Students' first week, and guess who's teacher grade 4 on the boys' side?

You know what I hate about the first day of school? The anticipation. It seems that every year, no matter where I am, the night before the first day of school is one of my worst night's sleep of the year. This year was no exception. 

I fell asleep on the sofa around 8:30 pm on Saturday night. So once I was upstairs at just before 10, going back to sleep was challenging. I finally just laid there with my eyes closed until I drifted off. I'm not sure what time that was, but most likely it didn't take as long as it seemed. Then at 3 am, I was startled by Millie's yelling. She doesn't scream in the night if something's wrong, she just yells my name until I get there. She had wet her bed, but kind of woke up midway so it wasn't that bad, but sheets still had to be changed. 

The entire process took around 10 minutes, plenty of time for her to wake up completely. Then she wanted a drink of water. Then she wanted me to lay down with her....on her tiny, IKEA, 'paper thin mattress' bed. By the time I got back to my bed, my alarm was about 30 minutes away from ringing. Oh the joys of the first day of school combined with parenting. 

Once we were all up and ready for school, I took some pictures. The kids were really excited about going to school, especially Millie. She is in the same school, just down the hall from Jack this year. She already knows most of the staff at the school because Mr. Andrew, the driver that takes them to school, would always pick Millie up at her school first and then head to Jack's school. When she was waiting for Jack she got acquainted with everyone. It will make the transition easier for her, I think. 

I was totally surprised when I got to school and was told that I would only be in grade 4 one day. We got a new English teacher!  The day was relatively smooth, however we had less than half of our students at school. The day started out with the boys in the auditorium with a clown and magic act. I'm not sure what the point of that was, but no one really asks my opinion so I just go with the flow. 

Once we were in the classroom establishing rituals and routines, one of the social workers came around with popsicles.  Again, the point? The boys who were in my class today were fine. They were a bit silly, but maybe that was the first day jitters, I hope. 

As the boys were leaving school, in their typical way, the new teacher came through the front door. I nearly hugged her. I stuck out my hand to shake hers and asked if she was the new EMT. She said yes, and I began to give her the tour of he school and get her acclimated, in 20 minutes, and ready for Monday. We gathered supplies and put them in her room. How happy was I?  Her name is Melanie. So THAT'S who is teaching grade 4! Yahoo! She asked how to get a cab back in town. I told her she could get a ride home with me and we made arrangements for her to ride with me the rest of the week. She is still in a hotel, so of course I told her my hotel horror stories. I think it's only fair and kind to share experiences that she could benefit from hearing. 

Once I was home on Sunday, I went to a ladies house to look at a piano keyboard for Jack. We signed him up for 16 weeks, once a week, but I didn't want to spend a fortune on a new keyboard in case he's not that interested. When I got to her house, she ushered me in and I felt like I had landed in a flea market. There were all kinds of washers and refrigerators and shelves. Clearly they had a business of sorts that they were running out of their house. In the end she sold me the keyboard for the equivalent of $40. I can handle that and Jack loved it!

After I got home, all I wanted to do was shower and go to bed. I was terribly exhausted from the day, but thrilled that I wouldn't be in a classroom on Monday. 

I continued to pass out supplies on Monday. I went to school with my hair in a ponytail because I knew that sweating up a storm was inevitable. Once I was home Jack and I went to pick up his new keyboard. Then we picked up Cathy and Claire to go with us to his piano lesson. Claire was interested in taking singing lessons so they wanted to check out House of Arts. 

Jack said he liked his lesson and once we were home he wanted to practice. So we hooked up his keyboard and I helped him practice his two assignments. Of course, all he wanted to do was play 'Happy Birthday' and 'Mary had a Little Lamb', but he did comply and do his assignments. 

Cathy and Claire came over a bit later and had dinner. They stayed while Stuart went to rugby training. We watched our forever favorite show 'Miranda'. She is hysterical and we can nearly quote her, we've watched the episodes so many times. 

Tuesday was a very difficult day at school. The language barrier makes things so much more difficult when we are trying to impart our Western ways to this community. There is such a huge learning curve for everyone. I was physically and emotionally drained at the end of the day. 

When I got home we went to Scott and Clare's to help them pick up their repaired car. Because Scott broke his leg, he can't drive. I stayed with the kids while Scott, Clare and Stuart went to collect the car. Once they were home the curry we had ordered was delivered. 

As we often do, we brought the kids' pajamas. Millie had a bath before the food arrived, and Jack and Henry went to take a shower after they ate. When Jack came downstairs he came to give me a hug. I kissed his head and he smelled like wet dog. I told him he stunk and asked him if he even used soap. He said no and I nearly barfed. Stinky boys. I told him when we got home he would shower again. At that moment he said, 'Henry didn't use soap either'. He really needs a lesson in how to NOT throw your best friend under the bus. I thought Clare was going to blow a gasket. She told them to both go upstairs and use soap. 

Once the boys were clean and we were in the car, Jack said the reason he didn't use soap was because Henry didn't and he didn't want Henry to leave him upstairs by himself. That made me sad. Times like that make me very aware of the fact that Henry is 3 years older than Jack. 

The kids fell asleep on the way home, which is always nice for Millie because she gets carried to bed, whereas Jack has to wake up and walk upstairs, which was the source of a meltdown Tuesday evening. He finally made it up to his room and went to sleep. 

Stuart and I watched some television and then, as usual, Stuart went upstairs to bed while I napped on the sofa. I know it's a terrible habit, but I love falling asleep on the sofa while watching tv. I did finally go to bed, but it was late, or early, depending on how you look at it. 

Wednesday at school was a little more calm. We had about 75% of our students and for the most part the boys have started to know the rules. Dismissal was nuts, though. We brought all bus riders to the foyer of the auditorium. Because they knew the buses were just beyond the open doors, it was if they were called by some kind of force. They started rushing the door. It was absolute chaos. We decided we would make changes for Thursday, clearly. 

Millie went to dance Wednesday evening. It is just around dinner time which backs up to bedtime. So the timing is not perfect, but she loved it all the same. I didn't stay in the class, but was able to take this picture from the window in the door, just like Jack's piano class. 

Thursday finally arrived. It seemed as if things were really starting to come together. I had my first student in our intervention room for fighting, we lined kids up in the canteen for bus dismissal, which was a nobel idea, and none of our teachers were angry by the end of the day. If you ask me we had a very successful first week. 

I didn't leave school until after two because I am assigned to stay and wait for students who are returned on the bus because no one is home to meet their bus. 

Once I was home we ended up going to the pool and then eating dinner at the club. We were home early and everyone was in bed early. 

I got up Friday morning to go for a swim. I swam 40 laps but it took me forever. Hopefully I won't hold my team back. 

Millie and I made cupcakes in preparation for her final birthday party. It seems that this year she has had the birthday that won't end. Oh well, I guess she's only 4 once. Ha!

In the afternoon we went to Oscar's birthday party. Oscar is the son of our Irish friends, Gemma and Fechin. Fechin is the guy who talked me into this three man triathlon. He's so encouraging. When I told him how much and how fast (or slow) I have been swimming. He just told me it was no big deal and the speed wasn't a concern of his. It just made me want to try harder. 

