Our first glass of vin rouge....
Bonne fête Maman!
Jacob at Palais des Papes (Popes' Palace) in Avignon
The following pictures are the boys at a Medieval Festival in Eguilles...
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Random Photos
Here are few photos of us, touring the area...
The following pictures are the boys at a Medieval Festival in Eguilles...
The following pictures are the boys at a Medieval Festival in Eguilles...
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Où sont les toilettes??
Can you believe it has taken me this long to blog on this particular subject.....
It all started in Frankfurt---we arrived after our nine hour journey, and after using the airplane toilet several times (with 4 boys, who never like to pee at the same time, it seemed like we really didn't need seats!), to need the toilet yet again! After spending 20 minutes wandering in the direction of our gate, we finally saw the first sign for toilets. Joshua was ready to vomit at this point (he really needed to use the toilet!), and Noah was walking around holding onto his "unit". In we go, Todd with 3 boys into the mens, and Noah and I into the womans. There are 5 stalls, all of which are being used, and 1 person in front. Luckily, we only waited about 1 minute for a stall to open.
Noah and I head in, do our business, and come out, in under 5 minutes. The line for the toilets in now 50 deep......good thing we got there before the rush......We then went towards our gate, and chose a spot near the next set of washrooms we saw. We used those at least 5 times in the 45 minutes we sat there.....
Upon arrival in France, again it was a struggle to find a washroom. We finally did find one right near the luggage carousel. There was a line of 10 or so, all female. It was a single "bathroom", with 2 sinks in the outer area, and then 2 private stalls, 1 male, 1 female. Both stalls were being used by the females in line (made sense to me, although had the male stall been empty, I wouldn't have hesitated to throw the boys in there....).
As we were standing there, a man charged into the bathroom, past the entire line and was quite upset that the mens stall was being used. He slammed on the door, and stormed out. At this point, he couldn't have known if it was a male or female in there....
Anyways, we continued waiting, when a mother with a small girl (aged 3ish), came up to stand behind us. You could tell the little girl had to go--now!!! I signalled that she should go ahead of us (we weren't in that state of emergency yet!), and there were about 3 others in front of us at this point. I could hear the mom explain to the group in front of me, what the situation was. The one lady that had been directly in front me, allowed her ahead as well. That left 2 still. As both stall doors opened, with the mom pleading her case, both ladies went into the stalls, and firmly shut the doors behind them. There was now panic in the mom's eyes, and the little girl was starting to pee. The mom swooped up the little girl, pulled down her pants, and had her pee in the sink! Good for her!!! She apologized profusely, but what can you do in a situation like that???
When we had just 1 in front of us, the "angry man" came back!! He pushed past everyone, again, and choose to argue with the front lady, saying she should not use the men's stall, it was not for her. Had he not been to angry, I may have pointed out that I had 4 "men" with me, and they should be entitled to use the toilet before him, since they had actually waited in line.....But the men stall opened, he pushed in before the lady in front, and that was that.....
We have become vigilant about making the boys use the toilette before we head out, and if we do happen to see a public one, we make them go!!!
It all started in Frankfurt---we arrived after our nine hour journey, and after using the airplane toilet several times (with 4 boys, who never like to pee at the same time, it seemed like we really didn't need seats!), to need the toilet yet again! After spending 20 minutes wandering in the direction of our gate, we finally saw the first sign for toilets. Joshua was ready to vomit at this point (he really needed to use the toilet!), and Noah was walking around holding onto his "unit". In we go, Todd with 3 boys into the mens, and Noah and I into the womans. There are 5 stalls, all of which are being used, and 1 person in front. Luckily, we only waited about 1 minute for a stall to open.
Noah and I head in, do our business, and come out, in under 5 minutes. The line for the toilets in now 50 deep......good thing we got there before the rush......We then went towards our gate, and chose a spot near the next set of washrooms we saw. We used those at least 5 times in the 45 minutes we sat there.....
Upon arrival in France, again it was a struggle to find a washroom. We finally did find one right near the luggage carousel. There was a line of 10 or so, all female. It was a single "bathroom", with 2 sinks in the outer area, and then 2 private stalls, 1 male, 1 female. Both stalls were being used by the females in line (made sense to me, although had the male stall been empty, I wouldn't have hesitated to throw the boys in there....).
