Something is disagreeing with my stomach and I've been holding very still the past two hours on the verge of puking. No fun! I hope it subsides enough to let me get to sleep.

What else from today? Eric went spearfishing and almost caught a big fish. I went to the beach after dinner with Ivy. It was overcast and windy so I opted out of swimming and just chatted with my friend while the kids played.

Inga's soccer team won 15-0 with Inga scoring 4 of the goals. Eric is very excited about the new girls coming on next year (many of whom are trying out right now) and thinks they'll have an amazing team.

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I'm catching up on my inbox--still not there yet!

I tend to wake up early this time of year because it gets light out early. Despite having shutters, some light comes through and bing! I'm up. So today was 6 am for me. I definitely didn't sleep enough but there was no going back to bed, knowing I'd have to wake kids up at 7.

I did sprint intervals fairly early this morning, and I'm glad I did.

What else? Dio is doing a 2-week internship with me (required by his school). I'm putting him to work moving our website over to a different host.

Orthodontist appointments today...

I didn't make it to the sea. Too much going on.

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I was tied up all week with our huge Train the Trainer event, which took every possible waking moment and many sleeping moments. I'm still recovering and let's just say that I have not yet conquered my email inbox but I'm getting closer!

It was an amazing week, both invigorating and exhausting in the best possible ways. We now have 12 new BWB instructors who will be going all over the world, from South Africa to Australia to all over the EU. I'm excited to see our presence grow and develop locally.

Meanwhile Eric has been crazy busy with back-to-back soccer tournaments. I've hardly seen him the past 7 days.

Ivy had her much-awaited "boum" last night (rainbow-themed dance party) and it was a huge success. It was hosted by a friend who brought together 2 groups of girls from 2 different schools who didn't know each other and now they are all great friends.

Anyway it's time for bed and hopefully I can find some pictures of what happened this past week.

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Too busy to write much...day 2 of our Train the Trainer program completed. 3 more to go!

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TTT minus 1

Our Train the Trainer week is about to start! I've been working nearly nonstop to get everything ready. It's a relief to have it start so I can do it instead of prepare for doing it :)

I met up with several instructors/attendees this afternoon, from the US, Australia, and South Africa. We went to the beach, along with Eric and Zari, after discussing a few training items. It felt amazing to swim. The waves were big today, with that classic fluorescent blue water near the shore and dark blue further out.

And of course, guess what I was doing at 10:30 pm? Installing a kitchen faucet and soap dispenser. We finally got our 2nd countertop piece 2 days ago, and I knew that if I didn't install the faucet and dispenser now...we'd be without water for a week! I didn't have time to get the backsplashes installed; that will have to wait until the TTT week is done.

Tomorrow is a school holiday, so everyone else is going to have a beach day at Hyeres with a few other families.

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We went to the drone & fireworks show last night, which was INSANE. I have never seen so many people in one place, ever. The entire beach, standing room only. The entire Promenade des Anglais + parallel streets and sidewalks, standing room only.

I caught a bit of the end of the drone show on camera.

Eric, Ivy, and Inga have been gone all day at Ivy's tournament. Inga stayed at the nearby campground to play with her friends. Eric had to come back to Nice for a book signing and then drive back...so he'll have been driving for 4+ hours today!

I've been preparing for the big Train the Trainer event next week. So many things to put together. Today we did an A/V test of our setup for livestreaming to those who cannot attend live. We (me and my assistant) bought loads of snacks. We need to get fresh fruits/veggies and juice/sparkly water tomorrow.

I had to load up on gloves and lube for the simulators. I hope the brand of lube I bought is one of the good kinds! You never know what will work on these simulators. Some are amazing and some are sticky and worthless...and I have LOADS of it now.

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Quatorze boules de glace

Our ongoing inside joke about buying 14 scoops of ice cream came to fruition yet again. It's my brother's last night here in Nice before he has to be a real adult again and work for a living. We got lots of funny looks as the workers were adding scoop after scoop.

Pictures from last Saturday when we carried the huge carpet home...

ps, any handsome* French** men*** looking to meet my brother? He's single! Every year we are determined to find him a "sexy French boyfriend."

* Somewhat subjective
** I suppose English-speaking is ok, too. And he also speaks fluent Russian!
*** Sorry ladies, this one is non-negotiable!

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Sprints and sailing ships

Dio has a fitness program from his US soccer coach, so I volunteered to do the exercises along with him. Zari joined in, too. Today was 30 second sprint intervals, with 30 seconds of rest between. We did 5 reps, rested 3 minutes, then did 2 more reps.

On our evening walk around the port, we enjoyed looking at several sailing ships and catamarans that have moored here for the UN ocean summit.

Inga had her regional game today--they lost the first game 3-1 and won the second one 1-0. It's a one-off event with a specially selected team of the top few players from each club. Eric is worried he got a speeding ticket on the way home. His phone told him the speed limit was 130 and right after that, he passed a speed trap and saw a 110 sign.

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Cap d'Antibes

My brother spent the day at Cap d'Antibes, and Eric and Zari joined him mid-day. Eric was hoping to catch some fish...but no luck.

I had a busy work day preparing for the Train the Trainer event here next week.

What else to report? Not a whole lot. I found a little Syrian side table to serve as a TV console for Le Catamaran, plus a 16-piece cafe set (espresso cups & plates) for 5 Euros. We officially removed our winter comforters. It seems like warm weather came much later this year. I've only started opening the windows consistently this past week.

When we went on a walk this evening, there were big changes at the Port (site of the huge UN conference on the ocean starting this weekend). All of the yachts along 1 side had been removed for an art installation: polar bears sitting isolated on their tiny icebergs.

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Book nook done!

Ivy finally finished her book nook, which she started at Christmas. It's so intricate. The picture doesn't show the top and back, which have all sorts of little rooms and retractable windows.

2 more to go...

My brother treated me and Eric out to lunch at L'eau de Vie. Soooo good!

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Victory for Inga!

The day after a 4-day soccer tournament, Inga's team had the most important game of their season: a game that would decide if they were moving up into the regional division. They were playing against Grasse. They lost to Grasse 2-0 last week, which meant they had to defeat Grasse by at least 3 points in order to move up a level (and Grasse would move thus be downgraded). So each team was highly motivated to win, or in Grasse's case, to not lose by a 3-point margin).

It was a nail-biter. Inga was put in defense at the beginning and there was not much action. Sometime during the first half, the coach finally put her back in forward. She soon did a beautiful assist and another striker scored the first goal!

The second half arrives. Within 5 minutes, Inga scores a beautiful goal, running past all the defenders and putting it in easily. I was already there with Eric and my brother, but the other kids were en route. I was so sad they missed it, and I didn't film it either!

Inga's team continued to dominate the field and, after the whole family arrived, she scored again! This time I caught it, although with some jumping around :)

Inga had several other shots on goal that she missed, but still the game ended 3-0, meaning Cavigal is moving up divisions. We were all so thrilled. Eric feels vindicated for all of his advocacy trying to keep Inga as an attacking player.

What else happened today? I had my usual walk to Cimiez and back in the morning. Eric had one of his Wabash students over for dinner (he's been doing a study abroad since December in Aix). We also went on a post-dinner walk.

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