Kids on vacation

Our recent week-long vacation in the alps was much-valued downtime for the grownups, but it also gave the kids a chance to hang out where they could go outside alone, and where they weren't thinking constantly about leaving their French friends, many of whom were already on vacation. Here is a list of some of the kids' favorite activities.

(By the way, we wouldn't exactly put washing the dishes on the list of favorite activities, but the sink was low enough to make washing one's own plate mandatory, and Molly and Betsy clearly enjoyed the responsibility since it's a job they're not normally big enough to do -- yet. If only we could bottle that feeling to use when they're teenagers...)

1. Swimming in the pool. The pool shown here was a 5-minute walk from the chalet. We had really nice weather nearly the whole week we were in the mountains, so there was ample opportunity to use it and we did so almost every day other than the day we took our road trip. By the end of the week, Molly was able to swim all the way across the pool length-wise and Betsy was able to dog-paddle short distances, a major advance for both girls.

2. Stalking lizards. There were quite a few of these little guys roaming around the chalet, and the girls, particularly Molly, spent considerable time watching them and trying to catch one. Molly can be remarkably patient and came tantalizingly close to catching one or two with her hat. Each girl even built a small "lizard trap," consisting of various old yogurt containers and sticks, that relied mostly on the principle (now debunked) that lizards are wont to walk into plastic containers and then entrap themselves by kicking over a stick that closes a lid on them.

3. Hiking. Both girls did surprisingly well at what is basically, let's face it, an adult activity. But there were inducements built in to our hikes. For example, everyone enjoyed the public springs in a couple of the small towns nearby, such as the one shown here, where it was possible to refill water bottles with delicious, almost icy water and cool off. And on our 2-kilometer hike to Saint Firmin, we found not only public springs but also the boulangerie (i.e., baked goodies) waiting for us at the turnaround point. But by far the most interesting hike-related activity was:

4. Playing in the stream. On our way to Saint Firmin, we discovered a small mountain stream about a kilometer away from the chalet. So another day, we made a special hike for the express purpose of playing in the stream. The girls changed into their bathing suits after reaching the stream, where they threw rocks, made rafts, examined insects, and built stone structures.

Here are a couple of pictures of the results of the stream expedition. First, there is Molly's completed, and actually quite seaworthy (okay, streamworthy) craft floating in the water garage she built for it. This was at least the third iteration of the raft, after a couple of previous attempts (without cross-sticks for support, for instance) failed to live up to expectations. Next, there is Betsy's "house" that she built. She explained carefully what the various parts of the house are, so we were able to label this photo (it's really worth clicking on it to read the captions). Naturally there is a lightning rod, and obviously if you're going to have a lightning rod in this house, you're going to need the flying buttress for support (duh!).

5. Miscellaneous. Here, the girls are working on making "trendy trinkets," which are little clay beads you bake in the oven that were a birthday present to Betsy from our Olivet friend Lori. The girls also played a lot of store/restaurant in the chalet. They read Harry Potter (Molly) or worked on mazes (Betsy). They tromped around in the little yard outside the chalet. Mercifully rarely, they bickered, whined, complained. They rearranged furniture and built cabanes (forts). And nearly all of the time, they controlled a large portion of their own agendas.

All in all, it was a very successful week on planet Molly and planet Betsy.