The Brewer Family

Long time no update, 2010

2011-06-14T05:08:00.004+02:00

Wow has it been a long time!! and there are soo many things that have happened in the past year.
1) Anne was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, Crohns.
2) Anne got pregnant, yes at 44 years old and dealing with years of infertility. God must have a wonderful plan for our child.
3) Mineo housing was closed and they military had to move us 20 miles closer to the main base.
4) Randy's extension orders in Sicily accidentally got canceled.
5) Anne has been healthier than she has been in a long time, walking daily as the baby grew inside her.
6) Trip to Rome... GREAT PLACE!
7) Randy's Mom was diagnosed with lung and brain cancer.
8) Doctors thought there was a problem with the baby, though Anne was feeling GREAT! The family was sent to Germany in a rush. I am so glad we homeschool because we got to take Cameron too.
9) Arrive in the military hospital in Germany to find the baby is fine, but they won't let her leave because of all the complications that can occur because of her age.
10) Stuck in Germany, what to do? Went to Paris of a weekend. Enjoyed the heck out of Germany with snow and Christmas markets. Even reconnected with a friend from Hawaii.
11) 12/4 Randy's Mom passed in the comfort of her own home with family around.
12) 12/8 Ian Conner Brewer was born. 9lbs 4oz, 22 inches. Anne was induced because the doctors all said, "Nothing good happens after 39 weeks at your age." She was is "labor" for 36 hours, tried to do each stage without more induction. We all walked and walked and walked the halls of Landstuhl Medical Center trying to get this baby moving. They broke her water and 4 hours later with no pain medication, Ian was born. He was happy and healthy.
13) Ian was placed back in the hospital twice due to Jaudice. He looked so sad under the bili-lights. Anne stayed with him. Randy and Cameron spent most of their time in the hospital with Ian.
14) Randy and Cameron got to go snowboarding. Cameron's first time.
15) The Wooten Family visited our new little Ian at the lodging in Germany.
16) Christmas Day, flew back to Sicily. It was nice to be home.

Our trip to Rome

Randy on the Eiffel Tower

Anne, Cam and Ian Paris Disney.

Ian Conner's Birth Day

Randy and Ian Landstuhl Germany

Another Karate demo

2010-04-10T06:23:00.002+02:00

I tell you this and last week have been the busiest weeks in a long time. EVERY Day this week there has been something. 4 days of karate, with Cameron doing 2 demos and getting his purple belt, the Navy Relief Fashion show was on Thursday, in which we worked the silent auction booth, the of course Easter on Sunday and the big celebration here Easter Monday. Last week was all the Holy Week activities. These have been all fun, but quite taxing on our little family. Cameron school, well not too much this week. Anne having to nap daily, with this Crohn's her energy has not been too high and then poor Randy who seems to have picked up the stomach flu and has been in bed for 2 days. Thank God next week has no major goings on for any of the family.

Purple Belt in Karate

2010-04-08T09:54:00.003+02:00

Cameron got his purple belt in karate. He has been practicing hard for almost a year and LOVES karate. He has found his nitch.

Easter Monday

2010-04-05T06:28:00.003+02:00

Easter Monday here in Sicily is huge. It is the time where all the family and friends go to their country houses and play and eat and eat and play and, did I say EAT. We are now part of Emilio and Mariska's family and join in on most of their celebrations. Cameron had spent the night from Easter to Easter Monday giving Randy and Anne the night off. And boy was it a nice, relaxing night. When we returned home Easter night, Randy and Anne got to enjoy a glass of wine while sitting on the porch watching the sun set. Easter Monday morning was just as slow. Not much to do and didn't have to be up at E&M's until after 11am. Everyone visiting brings something to eat and we did the same. We brought carne asada, Anne's salsa, flour tortillas and avocados. All new stuff for the Sicilians. Now like I said, food food food, is the center of the day. Everyone basically waited in line to cook. As soon as the artichokes were done, then chicken went on, as soon as chicken, then carne asada, after that sausage. It was an eating fest. After showing these people how to make a taco with Emilio's homemade black beans, carne asada (Randy's special recipe) , guacamole (made by Emilio) and Anne's salsa, they had to eat it. I am surprised, especially the older people seemed to love these new interesting foods. Pippa loved the size of the carne asada steak, most meat here is cut paper thin and this carne was a 1/4 to 1/2 thick.
Anyway, it was a wonderful day of food, wine, fun and friendship. We Thank God for giving us Emilio and Mariska as such good friends.

EASTER SUNDAY

2010-04-04T11:39:00.001+02:00

It was so warm the boys decided to take a swim. 1st of the season.

Randy and Mariska playing ping-pong.

The wood-fired oven with the lamb just coming out.

Cameron found his basket and bunny!!

Salvatore found his basket. How cute is he?!!

Mary seeing the Risen Christ in the Piazza.

Procession with flags from the three Churches.

Main Piazza. Look at all the people.

Cameron and Salvo

The procession from Santa Agripina Church with the Risen Christ.

The Risen Christ inside Santa Agripina Church.

Cam in his Easter best. Of course with a bit of a attitude.

Randy and Anne getting ready to head to Church.

Easter Sunday was a beautiful day here is Sicily. Nice warm and sunny, who could ask for more?!! We went to mass at Santa Agripina Church in the Town of Mineo. As with everything religious here there is always Pomp and Circumstance and it was in full bloom today. After the Mass, the flags from all three churches in Mineo met at Santa Agripina. The procession then started with the flags and was then followed by the "float" of the Risen Christ carried on the shoulders of many a strong man. The Risen Christ procession went through the entire town and ended in the main square. Mary "float", with Mary veiled in black, came out of the Church in the main piazza. And the story goes when she saw her Son had risen, her veil came off and they ran to each other. Those poor guys carrying the floats had to run back and forth three times. I didn't even mind standing for hours in heels to watch this.

After that we had some Prosecco in our favorite bar in the square, Julio's Latino Bar. Later that afternoon we had dinner with Emilio, Markisa, Pippa, Salvatore and the family. The lamb was cooked in the wood fired oven. MMMMmmmmm!!! Then a relaxing day.

Holy Week Thursday in Mineo

2010-04-01T05:54:00.000+02:00

Emilio and Randy.

Julio's Latino Bar in Mineo

Mineo town square.

The procession with the scourged Christ.

The "float" of the scourged Christ.

Start of procession. Each Church in Mineo had a flag and lead the procession in front of the Scourged Christ.

Anne and her "new daughter" Noemi.

Randy near a cross.

St. Peter and Paul

Beautiful lighting on the town of Mineo.

On Thursday night we went to the Easter week procession in the town of Mineo. Mineo always has such beautiful processions and we enjoy sharing them with our Italian friends.

Palm Sunday

2010-03-28T16:42:00.006+02:00

Look at all these people.

Over view of the Town.

The City view, down the hill.

The first Church with the Palms in it.

Randy and Cameron view from the Church.

In Procession. Cameron bought a palm branch.

One of the Palm displays they were holding.

