Spring is sooo in the Air

Have you ever seen such beautiful flowers (or adorable kids.. for that matter)? :)

In an attempt to get a good smile, we were singing Cheeseburger in Paradise...

Homemade Playdoh

The older two and I had the best time last weekend making homemade playdoh. I found a torn out recipe from an old Parenting magazine and decided to give it a whirl. It was an easy and fun activity for the three of us and the kids had a great time making animals and pretend pasta out on the deck on a sunny Saturday morning. Here is the recipe and some pictures of the kiddos.

Salt Playdough

Ingredients :
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup salt
- 1 cup water
- 2 tsp. Cream of Tartar
- 1 tsp. Oil
- Food Coloring

Directions :
1. Mix together all ingredients and cook for 3 minutes over low heat. Stir well.
2. Add food coloring. (I added this before I cooked)
3. Knead the play dough. Store in a plastic container. (I used clean jelly jars)

Date Night...

for Freddie and Sophia!

Freddie took her to a local creperie and tea room called the Chat Noir. They have a special section with tables, toys and books just for children. They serve yummy ham and cheese crepes, vegetable soup and dessert crepes with sugar, butter and/or Nutella. Yes, yum-o. He and Sophia shared a crepe du sucre and a chocolat chaud. Then, following Sophia's many requests, they visited the "goblin church" (the downtown Cathedral) followed with a ride on the carousel in Place de Jaude. I could tell Sophia felt so special and loved by her Daddy. I believe it was a memorable evening for both of them.

Carcassonne, France

Our gite

For our spring vacation we took a trip to the south of France. We stayed in a quaint little "gite" (vacation house.. pronounced with a very soft "g") in La Serpent, France which is this tiny little village about 45 minutes away from the more well known Carcassonne, France. Actually, I had never heard of Carcassonne, France before about three weeks ago but it is evidently a world renowned city known for the great stone wall surrounding it and the castle and cathedral inside. It is said to be the setting for the classic tale Puss and Boots. We visited the city on Monday and we traveled to Argeles-sur-Mer, France on the Mediterranean Sea, very close to Spain, on Tuesday then returned to Clermont-Ferrand on Wednesday.

Dining Area

Original Staircase

Trying to get warm by the fire!

All Smiles.

Carcassonne was very touristy yet tres cool. When we first arrived Freddie took the older two children on a walk around the wall and into some watch towers that I imagine were once used to look out for enemies. Then we entered the city where there were lots of shops and restaurants along with the original castle, the Chateau Comptal, and La Basilique Saint Nazaire which was this beautiful thousand years old Roman Catholic church. We left with some memories, pastries, jewelry for my Sophia and a knight costume complete with sword and mace for Joshua. He and Freddie had a duel out on the lawn of our gite the next morning.

A shot of the scenery in the Languedoc region of France. Beautiful hills, fields and vineyards with the Pyrenees mountains in the background.

Rolling hills and vineyard.


Carcassonne city in the background as we approached.


One of the towers on the wall surrounding the city.

Entrance to the city... you cross over what I can only assume used to be a moat.

Beautiful stained glass windows in the Basilica

Josh and Sophia outside the Museum de l'Inquisition - Torture Museum

On our trip to the beach, Mr. Tom Tom (our GPS system) didn't take us on the quick, relatively safe yet quite expensive toll route... he chose to lead us into the beautiful French countryside and through the Gorge de Galamus in the Pyrenees Orientales. We were blown away by the landscape and the huge mountains and passes and cliffs we traveled over and through and around. At one point, on the side of a very big mountain, the road was so narrow only one car could drive on it yet there was two way traffic. A problem, you think? Yes. Freddie and I wondered if we were even supposed to be driving there. Thankfully, there were three other vehicles behind us so if we were in trouble so was every one else. :) Trouble loves company, I suppose. We found ourselves in a couple of precarious situations where there was lots of backing up and near misses on the sides of a rocky mountain as we reversed and moved out of the way of on coming traffic. We made it to the other side of this magnificent gorge where we parked and looked in awe at the wonder of God's creation and the wonder of how we ever made it through the narrow passageway on the side of the great mountain. Deep down into the gorge is a chapel right on the side of the cliff. In one of the pictures you may be able to see it. The pictures do not give the scenery justice.. it was truly breathtaking.

Bucharech Mountain

Beginning of the Gorge - We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into at this point.

To the right is the road and about midway down the picture in the shadow of the cliff is the chapel... It is hard to see in the picture because it blends in with the rock.

Looking back into the gorge.. yes, we drove through a teeny tiny road somewhere in there.