After Oscar's party we went to the club for Club Day. The kids' teams played some rugby, there was entertainment and some of the rugby club staff spoke.

The boys were getting their tags on. Jack scored about 5 trys, but I saw a team player in this boy. He handed the ball to a little girl named Harper, who had never played, and then he ran in front of her kind of plowing a clear area for her to run to the try line. It was so sweet, but she wasn't exactly sure where to go and in the end got a bit upset and ran off the pitch. Poor dear. 

It was a great evening. We got home around 9 pm and hit the hay. 

Saturday morning we were woken up just before six by some workers digging up our front walkway. There was a leak and a massive puddle in front of our place earlier in the week. So it only makes sense they would start fixing it before 6 am on a Saturday morning. Irritating. 

Once I was up and around I put the finishing touches on Millie's birthday party. The guests were due to arrive at 10 am. There were games planned and the pizza was ordered from the club. 

We had Melted Snow (water bottles), Sven's Antlers (pretzel sticks), Olaf's noses (baby carrots), Elsa's snowflakes (popcorn), and snowballs (cheese balls). Thank you Pintrest!

Stuart drew the Olaf for Pin the Nose on Olaf. 

Millie got more toys than she needed, as usual. 

Millie's friend Abbey's dad, Jeff, brought his photography stuff and took pictures of the kids on a green screen, then put the backdrop of Elsa and Anna on the phot. It was so cool. What a treat for the kids. 

There was no birthday cake, only cupcakes. We sang and Millie blew out the candle. Perfect!

After the party and a slight clean up, we went to the pool. Once we were back home the kids and I showered and were in our jammies by 3:30 pm. We watched a couple of movies, warmed pizza for the kids, and both fell asleep on the sofa just before 6 pm. Everyone had a full weekend for sure. 

The rest of the evening was spent laying around and mentally preparing for the coming week. We seem to be in full swing with activities again. It's the way we like it!

First day of the third year

Sunday morning we were to report to school at 8 am. I got a text before getting to school telling me that my principal would be late because she had a meeting at the ADEC office. Since I am now the only western administrator at the school, besides the principal, I supposed it was up to me to get my English teachers together and tell them something, but what? Does it sound as if there is no direction at my school. The beginning of the year seems to be a little disheveled so far. 

Everyone started gathering in the reception area just around 8 am. I noticed there was a new western person and I introduced myself. She introduced herself as well, and told me she would be the new Academic Vice Principal. We went to my office and started talking about the school. She had been at a private school in another emirate last year. The questions she was asking would indicate to me that she was brand new to the country. All I could think was, 'she's going to be a lot of work and I would rather have no body than that body'. Well, my wish was granted. Within an hour of our time together she received an email that stated she was being reassigned. She was very nice, just very unaware of the system, which is my argument for promoting from within. 

We went grocery shopping after school to equip our house with the basics. Stuart had a rugby coaches meeting at the club so I took the kids swimming. I brought the kids home and bathed them, fed them, and off to bed they went. 

Once Stuart was home we ate dinner and I fell asleep on the sofa. I woke up at 1:45 am, which is not that uncommon. It dawned on me that I should put the laundry from the pool in the dryer. However, when I opened the door to the dryer I discovered it was already in there. So what was in the washer then? I am really the main laundress so I couldn't imagine what Stuart would have put in there. When I pulled out the contents I discovered it was Millie's bedding. Apparently she had peed her bed. Good thing she woke up as Stuart was going to bed. Otherwise he wouldn't have had the pleasure of changing her sheets and getting her changed. 

Scholl on Monday was great. My principal was at a meeting in Abu Dhabi so she asked me to get the English teachers together to go over expectations for the year. I showed a video of Rita Pierson from Ted Television. Everyone seemed positive and ready to start another year. We have an intervention room this year for misbehavior. I am hopeful this will assist in some of our behavioral issues.

I spent a couple of hours before the meeting with my men teachers. They helped me sort the books. We only got half of the books sorted. We have consumable books and each child has 8 books. So we ended up delivering over 8000 books. It took the entire week. My back was a mess by Thursday morning. 

This was about a quarter way through the books. Ugh!

Monday after school I went with my friend DeDe to a place called Heritage Village. It's an oasis in the desert. It looks like a convention center, but they serve food and it is popular for the sheesha smokers, of which I am not. I had been there once before with DeDe. It was just nice to get out with some girls and relax. 

When I got home from Heritage Village we went to the rugby club. The kids played on the rugby pitch side and I went to swim laps. Many locals were there and it was difficult to swim in the lanes. The rugby club has always been seen as an expat safe haven, but recently more and more local residents are joining. 

Tuesday morning we woke up to go to a useless training n Abu Dhabi. We were basically shown a PowerPoint of the curriculum that hasn't changed. We were to then go back to our schools to do a multiple hour training for the staff. Um, at that point there were only two days before students were coming. I'm not really sure why this wasn't something we were asked to do earlier in the week. Oh well! During the meeting many phones made noise at the same time. Then it dawned on me that it was the 25th of the month, pay day. We all get a text when the money is deposited into our accounts. I giggled to myself and remembered not to sweat the small stuff. Stuart and I, along with 2 other Heads of Faculty, left the meeting early. We were going to stay for the free lunch, but then decided we would just hit the road back to Al Ain. 

Once home I went to the secret Spinneys (liquor store) while Stuart made dinner for our friend who just started chemo. She was diagnosed over the summer and is now in treatment. She has two small kids and her husband travels a lot. Fortunately her mom is here from Oklahoma to help out as well. 

Scott and Clare came over for curry that evening. After dinner, Jack left with the Richardson's to have a sleep over with Henry. Millie wanted to go too. She virtually had a melt down as she was showering and getting her pajamas on, although the previous night she had fallen asleep on her own with the lights on in her room. Tuesday night I had to rock her to sleep again. I suppose she won't always want me to rock her and sing to her, so for now I will just play along. 

When I got to school on Wednesday I discovered that although my male teachers had separated the remaining books by grade level, they had not separated them according to boys and girls. This only meant I had much more work to do than I had anticipated. Before I started in on the books, I met with teachers about the new books we were getting and review the PowerPoint which took 30 minutes, not several hours. 

I spent the rest of the day sorting books and getting our cleaners to deliver them. Magdalene is one of my cleaners who speaks fluent English. She was very helpful in the process. 

After school we went to Bawadi Mall to finish up the kids' school supply list and buy a new water cooler. Ours pooped out over the summer, sadly. We then decided to visit the new IKEA showroom they have in Al Ain. Millie needs a small wardrobe for all the thousands of dresses Grammie bought her over the summer. They built the showroom so that those who live in Al Ain can come and order. However, there is no carry out. You can't buy anything and take it home the same day. Boo!  We are hopeful that will change in the future. 

I decided not to swim laps Wednesday evening. I felt I got a good enough workout by lifting boxes most of the day. 

