April 15, 2008
We survived the boys’ Spring Break last week. The weather turned yucky, lots of rain and very little sun, so we had to find indoor things to do (well, we did squeeze in the Aviano market on Tuesday but both of them left their jackets in the car so we had to cut it short). So they did bowling camp 2 hours a day from Monday-Thursday, then we bowled again Friday AND Saturday. My bowling muscles are still sore. So are the ones I used in Pilates yesterday. Ouch.
We also worked on Cub Scout stuff, we’ve only got a couple months left to get all of their requirements done so they can recieve their patches. Zach I’m not worried about since he started his stuff back in September with the den in Texas, but Brandon just joined last month so we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us!
Yesterday we had a pretty good hail storm. I think we’ve had hail more times here in the last three months than we would get in a year in Texas. You could see the hail collected in the nets over the landlords’ garden in the back yard, but I was too tired to get up and take a picture to put in here.
Wish I had more exciting news to post, but there just isn’t much going on right now, especially with the weather keeping us housebound so much!
April 14, 2008
The squadron spouses group set up a trip to the Lignano Zoo. On a tour bus. So I didn’t have to drive! I did have to pay 10 Euro a seat, but the squadron paid for our admission to the zoo. The weather in Aviano was nasty, it was pourind down rain and miserable. But we figured we’d go, it was supposed to be nice in Lignano (which is on the Adriatic Sea) until about 5 pm, when the nasty Aviano weather would catch up. So off we went, hoping for the best but not expecting much. Boy were we surprised!
It was overcast when we arrived, and you could tell it had rained recently by the puddles on the ground, but it cleared up quickly and the sun came out and it got warm enough that the kids all shed their jackets and gave them to me to carry! We saw meerkats, koi, the reptile house, some of the big cats, zebras, giraffes, and the playground before lunch. We brown-bagged it in the picnic area as a group, then headed out to find the lions, tigers, and bears, Oh My! They also had camels, wallabies, emu, and lots of different birds. The sea lions were a hit too! It was a smallish zoo, especially compared the ones I’ve been to (San Diego zoo and wild animal park, L.A. zoo, etc) but it was very clean and well kept. Some of the enclosures seemed small to me, but the animals were all healthy looking. Not very stroller friendly as all the pathways are gravel, but all in all a nice place to spend a few hours. Went to the bar after we were done and kids got gelato or ice pops and the grown ups had various types of coffee. Then we loaded up and headed home, only to find out it had done nothing but rain all day in Aviano while we were off enjoying the sun and the animals!
Will add pictures one of these days.
March 30, 2008
After church this morning, we took off with no particular destination in mind. After going through several tunnels that were very long (I think one was almost 5K), we ended up at Lake Barcis and got out of the car and let the kids climb around on the rocks and pick some wild flowers. (The camera was home on the desk, so you’ll have to click the link to see other peoples’ pictures). After amassing a small amount of clay on their persons, we trecked back to the car and headed out, sort of towards home but not in a hurry. Well, Doug and I were not in a hurry. The back seat sounded like “Are we home yet?” “Can we watch Ratatouille again?” “Hey! Quit kicking me!” “I’m hungry.” etc. I bet if an auto manufacturer would put a sound-proof dividing wall between the front seats and the back, they would corner the market on family cars.
After much fussing, squabbling, crying, and threats to pull the car over, we managed to pull ourselves together and find a place to eat. We ended up at Ristorante Pulcinella which I think was in the town of Fortogna di Longarone. I have no idea where that was. All I know was the waiter was friendly, though he spoke very limited English (German and French were his other languages, my French is too rusty to be of much help), and the pizza was awesome! The house wine (vino della casa) was great, and dessert (some sort of ice cream ball w/chocolate powder on it drowned in espresso) was to die for.
We got on the Autostrada on the way home, a first for us since we got here. Actually got to break 100 kph lol. And it was only €2 toll when we got off. Since the kids were fed (and we caved and turned on Ratatouille), the back seat was quiet and we had a pleasant trip back home. Thank goodness for the Navigon GPS . Without it, I doubt we would be this adventurous! Can’t wait till our next driving adventure.
March 29, 2008
The boys had their Boy Scout Pinewood Derby today. They started preparing their cars a couple of weeks ago. Dad helped with final details. The cars needed to weigh as close to 5 ounces as possible, without going over. So Dad added “engines” made out of old batteries and foil.
Zach’s car is the one closest to the starter. This was the first run for his car. Each car would run 8 times, twice on each track.
By his face, you can guess that he won. He had several first place finishes over the 8 heats, and ended up coming in First Place in his den and Third Place for the whole pack. He got a trophy and a medal.
Brandon did well too, he came in First Place in his den, but did not place in the pack. He got a medal, but my camera died before I could get his picture.
Can’t wait till next year, I’m already planning my design……………..
March 24, 2008
Or Happy Easter!
We didn’t do much to celebrate. Of course, the Easter bunny made the long trip from the States (the Italians don’t do the Easter Bunny) and left the kids some candy. Our landlords gave each of the kids a big chocolate egg with a prize inside (Italian tradition), in addition to the two that the kids won at the squadron Easter egg hunt on Saturday. Speaking of the squadron Easter hunt, they did more than just hunt eggs.
We were crafty together. Each kid got to make an Easter rabbit picture frame. They also got to color eggs. I think this was to distract them while hundreds of candy-filled, plastic, diabetes-inducing eggs were hidden outside.
It POURED while the kids were out hunting eggs. The camera had a hard time focusing because of the rain and/or the poor lighting condidtions, so I didn’t bother (on my painfully slow dial up connection) to upload any pictures of the actual hunt. As soon as the kids were done with the hunt, it started to hail. And then it really started to hail, you could see the hailstones bouncing all over as they hit the ground. They still had fun!
