Holly and Uncle Kevin!

Holly and Uncle Kev pulled into our litte town - just as if it was next door to Edmonton! They stayed in our village for a few days and then we all ventured off on a roadtrip through the North of France.

Connor's 10th birthday!

A couple of intriguing shots of our lovely home as we said our goodbyes. 

The unbelievable Mont Saint Michel.

This is the blacony on our hotel room. How awesome!

Going for crepes on the Mont.

Vimy Ridge. This is Canada's front line. The one a few feet away in the distance is Germany's front line. So hard to imagine. 

The Canadian Monument at Vimy. 

We also visited the Normandy beaches. 

Holly with her first macaroon!

Ahh - Paris. What a great way to end our amazing adventure!

Dad is back - and the Cliffs come to visit!

Dad returned for his final visit and the next day our dear friends arrived from the South! We had such a great visit with them and it was so nice to finally be able to return some small portion of the generosity and hospitality they had shown us.

Dining in our yard. An almost every night occasion.That is Connor's pal from school in Le Puys, Thibault. He had a blast getting to know Charlie as well.

We dined al fresco by the lovely Chateau Brissac. Just minutes from our home. 

We spent a wonderful afternoon exploring and relaxing at a very child-friendly little Chateau.  

The ever fabulous George! He lives in Russia, but we got to spend lots of time with him, both in the South and the North. Lucky us!

The knights in action. :)

Chateau Chinon - where Joan of Arc spent much of her time.

Welcome to Monsters University

Bonjour Every Guys. 

It has been a fun few days since we last posted. After our big tour through the other countries, we came home and had a few days of R&R before heading to the South of France! First we stopped in Never to see the body of St. Bernadette.

Then we continued on and spent the night in an old mansion in a volcanic park in the mountainous region of Cantal. It was absolutely gorgeous!

Of course, the owners had a son so Connor got to play more soccer! :)

We then went to Aumes, our first little village. We were so lucky to be able to stay with our dear friends, the Cliffs, in their gorgeous home! Connor was thrilled to get to see all of his little buddies and play some soccer!!  We had a fantastic time!

This is the view from Louise's kitchen. 

Charlie's cousin's birthday party. 

The Valouette boys!

On Monday we made the six and a half hour drive back to our house in only 10 hours! That's a record I'm sure. The next couple of days we just relaxed and got the house organized. We had Claire, Robbie, and the twins over for supper again!

We also went and fed kangaroos... I know right?! I had the same expression on my face that you do right now. Apparently there is a kangaroo park near our village where hundreds of them run around wild on 8 acres of fenced in land. I've been there and I still don't believe it. Never a dull moment :)

On Friday we went and picked Jacquie up from the train station in Angers! Saturday we went into Saumur and looked around the cute little shops and the market. 

BUT SUNDAY we went to the Grand Prix Retro (after Church) and spent the day watching the races and looking at the cars. It was so freaking cool oh my gosh... :) Connor opted out of the races to play 7 hours of soccer with his chums.

Monday we went to Chateau Villandry and Azay Le Rideau which are only about an hour away from or house!
They were gorgeous! Mom fell in love with Azay Le Rideau (the one in the pics).

Tuesday we drove into Angers so Jacquie could catch her afternoon train to Paris! After saying our goodbyes, we parted ways and went into Saumur and got groceries.... Exciting stuff.

Wednesday Connor went off gallivanting around the other villages with Robbie and the twins. Mom and I had a wonderfully peaceful day to ourselves. Mom tried to teach me how to drive the 6 speed car, but I guess you can't be good at EVERYTHING, right?

Thursday we had the pleasure of having our neighbours Jean- Marie and Monique come for lunch! Connor took off after we ate to go swimming and mom and I got to chat with them all afternoon!

Thursday evening we went to Despicable Me 2 which was so incredibly good oh my gosh.
Friday (yesterday) we had the twins over to play at our house for the afternoon and then headed over to their house for a nice bbq dinner! It's been a nice relaxing week.
Daddy comes tomorrow!!!!!!!!!! And then it's complete chaos...
Will try to get one more post on this blog!! We head home in 10 days! :O

So yup. That's about it. Later Gators!

That's the top of our house!