Travel Dance Video: Bestiemoon Take Deux

So, I have sat down multiple times to write about our amazing trip to France. If you don't know what I am talking about, let me get you up to speed. My friend Melissa is a world traveler. She has friends and connections all over the place, enough airline points to make you hate her just a little, (except you can't because she's so stinkin' generous with them), and she doesn't take no for an answer. So, she essentially manhandles me into taking epic vacations with her. It's a terrible friendship and this whole post is basically a cry for help. 

Okay, for realsies... the trip was fabulous.  The only reason I haven't written about it yet is because Melissa and I are going to tell the story together on video because I promise it will be so much better that way. We were in Paris for a few days, then popped over to Finland for a few days, then back to Paris, then to Provence (where my world changed and I got in touch with my roots in a major way) then back to Paris for the last few days. I ate croissants to celebrate the life and memory of my beautiful friend Karolin who commanded me to go to Paris and have fun. So we had the most fun.

And, we danced. 

We danced all over Europe. Usually at inappropriate times. We danced with new friends and perfect strangers and our French and Finnish hosts. 

And we made a video of it. Because I secretly want us to host our own travel show and making an absurd travel dance video seemed as good a means to that end as any.

What you are about to experience is a bit of an early Christmas gift. So, Merry Christmas to all and to all a You're Welcome.

Love, Tom, Melissa and Lara 

Melissa, Lara, and Tom dance their way across France and Finland

And we're off...

We have officially made departure. We left about 30 minutes behind schedule, which is a huge improvement from previous years. Our career average tardiness on the first day is approximately three hours.. So, I am taking this as a good sign. It was looking like a bad sign yesterday when our van broke down (we really just ran out of gas bc our gas gauge stopped working...) so, things are looking up from that prospect!

The kids are doing great - busy writing on the windows with their washable window markers, tallying grannies, and checking out their activity packs. They are also very committed to saying "mama" at least one time every 30 seconds, but at least they are doing a great job takings turns (dropping things.) So, that is keeping me quite busy as well.

They have some snacks and treats that they can help themselves to - the only rule is that when their snacks are gone, they're gone... So there is no complaining if they don't pace themselves. One hour in and all of London's exposed skin stained orange from marker, her snacks are gone and I am 99% certain she is going to drink all the water out of her aqua doodle pen. And then she'll pee her pants.

We are camping tonight at Cape Henlopen State Park near Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The forecast is set for tropical downpour and boiling temperatures right about the time we will need to set up camp and build a fire for dinner.

Pretty solid start I would say. This is the point when the voices of all the nay-sayers start to sound really loud, and very reasonable. But, we have two great (albeit equally crazy) road trips under our family belt... So, I will keep reminding myself that this is not the dumbest decision I have ever made, and it is going to be a blast, and my kids are going to learn some awesome things about living a full life, loving Jesus and your family, and having adventures, and how to be like those cool, low-maintenance Appalachian trail type of people who hardly ever recognize their need to shower.

If nothing else, I hope they learn to pace themselves in the snack department.