The procession.

These palm displays for the procession seemed very heavy

We took a tour to the city of Gangi for their Palm Sunday procession. They say it is one of the most beautiful processions in Sicily. After a 4 hour bus ride with 1.5 hours of that up a winding mountain (Thank God we weren't driving) we got there just in time for the procession. The drums started and the procession started. I we followed it into the first Church. It came out of the Church and proceeded around the entire town, then back to the first Church. It was a sight to be beheld. The town itself was nice, but there were so many people. On the way back to base we stopped at an agriturismo for lunch, not the best, but not too bad. Good time!!

Sicilian Oranges

2010-03-03T14:23:00.003+01:00

Nothing is better than fresh oranges, except when you pick them yourselves. We bought a crate of oranges from our friends last week and we had fresh orange juice EVERY morning. This week he invited us out to pick the oranges. It was a nice sunny day and you felt the health eminating from these oranges. So again this week, fresh orange juice EVERY morning, oranges for snacks and maybe juice at night. They say fresh juice is good for Anne's GI problems, we shall see. There are some full blood oranges and then some part bloods, I don't remember the "real" names for the types. Look it up is you want to know!!

Carnivale Acireale 2010

2010-02-16T17:10:00.002+01:00

Randy and Cameron went to Carnivale Monday night with our friends. They say it was a great time.

Germany - medical Trip

2010-02-16T09:25:00.008+01:00

Just because they sent Anne to Germany for some medical tests, doesn't mean we can't have a little fun, though the military only sent Randy and Anne Cameron had to stay back with friends. 12 hours of travel from doorstep to doorstep was a lot, but at least the medicine was working which made it easier. Flew from Catania with a 4 hour layover in Rome then into Frankfurt, Germany. We enjoyed a nice dinner in Frankfurt with .5 liter of a nice German Dunkel (dark beer). Anne made peace that any amount of pain would be worth having a nice Germany meal. Monday, shopping at the Ramstein PX getting American things we don't have here, then doctor appointments and prep for the next day test. Randy got to enjoy a nice Taco Bell dinner and a beer in the beer hall. Come to find out you don't go shopping after anesthesia, you feel good, but I think a bit too good. Anne bought 5 pairs of shoes, they even had them in MY BIG SIZE which even sounds worse in European sizes.

The last day we moved over to Wiesbaden becaue of snow. Wiesbadan is about an hour closer to the airport in Frankfurt and with 3 years San Diego, 3 years Hawaii and 2 years Sig, we don't do snow!! The town of Wiesbaden was nice and a close walk from the military hotel. It was cold with a bit of snow! Next morning we woke up to about 6 inches of snow on the car. The Frankfurt airport was closed for 4 hours because of it. That closure made our layover in Rome 15 minutes, so we ran and made the flight!! YIPEE we could see Cam!!

Karate-Green Belt

2010-01-11T18:41:00.004+01:00

Cameron is now a green belt in Goshin Jitsu Karate. He has been doing karate almost a year. He works very hard at learning and perfect his moves. We are so proud of him. He has been helping the teacher with the younger class.

Caltagirone Market

2010-01-09T13:30:00.005+01:00

It was pouring rain yesterday and this morning, though crisp was nice just a few clouds in the distance. Randy and Anne decided to head to the Saturday market for some fresh fruits and veggies. After only a few minutes of being there...... the rain started coming down and not just rain, but hail too. You can see in one of the pictures the hail next to the fennel root. Lucky the guys at the formaggi (cheese) truck had a tent over them!! We had to hurry through the rest of our shopping but it was a beautiful experience. We do love living in Sicily.

Christmas present

2010-01-08T12:09:00.003+01:00

Cameron got a Lego Technic Off-Roader for Christmas. It is for ages 11-16, but I am sure it is not for over 30 because parents don't have the patience for something like this. It has 1097 pieces with motorized suspension, head lights and motorized winch. I couldn't believe how much patience our son had to put this together. It took probably 8 hours of work over a 3 day period, putting little piece into little piece. I am so proud of Cameron for completing it. There is a bit of a problem with the winch, so I think we are going to take it apart again and reput it together.

Palermo

2010-01-04T10:38:00.006+01:00

We spent one night in Palermo. It would have been more fun if Randy and Anne hadn't had colds. We had a great time with the taxi tour, who knew you could fit 9 people plus a driver in an 7 passenger taxi?!! We toured many of the attractions Palermo had to offer including churches, historical monuments and the catacombs. Couldn't take pictures at"the Capuchin Catacombes", but look at wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capuchin_catacombs_of_Palermo.

Happy 2010

2010-01-04T10:37:00.001+01:00

With 2009 gone, it is time to begin the New Year. We are looking forward to another 1.5 years here in Sigonella, Sicily, Italy.
We had fun New Year party. Thanks all for coming.

The Christmas Present

2009-12-31T14:52:00.003+01:00

The first video gaming machine came into our house on Christmas. Of course, it didn't work the first day, guess it was God teaching Cameron patience. Anyway, we have been playing it a bit here are there and there are EXTREME restrictions on it for Cameron. Though it seems everytime Cameron comes in from playing outside, Randy and I are playing it.

Merry Christmas 2009

2009-12-25T10:22:00.004+01:00

We are in Sicily for our second Christmas. What a wonderful time we are having. Cameron and Anne went to Midnight Mass in the town of Mineo. It was 2 hours long and we spent most of our time trying to find in my Dad's Missal, the English version of the readings and prayer, but it was still GREAT!!!

We woke up this morning to a beautiful tree with many presents underneath, but always the first thing is Cameron MUST put the baby Jesus into the manger. Anne made a breakfast casserole last night and we popped it into the oven this morning. (It was good).

Cameron woke up an hour earlier than we expected, going to bed a 2am is a bit hard. After getting Skype set up with Anne's brother John, we started opening presents. We all opened our presents, but ..... Cameron's last present was a big box. We sent him on a Clue Finding hunt. The first big present under the tree had a rhyme that was a clue, which sent him to the backyard. The next clue into the stairs, then out to the truck, then over to a neighbor's house where Cam is dog sitting (we figured this was the best way to do his job and enjoy Christmas). This box had a huge rock in it all wrapped up and had to carry it down the street :) The final clue sent him up to his bedroom and a Wii was under his bed. We all had a good time. Cameron got Legos, videos and Nerf Guns; Anne got a robe, scarf and bath stuff; Randy got some stuff for camping and bath stuff. It is 10am and we are ready for our nap.

Olive Picking

2009-11-28T07:37:00.003+01:00

We had the greatest day olive picking, yesterday. We went up to our friends upper land and picked olives off their trees. They sell olive oil and olive products for their living. They made us lunch on the property which included sausage cooked on a very old clay roofing tile on a fire grandpa made.
First you lay tarps under the trees, then just pull the olives off the tree. Emilio and his dad, Salvatore, were up on ladders getting the upper parts of the trees while we were below taking off the lower olives. After they are on the tarp, you pick them up with as few stems and leaves as you can. Of course this is done as fast as you can on slopey hillsides. The weather was a bit over cast, but thank God it was cool and not too hot.
After picking from 5 or 6 trees around 50 kilos of olives, we went to the presses to see how cold-press extra virgin olive oil is made and even got to taste some right out of the presses.
We had an evening pasta at their house and then they gave us some fresh olive oil that was just pressed a couple days ago. This has a very strong olive taste and some yummy sediment, this oil is best for dipping your bread, not cooking.

