A Kindergartner

A Preschooler

A haircut

A knight

A soccer player

A great Daddy

A Baby, Number 3, due in March 2010.

What a surprise, a few months after selling the majority of our baby items, we found out Baby T III was on his or her way in 2010. A bigger shock yet, Meggie wants a sister and Nolo wants a brother.

Meggie bounced her head on my belly today and said, “It’s like Pump It Up for the baby!”. Today Nolan sang “You Are My Sunshine” to the baby. They seem to be excited about the new addition, I’m hopeful this is truly the case once the littlest one shifts from a bump in my belly to a bump on my belly. And when I say “bump”, that’s an understatement.

Meggie has written her first book, entitled, “The Lonely Pumpkin”. I’m sure pregnancy hormones played no part in the fact it made me blubber. She has a future.

Nolo Bolo is doing well in Preschool, but insists every Tuesday and Thursday that it’s “too long Mama, I miss you too much.”. Hopefully #3 won’t be so insistent on making his/her mama CRY.

My favorite time of year…

Just One Long Photo Post for Summer 2009

Before my first born charges off to kindergarten, in respect to chronology and all, I better at least review her most excellent fifth birthday that occurred back in May, which would be her birthday month. So a few months have past since that day and my memory is more than sluggish, therefore, I’m going to rely on my ol’ stand-by, and we all know what that means.

Daddy, Neighbor Bob and Neighbor John bonded while assembling the Ginormous Tent (thanks Bob and Athena!).

The girls played inside for a bit, perhaps to escape the 20 mph winds outside.

A present almost as big as Meg and Avery

Yes, I must shamelessly include a photo of the cake I made, that took no less than five hours. Me thinks it’s time to give the free-hand technique a try.

Happy Birthday to you, Princess!

The Johnson Crew

Nolo Bolo intensely enjoyed the bounce house and both children were confused when the truck came Sunday to take it away, “why are they taking away our Bounce House?” Probably should have told them off the bat it was only a rental.

Good thing she’s five now, to have the stamina to open all the gifts! Wow!

She’s a diva, there’s no doubt.

Some more of the adults in attendance.

Meg and Anna – Shiny Happy Girls!

We topped off the day with a movie night.

And then it was a wrap.

Oh yes, and preschool graduation, which of course should be more than a little footnote, but better than not documented at all, right??

The morning of her preschool graduation. Mommy forced her outside for better scenery, even though…

…it was a tad chilly outside.

Meggie’s Preschool Class, darn adorable was what it was.

Officially a kindergartner now.

And LOVE the boys in the background as though they’re posing for a magazine ad. LOOK, over there, that way!








A few shots of the Big Guy

And now we’re going back to Meg to show some photos of her dance recital, because there have not been enough photos yet.



Sweet little fairies practicing for their big performance.

Mommy might have been in the show as well.

And that’s just about the right look for a brother at his sister’s recital.

And just to balance things out…a couple more of our Nolo and company plus some vaca shots…

In Pentwater.


Super blanket heroes with big cuz J-Bird.

Finally, some boys to hang with Nolo.

A great shot of the four cousins.

Sunset on Lake Michigan

Bit of Family Reunion, missing Poppa Nick!

Half family shot, half pitch black night sky.

Meggie telling Great Grandma Graham a secret.

Nolo showing off Mr. Blue.

Four generations.

The Men

The J-P-T Crew

The facepainting, that took DAYS to remove and still resulted in a complete meltdown by our son. He really…really wanted to stay Spiderman.

A big summer for us, Meggie has also learned to ride her two wheeled bicycle and in the last few days whistle, snap and tie her shoes. Nolo Bolo is starting preschool in a couple weeks, and I do believe he is ready, just not sure Mommy is ready. And last but not least, looks like we may have an additional child to be blogging about come next March.

Three

Is it time to change my blog title yet? Just how long can I cling to my short lived, lovely year in Italy? Well I may cling to it forever, but I suppose I’ll change the title…eventually.

And just what am I supposed to say when over two months have elapsed with no entry? Whatever the hell I want, it’s my blog. HA.

Nolan is three. And as sweet as ever, with just the right amount of naughty. In truth, no matter the percentage of naughty, I’ll forever be wrapped around whichever finger he chooses. Say whatever you want, I want my Mama’s boy as long as I can have him.

