March & April 2011 - Videos & Mallory's First (Lost) Tooth

We are trying to get caught back up on our blog. We've updated it through most of May 2010, but here are few recent things that have been happening.

Mallory lost her first tooth last week. It had been annoying her for weeks that she had to chew her food on the side of her mouth because it hurt so badly to chew with her front teeth.

We had been telling Mallory to wiggle it back and forth to try to get it out. We even tried the "tying some string around the tooth" trick.

But what it finally came down to was Grant simply pulling it out.

Grant surprised us at the school Variety Show when he performed on the drums with the Junior Blues Band. We knew he had been practicing with the band every week during his lunch break, but didn't know he was so good, especially given the fact that he doesn't have his own drum kit to practice on at home.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNrto0tCXss

When one of our friends asked Grant how he got so good at playing the drums, without having a drum kit at home, Grant's answer was "Wii Rock Band."

Luke just finished his big Grade 5 project -- an investigation into the effects of video games on people. His final project was this video with 3 of his classmates.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEnBX-O7_2k

Luke and Grant have also been having fun making a variety of other videos, and posting them on YouTube, under the "Switcheroos" name.

This "Pools and the Playground" video is one of the favorites.

2010 July - Normandy, France

On the 4th of July, our first stop in Normandy was the Caen war memorial / museum.

It was a really interesting place to see the history behind the start of WWII.

We then went to the American Cemetery, and as we walked in there was a high school band from the US playing the national anthem, as well as a few other songs. It was quite a moving experience to be there on the 4th of July.

Down at Omaha Beach.

We stopped at Pointe du Hoc, and enjoyed walking around the craters and the bombed-out fortifications.

We next stopped in St Mere Eglise, one of the first towns liberated on D-Day by US airborne troops.

The church in St Mere Eglise, where a paratrooper got caught on the steeple.

Nash, Grant, and I then went out to Cherbourg to see a site with several coastal guns, tobruks, etc..

It was amazing to see so many of the defenses and fortifications still in tact.

And down to the beach, checking out the wildlife.

2010 July - Bayeux, France

After Mont St Michel, we drove to Bayeux to see the Bayeux tapestry, which tells the story of the Battle of Hastings in 1066. It is very impressive - one time through was not enough to take in everything that has been embroidered on that cloth.

I'm not sure if our camera has a "fake background" setting, but I assure you -- it is real. Heidi and the kids are in front of the church in Bayeux.

The town of Bayeux was having some sort of festival in the down town area.

2010 July - Mont St Michel, France

Mont St Michel, France -- abbey atop a hill, surrounded by a small village, on an island accessible only by one road, off the coast of France.

We drove from Versailles to Mont St Michel, arriving in the late afternoon just in time to get some dinner and then to walk around the village a bit.

View from the hotel room window at night.

The next morning, Mallory leading the way to go up to the top of the hill to visit the abbey.

At the monastery, in front of the chapel, with the bay & ocean.

The abbey cloisters.

This contraption was part of an elevator system to hoist stuff up to the abbey.

A statue of Michael -- very popular guy at Mont St Michel.

Nash, trying to recreate the statue of Michael.

A couple of photos of the village, with its numerous passageways and stairways.

On the way out, we walked around the base of Mont St Michel, which is only accessible during low tide.

This seagull watched our van while we were parked at Mont St Michel.