A "New" Trailer

A few months ago Andy bought a new quad and has been dying to take it out here in Italy. Well, since we don't have a pickup anymore, transporting it has been a bit of a problem. So he decided to build a trailer. Without access to a wielder, he had to get really creative.

He was able to get an axle that had been junked, a tow bar, the remains of an old futon, and some new wood and managed to put together this trailer. Although it took a lot of time and effort, he was able to put it together and it even passed the safety inspection on base. He needs to make a few finishing touches and it will be ready to roll.

Credit where credit is due....

Lately I've been doing a lot of complaining about the movers not packing things very well, losing things, etc. etc. But after unpacking about 100 tiny perfume bottles without a single one breaking, I guess I should give them a little praise.

These bottles have come from all over the place, garage sales, antique stores, gifts, and even some from the ever elusive Walmart. But I love them and I'm so happy (and surprised) that there weren't ANY broken bottles.

The wash basin and pitcher is even more precious to me as it used to belong to my Grandma. It was given to her by my Mom who made it when she was in high school. So I was especially nervous about sending it with the movers but I did and it is safe and sound. Good job Mayflower.

Just the sun

Here are a few neat pictures of the sun. What I wouldn't give for those telephone poles to vanish. Oh well. FYI, I've never been accused of being a great photographer so for those of you who are, don't cringe too much at what could've been some great shots (plus the top two were taken VERY early in the morning).

Mirror Mirror...

Mirror mirror on the wall (couch)

Who is the prettiest baby of all....

ME!!! So pucker up, MUAH!

6 Months Already

Well our little baby girl has just hit her six month mark. I can hardly believe it. She is doing great and she is so beautiful.

She loves to watch Jeopardy. I don't know if it is Alex's voice or the blue screen but she is always mesmorized by it.

Her favorite PJ's (or as we like to call them, Jammie J's) are the pink ones with the frogs that her Aunt Heather bought for her.

She loves her new bedroom but needs a few more weeks of sleeping in Mom and Dad's bedroom.....

Her favorite thing to play with is the baby wipes box (?).

She weighs in at 14.1 lbs, which puts her in the feather weight catagory.

She is 24.5 inches long which is funny because at her 3 month checkup, she was 24 inches long.

She is still a talker and is usally smiling.

She is drinking a lot of formula and also loves sweet potatoes, squash, and peas. But she is not a fan of apple sauce or bananas.

Bebe is big source of entertainment for her.

And best of all she loves her Daddy and is finally getting to spend time with him.

Bebe

Possibly the cutest puppy there ever was.

All grown up.

We got Bebe in England about 2 years ago. She is SO smart. She can usually learn most tricks in a matter of minutes. She can do the usual sit, lay, come, roll over. But she can also jump, spin, speak, give high five, give high TEN, crawl, drop (a toy), walk bakwards, stay, and with enough coaxing she can bring me the diaper bag. Oh yeah, did I mention that she can perform all of this with verbal or non-verbal commands? She's one smart puppy. Next we'll have to teach her those tricks in Italian.

Our Italian Casa

Here are a few pictures of our house in Italy.

This is the sunrise from our front porch.

Above is the side view: There are outside shutters on all the doors and windows. They are pretty cool, but can also be a pain. Most houses in Italy have them, they are a crime deterrent and also handy in bad weather.

This is the front view:

We have a beautiful mountain range behind the house, I need to get some good pictures of them to post. We were really lucky to get a good house. There are a lot of houses that are.... hmmmm "less desirable." But our house has issues too. Hot water DOES NOT LAST. It is quite the tease to have a nice deep bathtub and not enough hot water to fill it. You can't run the washer and the drier at the same time or it will flip the breakers (which makes keeping up on laundry much more challenging). I could probably come up with more complaints but who wants to hear them? We have a great house and hey, we're in Italy so we're going to do as the Italians do.

Bath Time Fun

Amber always enjoys bath time. And she makes quite a splash. She loves to

suck on the wet washcloths but hates it when I wash her face. Lets hope she alwasy enjoys her bath time.

Can you believe it?

So last week the movers came to pack up me and Amber's belongings. Well, naturally, there would be another snow storm hit Ramah and the roads were bad. The movers eventually made it to Ramah and of course they couldn't get the big moving truck up the hill to my Mom's house. So who comes to the rescue? Uncle John of course. He took the movers up and down the hill ALL DAY LONG so they could pack up boxes and move everything down the hill to the moving truck. Even though I know what a great person my uncle is, I'm still in shock that there is someone who would do this. He is always helping people out, even when he is busy with his own things. He helped Amber and I a lot while we were in NM and he is still helping now that we're gone.

I am very blessed to have such a great family. Sometimes you can forget things like that. But aparently the movers were in shock all day at what a great family I have. It started out when they first got to Ramah and asked my Aunt Loretta where Clawson St. was. Well, she helped them out with the right directions to my house (as she knew they were expected). Then, when they couldn't get up the hill in their truck they were in shock when my Uncle John saved the day. And finally they couldn't believe it when my Unlce Rex and Riley came to my Mom's house to shovel her snow. Then of course there is my Mom who took countless days off of work for me and Amber while we there and took one more day off so the movers could come. She has done so much for me.

They only caught a glimpse of what it's like to have such a wonderful family. I'm lucky to have had them all my life (tear). It seems like someone is always helping someone else and I know that I can always go to them for help. I could fill up the whole internet with stories like these, so thanks everyone, for everything.