Life in the crazy lane!

2009-03-04T17:07:00.002-05:00

more of our trip to Ottawa
the girls and dad sliding

our different modes of transportation... love the vespa!

2009-02-27T17:53:00.003-05:00

Ottawa, oh what a fun city with tons of fun stuff to do in spite of the weather! here we are at the children's museum which is set up to be a trip around the world.

Experimenting with theater...
and experimenting with food

2009-02-25T09:51:00.007-05:00

Isabel con il cappottino che le ha fatto la nonna e il gattino che le ha regalato il nonno, lei lo abbraccia e dice: I miss you nonno Ezio. E' proprio una bambina dolce

Winterlude in Ottawa, Canada. Sorry, ma non riesco a ruotare la foto, comunque da' l'idea!!
cold, but a lot of fun!

daddy love... she makes herself so small and lovable!!

2008-12-05T11:02:00.006-05:00

Finally!! After 14 months of life without dad, he's back and we are a family again. Thanks to all of you who supported him, me, the girls and all the soldiers and families in general. We appreciate your help and the love and thoughfulness you have showed us. A very special thanks to T. and Potter's Clay.

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You.
The girls break from the ranks of the spectators and run to dad just before formation. Daddy is putting them down and telling them they need to come back, sit down and wait. Giulia's eyes welled up with tears of happiness. I think she missed daddy most.

2008-10-13T19:43:00.002-04:00

Fall in upstate NY. Fantastic!
Pumpkin patch. How fun it is to look for the perfect pumkin. The girls loved it!
Isabel vuole un labrador, cederemo prima o poi....
visita a una fattoria. Ah come ci siamo divertite!

2008-08-17T02:59:00.002-04:00

We went to Lido degli Estensi for 3 weeks, here is Giulia preparing for the Olympics!
Mentre Isabel si fa coccolare dalla nonna.
Ecco qua le piu' belle bambine del mondo, sono anche abbastanza buone, quando non litigano...
Giornata passata al fresco sul Monte Grappa, al Col del Gallo, peccato non sia potuto venire anche il nonno.
Beautiful flowers

2008-07-07T02:40:00.002-04:00

Here's dad in some of his typical poses... Ti vogliamo bene.

Ciao papa'

2008-06-22T19:02:00.002-04:00

April and May were very eventful... daddy came and was here for 18 days. I'll do a blog on that with more pictures, eventually!
We got to celebrate Isabel's fourth birthday with a clown and her first and last with Nonno Ezio.
Finally we got to see our aunts Cristiana and Francesca, and our cousins, Mia
and baby Olivia. The Mesa girls loved them, very sweet and cuddly!

2008-04-22T12:27:00.002-04:00

Isabel with my friend Silvia.
Giulia and Isabel at a party, you can see the number Giulia did cutting the tendons in her right thumb. It's all healed up now, ma che spavento!!
Sweet Isabel with her Teddy Bear
...and with her friend Claudia
Getting ready for Daddy

2008-02-20T20:55:00.002-05:00

Giulia is learning how to ride a bike. She has such a big bike, but is doing really well
only getting in trouble when it's time to stop!!
Isabel has no issues! I wouldn't take the training wheels off her bike (mainly because I can't teach them how to ride SIMULTANEOUSLY) and she knocked on the neighbor's door saying, Mario, can you please take my wheels off because my mom doesn't have the tools!! too funny!
Kiss goodbye before going to the mountains.

2008-02-14T04:10:00.002-05:00

For Carnevale the girls wanted to dress up like a cow girl and a snow princess.
Only the day of the event, the snow princess changed her mind and wanted to dress like a mermaid, little red riding hood, whatever but a snow princess... that's why she doesn't look so happy!

Anyhow, she always dresses up like something, she particularly loves my shoes and boots!!

2008-02-13T01:20:00.001-05:00

We love the mountains!
Here we are tired but happy
Giulia is such a good sport, she tries and tries and is learning how to ski better than mom and dad!!

2008-02-07T04:00:00.000-05:00

To relax mom and Giulia make a cup of tea and then prepare for the highlight of the day...
talking to daddy!

Giulia got a new bike for her birthday, but someone wasn't happy!!

She has something to smile about here!

