slacker...

I'm not sure what I've done since July 4th but I do know what I have NOT done, and that is post pictures from the big day. But, first, let's backtrack by saying that July 3rd was also a delight thanks to Crocker's and Walker's but instead of writing about that you can read here and here.
On the BIG day we headed up to the pool to experience irresistible crowds, beach ball decor, a colossal blow up slide, games and the tradition of the beer dive (Josh limited himself to 4 this year).
Here's the boys lined up to dive for pennies
each penny merited a Popsicle and mercifully other children shared as my 3 yr old is still deathly afraid to venture under water. and look at sweet little Jack...
Next the games began...go team blue.The girls undertook a large gamble by joining teams and finding apples...apples collected and they later found out could not be eaten - of which Sophia really struggled with.this was the slide I eluded to earlier..and honestly, what could make daddy more proud than his girls fishing


great time, great time had by all.

Day 4

Croatia was my FAVORITE location. We toured Dubrovnik, Croatia which was founded in the 7th century by the Romans. The town is located in the southeastern boarder of Croatia on the Dalmatian Coast of the Adriatic Sea. The town is very picturesque and notable for its medieval double walls, fortifications and historical buildings including one of the oldest pharmacies in Europe. Also, the necktie originates from Croatia - but maybe you already knew that.

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Happy 4th

Happy birthday America and Happy birthday to my girls...
Saylor Lillie is 3 1/2 today and Sophia is 16 months.

where is this outfit?

4th of July is TOMORROW and I can't find this outfit. I actually bought a different one for the BIG day but this one would be PERFECT for today or on the 5th? Really, where could an entire outfit disappear to???

my new favorite picture

intersession

I thought I'd post a few pictures from this week before I finish the rest of our trip.

The neighbor kids lit off a few fireworks tonight before it started to rain...

here's Saylor Lillie and Alex setting off sparks - Alex has contested to wanting to marry my daughter so the sparklers may have multiple igniting.

Sweet Alex

Jackson, Alex and Say

one of the 32 smoke bombs

Day three

Valletta, Malta -

Valletta is the chief town, port and capital city, on the northeastern coast of the island of Malta, in the Mediterranean Sea. It occupies a rocky tongue of land on either side of which are harbors. Valletta is also the chief administrative, commercial, and cultural center of Malta. The city's historical sites and temperate climate attract many tourists. Until 1979 British and North Atlantic Treaty Organization naval bases were located in Valletta's harbors. Now these ports have been converted for commercial service. The principal architectural features are the residence of the governor, formerly the palace of the Grand Masters of the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem, and the cathedral containing tombs of Knights.

We opted to spend this day relaxing on one of Malta's luxgoroius beaches.

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Mediterranean Mosaic Day one and two

Cruise Day one and two.

We flew out of St. Louis airport, a direct flight to Rome. We left St. Louis at 5 pm and landed in Rome 10 hours later. It was a VERY long day since a) we really didn't go to bed the night before given the fact that we had not made any attempts to pack in advance and b) we drove to KC Tuesday morning to catch a flight to St. Louis to save us from driving.

Yada, Yada, we land in Rome, wait for our luggage (it took 2 hours) and bus over to the port to board the boat. The cruise line was Holland America and it was AMAZING. Highly recommend. It was probably around 4 by the time we finally board. That first night we just perused the boat, scouting out the pools and bars. We left port around 7pm and docked the next morning bright (and I mean bright...the sky's were the bluest of blues and always cloudless) and early at Naxos, Sicily.

History on Naxos: It was the first Greek colony in Sicily. It has been inhabited without interruption from 7735BC to present. In ancient times Naxos was the largest and most fertile island in Cyclades, known for its wine and the worship of Dionysos. Naxos is also home Europe's largest active volcano Mt. Etna's, which we could see from our boat. The Majestic Mt. Etna at 11,000 ft. is covered in cones, craters and the remnants of steams of lava. At 6,200 ft, you can see the 1983 lava flow. We shuttled from Naxos to Taormina. Taormina is situated high on Mount Tauro, overlooking the calm lonian sea, with delightful medieval character. This town dates back to 39AC. Taormina is a charming and popular resort town. We walked down the bustling main street of Corso Umberto, which is lined with former mansions with enchanting architecture and balconies that brim with flowers. We toured a Greek-Roman Theatre that is the towns most visited historical site, it dates back to the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC and still hosts performances today.

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Happy 60th and 38th

My parents and my grandparents share the same anniversary date. Josh and I would have shared it too had it not fallen on a Wed. that year. Something about a Wed. wedding didn't appeal to him. Anyway, what a momumental day for my grandparents! Happy 60 years grandma and grandpa - how cute are they?!?! And happy 38th mom and dad.

we're back...

after nine days of travel, 4 countries, 10 lbs gained and over a 1000K pictures. I'll upload a slide show once I finish the 5 loads of laundry, grocery store run, unpacking, jetlag recovery and all the rest of my heaping chores.