Well for our last full day in Italy we took the girls to the Children’s Museum in Rome. It was so fun and they had a blast. When we left it was raining and we took a car service to a little cafe/bar since Sabs fell asleep. Sophie, Momma and Dada had a little date together and it was really sweet to sit down and chat with little Pooks. She chowed on some ice cream and chips and we each had a drink. Once Sabs woke up we left to go to the grocery store and pick up some things for the plane ride. It was raining and the girls loved walking there in the rain. We found a restaurant and sat down soaking wet to eat a quick dinner. It was a perfect way to wrap up our month long adventure.

Learning to build a dam

Figuring out how things work

Kiddie supermarket

Rowing boats and gas station stops

Sophie went into this hole and met a little girl who spoke english. They apparently had long conversations about their dolls that don’t have batteries, and toys that broke. You know, the important things.

While Sophie was busy discussing life’s biggest mysteries, Sabi was gardening.

Puzzles and mirrors

Cooking Momma and Dada some dinner in the worlds messiest kitchen (thanks to the students from a class trip that ransacked it right before)

After 3 weeks of fun filled adventure we are off to Rome and then back home! We had such a great adventure together and Florence was a super fun city to explore. It was beautiful to just walk around with the kids and see where the day took us. We took the high speed train to Rome and settled in to another apt for our last two days. All travels were smooth once again. Feeling thankful. Pics below are from our last day in Florence. We bought some sandwiches and had a picnic in the rose garden.

Train ride back to Rome

A quick walk in Rome after our train ride. Sophie mailed her postcards and threw a coin into a fountain. Then of course. Some ice cream.

Girls settling into the apartment (another perfect find by Will).

Today we walked over to a bakery that Papa saw on TV and told us to check out. It was pretty small and just Ok but we are glad we took his advice because we ended up bumping into a big street food fair right down the block from the bakery. Sabs took a nap and we ate some good street food. I didnt get a good pic of the bakery b/c Sabs decide to flip out when we got there and I had to walk outside with her. Obviously this is why she was napping at the street fair 10 minutes later. Below is the bakery pic and Sophie’s donut she bought there (which they ended up having a gazillion of at the fair down the block). She had no complaints.

Then on to the street fair that was full of pizza, meats, panninis, bakery goods, candy, etc. I took some one handed pics as i was carrying a sleeping Sabs. As i post these photos from our hotel in San Jose, I am ashamed to say I didnt even have one cannoli in Italy. I kept saying oh i’ll try one tomorrow, then tomorrow was tomorrow, and tomorrow and so on. Then i was in the airport in Madrid saying crap I never ate that cannoli!

Sleeping Sabs and a distorted family selfie.

Two girls selfies from right before we left the apt. Tried to get an angle that wouldnt white out Pookies face but didnt have much luck

Of course we went back to the smoothie place

Flower sale in the park

And the little peanuts favorite part – balloons! If these two didn’t draw enough attention already, you can just imagine all the smiles watching them walk down the street all proud with their balloons tied to their wrists.

We found a fresh smoothie place! The little chickadees slurped em down in record time! Ooh it was so good to have some fresh fruit smoothie again. No more bread. No more pasta. No more cheese. FRUIT (fresh not stuffed in some sugar glazed pastry)!

After smoothies we walked into this fun shop called Tiger which sells all sorts of quirky kitchen and party stuff. The girls dressed themselves up and then danced around the store. They are too much.

Then we sat down for a minute in the square where Sabi claimed the water as hers and Sophie tried cleverly to steal it several times. Sabi sat there holding it chanting her favorite words “Mine” and “NO”. You can see her “No” face in one of the photos below. Drama queen. I think if memory serves me right, Sophie finally got the water and Sabi flipped out. We left the square.

Off to the park we went. Sabi fell asleep along the way and when we got there Sophie made a little buddy named Victoria. Will was pushing Sophie on the swings and the little girl was on the swings next to them. When Sabi woke up I walked over with her and Will introduced me to Sophie’s new friend “Victorio”. Yes, he thought the girl said Victorio and was  boy. Not trusting his instinct I asked her what her name was again and low and behold, VictoriA. A. Will. VictoriA! He is a she not a he. Will was thankful i figured out the correction before he put his foot in his mouth anymore. He was also thankful that her English was very limited. She was 9 years old and learned some english in school but spoke about as much english as Sophie does Spanish. The two girls had a blast together playing chase, and saving each other on the slide. Sabi was busy on the swing with Dada but then ran over and Sophie quickly put her arm around her and introduced her to her new friend. Victoria was super sweet to Sabs and it was really cute to watch. Later that night before bed I told Sophie that if she wants to play chase with her friends or climb or whatever, and Sabi can’t do it that it is ok to tell me and I will keep Sab busy so she can play. Sophie said no. She said her friend liked Sab and Sab was being a little shy so she wanted to stay with her. Sweet thing.

