Inga and Eric came back from Poland yesterday, only to turn around straight from the airport and head to another soccer game! Ivy joined Inga's U15 team and they scored 3 goals between the two of them, for a win 5-2. This win means their team moves up to regionals next year!

We had a relaxing day today, with some time at the beach and then making homemade pasta with my brother. We went for an evening walk to the port to fill up our water bottles with sparkling water. I got in over 17,000 steps. Not bad for a relaxing day!

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Morning run-swim with my brother, Zari, and Dio. My brother said, "During the run I was hating my life but now I'm loving my life" (as we're floating in the sea post-run).

Inga had her 2nd friendly match versus Poland; she played in the first half, which ended 0-0. Her team scored 4 goals in the second half!

Dinner was shrimp, salmon croquettes, fries, and sauteed green beans, with some fancy cream puffs for dessert that a friend dropped off as a thank you for lending her air mattresses. My brother also treated the kids out to ice cream later in the evening! We all walked to the beach to enjoy the ice cream and moonlight. It was truly magical with the full moon sparkling on the water.

Zari's friend from Toronto arrived early this morning around 4 am. She's super nice and we're thrilled to host her for the week!

I took some head shots of Zari for her CV and yacht applications. They turned out pretty well!

Eric and Inga fly back to Nice tomorrow and then turn around immediately to drive to Hyères for a soccer game! I'm the backup driver in case Eric's flight is delayed.

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Morning run-swim with Zari and my brother...a good workday (mostly video editing)...cooked fajitas for dinner...dessert was patisseries from Lac, which we brought back home and cut into 1/4ths so we could try 4 different desserts each.

We've not been hit too hard by the heat dome currently over Western Europe. It's 27-29 C here, which is hot for June but not crazy hot (July & August are usually 30-32 C). We're actually one of the coolest locations in France right now!

Inga's team had their first friendly match yesterday with Sweden, which they lost 0-2. Bummer...Inga played about 20 minutes.

 

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Eric is in Poland so he can watch the 2 friendly games on Tuesday and Friday. Due to the flight schedule of the really cheap direct flights, he had to go today as there were no flights tomorrow and Tuesday's flight would have arrived after the game.

He got to see Inga today for 30 minutes during their allotted "family" time. She's doing really well and loving it, although feeling intimidated (in a good way) by the level of the other players.

Here's a sample schedule from yesterday.

Those of us still around went to the beach in the later afternoon. My brother has a friend who is staying with him for almost 2 weeks--he arrived today.

I have to get up super early tomorrow to take Ivy to a RDV point for an all-day tournament. She's carpooling with another family since I had lots going on with work and it would have been hard to take the whole day off.

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Inga is having a great time at the U16 soccer camp. The girls are "next level" and she has already made great friends with the francophone girls from Quebec, comparing French vs Quebecois words. She loves the amazing meals at the hotel. She is made to drink so much water that she is peeing all the time. Pictures of these compression cuffs she has to wear post-practice.

Eric heads to Poland tomorrow to watch the 2 matches.

We organized a beach afternoon with a big ice cream party afterward. Dio and 2 friends met up with a new friend (son of my friend back after school just finished) and they went cliff jumping past La Reserve. I sunned myself, swam for a while with Zari and my brother, and talked with my friend for a long time.

I did some sanding in the hallway so another wall is now ready to prime and paint.

My brother made a delicious dinner: deconstructed pan bagnat, an Italian pasta dish with a pureed chickpea sauce, and green beans sauteed with mushrooms.

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Late night meetings & some super exciting news

I had meetings from 8-10:15 pm tonight! Glad to off the computer.

I went running today since I missed going yesterday.

Inga did her oral Blanc (preliminary oral presentation) today and it went well, although she got really nervous right before it started and worried that she'd forget entire sections or lose her train of thought. It's about sexism in women's football in France.

Oh--super exciting news that we can finally share!! Inga was selected to go to a training camp in Poland to represent Canada’s Women’s U-16 National Team! She leaves in 2 days. She'll be near Gdansk (Danzig), where my German grandmother was born.

https://news.canadasoccer.com/canada-soccer-name-22-players-to-canw16-camp-in-poland

Canada Soccer name 22 players to CANW16 camp in Poland

Canada Soccer’s Women’s U-16 National Team to play against Sweden and Poland

May 19, 2026

Canada Soccer has named 22 players to represent Canada’s Women’s U-16 National Team (CANW16) for a training camp in Poland, set to take place from 20–30 May. The group will travel to Gniewino, Poland before facing Sweden on Tuesday 26 May at 14:00 local time (8:00 ET / 5:00 PT) and Poland on Friday 29 May at 11:30 local time (5:30 ET / 2:30 PT) at Mistral Sport.

The camp is part of Canada Soccer’s continued work to increase international contact time at the youth level, providing players with experience against European opposition as part of the women’s youth national team pathway.

Technical Program Lead Danilo Veselinovic highlighted the importance of balancing immediate performance objectives with long-term player development, using international opportunities to support individualized growth and help maximize future potential within the women’s youth national team pathway.

