Another Post, Another Year Has Gone By

Well, hello there! Another year has passed since my last post. How pathetic is that? But truly, our life is SO busy. This phase that we are in, the kids are so busy, and there are so many schedules to coordinate. I sometimes look back on those years I was active in blogging and it makes sense - the kids were little, they'd go to bed, and I'd spend my evenings catching up with the blog, especially when Eric was traveling for work. But now, the kids are busy and big and don't go to bed early. I rarely have a moment to myself to think about anything except for what is happening next.

Anyway, what brought me to the blog was the fact that I took the kids' first day of school pictures today (a day early, because that's what works with three school start times!)

First Day of School, Sept 6, 2022.

And since it's Jackson's SENIOR year this year, I had to come back and find the picture of him on the porch from his first day of kindergarten for the first-first day to the last-first day comparison.

Jackson, kindergarten Aug 2010 to senior Sept 2022.

I just can't. I can't think about it. I can't dwell on it. I just can't even go there. My first kid is a senior and every time I do go there, I cry. So I'm just not going to go there right now. You can fill in the blanks on all of the feelings I'm experiencing.

So, let's begin the updates...

Jackson is a senior this year! He is active in the drama club and will be starting rehearsals for the fall musical, "Elf," this week. He works at Target, which I don't think he loves because it's kind of boring, but he makes $16/hour, so that keeps him there. Jackson has an adorable girlfriend, Emma, and they seem very happy together.

Jackson has also already applied and been accepted to Mizzou for college, and we are one proud Tiger family! He plans on studying engineering (mechanical and/or aerospace) and he can't wait to start! He didn't even care to look at any other schools (which I have mixed feelings about)! It's crazy to see how full circle his story has come, since he was born there in Columbia, MO!

Wyatt is a sophomore this year! He started playing football this year and is on the sophomore team. He is loving it, and it's a totally great fit for him, compared to soccer. His physique is built more like a football player and he has the temperament for it, as well. Wyatt will turn SIXTEEN in a couple of weeks and we are about half way through getting his driving hours; he will hopefully be able to get his license in a couple of months.

Logan will be starting his Freshman year tomorrow! (Yep, I'll have THREE in high school this year!) I'm not sure how he feels about it, other than him hating school, in general. That's about all I get from him. I think he's hoping that high school will be better than middle school, because he cannot stand how immature middle schoolers are (like he's one to talk, though...) I'm a bit nervous for him because he doesn't play any team sports and I really want him to get involved somehow. All the ideas I throw at him, he shoots down. So, we will see what he gravitates towards. I'm anxious to watch him grow this year, as I expect he will grow in more ways than one!

Cohen is headed to 7th grade! A new middle school was just built, so he will be one of the first to attend school in it. He seems confident and ready - as he always is! I think one of the things he is looking forward to is being the only one of our kids to be in that school this year. I think not having any siblings with him will give him a little more independence and confidence!

Cohen plays the saxophone and really seems to enjoy band! He also is on his second season of playing football. I think he is an offensive lineman, but at this age, they kind of shift positions around a lot. 

Piper is going into 4th grade this year, and will be the top dog at the school since 5th graders are now in the new middle school. Piper is very social and spends so much time bopping around with her friends. I often worry that her socialization is too much of a distraction in school, so I am waiting to see how this year goes for her in that respect. She has been calling herself "dumb" as of late, which makes me sad since she is a smarty. Friggin' ADD...I wish it didn't affect kids' self-esteem like it does.

Piper is also on a competition cheerleading team through a neighboring school district. She will be starting practices for that this week!

And for a quick recap of other fun stuff that has happened in the last two years....

• We took the kids to Mexico last summer since we enjoyed ourselves so much on our anniversary trip.
• We went to Disneyland for my 40th birthday last year.
• I tagged along with Eric on a work trip to Ireland.
• I had a hysterectomy.
• I started a cheerleading team at the high school since there was none.
• We went as a family to Germany and Switzerland earlier this summer.
• Eric still loves his job and is also busy fixing lasers on the side.
• I still love my job at the hospital.

So there you have it!

