A Fort in France

Woohoo--Daniel actually had a 3 day weekend.  And by weekend, I mean Monday through Wednesday of this week.  It was fabulous!  On Monday (Memorial Day) we stayed home to relax, and do homework.  Parker helped Dada study:

In the evening Daniel built a fire on our back porch.  We roasted marshmallows and ate them with chocolate chips.  Since there were no graham crackers, I called them "low carb" S'mores. :)  Don't think there's much truth in that, though..

Parker was not too interested in the fire... Maybe because it was pretty much a smoke stack for the first half hour or so, not to mention the fact that I was trying to feed him green beans while he was in the exersaucer all bundled up in lots of clothes.  There were lots of distractions.  The fire eventually blazed in the cold night, and was beautiful.  We love being outside.  I read a quote somewhere that to admire nature is to worship God.

Parker has started pointing at things and can sit up on his own.  It is SO cute to see that plump little hand pointing at Dada or a toy.  He normally touches the thing he is pointing at, so his little finger rests there as he studies it.  Tuesday was a restless night, so Parker ended up in our bed.  I actually slept well (He normally keeps me half-awake so I don't really like him sleeping in there).  The next morning, I woke up to sweet sounds of baby jabber and an index finger shoving into my eyelids.  When the eyelash-petting stopped, I opened my eyes to see my sweet little guy sitting up and working on Daniel's eyelids.  It was like he was saying "Hey, are you in there?  Come out, its time to play!"  It was such a sweet moment.

On Wednesday, we headed over to France to a huge fort in the town of Bitche.  Yes, you say it how you would think.  Sometimes it sounds like "beach" but that's about as PG as the name gets.  Once we got over the feeling bad about saying it, we enjoyed what the place had to offer!  We ate quiche and baguettes at a little Tea Cafe in town, then headed up to the huge stone architecture that is visible from nearly every point in the town.  The Fort was SO fun!  Definitely one of the best audio tours we have ever taken (thats why we have headphones).  It was very interactive and easy and fun.  I recommend it highly.  If you come visit me, I will probably take you to Bitche.  You can't even take a picture of the fort unless you're like a mile away, so here are a few pieces of it (with us in the foreground, of course).  And I'd like to say that this place in NOT the place to be in a bad mood.  Bad moods cause bad jokes when you're in a town with such a name.

The walk up to the fort was steep and bumpy for a baby in a stroller.  Perfect opportunity to SING, or, "aaahhhh" over the bumps.  Parker is a good singer.

Here, Daniel is inside the Well Room.  Two men would get in this wheel and run like hamsters to draw water up from the well during the French Revolutionary War.  Pretty cool, I think!

Sheep on the hill!

Did I mention that it was a beautiful day?  Included in our tour of the fort was a Garden Tour.  It was very interesting, too.  There are some HUGE plants there!  Parker-sized leaves and flowers bigger than his head!  Parker had his first merry-go-round ride, and the botany everywhere provided for some great pictures.

I LOVE seeing my boys together!  Makes my heart sing. (And Dada time gives me time to get things done sometimes, like cleaning the kitchen for example)/.