Even when, after trying a new recipe, he informs me, “it’s not pretty good Mama”, I’ll still love him. And even when, upon my requesting that it’s perhaps cleanup time, he instead pulls out every toy he owns, I’ll still love him. Even when he says shrieks, “I DON’T WANT YOU MAMA”, I’ll still love him. And even when he runs from me, naked and squealing with delight, while I chase him all around with his underwear in my hand, I’ll still love him, and that’s actually damn cute right there.

I suppose every birthday may come with it’s very own baking of the cake nightmare, this one being only that it took me FOUR hours to decorate.

But he really liked it.

And he really liked his birthday at Pump It Up.

With friends and family to help him celebrate.

Papa and Uncle E (this one looking like some sort of strange mug shot though with a crazy yellow backdrop)

Aunt Karen and a surprise treat from Aunt Jen!

Auntie Robin and Grandma

Getting all young guests to cooperate wasn’t a task for the faint of heart…so this is some of the party.

Ka-CHOW!

And a few from his actual birthday, which we celebrated at Casa Real, where perhaps, it would appear he had a few too many Margaritas.

Meggie took some photos of his Mama (actually having showered and all) and him, thankfully somebody does :O) xo BT

And then he decided, being three now and all, he could take a crack at the Rebel…he couldn’t do much worse than Mama did in Venice!

And then we went from this…

to this…

to this…

and then this…

and that’s gonna be a wrap on the birthday photo shoot…

Meggie is four years and ten months. She is amazing us with her intellect as she’s been doing practically from birth. What with reading level one books, adding in her head (and sometimes subtracting), assembling 200 piece puzzles (for about a year now), just to name a few abilities. She will be in Mensa. The down side to this is she also seems to have acquired advanced skills in the attitude department and we’re all up shit’s creek if she’s worse than I was am.

Yes, Meggie is equally awesome, making us laugh all the time and always, always keeping us on our toes.

Our bedtime ritual typically involves parental motivation in the form of a race to see who can be ready first. Works like a charm for Meggie. She was so bent out of shape to win the other night (when there has yet to be even a close call) I finally said, “Meggie, RELAX, I think you have it in the bag.” She stopped, pondered for a second or two, looked around the bathroom until finally asking me, “Mommy, where’s the bag?”.

Our annual ski trip to Boyne Highlands with the Jeff and Allison crew went splendidly. Meggie is now a better skier than I am, which actually isn’t saying anything. I spent my entire ski trip on the beginner’s hill where there isn’t even a fee to ski (I’ve always been a cheap date). I was happy there, very happy. Meggie and her sweet ski dude, Max, had a blast skiing together, chatting all the way up the lift (by THEMSELVES) and then all the DOWN the hill as though they were simply walking down the street. Max even taught Meggie how to ski backwards.

Nolan and Ben are the cutest, best of buds around. Never before have two little boys shared so nicely and respected each other’s “work” (aka lining up of Cars) so much. Even they found a little time on the slopes with a just a “little” help from their Daddys. Next year we’ll be a family of four on the slope, with Mommy still on the Camelot and everybody else skiing on the parts of the land with an actual slope.

Nolan and Ben also spent a fair amount of time in cool cartoon character pajamas.

Meggie illustrating just how fast she flies down the hill, her eyes are blown back by the velocity.

In addition to skiing…

Jeff taught the kids to play backgammon!

Reading, by Auntie Robin

Icing of Injuries obtained whilst skiing, (and Working may have occurred in case you’ve been wondering, “Where has Brent been in all these photos?? Being one hard working, traveling Daddy and Husband)

Recovery of said ski trip

Random Photo Time.

Ever see four little ones all smiling for the (amateur) photographer at once? New Years Eve Party, another great Herrgott party.

Daddy Daughter Dance

Fingerpainting


Watching Disney on Ice

With Prince Charming

And some random Queen

Modeling

Over and out…

Happy Yew Near

Now that’s sweet stuff.

A great Christmas for us this year. We had a blast with our families hailing from as far as Phoenix and as close as Clarkston. Things were a tad hectic with a quick trip to Tennessee thrown in the weekend before Christmas. Grandma and Grandpa Johnson celebrating 60 years worth of marriage! AND, my awesome nephew Josh celebrating his TENTH birthday! A few shots from that trip:

Great Grandma J, Aunt Karen and Meggie

Josh looking pretty darn grown up on his Tenth Birthday with Momma close by.

