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!!

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.

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.