Ah Venice

I love Venice. It's one of my favorite cities. It's so small, but I could just walk around all day wandering through the narrow streets and canals and browsing shops with a gelato in my hand. I was worried it would be too crowded in July, but it was just fine and the flower boxes were out in the windows which we didn't get to see when we went in February a couple of years ago. We opted out of the touristy and expensive gondola ride this time and purchased a painting instead from a sidewalk vender. I love it and can't wait to get it framed. Unfortunately we didn't get to spend the evening here because Tyler had plans to play basketball with a group of guys from the ward in Aviano. Basketball! I seriously couldn't believe that I was leaving Venice early so that my honey could play ball. I had to tell him 50 times that he better realize how much I love him!

Camping Croatia

In July we went down to Aviano, Italy to visit some friends who used to live here in Germany with us. It was fun to just relax and visit our friends, but we did take advantage of their location as well. My friend Carrie and I got to go shopping in Nove where they make dinnerware for Lenox, Tiffany's, etc. and found some super fun dishes for a mere fraction of what they cost in the states! Tyler is scoffing at me even as I'm typing. His view is that I have still spent money I wouldn't have spent otherwise, but he doesn't understand the thrill of the hunt! It's a glorious thing to find such deals and then to have pretty dishes besides. I got a cake stand for 10 euro that I found later online for $180 dollars! It seriously warms my heart to think of it!

We also drove through Slovenia to Croatia for a couple of days of camping at a resort on the beach. The weather was perfect for the beach, but a little warm for camping. Some air conditioning would have been nice and the humidity was pretty fierce, but we had to travel economically so that I could buy my dishes! The above photo we took in a town called Pula on the tip of the Istrian peninsula. We aren't sure where Porter got the gangsta signs from.

This was Sawyer's first big trip and he was a good sport, although it didn't make for a real relaxing beach getaway or for good sleeping on the air mattress. He did love splashing in the pool though and it was warm enough that no little old ladies gave us a hard time for not having shoes on him.

Here are the kids after a rough day of playing on the beach and at the pool. The ocean is in the background at the end of this walkway.

As you can see the beach was fairly rocky. A bit of a shame for Porter, but Sophie and Briggs had fun swimming in the ocean. Sophie actually dove down and plucked a hermit crab off of a rock several feet under the water.

European camping is really quite nice. The campgrounds are not very private, but you usually camp on grass and they have nice facilities. This was a resort, so they had swimming pools, restaurants, gift shops, etc. But there seemed to be very few actual Croatians so it wasn't a real cultural trip to Croatia. We were mostly surrounded by Italians on vacation .

Sophie's Baptism

Sophie's baptism turned out really nice. Tyler even conceded that the stress and hours of preparation he had been giving me a hard time about were worth it in the end. She was the only one baptized in June, so we got to plan everything which was both good and bad! It turned out just the way we wanted it, but we did wish that we could have somehow added family and friends in the states to the program.

Sophie's Island Monsoon Birthday Party

So the weather had been beautiful and HOT all week long. We had water balloons, shaving cream, sprinklers, coolers of drinks, the tissue paper flower garland was strung, the music was playing...we were ready for a serious island party. The morning was sunny and the sky was blue. The party started at noon. We were all set up and ready to go...the guests started arriving and I kid you not - at 12:00 almost on the dot the thunder rolled! This picture was taken about 12:05 as the rain started falling and by 12:10 it was a monsoon and my tissue paper garland was a soggy mess on the ground! Not even all the guests were there yet. But here is our island princess still smiling. The girls ran around in the rain for a while and it cleared up just long enough to throw some waterballoons before it started again. Thank heavens I had Gilligan's Island on hand just in case since the party was supposed to go 3 hours and we had 10 girls coming! And of course by the time the party ended the sky cleared up and it didn't rain again the rest of the day! Murphy's Law in full force!

Dance Recital

So to be totally honest...this is why I love having a girl. There are a lot of great things about having a girl, but I'd have to say that dressing them up is my favorite! Sophie had her dance recital at the end of May and she and I had a great time. She danced in two different groups, jazz and tap, and did a fantastic job, but I think we both love the production as much as anything. We spent hours styling hair, applying make-up, and spraying glitter over it all. The mid-show costume change was especially exciting! I think I was born to do this! Hopefully she never grows out of letting me help!! If so, I'll just have to have another girl.
Tyler of course enjoyed Sophie's performances as well although sitting through 2 hours of dancing with a bored 6 month old, Briggs whining for water, and Porter half falling asleep from the Benadryl we gave him for his allergies was not his idea of a good time. I think he actually tried to sleep through some of the show. But Sophie was super cute up there and did a great job dancing so I'm sure that even he would say it was all worth it!