la mode et du plaisir (fashion & fun)

Clara had a little birthday party with some of her friends. The theme was basically la mode et du plaisir...mostly fun. They started out making bead bracelets & moved onto a bubble gum blowing contest (we had some Hubba Bubba gum imported from the USA for this event), balloon popping & the French fashion show. The girls had gathered every conceivable dress-up from our house & they went to town concocting silly get-ups. Each girl took a turn "walking down the runway" (aka the bridge in our house) and sporting her fashion sense. Afterwards they had a "mini" tea party with everything teeny tiny...little sausages, petite crackers, miniature watermelon slices & fruit kabobs, small cans of Orangina & finger sized rice krispy treats. It was a feast of fun all afternoon & I think Clara felt pretty special.

Fete (Celebration)

Today marks Taylor's 41st birthday. We figured that was a good reason to have a "fete" (celebration) in his honor. The day started out good enough, but when I took Lilly to school our new mini-van stopped dead in its tracks. The clutch went out just as I was pulling into a parking spot. I couldn't believe my luck as I was blocking a very busy corner! A few kind people helped me push the car out of the road and then the fun began. I had to call Taylor and say, "Happy Birthday! The car is broken!" He was a great sport about it and we managed to get a tow truck to haul it to the garage. Our used car salesman "Cedric" said, "It's funny that it's broken. You know what they say, he was alive five minutes before he died." Well, that about sums up our car. It was alive five minutes before it died.

Amidst car trouble and work Lilly and I took Taylor to a little creperie for lunch. The owner is the nicest guy. He wears a tall white chef's hat and always comes out to talk to the patrons. Everything including the flour he uses is organic and it's delicious! Tonight we had a family dinner and spent a good portion of the evening laughing. Taylor makes us all laugh with his wit and humor. He tells some of the best stories and the kids love it! Happy Birthday Taylor.