He's Home

Yesterday Todd got back from a trip to the US. It was a long time and we are so happy to have him home. Since he was going back to the US and had to be there for a full 2 work weeks, he left on a Saturday morning early and didn't come home until Sunday. So we had almost three weekends without him and 2 very long weeks.

The kids did great. And although they missed their dad very much Skype and telephone calls helped as well as new lego sets to help the weekends go by a little faster for everyone. They were thrilled to see Todd when he got home. He got home just 15 minutes before we got home from church. It was such a fun surprise.

He always likes to bring the kids back something from his trips. They always look forward to this part of the trip, but yesterday they didn't even ask what he had brought them. They were happy snuggling and spending time with their very tired dad. It wasn't until bedtime that any of us remembered the "surprises." Both kids were thrilled to get new soccer jersey's. They will both be wearing their US soccer jersey's with pride. As if we didn't stand out enough in this country...now there will be no doubt of where we are from!

 Friday night Todd started packing and James decided he was going to go with him. He fit in his suitcase quite nicely.

 Saturday morning was not a fun morning. The only thing worse about waking up early is having to take dad to the airport (and running out of gas!).

 Cuddles before dad left. James misses his dad so much while he's gone. A few days after he left James told me....

James: I want to go to the airport plane mom
Nicole: Why James
James: I want to go get my dad
Nicole: Dad is in Oregon
James: Why did dad go to the airport plane all by himself?
Nicole: He had to work
James: I want to go on the air plane and go up up up in the sky and go get my dad!

We managed to survive....but it took both kids snuggling by me at night. It's so nice to be together again...and so nice to have just one person in bed with me at night, especially when that one person isn't nearly as wiggly as the two little ones.

Last day....

 This was our third trip to Italy and each time I think....I NEED to come back! We love Italy. It's so easy to travel here and the food really can't be beat. But beyond that it's full of amazing things. Honestly...do the Italians know how good they have it?  It was really great to go see the beauty of Rome, but small town Italy completely has my heart.

 We didn't have much time in the morning, but we had a couple of hours to walk around. Bologna was absolutely gorgeous. It was still raining so we took full advantage of the porticos that seem to be everywhere. There really isn't a better place to spend in the rain.

 We also got to see a few of the medieval towers of Bologna. Hailee was a fountain of information about medieval times. (She recently had a unit on the middle ages.)

And we started a new tradition. We found "The Very Hungry Catterpillar" book in Italian. Since we already had it in English and German we decided to start collecting it in different languages. The kids love it.

It was so hard to get on the train to go home. Not only did we love exploring Italy, but it was so fun to do it as a family. Todd is starting a busy time at work. The family time was very nice.

My sister recently booked tickets to come see us this summer. We're planning a trip to France and England while she's here. When I was telling the kids about it Hailee was very excited....James said "I want to go to Italy." I'm happy to think that he's enjoying our trips as much as the rest of us are. With pizza, gelato and really big rocks how could we go wrong?

Something for everyone

We had a morning in Rome to finish up the last important things. For me, it was shopping...for James, jumping in puddles. Thankfully we had enough time to do both. 

 Then it was time to get on the train for Bologna.

 I seriously have the best train travelers. James enjoys everything about traveling on a train.

 The only thing Hailee needs is a good book. We didn't hear much from her the whole trip. She gets lost in her books.

 After a crazy Italian train ride we made it to Bologna. It was raining! But Bologna is made for rain. Most of their sidewalks are covered. We only needed umbrellas for when we went to the middle of the square to get pictures.

One of the reasons we decided to stop in Bologna on the way home was because Todd fell in love with the place 8 years earlier.

While I was pregnant with Hailee he had a work trip to Italy. To say I was jealous would be a huge understatement. Honestly, when we would talk on the phone he would go on and on and on about how good the food was. It wasn't even nice. He promised me that he would take me one day. That day finally came and I have to say he wasn't exaggerating about the food at all. Honestly I would move back just for the food. The saddest part about our trip was that I ran out of room too soon.

 Both kids loved it as well. James loved the "real" tortellini (cooked in broth) and Hailee's favorite was the pumpkin pasta. Todd and I really couldn't pick a favorite, but the green gnocchi was amazing as well as everything we ate.

Rainy day at the Vatican

 The next day brought rain....and a lot of it. It worked out perfectly that we had bought our tickets for the Vatican Museum for this rainy day. It was perfect. We got to Vatican City before our scheduled time so the kids got to run around and explore a bit.

 It was just enough to tire James out so he fell asleep on the way to the entrance. It could not have been more perfect. He slept for the first half of the museum and was quite pleasant for the rest of the time we were there.

 One of the kids favorite rooms was the Egyptian room. They loved everything, except for the mummy. Hailee refused to look and James said "Oh that's really gross!"

The museum was beautiful, with so much to see. Every where you looked was beautiful. The only frustrating thing was the crowd. Honestly it was worse than Disneyland on the busiest weekend. I'm sure we weren't the only ones with the idea of going on a rainy day. But even with the crowds it was still enjoyable. We did get to see the Sistine Chapel at the end of the tour, but with the crowds and the tired kids it wasn't as enjoyable and relaxing as one would hope. But I'm glad I got to see it.

 We also got to see St. Peters Basilica  and the Swiss Guard

We called it a day a little earlier so we could go dry out. We were all soaked and tired. I was so glad we had a hotel in a nice area. We got back, changed out of our wet things and I went to grab dinner while Todd stayed with tired kids. Another perfect rainy day.

A really big rock!

....also know as the best day ever, by James. What could be better than pizza, gelato and a really big rock? After watching the weather closly we determined that our first day had to be our "outside" day. Thankfully we had booked our tickets to museums on other days! It was perfect.

