Italy :: Day 4

Beach day! After driving a bit out of the way, we finally arrived at Baratti Beach. Felt great to get a little sun and swim in the ocean. The waves were crazy, and the boys had an absolute blast. Afterwards, we drove through Massa Marittima and had a coffee then climbed to the top of the Torre del Candeliere. We literally had to climb a ladder to get up there. Fun adventure and stunning views. Shortly after we arrived back to the house, my parent's friends from England -- Harry & Laura -- came over. We were expecting them the next day, so it was such a great surprised. They joined us for dinner at La Pergola. Unfortunately, with a group of 12, we didn't get a patio table, but we'll be back. Food was good, and the view was absolutely ridiculous.

Italy :: Day 3

Brian and I woke up super early today for some reason. We decided to walk up the treacherous road to town and back just to get moving around a bit. It seriously is so steep. Crazy. But the views are amazing. Plus we got to check out the old abandoned campsite and pass by a mining area.  We drove through some amazing countryside to the town of San Giamanano where some us (*cough*) may have had gelato twice. Our little town doesn't have a gelato shop! Can you believe it? Then again, maybe that isn't such a bad thing. San Giamanano was a cute town, lined with shops. We didn't have a ton of time here, but enjoyed our visit. For lunch, we went to the Tenuta Torciano Winery for a wine tasting. Yes, even the boys got to participate a little bit. When in Italy! Needless to say, I didn't even make the drive home without falling asleep in the car, I was just so content. We came back to the house to some crazy winds, and threats of rain, which it later did. Thank goodness! It's just been so dry in this area. Dinner was at home -- beef, trout and grilled calamari. Such a fun day.

Italy :: Day 2

We all woke up at different times today, working off our jet lag, so were a bit slow going this morning. Brian and I drove into Radicondoli for a coffee and to walk around a bit. Once everyone was moving, we went to Trattoria Nazionale for lunch. We are all craving pizza, which they don't serve that until evening, so had pasta. I had a country-style tagliatelle -- amazing. In the afternoon, we ventured 30 minutes to the closest larger grocery store - Simply - for supplies. We intended on grilling out, but decided to change plans and go into town for some music and pizza. Unfortunately, the we had read a poster wrong, so there wasn't music and the place we wanted to go for pizza was closed. No problem. We ended up back at Nazionale. They serve pizza in the evening, so got our fix. For the day at least. Delicious.

Italy :: Day 1

We are so excited! Our family adventure in Tuscany is finally here. The excuse is to celebrate my parent's 70th birthdays which were back in February & March. The fact that we were able to get the 10 of us together to do this is pretty special and I'm so excited about the week. The morning started with us meeting at my parent's house and getting a bus to the airport. ORD > AMS > FLR. After picking up our rental cars, we somehow managed to actually find our way to the house. It really is in the middle of no where. Unfortunately, my sister and their carload took a wrong direction, so it took them several hours later to meet up with us. But we found each other eventually. Back to the house. It's freaking amazing. Our view is rolling hills with sheep wandering around and their bells rings. It's ridiculous. After settling in, we went to the little town (Radicondoli), hoping to grab lunch. But our schedules are totally off, and we went when all the restaurants were closed. It turned out fine. We ended up picking some groceries up and Brian whipped up dinner. Perfect.

Last Week in Moments

And, that's a wrap. Last U13 Blue team game. You are looking at the 1st place team in the premier division with an 8-1-1 record. It was another great year -- C's favorite yet. Great job guys!


Celebrating our niece's high school graduation. UW Madison is lucky to get her.


My dad, sister and me in May 1972. Weren't able to celebrate with my dad on Father's Day, but did get to see him at the graduation party.


Lucky guys. Brian and the boys on Father's Day. We celebrated by driving down to Toyota Park in Illinois for a Wisconsin Fire vs. Chicago Fire Academy friendly match. C's team basically chased after the ball the entire time, but he was happy to reunited with the team. They hadn't played together since February in Las Vegas, and had a great time.


Gah! How cute is this? I was archiving some photos and this popped up. I showed it to him, and he hated it, of course. Must have been from one of his early soccer ID pics.

This crazy little girl went and hurt her leg again today. She's been doing so well since surgery! Not sure what happened, but I'm sure it had something to do with all the birds, bunnies and squirrel out there.

Last Week in Moments

C chillin' on a beautiful Friday night. Thankful for no more school.


The last U15 White game of the season ended with a win. It was an interesting, but good year.


Peony season! Just like that, they are here. So beautiful and one of my favorites. Wish it wasn't so short lived.


Our friend's Shelly and Andrew's son graduated from high school. It was fun getting to celebrate with them. Can't believe we have friends who are old enough to have kids graduating from high school. :)


This happened! I've had a tattoo on my upper shoulder that I very unaffectionately call "the blob." Truthfully, I was never very happy with it, and over the years, it just got worse. So much worse. I never even wanted it showing. Yes, I could have gotten it removed, but there's no fun in that. I have such a love/hate relationship with tattoos. If it hadn't been for "the blob" I can't say I would have gotten this one. It's a cover-up -- plus some. But I am so flipping excited about it! It was a shock at first, but it's really gorgeous. Unfortunately, I still need to get it filled in more, so need to go back for another session. That probably won't happen until fall. But I really love it.


Quick trip to Chicago for a Beautycounter event with Founder/CEO Gregg Renfrew. So inspiring to hear her speak in person about the mission of the company and all the exciting things happening.


Nina picked up the boys this week and took them to a US Open practice day. Such a fun experience. Look at all the signatures they (C) collected. H just got Jordan Spieth, while C got Jordan's, and others, including Sergio Garcia. They had a really great day.


Reunited with my Baird & Warner bestie! It's been a few years since I've seen Kari, so I was thrilled we got to catch up over coffee. I even got to meet her newest little one. Such a cutie! They live in Birmingham, Alabama, but lucky for me, her parents moved to the area. We aren't able to see each other every time she's here, but we've made it happen a few times. It was so great seeing her.