Anne and I had a great time in Italy. Read Anne's posts to get more info, but here are a few pictures to see how beautiful Italy was. Sorry there's not more details, but I'm out of time and this is not cooperating with me. I'm sure Anne will post pictures with more details.

I just found these pictures that I sent to the blog by email. I didn't really know where they would show up, but just found them in the editing section.

These were taken last August when we were in Houston.

Not much to report from Sorrento. It was much better than Rome, but
we could tell that it would have been amazing if the weather was
better. Maybe next time...

A few highlights:
- Met the nicest italian girl on the train to Naples. She made sure we
got to the right train when we had to switch trains unexpectantly
after ours broke down.
- Learned how mozzerella cheese is made from a quaint Italian family
- Took a scary drive up to Positano. Not quite sure how the bus didn't
drive off the cliff
- Did some shopping - again
- Slept in, relaxed, walked around, took lots of pictures that didn't
turn out so well - we need Marnee here!
- was amazed at how many Italians were concerned with the election &
our reactions
- learned the creative ways that Europeans are sustainable.
- Took a drive to Casserta with our private driver for the morning.
- Walked through the Poyal Palace of Casserta pretty much on our own -
kind of creepy! We were amazed at how negleted everything seemed. The
place seemed very dirty, there was writing on the statues outside, &
the gardens were not groomed. It was unbelievable to think of what it
would have been like when royalty lived there though. Just unreal.

It was then onto the train to Florence. So far Florence is our
favorite part of the trip. We will update you on this part of the trip
when we get back.

Sent from my iPod Touch

1. Bring comfortable walking shoes
2. Always have an umbrella. You never know when an enormous swarm of
birds is going to invade the city and will decide you are a great
toilet.
3. Take motion sickness pills before getting in a taxi or shuttle. And
avoid crossing ANY streets without saying a prayer.
4. Bring extra room in your suitcase for the fantastic shopping.
5. Go to church. At least half of the congregation are visitors. They
have wireless headsets with a translator for us non-Italians.
6. Meet up with friends from home. It's great to meet in a foreign
country for a day when you haven't seen each other in a few months.
7. Check out the random piazzas. They are definitely worth the extra
walking.
8. Take a drive along the outside of the city.
9. Remember to eat. It's surprisingly hard thing to do when you are on
the go so much.

And the most important:
10. Don't spend much time there. It's dirty, crowded, and over-hyped.
Spend time in other areas of Italy... like Sorrento.

(pictures to come upon our return)

Sent from my iPod Touch

Parker and Ryan just came in to get me... "Mom, come here." I went outside and they had moved all of the patio furniture around. "Hmmm, boys... that's interesting. Why did you do that?" Parker says, "We're making a cafe." "Oh really? It looks great. What is a cafe?" Parker says, "Well, you know, it's kind of like a little restaurant."

Meet the Flintstones.............

Trunk or treat, all decked out.

I bet you would never have guessed that Becca really knows how to put a pumpkin pie down!!! We had a blast at the ward Halloween Party/trunk or treat last night. Our little group won best family costume as the flintstones/rubbles.

This is for you, Noelle! :)

OK, so I'm making this easy, so it will get done. Here are Noelle's 7 interesting things, Marnee style.

1. I love to pick scabs and zits...Start out with the gross one I know! Yup! Me too!
   
2. I have never gotten a speeding ticket Wish I could say that, but I have been ticket free for over 2 years now, so that's a relief!
   
3. I had the chicken pox when i was 9. My fever was 106 and i was hallucinating. I was hospitalized and given a spinal tap(OUCH) The Dr. thought I may have had pox on my brain. I had Kate without an epidural. Sorry... that's the best I can do to compete on this one!
   
4. Althoug it took a while to admit....shhh! I actually like my minvan! Although I still hate to admit it, I WANT a minivan!
   
5. People think I am calm. Im not so much and I really don't like that about me. I'm anything but calm. I don't think I know how to be calm. And no one has ever mistaken me for being calm. But surprisingly to all who know me from childhood, and more surprisingly to those who know Mike too... I'm the more patient one with the kids. Can you believe that?
   
6. I love having pictures taken, I even have some great ones. You wouldn't know it cause i have a HUGE problem with getting things framed. I LOVE taking pictures. But, this isn't something surprising. Hmmm... I've done several different shoots with my own kids this year, even cleared a way for them, but still have not gone through the images to get anything printed. And the wall of "love" only has Parker and Ryan on it. It took me until Ryan was 10 months old to add him. Kate is 13 months old... hmmm... she hasn't noticed yet!
   
7. I absolutly love eating brussel sprouts. I have some growing in the garden right now. I prefer chocolate chip cookies. I often sneak a cookie for breakfast and lunch while giving the 'only eat healthy foods' lecture to the kids. Mom... I think I learned this from you! And not surprisingly, I think Parker is learning this from both of us. Sorry Becca... you have a lot of work to do with us!

From cheering on the cougars . . . to dressing as Tigger.

All the exposure has advanced those climbing skills.

I found him on the 3rd stair the other day. Previous to that he had never shown any interest in the stairs, so needless to say I was not expecting him to have gotten so far.

It's been awhile and I have a bunch of random pictures to post.

Yes, Parker, Life is Good. Especially when you are on your way to Sugar Bowl with Nema. I couldn't pass up this photo opp! I've got to remember this place for future engagement pics.

Ryan's first trip to the dentist. He was sooooo good during the scrapping, but did not like the cleaning part. Odd. Yes, but we already knew that about this child. I asked him to say "cheese". Guess, this is "cheese" dentist style!

We went to the zoo over Fall Break with some friends I used to work with at Marriott (and their daughters.) It was a nice day, but still a tad warm to spend all day at the zoo. Kate was loving it, though. FREEDOM!
We also hit the train park over fall break with a few friends from church. Here's Parker with Jackson and Brandon.

We ran into some old friends, Nathan and Kerry Davis and were able to spend the rest of the day with them. This is their boy, Trenton. He's Parker's age. Jackson is sitting on the end.

This was by far Parker's favorite "ride". I suppose it is a ride when you get to sit back and enjoy the off-road experience while mom (OK, DAD), pedals like crazy to get us through the obstacle course.
And the best... the corn maze. Although Mike didn't listen to the rules and stay close by, we somehow all ended up finding our way out of the 2.5 acre MAZE.

He's all ready for his photo session Marnee

OK... So I still have a bunch of pics from the party to edit and put online, but I did have to share this milestone ASAP.

Just to name a few reasons...

1. I had to wait 3 days for her to learn to go to the door when she needed to go potty.
2. I had to wait a week for her to not have a single accident in the house for 3 days straight.
3. She gets way too excited when I get home and just won't leave me alone.
4. It took her 2 nights to not whine at all in her crate at night.
5. EVERY time I make a kissing noise when I'm holding her, she touches her nose to my lips.
6. She already does tricks like roll over, dance, jump and didn't give me a chance to train her to do them.
7. She only weights 2.2 lbs.
8. It is impossible to go on a walk with her because everyone stops us (on foot and in cars) to stare and comment on how cute she is.
9. She forces me to get out of bed in the morning so I can actually get to work on time (well, kinda).
10. She has no stranger anxiety and makes everyone feel like they are her favorite person in the world.

Annoying, huh? I really should have thought about this decision more. It is way to hard to raise a puppy this difficult. Its a good thing I have the wonderful support/help of her Aunt Jen and Aunt Missy or I would be going crazy right now! ;-)