Father's Day!

We had a very nice Father's Day all together at the close of our adventure. We woke up on the Auto Train on the way back from Florida - had a nice breakfast and then drove from Va to NJ in record time (we were lucky to beat most of the weekend traffic). After getting home we watched a little world cup and a little golf (Daddy's perfect sports day) and just enjoyed being home all together. For dinner David (poor man had to grill his own special dinner) made steaks and lobster and they were delicious. We ate outside which the boys had been missing and had a great time. ADL really gets father's day and was happy to have made Daddy a mug and card for the event - Nino is still getting it but did blow Daddy a special kiss goodnight which seems to have gotten his love across. Happy Father's Day to all - Here We Are All About Loving Daddy! XOXOXO

Florida!!!!

Just like a Jimmy Buffet song - we had a great relaxed time in Florida. The boys loved spending time with Pop Pop and Grammie and the fact that they have a pool in the backyard, a train that runs through their backyard and lots of wide open space in their house is just a plus...... A really great time was had by all.

To hit the high spots we swam whenever possible which was pretty much all the time - it was so hot that this was basically the only activity that was palatable. The boys also loved going to meet some friend of Grammies and accompanying Pop Pop to the food pantry that he works for at the church. Other small adventures included the local play ground, some colorful restaurants (hello hush puppies) and the state park where the natural springs are. It was beautiful there and our excitement was only curbed by the omni presence of actual alligators. thank goodness Oliver was not with us or he was sure to become a tasty little tator tot.

The boys loved swimming and floating on their special rafts - Nino did not seem to like getting wet which was a little worry some but quickly got with the program - poor thing has not had all the swim lessons that big brother had before this age - lazy Mommy.

While it rained or during naps we also did of course enjoy some World Cup (Come on Italy - help a girl out) and catching up on the real world which is easy to forget as you float on a noodle without a care.

We did not go to Disney as planned because it was so hot that we were worried we would of melted right onto the backside of poor Dumbo but hopefully we will get another visit soon to see the "mouse" this trip was all about the boys loving on Pop Pop and Grammie and the return.

We were glad to get home Sunday night but a little sad to not have the pool, good food and best companionship going. Thanks Pops and Grammie -we miss you already! XOXO

Life On The "Auto Train"

Yes we made it to Florida and back on the renown Auto Train - and thanks for all the well wishes and good thoughts we needed them all. Also thanks to you who are using our adventure as an experiment to see if you should travel this way with your own families..... well it was quite an adventure but think overall the family had a great time - not want to travel this way next week great but fun.

We left from scenic Lorton VA and left our SUV to be loaded onto the many cars that trail the train carrying every one's cars. We then had some quality time in the station where we chased Nino around for an hour before we loaded (see note below). Once on board our little cabin was perfectly nice - it had one large couch and a small seating area with pull out tables at both ends. We were lucky enough to have the early (5:00pm) dinner seating both times which was a hazard to our beloved nap time which the boys enjoyed the moment the lulling of the moving train began. After dinner there was plenty of time for gazing out the window, activities and of course wrestling your little brother in our tiny confined space. Afterwards we got the boys dressed for bed and the attendant got the beds ready (which really were not bad sand David in the poor sardine can bunk - but he does love sardines). Everyone slept well and then in the morning we pulled everyone out of bed for breakfast in the dining car and we were less then an hour to our destination at that point. You are off-loaded into again very scenic Sanford, FL and it took only about twenty minutes to get the car back and on the road for the two hour drive from there to PopPop's house. It was a long trip but really interesting and so glad to know there is an option there for non family flight loving Daddys. HA!

So here are the top 10 things we learned on the Auto Train -

10) Logistics - the thing is 3/4 of a mile long and thus the longest passenger train in existence in the country. The thing is huge and the passenger portion is actually double decker - carrying over 600 persons and something like 250 cars and 40 motorcycles. Crazy! There were a lot of families but since tis the season we think most of the rest of the year it is more likely populated with all of Pop's neighbors the snowbirds.

9) It seems that "Wolly World" rules are in tact and if you are one of the last cars loaded you will be one of relatively first to see your car again - this is important when everyone is exhausted and ready to "move." The only issue with being one of the last persons there is you do get the 5:00 dinner seating which is fine but a little hard with the little ones. Then you have a lot of time after dinner for rambunctiousness. We also brought little Nino's stroller on the way home so boarding, waiting and getting around was easier - well a little easier - HA!