Anyway. Back to Easter Sunday. We went to church after the kids had their sugar fix and then went to the commissary. I’m not sure that is the most holy way to spend the holiest of Sundays, but the commissary was closed Monday for the Italian holiday Pasquetta, and we were running out of staples. I was told the Italians like to picnic for Pasquetta. Too bad for them it rained! At least it didn’t hail.
After we got home from the commissary, I managed to stall the kids for a couple hours but finally gave in and hid eggs in our yard. Once again, it started to rain. Not much luck with the weather! Maybe next year we’ll have sun.
Hope your Easter was blessed as well!
March 24, 2008
As we were readying ourselves for church, I heard a bell ringing. It was not the church bells, but sounded more like something a child would play with. At first I wondered if it was some sort of Italian Easter tradition I didn’t know about, but it turns out it was sheep.
A lot of sheep.
And a few shepherds and some sheep dogs. There was poo on the road for many klicks (Km). Many.
March 21, 2008
Alyssa is on “Spring Break” since Pasqua (Easter) is this Sunday. Today we went to Sacile to try and find a middle school that offers Italian language classes for adults. For free! We found the building, but I didn’t think about them being closed for Spring break as well. But at least I got the location saved in my GPS. I’ll try again next Friday! Then we went to visit our property manager Roberto and pick up a receipt we need to reimburse the landlords for painting the place before we moved in. His office is in a small mall, so after we visited with him we went into the cafe and had cappuccino and croissants (don’t know how to spell what they are called in Italian). Then we went to a couple of other shops and bought light bulbs at one and a baby gift (congrats Joe and Laura!) at the other. We then drove through Pordenone and went up to the base to check the mail (there was none, please send mail~~it makes our day!). On the way home we stopped at the market in Caneva. It’s small, but Alyssa enjoyed it. She bought a pineapple, and we looked at shoes and flowers. Then we went down the street and had gelato (Italian ice cream that is 1000X better than ice cream). After we got home, the landlords invited us over for caffe and juice. After an hour of charades and me looking stuff up in my Italian/English dictionary it was time to go wait for the boys. I’m hoping that one day next week the weather will be clear and I’ll get to take Alyssa up to Piancavallo to play in the snow. Right now it looks like it might be snowing up there, so we will pray for clear weather on Monday!
March 20, 2008
We had our first visitors, though they did not stay with us. My “Aunt” Toni (my mom’s best friend growing up) and “Uncle” Jim came to visit along with some of their friends from Germany (Alexandra, Stefan, Inge, Rolf, and Deeter~~hope I spelled all those right!). They came in Monday evening and stayed somewhere south of Pordenone. Tuesday the weather cleared enough to go to the Aviano market and walk around. We also stopped and had a variety of hot beverages at a bar (a bar here is not like a bar in the states, they have coffee and food usually, in addition to wine and beer). I had a cappuccino, Jim had a caffe (which, much to his dismay, was about the size of a thimble), Toni had hot chocolate with milk, and I think it was Inge who had plain hot chocolate, which was the consistency of a melted chocolate bar! Then we all piled back into the 9 passenger rental van and headed towards Caneva. Along the way we stopped at a winery I’ve been wanting to visit. The Rive had an amazing view of the cities around.
We could see Aviano, Sacile, Pordenone and who knows what else! Even though there was cloud cover, the air was clear (not hazy like it had been) so visibility was very good. We went in and sampled several wines and I think most everyone left with a bottle or two (or three).
Upon arriving home, Toni and I waited for the kids to come home on the school buses and the rest of the crew went on an adventure to find a late lunch. That evening we went to the Aviano Inn for dinner. I was told they have a gluten free pizza, but found out that you have to order a day in advance, so Zach was very disappointed he couldn’t have pizza after all. The next morning Alyssa and I met the group in Sacile at the train station. We had cappuccino (well, I did, Alyssa had some of the foam) and then boarded the 9:04 train bound for Venezia (Venice to you non-Italians). The train ride is about an hour and 20 minutes. We walked from the station to the Rialto bridge, stopping occassionaly for pictures and to eat lunch.
At that point, Alyssa and I took the vaparetto (water taxi) back to the train station so we could buy return tickets to be home in time to pick the boys up from the bus stop. 3 hours isn’t enough time to do a lot in Venice, so everyone else stayed behind and made it to San Marco Square, and then got lost eating dinner in Sacile. Can’t wait till we get our next round of visitors!
March 17, 2008
The boys were off of school on Friday (teacher inservice day) so I sent Alyssa off to her Asilo and took the boys up to the mountains to do some sledding. We rented snow boots and snow pants, and a couple of sleds. After getting set up with our equipment we set off for the drive up the mountain. It’s about 20 minutes from the Mountain Highway and it’s a lot of curves and switchbacks. I was worried the boys would get car sick but they both were fine.
The boys hadn’t been sledding since we went with The Kids’ Co-op Preschool in Las Vegas when they were 4 and 5 (snow is hard to come by in Texas). As usual though, they had no fear and hopped right on and started going.
After a few runs, I was able to convince one of them to fess up their sled so I could take a turn. I think they were thankful that they could take a break from walking up the hill (did I mention my main reason for going was to wear them out?).
While they raced and had snowball fights, I tried to take in some of the scenery. It was beautiful up there, the sun was out and there weren’t many clouds directly overhead. As time went by though the clouds started to come in and by the time we left it was pretty overcast. But I got some good pictures before the sun disappeared.
Once the sun was gone, it stayed gone all weekend and we got a lot of rain. Of course this morning we wake up to sunshine and clear skies but it is off to school for the kids and off to work for Doug. Sigh.
