Day Fifteen: Chateau Part Deux and Two Angels

A benevolent spirit must have sprinkled some crazy &*$% on my sleeping babes last night, for this morning they awoke as delightful creatures with nary a trace of yesterday's nastiness. Initially I was skeptical of their pleasant dispositions, thinking it must be some kind of trap. But as the day progressed, they maintained their loveliness and I allowed myself to relax and enjoy a day of feeling like a good mom.

First, we hit up Josephine Baker's castle for the second time. We took in the bird show once again, had a picnic, and went through the castle three more times. If it were up to the girls, we would've spent the rest of the day going through her incredible home.. To say they love it is a vast understatement:


Massive owl flying from left of picture to right-- poor shot:


Dejeuner Sur L'Herbe:



After a few hours of castling, we stopped by the store GiFi on the way home. Not sure how I can best describe this store other than a cross between Bed, Bath and Beyond, the Dollar Store and Michael's. Kenny and I agreed that while he is gone, I might want to buy the girls an inexpensive toy each day to keep them occupied. For 4 euros, I picked up this airplane/car set that miraculously kept them busy for almost two hours:




After some quality play time, we hung out a bit with Karen and Peter, the owners of the gites. We relaxed in the yard, playing fetch with Forte and chatting. It was here that both girls proclaimed, in no uncertain terms, their love for Karen. Cannot say I blame them; she is super cool, hilarious, and just a delight to be around. We went over to their GORGEOUS house for a glass of wine (apple juice for girls) and while the girls watched Dinosaur Train (their favorite show, in French), I enjoyed a fabulous adult conversation (in English, with wine) for an hour. It was heavenly.

From Karen and Peter's, we went straight to the pool for an evening swim. Eliza, opening the pool cover like a pro:











An impression of Elvis:


An impression of Crazy:


Just as we were leaving the pool, the next set of guests arrived: AMERICANS! WITH FOUR KIDS! After being on our best behavior with the Germans, French, and English at the pool, trying to represent our country well, we are ready to relax and be our loud, screamy, grammatically incorrect selves.

And, the most important news of all, tomorrow is Kenny's first of two races: the middle distance qualification race! He will be running at about 3:30 France time, which is 9:30 am US East Coast time. You can watch it all here: http://live.woc2011.fr/ Good luck, Mr. Walker!