One heck of a cute photo of Meg and her cousin Ethan.

Grandma and Grandpa 60 years ago on their wedding day

And Grandma and Grandpa today, still looking darn fine!


UG ensuring everything is perfect.

Our beautiful, fabulous cousins Jess and Dev…sure wish they lived closer.

Aunt Karen with JJ and EZJ (Aunt Jo in the background!)

The whole lot of us.

And now a couple shots from Christmas

Mom (Bascia), Meg and Melissa

Christmas with cousins too.

Meg and JJ – cuteness

Nolo and EZJ – The Truck Boys

Nothin’ but smiling good times when Devin and Nini are in the HAUS!

Great Grandma and Grandma chilling out after a long day of opening presents.

Auntie Robin in the thick of it.

Fun in the snow with Poppa Nick, and even though he came from Phoenix, there were no complaints about all this cold and snow – now THAT’S what I call restraint!

Meg was happy with her new Snow White costume.


And anything relating to CARS will work for Nolo

Small children could get lost.

And a couple from Meggie’s first time bowling.

Can you say “natural”?

The whole bunch of them had a blast…and it did take some three hours to play two games what with the ball taking about thirty seconds to make it all the way down to the pins and all. It’s amazing what little pressure it takes to knock down those pins.

We’re immensely fortunate to have this fantastic family. Last year in Italy was very enjoyable, unique, toned down and awesome, but it’s certainly great to be back home with our family amidst all the chaos again.

A little update, A lotta photos

Oh, we’ve been busy sure, but this “writer’s” block I come down with while living my “normal” American life is upsetting! My hopes for this blog was not only to keep interested parties up to date on our life abroad, but also as a childhood memoir for the kids. So this will, again, be more of a photo memoir.

I’ll start with Meggie…
She’s doing great in preschool with Miss Lori. Half the year is over- it’s flying by, life is flying by too fast. She had no dramatic meltdowns dragging on Mommy’s leg begging me not to go. To the contrary, she wouldn’t even let me walk her down to her class anymore, preferring the designated eighth grade “big girls” as she likes to call them.

Nowadays she has more interest in Mommy being involved in her class, so thank goodness she’s still my little girl – albeit my little testing-me-at-every-possible-opportunity little girl. I’ve taken to sometimes describing her as mini-me. What’s quickly being revealed is that the Tompkins’ prominent genes of strength are indeed boosting her Johnson prominent genes of SASSAY. Oh dear, what a combo.

Here are some photos to take us through the last three months…

Meggie’s First Day of Pre-School

First day of Dance (Nolan kind of snuck in)

Sample of Sassy

Her First Jack-O-Lantern

She’s such a beauty (let the bias show right through)

Halloween as Sleeping Beauty

Looking every bit of 13, must be the angle

A visit with Grandma and Grandpa T from Utah!

Now that’s just plain cute

Pony rides in the snow

Fun snow times with friends – it’s been an EARLY snow season – this was November!

Getting ready for Thanksgiving at Grandma’s House

A girl and her Daddy!

A girl and her Mommy

And let’s talk about Nolan – you may not have met him yet. At least not the new, upgraded (?), improved (?) version of Nolan. Perhaps I’ve been wearing “Mommy” goggles, but I’ve always considered him to be quite docile, very sweet, not often rowdy. Well. He’s – a – changin’. That boy he is a changin. I believe he woke up one morning about a month or so ago and decided he was a monkey. Or perhaps it’s just now dawning on him that he is, in fact, a BOY. He is now displaying all the typical boy behavior that I thought I was going to somehow avoid. He and Daddy are having loads of fun roughhousing together.
Exibit One

Yes, Nolan’s legs are flying through the air

This is Nolan in the middle of calling Daddy “Zerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrg” Their favorite game is Buzz and Zerg.

But of course, he’s still very sweet!

And he looooves hot chocolate (who doesn’t?)

After playing out in the snow.

Nolan’s looks seem to come directly from his Grandpa T

Nolan’s attempt at looking sassy. A valid effort.

Nolan’s turn on the snowy pony ride

Nolan was a jolly pirate for Halloween

Nolan and his pumpkin carving exercise

He’s simply adorable too (some more bias here of course)

He REALLY enjoyed raking leaves too

And playing with his neighbor “girl”friends.

