Leapin' Lizards (and other assorted animals)

The other day on the way up the stairs from our garage, I almost stepped on something on the top stair...it turned out to be a toad!  He didn't move, and I wondered if it was dead.  But, the next morning, Celia and I saw it on the bottom stair.  Needless to say, she was pretty excited to see a toad at our house, and wanted to bring it inside as a pet (and everyone who knows us also knows we didn't allow that). 

Then, later in the week, Shannon and Dean saw a lizard scurry across the parking lot in the grocery.  The very next day, we started seeing them lying out in the sun on the buildings in our apartment complex.  Yet again, Celia wants to catch one as a pet (and yet again we won't allow that).   But they're fun to look at, anyway!

Apparently we live in a very reptile- and amphibian-friendly environment!

Bikes, Breadsticks, and Beasts

We got bikes this weekend and tried them out on Saturday by taking a ride to the gelatria.  Celia rode her new bike the whole way there and loved it.  She's all about speed and trying tricks.  She so badly wants to do a wheelie.  On the way back though, Drew's handles bars slid out and he somehow kept the bike upright because Dean was on the back of it.  Whew!  Ended the evening with a trip to our local, and favorite, pizzeria.  Yum!  Those of you that know Celia, would be shocked to learn that she loves to put oregano on her pizza now.  Not bad for girl who just started eating pizza. 

We love these little crunchy breadsticks!

On Sunday we went to a local zoo.  The animals were much closer than the zoos we are used to and they were quite active---Celia and Dean loved that!  They especially like when a little prairie dog ran past us after it escaped from its area at the zoo - the zookeepers were chasing after it with big nets, and it took them about 15 minutes to capture it.  All in all, it was a beautiful day and we enjoyed every bit of it!

The prairie dogs, pre-escape

Later on we took our usual walk around our town.  Celia and Dean rode their bikes.  Farthest Dean's ever ridden.  There's a paved soccer area on our way and they played with another little boy.  Celia could hang with him (he was probably Celia's age) barely...the boy had skills. 

Mamma Mia!

Apparently I've lost my credit card. Realized this as I was checking out at the grocery, after the nice lady had already rung everything up. Had to "communicate" to her that I couldn't pay and she picked each item up, one by one, and moved them. The whole way home Dean kept asking where his new bike seat and bell where.

On the upside, Celia is uniting cultures through peanut butter. Guess her Italian friends were in awe of her pb and preztel snack, so she shared with them and they liked it. She asked me to pack extra today so her friends could have some. :) She also told me that almost everyone else gets to have chocolate (Nutella and bread) and she doesn't. She's so deprived, right? It is kinda funny how acceptable it is to have that stuff for breakfast. When we were at Disney, we noticed how majority of people were eating that.

A New Bike!

We went out to ride bikes the weekend before our trip, and saw that Celia's bike that we had shipped over had a flat tire.  She was getting too big for it anyway, so we went bike shopping yesterday.  We found one that is made in Italy, and called the "Tigrrrr".  She rides it so fast!  And, it's her first bike with hand brakes instead of coaster brakes - how exciting!

Dean couldn't ride his tricycle when we moved over, but he learned about 2 weeks ago, and now he's riding like an expert!  Here's a movie of them both.

Disneyland Paris

And the trip begins...early on we drove through the Alps (Mont Blanc-highest mountain in western Europe).

Our view from the car on the way to Paris.

We played some road bingo on the way to the park and the prizes were these new cool Lightning McQueen sunglasses. 

Experiencing Disney with Celia and Dean was a great parent moment.  They were in awe right from the beginning when we entered the park just as the parade was starting.  The weather was actually beautiful, but we've already adapted to the European way of always overdressing and bundling up. :)  One of the Italian moms in Celia's class recently asked me why Americans always wear so little clothes.  I guess we are known for embracing any warm weather---where here they'll wear their scarves until summer. 

Started with the classic teacup ride. 

Some highlights from the trip were:  

Riding Buzz Lightyear (several times).  They haven't even seen the movie before, but Dean is now a HUGE fan of the guy. 

Having lunch with the Disney characters.  Celia could barely contain herself when they all walked in.  Dean thought they were pretty great too, but treated them much like he did Santa.  Nice faraway, would even talk to them, but didn't want them to touch him or get too close.  He would just keep leaning closer and closer to Drew when they tried to. 

Riding Crush's Coaster with Celia.  It was essentially Space Mountain, but with an ocean theme (read:  kinda scary), which I didn't realize until we were actually on the ride.  I was so impressed with how well she did.

Riding Lightning McQueen with Dean.  This was the one thing he looked forward to.  It was a dream come true for him. :)

Lunching outside and have Mickey Mouse pizza right in front of the castle.

On the way home, we stopped and visited our friends from Germany in Geneva (where they live now and happened to be a half way stop for us).  Celia and Dean got some good play time in and we enjoyed chatting with our friends.

Our last rest stop before we made it home.  We were in awe of how beautiful one could be. 

Sabato

Ahhh, what a great Saturday.  Started the morning with some relaxing and playing, then headed to the market.  Kids got their free smiley face potatoes when we picked up our usual order of chicken.  It's so delicious!  This was the first time they didn't throw something more in for free though!  Hmmm.... 

Later in the afternoon I took Celia to a birthday party.  Again there was wine and champagne for the parents.  What a great way to celebrate!  It was so nice to meet more of Celia's school friends and their parents.  They are so nice and welcoming and it's really amazing how "well" we communicate when neither of us speak the other's language.  Celia played hard, ate a lot of sweets, and I got to get to know the culture a bit more.  I'm amazed at how the kids talk to Celia in English and then without missing a beat speak Italian to their other friends.  Little kids speaking any foreign language are the cutest thing to me! :)  Celia must be picking some of it up because last night while I was drying her hair she was having two little toy dogs play with each other and she only talked in Italian.

While we were gone, Dean and Drew played at the park and discovered a new gelateria.  I guess it's essentially someone's house where they make it fresh.  Drew said it was by far the best he'd ever had.  I'm looking forward to checking that out soon. :)

Capped off the night at our local pizzeria.  Yummy as usual and the owner gave us our free drinks as we paid.

Ahhhh...today felt home-y.   

Tomorrow we will begin packing for our trip to Paris/Disney.  Au revior.

Celia's Italian Accent

(Posted by Drew)

I was getting Celia ready for bed last night, and I told her to get some clean PJ's out of her drawer.  She says back to me (completely serious), "Are-a these-a the pants-a I should wear-a?"  She said that's how the Italian kids in her class talk.  It's amazing what kids pick up!  She'll be all ready to go to the butcher's in Chicago when we get back to the states.  :-)

Nicoli

Visited a purse factory/showroom room today (Nicoli Fernando).  It was a great experience.  The owner was very tres chic Italiano. :)  She showed us around the family owned/operated showroom and when we wanted to see something in a different color she'd just go over the factory to get it.  These purses are seen in the magazines here in Europe and by some celebrities.  I'm sure Angelina is stopping by later.  Picked up a brown one and a gray one.  I'm excited to try them out!  I told Drew they look like purses that need to go on some exotic vacation. :)  I'm going to my first hair appointment here tonight.  Maybe I should take my new purse with me so I fit in.