Our trip to La Domaine de la Voliere was a grand success. We enjoyed lots of friends, fun, laughter and a few tears (mostly kids, unless they were adult tears of laugher).


Of course, anytime you attempt to put 9 children under the same roof you are taking a risk but I am pleased with the outcome we had. Clara really enjoyed herself and, despite the meltdown at the end of Saturday she did very well with the busy, noisy atmosphere we created. When we got home yesterday she just played and played quietly by herself with her toys - it was as if she really needed to use her imagination after having experienced such a physical play weekend. Leo, on the other hand thrived on the action and noise. He barely napped and was in fine spirits from the moment he woke with a smile in the morning until I rocked him to sleep at night. I was thrilled at how laid back he could be with everything going on around him. I noticed several times his big grin while he watched kids playing around him from the safety of his high chair.


Clara's swimming has improved even more after spending much of the day on Saturday in the lake and swimming in the pool on Sunday. She's letting go of her fears and is way braver than I ever would have expected. So brave in fact that she went down the slide into the pool twice! This means going underwater without the usual countdown to holding your breath which I think is a huge deal. She also swam around wearing a life jacket completely on her own and mastered the art of steering with her legs. What a water baby!!


Leo spent a long time sitting at the edge of the lake playing with the wet sand. I don't think he ate too much of it, but he certainly tried.

All in all, a weekend out of the city was just what I needed. Marc and I even managed to slip away for about an hour to swim in the lake alone!! I know, what a crazy thing to do :) I so enjoyed spending time with our friends and getting to know everyone just a little bit better. In fact, I may even suggest we repeat the trip next Summer.

Natasha put together a great slide show, you should check it out. Mariella is such a cutie and I think Natasha's pics are a great representation of the fun we had.