Last night we thought our building might blow down. The thunder and lightning show was incredible waking us in the night. Heavy rain and powerful winds rattling our windows. Tom came in to watch the fury from the sky. Fortunately, the world is still here this morning. It’s fun to see a big storm in action from somewhere safe.
Fall is coming and the mornings are cold. It warms a little yet remains relatively chilly in the day too (particularly when there’s a storm approaching). I’ve been conscious that I look out of place in my flip flops and shorts while others walk around in heavy coats, scarves, hats, and gloves. I broke and bought a pair of pants yesterday. The clerk had a good chuckle and asked if I’d forgotten my shoes as well. Our follow-the-sun plan didn’t account for colder weather.
Interestingly southern France isn’t all lavender fields, sunshine, good wine and cafes. There’s more to it than I knew. The region looks very similar to northern California. If it weren’t for the french signs and architecture I’d say were were there. The image here is from a town in the Luberon region (north of Aix) where we had lunch. Small, cobbled streets with little shops. Pretty country.
A couple days ago we went to Camargue 
(a region south of Arles and north of the Mediterranean wedged between the Rhone rivers so that it creates a bit of a delta). It’s a cowboy town. Yes, cowboys in France.
We saw a parade of bulls being wrangled down a main street by some of them. The fields entering the town are full of white horses that are famous in the region. I half expected to see a unicorn. It’s also a beautiful area.
We rented bikes and made our way through some salt flats, looked onto flamingos, jumped off small sand cliffs, and made our way to a lighthouse on the horizon. The kids yammered all the way through trading talking partners. I learned that Lucy wants to be a horse wrangler when she’s old enough to work. Henry is curious about God, faith and religion. He asked a ton of probing questions trying to make sense of it all. Tom wondered how flamingos (and other birds) fly over such great distances without getting tired. A destination with physical activity as a family is a great recipe. It was my favourite day in southern France yet.
We’ve also started moving off screen time. We’ve started playing cards as a family. For the most part everyone seems to have a good time yet it takes considerable patience to complete a game. The games are long.
A couple days ago, I also took the kids out for a long walk and trip to the park where I had them do timed wind sprints (their idea…not mine). 
They really put their all into it striving for personal bests over multiple rounds. They were excited by the whole event until the next morning when the boys couldn’t walk. They hobbled around complaining about how their whole bodies were so sore. Legs. Shoulders. Arms. ‘Oh the pain’ comments. Endlessly funny for me. I think we’ve all been there. I’m pushing for a little more physical activity in general. Last night we did a short training circuit near a park. It was a disaster. Some of us moved too quickly. Some too slowly. Some of us checked out and went to find acorns instead. I’ll let you decide who’s who. I’m convinced that we just need to find our rhythm so will try again until we get it down.
Here are some recent photos that I like too…
That’s all from me for now.