Thursday I left work early to go to Jack and Millie's 'Meet the Teacher' at their school. We met both teachers, Millie's who had just been hired that morning. Jack's teacher was at the school last year. She has an excellent reputation, so we are very excited for Jack. His class has been stacked with the advanced students, which thrills us as well. 

Jack is in the Spider Monkey's class. Grade 2 (equivalent to 1st grade in the states). 

Millie is in the Red Bird class  

After 'Meet the teacher', we took a trip to Oasis Hospital. Jack had been complaining of stomach cramps the last couple of days. So when Claire called that morning and said he was almost in tears after he went to the bathroom, I told her to let him know that after 'Meet the Teacher' I would take him to urgent care. The doctor ordered an ultrasound to rule out an appendicitis. 

Once that was ruled out, the doctor needed a stool sample. She ordered an enema. I showed Jack the box with the solution in it. The box had a child in the position that needed to be assumed. After Jack looked at it he got up on the table, dropped his drawers and stuck his but up in the air. The nurse administered the enema, which didn't phase him. He was supposed to hold the water in his butt for 30 minutes. However, 5 minutes in he was crying. So I had the pleasure of holding the cup for the stool sample, which is about the size of a pill container. Needless to say, the poor boy shat all over my hands and arms. Explosive diarrhea came out of that tiny hole and I was the victim. 

Once we left the hospital I continued to torture the kids with dull activities and took them to sign up for extra curricular activities. Jack is going to take piano lessons and Millie is going to start dance again. 

Back home Jack just laid on the sofa. He didn't have a fever and actual said he felt fine. That evening we went to the rugby captain's house for a party. 

Sean, the captain, has a HUGE collection of Legos, which kept the boys entertained all evening. 

We left just before 10, but not before Jack had a glass of milk, which he gave back to us on his bedroom floor once we were home and he was in bed. 

After he was cleaned up I went downstairs to watch some television. I fell asleep on the sofa, again, and woke up at 4 am to go upstairs to bed, if only for a few hours. 

Friday morning I went for a swim. I swam half a mile in 35 minutes. I know it's not far or fast, but I will get there. I have to be able to swim that mile before December. 

I returned home, had a shower, and the kids and I went to Rochelle's to have a chat with her and DeDe. We sat there for 3 hours. 

Friday evening there were rugby trials at the club. The men's teams were determining their rosters based on the play from that evening. Prior to the trials I took the kids swimming, then we ate dinner at the club as the men were warming up. 

Stuart was excited! He didn't play much and never touched the ball, but it was all the teams mixed together. He is playing for the second team again this year and thrilled. 

Ready for the event!

During the match, just toward the end, Scott (Henry's dad) broke his fibula. That was found out after the X-ray at the hospital, of course. Jack was excited, not because Scott broke his leg, but because Henry got to come to spend the night with us. I was totally bummed because Scott is the runner on my three man (woman) triathlon team. Hopefully he will recover by then. It was a clean break and the bone was still positioned correctly and hadn't moved at all. Painful all the same. 

We got home from the club and the kids all showered, then went straight to bed. 

Saturday morning I got up and went for a swim. I have determined that Friday and Saturday mornings are the best time to do laps. No one was there either day. 

I returned, showered and had my cups of coffee. We took Henry home and Clare fixed bacon sandwiches. We decided to leave Jack there while we ran errands and got groceries. I told Millie she had to come with us so we could get the last minute things we needed for her birthday party. She just wants to do everything Jack does. But she came with us with little fuss. 

We went to Al Ain Mall first. The kids each needed a family photo to take to school in Sunday, so we got those printed. We then went to the sunglasses shop to see if they could fix my Ray Bans that fell off my head and broke off the ear piece. The next stop was the phone shop to see if they could fix the screen on Jack's iPhone. Don't get excited, it is just Stuart's old phone that is used to play games when we travel. He dropped it (I think I mentioned this in an earlier post) when we were in Lyon, France onthe open top bus tour. Finally we stopped in at our favorite electronic store to see if we could but Stuart a new iPod. It's crazy how many of our things died this summer. No luck! So McDonalds was our last detour before leaving the mall. We stopped to get groceries when we left the mall and then headed to Scott and Clare's to pick up our Land Rover and drop off some printer ink. 

Jack had gone to the pool with the Turners, so Millie and I went for a dip. Once we were finished swimming the kids came home to shower and wait for dinner. Stuart fixed roasted chicken, 4 different vegetables, roasted potatoes and gravy. Yummy and healthy. We sat at the table together, which doesn't happen a great deal, but we make an effort when we can. Both kids were a bit off all day; whiney and complaining at most anything. In the end Stuart determined both were probably nervous about their first day of school. Made sense to me. When I asked Jack if he was a little nervous. He admitted he was, as I told him good night. I asked him if he wanted to talk about it. He said, 'Maybe tomorrow.' That was fine by me. I wish I could be in his little head sometimes. It would make parenting less of a mystery. 

Stuart not only cooked on Saturday evening, but he cleaned up as well. Afterward we sat down to watch a couple of episodes of season 8, Dr. Who. Then it was off to bed. I'm nervous for the new school year too, if I were to be honest. Maybe that's why I've been cranky as well today. 

Still livin' the life in the Middle East. 

Wrapping up our travels for the summer

We got up Sunday mornings around half past eight. It was great to not have an alarm. We got dressed and went toward the seafront for breakfast. We had a Full English breakfast which left a bit to be desired. Only the English can really do justice to a Full English breakfast. 

We went to G and P's hotel and decided to do the open bus tour of Nice. We couldn't do it in the morning because the Athletic Director of UCA was taking the team to lunch. So in the morning we just meandered through the streets, stopping in at a shop from time to time. 

When Russ's team went for lunch, we walked down on the seafront and then even went down to the beach to feel the water. 

The water was crystal blue. 

We also walked through the old town and flower market. We ended up eating at a restaurant where we had the most delicious risotto I think I have ever had. Jack has sushi, like you do while in France. Millie had pizza, which seems to be something at least one of us orders at each meal because it's so good.  

On our way to the open bus tour, we had a stop at the town square for a photo and then a ride on the carousel. 

I'm not even sure what this statue is, but he was naked so it was photo worthy. 

We reconnected with the family and boarded the open bus. We sat at the top, but noticed very dark clouds were looming above us. The rain began and Russ went down to the bottom immediately. Eventually half of our group went to the bottom, but the strong stayed on the top and got absolutely soaked. We were on the bus for over an hour and it rained all but 5 minutes. It became a comical event. 

The beauties before the rain. 

And here is after the rain. Drenched! And, yes, that is a reusable grocery bag on my head. We bought them in Paris and I remembered I had them in my backpack. There was not one dry spot on my clothes. We didn't get to take any pictures because it was raining so hard, but we continued to listen to the audio guide. 

We got off the bus at the train station, which was the stop closest to our hotel. Everyone got off and those staying in the nicer part of town, walked on to their hotel. 

