Matthew, belated

Happy very late birthday to my funny, handsome, smart boy! Love him so much!!

Natalie’s birthday, WAY belated

 I never posted about either Natalie or Matthew’s birthdays! Here is my sweet girl. I’m extremely proud of all she’s achieved this year, but mostly of her kindness.

Les Miserables and the spiffy Pups

Amalfi coast

 Ravello. It’s funny, we were kind of bored there, but it was so, so pretty. I sure wouldn’t complain about being there now.

 Swimming at a hotel in Sorrento.

 The beauty was ridiculous. This was on the side of the road near Sorrento.

 At a restaurant, Accento, that we enjoyed a lot in Sorrento.

 More swimming photos.

Cannes, France

I decided that Cannes, while we were there just one day, deserved it’s own post. You see, it was a perfect day. I think it’s obvious from the pictures why I say it was perfect. Cannes is the city you read about and see photos from the film festival. For us, though, it was a day of 75 degrees, the beautiful ocean, and not having to do anything at all. We went to the market and saw glorious fruits and veggies, along with cookies. Then, we laid by the sea, just enjoying it. We will be back, and for a much longer time.

 The afrorementioned cookies. They were really pretty. Below: Andy and Matthew enjoying the exact same coloring page he got at every single meal. :)

More Rome

 Right before taking off from NYC.

 The Trevi fountain.  I am not including the photo that shows the nine billion other tourists who were all there as well. 

 Above:  The outside of the Pantheon.  Despite there being many people, the line moved swiftly and was uncrowded inside. Below: another of Matthew's selfies in the Pantheon.

Rome, the start of our trip of a lifetime

 We got back a few weeks ago from an absolutely amazing trip.  We started in NYC for 2 days and got to see my cousins Andy and Ben.  Then, we headed to Rome.  It is a formidable task to try to explain this trip in blog entries or in photos, but these are just a few to start off.  The photo above is in the Jewish quarter of Rome.  We went there on the advice of friends, who are not Jewish but are foodies. The area is known now for its food. Ironically, we didn't love the choice we made for a restaurant, but we loved the walk over there. We did lots and lots of walking during our trip, and as a whole, the kids dealt well with it.  

 The Pantheon.  The enormous hole in the beautiful dome of this ancient temple and now church amazed even Matthew. He took photo after photo.  

 We rented a bike that was semi motorized in the Villa Borghese area. It was one of our favorite parts of Rome.  There were gorgeous views and it was fun as well.

 The Colesseum.  I am not sure what I can write about it. It is breathtaking to be standing in an area that has been used for thousands of years. The tour person looked a ton like my brother Brian, which we kept on laughing about.

 We went to Vatican City, but this time we did not go in.  We did do that many years ago when Andy and I went, but since we hadn't booked a tour, we didn't want to mess with the lines.

 This was from Giolitti, our favorite gelato place in Rome.  Meagan got sorbet this time, but we tried quite a few different options. Every day we made sure to have gelato at least once, sometimes even twice.  I always like ice cream, to an embarrassing extent, but gelato is in its own category.

My friend Jennifer from work was in Europe at the same time as us and we managed to overlap one day in Rome.  It was a treat for us to see familiar faces and the kids had fun seeing their kids.

A busy Spring....but not a lot of photos

We are busy with the every day stuff.
Nothing too exciting.
Just the usual running from activity, to school, to appointments, etc.
Matthew began his baseball season, but has yet to play due to rain.  He has a great team and Andy is coaching again.
Natalie is going to be inducted this month into National Junior Honor Society.
Meagan made Sapphires, the JV dance team at her school.  She is really excited because since she hurt herself in middle school, she really hasn't danced much. We are happy to see her preforming!
Barney and Charli continue to cause trouble, but we love them anyway.
Just the usual stuff!

A few early March pictures

15. 15. Yes, 15.

 Somehow this girl is 15.

She can get her permit.

She is in high school.

She is so grown up.

We are so proud of her!  

She was scared to start at a new school this year, but she did great.

She has met a great, sweet group of friends.

I haven't heard a word about transferring to where her old friends go to school.

She has maintained her old friendships too.

She is loyal, kind, and smart.

Politics and the future are important to her.

It is so fun for us to watch her grow up.

Her uncles came to visit from CA this weekend and totally surprised her.

We are so grateful for our Meggie Moo!

The Dominican Republic

We had a great winter holiday in the DR.

We went with all of Andy's family.

It was relaxing and a pretty way to get away.