As we were standing there, a man charged into the bathroom, past the entire line and was quite upset that the mens stall was being used. He slammed on the door, and stormed out. At this point, he couldn't have known if it was a male or female in there....
Anyways, we continued waiting, when a mother with a small girl (aged 3ish), came up to stand behind us. You could tell the little girl had to go--now!!! I signalled that she should go ahead of us (we weren't in that state of emergency yet!), and there were about 3 others in front of us at this point. I could hear the mom explain to the group in front of me, what the situation was. The one lady that had been directly in front me, allowed her ahead as well. That left 2 still. As both stall doors opened, with the mom pleading her case, both ladies went into the stalls, and firmly shut the doors behind them. There was now panic in the mom's eyes, and the little girl was starting to pee. The mom swooped up the little girl, pulled down her pants, and had her pee in the sink! Good for her!!! She apologized profusely, but what can you do in a situation like that???
When we had just 1 in front of us, the "angry man" came back!! He pushed past everyone, again, and choose to argue with the front lady, saying she should not use the men's stall, it was not for her. Had he not been to angry, I may have pointed out that I had 4 "men" with me, and they should be entitled to use the toilet before him, since they had actually waited in line.....But the men stall opened, he pushed in before the lady in front, and that was that.....
We have become vigilant about making the boys use the toilette before we head out, and if we do happen to see a public one, we make them go!!!
Friday, August 26, 2011
A Smaller Footprint--for KA!!
France has brought out the green in Todd....who knew all it took was moving to a different country!!!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Bonjour Aix!!
Bonjour mes Amis! We made it to beautiful Aix en Provence! We had a great flight, no delays! The boys did fabulous, as they always seem to do! We were stocked up on Nintendo DS games, and the iPod touches were fully charged, and had lots of movies. Snacks were simple this time--a few mini boxes of cereal, and some cheese and crackers!
At YYC with our 4 boys, 7 big bags, 4 car seats, and 2 bikes.
Todd and the boys outside our front door!
The boys and I in our courtyard.
Noah sleeping enroute to Frankfurt, Germany.
Nathan sleeping enroute to Frankfurt, Germany
Joshua sleeping enroute to Frankfurt.
Jacob NOT eating his airplane food--not sure how this kid gains any weight?
At Frankfurt airport, after a 9 hour flight.....
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Goodbyes.....
4 days and we are off! We have started saying our goodbyes to friends and family. We are only gone for 11 months, which really isn't that long, but it is still tough to say goodbye. I think it is the thought that you can't just call someone up and say, " let's meet tomorrow for a play date, coffee, lunch, drinks, etc!". I have taken that all for granted the last few years....
I am excited to go on our adventure, but friends and family are what will make me long for home. Please know you will all be in my thoughts a lot!! And, if you were ever looking for an excuse to get to Europe....we would love to see you!
I am excited to go on our adventure, but friends and family are what will make me long for home. Please know you will all be in my thoughts a lot!! And, if you were ever looking for an excuse to get to Europe....we would love to see you!
Sunday, August 14, 2011
And the bags are packed....well mostly!!!!
Taking a little break from deciding what shoes I shouldn't bring.....I think I have brought all but 1 pair at this point....good thing the hubby is asleep, and can't discourage this!!! The kids clothes are all packed, lego is tucked safely inside the bag as well. Coats have been decided upon.
The packers arrive at 8:30 tomorrow morning, and I am in pretty good shape. Still need to fold 1 load of laundry, and put away a few dishes, but I still have 9 hours, so no worries....YES, I am a procrastinator!!!
The main thought running through my head the last couple days---"What was I thinking when I said I would move away for one year!!!" A little bit of "cold feet", just to help settle the nerves! I am very excited, but very nervous, and a lot of other things....
The packers arrive at 8:30 tomorrow morning, and I am in pretty good shape. Still need to fold 1 load of laundry, and put away a few dishes, but I still have 9 hours, so no worries....YES, I am a procrastinator!!!
The main thought running through my head the last couple days---"What was I thinking when I said I would move away for one year!!!" A little bit of "cold feet", just to help settle the nerves! I am very excited, but very nervous, and a lot of other things....
