PARKER'S 10TH BIRTHDAY

Parker had a great birthday! Even though he had been in Wheaton less than 2 weeks, we had lots of help celebrating! New friends, along with his brother, went with him to LaserQuest to play Laser tag! He really missed his friends in Dallas, though!

Move to Wheaton

The move to Wheaton went VERY well. Everything arrived on time--including our children, and all in one piece. I had accepted that some things would get broken, but I'm happy to report 100 percent success!

We have a great group of neighbors! We were welcomed with fresh cookies, and the neighborhood even had a cook-out to honor our arrival. It felt really good to have such a warm welcome here! But, the best thing is that there are lots of kids that live in the surrounding 5 houses. The kids have all played non-stop...outside and in.

We miss you all dearly and can't wait for you to visit!

PARTING SHOTS

Grayson and his best buddy Tyler.

Parker with his buddies Greyson and Travis. They came over for a final sleepover before we left.

The kids with our darling, sweet baby neighbor, NA-MO-MI. Actually it's Naomi, but don't tell Halle!

Jen with her sisters, Amber and Andrea at Japon.

Parker and Mrs. Dodson

Grayson and Mrs. Barlowe

Halle and her dance teacher, Ms. Layne

Our kids with the Brazilian crew eating watermelon. Marco and Fabia had us over for a cook-out before we left for Wheaton.

Parker and his cousin, Trey, at our family dinner at LaHa to say good-bye.

Venice

April 2007

The Grand Canal

St. Marks Square

Our gondola ride

Our gondola ride took us to the Grand Canal

The sun coming up over St. Marks Square

We were walking around Venice and went through a beautiful park. Right in the middle of the park we found a soccer field! When these kids over-kick the ball, someone has to go swimming!

We went to the top of the bell tower that overlooks St. Marks Square and we able to view the entire city of Venice.

Ever wonder what an ambulance would look like in Venice?

While in Venice we took a little boat tour over to the islands of Murano and Burano. These next three pictures were taken in Burano.

Our last look at Venice as the boat took us away......

Florence

April 2007

Overlooking the city

We walked up 463 steps to reach the top of the Florence Duomo (church).

The breath-taking view was worth the climb!

Jen's sister, Janda, studied abroad in college and lived in Florence. She told us about her favorite panino (sandwich) shop. We HAD to try it!! Janda--look familiar?

Here Jen is standing outside the door of the apartment where Janda lived.

Have you ever felt like you just couldn't handle touring one more duomo? Go to Italy and you might just share in that thought. I was so tired I felt like I had to sit this one out. Johnny went through the duomo, and I napped on the steps. I'm not sure which of us had a better time!

Ah, beautiful Firenze!


We were feeling quite adventurous one evening and decided to get around like the locals--by bike. The hotel let us borrow bikes and we were on our way. We had a total blast!!
The real talent here is that I was able to get my camera out, snap a picture of Johnny in the dark mind you, all while NOT falling off of my own bike. Pure talent I tell ya!

Tuscan Region

April 2007

Verrazzano Castle

We got to visit this awesome castle as part of our tour. It is mainly a winery. Although the grapes were not in season when we were there, we were able to learn a lot about the process of wine making.

Pisa

San Gimignano

We loved San Gimignano! It's such a quaint town. If we are ever blessed enough to go back to Italy, we hope to spend a few days there. As it was on the tour, we had only a few hours.

Sienna

Once a year this plaza filled with dirt and hosts a horse race.