Day of Beauty

For Pastor Michael, who didn't believe that I don't have any gray. See, no gray. I dye my hair purely for narcissism.  You can believe that, I'm sure! Ha! Miss my church so much.
I took the two big kids for hair cuts today. It was exactly like an American experience,  other than no one else there spoke English, and they used what appeared to be an shop vac to literally vacuum the water out of their hair. It cost exactly what I pay at Salon 7 to get their hair cut. Even in France, my kids continue to be obsessed  with their reflection in the mirror. Curtis assures me they get that from my side of the family.
Next, Sam, friend and hair dresser extraordinaire, sent me the materials and instructions to touch up my roots. Curtis would have to apply the dye. There are no words to convey Curtis' lack of enthusiasm to partake in dyeing my hair.
Curtis, B.S., M.S., P.E., available for all your hair care needs. His prices are outrageous but he throws in a bunch of attitude, eye rolling and heavy sighing for free!
Sam, he also complained that I move around too much! I told him I get that a lot! He agrees with you that I am also his most difficult client :)

America's Favorite Pastime

For Cary and Katy, lover of baseball, baseball players and even a coach or two!
I looked online and unfortunately the Cubs are out of town the week of May 15th, which is shame because the 5 of us will be spending the week in Chicago! Curtman has some work to do there and we will tag along, and then head to Inola.
While I'm super sad to only have 13 and 1/2 days left in France, a trip to Chicago, one of my favorite places, is softening the blow a little.
We should be home about 3 weeks from today and I will happily relieve all of the people who are helping me out with my dogs and house at home. I owe each of you dinner, Gibsons, Meekers and Deboers.

Noel

For Aunt Darbi, McDonald Co. resident. who follows by email although I don't think you ever confirmed, so if you aren't getting email updates that's why.
Curtis and I both, independently of each other, thought this looked like Noel.
Moral of the story, Mac County Missouri looks just like the South of France.

Also, if you are reading this and you are a praying person, could you pray for my friend Ashton? She is in the hospital and in a lot of pain. Please join me in praying for healing and comfort for her. Please and thank you.

T-Town

We made it back to Toulouse in one piece. It was a wonderful trip! While I wish we could have made it to Switzerland like we originally planned (I seriously doubt I'll be back in this region anytime soon so I hate to miss the chance), I sure am glad we slowed down some and smelled the manure at the farm. And we bought bacon and pear marmalade to bring home! YUM! They cook the pears very slowly for 4 days so they don't lose their nutrients. That makes it a health food, right?
It was an 8.5 hour drive from the Italian farm to Toulouse and we stopped ONE time! It was amazing. I couldn't have been prouder of my kids or more thankful for quick and peaceful ride. Curtis and I only stop when required to by gas. 

This this trip reminded me that I am a small town girl who LOVES the city, but I do not love city living with kids. Precisely why I moved to the city at 18 and lived there for 10 years until I had kids, then headed back to a small town. When these kids move off, I plan to just hop around from city to city, like the gypsy that I am at heart. Don't worry, Inola folks, in my fantasies I'm also very rich and I will of course keep my country home in Inola...  

I would say Im happy to be home and sleep in my own bed but I am not sure where my own bed is anymore! We have gone full on gypsy.
We are over half way done with our time in France.

Farms, Monasteries and Hikes

For Lindsey, homeschooling mom of 3 (very, very pretty and sweet little girls I might add). I forget sometimes how much fun it is to have all my kids home with me all the time. It really is the best. You are on to something, that's for sure!
Today we had a delicious (free!) breakfast on the farm and then played an epic soccer game. Mom+kids vs. Dad ended with a win for us. Barely. Light to moderate cheating was involved.
Up next was a monastery! I've been to one in Hulbert, OK before. I rode there in a police car, but that's kind of a long story. They were in prayer in the sanctuary so we hurried ourselves out as to not disturb them. I tried to get audio but the sound is no good.
Then lots of hiking! We have found we love soccer and hiking. We had a picnic at the monastery and then tried to visit a castle (closed).
We found a little playground and was happy to have the whole thing to ourselves.
We came back to the farm and hit up the playground here. These kids were made to move! As long as they (and Curtis and I for that matter) are in motion they are happy. We ended with another delicious meal on the farm. I would say I'm anxious to go home and sleep in my own bed tomorrow after 8 nights in hotels but I'm not sure where that is anymore! We have gone full on gypsy. 

I sure hope we don't have to drive through Marseille tomorrow!

Cinque to Farm

For my friend who shall remain nameless who didn't want a post dedicated to her. Vacations with kids ain't no vacation. You get me. You always do. P.s. gluten-free isnt a thing in Italy.
We headed out of Cinque Terre this morning after grabbing a delicious breakfast. I found the prices at Cinque Terre to be surprisingly reasonable. Our village has 1,000 residents and sees 2 million tourists per year (can you imagine Inola getting that many tourists per year? Inola is WAY bigger land-wise, too). Online forums said if you don't book months and months in advance you won't get a room, so we must have caught a last minute cancellation. It was the only room we found anywhere around and it was a 3 bedroom, 2 bath place. Lucky break!
We found out it is a national holiday today- Liberation Day, the day they celebrate the end of Nazi occupation. You're welcome, Italy :) There are few things I hate more than Nazi occupation so I was happy to celebrate with them.
We made it to the farm after enjoying the beautiful Italian country side on the way (snow capped mountains and ocean views), and had plates of pasta and bread. Yum, but also ugh. Then we played soccer for hours (I literally laid on a blanket for part of that. Dang the food here!) I decided my whitest kid needed my hat worse than I did. My kids play soccer with all the European and Indian kids at school and have fallen in love with the sport (sorry Grandad, but don't worry, I'm still the only Socialist in the family, although the boys do call soccer "football" now) so we played soccer, visited the animals, played with Italian kids on the playground and took our bath and got in our jammies since the restraunt didn't open until 8pm, we went downstairs to dinner in our footy pajamas.
We only had 6 platters of food and 3 desserts brought to the 5 of us for dinner. They're killing me! There are no menus, and we dont really order. It's truly like being at your grandma's house, but with an accent. "You want some pizza? I make-eh you some pizza. No appetizers? Ok here you try these appetizers I make-eh for you anyway. I make-eh some pasta for the children, ok?"
Today was a great day and looking forward to seeing what kind of trouble we can find tomorrow, our last day before we head home (but less than we found in Marseille, hopefully.)
P.S. We found out that not all of Italy stinks at bread making. The awful unsalted bread and olive oil thing is a Tuscany only thing. Thank goodness.