Once we ere dry we headed back to the family. We shopped a bit and then went to dinner. After dinner, Russ and his family went shopping some more while the rest of us went for ice cream. By 9 pm the kids were wiped out, so back to our beds we headed. 

We went to Monaco on Monday morning. I've visited before and actually had the same tour, but it meant more to me the second time. A lovely country for sure. It's very different seeing it with my kids. We made a stop at a perfume factory, exclusive to France, called Fragonard. I had been there before as well, in my younger days of travel. This time I actually had money to buy some perfume. 

Here is the cathedral where Grace Kelly married Prince Ranier. It is also where she is buried. The streets of Monaco are so clean. This has to be the cleanest place in France by far. 

The alter of the cathedral. 

Here are the troopers of the trip. Millie, Lindsey, Jack and Rebecca were wonderful travelers. Lindsey and Rebecca are Anthony's kids. He is Russ's assistant coach who was also with Russ at GCU. 

 

We walked around and saw the starting line to the Grand Prix, as well as the palace where the current Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene live. We were told they have twins and their boy will be the next prince. His name just happens to be Jack. Our Jack was thrilled to hear this news, as if he really cares. 

Look closely at the red area just to the left of Stuart's collar. That is where the pits tops take place. 

The streets of Monaco are quaint and lovely. 

After leaving Monaco and heading back to Nice, we decided to hit the Mediterranean Sea. Because I had never been in the sea, we felt it was a must. Plus the kids wanted to go in the water. 

We had brought our swim wear to G and P's hotel that morning so all we had to do was go back and get it. Once we were all changed we went to the beach. 

Because the beach is covered with large, smooth rocks, it's not very comfortable to sit on, or even walk on without shoes. There are progressively smaller rocks as you get closer to the water, but there is never sand. We walked to the water in our flip flops, but staying in the water, for Millie and myself, was difficult. The waves and under current were rough. My feet were killing me and I thought I might drown, well not really but it was a bit scary. And Millie just cried as the waves crashed against her. Needless to say, Millie and I headed back to the area under the bridge that was closed off and separated from the actual sea. Jack and Stuart braved it and had a fantastic time. 

This was the area sectioned off from the sea. The kids played around in it a bit, but it was much colder than the sea. 

The water was bluer than the pictures show. It was beautiful. Here you see that Jack, Stuart and Emily were the only three, of our party of ten, that braved the sea. 

Morgan played with Millie in the calm area. 

After we had enough beach time we sauntered back to shower the kids and then we're off to dinner. This would be our last dinner with the family. We ate at the same restaurant as the night before, but this time the entire team was with us. I even had the exact same thing as did the kids. 

At the end of the meal, as the team was leaving me, we went and bid a farewell to some of the players who had played with the kids and kind of tolerated the silliness kids can bring to a trip like this. I remember as a child having a crush on some of my dad's basketball players. Seems Millie had a few crushes of her own. The guys were terribly sweet to her as well as Jack. Russ has some really nice players which helped to make Jack and Millie's trip that much more fun. 

We left the restaurant and went to find our last gelato of the trip. We then walked back to the hotel and said goodbye to Russ, Julie, Morgan and Emily. The 9 days we spent with them was probably more time than we would see them if we lived in Arizona. But just not having the option to see them more is probably the difficult part. It's always hard to say goodbye. 

Once that sadness was over, we headed to G and P's room to get our beach things as well as some snacks we had bought for our return train ride. And the sadness started all over again. They are coming at Christmas time, but nevertheless saying goodbye is sad. 

We trekked back up to our hotel, got the kids in bed, and did our final packing. Clearly we have a LOT more going home than we came with. 

We were up at 6 am and out the door by 7 am. Fortunately the train was only a 2 minute walk from our hotel. After a train to Paris, a metro ride across Paris to get to the Eurostar, a Southern Railway train to Hastings once we were in England, a taxi ride to Grandma and Grandpa's, and a ton of snacks, our France trip was officially over. We arrived back at Highwoods just before 6 pm. 

Our last train for this holiday. 

We had a simple dinner, bathed the kids, and just rested. Being away from home, and living out of a suitcase, for 6 weeks is not as simple as I would like it to be. As much as we don't want to go back to work, we are ready to be home. 

Grandma and Grandpa were in Spain when we got back to England, so we were on our own for our last day of our journey. My friend Sam and her daughters planned to come and play with Jack and Millie. So we were up Wednesday morning in anticipation. 

They arrived around 11:30 am with pizza and strawberries. The adults had cheese, crackers, and assorted chutneys. We had a good catch up while the kids played. It took a bit for Daisy to warm up to my two, but once she did they were off to play. Sam's youngest was at preschool so we didn't get to see her. Sam and Daisy stayed for about 3 hours and then were off on their own holiday to Dorsett. 

The rest of the afternoon was used to finish packing our stuff. I'm still unsure as to how we ended up with 7 checked bags when we only brought 2 back on July 10. Shopping was good this summer, apparently. 

The kids had a very early night, with dinner at 5 pm and bed at 6 pm. 4 am would come quickly Thursday morning. 

Up and about by 3:30 am, we rushed around to get the last bits into the bags. The club class car collected us at 4:30 am and we were off to London City Airport. We arrived just after 6 and sat around waiting for the plane to board. Our first flight was only 40 minutes long. We landed in Amsterdam and had a 4 and a half layover. We looked around a bit, and then decided to go into an Irish pub. 

After we are we went to Starbucks to buy our mugs. We have collected mugs from all over the world. We then went to our gate and just waited. And waited. And waiting. 

Finally we boarded the plane to Dubai.

Although the plane was nice, the seats were very narrow. Luckily, I sat with Millie and Jack sat with Stuart. Neither of the kids slept, which was a relief. Because England is really not that big of a time difference from Dubai, we were hopeful the kids wouldn't have any trouble getting back on a regular sleep schedule.

Scott was due to pick us up, but thought our flight landed at 11:55 pm instead of 10:55. It was a miscommunication that actually worked in our favor. By the time we exited the plane, went through customs, collected our bag (which seemed to take forever) Scott was on the curb waiting for us. Perfect!

We stopped so I could pee and we could get some milk for our coffee Friday morning. We got home just before 2 am. When we arrived, our house was clean as a whistle and nice and cool. Our house cleaner, Asela, had cleaned and turned on our air conditioners the day we arrived. It was so nice because last summer when we got home after only 4 weeks it took about 4 hours for our place to cool down enough to where we could be comfortable. The interior walls were too hot to touch. It was a nice treat to come home to a comfortable house. 

We didn't get to bed until 3 am, and I didn't unpack either, which I know is shocking. Well, I actually unpacked 3 of the 7 bags, but didn't put everything in its place. I just sat things out on counters and our futon. 

We didn't wake up until after 9 am on Friday morning. I attempted to unpack a bit more, but didn't get much accomplished. We were invited to Scott and Clare's for brunch, so headed that way just after 10 am. It was great to catch up with the Richardsons and the Turners. The kids played and the adults chatted. 

