I will be blogging again...I hope

The girls are getting older and while they don't change from day to day like they used to, they do stay very busy with school and activities. I want to capture that more - to stop and pay attention to their discoveries and accomplishments.

In addition, we are planning another sabbatical trip. But before we get there, I thought it would be fun to record the process of getting there because that is the biggest hurdle.

So check in from time to time and I hope to post more regularly in the new year.

Potato Heads

Kyri at about 2

Oscar at 2

Snow...already?

If this is November, what will January look like?

SUMMER

Kyri was a caribou (and elephant - not pictured) in the year end performance 

at Contemporary School of Dance.

Rivi was a Canada goose (and a sunset - not pictured) in the performance. 

This year's theme was CANADA.

Cookie (the cat) has been a huge help during Table Time.

Summer reading

Kyri learning to embroidery

Rivi on the gymnastics rings she received for her birthday

She's 9!!!

And here she is on the slack line

Kyri on the rings

Rivi's lovely salad she made for dinner

Kyri's homemade baguette

The pool!

This is where we've spent most of our summer.

Kyri's summer job. 

She helps run the Produce Stand on Wednesdays at our community pool.

SORRY FOR THE DELAY

MARCH 2014

In March, Alicia, Nate and Oscar came to visit. 

Because of the cold, cold temperatures outside, Rivi made us a campfire inside. 

APRIL 2014

In April, we drove to Washington D.C. to visit Yali. Esther came with us. 

I didn't have a camera, so the girls were in charge of taking photos. 

It was warm, beautiful and we had a ton of fun.

MAY 2014

On Mother's Day, we adopted a cat. This is Cookie.

The girls made a post for Cookie.

And she really likes it. 

Also in May, Ori let Rivi cut his hair.

And she did a good job. Ori did go to the Barber the next day for a clean up.

AND FINALLY

We reroofed above our garage.

Looks better than it did, right? This is a photo from before we moved into the house.

I think we've made some improvements.

Congratulations to Kyri

Yeah! It came out today. Kyri lost her first tooth. 

Holiday Magic

 

This is Aix en Provence at night. The city goes all out for the holidays and it is beautiful. 

Here is Cours Mirabeau - our main street. 

The girls testing the water of the thermal heated nine cannons fountain.

Marseille gets pretty festive too. The girls loved the Ferris Wheel. 

They have had their share of barbe a papa (cotton candy). I prefer the vin chaud myself.

This was earlier in the season just before the holiday lights adorned the city. It's called Key Frames. It was an installation piece made of light bulbs shaped into dancers. The dancers were choreographed to ballet music. 

Around Town

A Great Maison

 

Rivi in a tree at Parc La Torse

At Cite de Livre - the library

Kyri in the courtyard of the library - Photo courtesy of Rivi

Strolling along the always festive Cours Miarbeau

Around the House

Kyri doing a little light reading

Rivi created a wish list

Rivi practicing small space flying maneuvers

Pajama jam

Marseille...we do seem to love it

Dial M for Marseille.

Endless blue skies.

At the Palais Longchamp (aka Rivi's palace)

Les animaux at the Funny Zoo in Parc Longchamp (photos courtesy of Rivi and Kyri)

Two primates

Nice and Menton, France

Just one perk of the French school system is that after 7 weeks of hard work, the students get a two week vacation. We took full advantage of this and caught the early bus to Nice the first day of the break. We arrived just before lunch and just in time to hit the markets for pizza and fresh apples.

The Nice market had particularly nice displays. We found two types of persimmon/kaki. One soft and mushy, the other firm and apple like. Yum.

Ice cream (glace, creme de glace, sorbet, gelato, etc) can come in an amazing variety of flavors and while some unfamiliar flavors are really tasty, like lavender, others are just nasty, like tomato basil. 

The markets were great, the narrow winding streets fun to navigate and there is a wonderful park overlooking the city, but the number one attraction in Nice...the beach.

When they weren't splashing in the water or building fortress walls, Rivi and Kyri decorated the rocks with marker. The problem of course was that the girls wanted to keep every rock they decorated.   

After a few days in Nice, we traveled up the Cote d'Azur to Menton.  Menton is special. First of all it is as Italian as it is French - in the architecture, in the food and the language. This is because it borders Italy. Second, it has a very mild climate, which gave us spectacular late-October temperatures. 

Third, the gardens are beautiful. They are tropical and full of citrus trees, particularly lemon trees, which Menton is apparently known for, though we didn't know this until we visited. 

The girls made bouquets from falling blossoms.

But again, the beach was the hot spot. 

And one of the beaches was even sandy!