The Big 3-0

   My weekend started off perfect on Friday evening, with a drive through Motta Anastatia. The scenery was like it was taken right out of a book or movie. We drove through the steep and winding roads. Little, old, Sicilian men were sitting on chairs in front of bakeries and markets. It was like we were driving through a movie set. As we arrived to the steepest part of town, we witnessed a double rainbow! Breathtaking! Our destination was a castle. The kiddos were asking if princesses, princes, and dragons lived in the castle. We couldn't tell if they were relieved that there were none, or if they were saddened by the news, that no, there weren't. (we did remind them however that we could pretend, they weren't going for that either!)

Double Rainbow in Motta Anastatia

the front of the castle: notice the narrow road

A window of an adjacent buiding

Steps leading down from the castle into another part of town

The castle was beautiful, and we had the most beautiful view of Mt. Etna. I never thought that my family and I would reside on an island with a volcano, absolutely mind boggling. We hung around the castle a bit and decided to go home for some spaghetti.
   The dinner we were so hungry for, ended up being not so great! How is it that when you are in an Italian country, you have end up with a lesser quality of ingredients?  Let me answer that. You shop at the Commissary because it is convienent, and you have had no time to hunt down any quality ingredients. Someday soon though, I promise!  The hubby and I played with the kids for awhile before bed, and then the marathon of which child could stay up the longest began....with "Punk-a-butt" in the lead!!!!!

My birthday gift from the Hubby & kids

  Saturday: My 30th birthday/6th wedding anniversary!!  We awoke the next morning with an agenda. The owner of the hotel we are staying in, wanted to show us a house near the Mediterranean Sea. It was a beautiful home, with 2 stories, 4 bedrooms, but with a far drive to work for the Hubby everyday.  We'll keep it on our list, but plan to see many other homes. When we arrived back to the hotel, the kids gave me my birthday gift...pearl earrings and a pearl necklace! Awesome and beautiful. My hubby hasn't bought me jewelery in about 9 years. I believe he expected me to cry, I didn't....but I was so excited to put them on. I was distracted!  We relaxed the rest of the afternoon before grocery shopping at the Commissary. I was able to get everything on my list, so we headed back home to order pizza for dinner, our first Sicilian pizza!

4 Formaggio (four cheese) and delectable!!!

 The girl at the front desk ordered our pizza for us, it took about an hour to get here, but we suspected that would happen. The pizza was delicious. It met all of our expectations. The Hubby and I had a salad with balsamic dressing and the kiddos had a fruit salad to go along with the pizza. After dinner, the last thing on my list for our anniverary...was to find us a good Italian dessert. We found a bakery with the help of the desk, and we found a cannoli, cookies for the kids and a dessert for the Hubby. The bakery even wraps your purchases!!!  Too pretty to eat!!!  Everything was delicious! Now my day was complete!
   I can't believe that I am 30 years old and spending my 6th wedding anniversary with my hubby, who is my best friend, in Sicily! I would do it all over again, he's such a wonderful, kind, and loving man! We are truly blessed!

Our packaged Italian desserts, fresh from the bakery!

                                                             Our delectable dessert!

