Foiled plans!

We had an uneventful drive home yesterday from Orelle to Nice, arriving around 2 pm. It was gorgeous and sunny and warm when we arrived. I had some errands to run to get ready for my trip to the US today.

I woke up at 4 am for a 6:30 am departure. I'm flying to Portland, OR to testify in a big breech trial. I got on the plane...and then we waited on the runway for a few hours.

Apparently the tow bar broke. Finally they heard back: no one at this airport could fix the plane, so they would have to cancel the entire flight as they waited for someone to fly in from Amsterdam.

All of our flights were rebooked for the next day or the day after. There were lots of unhappy people on the plane. The plane taxied back to the airport as close as it could get without its tow bar working, and we all caught buses back to the terminal. We had to pick up our luggage and then figure out what was going on.

I was supposed to testify in court tomorrow morning! But there was no way that would be happening--my flight was rebooked for 24 hours later.

So...I headed home. Very tired. I have to get up at 4 am again tomorrow and hope that tomorrow's flight actually happens.

ps, a funny picture of Ivy and Inga before we left for our ski week

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Freeze Family Ski Week at Les 3 Vallées, Day 6: From whiteout to wipeout to clear skies

Well, we had a fantastic last day of skiing. With our side of the mountain still closed off from the rest of the resort, we had just 2 chairlifts open. Still, they were both long, high runs with plenty of off-piste skiing.

The morning was whiteout conditions, even windier than the day before. It was super windy--it felt like our chairlift would get blown off the cable!



We ate lunch on a mountain peak (normally where you can ski down the other side of the mountain to the main resort area...just not today). They had an indoor picnic area that was great for warming up and taking a break from the insane weather.

The cloud cover lifted in the afternoon, ending in a lovely sunny day (if still super windy).

The best part of the day was definitely Inga's spectacular fall that landed her lying down as if she were in a hot tub, skis crossed in a V. With almost 2 meters of fresh powder, she wasn't hurt at all and said it was very comfortable. Getting her out of that position took a lot of effort, though!

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Freeze Family Ski Week at Les 3 Vallées, Day 5: Whiteout!

Our side of the mountain only had 1 chairlift open (plus a long gondola to get up there). We decided to try it out. Even though it was the "little" chairlift, it still went from 2350 m to 2786 m, which is a really decent run!

It was raining down in the valley, which turned into a snowstorm as we ascended. As we continued skiing, the wind picked up and the snow got heavier. Each time we came down the hill, the snow was several inches deeper! We skied off-piste right off the edges of the runs in fresh powder that was several feet deep from the last few days.

Visibility was terrible--you couldn't see when you were hitting a bump or a snowdrift or anything!



We skied for a few hours and then came home for a late lunch. It was actually a really fun day, despite the crazy conditions and lack of visibility.

My ski goggles broke in half yesterday. Ivy lent me hers, but it was impossible for her to ski today. So after one run, I went inside the gondola building and asked one of the operators if they had a lost & found with extra goggles. They didn't, but one of the workers lent me her pair! Wow, so generous! I offered to give her my phone number but she said it was ok. Thank you Pascal!

After we got home and ate lunch, Eric and I made a quick trip into the neighboring town to buy a few more groceries and a new pair of goggles.

Tomorrow many/most of the lifts should open up so we hope to have a final glorious and long day of skiing to end our vacation.

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Freeze Family Ski Week at Les 3 Vallées, Day 4: Long drive for a short ski day

With our side of the mountain still being closed, except for 1 small chairlift, we decided to drive all the way to the other parts of the resort that were still open. It took 1 hr 45 minutes to drive there! Even though we're at the edge of the resort, it's on the other side of the mountain so you have to drive all the way around.

It was a disappointing day because all of the highest runs were still closed, the ones we really wanted to ski. And the lines were INSANE.



But the views were gorgeous, at least.

We decided that we're not going to drive any more. Either Orelle opens up or we stay at home. It wasn't worth the time, given the long lines and lack of good runs open.