Argeles-sur-Mer is the Mediterranean seaside city we visited on Tuesday. It is interesting to see the differences and similarities between this beach and the beaches in the US. I have been to Florida, South Carolina, Virginia and California beaches and this beach shared qualities from all... the sand was fine yet not the sugary white sand of the gulf coast of Florida... it was slightly more rocky. Yet, similar to the gulf coast, the water was a beautiful blue and the waves were small. Facing the sea and to the right you could see where the Pyrenees mountains touched the coastline which, I believe, is more like what you would see in northern California and maybe Maine. Like all touristy beaches in the US, the beach was lined with hotels, restaurants and shops, ice cream parlors and carnivals. Despite it being April, it was quite chilly and very windy. We walked out onto the beach only to have Emily almost blown off her sweet little feet. Josh and Sophia frolicked around the sand and we were able to take a few shots before we headed back to the boardwalk where we visited the little carnival that Joshua and Sophia thoroughly enjoyed. Then, the children enjoyed some Italian strawberry and chocolate gelato while Freddie obsessively wiped their mouths clean with Emily's baby wipes. He admitted himself that yes, he is being "THAT Dad". :) Who knew my husband was such a selective neat freak?

We stopped for lunch in Perpignan, France at a delightful little pizzeria.

My beautiful Sophia.


Looking to the south towards Spain and the Pyrenees Mountains.

Ohhh sand! The last time she was at the beach she was only 6 months old so this was her first real experience with sand at the beach. She loved it!

Wind almost blowing her away...

My family.


Joshua on a "nutmo" at the carnival on the beach. Do y'all remember when he used to be obsessed with motorcycles and call them "nutmos"?

On a Spiderman helicopter like ride. Reminded me of their first trip to a fair with Papa in Fall 2007.

Our last night in the gite. The weather was perfect as we sat on the lawn eating cheese, bread and strawberries with a breathtaking view of the Pyrenees Mountains.

Sophia Bug

Joshua had a field trip today so after morning school pickup it was just me and the girls. The weather was warm(er) so we shed our jackets and took a nice stroll through the city. We had so much fun! We pass this patisserie every day on our walk to and from school.. I always peer into the window and stand amazed at the beautiful perfect little confections - baklava and other assorted goodies made from the delicate phyllo dough. I wonder to myself if the owner actually gets up every morning and makes these little pieces of perfection by hand... she must, right? Else they wouldn't be fresh.. nor would that be very french, either. We had time and the girls were in delightfully fun little moods so we entered the tiny shop where the owner fawned over my darlings and I ordered "deux de ça, s'il vous plaît" (two of those, please.. more or less.. but I am sure there is a better way!). Despite the grammatically incorrect french, we successfully ordered our treats and were on our way. We entered Place de la Victoire and there was a travel exhibition going on with exhibits set up from various parts of France. A man dressed up in what appeared to be a pirate costume was creating balloon art and made Sophia and Emily little poodle puppies. Then we passed two ponies and as we were rounding the corner with a huge tee pee set up a nice frenchman asked if Sophia would like to ride one of the horses. Of course she does! So she took a ride around the square on a cute little poney. We made it home and enjoyed some good old fashioned pb&j sandwiches and now the lovely ladies are sleeping soundly in their rooms. We had some great girl time but I am counting down the minutes before I can pick up my little man. It just isn't quite the same without him. :)

Friends that are Girls

Joshua has many "friends that are girls" at school... not girlfriends (or guwrlfriends) as he so affectionately calls them. :) Yes, them, plural. He was reminiscing yesterday about the first time he saw and met one little girl and he said "Hmm... I walked in and I saw her and thought, wow, she is so beautiful!". Um, how old are you Joshua? FOUR!? Earlier this week I was walking the children to school and another little french girl and her mother walked up behind us at a cross walk. She tagged Joshua on the shoulder in a flirtatious manner and a bashful grin spread across my son's face. Then they ran after each other and giggled all the way to school. At one point, they were practically skipping down the sidewalk while holding hands.

Joshua and his "friend that is a girl". :)

Last week Joshua and Sophia had dental appointments. I was able to find a delightful English speaking doctor so it worked out really well! I was so proud of Joshua and Sophia because not only was this not Ashby Park Dentistry with the play area with loft, over sized sunglasses and monkeys hanging from the overhead light but they had to go back to the examination room all by themselves. They did it without any cajoling or tears.. definitely an answer to prayer because I was really worried about the situation especially since Emily wasn't able to hang out at the creche. I had images of chaos - crying kids, potential cavities and crashing metal trays resulting in one sweaty and flushed Mama. It couldn't have been farther from what actually transpired. We had a nice kid friendly waiting room to hang out in and Emily enjoyed climbing up and down on these low chairs. We had some french books to read and look through the pictures. And, each kids examination only lasted about 15 minutes both resulting in a "tres bien!" report and no cavities. Yay!

Somewhere over the Rainbow...

What a spectacular view from our apartment, eh? I was piddling in the kitchen and I hear Sophia scream for me to look out the window at the beautiful rainbow. Sure enough... it was quite beautiful.. this is what I saw...

Just some shots of the city from our walk to meet Freddie after the kids' dental appointment last week...


The snow capped mountain in the background is one of the many volcanoes that surround the city.