After sitting here and typing all of this up, I am feeling motivated to continue to update, especially after looking through old posts of my babies, and with this being Jackson's senior year. This blog really has been a great spot for me to put our memories, and I am so sad that I haven't kept up with it. I understand why I haven't, but at the same time, I'm annoyed with myself. It is time consuming, but...worth it. So, I'm going to try. Even if it's once a week or once a month. I'm going to try to do better than once every year! 

Time is Getting Away From Me

It's been almost 2 years since I blogged last. How insane is that? The website looks totally different and I'm a bit lost with navigating it!

Man, I didn't even finish blogging about our Christmas trip to France! I still have a post sitting here, half-way done, almost ready to be published. But I just haven't done it. And I haven't updated anything! Though, most of you who actually read this blog are friends and family of mine, and also connect with me on FB, which is kind of a micro-blogging platform for me, therefore you know what's been going on in our lives for the past two years.

But, just a quick recap of the high- (and low-) lights for shiggles...

• We finished our winter trip to France.
• I took my friends to France the following spring.
• Eric moved home from France and promptly quit his job at Delphi for reasons.
• We then had to sell yet another house and make another cross-country move.
• We had to say the hardest goodbye to our Rochester friends. It was worse than leaving KC.
• We landed in Minnesota.
• We were miserable in Minnesota.
• First long winter.
• COVID hit.
• We were still miserable in Minnesota.
• We all caught COVID (and were fine).
• Kids had to do distance learning at home, which almost pushed me over the edge.
• I started taking Wellbutrin, and started feeling better.
• Second long winter.
• Jackson got his driver's license.
• We still don't have roots here in Minnesota and could easily leave it.
• Eric and I went to Mexico for our anniversary.
• Louna got hit by a car and had to have her hind leg amputated.
• Eric loves his job.
• I love my job and where I work.

And I think that about sums it up.

But now that I'm "caught up," I'll get to what really led me to pull up Blogger today...

It's the last day of school today. The last day of what I would consider the worst and longest school year ever (because of the pandemic and distance learning.) So, of course, I took the traditional last day of school picture, then set it up next to the first day of school picture to see how much the kids have grown.

I made today's picture the desktop background on my computer and as I was wrapping something up, closing all of my tabs and windows, I just took a moment to gaze upon my growing children.

I thought about how huge they are. About how I'll have TWO in high school next year. And only two more years left with Jackson. And that led me to thinking about what the next several years are going to look like. And then I realized that I've been taking this first day of school picture for ten years now, and I still have exactly another ten to go to make it to Piper's last day of school of her senior year. And by then, Jackson will be 26, Wyatt 24, and so on. If you really think about it, I could have grandkids by then!

It's all just going SO fast. I knew after Jackson's first or second year of school that once they get into school, that is when things started to go quickly. And it hasn't slowed down since. And here I am with only two years left with my oldest before he goes on to adulting.

The days are long but the years are short.

How true that is.

Christmas in France - Chambord and Orleans

Continuing our exploration of Christmas in the Loire Valley...

I had found that many of the chateaux around were decorated for Christmas and/or had special events going on in celebration of the Christmas season. So, of course we had to check at least one of them out! We decided to go to Château de Chambord one evening (as we would continue on in that general direction to the town of Orleans for the marché de Noël there). Piper...was less than thrilled when I told her we were going to a castle.

Tsk tsk tsk. Aren't princesses supposed to like being in castles?

 Anyway, we headed over to Chambord. It's such a lovely castle, and it's so big! I thought for sure it would be amazing to visit at Christmastime!

Inside the castle.

I'll admit...it was a bit disappointing. While there were loads of Christmas trees all decked out on the first floor, and children could sit on Père Noël's lap...that was about all they had! The first floor was decorated, and that was it. The other floors were basically empty. So, we didn't spend much time there because there wasn't more to see than we already had a few months prior.

(However, the story of Chambord gets better....a few months after Christmas, I was back in France with my friends and took them to this castle. And I they had SO many more rooms open and decorated than ever before. It was a completely different experience! So, stay tuned for future French adventures!)

After Chambord, we headed off to Orleans, and on our way, we happened to pass through the small town of Mer, France. We had seen signs for Mer often, but this was the first time we were able to pass through, and see the actual sign on the side of the road as you enter/exit. Eric pulled over and made me take a picture, since it was *my* town, after all.

