Adopted by a French Family

We've mentioned Estelle and her family in previous blog postings, but for those of you who might be new or have forgotten...  Estelle is our "French Daughter."   She lived with us for a short while when she was 15 or so, and our Jill lived with Estelle and her family.  We all stayed in touch through the years.  Estelle is now married (to Laurent) and has two boys (Paul and Victor) as well as a close family of aunts, uncles, siblings, cousins, etc .  We continue to enjoy Estelle's company here in Lyon and have been adopted by her extended family.  And, that includes being invited to family birthday parties for her boys as well as her nephew, Marius, son of Estelle's sister, Bérengère.

Here are recaps of a couple of birthday celebrations just to give you idea of what fun they are:
For Victor's 11th birthday the family gathered at Estelle and Laurent's to celebrate.  As usual, there was more than enough food and drink to feed us all, and everyone enjoyed catching up on the latest family news with a few discussions of sports and politics thrown in for good measure.  (These family gatherings actually remind Anna of the old Vogt family celebrations.)  Victor had had his heart set on a special bicycle so we all chipped in to buy it for him.  He thought he would have to wait for the bike to get shipped, but it had arrived, and Laurent and Estelle had hidden it at their neighbors.  After following clues in a treasure hunt he was directed to their neighbor's yard.  Soon Victor returned on his shiny, new bike and had a huge smile on his face.  This was followed by a round of mercis and bises for all. The real fun began after Laurent adjusted the bike to fit Victor, and Victor had taken several rides around the yard.  That's when other people thought they should try out the bike.  Nicolas, Victor's uncle, took it for a spin and successfully negotiated a wheelie to great applause. However, his second attempt was not a success, and somehow he landed on his back with the bike on top of him.   Then Martine (Victor's great-aunt) gave it a try-a decidedly unsuccessful attempt!  Both Nicolas and Martine emerged laughing and without any real damage.

And, recently we all celebrated Bérengère and Nicolas' son, Marius' fifth birthday.  Imagine one very excited five-year-old boy and multiple toys - mostly various Playmobile sets.  Now add a couple of catapults and a tiny sword that lights up AND a cousin of about the same age and level of excitement.  Marius is a very active boy under normal circumstances, but this definitely put him over the top.  After he made the rounds with the appropriate mercis and bises, objects were being catapulted right and left (with a little help from some of adult "children").  Then it was time for food.  We started with a full buffet table of cold meats, salads, breads, and condiments then moved on to a full table of cheeses and then on to cakes and coffee.  We continue to be amazed at the amount of food consumed at these celebrations - and, yet, no one seems to be putting on weight!

We definitely have been fortunate in being adopted by this warm, fun family!