Also, before we left for the park i asked Sophie if she wanted to go after 3pm b/c the kids will be off from school and all be there to play. She said no. She wants to go before then b/c she wants to play with Sabs and if all the big kids are there Sabs might be sad b/c she wouldn’t have any friends. When we got to the park Sabs was sleeping and Sophie kept asking if she could wake her b/c she wants to play with her. There were kids running around she could play with but she wanted Sabs to wake up and play too. It is so beautiful.

On the walk home we passed a fountain with benches all around it. Sophie said, “Hey guys, you want to stop here and relax. Look. It looks like a great place to relax”. How could we say no. We went into the little park and there were a bunch of wish flowers in the grass so Sophie and Sabs ran around picking and blowing them. Sophie was belting out some disney princess songs and rolling in the grass. Sabs followed along.

On the way home we stopped into the Lindt store and Sophie tried her very first hot chocolate. It was literally like a liquid chocolate bar. I told her that future hot chocolates are only downhill from this one. I dont think the powder kind would cut it. This was a hot, liquid chocolate bar as you can see from her face.

Here is some more random street art we saw on our journey

Well we have left Italy and I am behind on posts but on our last day in Florence I finally found a place that had eggplant parm. It was super yummy though Sophie didnt think so. She only likes the eggplant from Costa Rica (unfortunately her place is not in business anymore) because they sliced it super thin and layered it. They also used to peel their eggplant i think which made a difference visually, and well the visual is 90 percent of the battle with kids. She did however, looooove the beans and her and Sabs went to down on the entire container. Kind of wish i knew that earlier on in the trip so i could cut the bread and cheese with some fresh beans for a change. The asparagus risotto below did not photograph well but tasted so good!

BEANSSSSS

I dont know how Italians keep their kids from messing with this child size sink. Our house would have def flooded a few times.

Today we were walking around Florence and somehow got on the topic of what happens after you die. Will said Pookie what do you think happens and this was what came out of this sweet child’s mouth:

Pookie: Well, your soul leaves your body when you die. Souls are cool because they dont need to open doors. They just walk right through them.

Us: Pookie how do you know what a soul is? What do you think a soul is?

Pookie: I just knowed. A soul is your feelings.

Us: What happens to your body?

Pookie: It stays where it died then it disappears to your bones. Your skin falls off. If you died in that water (pointing to river) your body just goes there and your soul leaves.

Us: What does your soul do?

Pookie: It goes to a party. Souls like to party. If you have a good soul. Bad souls don’t get to go to the party.

Us: Pookie how are you so smart? Where do you get this from?

Pookie: I just knowed.

The other day we walked into a street fair with tons of food and vendors selling meat with pigs cooking like on a big skewer thing. Of course this is the first thing Sophie noticed and she was feeling so sad for the pigs. Then her and Will went to get something to eat while Sabs was sleeping on me by the stairs and on their way back they walked around the fair where there was a huge grassy field. Sophie looked up at Will and said, ” I bet the pigs played in here once. I bet they had fun running around with their pig families. But then they killed them. So sad”. Yea, dont think this one will be trying meat any time soon.

The other day I was in front of Will walking with Sophie and he was behind me carrying Sabs. Sophie and I popped into this bakery to check out what they had and Will hollered that he was going to go into this other store for a minute but i didnt hear him. When Sophie and I came out looking for him and Sabs, we couldn’t find them. I had given him my phone earlier b/c i had too many things in my hand so I couldn’t call him to see where they were. I figured he didnt see us go into the bakery and kept walking straight so i walked a bit to see if he was down the road. When i got far enough to think that there is no way he would have gotten that far, i headed back figuring i missed him. I started thinking ok i’ll ask someone where the vegetarian restaurant is if i cant find him b/c it is next door to our apt. This went on for about 10 minutes and i was looking up and down this road for him with no luck. I knew we were close to the apartment but i couldnt place myself.

In reality i was right in front of the apartment and I walked past the vegetarian restaurant oh i dont know 5 times?!! Finally i saw Will and we discussed how i didnt hear him and how i was starting to plan out how to get back to the apartment if i couldnt find him. He pointed behind me and said you mean this apartment? Yes i was standing in front of our building and had no clue. He was laughing a little and I was pretty discouraged that my sense of direction was so lame that i had no clue i was standing in front of the place we have been staying at the past week.

He tried to reassure me that it is because I usually just follow him and rely on directions b/c I am juggling the kids and that it isnt a big deal. My sense of direction has never been good but this was pretty pathetic and I vowed to myself that i really need to pay more attention in the future.

Speaking of the future, later that evening we were in the kitchen and I had made dinner for the girls. I asked Will to get them silverware to eat and watched him open every single drawer and cabinet in the kitchen until he gave up. I started laughing and said, um do you not know where the silverware is? We have been in this apartment nearly a week and he had no clue where to go and get a spoon. Shortly after I had asked him for a plate and the same thing happened. We both laughed b/c it really is all about team work. I may have no clue how to get back to the apartment and he may have no clue how to get around inside the apartment, but together we make it all happen. xo