8) We did have a very nice cabin which is a luxury - it seems the vast majority of persons travel on the auto train in one of the coach cabins. This is not ideal and does not get you into the nice sleeper dining car and lounge that we enjoyed. Also think there were some very large families traveling to see the mouse together and you could be traveling with 26 people from the Jones family proudly from Ohio.

7) People who visit Florida - I have someone to introduce you to - his name is "SUNBLOCK" do yourselves a favor and become friends. I can not believe that people still get sunburned like that and this from the person married to a crazy Italian who loves to get sun covered in his old school banana boat coconut oil.

6) Yes people still smoke - this must be miserable on the train - they were always the last people on and the first people off to get "air." Also there was only smoking in the downstairs lounge car which was literally still haze filled when we pulled into the station. urgh!

5) Yes Jessica Simpson it does seem that Mom Jeans are alive and well and very popular in some "un-named" Midwest states. The same can be said for crazy tattoos, children in desperate need of haircuts (ADL being one of them) and women in much more bare dressing then required. This is all given up to be "Florida" by my husband and I get it - enjoy! Just don't expect me not to stare a little.

4) The food was actually quite good - the dinner was a white linen three course and the beef was quite good. They serve you as much wine as you can drink - likely to help all those blue hairs sleep a little better - and they were very nice to the kids. Breakfast was a simple continental but just what we all needed to get going (mostly good coffee for Daddy).

3) There are facilities on the train but there were none in our cabin - the family cabin we had was the largest but does not have it's own attached. There are two in the car and only a few steps away so that was easy - not as nice as an airplane but better then Penn Station is all I have to say about that. We literally bathed in purell and wipes and temporarily set ADL back on potty training for the two days of the trip.

2) The Amtrak people were actually really nice. They were!!!! This I know after years about complaining about Amtrak as I went back and forth from DC to NYC on the northwest lines. The attendants were nice and so were the wait staff for dining. This must be a renegade branch inside Amtrak because also brace yourself we arrived over an hour early on return...... Yes Virginia that is how the Auto Train rolls....

1) The perfect "activity packs" that we had for each boy were useful - these included toys, books, crafts, coloring (thanks Amy) and anything we thought would entertain them. The only problem they were done with the backpacks before we actually left the station and looking for excitement. So on the way back we did break down and buy a personal DVD (thanks Alex and Kate we knew you were right) which did entertain everyone - after all what fun is seeing America when you can see Caillou and Thomas????

Hope that answers all your questions - anyone ready to go???

All ABOARD!

Summer Camp ADL -

Alessandro has spent the past two weeks in "summer camp" at his pre-school. They host this the first two weeks after school is over and it is fantastic. They go from 9:00am - 12:30 and bring their own lunch which was a great success (he had peanut butter everyday but did eat his fruit as well). Each day had a really fun theme and they did arts and crafts and had special activities related to the day's topic. Also each day was a fun opportunity for us Moms to be creative and dress them in going with the theme - this was actually a lot of fun and Alessandro loved talking about what he was wearing and why. Some of his favorites were sports day (Mets regalia), Pajama Day (superman PJs from Nonna including the really cute cape and BoBoo aka snoopy got to go to school as well), nature day (title shirt), lords and ladies day (London shirt), and beach day (beach finery with his new Buffet shirt - thanks Aunt Deborah). Arts and crafts included making play fireworks, lily pads, pizza with cheese (okay this was a messy craft and there is still yellow confetti everywhere) and fiesta day hats crafts. So much excitement! Now I guess Mama is in charge of all the education and activities so it will be a long summer. There is no way I can be as creative as Mrs. M - who is of course as beloved as always with ADL. Fingers crossed he will love his teacher next year half as much. Thanks Daddy - camp was quite a treat!!! XOXO

Summer Update I

We have been having a great time this summer. We have been hanging at the park, taking lots of walks and visiting with good friends. We had a great visit from Evelyn (and baby Kanan) and Charity (and baby Ax) which was fantastic. We dined outside, enjoyed some good vino and let the boys run wild playing with all the millions of toys in the house. It was so great to visit with our "City Dwelling" friends remembering all the excitement and catching up. Now that we are a happy mommy club it is even more exciting and thus the need for more wine. HA!

