Back from the mountains, walk to Monaco, 6-0 victory

Ivy came back this evening from 3 idyllic days in the mountains...trampoline, biking, driving golf carts, watching movies, listening to a huge thunderstorm with snow visible on the mountain peaks, eating tons of delicious food...

Dio walked to Monaco today with two of his friends. They hung out for a while and then caught the train back home. I love that where we live, you can just walk out your door and say, "Hmmm, I think I'll walk to Monaco today." In a few hours, you're there!

Inga had an away game, winning 6-0. She scored 4 goals.

I sunbathed and read at the beach for a while this afternoon. It felt amazing.

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Made the train with 1 minute to spare!

Ivy was invited for a long weekend to a friend's house up in the mountains. She and 2 other friends were going to catch a train together in the late afternoon. She already had another activity (hiking near Escarene) during the day but she was set to get back with time to pack and meet her friends.

Then mid-day, they changed the time to an hour earlier but I didn't see the messages. Plus Ivy was already gone. I only knew when one of the girl's moms called me at the tram station and said, "Where is Ivy? We are going to catch tram up to the train station!"

Uh oh. She was still in Escarene at that point, with Eric picked her and Inga up. They drove back home while I hurried to throw some things into a bag for her. I got everything except a toothbrush.

Then I had to get on the tram and pray that I'd make it to the train station on time! Eric and Ivy arrived 5 minutes previously and got Ivy a ticket. Eric met me at the platform and we ran together across the tram lines and down a staircase.

We arrived exactly when the train was supposed to leave. Fortunately it was 2 minutes late so we had just enough time to pass off the bags and snag a quick photo.

The four girls are having so much fun!

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I had a morning of meetings, and then Zari and I went running around noon. It's fun to have someone to keep me motivated, and vice-versa.

I did lots more video editing today and produce a first draft of a new pedagogical tool. Next step is to test it out in some workshops and get feedback!

Dio is busy studying for a big math exam. He's frustrated with his teacher, who just writes down solutions but doesn't explain them. So they're left to try to figure it out on their own, and then the class average is really low because they often don't understand the material. Sigh... I do wish there were a stronger commitment to effective pedagogy here. It can be so inflexible and top-down, with the teacher as the unquestioned authority.

Inga is working on an oral presentation about sexism in women's football (soccer).

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Busy day filming and then video editing. I got caught up in it and didn't manage to go running. I'll do it tomorrow!

Zari just finished a big scholarship application. I told her that tomorrow is job search day.

We really need to buy groceries...our poor kids are complaining that there's no food.

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Our New Zealand friends treated us to an amazing breakfast this morning! The kids were in awe. My Sunday morning pancake breakfasts now seem boring in comparison :)

Ivy was gone almost all afternoon helping her friend at her little brother's birthday party.

Inga had a game this afternoon, winning 4-0. Inga scored 1 and assisted 1.

We watched a movie version of La Peau de Chagrin (Dio is prepping for a writing assignment about the book). It was low budget but actually pretty enjoyable to watch.

A picture of Ivy with the 2 youngest girls...

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Inga came home at 6 am this morning after an overnight bus ride from Barcelona. She didn't sleep more than an hour on the bus, so she went to bed and didn't get up until 1 pm! (And that was after we had to wake her up 3 times.)

Zari and I went running this morning, around the port and then up and over the Chateau.

Ivy had a game and scored a hat trick, with the overall score 6-2. She said she did some of the most beautiful goals she's ever done.

Dio and Inga went to the Vauban sports stadium to exercise.

Our friends visiting have been having so much fun--especially their 3 little kids. They adore Ivy and Inga. Ivy went with them this morning to an activity and came home saying, "Wow, it was so tiring to have to keep an eye on all their kids!" It's so cute--they're always saying, "Ivy! Ivy! Ivy come over here!"

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Life has been speeding by. Inga is loving her homestay family in Barcelona. They have a dog so she is in heaven.

Zari had her firefighting day. They had to dress up in full firefighting gear, go into containers with their vision totally obscured and find the mom and baby mannequins, and put out fires. Her instructor told some crazy stories--some really tragic--about his time firefighting.

