the difference between 4 and 2

First Christmas letters to Santa:

pain...mon amour

Thanksgiving done, it was time for a getaway. We grabbed the train to visit the Rizzo family, and finally meet their little 2 year old man, Matteo. After a nice ride, we arrived in their little town of Vanves, on the edge of Paris. It reminded us a lot of Pecetto. A quaint little village with easy access to the big city. The kids played happily together, the adults relaxed, and every night was a treat. Our kids slept across the street and via baby monitors we ate ethnic takeout every night. Gio made sure we got our carbo load each morning with fresh baguettes, croissant and other pastries loaded with butter. We strolled the Champs Elysees Christmas market, saw a few pretty window displays and enjoyed the late afternoon light at the playground under the Eiffel Tower. 

Parfait!

on our way! 5.5 hours to go...

watching "how to train your dragon"... very serious stuff.

The Rizzo Home, lucky number 13

We make ourselves at home....

Matteo, such a happy little fellow

Breakfast!! I think Matteo likes having guests.

Playing with the Duffster.

inhaling crepes

 swinging into each other is fun!

Rocking out to the Burberry Band

the scary Monster Tree

Burberry Christmas Train

time for some bubbly at the Christmas Market

Salut!

Time to head to the "Sparkly Tower"

Annalise takes us to the secret Eiffel Tower boulevard

sandy playground with a view

a little more time for some sketching before we head home.

Thanksgivingness

This Thanksgiving was made extra special when our friends Giovanni and Elena announced that after 10 years of trying to adopt, they succeeded! In February they will fly to China to pick up their 18 month old baby girl!

The rest of the story goes like this......

a perfect foggy thanksgiving morning...

acting tough cutting onions, and crying....

no more space!

stuffing chopped, mushrooms are stuffed

it takes 3 guys and a bottle of wine to stuff a 16 kg turkey

awkward moment

meanwhile, Erin's setup crew

Roby, Marco E., Marco P., Aldo

our little artists get the party rolling

5:30pm the hungry folks arrive

6:00pm, Turkey di San Pietro takes center stage

and plenty to keep the people lubricated....

smiles with Matilde and Maria

Giorgio, getting ready to walk...

si mangia!

...about 70 of them

the Pasta Fresca family cues up

Ella's hungry enough to eat a bench...

upclose plating

applause to the chef!

bambini take the stage

turkey tan

Ella with her "anna"

Valeria's Panna Cotta

Cincinnati cupcakes

apple pie by yours trully

yummers!

RIP Turkey number 8.

Eat, Drink & Be Thankful

Gearing up for our 8th Thanksgiving in Pecetto. Thankful for all the friends who will be joining us, and thankful for all our friends who have been in the past. Thankful to our families, who are the reason this holiday is so special to us.

Tutti Santi e Tutti Colori

 This weekend was the perfect mix of fall. Halloween costumery, jumping in fall leaves on a sunny hike in the alps, passaeggiata to get burgers in Torino, and all this while Ella had some mysterious form of the stomach bug. 

Tinkerbell leaving glitter and pixie dust all over Pecetto

Our Tick-Tock Crocodile, Peter Pan, Captain Hook, and Tinkerbell

"Arghhhh!" and "you can fly!"

Witches in Never Never Land

Mommy heads to a Halloween Party, while poor Barney Rubble has to work.

The guy on the right is dressed as a "southern american"

Lovely day for a hike

Giorgio loves his new vantage point

Rolling down the hill, Ella obviously isn't feeling well. 

Cheese! and Polenta!

Back on the trail home, we get the a necessary boost from wild Thyme liquor

Shoulder rides.

Rolling in the leaves. Ella gets into it this time.