We got to Rome, found our hotel and began our "Rome in a day" tour. Thanks to our faithful tour guide Todd, we headed out. I'm not sure how he does it, but Todd always takes us on the best tours without getting lost. He has a favorite App that he downloads for every city we visit and then pans our route. Honestly it was perfect. 

Our hotel was right by the Spanish steps so that is where we headed first. Hailee counted each step. There are 120 Spanish steps! 

We then had a quick lunch and officially checked into our hotel. Then we continued our tour of Rome.  Honestly every time you turn around there is another amazing work or art. Between being the capital of the Roman Empire and home to the Renaissance you can't go far without finding something amazing. 

 Hailee in front of the Fontana de Quattro Fiumi (4 River's Fountain) by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. I felt a little sad of the other fountains in the square. They were probably pretty good sculptors, but when you put it next to a "Bernini" it doesn't seem quite fair. Bernini is one of Todd's favorite sculptors. 

A quick Gelato break and the Pantheon was the next on the list. Followed by the Trevi Fountain. 

Hailee at the Trevi Fountain. She made sure to thrown in a coin to ensure a trip back to Rome. 

As soon as we got to the Colosseum, James was amazed. He was a good sport the whole day looking at one fountain and square to the next, but when we got to "ancient" Rome he was in heaven. First thing he said was "Oh look at that really big Rock." The Colosseum was also one of Hailee's favorite things.  

We finished off the fun day at the Palatine Hill. James loved being able to run all around and check out all the cool rocks. 

He thought this rock looked like a monkey eating an ice cream cone. He was so pleased to find it.

On the way back to the hotel the kids were exhausted. It has been a full and very busy day. We found a little pizza place before making it back to our hotel. Overall a perfect day for all of us.

The night train

In looking at options for going to Rome we decided that going on the train would be a fun way to travel. Since under the best of circumstances it's a 9 hour trip, we decided to do a night train. We took a night train to Venice, but since we booked so late we didn't get a compartment with beds. I learned my lesson. This time I booked early enough to get a compartment with four beds. It was perfect. 

Before leaving I was getting James excited for the trip by telling him all about Rome. He was mildly excited until I told him we were going by train....and we were going to sleep on the train. "Sleep...on the TRAIN! In a BED!"  He was thrilled. I was a little worried that it wouldn't live up to his expectation. Thankfully, I think it lived up to his expectations and more. The kids were thrilled to get to sleep on a train in their own beds. Todd and I were thrilled to have our own compartment and a fairly quiet night to rest up for our busy trip. 

It took a minute to get the kids settled down enough to sleep, but once they did they both slept great. James woke up a couple of times when the train would start and stop, but he went right back to sleep again. It was a little weird for me too. The movement of the train took a little time to get used to, but once I relaxed enough to sleep it was quite nice. It wasn't the best night sleep I've every had, but as far as traveling goes I think it's very fun. I think we'll be doing it again. (Hopefully soon!)

The best part about sleeping on the train is to wake up and be at your destination. We arrived in Rome at 9:00 in the morning, dropped off our luggage at our hotel and went to enjoy the sights of Rome. For the most part we were all rested and ready to go. Which was a good thing, since it was the only day we didn't have rain. We had to make the most of it. 

Catching up...

So I've missed a few important things lately...but I'm determined to get caught up. I might not get everything posted on the blog, but I'll get it put in my 2012 book which I'm trying to keep up as I blog. So far, I'm doing okay with that goal.

One thing I couldn't let go by was my baby's third birthday. Honestly how did he get so big. Where is my baby? For the weeks leading up to his birthday he was busy thinking of ideas for his birthday. He wanted themes such as soccer, cards, dinosaur, etc. It changed daily. But for a couple of days prior to his birthday he decided he wanted a dinosaur birthday so we stuck with that.

 For his birthday we decided to get him a balance bike. Todd has been busy with work so there wasn't going to be a chance to pick it up without him with me. He was mildly excited at the store when I was picking it up. He was more interested in the dinosaurs. I was a little worried that his birthday would be a disappointment. When Todd got home he insisted that we hide the bike until his birthday (2 days later). He was not impressed. When he was busy I took it upstairs and hid it. I quickly started hearing "Where is my BIKE mom?" "I need my BIKE!"

Saturday I went to the grocery store and he found his hidden bike while I was gone. He was upstairs calling for Todd to come help him with his bike, he couldn't get it down the stairs by himself.

Sunday morning came and I put his bike right in front of his bed with balloons and a Happy Birthday sign. He was so thrilled. Then we had to quickly get ready for church. The kids were great about getting ready so we even had a little time to open a few more presents.

After dinner we got to sing "Happy Birthday" and blow out the candles. I got a great video of it, but no pictures.  I found "trick" candles at the store and knew James would love them. He did....he blew them all out three or four times, then asked his dad for help. Once dad couldn't blow them out he panicked a little, he thought he'd never get to eat his birthday cupcakes. 

Sissy and Dad came to the rescue and got a cup of water to get them to stay out. He was thrilled.

Hailee wanted to get James some dinosaurs for his birthday. He was thrilled. The first one opened the first one and was so excited. When he opened the second one he gave it to his dad and when he opened the third one he gave it to Sissy. Now he likes having his playmates with him when he plays dinosaurs. He is such  sweet little guy. He still refers to his dinosaurs as "daddy's dinosaur" and "sissy's dinosaur."

 The next week we got together with some friends to have a picnic in the forest. Unfortunately the weather wasn't as lovely as it had been, but we didn't let that stop the fun.

 Hailee and Isobel

 opening presents

Enjoying the second batch of birthday cupcakes.

Overall I think our little guy had a great birthday.