2008-02-02T04:05:00.000-05:00

First day of school in September 2007, I know, I'm a little behind with my postings! The faces are what they are because they both wanted to hold Elena's dog.
Crossing the street on the way to school, so Abbey Road!!
The market, oh we love the market... In Marostica it's on Tuesday, we buy all our fruits and vegetables here.
playing with Liuda's dogs.
This is our yard with the pumpkins ready to be carved for Halloween!

2008-01-09T01:08:00.000-05:00

Giulia' recital at school
Giulia smiling, she really had fun banging on that xilophone!
Giulia helped setting the table. she's such a good helper when she wants to be...
Isabel loving hug
Isabel reading her poem to nonna Mimi. She wouldn't recite the poem unless she had the piece of paper!!

2007-12-02T22:36:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures we took in September. Our friends Michela and Nicholas came to visit and we have these wonderful memories. Grazie Michela!

2007-12-02T22:24:00.000-05:00

2007-12-02T22:20:00.000-05:00

2007-12-02T22:17:00.000-05:00

This is the famous piazza, built like a chessboard. In the background is the castle. Every time we walk past the castle, twice a day, every day, on our way to and from school, Isabel says: this is the castle where my daddy married my mommy, and I was in the belly!

2007-12-02T22:16:00.000-05:00

2007-12-02T22:13:00.000-05:00

2007-12-02T22:10:00.000-05:00

2007-12-02T22:08:00.000-05:00

2007-12-02T22:07:00.000-05:00

2007-12-02T22:04:00.000-05:00

2007-12-02T22:02:00.000-05:00

2007-12-02T21:59:00.000-05:00

2007-12-02T21:57:00.000-05:00

2007-12-02T21:55:00.000-05:00

2007-12-02T21:51:00.000-05:00

2007-11-26T23:04:00.000-05:00

Hello friends, we're back on line! For those of you who are wondering, Yes, we are in Italy! It is great to be here, near family and friends, and to see the girls adapting to their new environment. Giulia is in First grade and doing well, and Isabel is going to pre-K and having lots of fun. Angel is doing fine, and we talk to him almost weekly, but I won't talk about him on the blog, just email me for info if you want. I finally got my computer, so I will be able to keep you posted with pictures and news of us.

2007-07-25T15:47:00.001-04:00

Dad's favorite pictures We get one good one every year!
Kansas, August 2006
New York, July 2007

2007-07-22T14:49:00.000-04:00

Giulia is our soccer star! Here she gets the ball and then runs with it and SCORES! She worked so hard on her last game to show off for her daddy who got away from work just for this.

Here's the wanna be soccer star, next year Isabel...
Daddy finally got his mount. This picture is for Kenny, Frank, Jake and all the crazy guys who share this passion.

2007-07-20T15:03:00.000-04:00

We visited our friends, Zio Bobo, Rachel, Izzy and little Gabriella in Old Forge, NY. What a beautiful way to spend a day at the lake with wonderful friends and great food (and wine). We loved every minute of it and hope we can do it again somewhere... Maybe in China or Italy? The world is so small for these cosmopolitan girls.
The paddle boat was a lot of fun... The girls loved playing in the water all day long under the watchful and inhebriated eye of Zio Bobo! Don't they look like 3 sisters?Isabel took care of the ceramic deer all day long. He never had that much attention!

2007-06-19T13:19:00.000-04:00

Fun, fun fun on the Salmon River. the water wasn't even that cold...
Here we are with our friends. We are at Jellystone Camp, can you tell?!

si fa quel che si puo'... turiste in giardino
Finalmente una bella foto della Giulia, peccato che non si veda niente, ma almeno non ha quell'espressione corrucciata che ha sempre nelle foto.

2007-06-13T10:27:00.000-04:00

Another great picture of our camping trip
Giulia playing chess in Alexandria Bay, ecco che si vedono le sue radici Marosticensi!!
Abuelo's Birthday party
My little girls ready for Kindergarten graduation (Isabel partecipa al lieto evento in pigiama!)
A little dark, but here's the graduation ceremony with some of her friends, Nick, Anna and Ryan

2007-06-12T14:00:00.000-04:00

Family vacation at Wellesley Island, one of the 1800 islands that make up the region known as the Thousands Islands, located where the Saint Lawrence River meets Lake Ontario. Here we are roasting marshmallows.
We had a wonderful time hiking and cooking out, just a lovely week of family fun! Hiking along the river, spectacular views...
Visit at Boldt Castle... beautiful flower beds, a Prussian castle on the Saint Lawrence river is, well, a little out of place!
Somebody loves abuelo...
Ve l'avevo detto che non ha schifo di niente, qui sta giocando con un millepiedi!

