cote azur

Thanks to our favorite next door neighbor in the world, we got to spend another gorgeous weekend at his vacation home perched righteously above Monte Carlo in the medieval town of Roquebrune. We enjoyed 2 nights of appetizers on the balcony, the local Balo de Mais, and some midnight fireworks in honor of the Formula One race going on that weekend. Mark enjoyed the qualifying races on Saturday, while we basked in the sun (shade for Luca) on the Golf de Bleu.

 our humble view

 good morning!

 free as a bee

 kathleen and aperitivo

 constellation di monte carlo

luca's new favorite past time

maggio bellagio....

Yes, May is beautiful and every time that it comes to our little corner of the world it makes thinking of leaving here impossible....so maybe we'll put it off until November. This month has been full of blooming poppies, sprouting cherries, and a running, tumbling bambino.

Luca and zio Carmine

 spring cleaning

 backpackn'

 7am pecetto colors

swingin

bonny scotland

To celebrate both of our birthdays we headed to Edinburgh (the sunniest place on earth) to visit good friends Jim and Laurie. They welcomed us warmly and highlights of their home were for Luca, every trash bin, washing machine and a few priceless objects.

 a warm welcome

 quick shot taken before prying the handle of the toilet brush out of Luca's grasp

 hair-raising playground experience

 feeding the swans, and Luca

 hike up to Arthur's Seat

 group photo on the shores of North Berwick

 beach time!

 loving it!

 lunch at the lobster shack

 camo jim

mark finishes up his round of 18 on the west course

buona pasquetta!

Pasquetta, little easter, is a lovely day you get off on the monday after easter. I'm not sure why, but I'm guessing the italians just need an extra day to relax after a day of holy gluttony. We celebrated by firing up the charcoals on the grill for the first time this season. With 74 degree weather and a nice garden for the kids to stumble around in, we were set.....

 Luca, a mini protege of grandpa Rick

 Glam-ena on her white stallion

the 3 babies all crash for a nap at the same time, priceless

fresh bruschetta, beer and margarhitas

huddled around the grill-fire

mark's birthday!

It seems like we just stopped celebrating Luca's birthday, and now we're on to Mark's. To carry on the tradition he was served breakfast in bed by his 2 favorite people. Luca stuck around to get a taste. 

yes, that says "30" in hot sauce!

ewww...grapefruit!

new shoes

primavera

a lot can happen in a month....

march 22nd our baby turned one!

mark celebrates first father's day

 luca meets the lind girls

sliding with Uncle E

visiting the 7 Seas Brewery with Pappa E

lending nonnie a hand

amy's bachlorette party....fbi!

3 moms and 1 bride

view from Timberline Lodge

the wedding party hits the slopes

grandma & grandpa coletti!

the newlyweds find a romantic niche