A dude

Brent and I are good, nothing really drastic for us, which is good, I’ve discovered…once you hit a certain age in life, no change is a GOOD thing to report! I’ll take it!

And just to top things off, here are a few more shots in case you didn’t get enough of the hundreds above…

What a gorgeous fall we had!

A hayride at the pumpkin patch!


Pumpkin Hunting

My angels

Bascia’s gotta love it!

Good times with Daddy!

Hamburger without the beef please

I haven’t been sure what to say after such great blog effort from my better half. So I’ll just jump back into it unabashedly.

As Meggie was eating a hamburger the other day, she said to me, “Mom, you know this hamburger would be much better if it were just the bun, the ketchup and the mustard.” MMMMM, could not have said it better myself.

For those of you who have been with me as I order from any fast food chain, or who have had the displeasure of having me over for dinner, those words should come as no surprise. I shall never forget the predicament of Raffaella who had our family over for New Year’s last year. “THANKS, we would LOVE to come over, by the way did I mention that I’m a vegetarian, my husband is allergic to certain seafood, my daughter has a peanut/tree nut allergy and my son has an egg allergy. What time SHOULD we be there?”

In true Italian form, Raffaella managed beautifully and if you recall reading, we had a VERY delicious, very varied, wonderful, traditional Italian New Year’s Eve meal with her even more wonderful family.

I’m going to keep this one short tonight, so here are some photos to elongate it.

The actually sometimes behave in a manner indicating fondness for one another.

Meggie’s latest talent, skin art

A great shot with Grandma

This one’s for Papa!

Meggie’s improving talent – photography.

Thanks to Bascia, we have a never ending supply of Bunny Bears! (and they’re not all making an appearance in this photo!)

Rehashing the good ol days at MSU…thanks to Facebook, found friends I hadn’t seen in over eleven years.

And yes, you’ll notice the absence of people around us, we did NOT make it to the game that day.

And last but not least, the man who makes it all possible.

And here’s to my future vegetarian…

Daddy Chimes in…

Guest Blogger time… In the event many of Melissa’s faithful blog readers have grown accustomed to her style and, dare I say it, come to take Melissa’s wit and insight for granted, I thought I would hack my way in and interject a blog to help you realize just how good she is at this. So grab un café or Red Bull or another caffeinated beverage of choice and have a read (and try to stay awake).

As you all know, Melissa and I brought the kids home to Michigan in late July. It is there that Melissa and the kids have remained while I have bounced back and forth between Michigan and Milano to wrap up my assignment. My last visit was intended to conclude around October 15, which is the last day of my assignment – not a mere coincidence. As luck would have it, I am needed elsewhere (or I was the only fool that said yes) and I’ll be wrapping up early. Ergo, I am down to my last days in Milano. Bummer…

As Melissa has mentioned, some folks familiar with Milano would wonder why we would be sad to leave, but as Melissa has pointed out there are many reasons we will miss Milano – and those are some of the very reasons I’m sad to see this assignment come to an end…

Among the many things, I will definitely miss the great friends we have made. These are the people that, sometimes unknowingly, threw us a lifeline when we were just about ready to bag it. There are still some very good people in this world.

I’ll miss the style and architecture of Milano – beautiful buildings that Meggie and I would point out and discuss. (Ok, I’m embellishing a little bit, but my girl does have an eye for fine architecture!) And I’ll miss the many sculptures and statues, my favorite being my man, Leonardo…

I’ll miss seeing Mercedes, Porsches and Ferraris on a daily basis and I’ll miss the weekly Lamborghini sighting as well. Being a truck guy, I never had a true appreciation for an Italian sports car. That was before watching a Ferrari glide by, then wind out the engine as the opportunity allowed – or watching a Lamborghini scream by on L’Autostrada, making my 140kmh seem like I was standing still. Cool stuff…

In case you were wondering, and I’m sure you were, there is a Ferrari store in Milano. Three floors of everything Ferrari… You can even get a Segway Ferrari Edition or Ferrari toilet paper – ok, maybe not toilet paper, but you get the picture.

Of course, I’ll miss the many beautiful, stylish people of Milano that Melissa has referenced. As a sample, below is a photo of the most beautiful woman I’ve seen in Milano. Ciao Bella…

Rest assured that despite her comments to the contrary, Melissa more than held her own with the beautiful people of Milano.