2007-05-17T15:04:00.000-04:00

Stanno spuntando i bulbi che ha lasciato l'inquilino precedente... grazie! per ora vediamo narcisi, mughetti e tulipani, poi c'e' qualcos'altro non ben identificato, ma vedremo... caspita, le sorprese del giardino son meglio di quelle dell'uovo di Pasqua!!
Documentiamo i progressi della dentatura... la formichina si sta svenando. Son gia' caduti 5 denti e 4 sono in crescita.
Scrivetemi, telefonatemi, chiedetemi... questa foto l'ho messa apposta per scatenare la vostra curiosita' (this photo is here to make you contact me! ask, and maybe I will tell you). Ho fatto contenta la piccola Isabel, dopo il volo dall'altalena che mi ha fatto perdere 10 anni di vita. Tutto passato, lei sta bene e la testa funziona!
Fishing at Wellesley Island state park.
Sta piccoletta non ha schifo di niente, pesci, vermi, no problem!

2007-04-27T15:18:00.000-04:00

Finalmente! Alla fine di Aprile e' arrivata la primavera... le bambine sono cosi' entusiaste che si travestono da turiste a Miami. Ahhh come ci mancano gli anni della Florida, il sole, il caldo, e il mare.... vabbe' aspetteremo di andare in vacanza. Per il momento scopriamo le meraviglie della primavera a New York!

E con Aprile e' arrivato anche il terzo compleanno di Isabel. Auguri piccola! Notare il pile... io qua sento sempre freddo... sara' l'eta'!
Isabel pronta per la parata dei bambini... non e' da stritolare di baci??

2007-04-09T17:51:00.000-04:00

For those of you who are still in diesbelief, here's a chronicle of our Easter Morning. First, Giulia put a sign on the door saying, Dear Easter Bunny, please hide the eggs inside. (smart mom, I knew I wasn't going outside!)
So, here's a picture of our house....
And here a few eggs the Bunny left on our "lawn" just to tease us!!
Here we went to an Indoor Easter Egg hunt... never thought this would be possible!!

2007-03-25T17:04:00.000-04:00

Spring is here! The snow is melting, and the girls get to go bike riding in our neighborhood.
The spring also brought Abuelo and Abuela.
My Oath ceremony. Now Angel can't threaten me to send me back on the boat!!
Relax with papi.
Fammi crescere i denti davanti...

2007-02-19T15:00:00.000-05:00

Here is the news for this week:
#1 It snowed! This picture was taken 15 miles south of where we are, in Oswego County, where they were hit with 12 feet of snow (4 metri)
#2 Giulia is losing a front tooth, she is very excited, and loves to make faces with her funky tooth
As usual, you can click on the picture to make it biggger
#3, Isabel thinks she is losing a tooth, and wanted her picture taken as well
#4, It snowed, che novita'! This is our front yard, and Giulia is making an igloo for the foxes...
Can't wait for all this snow to melt, in the meantime we play inside!

2007-02-11T17:44:00.000-05:00

Little Isabel ready for school... she is such a girly girl! She always wants to wear dresses and she hates snow boots and snow clothes, i think she just does not like the cold. Here she is, smiling and happy at her new school.

Man at work! He got his own snowblower!!!
Giulia with her Multicultural project for her school. She was so proud of her work and did a wonderful job.

