Beating the heat in Citta

Every year we go to Citta Del Mare and with the heat as extreme as it is we decided to get away for the weekend and enjoy the pools and beaches at our favorite resort. It was our 3rd visit and just as wonderful as usual. The beach was very wavy and windy so we spent most of our time at the pools and playgrounds and such but it was fun just the same.

Right before we left for vacation we found this outfit at a new mall. She had been dying to wear it and for dinner one night at the resort I put it on her. She immediately went to our balcony and begged to get pictures taken of her in her pretty outfit. I'm in trouble...


When it comes to ice cream she is constantly in need of it. She begs for it all of the time and we frequently have to tell her NO...YOUVE HAD ENOUGH! So mommy promised her that every single day on vacation she could have ice cream. She certainly enjoyed the fact that Mommy wasn't going to say no!

One Italian game that Robert and I love to play is Bocce Ball. I can remember playing it a few times when I was little with my friend Sara but since we have gotten here we have learned to play as well as bought our own bocce set. The balls for Bocce are very heavy so we bought her own light weight rubber balls and we went out to the court and taught her how to play. She had a blast playing bocce and mini golf over the weekend!

This night it was mommy's birthday (Sunday) and I really wanted a cannoli style cake for my birthday. We went in treck of it after my birthday dinner and after a mile of walking in the dark we came across exactly what I wanted!! It was delicious. Ruth had no complaints trecking for desserts especially on her daddy's shoulders!

The breathtaking view from our hotel room. I wouldn't trade seeing this every morning when I wake up for anything and is what keeps us coming back every year. Next year Russell will be almost 1... the exact age Ruth was her first time here.

She is 3

June 4th was Ruths 3rd birthday. Just 5 days after getting back from Paris. Mom and Dad got her a 12 inch bike for her birthday. We were sure that she wouldn't get the bicycle since she struggled with the tricycle even still. Little did we know that she would be riding like the wind in just two days of teaching her. Since then almost every night we go on a walk which consists of her riding her bike and Ruby and I running to keep up with her. She has already asked for her "baby wheels" off but... maybe next summer.


The weekend after her birthday we had a birthday party for her. It was a place called funny island which was full of fun. We had almost 2 hours of free play with all of her 15 friends.

She loves doing the rock climbing wall! Everytime she went to go the man running the wall would sing her buon compleanno (happy birthday) in Italian. She loved the attention!

After two hours of play the workers gathered everyone wearing a red jersey (all of the party guests) and put them all in this very special birthday room just for Ruths party. When I say they gathered them I am saying that they all climbed into the equipment, tunnels, slides, ball pits, etc and made sure they found 15 children with red jerseys. The workers here were amazing!

While waiting for the pizza and fries to be served we munched on chips and popcorn they served us and Ruth openned all of her birthday gifts from her friends. Then the pizza was served and the kids ate faster than ever before so they could go back out to the play equipment.

We struggled to get them all to say for the cake. Have you ever seen 15 children all complain about having to eat cake??

The cakes were absolutely delicious and it is certainly an understatement to say that American desserts do not compare to an italian dessert. They know what they are doing!

Buon Compleanno Ruth! You certainly are special to be able to celebrate all of your birthdays in Italy! We moved here when you were 11 months old and have gotten to celebrate your birthday in a unique and wonderful place!

Paris in May

Paris in May. What a blast. It truely was fun and my mom and my niece Hailey got to come and meet us there so it was special vacation with them there. I do have to say though that Paris had highly overpriced and not so good food, children are to be seen and not heard, the sicilians are much more friendly and helpful than the Parisians, BUT the city is breathtaking in many ways.

We chose to rent an apartment for the week rather than getting a hotel and we really did enjoy it. We stayed in the attic of an old apartment building. It had everything we needed. The living room was all cieling to floor with this incredible view of the eiffel tower. Most nights we would pull out the pull out couch, everyone would lay on it and we would watch the amazing light show done every night at 10 pm.


The first stop was the extremely large Palace of Versailles. It was breathtaking but exhausting. It was extremely hot this day for Paris in May so it was exhausting. The gardens were gorgeous with many fountains like the one behind Hailey and Ruth.

The next couple of days was full of the usual site seeing. Going up in the eiffel tower, touring notre dame, taking a boat down the river, and shopping.

After all of that site seeing Ruth needed a couple of Ruth days. Two days of Eurodisney was a blast and she constantly had a huge smile on her face. Everything those two days were about her and she couldn't have been more spoiled.

We ran into all of the characters the first day. We needed a potty break so we all went into the bathroom and when we came out all of the characters were standing right there... literally a dozen characters to take pictures with, kiss and hug, and of course get their autograph.

The next day we did lunch with the characters as well and she got to dine with mickey and minnie and their friends!

Its been busy!

Everyone has been waiting for pictures! I am sorry it has taken so long. I need to get back on the ball before the new one arrives so that you guys can see pictures of the baby when he is born and much more.

Many have requested a new belly picture. Here is a recent side view of me. I was 33 weeks here and I feel like I am carrying an overfilled basketball that is getting ready to burst at the seems!!
The heat is killing me... giving me kankles, making me exhausted by the end of the day, and I don't think there is a moment in the day that I am not ALL sweat! Yes this is our car temperature gage. NO that is not a mistake made by our car...it was actually 111 outside.... and that wasn't the hottest part of the day!

Robert gets the weather forecast every night while he is at work and they call when it reaches 100 and when it drops back below 100. Yesterday morning, before he left work, he got a call at 7:47 am saying that it was 100 degrees. THEN at 10:56 pm he got a call saying it had just dropped below 100. So from the time we wake up in the morning until the time we go to bed it is over 100. Why oh why did I plan to be pregnant in the summer?