The Trip!

Ok, so all of the pics are posted in the following blogs dated April 26 from our trip last week. We had a fantastic time and it was really nice to get away. I would have to say for the first time too that it was nice to come home as well. I actually feel like this place is home (kinda) and it was nice to know we had a place to relax even when we got back. The girls did well. Ash met new friends at Hoss's conference and Bri just wanted to go home and see her friends..but I still think she had fun. The pic above is of the girls on the final leg when we were driving to get on the ship. They were being absolute monsters and just couldn't get along so their dad turned off the DVD player and told them to go to sleep...it wasn't two minutes later they were out cold!

Also, I've included some pics of our Max. He seemed to have tons of fun while we were away. He stayed at the co-worker's house and was king of his domain. The door to outside was left open so he could come and go as he pleased and he even figured out their ice maker (ice is his favorite treat) so he was able to get that any time he wanted:) Oh, and boy did we hear about how much the girls missed him the ENTIRE trip. Everyone they met heard about their "brother"... And yes he does hang his weiner out on occasion and that is dirt on his nose (he loves to dig and we love him!)

Milan

We didn't take too many pics here. It had the feel of a big city and was entirely different than any other place we visited. The architecture was a mix of old and new. You'd see a massive old building with marble and carvings right next to a tall building with the black reflective windows for a front. The church was amazing, but we didn't have our camera and we were on standby for Da Vinci's "The Last Supper" painting but never made it in. We had lunch with the person who does Hoss's job in Milan and his wife and kid. We knew them from Japan and they took us to a great resturant. We rode the subway everywhere since there wasn't parking, Ash loved the subway; And Brielle is still asking to ride the trains!

Just walking

The behind shot.

We ate SO much McDonalds...we don't have it here.

Brielle and Sophia. The one's who do the same job in Milan.

I don't know what he was doing.

Ash took this one.

Playing in the rain.

Brielle loved the pigeons.

Playing the the square while we tried to see The Last Supper.

Genova

We pulled into and out of Genova. It had the feel of Santa Cruz, for anyone who's ever been there. We managed to find a small carnival thing by the aquarium and it was great for letting out energy before the long ferry ride. On an interesting note. There was an organized demonstration going on there for the democratic party (not sure of why) so we had to be careful and were only able to visit half the park.

We took this pick of a "pirate ship" because we thought it rather ironic that they were flying the Tunisian flag!

We always manage to find carousels.

Another pic of the pirate ship

Sweetheart.

She was waving at daddy.

A crazy ball, slide, bounce house we found. They loved it.

I tried to get them to say cheese, but I gave up. They were too busy.

Make's me remember the carousel in Rhode Island and good memories of my dad.

Our attempt at holding the camera ourselves.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa

Here is Pisa. It was a sweet, cute little town with amazing history and buildings and people. We came for the tower, but left feeling like it was the least that the town had to offer. I wish we could have spent weeks here enjoying the life around us. As we were driving away I was scanning through the pics we had just taken and Hoss kept saying "you're missing it". Every corner had another beautiful sight that really embodied everything Italy had to offer to us specifically.

Me and Ash

My handsome man!

Family shot

Silly girl look at the camera.

I just thought this was funny because she has the same shape as the dome behind her.

Venice Pictures

Here are some pictures of Venice. It is definately a beautiful city. Without sounding ungrateful for the experience though, I would have to say it was a bit overcrowded and too compact for the amount of people in there. Because of the crowd sizes there are no park benches to sit (not enough room for them) and enjoy the sites and there are only two public bathrooms located at different ends of the city. Which was a bit hard to juggle with the girls' two small blatters...and if you ask the vendors if you can use theirs they will rudely shoo you away and literally yell the name of the square at you where it is. So you stand around and get bumped about by other anxious tourists while you wander through small alleys which still stink from the previous night's very busy nightlife. It was beautiful but not as enjoyable as the wandering countrysides and small, quiet cafes where we were able to sit and drink cappuccinos while smelling the aroma of a nearby vineyard. None the less, it is a place I has always wanted to see and we are glad for the experience. Oh yeah, the spellcheck isn't working so sorry if there's some badly spelled words...I'm a spellcheck junky!

Hoss noticed this steep is a bit crooked...interesting!

Bri being silly

Me and Bri

One of Hoss's cool pics.

The amazing square.

I wish he'd smile more often:)

One of the waterways

Awe!

A close up

The girls eating gelato. We had this at least once a day! The girls devouered it! Thier favorite was Fragola (they called it pink) it was strawberry.

Bri on one of the many bridges

Another cool Hoss shot

Ash was being a goof. Yes she is even starting to get into the potty humor...oh well!

She looks too big to me in this picture. Stop growing up child!

I love this one!

Easter!

Easter this year was spent in Italy, but the weekend before the big boss guy at Hoss's work hosted an Easter Egg Hunt at his beautiful house. It was a gorgeous day and we really enjoyed it. Unfortunately his lawn was PACKED with ants and two eggs into the hunt Ash hit a nest and was covered from her feet to her waist in ants. I managed to rescue her pretty quick but not before she got bit and they clung to her dress as well so those ones just kept coming out. Needless to say her hunt was ruined and we had to grab some more for her while she was "recovering" at the tables. Now she is completely paranoid of ants. Anyhow, it was a nice day and besides that hiccup it was a fabulous outing.

The view from the house...breathtaking!

Daddy and the girls. I couldn't get a good one of both...sorry!

So cute!

Ash and Devin (Their bestest babysitter!)

Big blue eyes!

The loot! (Notice the beautiful house in the background)

Brielle's egghunting was a sitdown experience. She was really in no rush.

Brielle and Devin

Ash right before the incident. At least we took one good pic.

They line the walkway with these, it was too cute!