We've had several people who work at the resort tell us we should write and request a refund for the days where our side of the mountain has been closed.

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Freeze Family Ski Week at Les 3 Vallées: Days 1-2

We're on our annual ski week adventure. For the past several years we've gone to Chamonix, mainly skiing Les Grands Montets. But this year we tried something new: Les 3 Vallées.

It is mind-blowingly amazing. We're staying far off to the back side of one of the mountains in Orelle, which means we have to take 2 gondolas up to the 3300 m peak in order to access the rest of the resort.

We had our first glorious day yesterday. The snow was better than I've ever skied anywhere. Fresh powder everywhere; light, fluffy snow on the groomed runs. No ice or slush anywhere (we stayed on the top runs only so I don't know what the lower parts are like).

We skied hard and hardly made a dent on the runs just in our area, which is a small part of the entire resort. Les 3 Vallées is the largest ski resort in the world, with 600 km of runs.



It started snowing last night and was supposed to snow for a few days. We woke up to some snow down here in the valley (900 m) but the roads were clear. We suited up, drove 3 minutes to the gondola...and found it entirely deserted. What?!?

Turns out there was such extreme weather up at the resort with 150 km/hr winds at the top that much of it was shut down entirely!

So with no way of getting to the slopes, we had to stay home. It was actually really fun. We played card games, watched several episodes of Humans, ate lots of snacks, teased each other, took naps, read books...Our legs are sore today, and I hope our rest day helps out tomorrow.

I hope we can ski tomorrow!

The funniest thing that has happened so far: when we were skiing down deep powder, Zari took a lovely tumble and her skis fell off. One of them went skiing down the mountain....way down! Eric was a bit above her and rescued her other ski and then sent it down to her. It missed her entirely and it, too, went skiing at high speeds down the mountain. Now Zari was down 2 skis and had to scooch all the way down. It was too deep to walk in. At one point she started rolling down the slope until she got too dizzy.

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What a way to turn 47!

We were out by about 9:30 this morning, heading back home from the Gorges du Verdon. My sister really wanted to do the zipline/ropes course in Villeneuve-Loubet, so we made early afternoon reservations. We were practically the only people in the entire park! It was amazing.

And very challenging--I had forgotten how much effort some of the stations took. Our family plus the oldest cousin did the most difficult course, with 40 different stations. Many of them are rock climbing up sheer cliffs with just a few pieces of rebar here and there. Whew! And there are two super long ziplines--about 35 seconds to traverse. I think my very favorite part is the enormous tree that you have to climb down after traversing a long rope bridge. Some of the branches lean far out over the river below.



As soon as we got home around 4 pm, we sent everyone scattering in different directions. Eric got groceries; Dio and a cousin bought Magnum ice cream bars; Zari, Ivy, and Inga bought pizza and birthday cake; and I got more food at a few places. We all came back together for a quick birthday dinner and cake. We'll make a better dinner tomorrow when we have more time.

The kids and older cousins have been working on a funny shampoo video. Enjoy! Lots of inside jokes.



My sister's family is leaving early tomorrow morning. We have to say our goodbyes soon and get all the kids to bed.

Anyway, it was a fun, if unorthodox, birthday!

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A perfect day in the lower gorge

Clear and sunny all day. We were out the door at 9 am. We had a 40 minute drive to the start of the lower gorge in Quinson. We had a 10 km hike along the bottom of the gorge, following an old canal that is no longer in service.

At the halfway point, right before the path turned and started going up the side of the canyon, we went through a long tunnel (some of the canal is open and some is tunneled through the rocks). Because of the recent rain, the tunnel was submerged with 1 foot (30 cm) of water! There was no choice--we all took off our shoes and walked carefully through the muddy water. Our feet were tender by the end.

Then we went up, fairly gradually, and hiked along the top of the canyon. We took an extra little path that went to the pinnacle between two canyons, where there was a little church and ruins of an older church.