Alessandro is becoming much more independent which is both thrilling and exciting. He loves to do things on his own and is very frustrated when he can not or you try to help him. This is great because you can literally see the wheels turning but not always time or energy efficient. Guess this is part of the program and something to be proud of. That being said we are making large progress on the "potty project" but are certainly not project complete by any means. This is especially hard when we are out and about but at home he is doing great! Poor Mrs. M has tried to talk him into going at school 1001 times but he refuses waiting until we get home. Hopefully this problem will be solved this summer or we will be looking to Alex for more advice on the "boot camp" strategy which many of you are familiar with.

Antonio is just a ball of energy and a total monkey these days. He is everywhere and on everything and there is no stopping the child. The favorite new place to play is on the fireplace which scares me to death (even though it is quite "baby proofed") but there is no stopping him or the fact that Alessandro follows right behind which I guess is in reverse of natural order? He has no fear, climbs on everything, will eat anything and never stops except to nap twice a day. Nino loves to pick up whatever he can with his little hands and then you have to search for it in his favorite spots - today I found Daddy's toothbrush and comb in the washing machine. Also Nino has a lot of new words and has advanced past baby babel already. He can say car, bubble, water, milk but his favorite thing to say is still a tie between Dada and bye bye. He is a little ball of energy and loves to ham it up. Enjoy the photos from this week - so much excitement! XOXO

Zoo With Daddy -

We had a great visit with Aunt Chrissy last weekend. She kindly agreed to come and be with Mama and the boys while Daddy went back to DC for his BFF from childhood Tony's 40th Birthday. From all accounts it was a great party, all of the usual suspects were there and there was indulgence to rival the old days in the "House of Shame." Very exciting! Happy Birthday Mr. Tony!!!! That being said we were all still here with the boys and they were starved for some good entertainment. So Chrissy and I decided to take them to our favorite hang out the zoo. On the way we got Daddy on the phone and told him where we were headed - only by the time we got there Daddy called us and was already in the parking lot waiting. SURPRISE!!!! Alessandro loves to say "Surprise" but am not sure he knew what it meant until Daddy was all of a sudden there to enjoy the zoo with him. We had a lovely day even though it was quite hot - we were there when the zoo opened and as usual the animals put on quite a show getting us even closer and part of the action. We loved the penguins and monkey the best this time, but still loved seeing the black bears and "water buffalo" or Scottish highland cattle for those of you who are animal enthusiast. If you are nearby come on out for an outing at the zoo with us - we plan on making the most of Aunt Chrissy's generous gift of membership and have loved it every time. Even Nino is loving it these days - which means being captive in the stroller will not last forever - urgh! XOXO

P.S. Nino did hate his first ride on the carousel - sorry Nonna it might just be you and ADL for a while.

Memorial Day -

We had a lovely Memorial Day - just at the slow little pace that we like - surrounded by family friend and fun for the boys. In the morning Alessandro's friend from school Chase and his family came over for brunch on the deck in the beautiful weather followed by the town parade. For those of you who do not know our little town does a cute little parade on Memorial Day and it marches right down in front of our house. So we take some of our chairs out front and an umbrella (it was hot and sunny) and enjoy the show. Perfect! The veterans, boy scouts, little league, karate school, local bands, "hot rods," fire department and virtually everyone else walks up the street joining the fun. The boys seemed to love it and it is really a slice of "Pleasentville" as we have come to know it.

This parade is also a very nice way to remind the boys of the real reason for the holiday - we remember all that serve and honor them........ THANKS!

After all the a.m. fun we headed to a fabulous BBQ at our fabulous friend's house - where we were treated to good food, fun people and most importantly some spins on their new water slide. Alessandro was not sure what he thought at first - and some of the kids were a little older at first. Then he said he was ready to put his suit on and unlike channeling Clark Kent just went up and came right down the fun slide. Then of course we had to do it 1001 times until literally his teeth were chattering and his lips were turning blue (think the new water in the pool was a little chilly but it was quite a warm day otherwise). Enjoy the photos and video of the little man experiencing "pure glee" water slide style. THANKS B & K - we think the slide is great and your house the most fun in the world..... XOXOXO