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T07:34:00.001+01:00

Today we spent Thanksgiving with our Sicilian friends at their house just outside the town of Mineo. It was a beautiful day. Randy fried a turkey and we had the other cooked in the outdoor Sicilian oven. Each was wonderful with a different taste. We had stuffing, mashed potatoes, 3 different kinds of pie and many other foods from all different cultures.
Thank you all for coming and of course thank you to Emilio and Mariska for having us over. We are thankful this year for good friends who become family.

Her second year with the Lord

2009-11-13T14:24:00.003+01:00

Today is the anniversary of my Mom's passing through this life to Eternal Life with the Lord. Mom I love you so much. Thank you for being my confidant, my friend, my Mom and a wonderful Grandmother. You are missed in this life, but we shall be joined again at the time of the Lord's choosing. Please put in a good word for me and make sure you keep your last promise to Cameron, by making sure his Manson is filled with fruit!! :)

Cheer to a wonderful woman.

Greek Theater, Syracusa

2009-11-12T14:09:00.005+01:00

While in Syracusa we went to the Greek Theater. We have tried a couple times to go, but each time it was closed. Today, it was open. Living here in Sicily has been a wonderful experience of living within history. Wow, what an opportunity. Who knew you could touch history. Today, we homeschooled the ancient Greeks. :) I LOVE HOMESCHOOLING!!! Everything is a learning experince.

Veteran's Day

2009-11-12T13:43:00.004+01:00

Again, this year since there are no American Military Cemeteries here in Sicily, we have gone to a Commonwealth Cemetery. This year it was a different one in. It was located in the town of Syracusa. It was very small especially since we saw so many large ones in Europe. We paid our respects to those who have fallen in the name of peace.

We also took a picture by an old pill box just outside our military base. The rememberances of war are still all around us.

Camping Europe Day 14

2009-10-03T08:18:00.003+02:00

Woke up: Tent camping, Rhine River, Germany

Drove: We drove all around the Rhine River Areas.

Did: Today, we drove up and down the Rhine River in this area. We stopped in many cute towns, for shopping, wine tasting, coffee drinking and just plain old relaxing. The best stop on this day was Rheinfled Castle.

Slept: Tent Camping Rhine River, Germany

Country Count: 3

Camping Europe Day 13

2009-10-02T06:33:00.003+02:00

Woke up: Ramstein AFB, TLF

Drove: This is a two part question. 1) Truck goes to Auto Shop, 2 hours later auto shop says truck should not be driven and that we are lucky the wheel didn't sheer off while driving. Glad we were on German road which are the best in the world. 2) Rented VW wagon and decide to head on on the vacation.

Did: Ok here is where the story goes. Randy walks the almost 3 miles across the base, after dropping the truck off, to see if we can keep the room. Anne and Cameron pack up the room, but hope we don't have to leave with no where to go. Randy walks another mile to our room to tell us, no go, no rooms available for the night. The nice maids, tell us that they aren't coming back until after 1pm to clean the room and we can stay until then. Randy tells Anne the three options the Auto Shop gave us. The part is not available for a Ford F250 4x4 pickup truck in Germany. 1) Have a machinist make it 1,000 euro, but only 1 day. 2) Order from German company 800 euro ready in 4 days. 3) Order it from the states $450 USD 7-10 days shipping. We chose to order from the states and rent a car and keep going on the vacation. Randy took 30 days leave and we are at 13. We have time and well, might was well do a vacation we will never forget and never have to do again. We rent a car, in the AFB mall, and head out. The guy in the biergarten last night says we had to do the Rhine River and Randy remember a fairytale about Loreley. http://loreley-rhine.com/ Lets go. The wagon fits about 1/2 our stuff, we leave the rest behind in the truck. We make it to the Rhine and find a campsite, from our Camping Europe book http://camping-loreleyblick.de/neu/index.php?lang=english. It is beautiful here. Our campsite is right next to the river, the barges pass by and we can watch them making the treacherous turn at the Loreley Rock and at night the party barges go by. What did we forgot when changing from the truck to the wagon 1) table, we (Randy) have to cook on the ground. 2) Heavy jackets for Randy and Cameron, but we don't need them....yet.

Slept: Campingplatz Loreley, Rhine River, Germany

Country Count: 3

Camping Europe Day 12

2009-10-01T06:29:00.002+02:00

Woke up: Barracks room US Army, Stuttgard Germany.

Drove: To Ramstien Air Force Base. We love driving. We stop if we seen interesting things or the travel guide or GPS says to.

Did: We stop in the USO in Stuttgard. http://affiliates.uso.org/stuttgart/ Wow it is nice. They copy us a bunch of camping info, give us maps and brochures about places to go and things to do. We stop in their exchange, buy more propane and a few other things (Anne found shorts on sale for $1 and bought 6 pairs for next summer). We have a name plate made for us their. Why does every one's exchange and commissary beat out ours :( why!! We head out with tons of information, but then Anne's fix it for the noise the truck is making (close the windows and turn up the radio) is no longer working. The truck really needs to get looked at before we head home and it is getting to be time to head back down. So we head off to Ramstein Air Force base. They have a large base and probably have a good, well stocked Auto Shop for American vehicles. We get a room, which by the way, is a HUGE 3 bedroom TLF (temporary lodging facility). The base in Ramstein is great, they have a mall and an exchange with many local shops and even a theater. Cameron goes to see a move and Randy and Anne hit the Biergarten in the mall, I mean the exchange area. ;) As we are looking at a map, a husband and wife, retired Navy, comes over and gives us hints about other places to go in the area before we head back. I think this is one of the first times that Randy and Anne pulled out a map and looked at where we were heading before we were on the road.

Slept: Ramstein Air Force Base TLF http://www.ramstein.af.mil/

Country Count: 3

Camping Europe Day 11

2009-09-30T06:10:00.003+02:00

Woke up: Tent in Edelweiss Lodge.

Drove: Through Garmisch-Partenkirchen, through Ulm and into Stuttgart.

Did: We drive out of GP and the landscape is beautiful, but we were here last year and enjoyed this area, so we press ahead. Cameron has been so good. He hardly complains and gets carted everywhere with hours spent in the truck and is reading the "Chronicles of Narnia" series, some of which he is re-reading. We decide, if we get there on time, we will hit Legoland Deutschland in Ulm. http://www.legoland.de/In-the-park/Whats-new/Neuigkeiten.htm?lc=en We get there at about 1pm and wonder if we should wait and go in tomorrow, but remembering what a friend said, "this is a half-day park", we go in. There was hardly anyone there. We get on all the rides with no wait and some we just stay on and ride again. Cameron had a BLAST!! Again, we make sandwiches and eat at the truck in the parking lot. This truly saves us money especially in a place like this. Park closed at 6pm, we actually left around 5:30 with no regrets. We did and rode everything there. We press ahead to the Army Base at Stuttgard. Anne's cold is still bothering her, but the decongestants did well at Legoland.