Eric has a friend from his university days visiting with his family. He's now a creative writing professor and is finishing a study abroad program in London. Fun to catch up with people after all these years. Two of their boys played soccer on Monday night with Eric and Dio and had a great time.

We have more friends arriving on Friday from New Zealand (well, they are living in France but originally from NZ)!! Super excited.

Dio is memorizing an English presentation. He's been walking around uttering phrases about the downfalls of the gig economy and the illusion of independence among self-employed contractors.

What else? I gave a MFM Series Grand Rounds for the Kaiser system this evening. It went really wall and marks the start of a pilot program offering vaginal breech birth at two of their hospitals in Northern California.

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Inga leaves early tomorrow morning for a school trip to Barcelona. She'll be gone for almost 5 days. Very exciting!

Zari had her first day of STCW Basic Safety Training, most theoretical fire-fighting. Tomorrow is partly in the water, practicing basic survival skills such as deploying life rafts. Wednesday she gets to suit up in firefighting gear and put out fires!

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Lots of changes around here, mostly fun ones! Zari arrived on Wednesday and is working on summer job hunting. She's doing a course all next week (STCW Basic Safety Training) so she can work on boats. The yachting industry is huge in this part of the country, and we hope this may open up job opportunities.

Ivy and Eric are currently at a tournament in Montpellier.

My cousin and his wife visited me--besides seeing him briefly at my sister's wedding (which I don't remember with any specifics, unfortunately!), I hadn't seen him since I was a kid. It was fun to catch up on our lives, children, etc. Zari and I joined them on a hike to Mont Boron and then a quick tour of the coulée verte.

Inga has some exciting soccer news but we can't say anything about it yet. But she has new motivation to work on her physical and mental conditioning.

We watched Exit 8 tonight. Great movie.

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Happy birthday, Dio!!

I have a giant 6'2" 17-year-old. How is this possible?

We did our usual reading of the birth story, followed by opening presented. Zari joined us by video call. I made an almond pound cake with almond buttercream and cherry jam inside the layers. It wasn't super fancy like Ivy's cake--Dio didn't have strong opinions about the decoration. So we dusted gold dust over letters spelling out his name.

School starts again and it's going to be difficult waking up 2 hours earlier than usual.

Dio's birth story: https://rixarixa.blogspot.com/2009/04/dios-birth-story.html

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Spring break is winding down. We have no soccer games this weekend--a rare event.

Dio's friends got a true American/Canadian experience this morning with a pancake breakfast. Toppings included maple syrup, whipped cream, peanut butter, various jams, and Nutella.

We finished The Queen's Gambit this evening--quite a fun series. What can we watch next?

Also here's a funny picture of me at the Philadelphia breech conference. I volunteered myself as the "mom" so Betty-Anne Daviss could demonstrate fundal pressure on me. I climbed up on the "delivery table" to make it real 🙂

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Early birthday sleepover

Dio's birthday is in a few days, and he's celebrating with his best friends by having a sleepover in Le Chateau. They went out with Inga and Ivy to the park and to the beach this evening. I love having a horde of teenagers who go do things together.

I'm making them a pancake breakfast for the hungry hordes tomorrow. It may be the first time the boys have had American pancakes.

Zari will be here next week! She is waiting for one more final exam. She's got her housing set for next year--living in the same place. She's going to take a STCW Basic Safety Training course soon after she arrives and then apply for yachting jobs.

Here's a picture of me selling books at the recent breech conference in Philadelphia.

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Four days in Philly

I'm back from a whirlwind trip to the USA for a breech conference in Philadelphia. I was so busy that I didn't take a single picture--aside from pictures of the presenter's slides. But fortunately other people took pictures and sent them to me!

Eric and Inga came back from Senegal this evening. Inga is happy but exhausted and says it was an emotional experience to visit a lower resource country.

Time to get my jet-lagged body to bed!!

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Laid-back Easter

We didn't cook anything fancy but it was still a great day with delicious food. I made pancakes for a very late breakfast--10:30 am! Most of us slept in, me included. I hate wasting half the morning but I have to admit that it felt great to sleep.

I took Inga to get her Hep A injection for her trip to Senegal...ironically it was easier to get an appointment today than tomorrow.

