Happy New Year 2013 from Bordeaux, France

It's 2013 - New Year - New Beginnings....


It's the New Year...school vacation is almost over....and Monday the kids go back to school.  It's been nice to have 2 weeks off to relax and rejuvenate - but getting back into the routine will be nice also.

You may have noticed that things have been a bit quiet on the blog front lately....we are still dealing with technical difficulties with WiFi at the house.  I'm hoping during this next week, we will be back up and running.  It's been a long saga...I won't take up space to detail all the ups and downs of trying to get our line fixed properly.  It's just fair to say customer service is not the same in France as in the US & then you throw vacation in the middle of things and we still wait.  Life is not always perfect here - we take the good with the bad.

The upside of a technology-absent household is that the girls (and us as parents) have had to find other ways to entertain themselves.  Lots of barbies, games and doll playing going on. I have enjoyed lots of books.  It's been nice to have more family game nights.  I don't think I remember playing so many games of Sorry, Monopoly, cards or Blockus in a long time. Sneaking off to the mall or the library for Wifi has been an interesting feat - but now I know where to go to get free Wifi and how to connect.  Right now I'm enjoying a quiet Saturday morning at Le Bois de Bersol in Pessac (new commercial centre or mall).


Looking forward to the New Year - finding more adventures to have, and settling into our life here in Bordeaux.  The holidays brought together our families.  We enjoyed Christmas with my in-laws and my mother who is visiting for the holidays.  It was fun to host the Christmas dinners and have it at our house.  We had a house full, but it's that part of the fun?  We also enjoyed holiday activities in Pessac prior to the holidays.  The town has some fun events, including children's games, music and reindeer.  We also enjoyed a Kid's Rock concert sponsored by KidsPalace - and danced for a couple of hours.  I have to say the French do know how to have a good time.

Here are a few photos of some of our holiday....

Buche de Noel - Delicious Chocolate and lemon mousse.

A walk along the beach on the 26th of December!

My holiday table...love getting all festive!

Pere Noel arrived during the night.

Festive Pessac Centre

My daughter enjoying the Reindeer from Lapland!

Always a carousel to be found!

Love the Youth band!  The music was fun too!

You can even post your letter to Pere Noel - if you haven't done so already.

Old-fashion games were a huge hit with both adults and children!

The girls, my mother and husband all enjoying a new "old" game.

So it's 2013 - I'm hoping to continue to blog and share more adventures of our family.  Praying that we are back on-line soon as I have many posts that I wasn't able to share in December.    Looking forward to new themes and ideas to discuss.  Blogging has become a great outlet for me - memories to share, experiences to document and just new ways to look at life.  

Even though I have not been able to post this past month, I have enjoyed reading the blogs I follow from time to time.  It's so nice to compare every one's traditions, experiences and holiday fun!  Happy New Year 2013 - Hope for everyone it's a year fun of health, happiness and great experiences and I look forward to continue to stay connected!