Farewell, Sweet Summer

The air has already turned chilly; we've bought school supplies; ordered bus/train passes; and are counting down the last few days of laziness. The past few weeks I've been working on the annual report for our office but am trying to be home every afternoon to be with Wuke (the boys have combined their names--Wuke even has its own facebook) and the Princess. So here are some random bits as we kiss "les grandes vacances" goodbye.

Two little kittens showed up in our office parking lot. In a moment of cuteness induced insanity I had a friend help me catch one which I brought home. So what if I'm allergic? Bingley is cute, and very active. Mark is completely in love. I remember when he used to look at me as he now gazes at his kitty.

One afternoon the kids tie-dyed some t-shirts. I had forgotten how treacherous doing crafts with children can be--no matter the age of the "children". I suppressed my neurosis about permanantly staining every thing in the house and some pretty cool shirts were the result.

Berry Warriors? We went picking blackberries (berries, not PDAs) in the forest. Wuke removed their shirts within two minutes and moments later were applying blackberry warpaint to their faces and chests. Will I ever understand boys? As we like to say, "Vous n'êtes même pas civilisés." The Princess and I kept our distance as they ignored nettles and thorns to get the best berries. We picked the easy ones.

So this morning we had blackberry muffins, tomorrow is Luke's 16th birthday. Summer's last hurrah. When did I get old enough to have two kids over 16?

They're Baaack

The boys are back! They had a five week adventure in Mexico, made new friends, learned new things, spoke Spanish, shared their faith, helped the poor, lost clothes and money hither and yon. They arrived in Paris after a 30 hour delay (a cancelled flight, two very late flights and 24 hours at Chicago O'Hare in the unaccompanied minors room!). Happily they were with five females also returning from the project.

The most striking changes were 1. Luke is now strawberry blond. 2. Luke let a girl pierce his ear with a safety pin, ice cube and apple slice ala "Parent Trap" (we are happy to report that the hole is almost completely closed.) 3. Will wants to attend university in Mexico City. "But Mom! They have an AWESOME music department!" 4. Will wants to take a gap year after high school.

The parental units are quickly losing control! But we still think they are two of the most adorable boys ever!

Tour de France

We just enjoyed a great visit from Mark's two sisters and one of his nieces. We took them to the usual places; Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, a chateau, etc. We saw a few uniques sites, like a constuction site for a 13th century chateau. They are in the middle of a 20 year project to build a medieval castle using only techniques of the time.

On the last day of the Tour de France bike race we went to the starting place and saw the beginning of the day's race. It was like the Cowley County Fair--a parade, celebrities, live television (well maybe on a little like the fair). The Princess nearly fainted b/c she saw the winner of Star Academy perform. "Quentin is even cuter in person!"

We also bopped over to Bruges, Belgium for a day and night, passing through a sliver of the Netherlands before returning to France. Everyone appreciated something different about the time; chocolate, the magnificance of Fontainebleau, the cuteness of Quentin, tour of a brewery, shopping. I loved hearing Mark and his sister reminisce about their childhoods. I also loved sharing a bit of our lives with them.