Birthday Time

Turning another year older isn't so bad especially when surrounded and loved upon by my precious family.  For the busy time of year that it is, I have to give great credit to my husband who always finds ways to celebrate my birthday amidst the holiday hustle.  This year, my actual birthday was a busy day of baking for our weekly ministry to the poor, then spending all afternoon with those needing assistance at Caritas, and concluding with some parent-teacher conference meetings.  Well, the later my husband offered to attend while I cooked dinner.  (Great reports by the way from Samuel's professors)  Jonathan made me a fantastic cheesecake again this year.

Wednesday was a lighter day for us so we extended the celebrations and even took Emma and Luca out of school for the afternoon so we could do something fun as a family. Seeing as they have to go to school up through the 23rd, we had no problem playing hooky for an afternoon. Jonathan started out the day by taking me up to the Superga that overlooks Torino.  It is a landmark church that is visible from all across the valley and a sight you see from an airplane view as you descent into Torino.  Unfortunately, we have not been the best tourists to our own area and are determined to change that in 2015.  This was a good start and a gorgeous view of the Alps and valley.  There are hiking trails all around the hilltop and we hope to take the kids for a sunrise view on a clear winter day.  If the mountains are breathtaking from down here below one can only imagine what they look like from this view on a clear day. And unfortunately, these pictures don't do the view any justice.

For the afternoon we headed out to see a movie followed by dinner.  Bonuses included free popcorn at the theater, no cooking for dinner and ICE SKATING for FREE! It is rare to come across freebies in Italy and we hit two in one day! The kids were elated to try ice skating for the first time.  This particular outdoor mall had a rink set up where you could use skates at no cost (okay, well you had to show a receipt that you bought something at the mall--but a coffee would have counted).  It was an unexpected surprise to us and so much fun! And it worked out well since we had a half hour to spare before the restaurant opened up.

I couldn't tell if Luca was struggling to skate or if he just found it fun to fall and roll on the ice. By the end of the half hour, he was so freezing cold and could not wait for dinner to be over so he could go home and change out of his wet clothes.  A special birthday filled with fun memories...