We all went to the new coulée verte in the afternoon. The kids and Eric did juggles back and forth over a low wall. I read and basked in the sun.

I made chicken in mustard sauce--classic French recipe, often made with rabbit--with roasted potatoes and a tomato, cucumber, olive, and feta salad. Eric cooked up a huge stack of crepes for dessert with all sorts of toppings: whipped cream, creme de marrons, Nutella, bananas, strawberries, blueberries...

We decorated easter eggs with markers this time, instead of paint. It worked well. It's harder to see the pale colors since the eggs here are all brown. We haven't done Egg Wars yet and it's already 10:15.

We have a free day tomorrow and I really really want to go hiking. We have a bit of a teenage munity, though. They don't want to go hiking and would rather just sit around the house. I might have to do a "too bad--we're going" move and just make it happen. I am such a mean mom.

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Quick update because it's past midnight...

Inga had a game and they won 7-0, with Inga scoring 3 goals!

I had some time to read at the beach and get Vitamin D therapy

We watched "Project Hail Mary" this evening...super fun

Eric's youngest brother and his family was featured in the news. Due to Trump immigration policies, he suddenly found himself barred from re-entering the US after a brief ski trip to Canada, despite having a work visa, and now is trying to figure out how to support his family of 5.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/ottawa/article/canadian-family-stranded-in-ottawa-after-being-denied-re-entry-to-us/

This administration's policies don't just affect other people in faraway places. We could have the same thing happen to us if, for some reason, a border agent decided to deny Eric entry into the US.

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France went on Daylight Saving last night...and I woke up EARLY (not on purpose). Ugh. Why??? I feel like I'm constantly sleep deprived, which is not what I would have expected at this age and stage of life.

Ivy's sleepover went really well. Not surprisingly, she was really tired the next day! We now have a guest in Le Chateau for a few weeks, then it's mostly open again starting mid-April through mid-May. Anyone want to come visit?

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Happy birthday (again)!

Ivy is celebrating her birthday with a "soirée pyjama" (sleepover) with her 4 closest friends. She helped me make a cake that has outdone her previous cakes. How can we top this next year??

It's 4 layers of red velvet cake with chocolate buttercream. Mushrooms made of marzipan, ivy leaves made from white chocolate dyed green, moss made from coconut and petit beurre cookies blended with food coloring, and bark made from dark chocolate.

Here's to hoping the girls get some sleep tonight!

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Happy 13th birthday Ivy!

From now until Halloween, we will have 4 teenagers. It was like yesterday when they were little teeny kids ages 1-7.

Once Zari was awake and on a WhatsApp call, we read her birth story and opened presents. Then Ivy, Inga, and Eric headed off to soccer.

The kids' high school back in the US had a trip to Europe over spring break, and they were in Nice today! Inga and Dio connected with some groups of students during their free time. Such a fun blending of 2 worlds that usually don't touch each other.

We had a potluck dinner to celebrate Ivy's birthday with 4 other families. It was incredibly fun and incredibly loud. Good times. This pictures shows a part (but not all) of the kids, plus all of the adults.

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The boys go spearfishing, the girls go for coffee

Eric and two of his Canadian friends went spearfishing today, the first time for the other two. They caught two fish and one cuttlefish. It was a gorgeous day for the first time.

While the boys were out hunting and gathering, the girls had their own gathering at a cafe overlooking the beach. It's debatable who had more fun :) We had Argentina, Taiwan, Canada, Colombia, and the USA represented at the table.

I filmed a new breech module this afternoon. It took about 1.5 hours to set everything up, test the microphone and adjust the sound at least 10 times, get the lighting just right...then I filmed the whole course. Then I got on the computer and discovered that the autofocus kept going in and out of focus. I have to refilm the whole thing!

It's Ivy's birthday tomorrow. I will officially have 4 teenagers as of tomorrow. I can't believe it!

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In hot water

My aunt and uncle left early this morning--too soon! They will need to come back next year.

My dad and mom took a trip to Ikea to find picture frames for the sketches. Now I need to find a place to hang them up.

We're planning Ivy's birthday party sleepover. The theme is mushrooms and forests. We'll make a cake that looks like a stump covered in mushrooms.

