Friends, Farewell and Football...

We had a fun and busy weekend. Dinner and a movie Friday night. (Blind Side was really good and I highly recommend it.) Saturday night was a Farewell for Jimmy....a young Airman in Rome's squadron. He's PCSing back to the states....lucky duck! And last, but not least, was the Chargers/Cowboys game on Sunday night. Friends of ours are die-hard Cowboy fans, so we've been waiting for this game all season. Here are a few pics from the weekend....good times! Oh, by the way, the Chargers were VICTORIOUS over the Boys! (In case you didn't know...;-) )

Rome and a little bit of beer.

Todd's throwing up "five" to remind us that the Boys have won 5 Super Bowls. Ya, ya, ya...ours is coming!

Christmas Party...'09

MOS (Rome's squadron) had their Christmas Party last weekend...good times. My plan was to browse the room with my camera...didn't happen. Here's a few from the night.

The restaurant was beautifully decorated. Trees decorated like this are typically not seen in our rural area of Italy...gorgeous!

The Hubbards...Troy works with Rome.

Not sure what's going on here, but Rudoloph is behind me and I'm apparently giving someone a serious scolding...LOL. :)

My Mom and two Aunts came for a visit recently. My Aunt Beulah and Aunt Virginia stayed two weeks...my Mom stayed three. We were on the go from day one...winery, Venice, ocean, dinners, Rome...so much fun! I hated to see them go. I'd be completely happy with my entire family living on a huge compound...I'm serious! Life is short, and it would be wise to spend it with the ones you love.

Getting base passes from the Italian and American police on their first day...eye candy! ;-)

Winery tour and wine tasting...good times.

Outdoor market

Dinner at Raffa's...local Italian woman that has authentic Italian meals at her home. Deeeeeelish!

Train ride to Venice

Venice

Aunt B lovin' the cappuccino!

Yummy :)

Afternoon ride to a local castle.

View from castle

Mom enjoying her homemade cappuccino.

Aunt B lovin' her ocean. This is the Northeast coast of Italy...the Adriatic Sea.

The ladies enjoying an afternoon cappuccino at the cafe' near our house.

On our way to Rome!!!

Colosseum

Trevi Fountain

The ladies in front of St. Peter's Basilica.

Italian mass at the Dome Church that sits on the alps behind Aviano.

Ok, the prints came in and they look horrible....decided on a different pose. Here's the new cover...we think. ;-)

So we had our photo shoot for the adoption profile, and it's amazing how many "guidelines" are in place in regard to the pictures. The cover pic has to follow these guidelines specifically:

-Must be a professional photo

-Long sleeve for her...button up for him

-No glasses

-No inside studios...must be outdoor with nature

-Must be a headshot or upper torso

-Semi-casual, but not too casual

-No all white clothing

-Man must be clean shaven..."goatee" is acceptable if trimmed and neatly kept

-Eyes must be easily seen

Who knew??? I think we met all of the suggestions/restrictions. Here are a few pics from the day.

We chose this one for the cover.

Just for fun...GO CHARGERS!!!

Adoption...one step closer!

Today was a BIG day for us! We mailed our contract and payment for the adoption....phew!!!! I have to admit, this was not an easy task. There is a GIGANTIC check in that envelope, and mailing it off with nothing initially in return was a huge leap of faith. Ramiro and I both made attempts to mail it on separate occasions, and we just couldn't do it. It took both of us to actually hand it over....giving each other strength! We're officially on our way to adopting our baby....I can hardly wait to see God's plan unfold. ;-)

Werner Visit...

I drove to Vicenza Sunday to spend some time with Barb and the kids. Pat, Barb's husband, was TDY so we totally had "girl time". (sorry Allen) I spent the night, so Barb and I stayed up late talking about old times on Sunset Drive, flipping through yearbooks, and drinking the "Dolce". It was my first time going down there, and the drive was super easy and quick...only 1.5 hours! Good times!

Tori

Allen

Kaitlyn

Tori used to call me Frenda when she was little. I think it was because she heard her mom say, "My friend Brenda", so she combined friend and Brenda to make Frenda. Anyway, I always thought it was the cutest thing. Now she calls me Tia Frenda...I love it! ;-)

Verona and Medieval Times Dinner

We went on an ITT (Information, Tickets, and Travel) trip yesterday to Verona, Italy. (ITT is the touring service offered through our base) Verona is the birthplace of Romeo and Juliet, as well as home for lots of theme park-ish entertainment. This trip was scheduled for a tour and historical explanation of the city, four hours of individual sightseeing, and a Medieval Times Dinner that evening. ITT is nice because you don't have to worry about driving, but it sure does make for a long day. By time we got home last night, I had been up for 21 hours straight. Whew...touring is exhausting...but well worth it!

By the way, I don't know why everything is underlined. I tried to fix it with no success...sorry!

Romeo's house in Verona Italy, which is now inhabited by local residents.

Rome says I was doing this while the tour guide was explaining the history of Verona...sad, but true. :)

Entrance to Juliet's house

Juliet's balcony

Statue of Juliet...it is said that touching her breast will bring you good luck.

Local police car...nice!

Verona Colosseum...by far the best part of the tour.

Inside of the Colosseum was very dungeon-like.

Getting ready to go into the Colosseum arena....climbing to the top!

Amazing!!!

Cool Colosseum door

Medieval Times entrance

Seated at our loooooong table...waiting for the fun to begin.
L to R: Jason Casimiro, Jennifer McCall, Me, and Ken McCall.

Still waiting...

Our "beer girl", who without request, topped off our beer throughout dinner. The guys were falling in love!

Medieval entertainment

Our team's knight. Rome and Ken thought he looked like the gigolo from "Deuce Bigalow". Jennifer and I more appropriately referred to him as, "hot sexy guy on a horse".


Since we don't have a scanner, this is a pic of the pic that the Medieval crew took before dinner. Here I am trying to be all serious and Rome is being a clown, as usual! Those of you who know Rome well will appreciate this. :)