Pony Camp

This week we sent our eldest, on a 5 day school trip to a Pony Camp. We had originally met the concept of sending our six year old away for 5 days with “You’ve got to be crazy!!!”. But nine months was enough for us to warm up to the idea, and when the interest was shown by our six year old - off she went.

Thirty kids from the school ranging from ages 4-6, chaperoned by teachers, headed off on the train to Mont St Sulpice, Bourgogne (Burgandy). The French must love their Pony Camps because they seem to be everywhere and the French parents at the school didn't appear to think this preschool excursion was abnormal.

Every child on the trip was assigned their own pony and were responsible for walking the Pony on a lead, brushing it, as well as learning to ride and Pony gymnastics (?). P’s pony was named Pelouche (soft toy).

It was a lonely week for us, our permitted one phone call was expectedly unsatisfactory and D was desperate for her sister.

In the end, it was a growth experience for all of us. P came home beaming ear to ear, smelling of pony. D couldn’t keep her hands off of her sister and showered her with hugs and kisses for hours and I was finally relieved of my aching heart.

Hopefully someone involved will give us some photos – I am dying to know more!

Hockey Tournament in Dunkerque

This past weekend, while Obama was hanging out in our hood, the family headed off with the Millepattes to Dunkerque, for a Hockey tournament. French hockey tournaments don't seem to differ much from the Canadian variety; cold rinks, lots of sitting around waiting for the next game, beer, Red Bull to wake you up from the beer and crowds of very smelly men. The lack of ice cleaning in between games seemed to be the only difference to Rupert. It must have been, he told ten times.

Adoring Fans trying to keep warm

In the end the Millepattes didn’t fare too well and finished the tournament with a 1-4 win/loss rate. But what could they expect from a team with guys who fall down when they take a shot at the puck. The girls and I were proud that Rupert seemed to pull his wait, especially for an old guy .

As exhausted as we were from the weekend, we pushed ourselves to stop at the Vimy Memorial on the way home from the tournament. Like our trip to the D-day beaches, seeing the terrain and the gravesites made the loss of life so much more real than any Hollywood blockbuster could. It was so sad to see the large number of nameless graves marked “known unto God”.

Not far from the cemetery is the Vimy monument – a truly awe inspiring sculpture sitting isolated in the middle of a field, on the highest point of Vimy Ridge. The girls were asleep in the car, so Rupert and I took turns walking the grounds. Unfortunately we weren’t able to see some of tunnels and look-out points, but the site of the Memorial itself was well worth the detour – we were both happy we had stopped.

Awesome!

Mimi & Paddy Visit

Wow what a week! Mimi and Paddy (my parents) were here for seven days and boy, do they really know how to pack it in. Morning to night were filled with bus tours, church visits, museums, flea markets, walking tours, shopping and best of all D’s birthday party. These seniors who appeared unaffected by jet lag or the miles and miles of walking, really brought it.

Their flight home was not so fun filled. Their cabin filled with smoke 40min outside of Paris prompted an emergency landing in London and then followed by a 4+ hour containment in the airport. Crazy!!!! We are happy, they are safe and sound at home now.

Thanks for the visit, it was great to have you!!!