Taste of Italy

Kevin and I decided that the perfect name for our two week Italy trip is the Taste of Italy. That is because we got a little taste of all of Italy. We began our trip in Milan and then traveled to Venice, Florence, Foggia, Rome, Taormina, Catania, and Trapani all in two weeks. We didn't spend a long time in any of the cities but we were usually able to see the major sites and relax a little. Our favorite spot was Venice. Along with being very romantic it was also very relaxing and beautiful. The best food was in Kevin's mission, Foggia and Sicily. We traveled by train and used a eurorail pass which allowed us 11 travel days on the train and we have two months to use them. Kevin's Italian seemed to come back to him with ease and It was a lot of fun watching him communicate with all the people. Although I often felt like he was a stranger because I had never seen this Italian side of him this much before. Being able to speak the language came in very handy though especially when finding our hotel was near impossible. In the end we got a lot of sun, walked lots of steps and miles, ate lots of good food, and enjoyed lots of good company.

Did I mention...

Did I mention that Germany parks are SO MUCH COOLER than American Parks.
They are even adult friendly.

5 Kids, 3 days

Okay I admit I have been slacking on the blog thing. Probably because I have so much to blog about and its a little intimidating. Anyways I guess I will start back at the end of April now that it is the end of May. In the end of April my sister took a trip with a bunch of ladies from the ward to Paris for 3 days. This meant that we had all 5 kids for all 3 days. The first day was a success. We were able to get Brooklyns science fair project set up at school and that night visited the fair as a family. That night however did not go as well. Right as we crawled into bed Nikole woke up screaming that the cops were going to come arrest (dang older sister who told her she would get arrested for stealing the flowers) after laying with her for an hour I got her calmed down and back in bed. Only to have the baby start crying. Well the rest of the night was filled with kids having nightmares and me laying with them and then putting them back to bed. The next night however we went bowling and watched a movie and had a big slumber party in the living room. It was a big success and Makenzie actually told me that night that I was the coolest aunt and thanked me numerous times for letting them "stay up late" and eat popcorn and pizza. The next day we spent at the park at some carnival activity. Overall it was fun and tiring at the same time (which i am sure is what most mothers would say). I was just grateful I had my side kick Kevin to help me out. He is really going to be a great father.