Back to school

It wasn't too difficult getting back into the swing of school yesterday, especially knowing that there were only two days to go before the weekend and Papa's visit. At last we have had a chance to tidy away the last vestiges of the birthday. Little containers of unclaimed Lego pieces, unclassified wheels and spindles, and instructions are placed at strategic points.. Not a single piece must find its way into the vacuum cleaner or worse, into the rubbish bin.

Nick arrived in time to collect the children from school. It is raclette weather here. The boys loved it, even Sacha who normally turns his nose up at cheese.

Flying

It was the last day of the half-term holiday. François and I took Louis and Sacha to the "Musée Régional de l'Air"  (Aviation Museum) at the tiny Angers airport. It was very accessible to young visitors.

The aeroplanes on show were completely restored, and many were ready for immediate take-off.

A flight-simulator was very much appreciated. They are both excellent pilots, apparently.

There were some enormous motors on show, (3,500 hp,)  but also some models. We were able to read about some of the pioneers of aviation and their planes, including the René Gasnier, the first aeroplane to fly in the Anjou region. A kind enthusiast allowed the boys to try out the cockpit.

 

Update

I had forgotten an important update. Do you remember :

Now the picture is :

Dad sent me a message from Disneyland to share the news. There are already three more wobbly teeth to keep small fingers busy.

Louis wrote in his policeman's notebook that what he wanted to do today was to get up late, read books, and play.

                                                             That is exactly what we all did today. 

Halloween

This morning we all visited the park at the Château de Pignerolles, about 6 km away from us. It was a sunny Autumn day, and there was hardly anyone else to be seen.
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 There was a good playground.

There was a "parcours de santé," a route with notices telling us to run very fast for 300 metres, or to do 20 press-ups, or to do a few dozen lunges. I pretended not to see them, but Louis and Sacha took them very seriously.

In the afternoon, we were invited to Valérie's house in Baugé for Halloween tea. Adèle and James (yes, that really is James,)  helped the boys to find some suitable costumes from Valérie's dressing-up chest. Then they went round to frighten the neighbours,  with Caroline following at a discreet distance. Father Christmas in particular came back with his pumpkin bag overflowing.  

Louis is 7!

They are back! What a weekend this has been. Caroline and the boys arrived in time for a late lunch with my sister Ann Marie and brother Mark, who had driven from the Vendée region to see them. The visitors stoutly kept up the conversation in French. Matthew and Lolita called in to say bonjour.

 Today, Sunday, was Louis' 7th Birthday! He spent the morning discovering his many presents, and chatting to his absent dear ones on the phone.

Joséphine came from Nantes, with her Maman Agnès, and Timothée from Louis' class and Martin, a friend of Sacha's age, came for a birthday party.

Timothée lives just around the corner from us. We were lucky that he had come back from holiday. Hugo and Adrien are unfortunately still away. But I found that seven adults and five children was an excellent number.


This has been the birthday of the beyblades.(Glorified spinning tops.)  How they enjoyed them.

There were more traditional birthday games as well. Pass the parcel, musical bumps, Hunt the Thimble, Musical Statues, and a version of "Pin the tail on the donkey" which took the form of "who can place France the nearest to its true position on a magnetic map of the world."

 Then it was time for the birthday tea. Jelly, (2 flavours,) was very much appreciated by Joséphine, Louis, and Sacha. Less so by the little French guests.




There were 2 cakes, a beautiful bought one, and a hastily baked last-minute lemon tray bake. The children preferred the other offerings (the carrot sticks went down well. ) The adults all went for the lemon cake. Does anyone fancy some very gooey, creamy chocolate cake, before I scrape it all away?

 

Half term!

The new cars have arrived. Sacha inspected my car from top to bottom before pronouncing himself satisfied. He is remarkably interested in anything that has wheels. He is learning the parts of the car in French.

On opening Louis' homework book on Thursday evening, I saw his teacher had written the following : 

"This morning, in class, when it was his turn to play in  "the ferret game" (???? I'll have to ask about that one,) Louis said "Soixante-quatre!" (64.) This showed that he had been following the maths lesson, and also that he has understood the rule of adding two by two. Louis is a very attentive pupil. Very good work! "

Great stuff, Louis.

Friday, the last day of half term.  Nick arrived this afternoon, and took us all out to supper in a very nice crêperie.

It's all that dry cider that does it.

They are off to Disneyland tomorrow, and then to England. Happy Half Term Holiday, everyone! I'll be back here on the blog in a few days' time.

Another Watery Wednesday

The day started with a swimming lesson, and I am pleased to report that it went .... swimmingly. Or almost :  they are on the point of swimming without floats but are still not quite there when they are on their fronts. They can both get along unaided on their backs for quite a way. They went down the slide today, and then made their separate ways to the end of the pool before doubling back.

We came home and spent the end of the morning fairly calmly. I gave each of them a music lesson on Caroline's xylophone, which they seemed to enjoy.  No homework today, Louis valiantly got it out of the way last night.




We are selling our cars, and so had to give them some attention today. The children came along to enjoy the car wash, but what I didn't know was that Sacha had opened his window a crack. I was alerted to this by loud screams as I sprayed his window. Oh dear.

 So in the end they got out and helped. Then they repeated the operation for Papy's car.

A trip to the park rounded off the day nicely. I am now able to pinpoint the exact spot where Sacha fell on Sunday.