Easter Weekend 2011

Easter is such a special and spiritual holiday weekend.  Tony and I both tried to take time to reflect and digest the greatness of what Easter means to both of us.  It means so much to our faith's and we are so blessed to share those feelings together.  Not too mention the fun part of Easter with the eggs, cute decorations and last but definitely not least (if you know me at all) the CANDY!  My sister Kristin and I are candy freaks and we have officially named Easter the best candy holiday by FAR :)

We started off the weekend with a great opportunity, the GM called Tony and asked if he could come to the hospital to meet some of the children that are currently staying there for a long period of time for various reasons.  I got to go along for the ride and it was so awesome.  The team mascot was also there, and him and Tony went into several rooms and passed out big chocolate eggs to the kids.  It was so nice to be reminded in a big way about sacrificing in our lives and doing things to help others.  The kids loved seeing the huge giraffe and getting a few autographs.  It was a good way to start the weekend.

Saturday morning we were up and out the door by 6:30am!  We were headed North all the way to Florence for a day of sight seeing and relaxing.  It was a good three hour drive but it was beautiful as we drove through the Tuscany region for the last bit of it.  Once in Florence we realized that this was probably not the best day to visit, considering it was the day before Easter and we were there with thousands and thousands of tourists!  SO we ended up not visiting any museums (crazy I know), but we only were there one day and didn't want to stand in line for 3 hours at every one.  And really that just means that we will have to go back someday...right?  Florence was great, and it was so nice just walking the side streets with Tony and relaxing!  We had such a fabulous day and finished it off with a stop at Piazza di Michaelangelo which has one of the best views of Florence ever.  It was a perfect way to wave good bye to Florence and head on back to good old Veroli :)

Finally in Florence!

Making our way through the crowds

Ponte Vecchio (one of the first bridges that is still standing)

Mia amore...

il Duomo 

Tony using his artsy/photography skills ;)

The replica statue of Michaelangelo's David 

Easter morning we got up and went to church at Abbey Casamari which is a beautiful functioning Abbey about 15 mins away from our house.  It is one of my favorite places to take visitors because it is so beautiful and simple at the same time.  The place was PACKED with people even though there was services every hour.  It was a great service about how Easter can be thought of only as a story (even though a great one) and not taken or remembered for it's true meaning and impact.  Obviously I had to have Tony translate a little of that for me ;)

Then we came home and just spent time together with no bball!  I made a big dinner for the two of us that was yummy and then finished off the night with goodies from our Easter basket and a movie.  One of the best weekends in a long time :)

Easter dinner!

Baby Shower!

So after a fun filled couple of weeks with visitors I got to end the week throwing a baby shower for Adriana, who is another wife on the team.  Adriana is due with baby Serena in May so the other wives and I thought it would be a perfect time to throw her a shower!  We had a great mixture of Americans and Italians that were able to make it and we really had a wonderful time.  Our friends from Caserta even made the long drive up!  We ate, played games, and of course opened presents.  Adriana has been pregnant the entire season, so we are all very anxious to meet Serena, and are all praying that she has her when we are still here!  Our team heads into play offs May 12th, so there is a chance that we could lose and be out before she comes.  So we are hoping for an early baby so that we can all meet this precious little one!

We decorated with pink of course :)

Cute little Veroli babies!

Serena scored some adorable clothes!

Cinzia and AJ...thanks for hosting Cinzia!

Big Brother Jay gets a few presents too.

Pink flowers from Adriana's sweet husband Jay!

The Veroli Wives and kids...minus little Jay. :)

It was a wonderful afternoon, and Adriana seriously deserved a day of spoiling and love!  We can't wait to meet you Serena!!

The team played Scafati that week on the road and we won again...BARELY!  We have gotten super lucky the last three games, and hopefully this won't continue into play-offs because it is stressful.  Then on Monday I had one of my wisdom teeth taken out, so that was a blast ;) Tony was gone all day for team stuff, so thankfully Adriana was kind enough to take me and bring me home.  It is healing ok, but unfortunately I got dry socket which is extremely painful and is still killing me.  I am hoping to make a visit back to the dentist tomorrow to have him take a look.  

This week brings the last regular season home game against Pistoia.......and then only one more away game to go.  Time is flying by!

CIAO CIAO :)

What a WHIRLWIND!

Sara is HERE!!

