because we wanted to avoid traffic. I had to leave my hamsters with some friends so they would have someone to take care of them while I am gone.

In Spain we visited the Salvador Dali museum which actually quite bizarre...just incase you are planning to go there. But the best thing was going to this burger place, which was actually very efficient. The burgers were huge and delicious. I have to say it was the best burger I've ever had in my life.

That's all for this week. Talk to you again in four or five weeks.

Love you,

J

Pigs in the Garden and Other Stuff From the Week

Dear Everyone,

I am excited to tell you about a few things that happened this week.

I go to vacation school (vacances scolaire) in our village every Monday and Wednesday. It's a good way to practice my French and it keeps me from fighting with my brother. This week I spent Monday at the pool. Wednesday we did science experiments. There was one that used a candle, a cup, water, a plate and a coin. It was so cool. I wish I could show it to you all.

We had a big surprise at our house this week. The weather was rainy and we couldn't play outside and my mom showed us something she had been hiding...a Wii. I cried so hard when I saw it because I was so happy.

As usual, Friday was movie night. We watched Space Buddies and it was really fun because I got to watch with my friends because Anna and Sophie were babysitting them.

We woke up Saturday morning to find our garden torn up by boars. They were looking for water and ruined the grass. We had to put it back together by putting the grass side up and the dirt side down. It was a muddy job. It's not the first time they've been in our yard. We hope they don't come back.

Saturday we had planned to go to Lac St. Croix, but it was stormy so we had a game day at our friend's house instead. We played capture the flag. I always ended up in jail, and my team lost, but it was still fun.

Love,
E

PS Peace, cool, peace, cool love ellie mc-chellie

Francoms Got Talent

Our branch hosted a talent show, so we decided to participate in true Francom fashion...by disco dancing in afro wigs. It's not very authentic, but we had fun doing it. Enjoy.