les vacances de Fevrier

Can't believe it's already February 18th!  I love and hate this month for the reason that it seems to fly by.  The boys have the second and third week off school this month (again...) so the first week of vacation was spent on a ski vacation in the French Alps!  Things learned/observed about skiing in the Alps...

• These mountains are the most incredible things I have ever seen.
• The runs are LONG.  Both a good and bad thing.  You think that you must be nearing the end...and it just keeps on going.  Hard on the legs.  Push through anyway.
• They have 4 levels to measure the difficulty of a run; green, blue, RED, and black.
• Both a hot chocolate and a 12 oz coke will cost you 4 euros in the ski lodge, which is absurd, but you'll pay for it anyway. 
• Ski school for kids starts as young as 18 months here.  The kid can barely walk, but why not just stick him on a pair of skis and see how it goes?
• Skiing doesn't seem to be as expensive as in the states.  You can rent skis for around 15-20 euros per day, and a day pass is usually under 40 euros. 
• Some of these skiers and snowboarders here are amazing.  Truly impressive to watch!

As it turned out, we had about 4 days of skiing, since we arrived on a Sunday evening and left Friday morning.  We went to a resort called Chatel, part of a large group of resorts collectively called Portes du Soleil.  The boys were in ski school every morning (except for James, who was sick half the week, and caused some schedule rearranging), and then Sophie, Andrea and I coordinated going at different times.  I spent every afternoon at the chalet with the boys while they ate lunch and took a nap, but I wasn't too mad about it because I had an exceptional movie selection to choose from each afternoon.  (Watched last week: Bridesmaids, The Vow, Brothers, Marley and Me, and Eat, Pray, Love).  It also turned out that I fit into Andrea's boots and skis, so I took his when I went out, which ended up just being Tuesday and Thursday morning.  The first day it was fun and exciting to be out again after not having skied for a couple years, but the second morning I did wish I had someone with me to share the experience with.  Regardless, I skied in the French Alps, and that is an incredible thing to be able to say.  

These pictures don't do the actual scenery justice, but you get an idea of the incredible views I had.  At the top of some of the slopes I really felt like I was on top of the world.  

This second week of break has been quite different than last week, in that I have the boys all day every day.  And as if it hadn't been solidified before, much to my mother's dismay, I am really reconsidering the whole having kids someday thing.  In one instance, we had to take a trip to the grocery store, and trying to get the handful of items I needed with two almost 4 year olds in tow was one of the more trying tasks I've dealt with here.  "Why are you laying in the middle of the aisle?!  Why are you pulling that off the shelf?!  Why are you pushing your brother into the produce?!"  Goodness.

I finally sent them up to the playroom so I could have an hour to just be alone and write this blog this morning.  We've been getting out of the house every day, but even so they are trying my patience more than ever.  James also has a new habit of asking "why?" after almost everything I say, which was cute the first 3 or so times, but now has become increasingly annoying.

• "James, please finish your snack." "Why?"
• "James, please put your socks and shoes on." "Why?"
• "James, please hand me that toy." "Why?"

Because I said so, that's why. 

Despite the frustrations, I have tried to take them out of the house to do fun things.  Parks, lakes, and animals, oh my. 

Last night however, the girls and I did have a successful pancake supper to celebrate Shrove Tuesday and Mardi Gras!  I was super excited to just find all the necessary ingredients at the french grocery store, and even more excited that our meal was fantastic!  Blueberry pancakes, bacon, eggs, fruit and mimosas. 

Pancakes and mimosas really do help after a long day. 

Miscellaneous February thoughts

I don't know the proper name for it, but there's a feeling that you get when you leave a place and return to it after a period of time where everything kind of finally feels familiar.  For me, this has happened in college, in numerous places in Appalachia, and now France.  It always takes me by surprise (in a good way) and always makes me feel like I belong right where I am at that time.  Leaving home is always hard for me, but coming back to a new "home", however complicated and temporary that home may be, is a good feeling.

Coming back to France after being home was much different than it was 6 months ago when I was first setting out.  This time around, I knew exactly what I was getting myself into, the good, bad, and ugly.  I was nervous, anxious, and upset for different reasons than the first time.  But I got back, fought the jet lag, and was back into my routine before I knew it.  I didn't forget how to drive a manual car in the time I was home, and the baguette prices were the same as when I left them.  Driving the streets, taking the boys to school, saying "bonjour" to my mom friends and the ladies at the bakery and the post office finally felt normal, and that felt good. 

In random day to day news, I started a new french class.  I felt like I wasn't learning enough in the old classes to justify all the money I was spending on them.  If I had been learning a lot, I wouldn't have minded paying...but I wasn't.  And Lord knows that money can go toward better things, like EasyJet flights and pain au chocolats.  Anyway, these new classes are also in Annecy, which means they're still 50 minutes from the house, but ils sont gratuit.  They are free.  Well, besides the 20 euro donation.  But i'll take it!  They're at a church, and from what I have assumed, which could be completely wrong, the men and women who teach the classes probably go to the church and volunteer their time to do this.  There is a different teacher every day, but the same day each week.  So I've still been going on Tuesdays and Thursdays (you know how I hate to have a routine interrupted), and have seen the same instructors each time.  And so far so good!  I feel like I'm learning helpful things, the teachers speak slowly, and the class is quite an eclectic bunch, so the teacher can't just revert to english to try to get the point across.  Everybody is just speaking french.  Sometimes, a lot of hand motions are required. 

Just like at home, it has also been snowing here a lot...way more than my liking.  I'm a firm believer that the true test of a place is its winter, meaning if you can enjoy a place in the winter than you will enjoy it the rest of the year.  Some days I do enjoy the winter here, but others I am so ready for it to be over.  I mean, the mountains have been really beautiful, I can't deny that, and I do enjoy an excuse to wear big scarfs and drink lots of hot cocoa, but for like a month.  And in practical terms, the snow and the cold just make everything so inconvenient.  Take it from me, snowy mountain roads are no fun.  It's been a constant state of clouds and snow since I've been back, and I'm very ready for the next month to pass so we can move onto Spring.  However, I am looking forward to skiing next week.  The boys have two more weeks off school (don't even get me started...) and for the first week we are all going skiing in the French Alps.  The resort is actually only about an hour away.  The second week I'll be on full time duty with them for the week, and while I may want to pull all my hair out by the end of the week, that will mean a little bit more money for me, which is always a good thing. 

Nice pictures also come out of winter weather:

Lake Annecy covered with snow behind us. 

Snowy mountains on the drive to Chamonix/Mont Blanc. 

Day trip to Chamonix with the girls!

Cutest ski town ever. 

And a few snowy afternoons with the boys. 

:)