Aviano and the Outlet Mall

Ok, it's been forever!!! Brandon has made it home safe from deployment (back in November of 2010) and it's only taken us 4 months to actually get out and see new things! Several things factor into this reasoning....1, we were waiting to pay off most our debt so we had money to go do stuff...2, we have been so busy with both our jobs and school for the kids we haven't had the time.....3, it's just been nice having him come home every night after work (amazing how much you miss that when he's gone). So we decided on our 4 day weekend we were heading out, not sure to where but we were going. We planned on staying the night up in Aviano so we went up there and since we didn't reserve a room they didn't have any available so we spent some time in the PX (which I remember being a lot cooler then that) then we played on the parks a bit and then came home. On the way home we almost died as Brandon says "hey lets check out that outlet mall" while I'm in the far left lane of the autostrada passing two semi trucks! So what do I do, Slam on the Gas and jerk the wheel and make it to the exit only to notice that it's a round about going the opposite direction so I slam on the breaks and slow down just enough to make the turn but send everything flying in the opposite direction. I'm quite sure that's not going to happen again! EVER!!! He wants to see something like that again he'll just have to wait and we'll come back to it.
And you know what, this was the WORST outlet mall that I've ever been too. In the states aren't the outlet malls usually cheaper in some aspects? Like you can go to a Skechers store and you can get BOGO's, or the Nike store is having a 20% off sale or stuff like that. Here, I don't think I saw one thing that was UNDER 100 EURO!!!! Even the super cute kids clothes and shoes were outrageous prices. Everything was way too expensive or our blood so we just looked, took a couple pictures and left.

Catching Up...

So I knew we haven't really seen much since Brandon has been gone and just going through my pictures I was so right! We have been to two places here in Italy that are worth blogging about and other then that Greece is the only other thing left to blog (and I have to wait on that until I get my pictures from Brandon's computer since mine crashed and I lost them all). So the two places I need to blog about are Lago di Caldonazzo and Salo.

First is Lago di Caldonazzo, or more precisely Lido Brento (Brento beach at Lake Caldonazzo). Finding this place was like every other place I have seen lately. I just open a map and look for something that sticks out and that's where I program my GPS. I wanted to go to a lake this time but didn't want to go to Lake Garda since we go there all the time anyways so looking at the map this was the best one that was close enough to drive to and still be home in time for dinner. Once we finally got there, all on back roads so it seemed to take forever, I couldn't believe how incredibly beautiful it was.

I've seen places like this in books or magazines but have never actually seen it until today. It really was breath taking seeing a lake surrounded by large hills. It was a bit windy the day we went but it was still so very worth the trip.

The kids had a blast playing in the water and I just enjoyed my time on the blanket taking pictures and watching them. This is definitely a place we will have to go next summer when it's a bit warmer and I have another pair of eyes to watch the three kids.

And now for the most recent find. I took a friend and her two kids with me on our outing this day. Her husband is also with mine so it was nice to have another adult to talk to on the trip. We opened the map and pointed to a spot on Lake Garda called Salo, Italy. It turned out to be the most wonderful place I had seen in a while. They had a board walk that went almost the entire way around the shore line and had breath taking views as well. There were benches to sit and rest and large rocks to climb on and take pictures.

We even found the perfect swimming area for the kids. It's not too deep and it's an inlet so the kids can't very well run off without us knowing.

The creepiest thing I had seen on this trip was a toilet drawn on a creepy door that looked like a dungeon. Thankfully it was locked because my friend was actually going to take her daughter in there to go potty. Not me, no sir, you would NOT find me in there!!! lol

Again, we will be going here next summer. I think it will be better going to this place with the kids then going to our normal spot at Sirimione but we'll see. It will depend on what the hubby wants to do as well since he will be home too!

So those are my two lake adventures that I took this summer. It was all new to me so it was quite nice. I like getting out and seeing new things in case you haven't noticed :) I love adventure and there will be more to come......

Photo Taking

Wow, it's been since December 2009 that I last posted something on here. I often come back and find myself looking at all the thing I have posted about and man there is so much I have left out! The main one I will have to blog about is our trip to Greece for R&R this time around and one of Mom and Ron's visit to see us. I know, I can't believe they came either :) So happy they did!!!

So this post is going to be about my picture taking and a new photo editing thing I have found that does everything I have ever wanted a photo editing program to do, and it's easy :)

This is the first picture I ever edited the exact way I wanted it! It's from my garden in the back yard and just turned out perfect! A little zooming, croping, sepia-ing, removing color, putting in color, and smoothing out the petals is all it took! I love it!

Johnny Blayze, Love the little boys blue eyes and that tongue! He's so adorable!!!

Stop and smell the roses, oh wait, that's a poppy! Love the picture of my IzaBella acting like a little princess. She's got it down perfect!

While my Mom and Ron were here we went to a whinery in Vo, Italy and had some wine along with a tour of their grounds. We made a toast and this is what mom said and it's just stuck with me since then. Thanks mom for the may words of wisdom over the years. I'll be sure to pass them along to my kids!

This one is of grapes at the winery in Vo. Another great picture!

