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!  

5 more games...can that be right?

I honestly can't believe it...there are only five more games left in the regular season of 2010-11!  I just said that out loud and realized we don't have that much longer.  Living overseas for nine months out of the year there are days when the time seems to stand still (sometimes for days on end) and then other times when you don't know where the last month went.  Today I am feeling like where did the month of March go?

With five games to go we are (what do you know) still in 7th place in Legadue.  We are still looking good for play-offs so I have a strong feeling we will be here longer then 5 more weeks. :)  Last week the team won against Casterpusterlengo and this week will be heading to San Severo for a game on the road.

My parents get here this week and I am SOOOO excited! I love when they get to come and visit here...it is such a special time with just them and not the hustle and bustle of being home and having crazy schedules everyday.

A big thing happening in our family is that my Sister Kristin is moving to Chicago next week!  She was offered a job at her same company in Chicago where the market is the 3rd biggest in the country!  This is bittersweet because I am so happy for her and proud of her success as a business woman, but so sad that when I get home she won't be there :(  She is so amazing though and I know she will be rocking the Chicago market in no time, and this is a great opportunity for her.  I guess this calls for a visit to Chicago this summer!! ;)

Kristin's trip to Sardegna!

This is a sign my other talented sister Sara made for Kristin's going away party!  Cool huh!

Other then that not too much happening around the old hill town of Veroli.  The sun is trying to make a permanent appearance but still squeaking a few rain days in there...but looks like this week is calling for 68 degrees so I will take it!

Since I am munching on some fresh crackers right now...I will share a very dear secret to keeping items fresh in my cupboards and fridge....wait for it....RUBBERBANDS!!  This is a trick I learned from my Father in law, and it seriously works like a charm.  The best part about them is that you can use them a million times over and they change shape according to what you are wrapping up (chips, salad, cookies, etc).  This little trick has helped keep our food tightly wrapped up and that means fresher food for longer!  Can't beat that!  I dare you to try it ;)

Make sure to buy a bag of all different sizes!! :)

Official countdown:
My Parents....2 days!!
My Aunt...8 days!!
My Sister Sara...12 days!!

Time is rolling on!

SO we are two weeks and two games since we won the Italian cup and things are just moving along. We won one game and lost the one last Friday, and funny enough we are STILL in 7th place in Legadue!  It is so frustrating week after week of being in the exact same spot in the rankings, especially since we all feel like the team has been playing SO well.

And too clear up any confusion...the Italian cup (what my last blog was about) has nothing to do with our actual season in Legadue.  It is just an Italian pride tournament that is a big deal and an accomplishment to be in, but has no bearing on our standings whatsoever.  I think I might have confused some people with that post...sorry! :)

So time, as I said in my post title...are just rolling on because we aren't moving anywhere in the standings but right now it is still looking really good for us to make play-offs.  The top eight teams go to play-offs and we have seven more games to play.

Too keep busy last weekend while the guys were on the road, Adriana and I headed to Roma and it seriously could not have been a more perfect day.  The sunshine was out and it was about 65 degrees!  We got there and headed to the Trevi fountain (our favorite place) and then to the Spanish steps...after that we shopped till we dropped before we finally had to eat.  We had lunch at a great restaurant near the spanish steps and enjoyed our pesto pasta, and gorgonzola gnocchi! IT WAS GOOD :)  Then we walked back to the train station and headed home.  

Blanko restaurant!  Highly recommended :)  

It is funny because as much as both of us have been there, we still couldn't stop talking about how amazing this city is and how much we love it there.

Yesterday Cinzia, Adriana and I walked the Veroli outdoor market in the warm sun and enjoyed our cappuccino's out in the center square.  THEN the rain came...it started raining last night and has not stopped since!  I sure hope the weather is cleaning out it's system so that the sun can come back :)

Tony also had his TV appearance on the local station so here are a few pics from his interview. Don't worry...they actually powdered his nose! Hehe :)

This week the team heads to Verona for their Saturday game...unfortunately it is not on TV or anything so we will all be glued to our computers watching the play by play.

COUNTDOWN to my parents arrival....14 days!!!!! :)

2011 Italian Cup CHAMPS!

YAY!!!!!  We are so proud of our team for winning the 2011 Italian Cup Championship!!  They played so well and beat two of the best teams in the league to take home the trophy.  :)  Here are a few pics of the celebration when the team returned home after their awesome WIN!!

My cute Champ!

The wives! Amanda, me, Adriana and Cinzia :)

Way to go PRIMA VEROLI!!

 

Winter Wonderland Wedding = Perfection

I always have a hard time starting my blog posts about a big event because I always worry that I won't do it justice, and that I will forget something important!  But then again...I love blogging about special events.  And this was one of the most special in our family.  My little Brother T.J. got MARRIED!  He and Ashley Roggenkamp tied the knot on February 26th and it was a fabulous time with family, and friends.

