Ok- maybe my new car doesn't "excite" me, but we have finally bonded. It even has a name.

It's all Valentine's fault. We were in the village today, walking through the parking lot, hunting for our car. It's metallic grey, which is THE color for cars lately, so it was hard to spot. Especially as it's not all that tall.
"Considering that it has seven places, it's actually quite low", I said to Valentine.
"Yeah- but it's wide. And long. Look! There it is ! I see it!. " Then she turned to me and announced gravely: "Mom, our car has a big booty."

And she was right. There were all the Clios, Twingos, Pandas and other cute little cars with tiny flat back ends, like they do car Pilates 24/7 or something, and then there was my car, the back end sticking out very conspicuously.
Of course, as someone who looks like she has an end table stuffed into the back of her pants, my heart immediately went out to my poor, afflicted vehicle.

"Our vehicle now has a name. I'm calling it "J-Lo!" I announced. "Wear it proudly, little car. You are now one of the family."

Tomorrow, we are driving J-Lo down near Lyon to the Walibi amusement park.
Amusement has been kind of thin on the ground around here this summer, so I've planned a nice outing and picnic for the kids. Actually, I've built up picnics to the kids as big-time fun, as eating out is SO expensive in France. Heck, it's even expensive to eat in, especially with four children. Sev, in particular, is a bottomless pit into which we throw vast quantites of food as offerings. I'm 5 ft 7 in and he towers over me now. And he's only 12 years old!

Other news:
Mr. D. is doing ok. He's still walking kind of cautiously, but is expected to recover speedily.

Valentine's bedroom has been stripped and one wall was almost all painted yesterday...but then all the paint fell off in the end. So, the Frogman and Sev primed two walls today, hoping to solve the problem. We'll see...

The weather has been gorgeous all week long. This has set all the local farmers to cutting their hay. So, the air smells great- I adore the smell of fresh-cut hay! Of course, the one road through the valley is constantly clogged up by the tractors hauling wagonloads away to the barns, but I don't mind the delays. It's SO worth it!

Alexa's health has been excellent since we arrived in France. Shes' even eating a bit more!

It's almost my birthday. Just a few more days...