Catching up!

Yes, I have completely neglected this blog! Since most of us are on Facebook, it seems I've been doing all my updates there. I have been asked, however, to resurrect the blog!

In December, most cities and towns set up their Christmas markets. We had lots of fun at the Marseille market...writing letters to Pere Noel, drinking warm wine and hot chocolate, and shopping for Provencial gifts. The best part of the holidays was Mom and Dad's visit! We rented a car and visited Avignon, Pont du Gard, St. Remy and Les Baux. Despite the severe Mistral wind (famous in the region, blowing up to 60 mph), we had lots of fun. The girls were excited to finally dance on the bridge of Avignon (Le pont d'Avignon), one of their favorite songs, but the winds nearly blew us all off! Back in Marseille, we took Mom and Dad to our favorite sites, and we experienced Christmas Eve mass, complete with a live manger scene, at St. Victor's abbey - the oldest church in Marseille.

In January, we were witness to one of the most "exceptionelle," according to our friends, events in Marseille's history....snow!! The last time it snowed here was 1987. I'm not talking flurries here, we had nearly a foot of snow! The girls made a Provencial snowman, using olives for the eyes, herbes de provence for some hair, and a baguette. The city shut down for days, and nearly a month later there are still downed trees that have yet to be picked up.

The girls are both doing great in school. Alana's french is amazing - everyone says she has no accent! I was training for the Nice Half Marathon in April, but since suffering a back injury a few weeks ago I have been unable to run. It's been a bit frustrating, to say the least! Paul just left today for a 3 week trip back to the States - his longest trip yet. It will be tough, but fortunately we have a week with Mom in Paris to break it up! We'll leave for Paris on Thursday!

We just booked our plane tickets to go home in June. We'll leave Marseille on June 20th, flying thru Dublin. We are going to spend a full day in Dublin to explore, so we'll fly into JFK on the 22nd. I have a feeling these last 4 months are going to fly by!

Finally, since I have taken so many photos on this trip and have been doing a great job of sharing them, I just created a website to post our photo albums. I've just added photos from Paris in November, Christmas, and some recent beach photos. There are some old albums on there too!

Here's the link:
http://martinfamilylifeinphotos.shutterfly.com/