Probably THE most dorky picture I have ever taken!

 We got to Orleans, and immediately headed for the cathedral, because we figured that's there the market would be. Amazingly enough, we found a great parking spot right at the cathedral. Score! We got out and walked towards the front of the cathedral, and while there was plenty of space around the cathedral and in the square around it, there wasn't a market! There were some colorful projections on the front of the building, but that was it.

So, we had to wander around this city to look for the market. And, like Strasbourg, the marché de Noël was spread out into different areas of the city. So annoying.

Our first discovery was in a little square where there were a few of the wooden stalls sprinkled around a small ice skating rink. We were totally going to let the kids ice skate, but they weren't selling any more tickets for it at that point, because they were getting ready to close for the night. So, we got churros and beignets instead.

A massive churro, being filled with Nutella.
Sadly, the tube didn't go all of the way down, and the churro didn't actually get filled all of the way.
The kids ate it anyway.

We mosied around Orleans a little bit more, and it seemed to take forever to find the other spots of the market. We found another small area with some little-kid rides and an event space, but that was about it. So, we got some hot chocolate to warm up with.

I think this was the only little stand in the second area we found. Lame.

The copper pots that held chocolat chaud, vin chaud, or cidre were just so gorgeous.

Eric and the kids enjoying the hot chocolate!

So, we started wandering around some more. And we were really getting close to making our way back to the car, because it felt like such a waste of time.

Wandering through the streets of Orleans.

But, we rounded a corner and saw the reflection of a lot of lights up ahead. So we went in that direction. And that's where we had found the main market space!

And it was a really, really cool market! Unfortunately, we had spent so much time trying to find the dang thing, that all of the vendors were starting to close up for the night. So we had no time at all to really explore.

A stand full of sweets, where they hand-pulled taffy!

Just a cool stand with yummy pastries in it.

Ferris wheel in the center of the main market area.

We stayed in the market for as long as we could before everything was closed up for the night, before we headed back to the car. As we were leaving, we had decided that we really wanted to try and come back to Orleans for this marché, but...it never happened, which is unfortunate. Both Eric and I would have loved to go back there and enjoy it to its fullest!

Christmas in France - Amboise

Even though we had seen some pretty amazing Christmas markets in Reims, Strasbourg, and Colmar, I still wanted to check out the ones in the Loire Valley, nearer to Eric's place!

Eric had taken Jackson to Blois Centre at one point, and they both told me about the market there, but it was tiny, and apparently not worth checking out. Eric basically said it wasn't very different than what Blois' markets are normally like. So, we skipped the one in Blois.

But, one of the first ones we went to was in Amboise, which is definitely one of our favorite towns in the Loire Valley.

The Marché de Noël was on the smaller side in Amboise, but what was so amazing about it was that the majority of it was held inside a tunnel under the Château d'Amboise!

Christmas market in the castle's tunnel.

There were some cool things to look at there, but like I said, it wasn't that large. So we weren't terribly interested in getting much. We did end up finding some honey (miel) that the vendor collects from the chateaux in the area, so it was really neat to find honey from places we had actually been to. Specifically, honey from Clos Lucé; Eric had actually seen the beehives there when we visited this last summer! So it was really neat to get honey from one of our favorite places.

We also found a really stinking adorable beret and scarf for Piper. We probably spent too much on it, but it was just too adorable, and the lady selling them was having too much fun dressing up our daughter!

She wore a raspberry beret, the kind you find at a market in France.

Of course, we had to get crepes as well!

One of the other reasons I wanted to visit Amboise was because I thought it would be a great backdrop for some pictures for our Christmas/New Year's card this year. And it was even better because they had decorated trees lining one side of the main street!

You would never know it from those pictures, but the kids were actually completely uncooperative and little nightmares. They were so hyper and crazy and just did NOT want to sit still or listen so I could take a few pictures. I don't know what got into them that day, but it was driving me nuts. I guess I need to get back into the habit of taking pictures of them, because it was almost like they forgot how to pose and behave for them! Ugh!