This one doesn't need any explination......

Villa Contarini....not sure where exactly this place was but it was incredible! The little canal in front of it just made it look that much more exquisit.

Ah, the boy. My handsome little Benjamin Blade who isn't very little any more. Amazing how fast they grow up and he just keeps getting more handsome every day!

Using the "spooky" effect on my editing of this creepy door up at the Piazza Della Vitoria here in Vicenza, Italy. It's georgeous up there! A great place to take some coffee and a book in the early morning!
This was my latest picture, at the Renissance Market in Thiene, Italy. They were posing for another person taking their picture so I thought I would get one too! Turned out great don't ya think?

So there ya go, a little bit about our summer in edited photos. I'm glad I have found my program and will be using it all the time from now on. Christmas pictures are going to look so much nicer this year even though we will be taking them ourselves. Now I can make them look good :) I'll try and do better at putting up more posts and getting all caught up on the cool happenings of here. (with Brandon gone there really hasn't been much more then work and our occasional trips away from the house) Once Brandon comes home there will be alot more!!!!!! Until next time :)

My Husband, Their Daddy, Our Hero

The title says it all. The most important man in my life is all three of those things. He is my husband, my kids' daddy and my hero.

My husband has been mine for almost 6 years now. He has been the perfect husband I could have ever asked for. He is sweet when I need him to be and controlling at the other times. He has encouraged me to go back to school and find a job. He has stood beside me with every decision I make in our lives. He cares about "us" more then just himself and is always finding new ways to surprise me from time to time. He loves me for me, even with all my little quirks. He laughs with me and not at me unless I'm being a complete Blonde. He's compassionate, loyal, loving and means more to me then my own life ever will. He is my husband...

The father of my kids is the best in the world. He loves each of them differently and yet still the same. He teaches them the rights and wrongs and goods and bad's of life. He helps them through their journey of life and makes sure they know he's right there beside them if they fall. When they do fall he picks them back up, brushes them off, kisses their owies and sends them off to try it again. He cares about their actions and words that they say. He reads to them, tucks them in at night and makes sure they know how much he loves them every day. He plays house with the girls and guns with the boy and builds forts for them all. He's the best father in the whole world. He is the father of my kids.....

He is my hero and I look up to him every day. I am a military wife. He's getting ready for his 4th deployment (2nd to Afghanistan) and it's really starting to take a tole on me. I'm the one that stays home and raises the kids, keeps the house clean and the bills paid. But even though I do all those things it's him that has the harder job. He trains all year long just to be able to fight for our country and our freedom. He does what I wish I could have done. He is the best soldier I have ever known and treats his soldiers the same as he would a friend. He loves his job with all the goods and bads. He's seen a lot in a little time and I am grateful that he comes home to us every day. He is known at every installation as a great leader and teacher. He takes care of everyone not just of us. He does everything I wish I could have. He is my hero.....

My husband, their daddy and our hero. Our lives haven't always been perfect, we haven't always had money and we don't hardly get any "alone" time but it's our life and I wouldn't change anything in the whole world. Although our lives seem hard to others, and sometimes it really is hard on us too, it is the perfect life for us. I chose to be with him, I chose to have his kids and I will envy him until the day I die. He's my everything, my world, my life.

Come home soon my love, we'll be waiting for you!

The Christkindlesmarkt

Well, we had another new experience in Italy. It's Christmas time over here as well as it is in the states. I love it! I'm never sure what to expect during the holidays. I'm learning however and since it's almost been an entire year since we moved here, I know what to expect on just about all of them, and what NOT to buy! LOL....

The Christkindlesmarkt was so much fun to see! There were home made things every where. From pine cone porcupines to hand blown glass to homemade food right there where you stood, it was awesome! I thought our craft shows back home had a lot of neat things. I couldn't believe some of the stuff they had here.

They had ornaments galore. Anything you could imagine and they had it.

They had hand painted carousels and village houses that I just love! I wanted to buy each one but we didn't have the money when we went so I didn't even look to see how much they cost.

They had pretty rocks that Bella would just die for! She's obsessed with rocks and Trinity had just broken her pretty one so when she saw these she wanted one of each!

They had homemade candles with fruit in them. Looked really cool.

They had a booth of nothing but hand blown glass. From small figurines to the large trees and church that light up. I was so afraid my kids were going to touch the table! It was all sparkly.
They had an entire booth for nothing but German Chocolate, again I wanted to buy one of each!Santa was also there! The Italian one of course and when we asked how much it was to get our pictures taken with him, he said Dieci, do you know how much that is??? 10 Euro to take your picture with Santa. I'm not sure if he was just pulling our legs because we were American or if that was the actual price but we didn't stay there long enough to find out!

Christmas in Italy, it's definitely different then in the states and I love it! Everyone should experience another cultures Christmas once to see how different it is. If anyone wants to see it here, let me know, Next year is right around the corner!