2007-02-05T15:40:00.000-05:00

The last leg of our trip brought us to Niagara Falls, imponenti, spettacolari, ma che freddo!!
Adesso sono arrivate anche le piccole e hanno cominciato la scuola. Giulia va alla Calcium Primary school, e Isabel a un programma di 3 ore la mattina, tipo asilo.
Ecco qua le sorelline entusiaste dei cambiamenti(per ora)
Questa e' la casa di fronte alla nostra dopo la nevicata di ieri. E' caduto un metro di neve, e Angel e' uscito un paio di volte a spalare la neve da davanti al garage, perche' se si aspetta troppo, poi non si riesce piu' a toglierla. Io preferisco che la neve stia in montagna, ma qua siamo e ce la teniamo!
Questo e' il nostro backyard, notare la neve che scende dal tetto. Quel che rende tutto piu' difficile e' l'effetto lago che produce temperature anche di -40 gradi, quindi se non si e' ben coperti, si riscia l'ipotermia in 10-20 minuti. Vorrei sapere chi e' stato quel genio che ha pensato bene di popolare questa zona???

2007-01-03T15:54:00.000-05:00

Yeahhh, Giulia learned how to ski. She loved it and was willing to endure the cold as long as she could ski!

2007-01-02T11:32:00.000-05:00

Ci prepariamo a Natale con la recita a scuola di Giulia, lei e' la prima da destra, la piu' alta della classe! (Giulia's Christmas program at Xavier preschool, she's the first from the right)
Here's the opening present ritual on Christmas day at the cabin in Colorado. With Giulia is baby Sean and tia Mirna. Isabel couldn't be in the picture because she was too busy opening presents, and she kept saying more presents, more presents!!
Ah, nonna Mimi, grazie mille, i tuoi lavori sono bellissimi!
Finally, with all that snow we built a snowman...
...and we went sledding, loving every minute of it!

2006-12-18T11:28:00.000-05:00

The idea was to have a Christmas card that showed a feature of where we live... last year we had the picture taken on the beach by the ocean, and this year we wanted to have the Missouri River in the background. However, it was sooo cold that day (24F, or about -8 gradi centigradi). BRRRRRRRRR, New York, here we come.
We tried a couple of shots, but then had to move indoors, at the Carousel that Isabel loves so much. Well, that's a memory of Leavenworth too.
and here the debate was, should we show the sled with the raindeer or the family?
after a couple of attempts,
here's the final product. Merry Christmas to all of you!

2006-12-09T16:38:00.000-05:00

Here we are, getting ready for a cold, long winter! We just had the first snow and we are trying to stay warm outside and inside as well! You have got to love the Army, after Miami and Kansas, now they are sending us to upstate New York to freeze our buns off. We are ready for it, but let it be known, we loved Kansas and hope we can come back some day.

Please notice the thickness of the icicles that formed overnight. Grazie nonna Mimi per questi bei calzerotti che ci hai fatto che ci tengono calde le gambine. This is movie night, watching Mulan and eating pop-corn. Not a bad way to stay out of the cold!

2006-12-07T11:36:00.000-05:00

The girls had their own private yoga lesson and loved every minute of it! Here they are with Leticia who is from Brazil. It's amazing how latin people always find each other (una faccia, una razza!!)
Isabel attempting the shoulder stand! she's too cute!
They really are into it, and proud of their achievments too!!

2006-11-27T17:53:00.000-05:00

We had so much fun with zia Elena and zia Cri. I am really happy the girls can visit with my sisters and get to know them. It was an instant hit and we hope we can do it again soon!
Giulia is practicing the godess pose, it comes so natural for her!!

2006-10-31T17:42:00.000-05:00

Buon Compleanno Giulia! Happy Birthday! Giulia just wanted a cow-girl party, so we complied! Please, blow up the picture by double clicking on it, and note the cake with the hoses and the purple mountains!
It was a nice, fun day, and all the girls really had fun. We'll miss you!
Here we are, almost all the Bordignon girls, and the halfs too, having fun in zia Cri's bed in Oklahoma City. We miss you Francesca, Virginia and little Mia.
Boat tour in Oklahoma (yes!!) Ate at the Toby Keith's restaurant where there is an American soldier's special and soldiers can eat for free if they show military ID. Great, somebody who put their money where their mouth is. I've never been much of a country music fan, but I like this guy. Thanks Toby!

2006-10-19T15:52:00.000-04:00

Abuelo and abuela came to visit and we went to Giulia's favorite place, a nice restaurant!!

2006-10-15T12:32:00.000-04:00

New purple helmet for horseback riding. Fantastic!!