After breakfast we went to the rugby club for a swim. As you know, I have committed to a 3 man, or woman in my case, triathlon team. I will be doing the swimming. The race is in December. So there really isn't any time to waste. I have to be able to swim 60 laps before that time. I am hopeful that I will be able to do it, and also lose some of this fluff I have gained over the past several months. Pray for me. 

I swam 20 laps on Friday and thought I might die. My plan is to swim at least 4 days a week. It will be challenging, but worthwhile for sure. 

We got home just as Cathy and Claire arrived at our house for dinner. I bathed the kids, we ordered curry, and had a good catch up with them. They told us of their fast and furious 3-day trip to Greece and we told them of our France trip. They left just about 10 pm and we were quickly off to bed. 

I woke up just before 6 am on Saturday, then finished unpacking. This has to be a first for me. I am normally unpacked within 12 hours of being home from a trip. Seems this trip took me more like 48 hours to get everything put away. 

Once Stuart and the kids were awake we went to the grocery store because the cupboards were definitely bare. We had decided we would take the cars to get cleaned on the way. When we got home the Land Rover battery was dead. So we knew we would need to get a new battery on Saturday, but the other two cars started. However, being from Arizona, we know batteries only last a year or so. And since we had to replace Stuart's battery a bit before school was out, I knew my car battery was soon to expire. 

As we were starting our cars I heard that dreaded sound that makes you know your battery is dead. Super! We asked about having a battery replaced at the service station where we had our cars cleaned. For what they wanted to charge, we could buy both needed batteries from Sainaya, an industrial area, and Stuart could change them himself. So we passed on the outrageously expensive battery. 

We had the ever nutritious McDonalds for lunch and then bought our food for the week. Once we were home we decided to give a visit to the Rouvis. They just moved up the road from us and are giving us their top load washer. This means we can move our washing into the maids room and the big open space under the counter in our kitchen can be used now for a dishwasher. Yahoo! I am very excited. However, after our 6 week holiday we may need to wait a month or two before we buy one. But it's coming!

We needed one more pool visit before we started back to work on Sunday. We met the Rouvis, Richardsons, and Turners at the pool. I swam another 20 laps and it was a bit easier that time. I can only assume it will get easier and easier. After I swam Stuart and Scott took off to get our batteries to fit into our two dead cars. Once they returned we got out of the pool and ate dinner at the rugby club. It was our last hoorah before the 2015-2016 school year officially started. 

Once we were home I went up to help the kids get ready for bed. As I was getting Jack's underwear out of his dresser to lay on his bed with his pajamas, I noticed this note. 

 The picture to the left represent me, but had a smile on the face so was scratched out and replaced by a picture of me with a frown. Above my head is my name 'Dana'. Next to me is A picture of Jack with his name above it. He also is sticking his tongue out. The writing says 'I stickt my tung out et her'.  I called him out of the bathroom and here is how the conversation went:

Me: Hey, buddy? What's this?

Jack: Oh, um. 

Me: Were you mad at me for some reason?

Jack: Yes, it was when you sent me to my room. 

Me: Okay, well, when you were sent to your room was that because of something you did or something I did?

Jack: Something I did. 

Me: Right. So you know that Daddy and I are responsible for making sure that when you are a man you know right from wrong and that you are a good man. So when you do something you shouldn't do sometimes we send you to your room to think about your actions. Do you understand?

Jack: Yes. 

Me: But if it makes you feel better I went to my room sometimes and stuck my tongue out at my mom too. Do you know who my mom is?

Jack: (wry smile) Yes. Grammie. But, Mama, (as he walked to my side to take a closer look at the paper) did I spell it all right?

Me: (trying to keep from laughing) Well, you would write 'stuck' instead of 'stickt', and 'tung' is spelled 't-o-n-g-u-e'. It's a difficult word. So it's 'I stuck out my tongue (pause to allow him to self correct) 

Jack: Oh 'a-t', not 'e-t'. 

Me: But it was a pretty good effort. 

So maybe he had a life lesson and a grammar lesson as well. Love that kid! 

I'm not terribly excited to start work because my situation has changed a bit. I'm afraid I might be alone for a few weeks. My other Head of Faculty's contract was not renewed so she will not be back. They will replace her, but that will not happen until all the new teachers arrive. My English Vice Principal was transferred to Abu Dhabi and because we are losing students this year we are fearful they will not replace her. Also, I am being moved to the boys' side this year. Although we have a total of 9 less boy classrooms this year, we still received about 900 boxes of new textbooks and resources, and I have to figure out how to get it all delivered to the classrooms. I think once these first two weeks have passed, things will settle down and I will be fine. 

Stuart, on the other hand, still has the creme de la creme as far as jobs go. I'm glad for him. I often dream of a school of 200 total students in grades K to 12, and only being responsible for 80 of those students. A girl can dream, I suppose. 

Year 3 starts now!

Parlez-vous français?

I woke up to a message from my mom that said they would be about 3 and a half hours late. Apparently on their flight from Atlanta to Paris a fire alarm sounded and they had to land at JFK. I'm sure that was terribly unsettling to everyone. Later we found out they sat on the Tarmac with no food or water for 4 hours. Because our train wouldn't arrive until 1 pm into Paris, they would still arrive before we did. 

We were up and out of the house by 7:30 am. The train station was a little over an hour away from Maresfield. The kids were a little cranky, but settled into things once we got to the train station and were able to eat the donuts Grandma had bought for them the night before. They were all gone within 5 minutes. 

We boarded the train and had a very uneventful journey. We did meet some Americans that were complaining about not being able to check their luggage on the train. Bloody Anerican tourists. In the end we chatted with them throughout the trip. They were very nice, I suppose. 

Once we got out of the train station we searched for a cab. The first driver said he would do us a deal and drive us to my brother's hotel for 40 euros. Uh, wow! The second one said 70 euros. After not making headway at the exit of the station we rounded the corner to find a taxi that would take us for 20 euros. Deal!

We arrived and were greeted by the whole family. My nieces, sister in law, and I all cried, we were so happy to see each other. 

The little girl on the left is Russ's assistant coach's daughter, not my niece Mya (although they look a bit alike). 

The team finally got into their rooms, but in the meantime they headed to the metro to have a little lesson on how to use it, while Russ, Stuart and myself went to McDonald's for a bite to eat. My nieces took the kids with them so we were free to get our burgers and fries on. 

We spent a little bit of time in Morgan and Emily's room as they fought off the sleepies. The kids were yelling and jumping all over them because they were so excited to see them. Jack and Millie's actions helped to keep the girls awake. 

While everyone else went for a walking tour of Paris, Stuart and I headed to a remote place to pick up the keys to our hotel apartment. That was a breeze. Finding the apartment was not as easy. Thank goodness for google maps!  

We had to use the metro twice. Then, we walked a VERY long way to find the apartment. 

Here is the small street where our apartment was located. On the way we stopped to get some fruit, cheese, jam, and water. 

The kitchen. 

The living room/sofa bed/Mama and Jack's bedroom. 

Daddy and Millie's bedroom. 

The breakfast nook. 

