B-U-B-B-L-E-S!

The kids have recently been excited about filling up the bathtub high enough to turn on the jets.  Over the past two years, one or more of them have been afraid of the jets at any given time, so we really haven't taken advantage of having a whirlpool tub as much as we could have.  Well, in an attempt to make the bath even more fun, I haphazardly poured in a little bit of Josh's shampoo thinking a FEW bubbles might be nice.  As you can see from the pictures, we were all but overtaken by bubbles.  It was a little crazy, but it sure was fun (in addition to being the messiest and longest bath ever!)

Something amazing and exciting...or at least super cute!

The kids were all tucked in, reading and chatting quietly in their room when Caleb called out, "Mom, come quick.  I have something amazing to show you!"  Well, I had to go and see what it was... when I went into their darkened room, the only thing I could see was the beam of his headlamp (thanks Ben and Libby!) shining in my eye and he continued "This is really exciting.  I can read this whole book by myself.  I can read Doodle Day."  He started out..."Mom said, Don't bother Dad, he's all tied up with work.  It's okay said Harvey, I'll just sketch a picture while you're at the store.  What?  You're going to draw on Doodle Day?  ARE YOU CRAZY?"  ...and so he continued with a pretty impressive paraphrase of the whole book (a recent library favorite!)  The most endearing part was that the book was upside down the whole time he "read it."  So thankful for my sweet and enthusiastic little boy!

Feste Medievali

The medieval hamlet of Motta Sant'Anastasia (which we now call home) hosts a delightful summer festival each August called Feste Medievali.  It is a week long celebration which includes food, goods/crafts, and lots of entertaining shows.  In true European form, the festivities begin at 8 pm and last late into the night.  Had the time been a little earlier we probably would have gone every night, but since 8pm is already passed the kids' bedtime, we decided to have one crazy night and stay out as long as we could manage!

Can you imagine which one of our children has been sword fighting with my brooms for the last 4 days? (oh, right...all of them!...though Caleb was especially intrigued)  We did get front row seats on the castle piazza for a sword fighting show and a flag throwing/drumming show.  They were amazing!  I could feel the pride welling up inside me as we took in all the sites of the festival and enjoyed the hard work and tradition of our little town.  The kids were spellbound and would probably have stayed for days.  We lured (and carried) them home with the promise of gelato as we headed down the cobblestone streets and wound our way through the bustling town.  It was already 11pm!

A nice day...

Today ended up feeling like a little breath of fresh air.  I'm not sure exactly why...maybe because it was the first day under 100 degrees this week...maybe because we've slowed down our schedule considerably and I'm finally feeling like the dark cloud of discouragement is moving on...I don't know.  We enjoyed some time at home this morning and headed to base in the late morning to volunteer with the summer reading program at the library.  An hour of reading books with other kids and then a picnic lunch on base was dreamy for Elise.
On our way home we ended up having to take a detour because the entrance to our road was closed for construction.  While I was initially frustrated, it ended up allowing both boys to fall asleep (making nap time a synch for me!) and we found a van full of Catania calcio goodies on the detour.  Caleb has been Mr. Soccer this week, so we were excited to get a jersey and flag from our local team.  After naps we headed to the pool on base for a play date with friends.  It was just lovely to feel cool for the first time in days as we splashed and played and chatted with friends big and small!  I guess sometimes it can just be that simple...

An impromptu cooking class...

I'm getting better at my Italian (poco e poco), but there are still a lot of things I unknowingly agree to or "think" I've communicated that don't ever end up coming to fruition...It doesn't bother me too much anymore and I don't feel nearly as "lost in translation" as I once did - All this to say that today I got a pleasant surprise when the women who help me clean came over all prepared to clean AND to teach me how to make Pasta alla Norma (a quintessential summer Sicilian pasta dish!) I think I mentioned that I liked it the last time they were here.
As with my arancini lesson last week, Pina and Piera were kind enough to bring over their homemade salsa pomodoro - which made things much easier and quicker!  One of these days I'll have to get a lesson their fresh tomato sauce (yum!)...but once that is prepared, here are the additional steps necessary for preparing this delicious Italian dish:

After the eggplant is peeled, it gets soaked for 10 minutes in salt water.  

Remove excess water from the eggplant slices and add them to a pan with sizzling hot olive oil.

It takes about 10 minutes for the eggplant to cook and brown properly.  They need to be flipped once during that time.

We love Pina and Piera!  They're so sweet to the kids and so dear to all of us.  Caleb thought the food smelled amazing and he was so excited to put his apron on and join in the cooking fun.

Ricotta Salata is a salted Italian cheese, typically made of sheep or goats milk.  It is firm enough that is can be grated so it is typically served on top of this pasta.  

Pasta alla Norma - Prepped and ready to eat!  

Tonight when we were sitting down to eat, Josh said, "The longer we lived in Japan, the more I realized I didn't really like Japanese food...but the longer we live in Italy, the more I really like Italian food."

Sunday...

Josh woke up with a inspiration to clean out the fridge, so by 10a.m. when it was time to leave for church we were all bathed, dressed, breakfasted and had a clean refrigerator, too!  I honestly had been wanting to do that for quite some time, but just couldn't find the motivation.  The kids were excited to add a few new play items to their kitchen as we cleaned out mustard containers and other plastic jars that were ready to be refreshed.

Other than that, we rested and napped in the afternoon (a family favorite on Sundays) and then prepared to host our Bible Study group for dinner and study in the evening.  Today's menu - basil pasta salad, watermelon, caprese salad, and Italian sausage on the grill.  Now, we'll watch a few minutes of Olympics (of which our coverage has been terribly disappointing!) and head to bed...a new work week awaits...sigh...

La Montagna

Last weekend we "rediscovered" some hiking trails on the eastern slopes of Etna and we thought we'd return again this week to enjoy the cool breeze and peaceful trails together.  The drive itself is beautiful, winding up the eastern side of the volcano with the Tyrennian Sea on one side, picturesque Sicilian towns, vineyards, and orchards on the other - it's lovely.

 

Couldn't help ourselves...had to stop on our way up the mountain to pick some blackberries!
Wouldn't Grammy be proud?!

View of the mountain from the eastern slope...venting as usual.

Jumping off "lava bombs" - these form when molten lava shoots into the air.  The lava cools when it hits the cold mountain air and spins to create these giant cannonball-like rocks.  

Lucas was so happy to see the butterfly that Josh caught for him!

The kids were great sports during our walk.  We made it much farther than we did last week and even ended with a race to the finish.  I think our recent Olympics viewing helped us finish strong!

View from the lava fields to the sea...we drove on the Via Maraneve which translates as Sea-Snow Road.  It comes off the highway by the sea and winds it's way up the mountain toward the peak.