Isabel is always eager to help in the kitchen. Here we are making eggplant parmegian. got too much salt on your serving?? you know who to blame!!
more pics of our new-found hobby... the girls just love it! Giulia is really nice with her sister; after her lesson she always let Isabel ride Shar for a lap or two.
Giulia posting... the instructor says she has really good posture, and Giulia tries really hard!

2006-09-25T09:53:00.000-04:00

Viva l'Italia. Giuro che qui, nel cuore dell'America, ci sono piu' bandiere americane che persone, cosi' noi per essere anticonformisti, abbiamo la bandiera italiana che sventola fuori!
Giulia con Mr. Kenny, notare il caschetto della bici, che lei religiosamente si mette per fare i suoi giri in moto.
Grandma Mary and Megan came to visit from Sacramento. We had a nice time and Megan really won the girls' hearts by giving them lots of playtime and manicures and pedicures... They loved every minute of it.
Job well done! I can't believe Megan is such a grown woman!
Isabel on Shar. Giulia is taking the real horseback riding lessons, but she always ends it a couple minute early, so Isabel can go for a spin. Giulia is very protective and loving towards her little sister most of the time, and it warms my heart.

2006-09-07T12:19:00.000-04:00

Here are the ballerinas at the studio!! This is place is a girl's dream, all pink and with mirrors. They love it!
Trying to figure out what everyone else is doing...
Because Giulia is at school for most of the day, I have to keep Isabel entertained. She helps me with all my chores and we have fun, but I can't compete with Giulia, who gets all the attention when she comes home.

Chocolate amaretto cake, good to the last drop!

2006-09-06T13:40:00.000-04:00

Giulia's first day of Preschool... What a milestone! After much thought, we decided to send her to Xavier Catholic school. She loves it. She comes home every day very excited and with something to share with her sister. Isabel is Giulia's biggest fan, here she's showing all her support!

Not the best picture of Giulia, but she was so proud of the little gap in her mouth, she's showing everybody!

2006-09-05T09:39:00.000-04:00

Isabel was so into ballet that today we are starting ballet lessons. She feels like she's such a big girl and can hardly wait!

2006-08-13T09:58:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures of the girl's new nightgowns and dresses.

Happy B-day mom!

2006-08-06T14:51:00.000-04:00

Finally we went to the Kansas City Zoo. The zoo is the largest I have visited so far. It sits on 220 acres of wooded forest and it is well organized and accessible, with lots of activities for the children and lots
of little resting spots for the worn out parents! Other than the heat.... it was the perfect family day. Here Isabel is feeding the goats at the petting zoo
Little monkey and big chimp!!!
My first pony ride ever!
Giulia feeding the deers.

2006-07-31T18:43:00.000-04:00

Chicago by night

2006-07-31T18:22:00.000-04:00

To celebrate our birthdays, Angel and I flew to Chicago WITHOUT the girls. Oh, it was heavenly, and we loved the city. Skyscrapers, nice dinners, uninterrupted conversations... you almost forget what it's like!

Little sightseeing, little shopping, little just hanging out in our beautiful room at The James (highly recommended). We had a great time.
Of course, someone else got to take care of the girls while we were gone, and we all loved it!!

2006-07-12T17:02:00.000-04:00

We had a great Fourth of July celebration: Angel and his friend Joel did the "Cuban thing" and roasted an entire pig! Italy won the semifinals against Germany, and the girls got special dress up dresses from the Little Apricot Fairy... la fatina albicocchina... it doesn't get much better that this!

Here's the 42 pound beast. I have to admit that in spite of all my schepticism, it tasted really good!

2006-06-30T11:55:00.000-04:00

Isabel still wants her boots!
Giulia is teaching Isabel how to pet Frosty
Can't get this picture "right"... anyone?
Giulia leading "her" horse. She's a natural!!
Brushing time, Isabel helped and she was not afraid!

2006-06-27T19:02:00.000-04:00

Isaac, literally born yesterday!
Giulia painted a cat's face on Isabel... Then she started to put "hair" on her body... Never a dull moment!!