After the hike, we were ready to play in the water, which is a gorgeous, almost unreal emerald-teal color. It took us a while to find a nice spot, but with the help of someone who worked at a kayak/boat rental place, he directed us to a spot that we would never have found on our own. I couldn't quite get up the courage to immerse myself--it was super cold! Colder than the ocean. But Eric, Ivy, Inga, and Dio did.

Next, we went to the Museum of Prehistory, which is one of the largest in Europe. It was big but honestly not very engaging as far as museums go.

Next stop: snacks! We were hoping to buy Magnum ice cream bars, but the one tiny grocery store in the tiny village of Quinson didn't have a working freezer--theirs was broken temporarily. So instead we bought juice, chips, and cookies. It's vacation, right?

We got home around 6 pm. After dinner, we enjoyed the amazing sunset from my sister's balcony.

Later in the evening, our kids and the two older cousins went out to the village playground, near the village chateau, and did some stargazing. I came along, too, and sadly my constellation identification doesn't go much beyond the Big Dipper and Little Dipper. It's been too long since 11th grade astronomy class...

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Grand Canyon of Europe

We're spending 4 days at the Gorges du Verdon, the largest canyon in Europe. It's only a 2-hour drive away from us, and I can't believe we've never gone in 10+ years! (Well, I can believe--soccer makes it hard to get away).

Unfortunately it's been extremely cold and rainy and today was 100% rain all day long. That didn't phase us, though. We still got out and even did a little hike. We drove past Lac de Ste-Croix (brilliant turquoise water, even in gloomy rain and mist) and caught a glimpse of the canyon as it opened into the lake. We visited a charming perched village, Moustiers-Ste-Marie, set alongside dramatic cliffs. There was a chapel up the ravine, just a 15 minute hike up.

This village is a center of faïence (white-glazed pottery, often then painted with decorative designs--there's even a museum dedicated to it!

Once we'd seen the village, it was time to check into our lodging. We both reserved little townhouses in another charming perched village on the Rive Gauche. Ours is tiny and cozy. Downstairs is a living/dining/kitchen and upstairs is a sort of sleeping loft, accessed via a ladder/staircase. Once you're upstairs, there a bedroom for us, a bathroom & WC, and an open room with a double bed and another sleeping loft above it with a double bed and a single bed. The kids love it.

My sister and her family are staying down the street in a Hobbit house! The doorway is only about 4' tall and you climb up into it, like you're climbing through a window! But once you're inside, the roof slopes up and it is a spacious apartment with vaulted ceilings and exposed rock walls.

Some of the cousins are house-swapping. Dio is staying over with the oldest cousin (Inga's age) and his next younger sister is staying with us. She and Ivy and Inga are giggling away.

Tomorrow we'll be exploring the Rive Gauche, working our way to Castellane (weather permitting). Then on Friday it's supposed to be sunny so we'll do a big hike.

After dinner we all gathered at my sister's place and played games, including the winking murder game, whatever it's called. I even got them to play a few rounds of the "1 minute game," where everyone lies on the floor with their eyes closed and silently counts to 1 minute, then raises their hand when they think it's been a minute. The littlest cousin only made it to 25 seconds! Eric's parents used to do this game all the time, probably to get a break from the noise of 7 children.

We have shoes drying on top of radiators...jackets hanging up to dry...hoping for a bit less rain tomorrow!

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Home

Except for a super long line at the Mont Blanc tunnel, we had an uneventful drive home with no stops required. Lots of goofiness in the car, sometimes too much noise (from Dio and Inga), many snacks consumed.

I'll deal with putting all of the ski gear away tomorrow. Right now our living room is stuffed with bags of equipment.

I forgot that I'd turned the water heater on vacation mode, so we have a lineup of kids who want to shower but no hot water.

Two soccer games tomorrow, hopefully some good down time as well.

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Chamonix day 6

We had a lovely last day of skiing. Sunny, calm, and probably the warmest day yet. The bottom slopes were like skiing on a "granita" (slushy drink)! We stayed up top as much as possible and the snow was still good almost everywhere.