Speaking of my beautiful wife, she is the one thing I miss most about Milano. Life here wasn’t always easy, but we had a lot of fun and learned many things together. She did a great job of meeting new people and finding fun things for the kids to do. I can say first hand that Milano is much more fun with someone you love! (And not just because she can knock down a gallon of Hoegarden in a single sitting. I know this is a repeat pic, but that’s my girl!!)

Despite Melissa’s great writing, she’s taught me that in the event a blog doesn’t come together as well as you’d like, throw in some pics as a crowd pleaser. So in a shameless attempt to leave you with a good impression, here are a few of my favorite recent photos…

There it is… my first blog and my last days in Milano. I’ll miss Milano, but I’m going home to my beautiful wife and incredible kids – not a bad trade. So, as one of my favorite people, Forrest Gump, used to say, “That’s all I have to say about that.” Ciao.

A good way to spend half an hour

Today we picked up Daddy from the airport. It’s been almost three weeks and we were so excited to get him! Almost every day during the last couple weeks the monkeys have asked about Daddy’s whereabouts, wondering if he is still in China or is he in Italy again, and when IS he coming home? (or in Nolanese “Whan Da-ey gon be heah?”)

Timing couldn’t have been better. I arrived at an unprecedented half an hour before BT’s arrival. Little did I know what great fortune I was in for during this half an hour. Standing next to me was a couple waiting with their young son. I asked what flight they were waiting for and the woman replied “Korea”. Her husband appeared to me to possibly be Korean so I assumed it must be his family coming to visit. There was also a group of about 15 people standing on the other side of me, and I slowly began to notice that not only were they all wearing nametags, but they ALL were in possession of cameras AND video cameras.

I overheard one of the women amongst the group say “I wish they had some sort of entertainment to pass the time, I can hardly stand the wait.” The woman next to me began having conversation with the bigger group. Being the nosy and anything-but-shy person that I am, I couldn’t resist asking “What is going on here? Who’s coming?” Imagine….the woman replied, “We are all adopting babies, they landed a short while ago and will be coming through those doors any minute.”

I put my hand to my mouth and began to cry, “Oh My God, Oh My God.” I was about to witness something so beautiful and I even felt slightly guilty for “intruding” on such an intimate moment for these families. I met my children for the first time in the privacy of the hospital room with only my husband and a couple nurses present. This would be something else entirely! I told the woman, “I feel like I am at the side of the delivery table.” Just without the physical pain right? (hmmm? I LIKE that idea!!)

She was so nice and even thanked me for sharing in their joy, I asked her “How can you stand it? just waiting here like this?” She just kept nodding, smiling ear to ear saying “I know I know, it’s so hard”, only taking her eyes off of those doors for split seconds at a time.

Every single time those sliding doors began to open all those new parents braced themselves and prepared to meet their newest child. Three of the four families had children already. I tell you, it might be one of THE most exciting moments I have EVER witnessed, especially considering they were complete strangers to me. Those sliding doors must have opened 100 times before those babies came through…and when they did, It.Was.Awesome. Four beautiful, sweet, sleeping babies came through to be introduced to their new families. The look of love upon the mother’s and father’s faces made it clear to me, these babies were just as loved and accepted as though they had just come from their own womb. The tears, the hugs, the nonstop kisses to the heads, it was amazing.

Then we had our own fabulous family reunion when Daddy came through about twenty minutes later, we’re grateful to have him here even if it’s only for a short while…and now I’ll start my own adoption proceedings! HEE HEE…. jk (I think).

WHAT? It’s over?

In the last few days, maybe the past couple of weeks even, I’ve been missing Italy a little more…and more. I knew our time of living there would pass by very fast and I knew I would just start enjoying and adjusting to it when it was time to up and leave. BUT DAMN, it’s really over. This reality is finally hitting home. And I gotta say, that kinda sucks.

Oh I know, I truly, TRULY have Zilch to complain about, and I’m not really complaining here as I’ll be the first to admit that I have one hell of a blessed life. Two healthy (and might I add BEAUTIFUL, not that that matters of course) children, an out of this world fantastic, understanding (he IS married to me!) husband, living in a great neighborhood full of children and wonderful neighbors where there are no hurricanes, no earthquakes, no lethal snakes or scorpions (jab jab Mom and Nick), mudslides, etc. Life is honestly awesome.