Ciao Motto Anastasia

   This is our 2nd full day in Motto Anastasia.  The kids were fabulous the whole trip to Sicily. The plane rides well too! On the plane from Philly to Roma we were the only family with small children, and that is out of about 300 people! There was an older lady who was to sit next to "Lil Man", and she did everything not to sit by him. She stood near her seat, hunting down stewardess' to ask to find an empty seat to move to. Hilarious! She did accomplish her goal, little did she know, that it just gave our family more room! Daddy sat w/ "Punk-a-butt" and "Lil Man", while I sat with "Tytie". The couple beside "Tytie" and myself was a newly wed couple, on their honeymoon. Oh, the look on their faces wehn they realized they'd be sitting beside a toddler! Little did they know, he was going to be so well behaved the whole trip, the whole 8 1/2 hrs to Roma.
   About 4 1/2 hrs into the flight the kids fell asleep, til about the time we landed. We had a 4 hr layover in Roma, which was a stressful 4 hrs. Our cell that the hubby's company sent us, didn't work; we couldn't connect to the airports wireless (for some unknown reason); and the plane to Catania was going to be an hour late. We had no way of getting a hold of someone in Catania to pick us up. The hubby's boss was to pick us up.  "Tytie" fell asleep waiting in line to board the plane. we then found out while finally boarding the plane to Catania, that "Tytie" was not allowed to sit in his carseat. He would have to sit on my lap. Not so much fun, I might add! Thank goodness the flight was only about an hour and a half.
    After landing, we located our luggage, car seats, and stroller. The car seats were damaged, thanks to a particular airport, who's name I will not mention. We were finally able to get a hold of the hubby's boss via my Kindle, thank god for the 3G! So, his boss Ian walks us from the airport in Catania, to the car rental building.  The hubby came out to inform me that the travel woman from his work never made reservations. Because we had no reservations, we couldn't rent a car. In addition, the rental company's computers were down. If we had a reservation we could have gotten a car. So we put all of our things in Ian's car, and just as I suspected, no room for anyone else but "Tytie", the hubby, and Ian. I wanted to cry, and I did.  Right in front of the hubby's boss. Such a great first impression. I turned around and noticed taxis sitting in front of the airport, so for 70Euros, which is about 110USD we made our way to our hotel. We thought all was well. NOT! We also did not have hotel reservations! Damn that travel lady. Here we are in a foreign country w/ no car, nor a place to sleep!  Thank god Ian was there, because he took us to another hotel that had an open apartment! YAY!  Plus, Ian bought us some starter groceries. So, the family and I had Cheerios and bananas for dinner and went to bed at 8p. We were up for almost 31hrs. We were exhausted to say the least!
  The next day went a lot better, we made sausages for dinner and had a yummy fruit salad. After dinner, we went for a walk in the neighborhood, a stressful walk. The cars fly up and down the roads, and there barely any sidewalks, so your walking on the road! Geez! I was nervous the whole time, holding the kiddos hands and trying to keep them safe.  Today we went for a chilly swim in the pool. The pool is to die for! It reminds me of a pool you see on a travel channel, all luxurious. We are all well rested now, and on a good schedule for sleep. I am hoping for an awesome 30th birthday/6th wedding anniversary weekend here in Sicily!  Ciao! (Pics later, I promise)

Home Sweet Home

   I must acknowledge my sis-in-law, Nat, who purchased a journal for me to write in, in case I didn't get to blog in Sicily right away. Thank goodness, it was great to write some things down on our long journey. We got to go home last week for 10 days, and goodness it went way too fast. Oh, how the emotions started to flow as we prepared to leave for Sicily. I loved being at our home, and it is truly a home, not just a house. We have put so much time and love into our house. To see the kids running in their own yard was priceless. It brought tears to my eyes watching them play so freely!  You could just see the joy in there faces! It was such a big difference between being home and living in hotels all summer.
   California seems like a dream. We had such adventures in California, and now to Sicily; unbelievable. The kids have been great on all of the plane rides. The 8 1/2 hrs to Roma should be interesting. I am a bit scared of what Sicily will bring. How huge of a language barrier will exist. I can just see myself having a breakdown mid-market.  So, really this trip brings about emotions I have not felt in a long time.
   Back to home:  I know that the kids will be missing their grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends, not to forget home either.  We got to have wonderful visits with almost everyone we had hoped to see! The kids got to play with their toys. Our last weekend home was warm and sunny, so the kids played outside all day, everyday! We did crafts and made cupcakes, and played with the toys they missed the most. I think they probably enjoyed their cousins the most! We were busy all week, but it was the greatest "busy" ever! The hubby and I got the yard and plants pruned and to looking like they had looked when we first left, and did some extra things outside as well. One thing I did take notice in, was how happy "Tytie" was at home, I wonder if he knew deep down this was his home...What can I say, it was hard to say goodbye again!