Rental Car

We had reserved an automatic 7 seater mini van to use for our time in Normandy.  Upon arriving at the Avis desk, we were all anticipating our departure for the road.  Here is a quick snapshot of the kids when we first arrived to the rental car place.

Now, as the clock ticked by and we saw several people waiting for a long period of time, the kids and I began to be curious as to what Chris was experiencing at the desk.  They were out of a lot of the  cars they had promised to people and they were scrambling to fill the reservations.  After checking with a few other companies if they had any availability - the Avis people offered us 2 crossover SUVS for the price of our one minivan.  What? Just give me a minute to process this one.  The thought of driving through the heart of Paris to get to the countryside of Normandy was unnerving to me.  BUT, we wanted to head out & get our adventure on its way - what better way than to live an adventure in the process, right? ;)  Here is the boys as we received our car keys to leave.

After a quick stop at a gas station, Chris described the experience of driving through Paris as, " You have to balance the terror of being alive with the wonder of being alive." It really was thrilling and once through the heart of the city, the countryside was beyond what I had even imagined it to be.  The closest thing I can describe it as driving from Nashville to Knoxville in the fall.  Lots of hills or small mountains with colorful trees... the only exception - you would be driving and then stumble across a chateau or ruins of a castle.  So amazing!!

 See image below - picture us cruising along the French motorway in our twin Volvos. 

One final story of the drive.  The kids were so exhausted with jet lag.  Halle and Rebekah rode with me and the boys with Chris.  Rebekah and I had been talking and I realized Halle had gotten really quiet while eating a snack.  I look in the rear-view mirror and saw this:

Not moving, head tilted up & when Rebekah tried to talk to her or move her - no response.  Did she choke?  I began calling her loudly with no response & was trying to figure out how to get off the road quickly.  The only thing I thought to do to see if she was ok was to pinch her.  So I pinched her little leg to see if I could get a response.  Poor girl - tears & confusion as to why she was pinched.  I apologized over and over and told her she hadn't done anything wrong - mommy loves her & was trying to know if she was ok because she was not responding & I didn't know if she had choked.  Eventful but so thankful my sweet girl was just sound asleep from the long trip.  The photo was snapped later when she fell asleep for a second time - but was how she looked in the story.