But…..once you get a taste for something so different, and EVEN IF it SUCKS at first, and you’re crying to your husband that I’M GOING HOME NOW and I’M NEVER DOING THIS AGAIN and I HATE IT HERE where I CAN’T UNDERSTAND A F*#@ING THING ANYBODY SAYS and I CAN’T EVEN GET MY CHILDREN TO THE DOCTOR BY MYSELF, and I can’t believe WE’RE AT THE F*#@ING HOSPITAL AGAIN?? and I CAN’T EVEN ORDER A TAXI OVER THE PHONE BECAUSE THEY HANG UP ON ME and NOT ONE DAMN PERSON CAME OVER TO SEE IF WE NEEDED HELP WHILE MY SON SCREAMED IN MY ARMS AFTER FALLING FROM A FIVE FOOT PLATFORM ON THE PLAYSET and THEY STOLE MY WALLET OUT OF MY PURSE WHILE IT WAS ON MY BODY and…

Wait, what was I saying, I miss it? Yes I do. After childbirth and rearing, moving to Italy was one of the biggest challenges of my life. Big challenges do not come without frustration, stress and moments of weakness when you want to quit. That’s what makes it a challenge. In fact I did read in some of the expat literature that, in terms of stress level only, being an expatriate was similar to divorce and death and is particularly stressful on a marriage.

But that’s also what is making this so difficult to just walk away from and never go back. I spent over a year thinking about, deciding about, freaking about, learning about, moving to, living in and adjusting to Italy. Then when I started to get the hang of things, after SO much frustration, and really REALLY began to ENJOY it, I had to leave it all behind. All that time spent on Italy is exactly what makes it so tremendously hard to just one day walk out of our awesome Italian apartment in such a rush I barely took note of the moment until we were in the taxi on our way to the airport, board a plane and leave Italy all behind.

Meggie’s previous dance instructor was an expat in London and warned me before moving over that moving back to the US was MUCH more difficult than moving and adjusting to London. Now, I do think we had a bit of extenuating circumstance what with all the hospital visits, falls, allergies, etc. Dealing with all of that in a foreign speaking country was something I hope NEVER to do again. In fact, those awful experiences made moving back easy at first, ENGLISH BABY! but each day my Italian experience is farther away and I admit, when I think about it, it makes me feel pretty darn sad.

Before leaving Milan, I mentioned to several of my Italian friends and at least one Italian stranger (a young, friendly girl who worked at the shoe boutique that Thank God happened to be along our way to the grocery store and only ten feet away when Meggie’s shoe decided to fall apart rendering it nothing more than a piece of material under her foot) that I was really going to miss living in Milano. Some of the responses to my comment were “WHY?” from one friend with a sneer upon his face and “What IS there to miss?” from another friend, and from the girl at the shoe store “You’re the First!” Well, it is only appropriate to have a list of reasons.

- our fabulous apartment spacious enough for Meggie to ride her bike throughout (at close to full speed!)

- walking walking everyday everywhere

- surrounded by (a beautiful) foreign language and trying to learn a foreign language and understanding that language more everyday

- Uberstylish men and women (in hose and heels) riding their bicycles to work (or even just to the park!)

- our dry cleaner who said, while handing over to me my 100 euro dry cleaning order to take home, “la prossima”, I could pay him “next” time since I didn’t have the money with me that time, I promise you that will NEVER happen to me in Oxford.

- taking the metro, trolley, bus

- mountains within half an hour

- numerous countries all within short driving distance

- aperitivo, aperitivo, apertivo

- wine, wine, wine

- inexpensive, fantastic, food (esp olive oil and vinegar!)

- Panino Giusto five minutes walking away!

- Parco Pallavicino

- Parco Sempione

- Duomo

- Running around and near Parco Sempione/Arena Civica/Castello Sforzeca/Cadorna Train Station/Via Vittore

- Hearing “Brava” as I jog past (so what if it was elderly Italian men??)

- Via Alberto da Giussano, 17

- Spongebob Squarepants in German no matter where we vacation. (Bitta? NEIN! Bitta? NEIN! Bitta? NEIN!)

