The Many Faces of Ella

Abby the Italian Girl

Pinewood Derby

Caleb had a great day at the Pinewood Derby. He came in 2nd overall and 1st in the Webelos Den! He built a coffin car with a skeleton inside. We called it "The Corpse Ride" He also got the award for the best design. We also had the cake auction today. Caleb and I made the Webelos Activity Badge ribbons.

Easter

It stopped raining this weekend long enough to hide and then search for Easter eggs. I have to say I am still able to hide them well enough that kids don't find them all without a little help. Good times!!!

Paris

We went on a whirlwind trip to Paris where we met with Josh and Katie and did a week's worth of touring in two days. It was a great trip and on our list of places to return to.

Scuba Diving

I know I've posted scuba pictures before so I am going to post a video too!

Catania Game

Drew and Lacey's Visit

We had a great time with Drew and Lacey. The opera in Palermo was canceled, so we didn't get to see Andrea Boccelli sing, but we did run into him in the foyer of our hotel and he was very nice. He was very upset about the cancellation as well (we heard he is suing the opera house) and offered to hook us up for one of his shows in the states. But, all is well because we were able to see Catania beat Lazio 1-0 in a very exciting game. MLS has nothing on Serie A!!

Scout Hike

Yesterday the cub scouts did a hike from a little above sea level to Taormina and then up to the castle above the city. For those of you who have visited, you will understand that is a very steep climb! The boys lost count after I think 300 stairs and that was nowhere near the end. But you can't beat having gelato halfway through a hike!

Carmen's Birthday

Another fun day. Carmen is a beautiful 23!

Abby's Birthday

Abby had a great birthday. She was very excited to get her own camera, play new games, and have friends spend the night.

Sierra Graduated from Speech!!!!

Sierra got a big surprise this week when she went to speech class. Her teacher informed her that she had graduated and no longer had to be in the program!!

Abby Lost Her First Tooth!!!

It took long enough. She didn't want anyone to yank it out, so she just slowly but surely worked on it until it was ready.

Honor Roll

Caleb made the Principal's Honor Roll this semester and this is from the awards ceremony. it is Scout week so that is why he is in uniform.

Presepe

Here, as requested, are pictures of the large wood carved presepe we got in Germany, the windmill from Austria, and the ceramic one from Caltagirone, Sicily.

Unicorn Homicide

Tonight, the rambunctious three year old kept yelling down to us, after she was put to bed, that she loved us. This usually means she is guilty of something, so after a few times, I went upstairs to check out what she was up to. When I arrived upstairs and looked into the bathroom, I realized that I was staring at a crime scene. The shiny, glittering, ivory color pool and the small footprints leading away from it could only be from one thing, a unicorn that bled out on the floor. What other creature bleeds shimmering ivory colored blood I ask you? That's right, only the unicorn. What a tragedy! What a shame! The poor unicorn bled out and then faded away into nothingness. Hopefully it's family doesn't seek revenge.

But being the dutiful law enforcer that I am, I couldn't come to any conclusions without processing the scene. Maybe the little one had only tried to help and that is why she was in the room. The prints could have been from a killer elf no? So I photographed and measured the prints and examined the bottom of her unicorn blood stained feet. But wait, a clue!! The window was open and the box of bath toys had been moved under the window (the window gate is locked shut so no one can fall out) but maybe the elf was able to morph or squeeze through. I looked down and there on the ledge was an empty bottle of.....that's right...nail polish.

What a relief! There's no need to watch our backs for avenging unicorn ninjas. It was just a toddler pedicure gone horribly wrong!

Snoopy Train

By popular demand, here is a video of my new Snoopy train, a great addition around the tree.

Decorating the Tree

Florence

Here are some pictures from the trip Carmen and I took to Florence. Florence is a great city and we had an amazing time. We spent two days exploring Florence and then drove out to Siena and San Gimigniano. We then drove along the Tuscan countryside at sunset to the birthplace of Leonardo in the town Vinci. We saw works from all of the Ninja Turtles, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello. It is a totally different place from Sicily I must admit. We left the kids home with their Aunt Bronwen in our house without running water. Did we feel guilty? Maybe a tiny bit...Nah.

Florence

This was a presepe in a toy shop window in Florence.