No one got injured, which is always a stressor during ski vacation. I feel like I'm holding my breath until day 6 has passed and then I can finally relax :)

Pictures at the very top with Mont Blanc in the background

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Chamonix day 3

Despite being exhausted from skiing, I couldn't fall asleep until something like 2 am or later. I opted to rest in the morning and rejoin everyone after lunch.

Most interesting thing we saw today: a Catholic priest/monk/friar skiing in full priestly robes. I'm not sure of the correct terminology for his office, but he had a long black dress on, no rope around the waist that I could see. Plus he was skiing! Not something you see every day!

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Chamonix day 2

Not much new to report. Same gorgeous, clear, calm weather, slightly below freezing at the top and slightly above at the bottom. Lots of great skiing. Sore legs, tired bodies, happy minds at the end of the day.

Eric and I did a quick grocery run after we got home (a 10-minute walk to the center of the village). We have most of what we need for the week but there are always miscellaneous ingredients that we need.

The 3 youngest had enough energy to go sledding in the dark after dinner.

No snow in the forecast at all this week, so alas no fresh powder this time. There are a few remote places that you can get to if you're intrepid where there is a bit of unskied powder, but every day it shrinks. Amost everywhere you can imagine, and some places where I cannot imagine how people even got there, has been skied over.

I did a load of hand washed laundry tonight (no washing machine--the big downside of this apartment). Otherwise it's pretty fanastic. A few minor inconveniences such as no knives for chopping vegetables, no hot pads for taking things out of the oven, etc. But we can make do.

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Chamonix day 1

We finished our first day of hurtling ourselves down a mountain on sticks, with great enjoyment. The apartment has no wifi, so I either have to sit outside in the snow or lift my computer up to this one area by the bedroom window (about 4' off the ground) where I can get a very weak signal. Anyway all is good over in sunny, snowy Mont Blanc.

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Churros, spearfishing, beach time

Inga had the idea to make churros this morning, which we've often seen at fairs but have never eaten (because I'm cheap and I am not going to spend 8 Euros for a serving of churros!). They turned out amazing! Super unhealthy but hey, it's vacation!

We all headed to the beach after lunch, Eric to spearfish and the rest of us to relax. Ivy, of course, jumped in the water!

Dio had an optional running activity with his soccer team. He and his coach were the only ones who showed up!

Zari is stressing over college application essays. "Everything I write is so cliche!"

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Gingerbread houses!

We spent all day decorating the gingerbread houses. We used up about 12 kinds of candy and several batches of frosting. Pictures of the finished houses coming tomorrow. We have one chapel, one church with a clocktower, one half-timbered house, and one slanted house that reminds me of a birdhouse.

Eric and I took some time mid-afternoon to read on the beach and sun ourselves. I love that in the middle of winter we can strip down to shorts or swimming suits and be perfectly comfortable, provided we're in a sunny, sheltered area.

Dio is feeling better although he hasn't eaten much today.

I persuaded Zari to do sprint intervals with me this morning. Eric and Inga went first to buy her some running shoes, and then Ivy joined them for a run to the Negresco and back.

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Christmas day and the aftermath

I got hit by a Lamborghini yesterday.

Don't worry--it was Ivy's remote controlled Lamborghini! 🤣

I have hardly opened my computer the last few days except to look up recipes. It's been a welcome break. Yesterday was perfect and I think all of the kids were thrilled with their presents. We had scrambled eggs and waffles for brunch and Beef Wellington, browned butter mashed potatoes, and green beans for dinner, with a mango-passionfruit-vanilla bûche de Noël for dessert.

Poor Dio woke up early this morning with what we initially throught was food poisioning. He slept all day between trips to the bathroom and now has a high fever and headache. Thankfully the nausea has passed, although he hasn't been able to eat anything.

Today was dedicated to making gingerbread houses. We are making for different houses/churches entirely from scratch. We rolled, cut, baked, cooled, and started assembling today. Tomorrow will be the finall assembly and decoration.

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Mounds State Park

We took a trip over to Mounds State Park to see the Indian mounds. These were ceremonial/astronomical, not burial mounds, dating back over 2,000 years.