Our apartment was very cute and only about a 10 minute walk away from the Marriott. Looking down the street towards our apartment, this was our view. You can see the Sacre Coeur at the very top of the picture. Gorgeous view!

We got back to the hotel just before the team showed up from their walking tour, which seemed to last much longer than needed for a crew who had been up for more than 24 hours. 

We ended up going to Grammie and Pop's room for them to freshen up. Once 6:30 pm hit we met down in the lobby and headed to Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. I had the absolute largest plate of nachos I have ever seen. Everyone was falling asleep in their food. 

A Hard Rock selfie!

Once dinner was over we headed back to the hotel to collect our bags and get a cab to our apartment. The kids were sad we weren't staying at the Marriott, but once they saw our pad they got over it. It takes very little to shift their attitudes. 

Showers for the kids were a must from their grimey walk. While I showered the kids, Stuart went out for some provisions (butter, milk, and beer of course). He brought back four 40s! Please! I felt super trashy with a 40 ounce beer in my hand. It didn't stop me from drinking it, but I did think I should have had a wife beater on all the while. 

While we had our beer, we watched a little bit of Mission Impossible, a James Bond film and Lethal Weapon in French. Apparently I know these movies well enough to understand them in French. Obviously there were no English channels. 

We were going to move Jack to the pull out bed but in the end we laid down on the sofa bed and didn't get up. That won't happen again. It was not a good night's sleep. Every time one of us rolled over it was like a giant trampoline for the other one. Lesson learned. 

Monday morning Stuart got up and went to the local bakery to get us a French stick and croissants. Yummy!  

Jack woke up just before 8 and started putting together his Legos Aunt Julie bought him. She bought him 5 Mixels (single monster-like things) and a Chima (a small boxed Lego). Someone should have taken out stock in Lego long ago, then we could all retire, or at least get a discount. 

After breakfast we walked to the hotel. We were able to join the team on a bus tour of Paris. That turned out to be really nice because at the end they dropped us off at Notre Dame. We took pictures but didn't go in because the queues were too long. The outside bit is the beautiful part. 

In the middle of the bus tour, before we were dropped off at Notre Dame, we had a stop to take pictures of the Eiffel Tower. We are all about the obligatory selfies at iconic sights. 

We walked along the Seine River after the Notre Dame pictures and decided, after we saw the Lock Bridge and bought  a piece of original art work, we would sit and have a crepe. While we were at the cafe we witnessed a police frisk of some suspected pick pockets. I had to take a selfie to get a shot of the criminals. 

It's not a good picture but you can see the police car behind me. 

After the police excitement we decided to walk around the Lovre and take pictures.

That is famous glass pyramid of the Louvre that only serves as the place to queue up for tickets. Once your enter it you go immediately to the basement on an escalator for the tickets. We didn't go in on Monday, but made a plan for Wednesday. 

In front of the same pyramid there are 4 smaller pyramids on each corner. Stuart stood on this granite stone and wanted me to take a picture that would make it look like the he was sitting on the pyramid. I do think it looks like that, but what a priceless bonus of the jet streams that look as if he'd had gas recently! Ha!

We finally headed back to the hotel for a little rest, and maybe a drink or two at the bar.  At 5:30 pm we headed to a restaurant with French cuisine. It was a restaurant that accommodated all 35 of us. It reminded me of a place we would take the People to People kids. Stuart ordered escargot (snails) and Jack decided he wanted to try one. 

Escargo!

Jack actually started chewing it and then had that look of 'I'm probably going to throw this thing up', which he's had before. But I had to hand it to him. He will try most anything, which I think adds to his life experiences. 

After dinner the team went on a boat tour. Our kids were tired and so we decided to head back to the apartment. On our way we stopped at a Carrefour, which is a grocery store we have in the UAE. It originated in France, but I did feel a bit like we were in Al Ain when I saw the store symbol on the milk. 

Once we were back at the apartment Millie had the ice cream cone I promised her if she walked all the way back from the Marriott. The kids both showered, as did I, and they went to bed. Stuart and I stayed up for a little bit to watch French television again. However, there were no familiar shows on. So we decided to call it a night. We moved Jack out to the pull out sofa when we finally did go to bed. 

Did we get a better night's sleep? No! Stuart and I had kid parts in our backs all night. I suppose we are looking forward to being back in our super king bed, but there is still a lot of fun to be had so we will have to get over it. 

Tuesday we arrived at the hotel about the same time as Monday and the air conditioning was clearly not working. It apparently was confirmed broken and didn't get fixed until late Tuesday afternoon.  The girls went with the team to do Paris Amazing Race (scavenger hunt). The rest of us walked to Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart Basilica), with a detour to our apartment. 

Obligatory selfie in front of the iconic Sacre Coeur. 

Sacre Coeur began in 1875 in the wake of the Franco-Prussian War and the chaos of the Paris Commune, Sacré-Cœur is a symbol of the former struggle between the conservative Catholic old guard and the secular, republican radicals. It was finally consecrated in 1919, standing in utter contrast to the bohemian lifestyle that surrounded it.

We rode the funicular down to the bottom of Sacre Coeur in the Montmartre district. Of course the kids needed their cheap Paris souvenir. We bought Jack an Eiffel Tower that was a bronze color, very realistic. And Millie got the purple, MORE realistic (insert sarcasm) colored one. 

After the tour of the seediest area in Paris, we headed back to the Marriott. With the air conditioner not working, the rooms were too hot to be in so we sat in the lobby, which is super fun with a 4 and 6 year old. We decided to go get a bite to eat at the authentic French restaurant, Chipotle. Ha! And Stuart thought he had eaten his last Chipotle burrito until next summer. How wrong he was. 

Back to the lobby we went to sweat it out. Once the air conditioning was fixed it started to get more tolerable. Grammie and Pop took the kids up to their room around 4:30 pm while Stuart and I had 'water' in the lobby bar. 

We left for the team's first game around 5:30 pm, got to the gym about 6:30 pm, and began sweating our butts off. It was beyond hot in the gym. Sweat was dripping off of me. Ick! But at least the kids were all decked out in their University of Central Arkansas gear. They were representing the team. 

They won their game against the professional French team. They played really well. It was exciting to watch. Jack and Millie ran all over the place and would dance during time outs. They were so cute, and no one cared if they were being silly. 

We really thought they would fall asleep on the way home from the game, but they didn't. So we walked to our apartment and stopped at Carrefour to get something to eat for everyone. By the time we got back to the apartment, got the kids showered, fed, and in bed, it was 11:15 pm. We knew that Wednesday morning would be a rough one, and we were right. 

I didn't get up until about half an hour after my alarm went off, which was around 7:30 am. Stuart had gone out for our morning baguette, but the kids and I kept sleeping. 

Once we were all up and about, we ate breakfast and heading back to the Marriott. We had decided that today was the day to go to the Louvre and up the Champs Élysées, which is the wealthy shopping road that leads to the Arc de Triumph. 

My feet had been killing me from all the walking we had done to that point. And because I chose to wear flip flops and didn't even bring proper walking shoes, I knew I would need to buy some on that day. My dogs were barkin' for sure. 

