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!

Princesses...A rare moment for Brielle

Hello! I'm finally updating the blog!!!!!!

Here are some pics of the girls playing dress up together. This is significant because Brielle almost never will play dress up and if she does she always picks the bizzarre combinations that would not make a mother proud...well they would make good black mail pics for later, but that's about it. For example she'll take a pink bangle glitterry top and a red furry hat, along with some princess heels and usually she'll strip down to the diaper on bottom then carry a elmo backpack...not a pretty sight:) Ash on the other hand is always ready to be a diva when she dresses up. Anyhow, we bought Brielle the princess dress for her birthday (I know I still need to post those pics) and this was the first time she wore it. I love the bottom pic...you can tell how she really feels about her dress!

Rugby!

He's number six.

Not anyone we really know, just thought it was a cool picture.

Here's some pictures from a rugby league that Hoss is trying out. They meet on the weekends at the beach. He seems to like it fine. Most everyone speaks French and they all seem nice, but the girls haven't made any moves to play with the other French speaking children. It will be interesting to watch and see what they do. This was the first time they were the ONLY English speaking children in the group. These pics are from last week. This week they played full tackle and were supposed to play another team, but they never showed up.

Some random pics!

The girls getting messy eating some ice cream!

Bri

Ash

Us at the international babygroup today...We're in front my head is turned

I'm back online!!!!!

Hello Everyone,

Sorry I haven't posted lately. My Internet has been down for the last two weeks! It was so frustrating. I was hung up on six times and redirected three times, but it's up and I am happy. There are somethings you take for granted in America; being able to pick up the phone and ask someone to fix your Internet is one I had never thought of until now. I tried so hard with my French to get them to understand and half of them hung up on my poor effort and the others just told me it wasn't their department and gave me the other one's (that I had just tried) phone number. Internet is truly one of our windows to the outside world and I'm ok with the occasional few days here and there when it goes out, but this time was really hard. Speaking of things you take for granted though....I thought I'd share our humorous "potty"efforts.

Ok, so the toilette situation here is hardly up to par. There are VERY few in public places (usually none) and the ones that are well...let me describe them:
You walk into a stall where most of the time the door doesn't latch and there is never any toilet paper. Instead there is a small hose connected to a spicket. So you can imagine that everything is wet (including the seat) and the floor is usually a puddle. And those of you who know me know I can't do germs and this totally gives me the shakes! Needless to say, I always try to make Ash go before we leave the house and if she does have to pee I try have her hold it. Also, at this point I should interject that Bri seems to think she should be potty training. I'm telling you...that poor girl is not potty training here until she has a bladder of steel and can hold a gallon 'cause I'm too traumatized from trying to do things with Ash. Well, back to my story. We were at a park the other day that just happened to have shoddy plumbing connected to a makeshift outhouse and guess who just can't hold it, Ash. Believe me I tried to reason with her, but this time I was afraid for my carseat. So, as it was just me, I picked up Bri and we trudged off to the crescent moon. I get there and put Bri down in the puddle of sludge (with strict instructions not to touch anything!) and pull down Ash's pants enough so things are exposed. Then I put my butt against the door to keep it closed and placed her feet on my thighs (to keep her pants out of the water) and held her chest so her bum was dangling above the wet seat but not touching it. At this point Bri decides to start stomping the puddle all over us (She wasn't touching anything:)) and Ash declares she "just can't do it". So as I start to put Ash down her shoe slips off along with her pant leg and she steps on the bum of her pants with her sock and soaks everything clean through. Let me just say that the hose thing worked, but the small sink on the outside did not. There was not enough hand sanitizer or wet wipes that day. Both girls went home without any clothes on their bottom half and everything was lysol'd and washed before the end of the afternoon. I still feel traumatized. God bless the USA, I can't get there soon enough!

Hope everyone is doing well. I'll post some pics soon. We let Bri play with the camera and somehow it's reading the memory card again!

Thanks to their father and his occupation...

Dear sweet innocent Brielle...
was sitting in her car seat as we dropped her father of at work. He was running late for a meeting and as he jumped out of the car he yelled back at the girls, "I love you girls, be good. I'll see you soon" and off he dashed. Well, as I was stepping over the console and into the drivers seat I hear her sweet little voice in the back say "Dammit! I want a kiss! Dammit!" Are you kidding me! She's not even two yet! Here I work so hard to talk in full, profane-free sentences and the small amount of time they spent with their father has tainted her. We had just gotten Ash cured of the f-bomb with the Tabasco trick and now I have it coming from the other one. I guess there are much worse things in life. For now I am thankful her pronunciation is still slurred enough so if it happens again other people won't recognize it.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Sorry there hasn't been an update in a few days. My camera is broke. So, I need to get another one before I miss anymore bubble bath beards or messy faces. If anyone has any suggestions for a new one, in the mid price range, I'm all ears! Anyhow, I was thinking about resolutions and decided just to jot down my thoughts from this year so I could get a fresh start on 2009. Here are my thoughts written in a park while the girls played. If you get bored or think they're lame then just quit reading. It was never really meant to be read, even the grammar is atrocious, but in the spirit of the blog I'll post it.

The common thread that binds us all together has nothing to do with language; it contains hopes of a better life, the search for a love that transcends all wrongs and the hope for a peace that shatters race, color and religion. I once thought of a grandeur that awaited me on the other side of the ever elusive mountain. It grew taller with every milestone I passed and left me feeling empty and unfulfilled. With each passing year though, I am beginning to see that the challenge lies not in reaching the goal but enjoying the minutes it takes to get there. Thus far, my version of living in the moment included planning the next one. Perhaps those who are happiest though do not fret about the future or worry about the immovable present; they simply exist, treasuring the good with the bad, knowing it can never be relived.

Maybe the secret to life is that there is no secret. There is no right answer for the wrongs done and the easy way out can never be substituted for the long way. Yet again though, with so many paths to take who can dictate which is the right one. No matter where the world takes me I shall always wonder if I have fallen upon the right shore. Of two things I am sure: I am still young enough to learn and my past has left me with many blessings. My heart shall not change while my mind adapts.

A rock worn smooth by the river is still a rock.