Happy Birthday Elise!

We had a wonderful time celebrating our lovely Elise's 4th birthday. Aunt Hannah was a huge help in getting all the party details ready and we were joined by our dear friends the Bakers and Gross's who helped make the day extra special, too.
Caleb helped make a birthday morning treat...

Elise the Ballerina

One of the other highlights from my mom's visit was the fact that she happened to be here for Elise's first ballet recital. Elise was so excited and so very earnest about her debut on the stage - it was really sweet.

Many thanks to Miss Maria for taking on the challenge of teaching and organizing 20 little ladies in tutus. We loved it!

A visit from Grammy - Part 2!

We were so excited to welcome my mom back to Sicily for a second time. It's such a special treat to have her company and also get to share a slice of our Sicilian life with someone we love so much. When my mom came to visit the last time we had only been here for about 6 weeks and we also happened to have a 3 day old baby Lucas, so this time we got to see and do a bit more around the island. Here are some highlights...
Cooking with Grammy, memories in the making!
About an hour from our house is the South Station on Mt. Etna. We ate a picnic dinner inside the Silvestri Crater, surrounded by volcanic rock with great views of everything from the volcano's peak to the foothills and farmland that spread out along the coastline of the Ionian Sea.


A visit to Agrigento's Valley of the Temples - Greek ruins from the ancient city of Akragas. It was a beautiful day for climbing, exploring, sightseeing, and of course...eating gelato!

Scala Dei Turchi - strikingly white "steps" made from limestone and clay along the Mediterranean coast. Legend holds that Turkish and Arab pirates would take refuge here during rough storms at sea...


Thank you Grammy for sharing your time with us and for taking such good care of us while we played, laughed, and enjoyed life together!