It was a gorgeous day for a nice hike around the park trails after we visited the mounds.

Also some pictures and videos of the carriage house. The doors need to be repainted but we're getting close!

We had a stressful near-accident in a roundabout, where Zari was in the outer lane and someone from the inner lane cut across to exit. Zari was rattled so we pulled over and took a little break. We also had an impromptu ice cream break while charging the car. We got the smallest cones and it was so much ice cream I couldn't finish! 'Merica.

My parents leave tomorrow, and most of us have an early start due to various soccer tournaments. Not a sleeping in Saturday!

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Well, it's been busy lately and I've fallen into bed with good intentions of getting back out and writing in my journal. Good intentions that totally disappeared because I couldn't stay awake!

On Saturday (Oct 19) we had a family work morning painting the carriage house and doing yardwork. Inga had a game in the afternoon, winning 2-1 (she scored one of the goals). My parents arrived and then we went to a really fun fall party: potluck, chili cookoff, bonfires, horseback riding, trunk or treat, and hay rides. A great time.

Sunday was relaxed. I am trying to remember what we actually did and drawing a blank! Oh yeah, now I remember: Eric went with Zari to play Ultimate frisbee, but they didn't have enough people. I brought the other kids to the university athletic facilities. Ivy and Inga swam and Dio went to the weight room, and Zari and Eric joined him there. My parents went to a concert at Wabash, which turned out to be very weird and very loud, so they left during intermission.

Monday was a big day trip with everybody minus Eric (he had to work) plus Zari's boyfriend. We drove up to Indiana Dunes National Park and spent an idyllic day on the lakeshore. It got up to 78 degrees! Amazing for late October on Lake Michigan. I waded in the water and honestly should have gone swimming. Ivy and Inga were in for a while.

The kids had a driftwood lifting contest, beach wrestling matches, and lots of other fun. We also went hiking along some of the dune paths, one of which had over 480 stairs!

We stopped at the Abilene Candy Factory on the way home. I let each child choose 1/4 lb of their candy of choice. We also stopped for dinner on the way home--we originally were planning on getting home in time for dinner but we were all having so much fun that we stayed a lot longer than planned.

Our day ended up being a bit over 12 hours from start to finish. Zari got 5.5 hours of driving time in, some of which was quite stressful with busy freeways and congested roads. But she did it!

Today we stayed home and did lots of crafts and other activities. We canned a massive quantity of applesauce from 3 huge boxes of apples from my parents' trees. A few friends were over for things including silk painting and leather working. My dad helped make frames for the silk painting and got our driveway ready for its annual weed preventer spray. My mom cooked a huge batch of borscht for dinner, which we ate on the front porch. We ended the evening with fire & Smores, then an episode of The Rings of Power.

Will update with pictures later...but I need to get to bed!

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Review of the past several days

What a tornado of airplanes and border crossings and illnesses the past few days! We're back in the US as of about 44 hours ago. Very quick summary of what we've been up to...

Tuesday July 30
Our last full day in Wales. We visited Caernarfon Castle (10/10, immense and you could wander various corridors and turrets for hours and still not have gone everywhere). After lunch we went to the nearby beach. Eric took a group (including Zari, Dio, and Inga) to a faraway little hidden cove another mile+ down the coast, and eventually they called and asked the rest of us to come (including me and Ivy). They were catching spider crabs and said it was amazing. We made the long trek over there and then decided to swim--why not? Inga caught a big crab and was so proud of herself that she caught dinner. Then Eric caught a few more, including one even bigger. Eric convinceed Inga to put hers back and then as he was going to kill his crab, he looked and discovered it was a female full of eggs. So he put it back instead, leading to a crying Inga because she really wanted to eat her crab! It took a long time to console her. And then a very long walk back home.

