Some photo enjoyment

I just got done playing on Facebook and downloaded some pics from some of Anisa's teammates and a couple of Anisa's pics that she finally got up from Venice. The picture of the town on the hill is Civita. It's a little town similar to Orvieto since it's built on a volcanic plateau. The little town is in danger of crumbling down because of natural erosion. I read that they are talking about reinforcing the cliffs. That would be good. :)

The picture of the 3 adorable girls is in Dublin at the Guiness Storehouse. Those are Anisa's roommates. Talar and Sonya. Talar is from CA and Sonya is from WA. Luckily, they all like each other! :) The one of just Anisa is pretty much self-explanatory. :) Isn't she just so adorable??

The pigeon pic...that's in Venice. So is the one with Gabe on the gondola. :) Their time there was such a blur to them since they were all exhausted, but she said it was a blast. And the gondola ride was a highlight and something that we had talked about for a long time. I hope she didn't get pooped on by the pigeon, tho.

Venice

Anisa and 5 of her friends decided at the last minute to catch the train to Venice Friday night. They rushed down the hill and caught the train at 11:15 p.m. They TRIED to sleep before they had to change trains in Bologna, then a little more train travel arriving in Venice at 5 a.m. She said it's the best place she's been so far in Italy. It was beautiful. She bought a gift for her sis (you will all have to wait to see what it is until after Dec. 19). :) They walked around looking at shops, having pigeons land on them and of course, they took a gondola ride. I only got to talk to her for a little bit this weekend because she got back late on Sat and was exhausted (they decided to come back home that night the crazies!). Yesterday she had to do homework and of course, she slept in until about 3 in the afternoon. I don't know if I'll get to talk to her today or the rest of the week. The whole group is going to Barcelona for 5 days. I don't have pics, yet, because her internet just can't handle too many pics at once, so as soon as she can get some pics downloaded, I'll post. I'm looking forward to hearing all about her Spain trip next week! :)

Meanwhile, here at home, not much happening. It's getting colder. The mornings are in the 30s and days are in the 50s and 60s. I love it. I HAVE worn my jeans a couple of times, but I'm still sporting shorts til I can't handle it anymore. Sara is working on a solo that she will compete with in a few weeks. Music has been an issue. WHY DO ALL THE RAP SONGS HAVE CUSS WORDS IN THEM? Geepers! Anyway, she found a song that I approve of and continues to dance around the house instead of walking. :) Travis and I have gone on a few runs, getting back to our normal mileage, but he announced that we would not make his goal of 600 miles this year. Summer just killed us. Oh well. Maybe next year, since I plan to do the MCMarathon for sure next year...even if I have to walk some of it....I'm doing it! :)

Well, speaking of Sara, I must run. She has an eye dr. appt today, then Travis needs to make a Home Depot run, then I still have to figure out what I'm doing for dinner...probably brats (not Sara and Anisa, the MEAT kind! ) ;). I hope you all are having a super day!

It's been DAYS

I am sorry I haven't updated lately. I haven't been THAT busy, just lazy. Over the past few days I've done a few things, tho. And the little Italian travelers are staying busy too.

From the homefront, my friend Rhonda and I have done some work on a quilt. Not just any quilt. This is a quilt that she started with her mom over 7 years ago. Neither of them knew what they were doing, but they wanted to make a quilt together. Sadly, her mom got very sick and then died. The fabric and their work went into a box and sat. Well, the happy ending to this story is that Rhonda just moved to VA this summer (she's a Coastie wife, too, that I knew in Santa Barbara) and she asked if I would help her finish it. HECK YES! :) So, we pulled it all out and had to take a lot of it apart because her seams weren't all big enough, some of the blocks were different sizes, and such. I figured we'd better start as close to the very beginning as we could, so we spent a whole day ripping seams and ironing. The second time she came down, we spent cutting and sewing. We now have most of the rows done and she can actually see what the quilt is gonna look like and LOVES IT! :) The next time she comes down, we'll probably be able to finish the top, and maybe even get the backing on. It's so exciting seeing her enjoy sewing, ironing, cutting and getting anxious about the finished project. She's turning into a quilter!! :) Our world can always use one more crazy quilting lady. :) Plus, now I have a fabric shopping partner.
Yesterday Sara and I went shopping and to lunch. We ate at the Cheesecake Factory. The first time for both of us to eat there. It was SCRUMPTIOUS. We sat and adored the inside of the restaurant. It's so beautiful and we both would like our house to look like it with all the pretty paintings and high ceilings and big columns and pretty lights. Ahhhh. After filling our bellies and having enough shopping energy we went to the mall and got Sara some long sleeve tops and a really cute coat. Then we ran into Teavana. My friend, Renee, started drinking tea instead of coffee. It's healthier...still caffeinated, but when you see the loose leaf tea, it's a bunch of fruits and seeds/branches/natural stuff. And it SMELLS HEAVENLY. :) Anyway, we came out of there with a pound of tea, 3 pounds of German Rock sugar, a Perfect Tea steeper and a couple of little samples of other teas. Sara picked out a Raspberry Lemon blend and it is delicious. We made some last night, but she wanted it cold, so it's in the fridge waiting to be enjoyed. Anyway, we had a fabulous day out. We were supposed to go to NY this weekend to see my cousin, April, but Sara had a late practice Friday night, so we couldn't go then. And has a practice today (Sunday), so it was going to be a pretty short/rushed trip, and it's a 4 hour drive each way, so we decided not to go this weekend. Besides, Sara wasn't all that into going this weekend. She wanted to sleep in because of her homework/dance schedule she doesn't get a lot of sleep during the week. It all worked out ok, but I wanted to see my cute little cousin..and NY> :) We'll get up there soon, tho.
Let's See. What else have we been doing. Oh, the dance team performed at their last game on the 29th. They always dress up and perform Thriller. Here is Sara dressed up and ready to go as Lady Gaga. She looks adorable, but I'm sure LG would have worn different shoes and possibly less clothing. :) The next day we went to Markoff's Haunted Forest with the team. That was a blast. Sara didn't want to go through the forest, so she sat out, but I ended up going with another mommy and the coaches and the 2 dads that went. It was so fun. Diana kept a firm grip on my arm through the whole thing and about took me down the hills a couple of times. Our jaws and stomachs were so sore afterward from laughing all the way!






Off to Italia... Travis and Anisa are staying pretty busy. Anisa still has classes and work to do, so in that time, Travis usually finds something to do in Orvieto. He has taken a couple of underground tours and has gotten to hang out with Chef S a bit. They went on a field trip to Civita. I don't know much about their day other than they had a good time. Travis will have to write on here when he gets back on Wed. Yesterday they went to Pisa. They had good weather and a good time. They wanted to go to Venice this weekend, but it's raining now, so they decided to take the trip yesterday and chill today. A bunch of people went into Rome today, but not sure what my 2 are gonna do. Here are some pics from their trip to Pisa.














































































Today I think Sara and I will just chill. We have church this morning, her friend Dori spent the night, so we have her. I think they're planning Chipotle for lunch, then practice tonight. Full day, then normal routine tomorrow. :)