Well, here we are, yet another weekend and it’s Sunday night already, and we’re just now able to have a bit of a relax. These weekends fly by far too quickly, and it’s tempting to take a weekend and do nothing at all… just to make it last a bit longer! But we would miss out on all of the fun!!
Liam, then mumma, then daddy all suffered from a cold this past week, consecutively. Nothing serious, and all on the mend now, just in time for weekend funsies! And the temperature has soared this week, so Liam has been enjoying his paddling pool on the terrace every afternoon. He loves it, and it keeps him cool after the afternoon heat.
Yesterday (Saturday) we took a trip to the bricolage again for some more DIY stuff for the terrace. Adam has made fantastic progress at stripping all of the paint off now (and he has the wicked sunburn to attest to all of his hard work!). Next step is to fill in the holes and smooth it out with the concrete repair… and then paint!! We had a bit of a conflict about the paint colour, but in the end, mummy won, and the terrace walls will be painted a lighter ochre/terra cotta colour. Hopefully by the end of this week, weather permitting.
After our DIY shopping and work (mumma cleaned the kitchen, while daddy worked on the terrace), we headed out to Cagnes sur Mer, just down the coast a bit, for pizza and ice cream at Lynsey, Eric and little Josh’s house. Liam was very excited, and was talking about seeing Josh all day long (and his adorable little Chihuahua puppy, “Sugar”).
The company was lovely, although Joshua was a bit hyped up on all the sweeties and sugar drinks, and had to go to bed earlier than normal, even before dinner was over… leaving more ice cream for Liam! Liam loves to see Josh, and he really enjoyed sharing Joshua’s toys (especially the enormous crane), playing with Sugar and Joshua’s two cats.. and a real special treat for all of us, the eggs in the blackbird nest in the olive tree out back of their house had JUST hatched the baby birds, and that was a real sight for all of us (sneaking up a ladder to get some photos while the mumma bird was off looking for worms!) And Eric made a wonderful banana and chocolate tart for dessert… and we managed enough self-control to not go back for seconds (dammit!!)
It was a late night on Saturday night, and we didn’t get home until well after 10pm, and by the time Liam was showered, changed into his PJs and reading his bedtime books, it was nearly 11. And he needed all the sleep he could get, because today (Sunday) was an EVEN bigger day!
We were up ‘nice and early’ (well, for a Sunday at least) to catch one of the ferry boats from Cannes to the Iles des Lerins. We were heading over to Ile St Honorat (the smaller of the two islands) to spend the day with Shellee and James Clamp, and their fantastic kids Taylor and Emmerson. They’re always great company, and Liam was more excited to see Taylor and Emmerson than he was to go on the ferry boat!!
After we got ourselves organized and slathered the kids with sunscreen, we piled onto the ferry for the 30 minute crossing. Tons of boats and helicopters kept the kids entertained on the way over! Once we arrived at the island, our ‘agenda’ went out the window and we just wandered around under the shade of the pine trees, enjoying nature, and the environment of the Abbey on the island, where the Monks still work to produce local products for the visitors to buy: liqueurs, olive oil, honey, sweeties, wine, and other assorted knick knacks. It may be the smaller of the two islands, but it has so much charm.
When Liam started to get tired and cranky in the early afternoon, we stopped for a bit of a break at the shore near the old castle ruins, and then we all took a self-guided tour all levels of the castle, enjoying the views, and watching the swallows flying crazily in and out of their stomping ground.
After our little castle tour we headed back to the only restaurant/snack bar on the island for some much needed food, drink and ICE CREAM. At which point even Liam was asking to go back on the boat and go home. Dude was seriously in need of sleep, and could have used a nap today! We had a minor incident at the island, when mummy accidentally brushed against an arm of a cactus, without realizing that it left a little patch of needles in her shoulder. And when Liam came in for a cuddle, he ended up with some baby-hair fine cactus prickles in his hand and arm, which he ‘patiently’ (comparatively speaking) endured while ‘Doctor Shellee’ tried to pull them out while mummy kept him distracted. Mummy is still finding little tiny prickles in her shoulders. Meh. They’ll come out eventually!
Liam is fast asleep now, and will hopefully sleep a bit late tomorrow morning, and then we’re back to the usual Monday to Friday work schedule. And then we’re off for a much-anticipated and much-deserved holiday. Tons of pics will be posted while we are away.
We’re tired. Life is hectic. Time is passing far too quickly…. but Liam is having so much fun, and that’s all that’s important. Still. One day to spend in our jammies and do nothing at all would be niiiiiiice.