2006-06-27T18:21:00.000-04:00

Giulia's first day of horseback riding camp. She was very excited, and the night before, she started asking at 7PM if it was time to go to bed, for she had to get up early to go to the ranch. She got to ride Frosty, and then bathed and fed him. What a rewarding experience.
Here's Ms Debbie checking her stirrups. Giulia has new jeans and boots. I also got her a 3 pack of long socks, and she said, "but mom, I don't have these many feet!"
Isabel wanted to wear boots just like her sister, she also wanted to wear Giulia's ballet skirt. A long time ago, I vowed to not get worked up over their fashion statements, but to embrace them instead. Le mie sorelle velenose dicono che vesto le mie figlie come albanesi, pero', almeno, mi faccio delle gran risate!!

2006-06-16T19:03:00.000-04:00

Who said there is nothing to do in Kansas? we keep pretty busy, between the park, the pool and the backyard!

2006-06-15T14:18:00.000-04:00

Just in time for the world's cup, we have our own soccer star!
She takes so much pride in running with the ball, and she's working on her aggressiveness... in a good way.
She knows she has to listen to the COACH!

2006-06-14T23:11:00.000-04:00

ecco i famosi sacchi di patate!

Angel took the girls to the Fort's Father/Daughter dance. Giulia and Isabel were so proud!

2006-06-03T09:43:00.000-04:00

Sweet Isabel had many birthdays celebrations, with her abuelos, with her friends, with zia Cri.... and basically, every time a cake made its way into the house!!
Giulia and Tristan just love that blue cake!

Somehow, I can't get this picture of the abuelos to straighten out... they made all the trip to KS for the b-day, so they must be part of the memory of the celebration, but i just can't get them straight!

2006-05-08T15:30:00.000-04:00

So, what do you think? looks like there aren't enough places to sit!
Ci stiamo proprio divertendo con la nonna, peccato che stia per poco...

Here are the pretty dresses from tia Mirna, we are practicing going to the ball and improvising a waltz!!

2006-05-07T17:46:00.000-04:00

Ecco, e' arrivata la zia Cri e comincia la serie dei compleanni della Isabel...

Ohhh, we love zia Cri!
Che bella torta, adesso me la spalmo in faccia!!

2006-04-28T12:03:00.000-04:00

E' arrivata nonna Mimi, e subito mi ha incoraggiata a tagliare i capelli stile cocker della Isabel!

It's Easter, and we went to the Leavenworth parade. It was a lot of fun, the girls got to pet rabbits and ponies... It's nice to be in a small town!
Here's our soccer star... practicing with the team!

2006-04-11T17:00:00.000-04:00

We went to a water park for a much needed R&R. Here's Giulia showing off her "walking on water" skills!
The girls and dad had a lot of fun, but mom could't bake in the sun, so she was a little disappointed. The lodge was beautiful; a true kids' place.
Isabel's favorite water play, she always acted surprised when the water came up at her, but she loved every minute of it!!
Click on any picture to enlarge it.

2006-03-30T11:16:00.000-05:00

Giulia has been taking ballet since we got here. She likes it a lot and she is really serious in her role of ballerina. Here she's getting fancy on the balance beam.
I like to watch her concentrate so hard...

2006-03-15T14:34:00.000-05:00

Another favourite activity is painting. For obvious reason, we only do that outside, and here you can see Monet and Van Gogh ready for action...
or maybe i should just say Jackson Pollock...
Giulia instead, is really neat and doesn't like to get dirty. Remember when she was little and wouldn't touch the sand at the beach? Well, she hasn't changed all that much.

2006-03-14T10:32:00.000-05:00

I took Giulia out of school. It just wasn't MSBC, and it was expensive. Now it's a little bit more challenging, but Isabel gets to play with her sister, and we do a lot of fun things... like baking.
We made abuela's favourite cake: Italian apple cake. Here are my little helpers having lots of fun!

2006-03-13T09:17:00.000-05:00

Lipizzaner horses show in Kansas City. The girls had fun, but the show was a little slow for them... used to the Disney's talking horses, this horses were boring. Shoud I stop the cartoon watching??
Naturalmente, essendo questa la Merica (!) prima dello spettacolo hanno suonato l'inno, e guardate un po' mia figlia... completa di mano sul cuore e occhi chiusi... pero' mi fa anche tanta tenerezza.
Ecco, qui si rivela la bambina che e', dopo che si e' fatta comprare lo zucchero filato blu indovinate da chi!!!
Siamo andati a veder lo spettacolo dei cavalli lipizzani e guardate un po' chi e' andato a finire sul giornale di Kansas City...