Slept: We got a barracks room at one of the Stuttgart bases. Anne got banished to a room by herself because of the constant coughing. :) http://www.stuttgart.army.mil/sites/local/

Country Count: 3

Camping Europe Day 7

2009-09-26T18:14:00.003+02:00

Woke up: Another beautiful morning. Didn't get out until around 11.

Drove: None

Did: Took bus into Old Town Salzburg. Rented bikes and rode down the river. Note to self: Buy European bikes no matter what kind of "ninnys" we look like, those bikes are so comfortable. Rode down the river, stopped in a beautiful park, saw the "Sound of Music" gazebo, and many other beautiful sites. Did you know, Salzburg was the home of Mozart? Stayed in the town into the evening where they were having their own "fest". This was much better. Walked UP to a castle, then back down to the fest. Had a couple beers and some good munchies. Took the bus back to the campsite. Met a couple boys from Bologna, Italy, feed them Hamburger Helper.

Slept: Tent Salzburg, Austria.

Country Count: Still 3

Camping Europe Day 6

2009-09-25T18:07:00.004+02:00

Woke up: Salzburg, Austria. Cute little campground. Nice camp host.

Drove: None.

Train: Decided to go to Oktoberfest. Couldn't see being so close and not going. 2 hour train ride from Salzburg to Munich. 10 minute walk from the Hauptbanhoff (Main train station) to Oktoberfest. Got there around noon. Walked around. Went into many of the beer hall tents. Very smokey and already getting loud. Had a beer outside the tents. Beer halls are booked up a year in advance, guess we will settle for outside. No so smokey and still fun. Cameron had a great time riding all the HORRIBLY scary ride. He loves his Dad because I wouldn't have let him on the rides. Hit a beer hall or two, walked around a lot. By 6pm everyone was drunk, half the "kids" throwing up. Time it head back to the train station. Check in the box we went, go again maybe, but not too sure.

Slept: Tent in Salzburg, Austria.

Country Count: 3

Camping Europe Day 5

2009-09-24T17:38:00.004+02:00

Woke up: 32 degrees, Cortina, Italy. It was very cold, but we made it. The sunrise is even prettier than the evenings. Guess being cold was worth it. Note: Need better sleeping bag for Cameron.

Drove: Salzburg, directly to a campground from the brochure they gave us at Venice, 10% off.

Did: On the way out of the beautiful Italian Mountains we saw many bicylclists. What a wonderful place to ride. As we saw the Austrian border, we got flagged down by an Italian police officer, just checking our stuff. Aren't the borders open now?!! OK only two exits until the campground in Austria. Polizie put out a red reflector in front of us, Dang twice in one day. We follow them off the freeway. 1 car, 2 police cars, 3 police cars, and 7 police officers. Hmmm what's up? Papers please. What why do we look dangerous? Man, woman, child and big truck full of stuff. Yes English, thank you. Why are you here? Vacation, tent camping. In fall, why? Cause thats when we left. OK you can go. Why were we stopped? A robbery in Salzburg occurred get away vehicle Jeep with Italian plates. Guess Jeep and Ford Truck look alike. Darn American vehicles all look the same.

Slept: Salzburg, Austria.

http://www.camping-kasern-salzburg.com/

Country count: 2

Camping Europe Day 4

2009-09-23T17:29:00.000+02:00

Woke up: Venice

Drove: Aviano Air Force base for laundry and an American Meal at Popeyes in the food court. Someone gave us a hint about a campground in the Dolomite Mountains by a lake past Cortina. We decided to look at it. It was TERRIBLE, just a turnout that people could park their RVs at. We drove around, but every campground was closed until back in Cortina we found a nice campground and could look at the mountains.

Went to bed: Dolomite Mountains, Cortina, Italy.

Country Count: Still 1 only Italy

Camping Europe Day 3

2009-09-22T17:27:00.003+02:00

Woke up: Campground outside Venice

Drove: None

Did: Venice. Wow what a beautiful place with an easy going lifestyle that most would enjoy. We took a ferry from our campground right into Venice, stayed there all day and took the night ferry back to the campground. GREAT DAY!! Not too sure what to say, but it was everything everyone said.

Slept: http://www.campingfusina.com/home.1.html Campground outside Venice

Country count: Just Italy

Camping Europe Day 2

2009-09-21T16:27:00.000+02:00

Did: Today great ride from Naples to the Army base in Vicenza, plan to camp there tonight. But as our vacation is starting our ideas and the worlds are different. Vicenza closed their camping due to lack of use. We decided to sleep in the truck there, and started wasting time in the library. Wait a book "Camping Europe" could it be an answer to our needs?! We found a campsite in Venice, had no plans to go there, but since we are so close, might as well. So off to Venice we go. Again one slight detour on a TOLL road we made it, set up camp. Nice weather, a view of Venice across the channel and a comfortable night.

http://www.campingfusina.com/home.1.html

Drive: Through the heart of Italy. The most beautiful section of this country is the wonderful hills of Tuscany. We had our PB&J lunch out of the back of the truck over looking the Tuscan countryside.

Slept: Camped outside Venice

Camping Europe Day 1

2009-09-20T16:13:00.006+02:00

We left on our vacation, though Anne went begrudgingly. There was too much to do, not enough money or planning for the vacation, but we went. We left today Sunday, September 20th around noon. We made it to Naples at 7pm at night in the pouring rain. We decided to stay on base in Naples and let the rain pass us by.

The biggest problem for us was when we got on the ferry from the island of Sicily to the mainland, well Italians don't quite understand BIG F250 crew cab trucks. They put us in the lane for passenger cars and promptly "guided" us through the twists and turns to get on the ferry. OOPPPSSSS we are too BIG to make the last turn, no way to back up cars are qued behind us and even if not too many ramps to back down. Randy must have done a 1000 point turn, sometimes backing up less than a inch to get us on the ferry. THANK GOD on the other side there was a nice big exit ramp with no tight turns.

Day 1 over, with sleeping in BEQ (Bachelors Enlisted Quarters) Napoli, Italy. We made it to the mainland. AMEN!

Cameron's Triathalon

2009-09-12T11:18:00.003+02:00

Cameron did a triathalon here in Sigonella. This is the first Tri that Sigonella has done. Cameron placed second is his age group. GREAT JOB CAM!!

Camping

2009-09-10T08:10:00.005+02:00

We had a great Labor Day weekend camping here in Sicily at the beach. We went to a beach North/West of Agrigento, about 100 miles from home on the west side of Sicily. Our campground was called Erclea Minoa. http://www.eracleaminoavillage.it/.