“We are excited to announce a roster reflective of our commitment to long-term player development, incorporating bio-banding principles to support individualized growth opportunities and meaningful exposure to high-performance environments. This UEFA-initiated Development Tournament in Poland provides a valuable opportunity to assess and accelerate potential in alignment with both short- and long-term development priorities.”
​​
​– Danilo Veselinovic, Acting Director, Technical Strategic Projects

Led by Jesse Acteson, the selected squad features players born on or after 1 January 2010, including seven with previous CANW17 experience.

“This camp is an exciting opportunity for this age group to get together for the first time and grow in an international environment. Facing quality opposition in Sweden and Poland will provide valuable experience. We're excited to see the group compete and grow throughout the camp."
​​
​-Jesse Acteson, Women’s U17 Interim Technical Project Lead

Canada’s youth teams will compete at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Poland 2026™ in September, followed by the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Morocco 2026™ in October.

CANW16 Roster

Position ​	Name ​	Active Club ​	Hometown ​
GK	Jacqueline Cuthill	Vancouver Rise Academy	Calgary, AB, CAN
GK	Megan Lemieux	CF Montréal	Montréal, QC, CAN
DF ​	Christ-Mayron Brou ​	CF Montréal	Quebec, QC, CAN ​
DF ​	Bo Dunn	Vancouver Rise Academy	North Vancouver, BC, CAN
DF ​	Chelsea Ejiofor	NDC-CDN Ontario ​ ​	Whitby, ON, CAN
DF ​	Laure Langlois	CF Montréal	Montréal, QC, CAN
DF ​	Grace Robson	Vancouver Rise Academy	North Vancouver, BC, CAN
DF ​	Arya Wynter	NDC-CDN Ontario ​ ​	Toronto, ON, CAN
MF	Annalise Cicoria	Calgary Wild Fc	Calgary, AB, CAN
MF	Adalyn Fairweather ​	Vancouver Rise Academy	Sherwood Park, AB, CAN
MF	Madeleine Gerretsen*	Sporting CP	Toronto, ON, CAN
MF ​	Maïka-Kim Guerrier	CF Montréal	Terrebonne, QC, CAN. ​
MF ​	Isabella Lanzillotta ​	NDC-CDN Ontario ​ ​	Mississauga, ON, CAN ​
MF	Elliotte Mcintosh	Calgary Rangers Soccer Club	Calgary, AB, CAN
MF	Brooklyn Posin	Los Angeles Surf	Pasadena, CA, USA
MF ​	Maya Rudic*	SC Heerenveen	Charlottetown, PEI, CAN
MF ​	Brooklyn Schwartzberg ​	Legends FC ​	San Diego, CA, USA ​
FW ​	Bridget Asekomhe ​	Albion Hurricanes FC ​ ​	Katy, TX, USA ​
FW	Inga Freeze	Cavigal Football / Indy Premier	Crawfordsville, IN, USA
FW	Makenna Mitchell	City SC San Diego GA white	Pittsburgh, PA, USA
FW	Elli Koromilos	NDC-CDN Ontario ​ ​	Toronto, ON, CAN
FW	Bonnie Zha	Vancouver Rise Academy	Montreal, QC, CAN

* Training players

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Happy birthday Eric!!

How did we get so old?? I don't feel like we're old enough to be celebrating 52!

We went out to lunch at a new restaurant called Zari. It's beautiful...but the food was very underwhelming (alas). But we had a lovely view of the sea and a super nice waitress. We asked her more about the origins of the restaurant's name, explaining that our daughter was named Zari. She brought us a book about the restaurant owners (Ukrainian) who have all sorts of restaurants, hotels, and resorts in Ukraine and decided to open their first restaurant in Nice.

The staff all wore lovely t-shirts, and I asked if we could buy one. She came back and said, "They're not for sale...but I can give you one!" We have a very generous tip to "pay" for the t-shirt.

Eric went spearfishing in the afternoon. His spear is slightly askew and it pinged off 3 fish instead of actually spearing them as it should have. Time to get a new spear.

I made Peruvian chicken with spicy lime mayonnaise for Eric's birthday dinner. We sent the kids to Lac to pick out a birthday cake.

Eric is out playing soccer with his men's league. Zari and I went for an evening walk. It started to rain but it wasn't very heavy and it was so beautiful walking around the port, seeing all of the lights, watching a huge ferry depart, fully lit up.

All in all a good day!

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Victory for Ivy!

Ivy had a tournament in Villeneuve-Loubet, and her team won first place. They played 6 games.

I've been helping Zari apply for lots more jobs. I think she felt guilty seeing me do a lot of applications so hopefully this spurs her to take over more! I just want her to find something soon so she can earn enough money to pay for next year of university.

Inga is memorizing her oral presentation for the Brevet Blanc, and Dio is studying for a history test. Something about gender roles from prehistoric times to today, particularly changes in gender roles in France in the past few centuries.

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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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