Sunday, August 7, 2011
2 weeks til departure!!!
Yes, I am starting to feel the pressure!! The packers come in 1 week, and the movers in 12 days! So, I need to get our bags packed before next Monday! We will be away for the weekend with the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, so really, I need to be packed by Friday! Yikes!!! I am finding it incredibly difficult to decide what to take for 1 year away. I have no idea what clothes to bring, what truly are the special toy items the boys want, what shoes, what jackets!! The list goes on.....
Deep breath.....everything will work out fine.....
The boys held a mini garage sale on Saturday, and were able to get rid of a number of their unused toys (easier than I thought it would be to get them to part with stuff!). We still have a lot of stuff that could go, but we will make that decision when we return (I think we still have 100 dinosaurs, and 100 Hot Wheels!! but they are all their favourites, of course!!).
The change of email address has been sent out, and household services cancelled, effective Aug 22nd. We are slowly getting there. One would almost think we have done this before (okay, so we have done it 5 times before!!).
Curious--what would you take for 1 year???
Deep breath.....everything will work out fine.....
The boys held a mini garage sale on Saturday, and were able to get rid of a number of their unused toys (easier than I thought it would be to get them to part with stuff!). We still have a lot of stuff that could go, but we will make that decision when we return (I think we still have 100 dinosaurs, and 100 Hot Wheels!! but they are all their favourites, of course!!).
The change of email address has been sent out, and household services cancelled, effective Aug 22nd. We are slowly getting there. One would almost think we have done this before (okay, so we have done it 5 times before!!).
Curious--what would you take for 1 year???
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Why France??
A common question we have heard--Why choose France as your destination for 1 year? We choose France mainly because our children are in enrolled in French Immersion here in Okotoks. Cob is going into Grade 3, and Tree into Grade 1. Even though we are moving abroad for 1 year, we want to maintain as much normality and sense of belonging as we can for our kids. When we move back to Okotoks, we want them to join back with their original classes and friends. If we had chose another non-french country for our year, I am not sure the kids would have been able to transition back into the french immersion class as easy! So, that is the reason for France!
We hope to do another year abroad a few years down the road (I say that now, but we will see how this year goes!!!), and the kids may be taken away from french immersion for a year. I am hoping this year in France gives them the language skills to be able to carry them through that, as they would most likely attend English school (we have talked about places like Buenos Aires).
We hope to do another year abroad a few years down the road (I say that now, but we will see how this year goes!!!), and the kids may be taken away from french immersion for a year. I am hoping this year in France gives them the language skills to be able to carry them through that, as they would most likely attend English school (we have talked about places like Buenos Aires).
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Update on France
We have our visa's (which is a worthy of a separate post!), and our flights are booked. We head to Aix en Provence on Aug 22nd. We depart Calgary at 7:40 pm, fly direct to Frankfurt, and then fly into Marseilles. From there, only a quick 20 minutes, and we are in our home for the year! We have plans to stay in Aix until mid-July 2012.
We found a home using http://www.sabbaticalhomes.com/. My husband flew over in mid May to check out a few places, and found the one most suitable to us. It is fully furnished, and has a garden/courtyard. We have the main floor of the home, with another couple living above us! It has 3 bedrooms, and 1 toilet (can't wait!!).
We found a home using http://www.sabbaticalhomes.com/. My husband flew over in mid May to check out a few places, and found the one most suitable to us. It is fully furnished, and has a garden/courtyard. We have the main floor of the home, with another couple living above us! It has 3 bedrooms, and 1 toilet (can't wait!!).
It will be an adjustment to go from 2200 sqft to about 1100 sqft! We plan to just take 4-5 suitcases, filled with clothes, and a few toys (mostly lego, and a few english books!).
All 4 boys will be attending school! Goob just turned 3 in July, and he will be attending French School, full time! Na-Na will go to the same school as Goob, which is right next door to where Tree and Cob will go. School times: MTThF 8:30-11:30, 1:30-4:30. We pick the boys up for lunch, 11:30-1:30, and no school Wednesdays. Luckily, the schools are about 400m away, so it is easy to go and get them.
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