We rode the Metro to the Louvre and got out right at the mall where the entrance of the Louvre was. It was fantastic. I can tell you that had we not had Stuart with us for this trip, we would have floundered around a lot more than we did. His French and his knowledge of the Metro got us to where we needed to be with very little issue. 

We bought tickets to the museum and headed to the Mona Lisa. In my 4 visits to the Louvre I have never known there to be so many people there. Of course around the major, most popular pieces of art, there are always masses of people. But on that day there were people so thick you could hardly get through to see anything. We ended up only spending a couple of hours in the museum because of the crowds. But the time we spent there was actually fun. We were a bit goofy when we took our photos, but very funny!

She is less majestic than you would imagine. But she is behind this huge plate of glass and you have to stay about 10 feet away from her. Although it is a 'bucket' list item for sure. 

Family selfie with the lady. 

You don't see my dad in this picture because he had a blister on his foot and was having a hard time walking, so he decided to stay at the hotel. We decided, after the Mona Lisa crowd, we would take a selfie of the family in front of  a painting that seemed to not get any attention. No one was looking at this poor painting. 

Then, of course, there are the statutes with the tiny wieners. Both my kids couldn't stop themselves. I'm not sure how many times the word 'wiener' was said that day, but it was well into the upper double digits. As you can see, Millie had to point at each one. 

Zeus was huge, but not everything was proportionate. Shame. 

Uncle Russ decided he needed to be one of the bust statutes. Morgan got a video that panned across the busts starting on the right, and then she moved it to the left. When I saw my brother appear, it reminded me of something the Saturday Night Live cast would do. It produced a belly laugh for sure. 

We decided to get a Starbucks and have a rest before heading shopping. When we arrived at Champs Élysées I thought my feet were going to fall off. In fact, I kind of wanted them to do so. It would have been better than the pain I was experiencing. As you would guess, buying something on this road is not cheap. But I managed to get my new kicks, no matter how stupid they will look with skirts, at the Adidas store and it didn't break the bank. Russ and Stuart helped me pick them out while everyone else stayed on the benches by the metro, waiting to go back to the hotel. 

Here they are! Cute, eh?

Once we got out of the shoe store we headed toward the hotel. Millie had fallen asleep on Grammie's lap on a bench on the Champs Élysées. Who can say that? I had a new lease on life. Although my blisters were still there, right under my arch, where the flip flop strap meets the bottom of the flip flop, my feet were thanking me and I felt I could walk another mile. I carried Millie through the metro and up the stairs, and on to the hotel. 

We decided we would catch a cab back to our apartment. Just as we got in, she woke up, which was probably a good thing. She napped for less than an hour so maybe we still have a hope of her hitting the bed relatively early. 

We decided not to go to the game on Wednesday night. For one, we had to be at our train to Lyon by 9 am the following morning. Secondly, the kids were wiped out. Millie whined and moaned most of the day on Wednesday and wanted to be held most of the day, which was really a first for her this trip. And Jack actually cried and said his feet hurt. He kept asking if we could go back to the hotel, and he had just been a live wire since our holidays began. So that behavior was odd. Thirdly, the game would start as late as it did the previous night, but it was further away so we wouldn't get back until a bit later. Thus, our decision was easy. 

Once we were back at the apartment we munched on some things we had in the refrigerator. Stuart and I had a cup of tea, and we all just sat around doing our own thing. Around 5 o'clock we decided to go out and see if we could find the sushi restaurant we had seen earlier in our stay. With great ease we found it just up the street but it didn't open until 6 o'clock. So we decided to hit Carrefour for some rice for Millie because she will not eat sushi. 

Once we were back at the pad, Stuart shaved Jack's head, both kids were showered, I showered while Stuart went back out to get sushi, and Millie ate her rice. 

The sushi was really filling. Jack amazes us with his love of the stuff. He ate 14 pieces, which is well above the average sushi consumption. Of course Stuart and I are glad he likes it, but he does cut into our stash, which might make us greedy. 

During any dinner you just never know what conversation might take place, but we have some winners, that's a fact. For instance , on this particular night Jack came up with the following:

Jack: Mama, do your nipples just have milk in them when you have a baby?

Me: Yes, (with as straight of a face as I could muster) mamas only have milk in their breasts after they have a baby. 

Jack: (Not embarrassed, or being funny, but yet totally straight-faced) So you don't have milk in there now?

Me: Nope. 

Jack: Hmmm. (Then he went back to enjoying his sushi without another word being said) 

So, there you have it!

I read the kids a story after dinner and put them to bed. Again, as happens often, there is conversation at bedtime. The one Wednesday night started with Millie. She asked me if we were going to see Grandad Tom. I told her that Grandad Tom was no longer living so we couldn't see him. She then asked 'why?' And I responded by saying that he just got old and that's what happens. Jack asked, 'But why?' I said, 'Well, it's just how it happens. You are born, you live your life, and then when you get old, you die.'  At that point I expected a few more questions. But all Jack said was, 'I wish Adam and Eve wouldn't have eaten from that tree.'  'Me, too, buddy,' was all I could reply. For just one day, I wish I could be in their little brains. My kids make me laugh!

Thursday morning we were up and out of the apartment at a quarter past eight. We walked about a half a kilometer to get to the metro. We lugged our two, fifty pound bags down several flights of stairs and actually kept track of our kids while doing so. We had to take two different metro trains to get to the train that ran from Paris to Lyon. 

We ended up waiting for a bit to board the train. So in order to get to sit on some chairs we bought some gelato, at 9 o'clock in the morning and sat down for a few minutes. Once they announced the train platform that was taking us to Lyon, we boarded and were on our way. The journey was only 2 hours because ours was a fast train that traveled 300 km (180 miles) an hour. The team's bus would take about 6 hours and had to stop midway for them to play a basketball game. So we didn't see the family at all on Thursday because they didn't end up in Lyon until about 10 pm. 

Once we arrived in Lyon, we caught a reasonably priced taxi and he took us straight to the hotel. I've said it before and I will say it again, I'm not sure I could have made this trip without his knowledge of French and the transport system. 

Once we checked into the hotel we walked toward town center to find something to eat. We ate at a place called Ed's. One of the waiters spoke perfect English as well as French. We found out he was from Philedelphia. 

While we were eating it started storming. We walked along this delightful alley way where many of the restaurants were. We ended up ducking into this book shop to stay out of the rain for a bit. Then we decided to forge on to McDonalds for some ice cream. 

In Europe it seems there is a lack of free restrooms so part of our reason for getting ice cream was to get a code for the bathroom in McDonalds, or so that's our story. 

After ice cream and a pee pee break we headed to the end of the street for a ride on the carousel. We've never met one we didn't like. We bought 8 tokens so the kids could go on more than once. We went with them the first time and then decided we would let them enjoy a ride without us. We saved the last two tokens for a ride on Friday. 

