welcome home. here is the pool at our villa. these fountains came on twice a day. the kids (all 11 of them- ages 5 mo-5 years) loved getting naked and running through them with prompting from mrs. sara!)
warning: some pictures are out of order. here i am wine tasting. or hiding in the vineyard...
these grapes were beautiful!
the big kids stayed back at the villa for naps with mrs. diane (thanks again!) and we took the babies wine tasting... the discussion must have been deep over this case of wine!macy: is this all for your mommy?
shane: nah, she says it is for your daddy.
macy: oh, okay. want to share my sippy cup?
shane: yup. (drool, drool.)
shane, is that you in there? (i thought macy gave you her sippy cup! no wine yet buddy!)
sara, me, macy and lindsey in the tasting room. (a tiny little place that seemed open for just us! it was an amazing afternoon with friends in the hills of tuscany!)
possibly the first ever picture of us with just macy...
like i said earlier, "blissfully unaware"
cheers! my best bud sara and i
our group and the wine maker
a little pool time for macy and daddy. there were 2 days (or afternoons) when all 7 families played in the pool- what memories!
and here is a memory- who doesnt love an old fashioned watermelon seed spitting contest?
so from now on the pictures are in order...
after 5 hours in the car- we were all excited to play at a fabulous lake that brian planned for us to stop at for lunch...
we were so surprised when (some of) the leadbetters pulled in behind us too! here is shane- looking and acting very, very big!
this was our home for the week. the "pool house" -ha! it was so much more than we thought it would be. decorated beautifully, we could have lived in this 2 bedroom, 2 bath "home" forever!
each morning, i would get the kids dressed and send them outside at the crack of dawn and amazingly, they would find a few other of the 11 children on this property to play with! (i think i like the idea of living on a commune more and more after this trip!)
sunday- our first full day there. (after an 8 hour drive on saturday, during which we didnt quite make the clearance as we pulled into a gas station and forgot that brian's bike was in the bike rack on the top of our car- OUCH!) so, to rub salt in his wound- we came across this huge bike race on our way to lunch the following day...
the police actually pulled us over to the side of the road to let these 400 riders pass. it was an amazingly loud, yet cool sound as they passed us...
we were on our way to our first group activity. lunch in the tuscan hills with all 7 families.
the view from the restaurant...
always pondering something...
brian took the boys to the pool at the restaurant (which was also a small b&b i think) for some R&R...
brian found his R&R in this glass of red wine!
(prince) tate and (prince) nick found theirs on these chairs-
our whole group! minus chad, angela and beau- who would join us mid-week...
back at the villa... notice the play equipment in the background? this was the PERFECT villa for us! (great job sara & chris!)
two nights we had a local caterer come in to cook for the group- those were our favorite nights!
love her face- worried she is about to flash us though...
the amazing fish we had with our first catered meal on monday night
relaxing during dinner outside
this is the house i want. welcome to san gimigano, italy...
i had never seen an olive tree before!
our super models during lunch
i want these doors!
this was a pub we found in lucca, italy- the city where our villa was. we went in, had a drink and bought a few t-shirts!
which doorbell would you ring?
luckily, tate didnt notice the picture on these boxer shorts. david, is that you?
amazing articture throughout this country!
our waiter, and salted fish, during our 2nd catered dinner- thursday night
the view from the backyard at the villa
macy and i on the train to cinque terra (5 small, fishing towns that used to be connected only by donkey trails or boat)
the beaches of cinque terra
we have decided that we will come back here for our 20th wedding anniversary
the perfect tourist- little camera and all
italy and spagetti= happiness for all kids!
the cinque terre hillside- how did they build those homes?
tate, vivian, macy and cassie on our last night
the road to our villa- like a postcard!
this was the enterance to our villa
on our last day, we went to pisa. i was not excited about seeing the tower- until i saw it! it is beautiful- and of course, i had to take "the picture"
so did brian...
it was a great trip- and there were so many other photos we took (about 500 more!) that i just couldnt include here. pictures mostly of our dear friends that we traveled, drank and laughed with, pictures of the artitecture and scenery and believe it or not- more of US! but, im out of time....
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