Bonjour!!  for the last time from France.   Though we are sorry to leave, it will be nice to see you all once again.
 
This has been a busy week of lasts.  We drove home on Sunday and checked into our hotel early enough to get one of the only suites available.  Yea.  The grown ups have their own room!!  Then we walked down to a mini carnival that has been set up in the park next door.  Andrew rode bumper cars for the first time, and then took a jump on a trampoline, bungee jump thing.  He didn't like jumping very high, but he enjoyed the bumper cars.  He wants to know why you don't win at the carnival games.
 
Andrew had school this week and Dave worked a lot.  Michael and I did laundry at a friends house on Tuesday while Andrew was in school.  Tuesday, we hired a baby sitter and went out for our last "meal" in France.  We went back to our favorite restaurant for Swiss Fondue.  We are recognized there now and the owner brings us dessert wine to finish our meal.  Yum.
 
Wednesday night we visited at Andrew's tutor's house for a few hours.  They have been very friendly and we have enjoyed spending time together.  Their four girls love to play with the boys.  We will miss them.  Shahla is currently looking for a teaching job at an American University.  Maybe something will work out at Grand Valley.
 
Thursday we discovered that our house hadn't been cleaned as expected (yes, it is still there. We could have waited until after our vacation to move out!) so the boys and I spent the morning over there sweeping and mopping.  Then after eating lunch at the Hippopotamus (Andrew's favorite) we went back to the hotel for naps and to wait for Dad.  He never came home.  His meeting ran late, so they turned it into a business dinner.  We had a depressing meal in the room (the restaurant at the hotel leaves a lot to be desired) and went to bed.  I did get to watch Star Wars, Episode I in French.  That was fun.
 
Friday has been spent doing a lot of "lasts."  We have taken pictures of things that we found interesting in France so we can shoe them to you.  We went to the store to pick up a new carry on bag.  Michael threw up in our old one, so we threw it away.  We will dine tonight with so American friends, then off to bed.  Our plane leaves at 6:00 tomorrow morning (that's midnight where you are!), so we will be up early.  We should be arriving in Grand Rapids at 4:00pm (that's 10:00 PM our time.  Yuck) after changing planes in Amsterdam and Detroit.
 
We look forward to seeing you all soon.  We will set up a day when you can come see our souvenirs, pictures, and taste some regional wines.  Until then:
 
A bientot!!!  (until later)