The Italians were amazed by our HUGE 8 person tent and even took pictures. They asked how many people were staying in there. They were dumbfounded that we said only 2 of us. Americans always have to do things bigger. Our camp had a total of 11 people including kids, 4 tents, 21 chairs, 3 stoves, 4 ice chests, 5 tables, truck, SUV with trailer and a car. Europeans seem to travel much lighter. Most campers had a small car and a tent, and well not too much else. We met people mostly from Germany, but saw license plates from Poland, France and Italy too.

We had a wonderful, relaxing time. We even took Pinky, who slept in the tent, she is no outside dog. The guys and most of the kids went for a hike on Saturday around the point, and the ladies stayed back at the camp and chatted. Everyone got what they wanted. We needed the time off!

Happy 38th Birthday Randy

2009-09-02T08:46:00.000+02:00

Today is Randy's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Thunder, lightening and no internet

2009-08-31T05:55:00.002+02:00

Wow what a week. The week started out OK. Cameron in theater camp had to be at base all day Monday, not too bad. Tuesday Cam went by himself. Wednesday no internet, Thursday same problem. Now I have to say, if you are addicted to the internet as I am, this is a difficult task. I thought I would get so much accomplished and I guess in a way I did, but everything seemed to dead end at the computer. Friday, Saturday and Sunday huge thunder and lightening storms have been coming through. First thing I do is unplug my computers. I am never too comfortable with the power around here. Light bulbs blow constantly and I don't want to subject my compter to that. So for other reasons NO computer. ARGH!! Today, Monday begins a new week. Cameron starts up schooling again. Yes we did school in the summer, but took off the last month because of Youth Camp, VBS, and Theater Camp. His schedule is ready for the week and we will hit the ground running today. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers. This year will need to be a buckle down year for all of us!!

Cameron in the Theater

2009-08-30T16:23:00.004+02:00

Cameron was in the theater production of an interesting version of the "Princess and the Pea". It was put on by the Missoula Childrens Theater program and they travel around the US and US bases putting on theater camp. Auditions were on Monday and the play was on Saturday night. Cameron was Bitter, like Bitter cold, in the kingdom of Glacierdom. He had a couple lines and a singing part. He wants to do it next year, but first he wants to know the play and the parts beforehand.

Homeschool Meet 'n Greet

2009-08-25T22:58:00.002+02:00

I couldn't upload the video from our local Armed Forces Network (AFN) TV station. Here is the link. It seems that Cameron is such a ham. As if I didn't know. He could have talked about tons of GREAT things that homeschooling does for him i.e. learning more, better learning environment, GREAT TEACHER, but no he has to talk about playing. Anytime anywhere, playing. Gosh, now I know I am doing a great job.......not!!

http://sigonella.afneurope.net/HOME/ArticleDisplayDD/tabid/660/Default.aspx?aid=9509

20 years serving in the US Navy

2009-08-22T08:34:00.002+02:00

Today, August 22, 2009, Randy has made his 20 year in the US Navy. We are so proud of him and his accomplishments. He has had the opportunity to go many places, learn many things, meet a vast number of people from all different countries, cultures and walks of life. He is a wonderful husband, father and American. I wish there was a good military picture to post of him here, but I can't seem to find one. I will look, though.

Congratulations and Thank you for serving 20 years to help protect the freedoms of our county.

Birthday Pain "t" ball party

2009-08-15T14:00:00.001+02:00

August 15th was Cameron's birthday party. He HAD to play paint ball. Even though it started at 6pm it was hot, hot, hot. We had a really good time at the paintball field. Randy got too hot and tired at the end, so Good Old Anne stepped in wearing only capris and a jacket of Randy's. It was a good time had by all. Afterward there was a sleep over with 6 other boys. God knew what he was doing when he gave me only one!!! It was Cameron's first "big" sleepover and though I don't believe any sleep was had, they all had fun.

11 years ago today.

2009-08-12T16:30:00.001+02:00

Hard to believe Cameron Michael Brewer was born 11 years ago, August 12, 1998, 7:30 am Pacific Time. 8 lbs. 14 oz and 21 inches long.
Stats today are much different, including height: 4'8" Weight: 83 lbs, but especially attitude. He is a good boy and don't get me wrong, but he is a "Tween" boy search out to be himself. He has said "No" a couple times to us and copped an attitude. He is just searching for the limits and if we will keep the limits or let him stretch them. In general, he Loves the Lord and tries to please Him. He loves his parents and (mostly) does things to make them proud. He loves his family and was so excited when Uncle John and Aunt Traci finally got a webcam, which is all he asked them for his birthday. My view, personally, is why don't people want to get webcams and see him. I am pissy about that, but I guess I understand. John and Traci said he has grown especially in his features, his actions and ability to hold on a full conversation through the webcam. He has been going to the Youth Center this summer, 2 days a week. In the beginning it was hard for him, but now he is enjoying it. Friday the put on a summer end show where they will be dancing Thriller. Cam has been practicing.
Cam has found his niche sport. It is karate. He loves it. His instructor is very good and understanding of a lot, but can keep him in line. She is on maternity leave, so 2 months no karate. I will sign him up for soccer, but that is it.
My baby boy is growing up to be a well rounded teen. I trust him, but still keep an eye on and out for him.
Thank you God, for my little man. Thank you Dad for being in heaven and picking out just the right child for me. Cameron feels he knows you because he met you in heaven and I believe you got to hold him and love him before I did.
Happy 11th Birthday. My biggest of big boys.

The Island of Vulcano

2009-07-31T10:01:00.003+02:00

We went to the island of Vulcano. As usual we didn't plan well, just took people on their words that it was easy. Guess we should learn. We didn't leave until after 9am because Anne was working and she didn't know we were going for sure until Randy woke up that morning. After 2.5 hours in our "wonderful" car we got to Mizano the jump off point for the Aeolian Islands. First stop..... Visitors Center... Help? Basically none. Walked to the boats, hmm no help. Went to a boat office, closed reposo. hmmmm Guy talks to us at the closed office, brings us to another ferry office, helps us buy the tickets, helps us park. Know he is getting fee, but we are happy for the help. Problem..Why would they be paying someone to get customers from other companies, because yours is the worst. We ended up on the car ferry that took us 3 hours to get there, now it is almost 4pm, and the last ferry leave around 7pm. Not much time. We go to a pension, all cheap places are sold out for the night because it is Friday night, the start of the Italian Vacation period. Next hotel 225 euro. NO we won't stay the night, but the crater looks nice to hike. As we are walking we find the mud baths. We decide to try them. Cameron is afraid the sulfar hot bubbling mud pools will bake his balls. At any age boys always worry about their privates. The mud baths were nice. and after soaking for 20 minutes (the suggested time) we went into the ocean to clean off. The ocean was bubbling with hot springs, it was interesting. I was hopeful this would help the arthritis in my shoulder. After a quick shower, we bought our ferry tickets back to the mainland of Sicily. Again, wrong boat, but at least this one only took 45 minutes. We really wanted the hydrofoil, but live and learn.
On the way home, we stopped for dinner in a Chinese Restaurant in Catania. Not too bad especially for Italian Chinese food. We must have stunk up the place with our wonderful sulfar smell. Took another shower when we got home, but the smell kept waking me up all night long. DANG!! Two days later we still stunk and I can't get the smell out of our bathing suits.

