Bipartisan European Adventure

soon we are about to embark 

on 

a 

bipartisan european adventure

(because my dad and step mom are joining us

i titled it 

a play off my maiden name 

and 

my married name

besides we all know you have to have a good hashtag)

here's a brief synopsis of our trip

21 days

most on the road

traveling from venice

to

munich

to 

prague

to 

brussels

to 

london

to 

normandy

to

paris

to geneva

back to italy

then 

a one day laundry day

back on a train

to rome

for more travel

all with a toddler

(whose potty training/trained gasp!)

it's the last hurrah to get everything knocked off our bucket list before we move back to the states

i've planned it all

i have an itinerary

activities planned almost to the minute

after our trip

i will post all my tips

our full itinerary 

(i am not posting now because it includes dates....gotta be safe ya know!)

it will be fun

it will be trip of a lifetime!

for now i leave you with 

packing tips

because we won't be in one place longer than three days

i am packing in ziplock bags

it's easier to pull out one bag then dump out all the clothes looking for something

for the toddler

i did one outfit in a bag

socks, outfit, panties

for the adults

i bagged by item

ex socks in one bag

underwear in one bag

shirts in bags

(i know this isn't a fully packed suitcase. 

eventually it was fully packed)

you get the idea

here's to making memories

and seriously

i may put this project on my resume....

love love from aviano!

a letter to my sister

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A letter to my sister

Dear sister

Through the years we’ve had our fun

We’ve had our struggles

And one could compare a sister relationship

To a marriage

There are days when you want to kill each other

Then there are days when you don’t know how you function without the other

You sister

Are about to enter a marriage

One in which the slipper won’t always fit

The ring doesn’t always sparkle

And your partner

Like your sister has

Will disappoint you

I hope you forgive him

Without reason

Without stipulation

Without consequences

And

Without an apology

Maybe once you learn this type of forgiveness

You will see how much I do love you

Despite our differences

Despite our arguments

And

How I have forgivien you

Without reason

Without stipulation

Without an apology

And

I have loved you

Through the pain

Through the hurt

Through the words

You have spoke

One day sister

I hope you feel this love

But until then

I know any apology I provide

Will never be good enough

So

I only offer you a sincere

Congratulations

And I pray your marriage is filled

With love

Laughter

And

Many many smiles

Remember to love without reason

Without stipulation

And accept your partner

As he is

Because he has accepted you as you are

love you

stagnant yet improving?

sorry it has been awhile since i posted

but my mommy came!

and 

we enjoyed

almost a month of site seeing

we went to salzburg

and sang to the hills

celebrated the 4th of july

 went swimming

we hung around the local area

and

most importantly 

she and emerson bonded

it was an enjoyable visit!

so what is the latest with 

the 

{hemangioma treatment}?

i've been asked that a few times

we are stagnant

yet improving

 how you ask

is that possible

well the overall size hasn't changed much

it is measuring 1.5x2 on a good day

and 2x2 on a bad day 

(when she won't hold her head still)

but 

the overall clarity and skin definition is so much better

and 

it is growing hair!!

this is a good thing!

this means the skin underneath is healthy and pushing through

here is the most recent picture

so we patiently wait

for the size to decrease

but rejoice in the improvements we are seeing

smooth sailing so far!!

so about two months ago

give or take a month

i posted 

about

{my unique uterus}

and 

promised 

to be a good support for others like

me

well

i failed!

i didn't mean to....

i can provide you with a list of excuses

1) internet in italy sucks 

2) i've been busy

3) i went stateside for almost a month

wait this one negates the number one

and the bad internet

but honestly

there is no excuse

i have been so fortunate

that even though i'm 

"high risk"

this pregnancy has been so smooth

i'm going every two weeks for ultrasounds

and every time

we get excellent news

we've watched our little one grow 

thanks to the many ultrasounds

so thank you for the continued support

and prayers

it is because of the prayers

that this has been easier than expected

we did find out

that 

we are having a girl!

she is already adorable!!!

she is a mover and a shaker

she is measuring quite large for her age

and 

i've been feeling her move 

since sixteen weeks!!!

