Monteveglio and Ferrari Factory

It is official...I am the worst blogger EVER! I was going to blog about our trip to Paris last week, but then I realized that I never even finished writing about our trip in January. It feels strange posting pictures with snow and winter coats as we're preparing for summer. I do promise that after this one, I will write about Paris and then we'll be back up-to-date...I think.

Well...to finish off our trip to Northern Italy, we stopped for two days outside of Bologna in a town called Monteveglio- a place known for their wine and good food. We stayed at an amazing an organic agriturismo called Corte D'Aibo. My favorite wine now is one of their Merlots and the best meal I've had in Italy was just around the corner. The snow made it a little difficult to drive, but Parker enjoyed his very first snowball here and even got to play around in all the white stuff.

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One of the buildings at Corte D'Aibo

The enormous vigna. Parker's first frolic in the snow!

Karl made him his first snowball!

Wine tasting :)

The second day in town, we drove over to the Ferrari Factory and Museum (guess who picked this side trip). Karl loved it and would have stayed all day if he could have (or maybe forever). It was pretty amazing though and I had a great cappucino in the Ferrari Bar...the true highlight for me :)

. Karl's favorite room in the museum...I really should have him help blog about this since to me it was just a bunch of old cars.

My boys.

The closest Karl will probably ever get to actually driving a Ferrari.

Just a super cute picture of Parker once we got back from our trip.

Aviano, Italy

I am FINALLY posting a few pics from our trip to Aviano, Italy in January. The computer is taking wayyyyy too long, so hopefully a few pics will satisfy everyone :) We spent about a week in Aviano which is a very small town in Northern Italy near Venice and Slovenia (we were planning on spending some time in Venice, but it was flooded and impossible to walk around). It was a very relaxing trip and we spent time going to local street markets, eating out, visiting nearby towns, and playing with Parker. I wish we had gotten the opportunity to get up to Austria or Slovenia, but there's always next time :)

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Priceless Parker face.

The town square in Aviano. Every Tuesday they have a great market that we went to and then had lunch at this cafe- Parker was the hit of the place! First horsie ride on daddy's shoulders.

More of the town square- beautiful!

Our hotel and the view of the Alps behind it.

Welcome Lucia Miren

I would love to welcome Lucia Miren Aguayo into our family! My sister, Erin, and her husband, Jose, are proud new parents of my niece (I'm finally an aunt!!!), Lucia Miren :) She arrived on March 31 weighing in at 7 lbs 12 oz and 19.5 inches long (a little chubby gal). We're so excited for the new addition and mom and baby are both doing very well. Here is a pic of her donning an ear of corn outfit...Lucia will soon learn that being a part of this family doesn't come without the occasional embarressing photo (remember the dog bowl Erin???).

My little boy is growing up!

By popular demand, I am taking yet another detour from our 'Trip to Northern Italy' blogging to dedicate a blog solely to my little boy. I know I haven't posted many pictures of him since Christmas and he's growing up so fast! Parker is now crawling pretty well and is even able to walk when he has something to push (he practices with his little buggy in the driveway)! He weighs in at about 19.5 lbs, but is still hovering is the 25 in. range (he's short and stout).

The order of his pictures are backwards by the way!

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Lisa, Parker, and Karl on St. Patrick's Day- Parker is gunning for the green beer!

On his buggy in the driveway (this is the one he pushes around). Analisa, Parker, and Rosa (our Italian neighbors)- they breed German Shepards and this is one of the new puppies!

Parker in the tub sporting a new do.

Cute as a button.

Day at Riverview Park in Newport News (Parker is obsessed with swinging now).

Jean, me, and Parker before my mom's funeral- my mom would have LOVED Parker's dino tie :)

Parker and Christina on Valentine's Day.

Crawling around at my parent's house.

Daddy and Parker playing before we went back to the states.

Parker started doing this adorable face (Karl smiles the same way!).

Me and my babe :)

What a ham.

Parker and Karl in Monteveglio, Italy- Parker's first snowball!!!

We stayed at this amazing vineyard in Monteveglio and Parker got to play in the snow for the first time!

In our hotel room in Aviano, Italy.

Playing catch-up: Ferrara, Italy

I know I am a horrible blogger and very behind in my postings, but I'm attempting to play catch-up of our lives recently. Karl and I made it back to Italy safely last Wednesday night, but not without drama...we were delayed 8 hours in Norfolk, Parker and I were sick on the plane, our plane got struck by lightning while trying to land in Naples, we took Parker to the ER the night we got in with a temp of 103.9!, and basically none of us has slept since! We are slowly getting back into the swing of things and that includes getting back to blogging :)

I promised everyone postings from our big trip to Northern Italy in January, so I'm backtracking all the way to January 14th when we went to Ferrara, Italy! Ferrara is a beautiful, yet very small Renaissance city and is referred to in some Shakespearean plays. The town is still surrounded by miles of ancient walls, mainly built in the 15th and 16th centuries and they are said to be the best preserved Renaissance walls in Italy.

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Parker showing us how to drive (don't worry- we were parked when we tookt his). On the way to Ferrara, we got stuck in a 3 hour back-up on the A1 and also a snow storm...we were ready for a good meal once we finally got into town!

This is the moat around Castello Estense- an amazing castle built in 1385 and right outside our hotel window! A small chapel near the castle and cathedral.

The view from our hotel of Castello Estense- probably one of the best hotels we've stayed in while traveling in Europe (mainly because they had an amazing breakfast which is VERY hard to find in Italy!).

The former cathedral of San Giorgio; according to a now lost inscription the church was built in 1135. The upper part of the main facade, with dozens of pointed arches, dates from the 13th century, while the lower part of the portico and the main portal are from the 1100's. The elaborate reflief sculptures depicting Last Judgement above the second story date from the thirteenth century.

The Loggia dei Notai in Piazza Trento e Trieste.

Remembering Mom

http://www.legacy.com/dailypress/DeathNotices.asp?Page=Lifestory&PersonId=124563305 Thank you to all of our wonderful family and friends for your support the last few days- we love you all!

I love you mom

I honestly didn't believe that I'd be doing a post like this for quite sometime- it's so surreal. My mom lost her battle with pancreatic cancer yesterday. I had come home a few weeks ago to help out around the house and take her to treatments, but she was getting progressively worse each day and then took a turn for the worse Thursday night. We were all with her yesterday morning as she took her last breaths and she went peacefully without pain and little suffering. My mom was an incredible woman who will be missed dearly by many. As a RN, she helped countless people and touched many lives. Parker was truly the light of her life and I feel so lucky that she had the chance to spend time with her only grandbaby in the past few weeks- he held such a special place in her heart and put a smile on her face even in her last days. My very pregnant sister flew in yesterday and I know my mom will be watching over her in the next few weeks as baby Lucia will be entering the world VERY soon. We love you so much mom and I am so lucky to have you as my angel watching over us. I will miss you everyday for the rest of my life.