Photos (First Day of School: the Sequel)

Claire started her second year of school a couple of weeks ago. She is having a wonderful time! She is playing with old friends and making new ones. Praise God, she is doing great!

Here are some pics of her first day of school, the second year:

A Tour of Scotland

Earlier this month, we took a brief trip to Scotland. It was wonderful. There are so many things I want to share, but I am going to follow the lead of a friend of mine and tell the story through photos. A picture is worth a thousand words, right? So, enjoy 10,000 words or so on why Scotland was one of the best vacations ever!

We camped (IN A TENT!) across Scotland!

But, look where we were!

And look at the views!

The Highland Games were a highlight!

We looked for Nessie (on our boat tour of Loch Ness)

But we only found this:

The Castles were all beautiful!

But, our American food fix was almost as amazing!

Kilcoyne Family at Edinburgh Castle 2008!

Scotland, Here we Come!

I love travel. I love discovering new places and things and meeting new people. HOWEVER, I really don’t like to spend too much money—ever. I prefer the word “frugal” to the word “cheap”.

Being frugal and seeing the world is easier than you might expect IF you plan ahead. We are leaving for Scotland tomorrow, and we have been planning this trip for quite some time.

I did some research and I looked up just about every battlefield that we might possibly cross on our whirlwind tour of Scotland. I tried to remember my college history classes and if Bannockburn was the deciding factor in 1715 or 1314; which Edward or Bruce did what and when, etc. I was a history major (and teacher)..

And, then it hit us. We had not yet made reservations anywhere. That is a key to traveling on a budget! So, we set ourselves to work. To make a long story a bit shorter, everyone in the world is descending on Scotland next week. The remaining available establishments (those that were not booked 7 months ago!) are out of the way or out of our price range. 250 pounds for one night is a bit much, don’t you think?

So, we will be camping across Scotland. I’m sure sleeping on a ridge that overlooks Loch Ness will be as wonderful as it sounds, but I am still kicking myself for waiting too long to find a place to stay!

Once again, Lost in Translation

I went to the doctor recently, and I understood every word they said. However, I had no clue what they were trying to tell me! This happens more often that I would really care to admit. I understand the WORDS in a conversation, but the MEANING just escapes me. This situation happened again while we were visiting a cute little Mediterannean town with Daniel's family.

The sign on the restaurant said something like "small fried fish". We asked the waitress what it was, and her explanation made it sound like expensive fish nuggets for adults. This town was a tourist trap, but it still served "authentic" meals like small ocotpus, squid, fish pie, etc. So, fried fish sounded good.

A better translation would have been "small fried fish-es".

Claire asked why our fish had eyes. I think her grandparents and great-grandparents almost choked on their own little fish when she said that! But, being the good little French-ified American that she is, CLAIRE TRIED ONE! We were so proud! (She did, however, turn down a second fish.)

Documentary Contest

We are now officially launching our documentary contest, "What Do You Believe"!!

For more information, go to www.143pelican.com

AND, we now have a short promo on youtube!

Little Yellow School Bus

I miss little yellow school buses! Claire’s class took a field trip across town to watch a puppet show this last week. Marseille is the 2nd largest city in France, so it was quite a trip!

We took 24 four- and five-year olds on the metro here in Marseille. First, we walked a mile to get to the metro stop (so that we wouldn’t have to change trains). We had to spread out the kids among us, try to hold as many hands as possible, and walk beside the busiest and largest street in Marseille. Did you know that you can actually hold up to 6 little kids’s hands at the same time?? Then, we shoved all 24 kids on the train in the 13-20 seconds that the doors are open. Then, we had to shove all of them off again at our stop. (I think the conductor waited for us!)

After the teacher got finished arguing with the controllers about the price of the tickets for our kids, she asked me if it was like this in the States. All I could think of was a little yellow school bus that drops kids off right at the entrance to a museum or park.

We had a great time having our picnic, playing at the park and watching the puppet show.

On the way back, I was reminded once again that we now live in another world. All the kids drank from the same water bottle. Yuck! But, they were thirsty.

Vive la France.

Things CLaire has said...

Kids really do say the funniest things.

Joy Ride:

Driving in Marseille is not an easy task. Dodging and swerving to avoid being hit is considered “good driving” (and, it is quite necessary, too)! It was a typical day and Daniel was trying to avoid the cars that were stopping (to park in the middle of our lane) in front of him. Claire was in the back seat. She suddenly said, “Daddy, I have an idea. Let’s name our car McQueen because he swerves around cars, too!”

Lost in translation:

Claire can understand French VERY well. It’s not fair, really. But, the other day, Claire’s teacher told her to “cut it out” in French. Apparently, Claire’s teacher made a gesture like swiping a finger across her neck. (Her teacher did this to her own neck, not to Claire’s neck!) This gesture was made in conjunction with the “cut it out” statement. Claire came home and told us that her teacher told her to stop doing something. She then said that her teacher was going to cut her head off! Oops.

Singer/Songwriter:

Have you ever heard the song “Bubbly” by Colbie Caillat? “It starts in my toes, then I crinkle my nose…” Well, Claire likes it when this song comes on the radio. However, she has her own version. “Touchin’ my toes, then I lean on my nose…” I think she has a chance at being a song writer!

2 Castles in 3 Days

Claire waiting to enter the Fortress of Mornas

We really do "work" sometimes, but it is so much more fun to show you what we do in our "spare time". (Life does seem to run together sometimes. Sometimes work is fun, sometimes having fun is just exhausting...)



