Goodbye Nice, Hello Calvinet

It's 11:00 p.m. Friday night, we are leaving in 4 hours (yes, that's right, 3 a.m.) to drive to the Auvergne to Calvinet.
My daughters are literally living out of the suitcase:



This Canadian ball is from my friend Larissa, visiting from Toronto. More on that later.
See you in a week!

Uncle, Cousin, Summer

Sometimes all it takes is a summer evening and a trampoline or an inflatable pool to bring out the kid in everybody.

Missing in Action: Vermont

Flight back to Nice this morning.
5 weeks + summer + Vermont + 10 siblings + a lot of cousins = a fantastic time:
The proof is in the pudding - a slice of photos to give a quick glance.
Berries -
Moss on logs:
Petting zoos
Swingsets
Spoon tricks, old highchairs
Corn on the Cob
Afternoon pool parties
Sewing quilts
Walks in the woods
Giggling on the dock
Shady spots
Learning to swim
Goats
Maple creemees
Haying
And much much more....
Thanks to ALL my sibilings and my mom for helping my family have an amazing vacation and give Estelle some wonderful memories.

Last Times

Wrapping up the end of the year over here. Tomorrow is the last day of school but Estelle will miss it as we'll be crossing the ocean.

Yesterday: last Gym Club class with Catherine, when the parents were invited to see what the little group of 6 kids had been up to all year.



This little fan-club of one loved all the space and all the mats!

Yesterday afternoon, last visit with my friend Helen who is going to Vancouver for a year! So great! But as you can see Estelle is sad about it.
And today, last day at school:
Above: Estelle and her spitfire buddy Edgar. Thank you lord my kid doesn't have THAT much energy. Below: Estelle and her teacher Patricia, who gave Estelle this book on Van Gogh.
Think my camera is acting up....sorry for the quality.
Who knows when this blog will be updated again - happy summer to all and Happy 4th of July to the Americans!

5 Years!

Well I can tell you what I WASN'T doing right now 5 years ago tonight - packing suitcases for me and my 2 daughters.
Who is that young couple above? They didn't even know they would have 2 daughters! Not a care in the world.
June 30th 2005 - married in the eyes of the law, albeit not the Lord.


Lisa's dress, held together with an earring.....
Seems like a loooooooooooooonnnnnnnggggg time ago, 2 kids later. 5 years is nothin' though!

Giacometti - Fondation Maeght

These 2 girls were ready to go to the beach this morning - bright and early!
Léna doesn't look like she's having fun but she was enjoying herself...
We did go to the beach this a.m. and had a great couple hours from 8:30 to 10:30. Forgot the camera though!
Estelle's nursery school teacher goes heavy on art. They kids have studied a lot of Miro, Braque, Chagall and Giacometti. A private museum in chic nearby St. Paul de Vence opened a new heralded Gaicometti exhibit today. Estelle's school is going on Friday but we'll be on a plane. So we went after naps today.
First, some none-Giacometti sculptures in the garden. Above, Calder. Always liked his stuff. Big! Below you see his signature from '69 - Alexander Calder, "AC".
I never found out who made this funky moving fountain but it was cooooooooool. See video below.
Big colors, Ellsworth Kelly, another favorite of mine.
Chagall, so much to look at, so many stories in a Chagall. And look how small Estelle is in front of it.
Back outside, lots of sculptures by Miro.
The Fondation overlookings St. Paul de Vence. Great views.




Miro everywhere you look!
Inside the Giacometti exhibit - lots of great sculptures.
Georges Braque's fish mosiac at the bottom of this reflecting pool.
Giacometti's cage:
Woman on Venise - 9 different ones. It should be stated that one of his sculptures sold for 14.3 million. Just to put things in perspective.
Estelle liked trying to imitate the sculptures:
More Calder outside.
45 second Video of that cool fountain:

Walking!

Sort of like Chariots of Fire!