Ashley and T.J. getting ready for the rehearsal

Getting home early I was able to help a little bit with last minute details and my Mom with the rehearsal dinner.  It was so nice to be home to do those things because I missed so many fun parts of the wedding like showers, and the bachelorette party!  But anyway...to the good stuff :)

So a few days before the wedding it started snowing like crazy in our town...and I am not going to lie everyone was a little nervous because it doesn't snow where we live that often, and we were afraid people wouldn't come to the wedding if there was ANY snow on the ground.  But God was definitely watching carefully because he stopped the snow and it was almost all gone by the night of the rehearsal!  SO that was great :)

My parents house on Lake Sawyer

The night of the rehearsal was so amazing, after the practicing at the church and everything we went to Sip City for dinner.  It really is a wine tasting cafe but my parents had it catered by someone else in town so it worked out so well.  It was nice to have the whole place to ourselves and just be able to relax and have a great time.  The night was perfect, we had great food and great company.  T.J. and Ashley each talked about their parents, siblings, and then talked about each person in their bridal party.  Then the families were open to give toasts too.  My Dad and all of us sisters talked...and I don't know how many of you know our family that well, but we are seriously CLOSE and very emotional when it comes to our family members.  So we all cried...but we still were able to get out exactly what we wanted to say to my Brother and Ashley.  It is kind of a big deal for your baby Brother to get married...

Half of the room!

FAMILY :)

The WEDDING day  2.26.2011

After we all got our hair done and all ready we headed to the church around noon to get dressed and get ready for pictures.  The pictures were pretty fun, one of the bridesmaids brought out her iPod and speakers and we all just danced outside for about 20 mins!  It was so cool and I really hope the pictures turn out the way it looked!  Remind you that it is about 35 degrees out so we didn't last outside too long :)  

Brody getting ready to be the ring bearer...what a stud muffin.

ALL ready :)

The ceremony was at 3:30pm and it was absolutely beautiful and I think we only managed to cry a few times so that was good ;) Then it was off to the reception in Puyallup where every detail had been carefully planned out and the room looked so pretty.  The reception was a BLAST!  So fun to see so many people and dance the night away with family and their friends.  It could not have been more fun :)

The next day the families went to Ashley's family's house to open presents with the newlyweds!  It was a special time with just the families to talk about everything that had happened and just enjoy one last event together to wrap up the incredible weekend!

The biggest bummer of the whole weekend is that Tony couldn't be there...of course this is really only a bummer for me, but he really wishes he could have been there and of course I really missed him :(

The winter wonderland wedding was a true joy to be a part of and I am so so happy for T.J. and Ashley and for their new journey together as a married couple.  We love you guys! :)

Mr. and Mrs. Poe

  

Spring, Sheep and Socks!

First things first...Veroli WINS 6th game in a ROW!!  Whoooooop....we are all pretty ecstatic around here and that makes for happy weekdays..which is always a good thing ;)

The team has another home game this Sunday against Jesi and then they will head to the Final Four tournament in Novara.  This is always confusing for people to understand, but it is a tournament of 4 teams that all won previous tournaments at the beginning of the season.  It is typically around the half way point of the year and is a fun thing to be a part of, but has no impact on the actual season standings.  Last year we were in the cup and actually hosted it in Sassari...if you remember reading about it on my blog.

Way to go boys!!

Once again it is has been pretty slow moving around here, so much so that I actually watched this same flock of sheep graze through our field, then I saw them on my run, then I had to stop for them while they crossed the road on the way to grocery store!  These sheep have more of a social life then I do...they were all over the neighborhood today! ;)  But really these pics are for my niece that absolutely loves animals.

SHEEP AND SOCKS
(and in case some of you don't know...we don't have a dryer, well actually what you are seeing is our dryer)!!  

MORE sheep!

And since I have nothing super exciting to share that I did this week I will once again share another favorite product that is fabulous :)  

It is Paul Mitchell's Super Skinny Serum that makes hair shiny, and smooth especially in the dry winter months.  I only use a pencil eraser amount on wet or dry hair, but it really does help with static too!

Paul Mitchell's Super Skinny Serum!

Don't worry I could never forget about my countdown to being home:

ONE WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4 in a ROW!!

Well the Prima Veroli boys won their fourth game in a row!!  It is back to happy times around here, and hopefully we can keep this winning streak going!

We went out to dinner after the game to Pepe Nero, one of the best restaurants in Frosinone...it was so fun to be with everyone and enjoy yummy Italian food! :)


This week has been another quiet one with not a whole lot going on, but a short blog is OK once in awhile right??

Since there isn't too much else to write about I will share one of my new favorite clothing items:

The Zella "Live in" Pants
http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/zella-live-in-leggings/3035710?origin=keywordsearch&resultback=0

They are seriously the best pants ever!  I wear them to work out in and I wear them under sweaters or dresses!  They are a great weight but still compressing too.  I highly recommend them :)

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!!
Time till I am home for the wedding: 3 weeks exactly!!! WHOO HOOO!