Thankful

You know what I'm thankful for?  I'm thankful for my sister.

Thank you....

- for watching my children for every possible doctor/dentist/hair appointment over the last two weeks.  (or the last few years)

- for loving my kids like they were your own (even when they act like turkeys).

- for talking me off that ledge after Fisher's dentist appointment from hell.  (don't ask...it really was that bad though.)

- for always (ALWAYS) having food ready when we walk in because you knew I would have forgotten to eat.

- for always feeding my kids even though they had eaten because "Aunt Carly's food is better".

- for going with us to drop off the chickens even though that meant you couldn't go to the grocery store.

- for telling me when an outfit makes my butt look big.

And that's just in the last two weeks.  I could not have survived them (or the last 31 years) without you.  You're my favorite.

This Moment: Wizard Chess

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 

(I apologize for the iPod photos lately.  We're having technical difficulties.)

Random Italia

Here are the last "random" Italy pictures that didn't really need individual posts.  I figured we better get them out of the way before we go international full time.  Oh and along those lines, I got our tickets to Frankfurt.  We leave from Charlotte on Dec. 14th.  We'll probably leave CO sometime on or around Dec. 5th.  Anyway...Italy.

This was my lovely little book reading spot for 3 days while
James worked.

THAT is what I would eat for breakfast.  Dessert for breakfast?
I think so.

The church of San Lorenzo.
The old part.

The new part.

Cars would drive through any spot they
could squeeze.  You had to have nerves
of steel.

Just a pretty courtyard.

San Lorenzo (the new part) again.

The entrance.

Pre-Christian ruins under the church.
These were from 200 B.C.  Market stalls.
You can see the little nooks where they would display their wares.

The well in the courtyard between the old
and new parts.

Marble in the museum from the ruins.

This part here almost merited it's own post.  This, my friends, is the mall.  Yes.  The mall.  I had to get another CF card for my camera or I'd have missed this gem.

Extreme mosaic tile.

No really, a MALL.

This was actually right across the way from the camera shop.

Amazing mosaic.  Mind blowing.

Details. Details. Details.

Arches and more detail.

One relatively small area by one door.
Details.

I love architectural detail.  I wonder what it used to be before it was a mall.  I should research that.

The castle by the port.

Again with the amazing detail.

As snobby as this sounds, this was not the most impressive castle
we've seen.  It was on the rundown side.

Still...

In this courtyard (which I skillfully snapped around) they
were setting up a stage and chairs for some big concert that night.

I can see this becoming another tattoo someday.  Or you
know, a window in my real house one day.

Massively tall.  With important church types
buried in the floor.  Fancy.



This one struck me.  Just beautiful.

One day, on my real house, the windows will have these.

Ruins and skeletons underneath the floor.

Wow.  Just wow.

This one too.  My real house master bedroom ceiling?
That'll work.

Enormous helmet.

ipod view by James' apartment.

Another one.

Our view walking to dinner the first night.

Travel lessons I learned here...

1) Taxi drivers are worth it.  These people drive like no one I've ever seen.  It's an experience in itself.  And taking the bus (or train for that matter) sucks when you are short enough to be "armpit height" when everyone is holding the bar across the top.  In the summer.  They don't have air conditioning on those things.  I was on the train to Herculaneum with about 800 of my closest friends ....armpit height. 

2)  To visit Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Mt. Vesuvius take an "official" English speaking tour.  We decided to just wing it and we missed a lot and didn't enjoy the benefit of the "fun facts" the tour guides give you.  Take the tour.  Really.

3)  Make sure you have plenty of time for those also.  We didn't have enough time at either dig site we visited and I want to go back someday for a more thorough trip.

4)  Ladies...always (ALWAYS) carry toilet paper in your bag.  Most of the public toilets I came across were a. filthy   b. hover toilets (no seats) and   c. they never have toilet paper. 

5)  Beware of theives but not to the point of never going anywhere or being afraid to take pictures.  James was always on high alert and never wanted me to take my camera anywhere.  The only time we had trouble with pick pockets was on the train (yes, the jam packed armpit one) and they tried to take his pocket knife.  I'm not saying they won't steal your camera - but it's easier for them to take a knife (or wallet) out of your pocket than a camera from around your neck.

6)  Pay for experiences not trinkets.  It was so much more memorable for us to have taken that trip to Capri than to have something to sit on the shelf.

7)  Have a really good time and always eat dessert!

K

Wilderness Week

About half way through James' time home we went camping...

 



 

Our campsite.

Guess where they're headed...

Yep.

Both of them.

Little Miss and her sidekick.

Our view from the top of the rock.

View from the bottom.
Pretty cute, huh.

Visiting with friends.

Headed for the water.

They called this "Rainbow Rock".
"Meet me at Rainbow Rock", they would yell.

Coming up with experiments to test the
flow of the stream.

Learning to build a fire.

Playing out of the rain.  Just a light drizzle really.

Shaking her groove thing.

Fisher is at the top of that hill across the river with the
"big kids".  Barefoot of course.

Coming back across.  Fisher is the "little one" being helped by
the second to last boy. (in the red trunks)
The water was about waist deep on Fisher here.

 

What I did a lot of.

Piper's first time tubing.
This was basically the "bunny slope".

Fisher's first time getting ready to launch.
James and Piper are in the center checking it out.

There he goes.
This was cool.  They actually got out a little farther down
and hiked over the hill for a longer ride.

Just cute.

Pretending to fish and playing in the water.

in their clothes.

It was insanely fun.  We arrived on a Thursday and a few hours later another family with children showed up.  They too were homeschoolers.  Our kids instantly bonded with them and took off in the woods.  They spent the afternoon discovering, exploring, and just plain ol' playing together. 

We found out that their entire church group would be joining in the fun on Friday.  Now, I'd be lying if I said the idea of a church group showing up and taking over my peaceful camping trip didn't make me a little nervous.  In short... they. were. awesome.  Come to find out it was a very small church group with LOTS of children.  It could not have been more perfect.  The kids would disappear after breakfast and show back up when they got hungry.  There were always extra kids in our campsite and joining in whatever fun activity we were doing.  And we loved every second of it.

Their parents were awesome too, always inviting our children along for whatever they were doing.  The kids had their first tubing experiences, spent many hours in the river, and explored all over the woods nearby. Had I been looking for a church...I'd have found it.

It was one of the best camping trips we've had.  Many thanks to all the lovely new friends we made.

JKFP