My sister Sara surprised me about a month ago when she asked me if I had time for one more visitor after my parents, and Aunt.  Of course I said yes...why?  Then she told me that everything had fallen into perfect place and she was coming to Italia...for three days!!  I know most of you might think that is crazy to fly all that way (24 hour travel time) but for her it was perfect.  She has a hubby, and two kiddos at home that need her desperately and two jobs that need her too!  So...even though she was only gone five days, and here three it was seriously the best time ever.  I was so excited the days leading up to it...and just felt so blessed that everyone in our family could help with the kids and everything just to let her come to see us!

Cheers to Sara in Italia...and matching outfits of course (no it was not planned)!

Happy sister :)

SO she arrived on a Sunday and with a couple hour delay it was already noon when she got here.  So we decided to head back to Veroli so that we explore our local area with the remainder of the day.  As soon as we set down our suitcases we were out the door.  First we went to Frosinone for the famous cappuccinos, then off to Sora, then Isola Liri, then Abbey Casamari, and last but not least Veroli.  We were rockin' to say the least!  Then we picked up Tony and had a great dinner at Pepe Nero where we laughed, caught up on things at home, and just enjoyed a great dinner!  

Bruschetta....one word YUM!

The next day we were up early and off to Roma on the train...which was a funny experience in itself.  But we made our way to our first stop which was Vatican city.  We went through the museum and spent a good amount of time in the Sistine Chapel, that place is truly amazing.  Then we talked our way into exiting through the special tour group exit that leads straight to St. Peters Basilica, and that saved us a huge line and time!  After purchasing some special souvenirs we made our way into St. Peter's and even though all of the pews were out (everything is ready for Holy Week and Easter) it was still once again an awesome sight.  We took our time and wandered through and after stopped to send a special set of postcards to Sara's kids from the Vatican post office! :)  I wonder how long it will take them to get there?

Vatican Museum

Did you know you can take pictures and talk in there now?  I wish it was the old way.

Breath taking...

St. Peter's Basilica

Signed, sealed, delivered...straight from Vatican City!

Then it was off to the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, and then the Pantheon.  Here we stopped and had a bite to eat at a cafe facing the church and square. They say that the people watching is great outside the Pantheon, and it did not disappoint.  Then after just making it in the Pantheon before it closed we toured it quickly and then headed off.  We walked to the Coliseum from there, and when we arrived realized that it had closed at 2pm this specific day, so we thought we better call it a day (a very successful one) and head back to Veroli to have dinner with Tony.  We ended up at a new place we had not been where we enjoyed freshly made pasta that was awesome! Buon Appetit!

Pantheon lunch!

The The Monument of Victor Emmanuel II
...AKA the Wedding Cake

Sara's first peak at the Coliseum

The next day we were a little crazy...we had made reservations at the Villa Borghese Galleria at 9am which meant we need to wake up about 5am to get ready and train into Roma, and make it out there on the Metro.  But we did it, and we weren't even that tired...(you have to remember I never have to set my alarm for anything, so 5am is a little early)!!  So we got there just on time and went to the ticket office to retrieve our tickets we reserved on line...the guy looks at us and says, I am sorry there is no reservation for you today?  We were like...um...we just made it yesterday and it emailed us a confirmation!  So he looked again, and this time said, oh yes here you are, for NEXT Tuesday!  Haha...we started to panic a little bit and pleading our case, and he quietly smiled and said, we can let you in today :)  I have never been to the Borghese Garden Gallery so I was really excited to see it, and of course Sara was too, so thank goodness for a nice Italian guy that could see how disappointed we would have been!  SO we grabbed a quick brioche and cappuccino and off we went with our audio guide in hand!

It was an amazing place, with so much art to look at and understand.  It was well worth the 5 euros for the hand held guide!  They only allow a certain number of people into the museum every 2 hours, so it was quiet upstairs for the first hour, but once we headed back downstairs, the teenage tours had crowded in!

The Villa Borghese Gardens

I didn't know this but every year Italia has "Culture Week" where mostly all of the museums are free!  So we seriously lucked out...and saved a lot of money that way!  The only thing we had to pay for was the Vatican museum...other then that the Coliseum, the Forum (Palatine Hill) and Villa Borghese Gallery were free...and I am sure so much more.

After we finished there, we went straight to the Coliseum and then the Forum where we walked the ancient grounds, got our shoes extremely dirty and took in the incredible history of Roma.  Once we finished there, and a stop for gelato, we headed home because Tony needed the car for practice.  It was another train ride of standing room only, we seemed to only get to sit down once!