2006-02-28T10:01:00.000-05:00

Abuelo and abuela came to visit this week end, and even though we keep telling abuela the greatest present is for the girls to see them, she came as Ms Klaus...
bringing all sort of treats, including chicken and rice for her biggest kids (who loved it!) The clown noses from "Le cirque de soleil" were their favorite treat after abuelo and abuela themselves. You should have seen the look on their faces when they saw them.... priceless!

2006-02-28T09:45:00.000-05:00

My girls just like to pose....
Non preoccupatevi, il cane non e' nostro. They just love the neighbor's dog

Giulia wants to be part of the chess game in Marostica, and just guess what she'd like to be!

2006-02-28T09:25:00.000-05:00

I'd better post some pics for February before it's over! As always, pictures of the girls. Questo e' l'ultimo ovetto. La Giulia si raccomanda per Pasqua, e la Isabel si raccomanderebbe se parlasse di piu'!!

Nonna Mimi, la prossima volta puoi comprare le tute una taglia in meno!La tenda della zia Pici si e' rivelata un regalo provvidenziale! Quando non fa tanto freddo, le caccio fuori a giocare e a fare un pic-nic nella tenda, e la mia casa resta pulita per un paio d'ore!

2006-01-30T21:56:00.000-05:00

Isabel's just too cute. She knows it too, sometimes she just sits there and wait for you to take her picture. Then she comes running to see it on the display. Ah, the technological knowledge they have already...

Here's our Sunday morning, the girls in their pretty jammies that abuela got for them, and ready for breakfast at the table that is another of their Christmas presents from the abuelos.

2006-01-23T23:22:00.000-05:00

New place, but things remains the same, today is dress up day at the house, Giulia had to go to the doctor, and she was so good I broke out the "winter princess" costume I was saving for a special occasion. She was so happy.
Ok grandmothers, don't say anything, I butchered Isabel's bangs, but with this dry air, her hair doesn't curl anymore and she couldn't see!
Giulia really liked her sweaters. the colors are sooo pretty.

2006-01-23T23:04:00.000-05:00

After having the girls for a week, Abuelo and Abuela brought them to Kansas. We were so happy to see them. As you can see, it is COLD!!
Isabel is too cold to ride her horse, she just wants to be in charge!
Finally, the girls get to ride the jeep down our street. Did I mention how cold it is? I know, you just think I was spoiled after three years in Miami, well, i was!

2006-01-23T19:37:00.000-05:00

More pictures we took in Miami prior to our departure on the long journey to the land of "cold", where most people live during the winter months. Here's Sharon with Kiara and Indigo.
Here are Katja, Zita and Anette, with their children. We spent many afternoons at one or the other's house, drinking coffee and ordering pizza for the kids.
What a relief to go home after playgroup and not having to cook! Uh, did I mention the excellent desserts we always had with our coffee?
We met some wonderful people in Miami. To all of you, thanks for the friendship!

2006-01-23T18:11:00.000-05:00

After our furniture was picked up, we got to camp out for a few days. The girls spent a few nights at abuelo and abuela's, so mom and dad could take advantage of them and have a few nights out.
We ventured to South Beach for New Year's eve, at an exclusive party for the rich and famous at the Pelican Hotel (Grazie Michele). Sara had a girl's night out, and Angel got to enjoy some football.
On Jan 6th, we took off for our trip, 1500 miles sitting in the car... but we made it! We stopped in Gainsville to see RJ and the Waters, and then Nashville and Kansas City. Nice trip through the heartland of America, can't wait to see it when it's a color other than brown!!

2006-01-23T17:29:00.000-05:00

Buon Natale! This year we had a "dysfunctional Christmas". We had all our belongings picked up on the 28 of December, so we got some presents early, and some were waiting for us at the new house when we arrived. We liked this Christmas that lasted a month! Here's some of the goodies, a bunch of nice clothes from Abuela,
sweater, jacket and hat knitted by nonna Mimi,
fashion clothes from zia Elena,
and stay warm clothes from zia Pici
Santa Claus himself, with a little help from abuela, brought us toys!

