Sometimes its just fun to be silly. And sooo worth it.

Fall Fun

"Reagan helpi you Daddy!"

Her first foray into a leaf pile. She was hesitant at first, but caught on quickly. She even helped me bag some of it up as well!

The making of a Christmas card...

Here's just a few of the attempts. As many of you have no doubt experienced, this entire endeavor is easier said than done.

I just finished finally building the mantle you see here - so we thought it would make a nice holiday pic.

Notice the number of stockings on the mantle???

Thanksgiving 08

We had a big crowd at our house again this year, and much to be thankful for... not the least of which is our busy little toddler who is getting in to pretty much everything these days. She was a BIG help in all of the food preparations - "Reagan coooking. Reagan helpi-you Mommy!" Priceless.

Go JACKS!

I threw the second pic in just because I love Cheetos, and apparently so does my little girl!

November updates

"Surprise"

Jessica invited a bunch of friends over to help celebrate my birthday... though she had previously told me that we'd be going out. I came out from giving Reagan a bath, expecting to see the babysitter, and the house was full of friends. What a great surprise from a fantastic wife!

Halloween Party

Reagan attended her first Halloween party today. She even told me over and over again on the drive there that we were going to a Halloween Party. She loves her Bumble Bee costume! Hopefully she'll still be happy with it on Halloween.

We visited the Pumpkin Patch this weekend to get our annual pumpkin. Reagan picked the toddler size one ("Reagan's pumpkin") which she's holding in the picture while standing next to "Mommy's pumpkin" on the front step.

Mark has been in Korea this week and off to Tuscon next week, so he's missed out on the Halloween fun this weekend. Luckily he will be here for the real deal to take Reagan trick-or-treating.

Better than ancient Rome...

These pics are just a few of Reagan during the trip. I know she won't remember it, but we've got plenty of digital memories to show her some day.

We don't have too many of us eating gelato - it was gone too quickly. But the sight of Reagan eating pasta in the last photo is priceless. She went after that plate with gusto. We had finally stumbled into a local trattoria early in the evening after a long day of taking in as many sights as we could stand. Everyone was tired, thirsty, sweaty, etc. And I'll admit that I was a bit grumpy when we sat down as Reagan began to climb on the seats and well - be a little girl. Moments like these help you keep things in perspective. We all left the restaurant full, happy, and with big smiles.

Roma

So I've been a bit lax lately on blog updates... But here are a few of the pics from Rome. It was the final stop on our incredible trip. There's simply too much to describe well. If the opportunity ever presents itself, I definitley recommend spending a few days here though.

In short, the traffic is insane. Not just that there's a lot of it, but there are boatloads of scooters and motorcycles weaving in between all of it. Lane markers are mere suggestions. I would have tried some pics of it all, but was too busy keeping my eyes peeled for what I was fairly sure would be a wreck of epic proportions. Strangely - we saw very few collisions. We also saw very few cars without at least one dented fender either.

St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican Museum (Sistine Chapel, etc) are overwhelming. The Colosseum and Roman Forum are no slouches either. We ran ourselves pretty ragged seeing the sights. Reagan continued to be more of a trooper than either of us imagined possible. Though we did bribe her with pasta, pizza, and plenty of gelato.

More Pics

My favorite two girls on the steps of St. Peter's Basillica, the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, followed by some cool drinks (milk and vino) at a cafe in front of the Pantheon.

Italia '08

Why wouldn't anyone jump at the opportunity to take a toddler overseas for a zero-planning vacation tagged onto the end of a long TDY? My sentiments exactly. But, the last minute trip to Italy went off with out a hitch. Well almost anyway...

I ended up there as part of a three destination TDY recently. Jess and Reagan joined me about half way through the last leg of the trip (in Italy). Then we spent a few days criss-crossing Italian boot to see some sights and enjoy a little family R&R. The girls arrived in Venice after an extra day spent in the lovely Atlanta aiport due to mechanical issues, and re-routing through NYC the next day. Despite the extra 24 hours to get their bags on the right airplane, all of the luggage went to Paris for some bizarre reason. And there it remained for two days after their arrival in Italy. Thanks Delta. But not all was lost. Jess and Reagan needed time to recover from the time change anyway, and the bags arrived (in stages) partway through their first weekend.
Overall – international travel with a toddler is not for the faint of heart. And Jess did it solo on the first part of her trip. But Reagan is an amazing little trooper. And we all had a fantastic time. We got to see friends from AK (the Aystas) from SD (the Blacks) and add a few more sights and adventures to our list. Pics follow in the next couple of posts.

Here's our basic itinerary breakdown.
We stayed in Sacile (northeast Italy) for the first week. I was still working at Aviano Air Base for the first few days of the trip.
Day trip to Venice on Labor Day.
Visit to Rezzanello (south of Milano and Piacenza) for 3 days to catch up with John and Stephanie Black at their outrageous Italian villa.
Two days in Tuscan wine country with visits to Lucca and Florence.
The last three days in Rome (with a side trip through Pisa on the way) before jumping on a jet back to the USA.

Florence and Pisa

Pics of the famous leaning tower in Pisa (it really looks like its about to tumble) and some of the sights in Florence. We only spent a few hours in Pisa - which seemed like plenty. Florence on the other hand - we tried to do in a day. That was tough. There's too much to see. Highlights include Michaelangelo's David (not pictured because they don't allow it), Ponte de Vecchio (the old bridge) and the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore (Duomo). You can (and we did) climb the dome. 463 steps to the top. And Reagan would only ride with Mama. Jessie powered through. The view of this ancient and beautiful city was more than worth the work. The last pic is just a random lunch stop at a sidewalk cafe for pizza/sandwiches. The landmarks are neat to see, but moments like these are always my favorite memories. Reagan loves the pizza...

There is more to show - but I've got to get organized to get back to reality tomorrow- so it will have to wait for another day. More to follow!!

Ciasa de Black

Rezzanello / Piacenza-
Fantastic! The diamond in the rough (if there was a rough) of our trip. We were treated to an intimate tour of rural Italy and some over-the-top hospitality by the Blacks. I didn't want to leave...
The Black's are staying in what can only be described as a resort villa during their stint in Italy. What a location! They are situated in the foothills of Italy's central mountain range with view of the plains and the Alps in the distance on a clear day. The pool you see is in their front yard. We visited Piacenza, and a couple of the other small surrounding towns, including a couple of neighboring castles.

Italy '08 - Venice

Ahhhhhh, Venice...

Well, the girls finally had clean clothes by the time we made our weekend day-trip to Venice. I was still working up at Aviano, but we had a free day (Labor Day) to make the jaunt. San Marco's square was imposing and beautiful. Rialto Bridge was also impressive. The throng of tourists and shoppers were a bit overwhelming, but since we were there for the scenery and not the shopping, it was a day well spent. The best part of the day is a toss up between the adventure of working our way through the Italian mass transit system and sharing in Reagan's absolute glee over gelato (Italian ice cream).

The Rest of the Toddler's Hour

I guess she's a busy girl! We're very lucky to have a healthy, playful little girl.