Oh, the day started with a surprise, and not the fun kind! The power abruptly went out in the apartment, so I first went to the circuit breaker and flipped the one switch that had tripped. No good, no power. I finally isolated the problematic circuit and it was the water heater. then I walked to the water heater and quickly saw why...it was actively leaking hot water all over the electronics! This wasn't a leak at the plumbing connections; it was from inside the heater itself and signaled that the heater was totally kaput.

So we spent a good while draining the tank...without water because there was no shutoff valve going to the water heater. Then we made 3 trips to the plumbing supply store to be able to install shutoff valves. Then we ordered a new hot water heater, set to arrive tomorrow. So for now at least we have cold water in the apartment, and we can shower downstairs at my parent's.

Always something to keep us on our toes! Thank goodness we were home, because if we'd been gone all day, we would have come back to a completely flooded apartment and likely damage downstairs in Le Chateau.

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Rainy hike, delicious lunch, sketches

I went on an early-morning hike to Mont Boron with my parents and uncle. My aunt opted to stay home and explore Old Nice since she had a knee that was hurting. It drizzled on us the whole time. I felt ok during the hike, but afterwards I got chilled and couldn't get warm the rest of the day!

I had lunch at our favorite restaurant (l'Eau de Vie) with my parents and aunt and uncle. It's fun to catch up and get to know them better as peers. Most of the times I visited them, I was a child. I saw them once soon after I got married...and then 26 years went by! I'm having so much fun getting to know them as people.

At one point the conversation turned to childbirth. She had her first by C-section due to a lethal fetal abnormality incompatible with vaginal birth. She never got to see or hold her baby--such a shame. It's what was done at the time, but imagine how many mothers still grieve from never having seen their child. She had her 2nd as a hospital VBAC and her last 3 at home.

After dinner, my uncle (an artist) did quick sketches of the 3 kids. I grew up wandering around his art studio in Idaho, looking at his landscape paintings, lifescapes, buffalo hides, and antlers.

You can check out his artwork and support him at https://steve-spencer.pixels.com/

We have some Canadian friends over to play cards. They're here for 3 weeks over spring break. They rented from us last year and want to come back to Nice as soon as life/work/kids allow!

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Marathon meeting day

Phew! I finished my last round of meetings just a few minutes ago! Too many meetings for one day.

I started my first meeting at 9 am. This one was for a friend--supervising some finishing work on her apartment renovation while she is out of the country.

11 am: work meeting to go over workshop scheduling

1 pm: interviewing a candidate for a job

3 pm: Meeting to talk about finding a meeting space for a training event

3:30 pm: interviewing another candidate for a job

4 pm: meeting with our accountant (waited for 45 mins, he ultimately was stuck driving so we rescheduled)

7:30 pm: rescheduled meeting with our accountant

8 pm: Team meeting for work

9-9:30 pm: Meeting with one of our instructors

Eric and Dio are off at his late night soccer practice. Ivy had practice this evening, and Inga was at a friend's house all afternoon and evening. My parents and aunt and uncle visited Eze and Monaco today and were blessed with gorgeous weather.

ps--we made it into the Irish Times!

https://www.irishtimes.com/abroad/2026/03/13/st-patricks-day-irish-abroad-how-are-you-celebrating-send-us-your-photos
 

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St Patrick's Day Mass in a French cathedral? Why not?

I had lots of fun playing in the special St. Patrick's Day Mass in Beaulieu-sur-mer. Dio, Inga, and my mom came along. After mass, there was a picnic lunch plus music and dancing in the crypt (which was not creepy like it sounds--it was a lovely huge basement area, newly renovated).

My aunt and uncle from Idaho are visiting for several days. My uncle is a painter and they are both avid outsdoors people. We enjoyed catching up; I hadn't seem them since over 26 years ago!

Inga had a home game this evening and her team won. She still doesn't feel that she's playing as well as she'd like.

I had some time this afternoon to bask in the sun on the beach, stripping down to a tank top and pulling my pants as high up as they'd go. It felt amazing.

