Christmas in July

While Munga and Gramma were here the kids received their belated and early Christmas gifts--BIKES!  We had planned to get them as soon as we returned to Italy in January, but soon after we started to contemplate and pray about the possibility of moving.  With the uncertainty of whether or not our new location would be accommodating to bike riding we decided to put the gifts on hold.  Then we found a house large enough to store bikes and with access to a bike path nearby--praise the Lord!  The warmer weather took a while in coming this year and with the gift givers headed our way we thought it would be fun for them to be present when the kids picked out their bikes.

It was a test of patience in getting these bikes.  The first shopping trip the kids all found bikes they wanted, but then the salesman told us a storewide sale was starting a few days later.  We figured a few days longer would be worth the possibility of saving some money.  We returned to the store the morning the sale started only to discover that 1) the bikes were NOT on sale and 2) there were no longer any girl bikes!  Double bummer.  We should have adhered to our rule of thumb here:  if you see something and want it, get it.  Don't expect that it will be restocked in a timely fashion or that you will ever see it again.  Lesson learned...again.  So we had the store put aside the bikes for the boys while we waited another week for the new shipment of girl bikes to arrive.   Thankfully our kids have adapted to the unpredictability of life here and did pretty well in the wait.

A HUGE thank you to Munga and Gramma for the new bikes!  And thank you too for fixing up my bike so that at least one of us can ride along with the kids for now.  

Full House

Casa Isonzo is hopping with hospitality this summer--33 days of it to be exact!  Thus the reason for sporadic and delayed postings here on the blog.  Upon returning from Croatia we had one week to plan, prepare, organize and work ahead before Jonathan's parents arrived from Michigan.  With a translation project of 300+ pages to complete and a house to pack up by the end of August, there is no time to sit and twiddle thumbs.  Add to the fact that it takes a lot of energy to keep three kids from driving each other up the wall.  Summer homework books are a welcomed distraction, but those didn't arrive until less than a week ago (and Luca's may not ever since the publisher is having printing issues).  So this mamma has had to create projects to do, a summer reading plan and chores to occupy time while my time is spent in the kitchen cooking, hanging laundry or packing boxes--and trying to relish time with family.  

Munga and Gramma have already passed the first 11 days of July with us.  Time has gone by so quickly already!  

Currently, there is a brief 4-day break in their visit as they take a side trip up to England.  We have been laying low for the most part with them and carrying on with our regular commitments while they recovered from jet lag and aches and pains.  Nothing super exciting but there is something to be said for just living with us in a normal rhythm of life.  The number of "Go Fish" games has exceeded my count and nothing beats lots of grandkid cuddle time and silliness.  We are so thankful for the time we get to share with them this summer and anticipate our remaining days together before they leave on the 20th.

Then we have a week to regroup before welcoming Noella's brother and family from Iraq.  They will be here for 2 weeks then head off for a one-week side trip before returning for a final couple of days and then depart on August 19.  That will then leave us with less than 2 weeks to finish packing up the house and repainting the new house before we move in on September 2.  Wow! Really?!  I'm tired just reading all of that--but I wouldn't trade it for any other way!

Family Vacation

Summer vacation began for us mid-June when the kids got out of school.  The calendar was already filled up with scheduled visits from family and preparing for our move.  We did not think we would be able to get away as a family this year, but at the last minute we decided the need for rest and concentrated time together as a family before the intense summer was very important and needed to be a priority.  Our last "just us" vacation was four years ago when we went to Paris.

The options were vast to choose from as you can imagine from the Alps to international renown cities to the seaside.  And with so many countries within striking distance it made for a fun search.  In the end, we decided that Croatia provided the perfect atmosphere with quaint villages and cities to visit but nothing that would require intense days of sightseeing and fighting massive crowds.  When we told our families where we were going, everyone's response was the same:  "Croatia?! What's in Croatia?"

Croatia was the former Yugoslavia up until 1991.  It is a country known well to European vacationers, but overlooked by the American traveler.  Croatia's Adriatic Sea contains more than 1,000 islands and in the Croatian part of the Istria Peninsula where we stayed the earth is red in color.  Vineyards, olive groves and lavender fields throughout the region give great resemblance to Tuscany.  In fact, Italian is a minority language in Istria due to their history of Venetian rule and most signs were written in Croatian and Italian, making our travels and communications very easy.  We vacationed during the final days of the use of the Kuna as on July 1, Croatia entered the European Union.

We thoroughly enjoyed our family vacation in Croatia and would return in a heartbeat.  The house we rented had a pool and with the ideal Mediterranean weather the kids spend no less than 3 hours a day swimming.  Little excursions were made throughout our time, but it was so nice to only be gone for a few hours or half a day.  It was hot for sure, but with the cool of the stone house, frequent intake of gelato and refreshment of the pool made it was more than bearable, even if we had no AC in our van.  I did a lot of food preparation in advance and brought it with us, so even though I was cooking on vacation it was still very relaxing.

The kids had a blast with their highlights being the cave exploration, climb up the bell tower, aquarium, ice cream and pool.  I could go on but will save my rambling of special memories for a private journal.  I did my best to narrow down the 800+ pictures to give you a glimpse of Croatia and our unforgettable family vacation. Enjoy!