Best part is we got out of the house and went exploring. I love it when Randy feels up to exploring. Even when it is over 100 degrees out. :)

PS. My arthritis is still bothering me. :(

Our Garden

2009-07-07T12:58:00.002+02:00

We have started to reap the rewards from our tomato garden. Last week I made a greek salad and shishkabobs with our tomatos and today it was salsa and taco toppings. MMMMmmmmm. Something yummy about your own hard work.

Crete, Greece

2009-06-27T09:49:00.006+02:00

The island of Crete is a wonderful place. Randy was sent for work starting Sunday, but Cameron and I couldn't make that flight. We didn't leave until Wednesday. I have to say I do love military Space Available flights. You can't always make the flight, but when you it is free. Cameron has been studying Ancient Greece in his Usborne books (which I sell at: http://www.ubah.com/ecommerce/main.asp?sid=Z2846&gid=74337515 ) We went to the palace (ruins) at Konosos. Cameron ran from each room and pottery and picture and explained everything about the palace and the peoples. Cameron and I only stayed about 36 hours, but it was GREAT!!

Cameron's Karate

2009-06-17T04:34:00.004+02:00

Cameron is now a yellow belt. He tested last night. He seems to have found THE sport. His favorite is still ice hockey, but since our past few duty stations have not been great Ice Hockey locations, well he hasn't done it in a while. Swimming he likes, but it took a lot of dedication and time that I wasn't willing to give ALL THE TIME!!

Cameron seems to have flourished in Karate though. He practices at home all the time and gets better with each passing day. Boy do they do tons of exercises in the class.

Our Garden

2009-06-14T04:48:00.006+02:00

We decided to start a raised bed garden in April. Well actually I started it, but Randy got the "farmer" bug and took it over. We made a raised bed garden in our backyard with tomatoes, cilantro, green beans, cantelope and thyme. The tomatos did great. The thyme did good. Ciliantro, well only one plan sprouted so we decided to let it go to seed and try to replant from fresh seeds. Canalope and green beans both died, so I guess we will be buying those. We also planted in a couple other spots peppers (we believe are bell), rosemary, sage, basil and Cameron planted strawberries in a pot which are doing GREAT!!

Relaxation Day in Mineo

2009-06-13T16:55:00.005+02:00

Yesterday and today have been very warm, but not tooo hot lazy days. The pool is in the backyard and Randy decided to take a rest in the pool, until............

Espana - Day 2 Rota and Cadiz

2009-05-11T22:39:00.003+02:00

Cadiz

in city of Rota

Our trip is such a blast. Today we went into the town of Rota, directly outside the "main" gate of the base. An easy walk if you like. There was a castle in the town and a lighthouse. We went around the main square and, of course, looked at the Church. Then off to Cadiz. This is the city that Columbus was to have left to discover America. This town had many ancient ruins, beautiful sites, wonderful scenery of the sea, and many many wonderful squares to sit back relax drink a beer, eat tapas, and people watch. The sun doesn't set here until 10 pm which gave us a lot of time to explore.

Espana -Day 1

2009-05-11T08:49:00.006+02:00

We made the military MAC flight with only 10 people on the plane that seats over 100. We went with our Sigonella neighbors, Maggie and Dave Torres. She is our Puerto Ricican, Spanish interpeter. Got into Rota about noon, with a small snafu we checked into our rooms. Rental car companies are not open on Sunday. We had to use a taxi. Problem they only seat 4 and there were 5 of us with Cameron. After much discussion, we laid Cameron on our laps in the back seat of the Taxi, the festival wasn't too far off base. Just so happens they check IDs going OFF base here. OOPPSS. We rolled Cameron on the floor by our feet and leaned forward to give the MP our IDs and papers. We surely dodged a bullet on that one. There was a HUGE festival called a "ferrier". Wow it was great. Tents and tents of food. Tents and Tents of Manzanitas, alchohol drinks made with their apple liquour and sprite. Quite interesting. There were also tons of fun fair rides. Cameron had a blast. It was pretty hot, but nice. The ladies wore their Flamenco dresses and some men were dressed up, too. They would spontaneously break out in Flamenco dancing in the food booths. They had horses and horse carts walking around the fair grounds. We had a wonderful first day in Rota.

Day 2 will be renting a car and going local to Cadiz and Rota town.

UPDATING- Now to Easter

2009-05-08T18:34:00.000+02:00

I have been updating posts. Check back to February 2009 to see what you have missed. I am still not yet through with April, but check because I got a bug to catch up on the blog.

I hate to admit this, but I am not out of OMPH to update the blog. We shall see what I accomplish. I have really good pics of Easter time. We shall see.

Easter Sunday - Buena Pasqua

2009-04-12T13:41:00.003+02:00

What a contrast. Palm Sunday was a beautiful, sunny, warm spring day.......Easter Sunday on the other hand was a blustery, cold, plain old uncomfortable day. Again we spent Easter in Mineo with our friends. We first went to Mass, I brought my Father's missal so I could follow along. We had some bubbly in the cafe in town, not outside though. They even had to cancel their procession of the Risen Lord. Well, we will try next week. We had wonderful dinner at Emilio and Mariska's again, boy they feed us well. We had lamb, fresh lamb, like he was breathing Friday. Randy got to help prepare the dinner. I love meat, but not if I see it looking like an animal. The cannelloni was EXCELLENT. Pippa is such a good cook. Even with the poor weather it was a wonderful day.

As my Dad use to say, "The Lord has risen!" and the answer was "He has truly Risen!"

Easter Egg Coloring

2009-04-10T13:14:00.001+02:00

Yeah. I love coloring Easter Eggs. I have always tried to have it here at my house, because I have so much fun. This year my friend Tricia and her son Bobby came over. Cameron read him a book Sr. Marlene wrote about Easter Eggs, colored Easter Eggs, and watched Miracle Maker. This has become our Good Friday type tradition.

Palm Sunday in Mineo

2009-04-05T12:50:00.000+02:00

Finally a beautiful, warm, sunny day in Sicily. Perfect timing for the Palm Sunday procession up in the town of Mineo. We went with our friends and had a GREAT time. Walking through the streets from one church to the other on the cobble stone roads. Instead of waving palm branches they wave olive branches. After the procession, we stopped at an outdoor cafe and had some bubbly.

Clearing the land with Italian friends

2009-04-04T18:17:00.005+02:00

Fire starter

Randy has decided he is Farmer Joe. He and Cameron have been going up to a friends farm, just outside the town of Mineo to help him clear his land. It has been back breaking work, but boy has Randy love it. Get there 8:30 am, work a couple hours, sit and have a beer, work a couple more hours. lunch at noon and home for reposo (rest) by 1pm. Now that is the schedule everyone can do.