- Siena

- Nice

- Dolomiti

- ONE snow shower the entire winter through, that started around midnight and melted before the sun came up the next day

- Buon Giorno, Buonsera, Grazie, BASTA, Prego, Sacchetti? La Giostra, Babo Natale,

- Carnevale

- Carla (our English accented navigation voice who led us to and through some of the most scenic regions I’ll ever visit)

- Last but for sure FIRST in reasons I miss Italy, the fantastic people I have had the great fortune to meet and become good friends with who I know will come to MI to see us! YES, THIS MEANS YOU SARA, RAFFAELLA, STEFANIE! All of you and your beautiful children made our stay fantastic and I owe you all so much and will always be so grateful that you took me in under your wing and helped me so many times in so many ways when I had nothing to give back.

and I could go on, but it’s really getting late here….

OK, so maybe there is a short list of things that I really won’t miss…
- electrical plug adaptors
- not understanding the language
- Being woken up by REALLY loud scooters that drive past our window
- Being woken up by REALLY loud sirens that drive past our window
- mosquitos that leave huge mountains of red on my children
- deciphering labels in Italian,
- dog poop all over the sidewalk
- crazy, fast drivers
- drivers who don’t even let their foot off the gas pedal even when approaching small children near the street
- scooters manuevering all around you while you drive, coming seemingly out of nowhere
- seeing men lying in the street next to their scooter after being blasted by a car
- coming up to a puddle on the sidewalk and knowing it’s probably NOT from rain
- being passed by elderly (yes ELDERLY) women in heels trying to catch the bus while going for my jog (numerous occurrences)
- wearing some of my best attire, only to feel as though I didn’t get the memo that it was “FASHION DAY” (of course, that’s pretty much how I feel anywhere)

Well, I suppose at least when I have a huge drought in posting, I make up for it with a HUGE post. Go State! (One more thing that I was REALLY glad to come home to… MSU FOOTBALL!! GO GREEN BABY!)

St. Joe and “The Rental”

I don’t feel like a particularly spoiled person (hush up, I honestly don’t!), HOWEVER, I can now mark the first time ever for leaving a vacation early due to the accommodations. I knew our rental would be small, and that was no issue, cuz cozy is good. But how many times must one utter the sound “EWWWWWWWWWWWW” before you call it a G.E.V. – Good Enough Vacation, let’s wrap it up people. Over and over I heard “Holiday Roooooaaaaooooooaaaooaaaaaaaaoooaaaddd” in my head. Let’s just say we weren’t comfortable going barefoot.

Sticky floors, revolting refrigerators and moldy showers aside, the biggest factor determining our early departure came in the form of a hideaway “bed”. When we unfolded it, Holy Springs. Of course, we have both slept our fair share of nights on a hideaway bed, but THIS bad boy, it was as though a sheet of tissue paper covered the springs. BT and I were in hysterics when unfolded the “bed” and laughed until we cried at the prospect of sleeping on such a contraption.

Ever the one to “suck it up”, Brent managed to sleep on this bed for three nights, and was trying to make it sound as though it wasn’t terrible when he said “I just bunched up some pillows this way and that way, it was kind of like a crunchy hammock.”. A Crunchy Hammock… mmm, sounds awfully marketable, I keeled over laughing.

On the third night Brent attempted to sleep with Nolan and I in the bedroom where there was a double bed. Since Nolan is the kid at the sleepover who just WON’T stop talking and let the others sleep (aaaand, I’m pretty sure I was this kid too, Allison can you confirm?), to save him from a punch in the nose, Meggie had the luxurious loveseat that was half her length with wooden armrests that she only banged her head on a half a dozen times. Anyway, when she awoke alone in the living room, soon there were four in the double bed and this concluded our nights at the Rental in St Joe.

Also, both children were sick, coughing their way through the night and that’s nothing but a good time right there.

Times were good outside The Rental…

There was the sand

the (oh so wonderfully warm) waters of Lake Michigan

the throwing of the sand into the water

the buckets

the swimming

the burying in the sand (or formation of mermaids and mermen)

the squirt guns

the castles

the swings

the sunsets

the smiles

the cuteness

and the mom was there too

To cap off our annual trek to St Joe, our favorite tradition is dinner at MSU on the way home, meeting up with whichever Johnson girl we can get out hands on!

Thanks Jess, we had a blast!