We headed back to the hotel and decided to bathe the kids. It was around 5:30 pm by that time and an early night sounded good to us. I went out to find something for the kids to eat, but didn't find anything terribly exciting. I conned them into thinking a quiche was a pizza, but that only lasted two bites before they knew I was a liar. In spite of that Jack still ate half of his and Millie are about a fourth of hers. After a sad little meal, I read them the story of The Ugly Duckling from my phone. I never realized how long that story was. Millie was asleep before the poor thing turned into a swan. 

After the kids were asleep, Stuart went out to seek some food for us. Le McDonalds was our evening meal. We sat in virtual darkness. Our hotel was much smaller than our apartment in Paris. Once the sofa bed was pulled out, there was barely walking space between the sofa and the two twin beds Where Stuar and I slept. We had tiny side lights by our beds that we turned on and basically ate in the dark. We watched Star Trek on Netflix and I fell asleep half way through. Shocking!

We got up Friday morning and headed to the team hotel just before 9 am. We decided since we just had the one day in Lyon we would take the open top bus tour around the city. We were told it would take about an hour and a half if we just rode it around one time without getting off. Since we had about 6 hours, it made since to see the city this way and then if we decided to get off we could afford to do that and still make it back to catch the bus for the game. 

This was a basilica at the top of the city. We later got off and had a look around inside this beautiful church. 

This was a Toman amphitheater that used to be used for productions and presentations. 

Here is a view from the top. The steps were steep and there were a lot of them. 

Jack and Millie pose in front of the basilica, a bit begrudgingly at least for Jack. 

This was a side entrance to the sanctuary.  

Sadly, there is no way for a picture to do justice for the magnificent beauty inside this cathedral. 

Outside of the church was a man playing a concertina. Millie felt the need to dance. 

Once we got back on the bus and finished our tour, we had lunch at Ed's again. We decided to do some shopping and take the kids down to use their carousel tokens. 

This fountain was at the center of town. I'm not sure it had much significance but the woman on the side looked like very healthy mermaids. 

Once we finished shopping we returned to Grammie and Pop's hotel room with ice cream. After a bit of a rest, we headed to the team's last basketball game. 

This was the other team's mascot. Jack, Millie, and Lindsey (Coach Boone's daughter) loved the bear. 

Jack had asked at the first game we attended if he could go out and shoot baskets after the game. He wasn't able to do so, but at this game he went out before and after the game to play with the basketball. Before the game he practiced his ball handling skills. Pop told him that as log as he knew how to dribble he could learn to shoot the ball later. He also has become a fan of Russ's assistant coach, Josh Lowery, who was actually a player for Russ when he coached at Grand Canyon University. Josh was helping to 'coach' Jack, as was Morgan. It was crazy how much he picked up in about 20 minutes. He loves any sport, so is very driven to learn as much as he can, and perfect his skills as much as possible. In fact, maybe a little too intense. Tears come about, sometimes, when he is disappointed in himself. It's not pleasant. 

The team won, so their record in France was 3-1. It was a successful basketball trip. After the game ended, the international team, which looked a little like a pick-up team that was formed at the YMCA during lunchtime, took the entire team to a pizza restaurant just up the road. The pizza was phenomenal and it was nice to sit and talk with the local people. The downside was that we did not get back to Lyon until close to 1 am. We then walked back to our hotel and threw the kids in bed. 

Morning came too early. We set our alarms for 8 am so that we would have time to bathe the kids, pack our bags, eat breakfast, and catch a taxi to the train station at 10 am. Our train left for Nice at 11:06 am. The athletic director from UCA , his wife, and another couple were riding the train to Nice as well. They just joined the tour on Friday. 

Jack was finally convinced to take a bit of a nap on the train. Millie had fallen asleep the night before at the pizza place, in my arms, just before 11 pm, but Jack was awake until we got back to our hotel. He definitely needed a bit more rest. 

The journey was a 4.5 hours. The last half of the ride was right along the coast. There were some amazing homes along the Mediterranean. It was beautiful. We saw beaches and people enjoying the glorious weather. 

We finally arrived in Nice just before 4 pm. Our hotel was just 200 meters from the train station. It wasn't quite a 3 star hotel as advertised, but I can't be bothered by it. When you book with booking.com and it's cheap, then sometimes you just get what you get.

I called my mom to see when they would be arriving in Nice on their coach. She said they were another 2.5 hours away as long as there was no traffic. So we settled into the room, Jack put together one of his Legos, and I took this stunning, typically Mediterranean picture from our hotel room. What a view!

We decided around 5 pm we would go out and try to get something to eat. We wandered around the streets and discover quickly that we might have not picked the best part of town to stay in. However, that was our initial thought of our place in Paris too. But once the night life started, it was perfectly fine and actually kind of quaint. That proved to be the same of our place in Nice. As we walked back from dropping G and P off at their hotel, the streets were lit and the little bistros were hoppin'. So no need to worry after all. 

But I moved ahead too quickly. Back to our dinner before everyone arrived. We walked down to the sea and checked out the beaches before eating. It was warm and sunny, so perfect beach weather. We walked along the boardwalk and then decided to head back to the bistro area closest to the sea. We ate at a place called Le Lorraine.

Stuart had moule (muscles), I had a pizza (too close to Italy not to!), and the kids had sausage (hot dog) and frites (fries). Just as we were finishing our food, the storm rolled in. This is the second time I have seen a storm roll in since arriving in France, and both times the servers at the bistros went into high gear to secure all the items on the tables. The storm lasted all of 15 minutes and rolled right out. 

We then went to the Holiday Inn to wait for the bus with the team. The kids were restless and making a bit of noise. Then the bus backed up in front of the hotel. It was a one way street and he backed his big Mercedes bus right in front of the hotel door and unloaded. 

Once everyone was in their room, they returned to the front lobby. Then our family went for a walk down to the restaurant area. 

We found a place that had seating for all of us, so we went in. Because Nice is so close to Italy, the Italian menus here are not that surprising. 

We ordered from the original Grumpy Old Man. Since Stuatt and I had eaten shortly before that, you would you would have thought we would have just had water. Um, nope, full on meal. 

We walked around for a bit longer and then just before 10 pm it was clear that our kids needed to go back to our hotel. They were falling apart. They are tough, but they had enough for the day. 

When we got back I showered the kids. The shower was so small that only one kid could be in the shower at once. Clean kids were ready for bed when I hopped in the shower, or squeezed in the shower. 

Prior to that, Stuart went down to ask for more towels. We were told there were four of us and we would only get 4 towels. There was no bath mat, hand towels or wash clothes. Classy joints we've chosen, for sure. 3 star clearly doesn't mean the same in Europe. 

Back to my shower experience; 1) I was WAY too big for the tiny linen closet they referred to as a shower, 2) I had to hold the shower head because it was clearly fitted for a 7 foot tall person, 3) I turned the water on to rinse and off to wash, 4) I washed my feet by dripping shower gel on the floor of the shower and then rubbing my foot on the floor, 5) the shower didn't drain completely. Oooo la la, don't be jealous. 

Stuart had a similar, but worse experience. Then we settled in for sleep!