2006-01-23T17:13:00.000-05:00

Dec 28, 2005 This picture is taken at the Bal Harbor/Haulover Beach pier, while our stuff was getting picked up. Windy, but nice day and lots of shells on the shore.
Here we are on South Beach on New year's eve. Giulia likes to make faces,
Isabel and Abuelo are just two peas in a pod. Life is good!
This is from another day at the beach on 85th street. Can't believe how warm it was.
We got to say goodbye to all the great friends we met in Miami, and we celebrated our last weeks with them... Between the move and the celebrating, eating out and going to the beach, we had our hands full and we had lots of fun. Just let it be known, that i didn't cook anything for two weeks!! Now that was fun!

2005-12-20T19:42:00.000-05:00

Ecco qua le cipolline. Giulia con le sue colleghe del balletto, e Isabel bella come il sole. Ride sempre ed e' l'immagine della felicita'.

2005-12-11T09:04:00.000-05:00

With the move and life in general, we are not very well organized, so we waited to take Christmas pictures until yesterday afternoon.
Since this is the last year we are in Miami, we wanted a picture by the ocean, and I have to say we 've got some pretty good shots that I am happy to share with you.
Peace and love to you during this holiday season.

2005-12-03T17:24:00.000-05:00

Like I said, at our house is always dress up day. Here's Giulia as Dorothy (yes, I am getting her ready for Kansas!) Of the two versions, I prefer teh sleeping one!!

2005-12-01T09:46:00.000-05:00

I know everybody wants to see our house in Kansas. Here it is, as you can see there's plenty of room for guests, and a big kitchen for everybody to cook and drink wine and just hang out. Siete tutti invitati!

2005-11-27T16:17:00.000-05:00

Che bello! e' arrivata la nonna. Abbiamo passato con lei e los abuelos il giorno del ringraziamento, e oggi siamo andati allo zoo.
Le bambine adorano la nonna. Io le ho proposto di portarsi la Giulia in Italia a svernare, e lei avrebbe anche accettato, ma il piu' contario era Angel

2005-11-21T17:22:00.000-05:00

Giulia wants me to put up the pictures of her friends, for she keeps telling me she'll miss them so very much. Here they are, Drew and Griffin.

2005-11-18T16:41:00.000-05:00

Here's some Halloween pictures.

2005-11-18T16:36:00.000-05:00

Last week Angel and I went to Kansas to find a house. We left the girls with his parents and you wouln't believe it, we had a great minivacation in Leavenworth, Kansas. We found the house, and more importantly, we found each other. It was wonderful. Gracias abuelos!

2005-11-07T16:58:00.000-05:00

A few more pictures, for those of you watching from far away. It is always dress up day at our house, these pictures were taken during the Wilma days, when we had to stay inside, and it was hard to keep the girls enterteined.

2005-11-06T02:33:00.000-05:00

I love my girls. They make me mad sometimes, But they also make me laugh a lot. Lately, I have been taking Giulia to school and stayed for the Pledge of Allegiance, so here it goes in Giulia's words:
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of Mamerica,
One nation, under God, Isabel, with liberty and justin frog.
Oh, and don't try to correct her!! ciao

2005-11-05T13:52:00.000-05:00

Giulia had a belated B-day, since the school was closed for the week, courtesy of Wilma, but we had a nice party with Abuelo y Abuela at the house. She was very happy, especially when she opened up her presents, and Isabel was just joining in and being her happy self. Giulia is very protective of her sister, and she is getting much better at sharing with her.
Now I can't find the pictures of the B-day present, anyway, even though we had no power, her eyes lit up when she saw abuelo and abuela's present: a light blue Cinderella bike, with a Cinderella helmet and knee and elbow pads to learn how to ride. Beautiful!

2005-11-04T15:49:00.000-05:00

Today Sharon is showing me how to do a blog, so I can keep you posted on what's going on in the Mesa's household.
Right now we are trying to rent our condo in Miami and find a house in Leavenworth, where we will be moving to during the first part of January. Angel wants to sell the jeep and buy a new car, and he's trying to get set up for school at University of Kansas.... Hence, the name of this blog, hopefully things will settle down after we move, but don't count on it, the two little ones are always keeping us in check!

This is us at Giulia's school celebrating her 4th birthday.