My Nonna!!!

Nonna’s here!! Leading up to the days of Nonna’s arrival (Ella’s chosen name for Nonnie), Ella couldn’t stop asking about when Nonna and Poppie were going to come. She also made it clear that Nonna was all hers. Luca had Poppie. The day arrived, and Ella and I had prepared the welcome banner and the apartment across the hall where they would stay. I packed both kids into the car and we left with plenty of time to spare to get to the airport. Less than 5 minutes from home, Ella puked all over herself and the car. We turned around, washed the car out, and left Ella home with Daddy who was sick. Luca and I decided to take the quick way to the airport only to be turned around by a team of police who had blocked the roads for a day long bike race. In the end we made it to the airport only after Nonna had been waiting for us for 30 minutes. Oops. That was just the beginning of our memorable adventures together….

Launching paper airplanes for Nonna.

storytime, Ella clearly preferred Nonna over Mommy for almost everything. That meant also wiping her bum after she had done her business. I was more than happy to hand off the responsibility!

autumn hike to rifugio La Chardouse

with friends and a cool fence

pasta after the 1.5 hour climb!

 roadtrip to Umbria...Luca shows off the "dump" that they created in the back.

6 hours later....our 2 mile gravel road to paradise

Ella tests the bouncy-ness of the beds

Farmhouse Forte Sognano, a welcome sight.

our agriturismo is covered in olive trees and a 13th century fort overlooks it all

sunset walk to the fort

watching the sun go down

Luca shouted "oh my gosh" when he saw this courtyard 

exploring the umbrian countryside

walk through Montefalco

an impromptu stop at winery Arnaldo Caprai...the wine tasted all the better while the kids played in the background

Ella spots a wine tractor!

Assisi from above

Luca with elastic gun in his holster poising in front of San Francesco's "Peace" garden.

sweet Salame of every type.

A little tired, but enjoying it all.

Coolest Calcetto field.

Perugia

a familiar sight. Good thing I had Nonna to lighten the load!

Ella and Luca in Lucca

Doing the passaggiata

a passaggiata all the way here...

our delicious meal in Osteria San Giorgio

moonlit walk through the Piazza Anfiteatro

one last swing then it's back to Torino!

back to scuola

For the past 2 weeks I think I have been counting down the days to Luca's first day of school. He is a little man that needs to stay busy, and mainly outdoors. I think we've made about 25 paper airplanes, following YouTube tutorials in 6 different languages. Ella still requires a 2-3 hour nap, and with a restless Luca, we were running out of ideas. The day has finally arrived, and I'm kind of melancholy, I admit. By the end of the summer Ella has become more than Luca's little shadow. They play constantly together. Whether it's whipping up pasta in the kitchen, building forts, playing "mama and daddy," washing their bikes outside, washing the chalkboard wall inside, dragging home more sticks to add to our collection near the front door, drinking bubble water, building lego towers and dinosaur robots, playing "I spy something...." 

Dropping him off today, it made me wonder why I wanted it all to go by fast. Looking at this photo, makes me realize how quickly they grow up, there's only a few more magical summers like these.

seeing Big Brother off

(Thank you Grandma for the "new look", and zio Carmine for the Spiderman backpack!)

Luca's words of wisdom?

chalk board and the green river

boxes of fun

where could Ella be??

washing bikes

Happy Even After

This weekend some of our dearest friends got married in beautiful Castiglione delle Stiviere in Mantova. Maria Chiara and Carlo were some of our first italian friends. Maria Chiara was there to help Mark pick out his groom suit while I was still living in LA, and Carlo and Mark met way back when they were both doing an internship at Pininfarina. Here are some highlights from the weekend:

testing the swings at the hotel's outdoor bar

The giant yellow serpent makes for a great race track

friends ready to party

and these friends too

Duomo at Castiglione, site of the wedding

following the bride and groom to the Convento dell' Annunciata

let the party begin

the ex-convent makes for a romantic setting

Little man Senne

freshly sliced prosciutto, bufala mozzerella, fried dough, shrimp, and oysters.....are a few of the appetizers.

The bride takes a moment to play with Ella and her balloon

the princess is ready to eat.

seated amongst goblets and friends

this is a 3 fork meal

Happy Even After....gelato from San Pe!

tired kiddos crash at 11:30pm....right after the cake is cut.

After party from 2:30am-6:00am...Mark and I made it part of the way.

Luca, Ella and Senne...i vicini lontani come together

passaggiata with the Doekes in Solferino

Italy Beyond

We've been milking all that we can out of summer. And when you have first time visitors it makes it that much more fun. Mary & Tucker Hughes stopped in one week after we got back from Sweden. Giving us just enough time to do the laundry, clean the house, and set the itinerary for their visit. Fortunately Mary is a fellow "Beyond" excursionist, and Tucker an Army Officer so we figured they were up for some rugged outdoor adventures. Click on the link below for the complete story:

Italy Beyond Album

Sweden alla Coletti

We had a beautiful 10 day adventure in Sweden thanks in large to Cuncle Chad and Erika. They literally gave up their beds for a tent in the woods under a radio tower during our stay in Uppsala. They loaded us up with homemade sourdough bread, tractor lunchbox, candy, and lingonberry jam which we took with us to Ostergotland. A region full of trees, lakes, and lots of dirt roads.



Mark and I celebrated 7 years of married bliss in the seaside town of Trosa. Then Chad lead us deep into the archipelago of Stockholm to the island of Grinda. There we slept in a Stuga for 4, ate crepes made by Jean Baptiste, and dove into the Baltic to cool ourselves off from the heat of the lakeside sauna. We spent our last day touring Stockholm by bike. A city made up of 14 islands, numerous parks, the best Thai restaurant ever, and a youth hostel on an 18th century ship that puts a 4 star hotel to shame.



By the way, sadly, after I purchased Coldplay's new song on itunes, it was blocked on YouTube, so you get no delightful soundtrack to this video. Sorry, just hum Sky Full of Stars and you'll get the idea.

Americ-anna

We went back to the states unexpectedly soon, but it was a special trip in many aspects. One month before our trip, our friends at the Pasta shop asked if their 13 year old daughter Marianna could join us as a way to celebrate her final year of middle school. Of course she could come and my parents were equally enthused. It made showing off the Northwest even more exciting. We ventured to Seattle a few times to visit the Villanuevas & Ellingsons, toured around the emerald city by Monorail, drank several starbucks concoctions, and went up the Needle herself. We watched fireworks burst on the 4th of July on the Oregon Coast, and jumped on water trampolines, and cruised the Puget Sound. The passing of Little B brought the whole Ellingson clan together for a cruise to celebrate her life and the 3 most important places to her. We finished off the month flying at the end of a 1,000 foot rope and staring Mt. Rainier in the face. In the end it was lovely, but great to come home to Daddy and ripe red pomodori.