Cameron's Karate

2009-04-03T18:42:00.000+02:00

Cameron has been taking Karate for a couple months. He got a Self-Discipline strip for practicing so hard. On April 1st, he had a test for a yellow strip. After 2 yellow strips on his white belt, he will get a yellow belt. He has been working and training very hard for this. We are proud. He has put all his energy and focus into Karate.

Been Awhile!!

2009-03-29T15:44:00.004+02:00

Boy, I didn't realize how long it had been since the last post. Sorry. Not too much fun has happened. Randy had a good trip to Romania and I will update some picutures. I am selling Usborne books (www.ubah.com/z2846) and have put on a few shows. I have started volunteering at the Navy/Marine Corps Relief Society and put in a week of training. March has been a hard month for me. The Heritage house is going to be empty and needs repairs which frustrates me to no end this far away. I felt for a while if I put my head in the sand it would go away, but that didn't work and it has cost us a months mortgage payment.

Cameron has made an Italian friend here. He is also 10 years old named Salvatore. I am sure you will be seeing tons of blog posts with Cameron and Salvo. Even though Cameron's Italian/Spanish isn't too good, Salvo's speaks English is a bit, but it think "boy" is a universal language on its own. Cameron even spent the night at their house on their Agricola (farmhouse). I had no say, Randy had already approved it before I got a say so.

Randy has enjoyed hanging out with Salvo's Dad, Emilio. His farm is the pictures of Sun-dried tomatos and orange picking. Randy went yesterday to help clear around the olive trees. Boy he had fun working in the sun.

This is my post for now, just telling people we are alive and well. I will get on the ball and post more pictures and blogs some more, later.

Fat Tuesday - Carnivale

2009-02-23T17:54:00.000+01:00

We went to Carnivale in a city a bit north of the base, Archireale. Wow what a time. Not as nasty as Marti Gras gets, but fun and crowded. There were floats and people dancing in a parade. The biggest and best thing is they spray silly string and throw confetti. Cameron had a BLAST doing that. It took me weeks to stop finding confetti all around our house.

Woman's Retreat

2009-02-21T17:28:00.002+01:00

A friend of mine, Tricia, and I went to a Womens Retreat in Syracusa about 100 miles south east of here. It was a very refreshing retreat. We spent the night in a nice hotel and had some time to explore the rest of the day.

Motta cycling

2009-02-21T16:58:00.000+01:00

Randy's not too big for the bike?!
Cameron with Motta Castle.
Randy and Mitch enjoying a coffee at the bar.
Kids chilling after riding.
No we don't ride on the roads.

Cam and Randy
Up the hill
OOPPPSS Mud.
Randy and Cameron
I the city of Motta about 10 miles from base and about 30 miles from our house there is an off -road track. Randy, Cameron and some friends went Motto cycling.

Parade of Presidents

2009-02-20T16:37:00.001+01:00

As homeschoolers, we Cameron does not always have a chance to make presentations. So I organized a "Parade of Presidents" so the kids could make a presentation on their favorite US President and aligned it with Presidents Day. It was a great time, but I forgot how much work was involved in making the presentation boards. We had a great turn out and even our local TV station covered it interviewing Cameron and I.

Mt. Etna after a snow

2009-02-17T16:22:00.003+01:00

Boy we love our mountains. Here was a fun day at Mt. Etna. We took the cable way up and we all know Anne hates it. What a Mom will do for her kid!!! We have a favorite little restuarant we stop at up there, they make the BEST hot chocolate. It is almost like a melted chocolate bar. mmmmmmm

Randy in Romania and Transilvania

2009-02-16T16:10:00.000+01:00

Randy's trip to Romania and Transilvania to Dracula's castle. He said Dracula's castle wasn't much at all. He did have a good time, though. Here are some pictures.

Orange Picking and Lunch

2009-02-14T14:51:00.005+01:00

Since Randy is in Romania this weekend, I took my Valentine (Cameron) out for a day of picking oranges and then lunch at Emilio and Mariska's. What a wonderful day. We picked oranges for the first hour, then off to some ancient cave about a mile up the road, which had some beautiful views of Mineo, the Valley and Mt. Etna. After a couple hour out, we went back to Emilio and Mariska's Azienda Agricola Infantino (http://www.siculolio.ch/). They cooked a wonderful lunch for us with olives, artichokes, etc for the antipasta, then the lunch of pasta, beef, artichokes right off the grill, sausage, orange salad, and of course fresh squeezed orange juice. As usual they had fresh wine and olive oils. Cam and I had a wonderful time.

Cameron Motorcycling

2009-01-23T13:12:00.005+01:00

Cameron went out motorcycling a couple weeks ago. We FINALLY got the guts to go to a motorcycle shop here in town to buy a tube. Works GREAT. The weather was bad, but at least he got to ride. Vince Cam is still using your boots.

Naples Swim Meet

2009-01-19T08:45:00.007+01:00

Sigonella Swordfish Swim Team

6th place in the 100 freestyle

Racers take your marks.

The Champion.

The winners in the 100 IM

3rd place 100 IM (Butterfly, back, breast, free)

3rd place 100 IM, Cameron Brewer.

Backstroke.

My Swimmer!!

Breast stroke.

Waiting in the marshalling area for the next event.

Mt. Vesuvious sunrise the morning of the meet.

Cameron had his first away swim meet on Sunday, Janurary 18, 2009. He swam the 100 Individual Medely (Butterfly, back, breast and freestyle), 200 IM, 100 Freestyle and was the 2nd leg in the 200 freestyle relay. He did very wonderful getting 3rd place in the 100 IM and 6th place in the 100 feestyle. There was a problem with his googles in the 200 IM, but I was very proud that he finished the race knowing he was going to be disqualified. This was a great meet in a beautiful place. Mt. Vesuvios is beautiful. Next time we come Randy will be able to come and we can investigate more.

Weather

2009-01-11T08:13:00.003+01:00

Yesterday afternoon was very interesting. The sky was blue and sunny on one side, but terrible on the other. The hail was falling and the clouds looked ominous.

Football game

2009-01-11T07:44:00.003+01:00

The view is nice. It was a beautiful day for a win.

Look at the size difference. It looks like Cam even has more flags because his waist is so small.

Cameron played his 2nd to last football game and they won. This is the first win. Look at the size differences between these kids. They couldn't get enough kids to play so they combined ages. Cameron's age group is 10-14. Some kids are almost as tall as I am. Cameron is number 5 with the red socks.