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Inga is celebrating her birthday (again) with a few friends, one of whom is back from Vancouver, Canada for a few weeks. I hear lots of giggling and thumping around from downstairs. Since my parents are gone for a few days, they are using Le Chateau for a sleepover.

They have 6 pizzas from Pizza Pili and lots of snacks. Let's hope they go to sleep at some point!

Tomorrow's plan:
- Ivy has a morning soccer game
- I have a rehearsal for the St. Patrick's Day Mass
- After Ivy's game, Eric will take Inga's friends plus Dio and Ivy to a trampoline park

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I took a "sleep-cation" downstairs in Le Chateau while my parents are in Paris with my aunt and uncle. I love being able to go to bed when I want and having no one wake me up at night due to snoring/wiggling/taking the covers. Ahhhh. Maybe it would be lonely after a while, but on occasion it's lovely to sleep solo. Eric's getting over jetlag so his sleep has been disrupted.

What else? I've had lots of intellectually fun stuff going on at work--creating new videos, working on publications, coming up with new research projects, securing translators for our textbook.

If anyone is local, please come to the St. Patrick's Day Mass at the Beaulieu cathedral this Sunday! I'll be playing violin.

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Ivy has spent so much time working on this book report project for her French class! If she doesn't get 20/20, something is seriously wrong with her teacher!

Dio is very despondent because he got 5/20 in a recent French exam, a 3-hour essay in which they analyzed a text. He thought he did well until he saw his grade today...the worst in the class! His teacher has been really strange, sometimes giving him top marks and other times giving him terrible grades and telling him he's doing it all wrong. He just doesn't know what she wants. He's a smart and hard-working kid and this just seems all over the place.

I do sometimes get frustrated with the French system because it can be so punitive and non-transparent. At least in the US system, the expectations are generally clear and if you work hard, it almost always is reflected in the grades.

My day was interesting. It started with a podcast interview with someone in Australia. I then moved on to several hours of video editing for a few new courses we're developing (a special short course for L&D nurses and an update of a module on essential breech maneuvers). I had a meeting with several heads of OB for the Kaiser system in northern CA. They're looking to develop 2 or 3 breech centers in San Francisco and northern CA. Really exciting!

Eric didn't sleep much last night despite being jet-lagged. I hope it's better tonight.

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Concert!

My mom is always someone who makes things happen. This doesn't change despite living in another country. She went to a concert about 6 weeks ago and was chatting with the soprano afterward. She said, "Why don't we put together some music and have a concert?" So that's exactly what they did! The pianist was incredible and had just turned 19.

My mom was impressed because not only was the soprano a fantastic singer, she also sews her performing outfits! (We grew up in a household that sewed...especially for Halloween or Christmas outfits or formal dances).

The kids liked the concert, which took place last night in a small art gallery, because it was short (30 minutes) and each piece was just a few minutes long. We had sparkly drinks beforehand and a reception at my mom's apartment afterwards. That also sweetened the deal.

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Soccer Saturday

I drove Ivy to a soccer game in Mougins, with my parents coming along. It was cool, overcast, and windy and I was very chilled by the end! Then just over an hour after coming home, I left again for Inga's game at Cavigal.

Ivy's team won 2-1, and Inga's team tied 2-2. Inga was very frustrated with how she played; she felt like she kept missing her shots and couldn't get the ball to go where she wanted it to.

Eric flies home tonight from a brief visit to the US for a writing conference.

Dio went to the gym with a few friends this morning.

That's the latest news. My mom is playing in a concert tomorrow evening with a soprano and pianist. We've been hearing her practice the last several weeks. Should be fun!

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Back home!

I'm home, finally! No travels until mid-April (conference) and then I stay put.

Ivy and Inga went to a practice for A.S. Monaco, which has been trying super hard to recruit them. It's looking likely they will go there next year. Nothing is decided yet, though. They had a great time, loved the other girls and the coach.

Closing arguments on the breech case I testified for are supposed to start tomorrow (Wed) at 9 am Pacific US time. Tune in for a very interesting time if you're into birth-related things!

https://oregonjudicial.webex.com/oregonjudicial/j.php?MTID=md8dda5575a7a99f4e54bb72b7cfd82bb

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Hello from Ghent!

