Thanksgiving in Georgia

We headed south for Thanksgiving, and when I wasn't shoving turkey, etc. in my mouth, I was reading the Hunger Games trilogy. Let me explain the full extent of the crazy:

I hate Black Friday. Loathe it. I would gladly spend 10% more on any given item rather than deal with the crazy mobs clobbering each other over discounted potpourri. But somewhere in the middle of the night between Thanksgiving and Black Friday, I finished book one. And immediately began to panic. The only way to get my hands on book two would be to go to a store. On Black Friday. So I did. And then on Saturday, which I don't think has a special name, I had to go back out for book three.

Here are a few pictures of my children, who were apparently also in Georgia with us.



Oy - Charlie and "that" face. Getting decent pictures of him has been a real chore lately.


Taking a walk with Opu and Heidi


Sliding with Aunt Niki


Dinner with Niki & Tony, where Owen ate at least half a cup of cranberry sauce but nothing else


Checking out the geese at Lake Peachtree

A Very Star Wars Halloween

Halloween, or at least the costume component, was a total no-brainer this year. We are consumed by all things Star Wars, and Charlie had planned on dressing up accordingly for about a year. The big challenge was deciding who to be.

Pre-Halloween prep






Off to school and work


Test-driving his Anakin Skywalker costume


Joined by Princess Leia and Yoda


. . . and Han Solo


Trick-or-treat buddies - G as Captain Jack Sparrow, C as Max


After a few blocks in 50-degree pouring rain, the little guys were ready to call it quits. Charlie, G and I soldiered on until the boys were soaked and cranky, but with full buckets of candy.

Back at home, hopped up on the loot

No-athlon

Several months ago, I roped my friends Tricia and Sarah into a relay triathlon at Emerald Isle. It seemed like a great idea - we do a quick race, and spend the rest of the weekend at the beach. By the time October rolled around, the latter sounded better than the former.

While We Were Out

Here's a quick recap of what the boys were up to with grandma and grandpa while we were in Paris. Aside from Owen getting pneumonia, I think they had a pretty good time.

Tub mohawks




At Lego Fest




Family reunification

Saturday . . .

Our last day in Paris, we ran off to Versailles. While not ideal timing, we wanted to see the Grands Eaux Musicales, during which the fountains on the grounds are set to classical music. It was pretty spectacular, although not all of the fountains were running due to drought conditions. Those Europeans are so green!

Friday . . .

More rain on Friday. Cold, icky rain. We headed up to Montmartre under cover of umbrella to gawk at Sacré Cœur. Pretty much every other tourist in Montmartre had the same idea, so we decided to use church to pray for better weather.

There was a slight break in the clouds, and we made our way back to the Marais for the best falafel either of us had ever eaten. Who knew? Thus fortified, we headed over to Lil Weasel for more yarn shopping. The store is in the passage du grande Cerf, so we got to spend some more time tucked away indoors with many interesting and unusual shops. That afternoon, I had a great time imagining that we actually lived in Paris. I had a glass of wine in "our" apartment, read my book and watched the rain stream down the windows. Then we ventured back out into the soup for a screening of The Perfect Furlough at the Cinémathèque Française.

It was perfect - Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh fall in love in Paris - and was followed by delicious pizza from the take-out across the street (a one-man operation with a wood oven . . . again, I ask: Why isn't this possible in the US?).

Thursday . . .

Thursday began with a comic misadventure. We had to leave the apartment so the cleaning lady could come straighten up, and Evan was feeling worse for the wear. So we decided to take a short walk over to Parc Bercy, pull up a bench, read, and enjoy the environs.

Our plan was going well until the torrential downpour. We headed over to an old building that used to store wine barrels, and found an adorable toy store where the boys made out like bandits. After a bit more wandering, I tucked Evan into bed and took off on foot for the Marais for a few shopping runs - Mariage Frères for tea, La Vaisellerie for random tableware. And then I parked myself in the places debout (standing room only) line at the Opéra Bastille. Neither of us had ever been to the opera, and 5 euros seemed like a modest investment. We got tickets for Tannhäuser, and spent 4 1/2 hours in Wagner's grip.