Dani and Scott's Mountain Wedding

Dani and Scott's wedding started at 7:30am in an open-air chapel on the top of a mountain above Brevard, North Carolina. It was an amazing experience for everyone involved. The wedding march was played by a fiddler and it was great to watch Dani walk down the isle. We camped the night before with Erin, Jeff and Asa and we took turns waking up in our respective tents to shush our boys back to sleep. It was great to get back outdoors...nothing like camping, hiking and a wedding to put a smile on your face.

The Ride Home...CA to GA

The second week of September, we hit the road once again after being away from home for 3 months. It was a smooth trip and we made it home in 52 hours (not our fastest time by a lot, but given that we had a 9 month old and 2 dogs, we were pretty okay with our time. Noah was a trooper then entire time and didn't get fed up until the last hour between Atlanta and Athens. Considering how far we had come, Jeff and I celebrated for him even though he didn't seem to care.

Swinging!

A Trip to the Bay Area

Noah and I spent a week with James and the fam for his first birthday celebrations. A year already! The two cousins got to spend a lot of time together and we all enjoyed the vacation.

JAMES TURNS ONE

WHO LOVES THE WATER TABLE?!

PLAYING AT JAMES' PARTY

Mia and Noah-Field Trip to Pismo Beach

The two cousins have been hanging out non-stop every day while Aunt Sara watches the two so that I can work. Jeff had to go back to Georgia to teach and Aunt Sara and all the grandparents have become Noah's new surrogate dad.

One Sunday, Grandpa Danny and Grandma Anne loaded us up and off we went to Shell Beach. The two had a blast at the park overlooking the ocean. Then we headed down to Pismo Beach for Mia's first real beach visit. She LOVED it!

Weekend Trip to Huntington Lake with Marc and Sarah

The day we got back from Italy we turned around and drove up to Huntington Lake, which is up near Kings Canyon, for Marc and Sarah's bachelor/bachelorette party. We stayed in condos above the lake for 2 nights. On Saturday we hit the lake and rented a boat and a jet ski and then headed out to a tiny island in the middle of the lake. We had a great day on the water and I discovered that I LOVE jet skiing! That night we cooked ourselves the feast of a lifetime and had a great time hanging out together while watching Michael Phelps win the first of his golds. It was a great weekend.

NOAH'S FIRST LIFE JACKET FASHION SHOW

MARC AND NOAH KEEPING IT REAL

Leaving Italy-August 7, 2008

The last of the summer programs ended on August 5 and Fede, Jeff, Noah and I were back alone again after 5 weeks of having students and staff everywhere. We headed up north to Milan, having coffee with Fede's parents along the way and meeting Arthur (our boss) for dinner in Milan. We flew out the next morning and after a long, but fairly easy-going trip, arrived back in LAX.

The summer in Italy flew by this year since I worked as the Florence Program Director in addition to being the Country Director. I had a blast being with the students and staff and will miss having them around all the time. It was a great summer!

Take a look at the Florence program blog that I posted for the students and parents throughout the summer. It will give you a good idea of what we did.

http://www.abbeyroad-florence.blogspot.com/