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March was pretty busy with Ryan traveling a lot, but in between those trips we kept busy.  My friend Katie invited us over for a Mexican dinner and while us adults enjoyed good conversation over sangria, Makenna and Reese had a blast with Parker playing on his slide and ball pit.  We had a great meal, delicious dessert, and wonderful evening!

Ryan’s friend Dan that works for Michelin in the US was here for work, so he came over on a Friday for dinner.  It was so great to see him as we used to get together with him and his wife Amy back home, and they were one of the first friends to give us baby advice when I was pregnant with Makenna!  After catching up over dinner, Dan was so kind to give the kids, and me, gifts!  Makenna received a My Little Pony which she loved and Reese received a dump truck toy that he played with for the rest of the night….and I was surprised with some funfetti cake mix and cake icing.  Makenna drew a picture for Dan’s son Ben and even wrote both of their names on the picture.  The next day I went with some friends to Lyon but Ryan took Dan to Chateau du Murol and then they all had lunch and dinner together.

Another one of Ryan’s friends from the US, Jeff, was here for work the week after.  We were good friends with him and his wife Danielle back in Greenville, and Danielle flew here to meet Jeff at the end of the week so they could go on vacation in the south of France.  While Jeff was still at work on Friday, I picked Danielle up from the airport and we went out to lunch.  We decided to try a restaurant I had been to once for dinner, and it was now a new restaurant at that location.  The woman who owned it spoke perfect English as she used to be an English teacher, so she was so happy to speak to us.  We had a great meal and enjoyed catching up after not seeing each other for over 3 years.  While I had to take Reese to the pediatrician in the afternoon, she went to relax at her hotel and we met up with her and Jeff later that night for dinner (my friend Katie was so kind to watch the kids for us and Makenna was so happy to have her over!)  We went to L’Instantané, a restaurant I went to for lunch with a friend before, and I really enjoyed it so I wanted to try their dinner menu.  It is a restaurant with only about 8 tables, but I was really impressed that it was just the waitress and chef working without any other help.  This waitress also spoke perfect English (how did we find 2 English speaking servers in one day?!) and she was really funny and friendly (also not very common here) so that made the meal even more enjoyable.  The food was great, especially the appetizer of pear and blue cheese creme brulee.  It was great chatting with old friends like it was just yesterday that we had lived 10 minutes away from each other instead of 10 hours!  After dinner we went to an Irish bar near the cathedral for a drink and I ended the night anxious to move back where we can see our friends a lot more often.

Makenna also had a few fun events of her own.  She spent one morning at school going on a class trip to a museum in town.  I decided not to volunteer to go on this trip since the last time I went on a class trip she was really upset when I had to leave.  She was still upset and cried when I dropped her off at school, but she enjoyed the visit to the museum and I got to see her class walking back to school when I walked into town to go to the post office.  I just love that all of these things are within walking distance….I’m sure Makenna won’t be walking anywhere for a field trip in the US, and I wouldn’t be walking anywhere where I could see her!

She was also invited to her first french birthday party for her classmate Louise.  The invitation was all handwritten and it didn’t say to RSVP so I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to call to say if Makenna was coming.  I was also nervous to call since I still don’t feel like my French is that great and it’s harder to talk over the phone than in person.  Finally I had Ryan call, but not until the morning of the party…oops!  I also wasn’t sure if we should bring a gift since the invitation said it was for an afternoon snack and I didn’t know if it was a traditional party, and I didn’t know if parents were expected to stay or leave.  Reese was sick the day of the party, so Ryan took Makenna to the party and she brought a gift.  All of the parents left, so Ryan came home and went back 2 hours later to pick her up.  She had a great time and she said they played games and she came home with a keychain that she made and a goodie bag of candy.

March had some great moments, but I am ready for April and hopefully warmer weather!

So, sometimes clothes shopping in Europe can be difficult.  Either the fit is wrong, the style is not what we’re used to, the quality isn’t good, or we just miss the stores from back home.  Me and my friends Emily and Katie decided we wanted to go to the mall in Lyon where there was a Gap so we could find some clothes that we liked and that fit well.  We made a day trip out of it and left our husbands to handle the kids.  Ryan’s friend Dan from the US was in town so they decided to go visit a local chateau along with Katie’s husband John and their son Parker.

Shortly after arriving, and of course a stop at Starbucks, we sadly found out that the Gap is closed until summer for renovations!  We were really disappointed but decided to wash away our sorrows with drinks and lunch.  We spent the whole day at the mall and each found a few things so the trip wasn’t a complete fail.  After seeing there was a Steak N’ Shake in the mall, an American milkshake helped us power through the grueling hours of walking in and out of stores.

For dinner we decided to check out Les Halles and after browsing the indoor market we decided on a little wine/apero shop.

It was a great day with friends and a nice break from parenting!

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This year we decided to keep Makenna’s birthday low key and not have a party.  We still wanted to make it special so we started the day with a pancake breakfast followed by a trip to the hair salon.  She had her ends trimmed and then the stylist did a french braid.  Makenna had dance class after that and she was excited to show off her hair style!

In the afternoon we had a couple American friends come over for birthday cake.  Makenna’s brasserie owner friend, Didier, has the same birthday so we made him a mini cake and brought it to him.  He had a gift waiting for Makenna (a unicorn money bank) and she gave him a birthday card with a picture of a stick figure that she drew.  Didier invited us to stay for a beer and us, along with the 4 other people there, sang “joyeux anniversaire” to both of them and Makenna ended it by blowing a party whistle.

When we got home, our Brazilian neighbors surprised Makenna by showing up at the door with a birthday cake and candles and they sang to her.  She was one lucky birthday girl to have 2 birthday cakes!

Makenna has grown up so much lately and even looks a lot older, I can’t believe it.  I am so proud of how mature, smart, sweet, outgoing, social, and helpful she is.  It’s been an amazing 4 years with this beauty in our lives and I’m so proud to call her mine!