Local shopping

Shortly after we arrived, we hit the local store for some groceries.  This small store had all the staples, like wine, cheese, meat, and more wine.  Some locals started filtering in after we got there, and didn’t seem all that thrilled to wait for 6 American tourists to make up their minds (and to take pictures).

The Villa search...

We stayed in a small town in the Tuscany region of Italy called Manciano.  When we arrived we used the map the villa rental people gave us, but the map was incorrect.  We parked the van (big white one) and walked all over town to try to find the villa, only to later figure out we had parked right in front of it.

This is the view from our villa.  It overlooked a huge valley of farmland and green spaces.

Italy trip 2012

Stephanie and I went to Italy this year.  It is the first time we left the kids for any real period of time and we had a great time.  This was right after we landed in Rome, and before the 3 hours it took to get out of the airport due to a missing bag.  Delta didn’t realize everyone in our group wanted their luggage, so they were nice enough to leave one of the bags in Atlanta.

Reilly turned four this year and is really starting to get big.  He might catch up to his sister in the next year or so in terms of weight!

Reilly's 4 Year Stats

Reilly went to the doctor yesterday for his 4 year checkup.  The doctor said he looks awesome-- but we already knew that:)


Weight - 41 lbs 85%
Height - 40 3/4" 59%
BMI - 17.36 90%


He got 3 shots yesterday and wasn't very thrilled about it.  He screamed at the nurse to not stick him again between each shot.  Then he went to get off the table and told her he wasn't going to be able to walk after what she just did to him.  The nurse and I both giggled.  

Furriness Solved

R: Mom, you know how dad has that "problem" with the hair all over him.
M: Huh?
R: Is it because it falls out of his head and sticks to his body?

I almost wrecked the car laughing. We had not been talking at all
about Andrew or hair for that matter. Completely out of the blue he
comes up with this.

Call the Tooth Fairy!!

Loof Toof

Guess who has her first loose tooth!

A New Verb

M: Reilly, don't pick your nose.
R: I'm not. I'm just trying to booger it out.

Cowboy Imposter

Today at Chick-fil-a, Reilly spotted a man with a cowboy hat on.

R: Hey mom, look, he has a cowboy hat on!

M: Yep, he does. Do you think he's a real cowboy?

R: it depends on if he has a horse and how good he can say "yew-haw"!
And I didn't see a horse outside.

Easter Sunday

Easter morning the kids woke up to their Easter baskets the Easter Bunny left them. So.Very.Excited!

We dumped out our Easter goodies and now we're ready to hunt eggs with our cousins, Cecilia & Charlie! Looks like Hannah is going to have a hard time filling her basket!

posing on the pier before Mass.

We love our BB & Papa! We love G & Pop too, of course, but those pictures ended up on somebody's iPhone.

Papa and 3 of his grandchildren.

Family Photo on the pier!

One last boat ride before we go home. We had to check out how fast we could make our pinwheels spin on the boat!

Sullivan's First Birthday

We celebrated Sullivan's First Birthday (3 weeks early) while we were at the beach. Since it was at the beach we decided to do a sailboat theme.

Who am I imitating?

Pre-Cake Family Picture. Reilly doesn't have the best face.

Oh look, now Reilly looks perfect as does Hannah and Sullivan. But wait, who the "H, E, Double Hockey Sticks" is that in the background? (his quote, not mine!)

I don't think I like this hat on my head, Dad.

forget about the hat, what is this goodness they just put in front of me?

You can't be serious. You want me to use my hands? Gross.

Hey Sullivan, Watch me. I'll show you how!

Yay!! They got me a spoon. I can't believe it took them this long.

I'll pose for a picture with you people, but I'm still going to suck this icing off my fingers.

Thanks Mom & Dad for making my fingers taste better than they have ever tasted before.

And Thank You G & Pop for hosting my party!

Cousin Love!

Easter Egg Dyeing

G had all of the kids over to dye Easter eggs.

Mackie gets prettier every day...

...and sillier!

Hannah glows with excitement when she gets to spend time with her cousins!

Reilly and his super silly egg-dyeing face!

Shew! All that egg dyeing was hard work!

Fishing Time

One of the kids favorite things to do at the beach is to go fishing. The fun thing about their age is that they don't care what kind of fish they catch.

Check out that trophy of a pinfish Reilly caught. Whoa! Hannah caught a fish next just by raising her hand!

Ta-Dah! Hannah catches her fish. We have it mounted in the family room now.

Hannah Owns the Mountain of Youth!

See that gigantic structure in the background-- the Mountain of Youth at Lulu's in Gulf Shores. Yep, my little baby girl climbed all the way to the top with her Daddy. I wish I had her courage!

While Hannah is climbing the Mountain of Youth, Reilly is figuring out his new YoYo Pop bought him!

"Don't look at me, Mom." (He frequently tells me that and it just makes me laugh!)

I may sense a little bit of nervousness from her, but not much!

They're all ready to be "hooked" in. The harness was connected to the track above their heads by this tiny "thing-a-ma-bob".

Hannah climbing to the top.

Whoa!

Sullivan and G completely mesmerized by the Mountain of Youth!