Germany Vacation

Our trip to Germany was one I'll never forget! We had an incredible time with our friend and the kids! We left early on a Sunday morning and were only staying Sunday night but it was so worth the trip! The Alps are nothing like anything I have seen before. They are more rocky and jagged then the Rockies and seem to be taller even! I love it!We got to Edelweiss early and were afraid we wouldn't be able to check into our rooms for 3 hours so we didn't know what to do. However, when I went and checked in they gave us our keys right away! Brandon and I had a suite and our friends just had a regular room but that's ok. Most of the time was spent in our room anyways playing Hand and Foot. We had several hours to kill before bed time so we went swimming in the pool. It was awesome! They had a little kids side that made life so much easier. Even Benjamin wasn't afraid to run around in the water and if he fell over, he'd pick himself right back up.

Also along with the pool they had a hot tub, however the hot tub was OUTSIDE!!! The temperature was about 10 degrees or so and Angel and I were taking turns with the guys running out there and jumping in. It was the most amazing experience. Cold and hot at the same time, wonderful! After all the swimming we went and ate dinner. We didn't want to eat Chinese at the buffet and the other place you had to have a reservation for so we ended up eating at the regular spot with pizza, hot dogs, etc. The food was good and company was better. Poor Tres couldn't even stay awake until his food got there. He was so cute! Ours were ready for bed too after we wore them out swimming but they were more hungry then tired!

Monday morning we woke up to it Snowing! The most amazing thing of the whole trip. We promised the kids snow and were so afraid we weren't going to see any but there it was! All white big flakes, falling in the morning! Perfect!

Of course the snowing didn't last long but it didn't matter. We were on a new adventure and weren't sure where we were headed yet. There were a couple castles that everyone wanted to see just about 30 minutes from where we were so we decided to take a few pics with the mountains and then head out for another fun adventure.

The trip to the castles was fun. It took us through several small German towns and wound us all around a little river. With the little bit of snow that was on the ground we couldn't help but stop and take a picture. Not many cars were on the roads either because of the weather but that didn't stop us.

We got to the castles in no time at all. The kids were super excited and I took way more pictures then any one person should but I couldn't help it. The weather was cold but we survived it just fine. At the back of the Hohenschwangau Castle we sat on the ledge and took family pictures. Our kids weren't having much of it but it was still fun. We were able to do a tour of this Castle. Since Brandon and I had been here before without the kids we knew what it was going to be like and knew our kids would be ok with the tour. Our friends had a good time too!After the tour we waited in line for our carriage ride up to the Neuschwanstein Castle. The kids were super excited to be able to go on a horse and carriage ride so it was well worth the wait.

This castle is every little girls dream castle. It's considered the Disney Castle because it supposedly looks a lot like Cinderella's castle (I'm not sure, I've never looked into it). I know that pictures don't do it justice. I've been there twice and both times the castle has taken my breath away. It's HUGE, Beautiful and overlooks the German country side! It even has it's own little waterfall with a hanging bridge. Amazing to say the least

After the Castle trips were done we had to get souvenirs. Brandon got a stein and I got a new plate for my china cabinet. I also got a shot glass since I collect them and all I couldn't leave without one.

This had to have been one of the best trips we have ever been on with friends. The rides to and from were great, the company was fabulous, the food was good, and the sights we saw were amazing! I'd do it again if I could, only next time, it'd be during a warmer time of year for sure!!!

Chocolate Festival

Every October Italy has a Chocolate Festival. I know, it's the most incredible thing in the world!!! Imagine 50 booths of nothing but chocolate. Every kind you could possibly imagine from regular chocolate to chocolate tools. I bought several of the chocolate tools hoping to mail them to family but a lot of them got broken on the way home because of the kids. They had everything from carberators for cars to paint burshes and light bulbs. They had pliers, screw drivers, hammers and saw blades. It was awesome to see them and they didn't look at all like chocolate. Almost too good to eat!Most of the booths would give you just a sample taste if you wanted one. At one we got chocolate covered almonds and Brandon took a piece of chocolate that he didn't know what it was. He said it was really good then we walked away and his mouth started burning! I couldn't stop laughing it was so funny! That'll teach him to just eat stuff when he doesn't understand what they are telling him it is! I also didn't know what I was getting myself into when I bought 10 Euro worth of these little guys. They are so cute and colorful but man, some of them were soooo descusting!!! The little ball on the right had some type of creamy yellow stuff in it that was bad and then the second one from the left tasted like drit. Seriousily....just like dirt! The blue one is Liqour (very strong) the green one is Lime, and other then those I'm not sure what they were. One was dark chocolate, one was Coffee, one was just the milk chocolate and oh one was bannana. I have no clue which was which but some were good and some were really bad!


More of the wierd things they had were chocolate eggs and chocolate cheese. We didn't taste these or anything, they just looked nasty!


The logs of chocolate had to have been amongst my most favorite. It's amazing how big they got some of those logs to be and they tasted incredible too! Wish I could make my own chocolate like that!


At the end of our trip I had to buy a chocolate tea cup and spoon. It's really too cute to eat. I was trying to take a picture of it and this Italian guy wanted me to take his picture too so I couldn't help it. They are just as big of dorks as the Americans! LOL. I can't wait until next year rolls around when I have more money to spend when I go. I'll get everyone something next year!!!