Last Friday, we went to Chateau d'If (the famous, real castle/prison from the fictional, made-up story "The Count of Monte Cristo). We had a great time!



Then, on Sunday, in order to celebrate Tiffany and Mentanna's birthday, we went to the Fortress of Mornas. It is about 1,000 years old!



Here are some pics from our Medieval Weekend:

Claire picking flowers outside of Chateau d'If

The Lighthouse at Chateau d'if

The Day didn't go as Daniel had planned

Les Calanques

In the last post, we "vented" a little about life in the big city. (Marseille is the 2nd largest city in France.) Well, yesterday we were reminded how great Marseille can be.

We went hiking with some friends in "Les Calanques"-- the cliffs that line the Mediterranean Sea just outside of Marseille. It only took us about 15-20 minutes to drive out there. We took Claire, so the actual hiking part took about an hour. Another blessing we were reminded of yesterday--- Claire loves to hike! (And, she is pretty good at it, too!)

We hiked/walked out to a restaurant that is only accessible by foot or boat. There was a little beach (emphasis on the word "little"), so Claire got to play while we waited 3 hours to get seated! But, the weather was great and the food was good. (But, the water was pretty cold-- see pic of Claire.)

After eating lunch at about 4, we started off on the hour-long hike back to the car. Apparently EVERYONE went hiking that day because EVERYONE was on the road on the way back. Our 15-20 MINUTE trip there turned into a 2 1/2 HOUR trip back. We were quickly reminded that we do live in the 2nd largest city in France! (Look at the pretty flowers we took a picture of while waiting in traffic!)

Life in Europe

Most of the time I absolutely LOVE living in Europe. Most of the time I feel at home here. Most of the time I enjoy the different pace of life and unique way of thinking.

Most of the time.

There are also those times where I think I am living on another planet and I want to scream the question, "WHY??? Why do you do that??"

We had a lovely trip to the small country of Andorra during Claire's Spring Break. The snow was beautiful and the weather was perfect for skiing. In fact, Daniel had planned to go skiing during our time there. Tiffany had even thought of putting Claire in the ski school and trying to ski, too! Katie and Courtney (our friends and teammates who went with us) brought snow boots and ski jackets..

.

BUT, ski season closed the day before we got there. It didn't matter that the snow was still powder-y perfect. In Andorra, ski season opens every year around the 1st of December (even though there usually is no snow) and it closes mid-April (even if the snow is abundant). No capitalism here!!!

We did, however, find a ski resort still open across the border in France (where the snow was melting). But, ski season was not supposed to end until the next week.

I also cannot understand WHY people choose to have a dog in a big city like Marseille and then they don't pick up after the dog's, ummm, "business". I think that every dog owner that leaves it's dog's poop on the ground should be forced to step in the mess and then walk through their own house! Get rid of the dog or get rid of the poop! Come on, people.

AND, I would really like to "key" all of the cars that completely block the sidewalk so I am forced to walk my child out into the busy street. (I have NOT done that... I just imagine how good it could feel...)

I also got pretty angry when some big girls at the playground picked Claire up and moved her so that they could act stupid and play like little kids. I did chew them out--- But, hey, at least I did it in French!

So... that is a small record of my culture stress right now. Don't worry. I won't try to change the economic mindset of any small countries, I won't force people to step in poop, I won't scratch any cars, and I won't gripe out any more children-- unless they touch my Claire!

And, it's not bad here. I still love it. Andorra really was BEAUTIFUL, and we did get to sled while there. And, I am VERY thankful that God has chosen to place us in Europe!

Baseball in Marseille

Yesterday, Daniel officially played his first game with the Marseille baseball team. He hasn't played baseball or softball in quite a while, but here are some stats from yesterday's game...

Daniel hit 3 triples...

He was walked twice by the pitcher (after the triples)...

He was playing 3rd base--- twice in a row the ball was hit to him and he threw the runner out at 1st!

And, his batting average was between .600 and .700! Really, it was!

His team won both of the games in the "double header". The first game was 7 innings. The second game was 5 innings.

Go Meds!

Budapest

I had wanted to travel to Budapest for about 5 years. Recently, I had the opportunity to attend a conference there, and I found myself feeling a bit nervous. What if it really wasn't as beautiful as everyone described? What if I was disappointed? What if I didn't really enjoy the trip?

Well, as you can see from these pictures, I had nothing to fear. Budapest was a cute little Eastern (or Central?) European city during the day. And, at night... Well, at night it was just spectacular!

I am so thankful I was able to FINALLY get to this beautiful city! I am also thankful that I didn't drop and partially break my camera until after I arrived safely home.

Why??

Why?

Sometimes, I think there is a little bit of a two-year old (or three-year old) in all of us. We all want to ask, “Why, why, why, why, why??” even when there are really no answers to our questions. So, here are my questions that probably have no answers. But, I ask myself anyway…




Why does Marseille have a baseball team and no baseball field?

Why does the French government make the paperwork to live here so hard that it is impossible to do everything the way they tell you it must be done?

Why do most French people know more about the American primaries and election process than most Americans?

Why is good Tex-Mex so hard to find?
Why is homemade salsa so much better?
Why do Haas avocadoes taste so much better than other avocadoes?

Why do people go on American Idol-type shows when they sing worse than me???

Why do people who live in apartment buildings in big cities have big dogs like Saint Bernards??
Why don’t people clean up after their own dogs when they do their “business” on the sidewalk?

Why do the home improvement stores in the middle of Marseille sell lawnmowers?

Why do I cry at sappy commercials and tv shows?