A Visit with Friends

At the beginning of the month, we had friends from the states come to visit while on their European honeymoon.  Chris and Kazden met at camp about 5 years ago, and your papa and I had the privilege of seeing them turn from strangers, to friends, to more than friends, and now husband and wife.  We missed their wedding due to our move, but were so thankful to spend a few days with them here in our sweet town of Grenoble/Crolles!  Chris has always had a way of making Papa and I laugh without end when we are together, and it was so refreshing to spend some time with friends from home.  It was really nice getting to know Kazden a bit more and watching the two of you together was such a blessing to this Mama's heart.  She spent most of her time with you sitting outside in your chairs having little talks while admiring the beautiful landscape that surrounds our home here in the valley.  It was a quick three days packed with good, good food up in the mountain, a trip to the bastille, a hike up in the mountain (a favorite for all of us!), and good quality time just having fun with our friends.

  

Mes Petits Poissons

Zaylee and Marcel, you two LOVE the water.  It has been very hot the past few weeks putting a limit on our time spent out in the sun.  In place of our multiple walks and visits with the horses, we have spent a lot of time in the back yard splashing in your little baby tub to keep cool amid the heat.  Marcel you are a natural little swimmer holding the side of the tub while your little legs float up behind you, and you don't flinch when your sister splashes you to no end or pours water over your head.  You both would stay in the water all day if we let you, and it is so fun to see you both enjoy something together as you, Marcel, are getting to an age that is much more interactive with your big sister and so far she seems to think that is pretty great. 

This past weekend we took our first trip to the lake, and to say you both liked it would be a BIG understatement.  Zaylee girl, you swam like a little fish and were far to brave for our liking.  On our second visit, we could hardly keep up with you as you tried to swim as fast as you could while yelling back to us, "Zaylee self Mama Papa! Zaylee self."  You didn't stop swimming around the entire time we were in the water and loved when we would throw you as high as we could into the air!  Marcel was content just being in the water and didn't make a peep the entire time but rather just took it all in while watching you swim around.  We are so thankful for your love of the water, and look forward to many more days at the beach with our two little beach babies!

May Happenings

The month of May here in France is a busy one with three celebrated holidays.  Schools, as well as many businesses, take part in what they refer to as the bridge holidays.  The bridge happens when a holiday lands on a Tuesday or a Thursday, giving the day between the holiday and the weekend as a freebee.  This year, the bridge was much welcomed with THREE four day weekends in the month of May, as each of the holidays landed on a Thursday.  Hallelujah!  We took full advantage of our long weekends planning small day trips to near by lakes, parks, zoos and vineyards.  The family participated in our fun, and it was so great to all be together with no responsibilities other than just having fun with one another.  Zaylee girl, you love any extra time with Mamie and Papi and were so happy to have full days with all of their attention fishing, exploring, playing, and just being with them.  Marcel hung out and enjoyed some of the fun too, including some of his first tastes of ice cream and his first true picnic.  We are so blessed to live surrounded by such beauty and were so thankful to get to see places we had not yet visited.

Throwing rocks with Uncle Lukey.

A day at Lyon's version of Central Park meets Lincoln Park in mid 90 degree weather.  Hot, hot fun with the boys! :)

"Mama!  Zaylee cited!"

"Hi Bambi!"

We are trying to soak in as many memories as we can in our last months here in France, and have enjoyed all the extra time we have been able to spend with the family!