I love the couple walking their dog over on the right, just checking out the commotion that is our children. I wonder if they were thinking that they were adorable or if they thought that they were insane. It could have gone either way at this point.

Anyway, after fighting with them to just get a couple of decent shots, I thought maybe they'd sit still for some pictures while eating a croissant or two. So we headed over to one of the yummy shops there in the main part of the downtown area.

Looking at all of the sweets!!!

Oh, they sat picture perfect, knowing they'd be getting a snack soon.

And this was the best I could get, because they devoured the croissants in about 0.02 seconds.

And that was our little jaunt over to Amboise!

Luckily, I did get enough pictures to put on a holiday card, and it was great checking out the Christmas market. But dear Lord, was that little trip a difficult one!

Christmas in France - At Chez Éric

After our little roadtrip, we settled back into Chez Eric. We spent a lot of family time together this trip; we didn't feel the need to go, go, go, go. Although, a couple of times I felt stir-crazy and felt like we should be doing something or going somewhere, since we were in France. But that's not really what this trip was about. It was about spending the holidays together, which Eric really, really needed. (Depression sucks. Especially in the wintertime and when you're away from your family.)

In our down time, I didn't take too many pictures, and we didn't do much more than spend time together, but here are a few of the things we did around the house...aside from dishes and laundry, of course!

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I had pulled the kids out of school a few days before their winter vacation started, and would have them out until a few days after kids in Rochester went back to school, so I made sure to send letters to all of the teachers and gather up schoolwork that they would need to make up. And, being the "mean mom" that I am, I had them work on it almost daily.

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One of the things Eric was really excited for the kids to experience were the horses that he had in the field right behind his house. They had showed up one day, and Eric really enjoyed giving them attention, and apples. So, he was really excited for the kids to do the same. He bought a bunch of cheap apples for the kids to feed the horses, and Piper and Cohen really loved doing so.

One morning, though, we woke up and raised the blinds to see the older horse IN Eric's backyard! It had totally broken through the fence to chow down on his lawn (it literally was greener on the other side, plus he had lots of yummy weeds to snack on!)

Broken fencing

We all found it quite entertaining, but Eric did end up messaging his landlord, because obviously the horse shouldn't be there. The landlord knew whose horses they were, so he contacted that person. And a little while later, a nice French lady showed up at the door, profusely apologizing in French, and then move her horse elsewhere. All of the horses ended up being moved down the road to another field after that, which we were a little bummed by.

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Even though we visited the boulangerie a lot, and ate at a lot of the Christmas markets we visited, we did eat at home a bunch, too. I made some "normal" meals that we are used to having here at home, which takes some creativity when it comes to finding ingredients. But, we also had this meal a few times: raclette.

Eric had been introduced to raclette when one of the church members had him over for dinner (I think), and the missionaries had also raved about how much they liked having it as a meal. So, Eric got one of the grills (or whatever it's called) so that he could serve raclette at his house, too!

So, raclette is a type of cheese. You can buy it in slices at the grocery store, and it comes in a variety of flavors, in addition to the regular raclette - fumé (smoked), vin blanc (white wine), poivre (pepper).

What you do is basically place a slice of cheese into a little tray which is then stuck into the grill. It basically melts and broils the cheese a little, and when it's ready, you just tip the tray over your food and the melty cheese slides right out onto it! So, it's kind of like fondue, without all of the dipping; you can basically serve it with whatever you want. Potatoes, fries, veggies, meat. Oh, and the top of the grill gets hot, so you can actually fry/sear whatever you want on top while your cheese is melting.

I think I heard from someone that it's really more of an Eastern French/Swiss thing to do, but there is so much of that cheese in the stores, and there are grills at many of the stores that I think it's probably more mainstream throughout France than what some people think.

All ready for our first raclette dinner!

The cheese in the grill, getting all melty.

Jackson pouring out the cheese onto his food.

I personally loved my raclette on torn up baguette and sautéed mushrooms.

Miam miam! (French for yum yum!) 

It was a really fun meal! The kids had a lot of fun with it and ate a lot, too. This meal was really easy to do, so we had it a couple of times. It's also a really fun dinner to have with guests, since it's not something that is "normal" here in the States!

Piper getting ready to melt some more!