my host family=really great

So...I haven't written about my host family yet, which is odd because I've been with them for almost 3 weeks. I guess I just needed some time to settle in. Each day I become more comfortable with them and in their home. I still like I am treading on broken glass when I walk around (especially at night when I have to go to the bathroom) the house because it is so creaky. I am also getting used to their habits and I think they are becoming used to me. It is much easier to talk to them, and I feel that my french is improving. OK. Enough about me. I should tell you about them.

There are 6 of them all together. 3 girls and 1 boy. The girls are Guyonne, who is 13, Agathe, who is 12, and Pauline who is 9. The little boy is Marcotoiane (i really have no idea how to spell his name. each time they say it I automatically hear Mark Twain. Maybe they named him Mark Twain, but only pronounce it the french way.) who is 5. He's cute. I think I'll be able to spend more time with him once my french gets better and once I am really comfortable with the family. The mother is Wivinne (that name is not of french origin. Even she doesn't know where exactly it came from. I like it, though) and the father is Andre. She works in an ecole (like an elementary school, only it goes through age 12) and he is a dentist. His office is luckily on the bottom floor of their apartment building so he doesn't have to commute to work. The family is always so busy! I like that, though. I don't feel confined with them. The girls all take piano lessons and two take singing lessons. They are mature for their age, but still girls. One day at dinner they were all discussing their recent crushes, and Agathe asked me if I was in love with anyone. Right now, no. Marco is just a little spit fire. Always saying something or recounting an event during the day. He's warming up to me, and I to him. I eat with my family every wednesday and I am becoming more accustomed to how they eat. They normally eat around 8pm, and they formally set the table and help their mom get the food ready. When it's all done, we sit down, offer each other food and once everyone has something we eat. Everyone talks to each other and the mom really makes an effort to make sure I am engaged in the conversation. Sometime's it's hard to keep up with what everyone is saying when they're all taking at once, but I'll get better. After the meal there's usually some type of dessert. Today it was this chocolate cake and macarons! I have never had a macaron before, but they are great. It sounds really formal, but they are a normal family and I like that.
At dinner tonight they asked me what I thought of Bush and whether or not I like him. I replied with I don't like him and I think he should change some of the things he is doing and his priorities. I think they asked me this because the mom and dad are going to NYC tomorrow for the father's dad. He's getting some award for being a doctor. So they had the U.S. on their mind. They told me that france does not like Bush and they wanted to see what a typical American thought of Bush.
My family is, what the french would call, the "grand bourgeois." They have a housekeeper (which I am still not used to, but she's really nice), an au pair for the kids and they have piano lessons. I also believe that they go to a private school. Private school's here are much cheaper than the U.S., though, because they are subsidized by the state. Yes, even the parochial schools. They also have another house somewhere. I think. A few weekends they've gone and stayed somewhere else, but it could've been with family. Anyway, that's about all I have on them for now. If other things come up or you have questions, feel free to ask!