we are so blessed 

to have the support, love, and prayers 

from friends and family!

thank you all!!

roma

so i finally did it

a month and a half later

i uploaded my pictures from rome 

to my computer

now

if i only had time to edit all 700 plus photos

but alas 

i must work

so here are some of my favorite

actually a minimal amount of my favorites

due to the slooooow internet in my little italian village

if i haven't said it before

i will say it now

i love the colosseum 

it amazes me!

a candid moment of two of my favorite people

trevi fountain

another one of my favorite places in rome

a simple picture

yet it's one of my favorite

traditionally 

i am not a 'big-city' kind of gal

but 

there is something about rome

that i love

and 

despite it being a large city

i find myself 

dreaming about living in an apartment

looking over the trevi fountain

and

spending countless hours 

walking the streets

finding new wonders

and 

eating a lot of gelato!

more rome pictures to come soon! 

promise!

mail call!!!

you get the piece of paper in your mailbox 

that says

"please go pick up your parcel"

actually it's quite rude and says

"first notice"

you anxiously wait in line

with all the other hopefuls

you check facebook

you text whoever you think will listen

you do something to make the time go buy

then 

its your turn

you hand your "notice" over

and the mail clerk

slowly walks around

acting like he or she just started yesterday

and you wanna scream

"come on man! get my stuff! don't you know today is my day! i got a package"

then you get not one

but two boxes

woo-hoo

and it isn't dog food food!

yes we mail order our dog food

the pups have to have their special food

spoiled yes

and in those boxes

clothes!

a book!

 goodies!

and

coupons!

support the military!

find a military family living overseas,

send them your expired coupons!

all for you!

nothing, nada, zilch for the pups

ok, i admit i am jealous the dogs get more boxes than i do

my dad

sends me boxes routinely!

filled with magazines

snacks

tidbits of stuff

to make me feel like i'm still stateside

but today

was clothes

and i need clothes

but 

i was surprised with the bottle of cream soda

from pops

that had the whale in oklahoma on it

we use drive past that whale during family vacations

and the book

"think"

this book is hilarious

and just what i needed

after last month!

so thank you daddy

for all the time

money

and thought

you put into the boxes

they make my life just a little bit easier.

croatian beauty

mi nonna 

grandmother

mi cugina

cousin

mi zio

uncle

are in town

for a holiday

(vacation)

so 

we went to croatia
we left at o'dark thirty
and yes, that's really a time
to begin our adventure

isn't italy beautiful at o'dark thirty?
as the sun decided to warm the day
the scenery became became more breathtaking

this was in slovania i believe

the drive alone was beautiful

but when croatia welcomed us 

 she was exquisite!

we spent about six hours exploring the coastline

and seeing the sights

and more sights

a very unique sight

then there was this fish net

and not just any fish net

a red fish net

with a puppy laying on it!

i've photoshopped this one

to bring out the red

 i could post pictures 
all day long
but venice is calling my name
so

arreverderci 
and i promise to post more about the beautiful croatia later


ciao from aviano!

how to build a bunny

 {well he did}

and 

i accepted the challenge

so today was the day

can i make a cake look like a bunny

honestly

kenneth was so excited 

he put most of the cake together

i just took pictures

first

a bunny needs a stage

a platform

something to sit on

take a box

and foil it

like so

next cut the round cake you made

in half

then you ice it

and smash it together

then stand it up

cut a "v" out for a tail

also a holder for the ears

and then ice

like crazy

do you see the bunny?

a bunny has to have eyes and a nose

use the jellybeans or chocolate eggs 

and now your bunny can see and smell

coat in coconut

a bunny also has to have ears

use construction paper 

i sketched two ears

then cut away

place your ears

 a bunny loves to sit in the grass
it's a favorite past time of his

so take a bag of coconut

and green icing

combine in a bag

and shake

add the grass

and the eggs

jellybeans or chocolate eggs your choice

we did both

scatter the eggs

and alas 

you have a bunny

and i have a very happy husband

happy easter everyone!