Brody and his always perfect timing

Brody is CONSTANTLY asking A TON of questions. Every question is followed by at least 5 that are about the answer you gave to the last, until you say "because, no more questions Brody!" and then he says "mom! just tell me!" At least not everyone is fluent in English but the truth is, most people in Florence do actually understand English. Anyways...
last night we had the sister missionaries over for dinner and Brody randomly asked Ryan "Dad, how come sometimes you punch me?" whaaaaaaaa?

explanation: Ryan and Brody play a pretend fight game and they punch each other

so funny!

this makes it cute......i think.

happy birthday gavin!!!!

have a special day, we will see you soon!!!
love,

Cloe Brody and Abbey

theee best!

here are the kids with their teachers at the st. james american church, were the little playgroup is. these girls are awesome!! the kids love them and so do i. when i drop the kids off and pick them up, i always end up talking for at least half an hour. i always tell them that when we are making the big bucks that they are moving to the states to be my live in nannies because I couldn't ask for more!! besides that the kids and i love them, i had to dedicate a post to them because at the end of the school year they sent me home with a folder full of my kids drawings and paintings that they did through the year AND a dvd of the kids playing and what not. there was a little part that had a song by Rafi about "i wonder if i'm growing, my mom says i'm growing" and there are pictures of my kids flashing on the screen, bring on the water works! i just love that they thought of something that will be very sentimental for my kids forever as one of their memories of italy.

this isn't the best picture because the kids had just been at a 3 hour b-day party and were pretty tired!

a LOVELY day in Viareggio

Oh how I LOVE the beach!! And for so many reasons. I love to swim in the waves, I love being half naked, feeling the warmth of the sun and the heat of the sand on my feet! And now that I have kids I love it even more because of how much THEY love to go to the beach. I love the excitement they get when they know the beach is near, I love how they can't wait to play in the sand and how they start playing in it the second we step foot on it, while Ryan and I try to juggle the crap and find a spot. I love their sandy cheeks cause their suits never stay on their bums. I love watching them swim and get trashed by the waves and when they get out of the water and they are cold, I love watching them roll in the warmth of the sand. Oh Ryan, when will you buy me a beach house so we can do this more often? How could I forget to mention the kids sleep like rocks after a fun day at the beach.



We went to Viareggio which is on the west coast (west siiiide!) and took the train. It was an hour and 20 minutes ride and we kept telling the kids, "this is what the airplane will be like but much longer!" We went with Annie and Elliot and had the best time. I love the beaches here, though I'm still true to my southern california roots. I had such a good time that this is the best elimination process I could do with the photos.




my blue eyed beauty on the train

Abbey just finished doing her "trick" of swinging on the arm rests


Brody trying to not act excited

the gorgeous Annie with cute little Elliot. Yes, I went to the beach with a skinny girl ;) Aren't the clouds amazing, just made the day all that more perfect!


Abbey the puppy


this is where he spent most of his time


Annie, Cloe and Elliot enjoying the waves


what's a beach trip without burying the kids?


nice hops Clo!

rolling around after their last swim, the wind started to pick up a little so this made a perfect blanket

4th of July

is obviously just another day here in Italy. We made dinner plans with some friends and the day before, I realized it was going to be the 4th of July. We attempted to make is a 4th of julyish as possible, minus the fireworks. We had hamburgers and hot dogs (grilled in a pan on the stove), potato salad, red white and blue fruit salad, chili dip, guac dip and of course the ole' american flag cake. Unfortunately these are the only photos I took. I planned on taking a picture of the setup because Cloe helped me make the flag "table cover" and I totally spaced in the chaos of our a/c. (they left about 10 minutes before our friends arrived.) But we had a great time hanging out and were up too late. But that is always a good sign of wonderful company when you look and the clock and say "holy crap it's already 11:00!"

and a photo of the jimmy rig

yes, that is a tube going through the wall from outside and draining into the bath tub!

these italians!

so we are very fortunate to have a/c in our apartment. But the annoying thing is, water drips from the condensation so we have to empty buckets everyday. Our landlord decided to change it so that we wouldn't have to empty the buckets, i think that's what he said. So right now, while my kids are taking a nap, I'm sure Brody isn't because all he wants to do is steal the tools, 2 guys are here changing the system. I know one of them is a painter because he was the one I talked to to get the paint colors to touch up the walls. But I listened to them (not understood) argue in the bathroom for 10 minutes while they decided where to make the hole in the wall. I know this whole process is totally being jimmy rigged and i also find it very humerus. Just thought I'd share my nap time adventure today, enjoy your 4th of July!!

talk about small world!

this picture is of one of my good friends here in Florence, Annie and her little boy Elliot. But the crazy thing is, last time we were here back in 2003 I met her at the internet point that she worked at and we would always go to (thank goodness we know have internet in our house!). She had just moved here from Wisconsin and was a fashion designer trying to get a job as an illegal ;) Sooooo, now we move back and I join the American mom's group and at the first mom's nite out she mentioned how she first worked at a cell phone place (you could also rent cell phones there). I put 2 and 2 together and it turns out she remembered me and now our kids go to the same pre school! crazy.
But the purpose for even taking this photo is because I have to show off how amazing she is. She is in the process of starting her own children's line of clothes and as you can imagine is always dressed very cute and fashionable. Yesterday at a birthday party she was sporting this cute summer dress and when I asked her about it, "oh, I made it yesterday during Elliot's nap". Oh, really? you mean that's ALL you accomplished during nap time? you should be ashamed of your self!(I'm being very sarcastic) are you kidding me!!! all I did was laundry and mop floors and she is making adorable clothes!