I spent the day observing one of our new instructors teach his first vaginal breech training. It's been fun to listen to the Flemish. I can pick out certain words that are familiar from having taken Afrikaans back at university.

I didn't realize how heavily Flemish-speaking this part of Belgium would be. I was talking to people today and there's a sort of horizontal line running across Belgium, through Brussels. North of the line is Flemish and south of the line is French. I thought that everyone would be fully bilingual but that's not the case.

Ghent is such a pretty city. I was super busy today but even our short walk to lunch and to/from the hospital was lovely. I love the steep stepped roofs, the dormer windows, how the houses line up right to the canals, the cobblestone streets.

I'm going home tomorrow first thing in the morning. I had to miss Inga's birthday today, so I'm making it up by baking her a cake tomorrow. (Yes, they had a cake today...but you can never have too much cake!).

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Portland - Nice - Belgium

It's been a crazy 48 hours. I flew from Portland, OR to Nice, France, slept 1 night, then flew to Belgium. I'm here to observe a breech training with a new instructor. Fortunately this one is a quick trip.

I'm staying in Ghent, which is a lovely city that reminds me a lot of Amsterdam, only with fewer bicycles. I'm right in the Old Town and had a nice walk before it got dark.

I found a sew-on patch to add to my BWB apron collection, and I also visited a chocolate store and came back with some goodies to share with the family.

I had a lovely day and a half with my brother in Portland after the trial. We ate lots of delicious food, went on walks and hikes with his dog, saw various sites around town, and enjoyed his sauna every night. He built it himself, converting an old garden shed into paradise.

I have to miss Inga's birthday tomorrow. I told her we'd celebrate the next day, since I'll be back by then. I'm ready to be done traveling for a while!

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Arrived & testified!

My 2nd attempt to fly to Portland was successful. Phew. I didn't appreciate having to wake up at 4 am again. But on the up side, I was able to sleep for an hour or two on the flight, which is highly unusual for me. I think that helped me make a quick adjustment to the 9-hour time difference.

I arrived Monday mid-day and drove to the city where I was testifying and got settled in. I watched the last few hours of the trial to get a feel for what it would be like.

I went over to the attorney's place in the evening to finalize what I would be testifying on. Almost everything got cut due to time restraints.

I was in court all day Tuesday as an observer, but ironically there wasn't time for me to present that day. My turn came this morning, the 2nd to last witness for the plaintiff.

I never knew that being in a courtroom is like playing sports: there's strategy, counter-strategy, shifting around of the players (witnesses), good sportsmanship and bad sportsmanship, people calling foul (objections), the referee (judge) occasionally reprimanding people for focusing more on showmanship than on justice.

It also reminds me of parenting young children. If you have a problem, you can never address the person directly. You have to go to the judge to settle your differences. "Mom, Dio pushed me!" "Dio, is that true? Did you push Inga?" "No, Inga ran into me and then she fell over." "Okay, I'm going to ask both of you to take a minute and give each other some space."

I'll talk more about it once the case is done, but in short I think it went great. Once I realized the attorneys had no idea what they were talking about, and that I was very comfortably in my home domain, it was fun to field their cross-examination questions.

I stayed to listen to the final witness, who finished at noon. Then I drove to Portland to see my brother. We had a beautiful sunny day--unusual for this time of year--and we went out for a walk at a nearby off-leash dog park. My brother has a lovely dog, Sasha. We ate dinner at a Thai restaurant (driving in his convertible, which was super fun) and then did 3 rounds in my brother's sauna, which he built himself a few years ago. Ahhh...

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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, Day 3: Another snow day!!!

Yet again, the resort was closed--at least this whole side of the mountain, which meant the rest of the resort was inaccessible short of doing a 1.5-2 hour drive. Even then many of the top runs remained closed today.

In 24 hours, the top of the resort got 140 cm of snow!!

We really really hope we can ski tomorrow. I've never ever gone skiing and been unable to ski due to too much snow!

We got everyone out except Zari (she was doing homework) and played in the snow. Down here in the valley, it was the perfect consistency for making a snowman: wet and sticky.

We played more board games (Mito & Monopoly), watched more episodes of Humans, and generally took it easy.

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