Final Four

Congratulations to Cathy I Do Not Cheat O'Malley for retaining sole possession of first place in the Hoop Heaven NCAA Tournament Pickem of 2011. Going into an unusual Final Four without a single one or two-rated team, Cathy remained number one, with no one actually having picked any of the final four teams.

As we head into a great inter-species rivalry for the final game (Butler Bulldogs vs UConn Huskies) Zeus shows his preference for the Bulldogs, in spite of his special relationship with the huskie breed, in this candid photo as he is relaxing in his back yard.

Winter in Indianapolis

I was fortunate to be able to visit mom & dad for a long weekend, and wanted to share some pictures. Much of the weekend was spent at home, hanging out with Zeus (pictured here with his favorite stuffed rabbit).

Cathy & I created a snow shark. Unfortunately for Barbie, he was hungry.

Grandma Pat made a beautiful fire in the kitchen with Henry & James.
On Friday, Dad & I drove north to South Bend, where we found a great park with groomed trails to cross country ski.

I'm so happy that Mom & Dad have set up Dad's old Lionel Train set in the basement. Note the mirror pond created by Cathy, Nathan & I during one winter break!

Winter fun

The Midwest has had a snowy, icy winter this year. When Cathy, Tim and boys came to Indy to visit, we took advantage to do some sledding. Zeus (sometimes with Rick's help) did his job of pulling James and Henry in a sled. The next day we went to the sledding hill at Fort Benjamin Harrison.

Sophie Xmas show, the long version

Here is a longer and lighter version of Sophie's dance.

For those who are wondering about the lyrics :

Nous nous nous on n'a pas peur du loup (we we we, we are not afraid of the big bad wolf)

j'ai vu j'ai vu, j'ai vu 3 petits cochons (I saw I saw I saw 3 little pigs)

3 petits cochons tout rose à la queue en tire-bouchon (3 littles pink pigs with a curly tail)

3 petits cochons tout roses qui rentraient dans leur maison (3 little pink pigs going home)

Sophie taught Max the song (amazing how fast Max learnt it)

Sophie Christmas show

Sophie's school organized a Christmas Show to celebrate the holidays. Sophie and her classmates were dancing. Here is a video of it and hopefully I will be able to share it with you thanks to my sister's computer. Enjoy!

American Thanksgiving in France

Our family was fortunate to be together in Nantes on one of Nathan's favorite holidays. Claire, Max and Sophie hosted the whole Hellman/O'Malley clan for a dinner featuring turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes and pies. Here are a few family photos from our days there.

1. Sophie and Henry

2. Cathy and James at the old docks playground.

3. Sophie plays piano while Henry, James, and Max dance.

4. Tim, Cathy and kids navigate stepping stones at Japanese gardens.

5. Susie, Henry and James on the ramparts of Anne of Bretagne's castle.

6. Max and Sophie learn how to make fangs with haricots verts.

7. Max and Rick play banjo together.

More photos will follow, and other family members are sure to post some of theirs as well.

Halloween

Halloween is unfortunately not as popular here in France as in the US. However, we were able to celebrate first with Maeva and Auxanne, Sophie and Max's cousins, and then with some friends.
Here Max and Sophie ready to go :

With their cousins and some friends doing treats or tricks


and at our friends' house which was pretty amazing. Here are some highlights of the evening : the ghost coming out of the closet (it did not take too long for Max to get out of the room!).
the swimming pool full of balloons : the kids LOVED it!
in each room, you had some tricks AND treats
The best room was the last one. The kids had to find some beads in a sticky and stinky orange stuff...Max got pretty unlucky on this game and had to go fishing several times