Inside!

Quite the background...

Palatino Hill

• Great way to finish our Roma tour...well right before I found a hair in mine haha!

Thanks Rick for all the great tips :)

Then for the first time when we got back...we just SAT DOWN...ha!  Tony left for practice and we sat out on the balcony and had apertivo in the warm sunshine.  It was so nice because for a moment I had a sister here to enjoy this with, and we just sat and talked talked talked...and relaxed!  Tony then picked us up and we headed off to our farewell dinner at a new restaurant we discovered when my parents were here.  And Sara finally got her Caprese salad that she was patiently waiting for.  The meal was a perfect ending to a seriously fun trip!  The owner was even nice enough to give Sara a glass with an Italian beer logo on the side for free...the perfect thing to take to Lance back home!

Farewell dinner!  Check out that salad!

More delicious food!

Then up the next morning to take her back the airport...insert big frowny face here.  But I honestly couldn't be too sad because I was just so grateful that she came and was able to come with all of the help from home!  It was an amazing trip and I couldn't have asked for a better three days, (oh did I mention it was 70 degrees the whole time).  We got to do everything that she wanted to do and still fit in some good old sister time too!


SO thank you Sara for coming all this way, it meant so much to me to have you here.  And thank you to all the family that helped at home to make it possible and so smooth while she was gone.

WHAT A WHIRLWIND is maybe even an understatement...CIAO TUTTI!!

Tony's team has been winning (three straight) and are now currently tied with 4 teams for the the spots between 4th and 7th.  There is only TWO more games to go before play offs....time is flying!

Two weeks of fun with family!

It has been awhile since I have blogged but I am happy because it means that I was busy hanging out with my awesome visitors :)  First my parents were here, then my Aunt and her friend Medley, then my sister Sara rounded out the two week time frame!  It was a whirlwind of fun and we had absolutely wonderful weather the whole time.

My parents were first up on the schedule and they got here Thursday and stayed until Monday.  We had a great time exploring Rome once again, and going to some cities they had not been to around Veroli. One of those cities was Sora where my Dad preceded to climb a huge mountain by himself and successfully reach a long lost castle that was clearly not reachable by car...only on foot.  If you know my Dad at all, this is not surprising...I am not going to lie he had my Mom and I nervous for about 20 minutes when he was out of sight...but he of course made it safely back down the mountain to us! Then we went on a little road trip to San Severo where we got to watch the team pull a win out by the skin of their chins...we got seriously lucky!  But it was great for them to see a game, and the 6 hour round trip was full of talking, getting a little lost, side detour to a church, and finding a perfect spot in the sun for a cappuccino before the game :) We also got to spend a little quality time in the sun on our balcony... which was great because they have been in the RAIN back home in Seattle, so that was perfect!  Always such a fun time with my parents when they come to visit, and I feel totally blessed that they are able to do that! :)

After the win against San Severo!

At the cafe where we met the other teams biggest fan...ha!

Bus tour of Roma...had to be on top in the sunshine.

The Trevi

My Dad is somewhere in this picture...can you see him?  This is the giant mountain he climbed in case you were wondering ;)

My parents are the best...thanks for coming!!

Then funny enough the one day in between them and my Aunt it poured rain, we had thunder and lightning...and the power even went out for a little bit...go figure!

My Aunt Karen and her friend Medley arrived on Wednesday afternoon and by the time we got back from the airport we just had time to have a great dinner and enjoy their company back home.  Then it was up early to Roma where we spent 8 hours walking and talking :)  We got to see all of the major sites and had a fabulous lunch outside the Patheon.  Back home we went on the train and ended up eating a dinner of fresh bread, cheese, olives, chips...it was a perfect ending to a busy day!  Then the next day I got to show them around Veroli, Frosinone, and a few minutes in the sun before we were headed back to the airport.  It was so fun to have them here, we had such a good time!  Next time I want them to stay longer though :)

First night at Pepe Nero...YUM!

Self portraits are hard with 3 people ;)

Vatican Museum

Lunch at the Patheon!  Thanks for coming Aunt Karen and Medley!

I absolutely love having people come and stay with us, it just makes me so happy!  And of course when it is my parents and family members it makes it extra special!  Thank you Mom, Dad, Karen and Medley for coming all this way to see us...we loved every minute of it!!

Up next...blog about Sara's three day whirlwind trip!!  Stay tuned...

Countdown:

3 games to go in the regular season!