cultural week

Living in a different country makes visits from family and sometimes anyone such a treat. Family is here until Wedsnday and it will be a VERY sad day when they leave. I love having company and this year we have been lacking big time in that department. But they picked the best week to come. It is "cultural week" and all the museums are FREE! The Acadamia, The Uffizzi, The Pitti Palace, all that stuff. I've always wanted to take the kids to the palace and the Boboli Gardens but was not going to pay the price so with company in town and everything free, this was the perfect time.
Another thing you should know if your planning to visit us, you are required to ride a bike. And they were no exception.


In fact, Britney had to ride the bike with a kid seat on the back and had to ride with Abbey. Quite nervous at first but after a while of cars barely hitting her, she got used to it. We don't go easy, we hit Florence traffic on the first ride :) After the gardens we rode to our favorite kabap place (turkish food) and ate on the steps of Santa Croce.

Happy March 25th!

March 25th was a celebrated day in our home. The long awaited release on the Counting Crows new album! We were not disappointed. AND they will be playing in Venice on June 22nd!!
I should also add the long awaited arrival of Ryan's two brothers and our sister-in-law ended yesterday. It is SO wonderful to have family here!!! Brody loves his uncle Jason and is in heaven.

easter

We had a relaxing Easter, which translates to no church. It was raining too hard and the bus stop is now too far away with the new construction going on. Our testimony is only a 15 minute walk not a 25. I had already packed the plastic eggs from last year, so there were no easter egg hunts. Can you tell I'm getting ready to go home? But the kids looked for their baskets and Brody was a little disappointed that the bunny doesn't give as generously as Santa. When he's older, he'll appreciate the cadbury creme eggs I had imported from England.

And for dinner we went to our friends house. It rained all day and they live across the city from us and Ryan refused to pay for a taxi! We rode bikes there and when we left our house, it miraculously stopped raining! We took a carrot cake and it was in a 9x13 glass dish that was too large for the basket so Cloe balanced it on her knees behind Ryan. Ryan only sat on it once. Riding through Florence is enjoyable and it took us about 45 minutes, but it wasn't so bad because it was through the city. Ryan had the girls, and Abbey serenaded him with "I am a child of God" repeatedly and Brody sang some song to me in Italian about Christ on the cross, over and over. The ride home was rainy at first but bearable and then it let up after about 10 minutes. Can't wait to be home next year for some real Easter fun with family and egg hunts in Grandma's yard!!!

The kids always come home from school with the most intricate holiday crafts. They are cute and I want to save them but they are too delicate to store.


They learned all about Christ on the cross at school and Brody got to carry the cross with Jesus on it and the crown of thorns. For a while, whenever he would color or paint, it was pictures of Jesus on the cross. Glad they're learning about it but maybe his class got a little too much cross, not enough resurrection.

Hope you all had a good Easter!

3.15

yesterday was Ryan's birthday and the fact that I'm posting about it today, shows how eventful and thoughtful the day was for him. Poor guy, this is his second birthday in Italy and the last was just as uninteresting. Next year, HUGE surprise party, I've got some making up to do!! Or a cruise :)!!! who's coming? But he did ask for sugar cookies for breakfast, and that he got. Happy Birthday Ryan, I love you.

friday mornings.

one of my favorite times of the week. The thought that this is the last morning I have to do this routine of hustle and bustle to school makes me happy. When I go in their room in the morning to wake them up, I always say "it's Friday, the last day you have to do this, tomorrow is Saturday!" Now that Cloe and Brody are in school, I live for the weekends. Does anyone else feel this way about Friday morning?

motherhood, this should be interesting

this is a great essay my friend wrote about motherhood.
Since Cloe turned 6 this year, it seems like so much has changed that I'm not ready for but have no choice. I've noticed when I carry her to the couch in the morning, if she doesn't hold on, her feet hang down passed my knees. I was so proud of her the other day at school after talking with the nun. There is a little boy in her class that is adopted from Russia, his parents are split and they both work a lot. He is quite a trouble maker. He has marked on Cloe's uniform with marker and threw one of her toys and lost it. One day I was talking to Cloe about him and told her how he came from an orphanage like "Lewis"(from "Meet the Robinsons") and that she needs to be nice even though he is mean and act the way Jesus would. Last week while I was dropping her off, he ran out of the class and gave her a big hug and said "buon giorno Cloe!" and a few days ago I noticed when I picked her up, he grabbed her hand and said "ciao". I asked the nun if he likes Cloe and was nice to her and she smiled and said yes. On our walk home we talked more about it. But I was just so proud of her maturity and ability to love. She has such a sweet heart and sometimes I feel she looks at me like "silly mom, if you only knew, one of these days you'll figure it out". I should be doing the teaching, not her :)
But to write something about my other sweet kids, I've always wanted to blog about Abbey and her scent. I LOVE how she smells. Whenever she's sitting on my lap, near me or laying with me, I just sniff her. Sometimes I even tell her to let me smell her breath. But she does have serious farts, not so sweet smelling but funny when she announces them and laughs at herself.
I love how sincere Brody is. He always compliments me and is so sincere. On Sunday, the Relief Society woman sang in the middle of sacrament for a rest hymn. When we were done, I was walking back the back row, of course where else, and Brody stood and clapped and yelled "bravo". He had the biggest smile and when I sat down he said, "mom, that was so good, I could hear you singing so pretty".

One more story, remember, this is also our journal. We have 9:00 church but sacrament is last. Which means we don't get to church until 10:30. But I was talking with someone in the hall and told the kids to go and save a seat. I came in and couldn't find them so I grabbed the back row and chatted some more. I needed to go look for them but only had my purse and didn't want to lose our spot. I finally noticed all three of them sitting in the second row center, all with hymn books, looking forward. I got Cloe's attention and told her to come back and she shook her head no. I went up to get them and they complained saying "we never get to sit up here, can we please sit up here??" I finally bargained that we would sit there a different Sunday (on opposite day).

Sunday I was hoping to go to another close city in Tuscany but when Ryan said he didn't want to go if he couldn't paint for a few hours, the trip fell through. It was going to be a family trip not a painting trip. Instead we went up to Piazalla Michelangelo and it was a gorgeous day. In fact, too gorgeous to go to church. We took the bus up, had a picnic and the kids played around. The sun was warm and made me want to take a nap. But don't be too jealous of the warmth, now it's raining and the nearby hills/mountains are topped with snow.
waiting for the bus to go home

some of the old city wall and part of florence

During Lent, until Easter, every Sunday there is a big market at the Cascine park by our house. After our picnic I wasn't through enjoying the beautiful day. So Cloe, Brody and I went to the market and then walked back home along the river bank. Cloe asked if we could stop and rest for a little bit. I had to take these pictures with my phone but this girl sure knows how to relax

fun in the front yard

yes, this is our front yard. We also have a backyard! I love bubbles (outside of course), they are cheap and they entertain so easily.






Spring is springing here and it is so exciting. The thought of warmth and leaves again! On our way home from school, Cloe picked this little Spring bouquet.