Le Musee du Louvre

Our vacation has finally begun!

Our first activity in Paris was to indulge Axel by visiting the museums of all museums--the Louvre. It has been years since we have been in France. We went to the French Riviera for our first wedding anniversary and have been to Paris a couple of times since. This was the first family visit. Europe isn't always the best vacation for a family of 6, but I think I have continually proven that we are brave and crazy, so why the hell not?

Heavah looking lovely, and the other two sucking back some pigeon poop water. Thank goodness for that Nepali germ resistant immune system. Drink away, children. Drink away.

Doing the Louvre with 4 kids 8 years and under took some planning. I spent several days ahead of time researching the paintings and creating 'I Spy' sheets for the kids. Each child got a 'check' for every painting they could find. I gave them a pictorial list of paintings and a list of various scenes they must find, for example, 'Woman holding the French flag in Battle'. Finding a 'nurse' was the hardest, 'Jesus on the cross' was the easiest.

My favorite Renoir

Xavier asking, "It's just a lady sitting. What's the big deal?"

Lov'n the Nike of Samothrace

I do believe we found the noise threshold for the Louvre a number of times. We also know every bathroom in the entire building. Other than the poking-a-pen-in-Heavah's-eye incident (which was a close 'emergency room' call) they did pretty well.

Oh, and a trip to EuroDisney was also a good incentive for the kids to behave well. There is a lot more to come. Ooh la, la!

Happy 4th!

This is evidence that I have a lot of time on my hands. Here are two more projects I have finally completed. This time with a deadline....

Dress number one. A peasant dress in my own design in Liberty fabric (again).

Dress number two. A smocked American flag in my own design.

Happy 4th to you all! May you gorge on hotdogs and see fire in the skies...

The Easter Dress 2011

Since we traveled over the Easter weekend, I gave myself a little more time to finally complete Sedona's Easter dress. I feel like I am back in my groove.

Sedona is always pretty in pink

I am currently making a quilt for Heavah that represents a sample of the dresses I have made for her since she was 2. I then realized that I have not made nearly as many dresses for Sedona, and Sedona is a dress girl. I kicked it into high gear and started this Easter dress. It just might be one of my favorites.

I believe the sleeves are my favorite. It took more work, but so worth it.

For those of you who understand smock talk, I used the 'Double Delight' plate from Creative Needle's Nov/Dec 2003 issue. The pattern is Vogue 7435 , which is a Teresa Layman design.

The dress in progress is in honor of the Royal Wedding. Sedona's enchanted look during the ceremony put me back in the sewing room. I'll keep you posted.

A Dead Sea Easter

We went to Jordan during the Easter holidays. How about that? Not only did we get to see an incredibly beautiful country, but we also got to see our great friends the Pettys. It was bliss on so many levels.

There were so many highlights, but the Dead Sea resort we stayed at over Easter ranked pretty high. However, Asa may disagree. There was a duet of screams from him and Sedona after they got 'mudded'. Asa loves mud, but apparently not salty mud. Sheer torture I tell you.

Why?

Axel was convinced the mud would heal the itchy rash he has contended with for over 4 months now. We think he is allergic to soap. All of his clothing has to be washed in water and he uses antibacterial liquid for his morning shower. I am not sure if the Dead Sea goodness has healed him completely, but his temporary lizard man look make me think he was a villain in a DC comic book and that was totally awesome.

I was going for the Mystique look (or rotting flesh).

Xavier loved being buoyant and seemed to enjoy the water the most. I have to admit, the idea of a large body of water without any slimy fish swiping by my leg was awesome. It made up for the fact that every cut on my body burned. Xavier also astutely asked, 'Why do they have a line out there? No one can drown and there aren't any sharks."

While playing in the pools and Dead Sea the Easter Bunny just happened to visit our hotel rooms. Not only did he bring goods, he brought extra sweet American goods, which is the best kind. I have a feeling the candies had to travel a long way to get to Jordan and weighed a ton. It is just a guess.

The hunt

Asa's favorite activity was killing ants. It entertained him for hours and hours, and I must stay, he is pretty good at it. He was also an excellent observer from the safety of his own umbrella, with sand, and a stash of candy, away from the water, the burning water, that inflicts pain, that only crazy people go into.

Nepali Ornaments