Today I was up at 6:20 with Julia. Sara zipped into Julia's room soon after and did a superman style leap onto the spare bed in her room. She asked "did you ever go to sleep Mom?" since to her, I was awake at night, and awake in the morning -- so maybe I never slept? I told her I did sleep. I think she believed me.
I got the kids fed, dressed, and ready to go for a walk. Sara said, "I want something with peanut butter on it for breakfast." I said we didn't have any bread. She suggested apples with peanut butter. When I said we didn't have any apples, she said she'd eat just peanut butter. I put some on her plate. She shared some with Julia. Julia liked it so much, that Sara decided to give her the whole peanut butter jar and the kid-knife we brought from home. Julia spent the next 10 minutes diving into that peanut butter jar to secure herself some morsels of peanut butter. The jar was almost empty so it was a good way to finish it up! Julia ate some of it plain, and also tried to put some on her breakfast banana. That yielded a dissected banana smeared with a coating of peanut butter. When I later went to put her sun screen on her face, I first had to wipe off a rather cement-like coating of peanut butter. She didn't seem to mind. She is a jolly little kid!
I was going to head out before Dan got up, but he must have heard me say we were going to go out -- so he said, "I'll join you guys" and he got up. His nights are late due to telecommuting, he does a good job making do with the bit of sleep he gets.
We headed out. To head out, we first leave our "flat" via the back door, then we crunch our way out of this property on the stone path. It is made of tiny stones, which Sara once asked "why are these stones so sharp?" when she tried walking on them in bare feet. Pavement would be totally out of place here, so the "driveway" is just the tiny stones. The tiny stones have a ceiling - sort of. There is a trellis above with a vine growing on it. There is also a dining table, just in case you want to eat outside with a view of the garden. Finally, you go through a huge, heavy, metal door. Then you are out on a street in the village of Vaison la Romaine.
Today was market day. I wrote about it last Tuesday, so I'll not repeat my thoughts. It is known as one of the best in France - so it is pretty great! We bought some non-edible things today. 3 bowls made nearby, and also some Provencal linens that we plan to use in our kitchen. Both things are practical and will be fun memories of our trip.
We also got some local grapes (muscat), tomatoes, onions, bread (like 3 loaves), apples (we ate them, so we went back for more), and a chicken from the same chicken guy as before. He has such a personality. Today Sara got money from Dan (something he is getting used to) and she waited in line. She ordered in French. "One chicken please" (though she used the French words that I know - but don't know how to spell) -- he man thought she was so cute he actually gave Sara one little chicken for free! He looked at me and said, "that is for her" (in French/English mix) and Sara then said, "I will give it to my sister Julia." So I thought that was so nice of Sara. She always thinks of Julia.
We came back here for something to eat around 11AM. I decided to lay down, and slept for an hour. Wow! I felt great after that nap. Dan was feeding the kids while I slept. I guess it was a good trade off for me handling mornings!
We went back out. With the girls fed, they were quiet. Dan and I chatted as we pushed them in the Bob-stroller. We ended up going almost all the way up to the Castle on the medieval site of this town. That side reminds us of a "hill town" since it is on a hill, is made of stone (what else?), and has a great view. It was a fun family walk.
From way up there we could see the stream/river that flows under the Roman bridge that is here in town. (This particular bridge just has one arch, though it is still in use with cars and people -- all day long even though it is 2,000 years old - now that is good engineering!) There were people enjoying the stoney river banks and I decided to go there later with Sara and Julia while Dan was telecommuting.
Sure enough in the afternoon, Dan got himself set up in front of his computer and we headed out into the world. I had an extra change of clothes for Sara and Julia, a towel, some water, and 10 Euro. Those are good provisions for just about anything.
It was easy to get near the river, but took some effort to get down to it. There was a path, but it was steep! And I was alone with two kids, I had to navigate down there and keep them safe. I asked Sara to get out and walk to make the Bob-stroller easier for me to handle. She got down the steep rocky path fine. And with out her weight, I did okay too. When we got down, Julia clamored to be let out - so she could walk with Sara! I let her out. The two of them walked along the riverbank as happy as could be. My heart was so happy seeing them ramble along side by side - lifting their little legs over tree roots, stepping carefully over rocks, and heading straight down the hiking/walking path with a noticeable spring in their steps.
I had wondered if they would play with the rocks (the river bed was 100% covered by small rocks) or if they would want to go in the water. They chose: water. Julia walked straight into the river with out a moment's pause. Getting her shoes wet. Then she fell, plop and her butt was wet. She got up. Then she fell forward. She was now drenched. It was about 1 minute since we got there. She didn't mind at all. She walked all over that stream -- picking up rocks and throwing them "agh!" she'd say - each time she heaved a rock. I thought back to when we tried to get Sara to throw a rock into Loon Lake when she was Julia's age - she wanted to hold the rocks and not toss them. Not Julia! She did it all on her own. She went right to work doing it - tossing stones and watching them splash down into the sparkly water.
Sara was nearby, though she preferred playing with sticks. She walked on the stones - but didn't throw any. There were times Julia went were the water was a bit deep, and Sara was the first to day "I'll go get her Mom!" -- to keep her little sister safe.
We had a small picnic of a raspberry tart and nut cake thing. The girls ate them -- or shall I say -- the girls gobbled them up quickly. Then they went right back into that stream. Sara said, "this is so much fun" and I knew both of them were happy to have such an unstructured kid-friendly activity to enjoy. I let them do their own thing. But I did point out a tiny green frog that I saw - and both of them thought it was neat. The frog took one look at them and hopped away! (Smart!)
After that I changed Julia (she was covered in dirt) and said to Sara "Thanks for being such a good girl honey." She said, "merci Mom." --- If I don't remember to say "thankyou" in French which is "merci" she actually reminds me to say it the French way!
We walked straight back here. It was around 5PM. I fed Julia, let her run around for a while (she was a BALL of energy, non-stop walking around and wanting to play outside). When I brought her into her room I put her in her PJs. Then I realized they were Sara's PJs. Oooops. I got Julia into her own PJs, and put her in her crib. It is just wonderful how easy it is to put her to bed.
I played a little with Sara after that. We had cantaloupe and she wanted to plant some seeds so the house's owners could have some to eat. We dug tiny holes, put seeds in, and watered them. I bet the owners will be thrilled with the hundreds of cantaloupes that will surely arise from our efforts.
Sara insists on "Sara stories" at night. So I got out my computer and read her some stories from when she was 2. Tonight we read about when she picked out her jewelry box. Normally when I read to her she asks questions. When I read these stories she is totally quiet. Then later I'll hear her tell Dan, "when I was 2 I picked out my jewelry box" so she is really listening! There have been times I get choked up reading the stories. They bring back so many memories!
The kitchen is clean, the laundry is running, the kids are in bed, and I'm ready to head there too. It was a full day. I took over 20,000 steps according to my pedometer. Except for the sanity-saving nap I got, we've been on the go all day. Exploring high up to the castle; exploring down low in the river valley. Spending time together surrounded by French people, French history, and French bakeries. ;)
Quote of the day:
Sara: "Mom. Do not step here. I just planted a cantaloupe seed, right there, under these two rocks. I want it to grow so the people who live her can have some cantaloupes to eat."
End of Post.
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