Wed July 31
We got up very early, drove 2+ hrs to Liverpool, had a flight that was delayed 2 hours, arrived in Nice, hurried to the post office with 4 minutes to spare to pick up 250 kg of books (10 boxes of 25 kg each) and transport them home (the mail carrier refused to deliver them because they were "too heavy" even though we had paid for door-to-door delivery). Then we had to pack, wrap, and label 77 books that evening. I started coming down with a fever around 7 pm, right when the rest of the family left for the Canadian women's Olympic soccer game (I had to stay home to get hte books done). I finished at midnight, right when they arrived home

Thurs Aug 1
We were up at a good hour, in time to carry all 77 books to the post office. The man at the counter made several remarks about how one customer was taking up so much of his time. Well, yes, that IS your job, you know! It's not like we sign an agreement that we will only ship one package or one piece of mail at a time. We got all the books mailed and were on our way to the airport by 10 am.

We were super lucky and only had 2 flights to get back to the US, rather than our usual 3. Direct from Nice to Philadelphia! I was super super sick all day, fever, chills, body aches, sore throat, the works.

We got stuck in a special screening at customs due to having a few pieces of fruit that the kids hadn't finished eating. But we still made it to our next flight. We finally arrived home close to midnight (6 am to our bodies). Everyone collapsed into bed but of course I couldn't get to sleep for a while and slept fitfully and woke up early. It's my curse when I'm sick. Eric, on the other hand, goes into a sleep coma when he is sick.

Fri Aug 2
Unpacking, opening 7 months of mail, looking with horror at 7 months of weeds, pulling weeds despite my best intentions not to (and still feeling very sick...but I just couldn't resist), buying groceries, buying and planting some herbs and perennials (what can I say...they were so pretty!), watching Sherlock. Eric started feeling sick this evening.

Sat Aug 3
I slept ok but not great, was up too early again. Ah well. Did more weeding, unpacked more stuff, ran some errands, bought more plants, went to the thrift store and farmer's market with Ivy and Inga. I still feel pretty terrible and now Eric is super sick. He's already in bed (see: sleep coma, above). Kids are playing games or something downstairs with instructions to go to bed at some point. I made fresh pesto with basil that I bought and planted yesterday.

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Wales, day 4

We visited several family-related sites today, starting in Abersoch, where Eric's grandma was born and lived until she emigrated to Canada when she was 4. We found her home and the current tenants were super friendly and let us come and take pictures in the backyard (which is actually where the front entrance is).

We then wandered through town and down to the beach, over a long stretch of rocks and hidden inlets, and back over to the main beach. There are rows of beach huts which apparently sell for something ridiculous like 200,000 GBP even though they can only be used during the day and not for habitation or sleeping.

Next, we drove to a church in a village 1 1/2 miles away, Llanengan, where Eric's great-great-great? grandfather was the choir director for many years. We picked up the key to the church at a nearby inn and enjoyed having the church all to ourselves. Eric's mom organized a Freeze Family Choir, several songs with everyone and one with just the Freeze siblings. "I know where I get my choir directing genes from!" she said.

There were wool blankets folded on every pew, likely from local sheep. A nice touch for what is probably a very cold church during the winter.

We also found several ancestor's grave stones in that church yard. We had a picnic lunch in the shade of a big yew tree, sitting right next to a line of gravestones.

Inside the red telephone box, we discovered a little free library. Inga took home a Stephen King book. I discovered a hilarous book called "Fifty Sheds of Gray" which Zari almost took with her. Just like it sounds: black & white photos of sheds interspersed with funny text, such as, "You never forget your first shed."

We also drove past a few more acestral homes in Llanengan.

We headed home, ready for rest and/or play. The kids all hopped straight into the pool and played for 2 hours! I read a book and supervised. 

Eric got bored and finally went to the nearby beach and discovered some great areas for snorkeling. He even caught a large spider crab but let it go because he wasn't sure if it was off season to catch.

I made a stuffed roast chicken and roast broccoli for dinner.

We had a quick but energetic game of Capture The Flag after dinner, then ice cream for all the kids.

We finished the evening with a walk to the beach (adults). Most of the kids are in another cottage socializing.

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