La Befana (January 6th)

2009-01-08T11:13:00.003+01:00

La Befana is one of Italy's oldest and most celebrated legends. Each year on January 6 the children of Italy awaken in hopes that La Befana has made a visit to their house. The legend says: Three Wise Men were in search of the Christ child when they decided to stop at a small house to get information. Upon knocking, an old woman holding a broom opened the door slightly to see who was there. Three colorfully dressed men were at her doorstep, they wanted to get directions to find the Christ child. The old woman was unaware of who these three men were looking for and could not point them in the right direction. Prior to the three men leaving they kindly asked the old woman to join them on their journey. She declined because she had much housework to do. After they left she felt as though she had made a mistake and decided to go and catch up with the kind men. After many hours of searching she could not find them. Thinking of the opportunity she had missed the old woman stopped every child to give them a small treat in hopes that one was the Christ child. Each year on the eve of the Epiphany she sets out looking for the baby Jesus. She stops at each child's house to leave those who were good treats in their stockings and those who were bad a lump of coal.

No Cameron didn't get coal, someone was kind enough to put Nerf darts on the door. Thanks, La Befana Tricia. It also goes wonderful of my Father's tradition of "Little Christmas".

A dog and her man

2009-01-07T11:04:00.003+01:00

The title is all the explanation you need after these pictures.

Cleaning Cameron's room

2009-01-07T10:25:00.003+01:00

The finished product.

Look at the doorway.

Cameron putting up pictures.

All the junk removed from the room.

Help, I can't get out. I am stuck behind tons of JUNK!!!!!

You would think that with moving so often that we wouldn't have a lot of junk, well that is not always the truth. This year Cameron unpacked all his own boxes without my help and it seems it was the open and pour out method. So he decided to fit in his Christmas presents he would have to clean his room. He woke up at 8:30 am and started. We didn't finish until after 4pm with only a lunch break. We emptied EVERYTHING out of his room except furniture and started from scratch. Clothes, toys, everything. This produced over 6 grocery bags of trash and one large black trash bag full of give away. The result a clean, neat, uncluttered bedroom. Now if he never plays in it again, it will stay that way.

Exploring

2009-01-07T08:42:00.003+01:00

The Agroturismo on the hill.

The lake.

This looks cool!!?!

Ride in the car.

We had seen a lake outside the Ragusa area and we decided to hop in the truck and explore. It was finally a day that it wasn't raining, but boy the roads were bad. Nothing here is like in the states. We tried to drive up to the dam area, but no open roads lead there. We then took another route which was a half washed out dirt road. Found an interesting agroturismo, which wasn't nearly as good as the sign. You had to have reservations for lunch and not much else was available. We went as far as we could, to no avail. We saw a guy fishing in the weeds by the lake, but nothing nice looking. OH WELL. So much for a place to fish. It was nice to get out of the house and the truck enjoyed getting dirty and being put into 4 wheel drive.

Usborne Books at Home

2009-01-03T10:08:00.002+01:00

I have now set up my website to sell Usborne Books at Home. This is to supply my addiction of buy books for Cameron. These books are sooo cool and great for all ages, babies through teens, and I even like some of them. The books are pretty cheap too, I already had almost a dozen in my book shelf when I went looking. Anyway if you want to buy books you can do so online and if you live close ........... I can put on a party for you and you can get freebies. You know you can even put on an eShow, if you don't live close, and get a bunch of freebies. Who you buy for and also Cameron is the winner in this.
Now the sales pitch is over, really they are cool books. http://www.ubah.com/ecommerce/main.asp?sid=Z2846&gid=74337515

2009

2009-01-03T10:00:00.004+01:00

We rung in the New Year before just about anyone else we know. We had a great time here in Mineo housing. We had an impromptu block party with Randy BBQing, Dave across the street as the DJ dance floor and the best EOD (Explosive Ordnance Division) supplying fireworks. haha. Thank God, Dave is security or we would have had some trouble. Just kidding. The music though was a pumping. There were quite a few people and with the music many we didn't know came on down to check out the party.

Siracusa (Syracuse) Sicily

2008-12-27T17:06:00.004+01:00

We went on an adventure the day after Christmas and boy it was fun. We drove for hours, completely following the Garmin and looking for adventure and new places. New places is what we got. We went geocaching and all around exploring. We left late in the morning and took a long time getting there, we hit Siracusa late in the evening and didn't have batteries for the camera. We will surely go back, it was a beautiful city full of Greek ruins and it was clean and new looking which is very unusual for Sicilian cities.

Christmas Day

2008-12-25T08:52:00.006+01:00

Daddy having more fun with the present and not letting Cameron have it.

Cam's best present, automatic Nerf gun.

Pinky's present, which was promptly torn apart in 5 minutes flat.

Looking for the good stuff.

Coming down to check if Santa came.

Before the boy got to it, but after Santa. Don't you remember the version of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.."The stockings were hung by the World map with care....!!

Cameron loves living in this time zone, Santa comes earlier. We went to the children's Mass at the NASI base last night. Cameron had a hard time falling asleep. He even tried to trick Santa and the Tooth Fairy when he put his tooth that was pulled a couple weeks ago under his pillow. Man, sneeky little boy.!!

We surely miss having family close especially at this time of year.

Mt. Etna snow day

2008-12-20T21:35:00.006+01:00

Snowman in the front yard. The snow iced up a bit.

Pinky's first time in snow

Today we went to Mt. Etna to find the snow. Funny thing, there were hardly any people there. Was it because it was reposo or what? If we were in the San Bernadino mountain of home, you couldn't hardly find a spot to pull to the side of the road without finding your own spot to sled. Cameron went sledding and we even brought a truck bed full of snow home. Did I mention, Mt Etna is an active volcano with lava flowing from it?!

Cameron's First Football Game

2008-12-20T11:44:00.004+01:00

Cameron played his first flag football game today. He warmed the bench quite a bit, but he is the youngest and smallest on the team. He had fun though. He is getting better.

Pinky and her Beau

2008-12-20T06:57:00.004+01:00

Kisses

Ear nibbling

I'm too good for you, Nero!

BIG DOG!!

We are babysitting, the word baby isn't quite right, Pinky's boyfriend. They look so cute together. For those of you who are thinking we are letting Pinky's boyfriend stay over night, that is not true. He must spend his nights in his own home. We do not allow that kind of behavior in our house LOL.

Caltagirone Christmas

2008-12-18T08:58:00.002+01:00

See the steering wheel.

Last night we went to Caltagirone for their Nativity displays. We didn't quite get the "gist"of it. I guess there are grotto's where people/neighborhoods set up Nativity scenes. We walked around for a while, but didn't really find out much. It started hailing and we decided to leave, though as we were leaving we found grotto#5 which had a beautiful display of the Bethlehem Nativity. Also we found a bunch of small Fiats with Nativity scenes in them. It must have been a parade. The pictures are of the Fiats. Of course when you go to Caltagirone you have to go to the stairs, remember back in when they had the stair lighting festival, now they have the Nativity.

Gettin' ready for Christmas

2008-12-17T11:42:00.004+01:00

Here are pictures of Cameron decorating the Christmas tree, hanging stockings, and making Christmas cookies. John, Traci we sure miss you, we have had wonderful Christmas' together.

Mistletoe Mile

2008-12-17T08:22:00.003+01:00

Mt. Etna with the orange groves.

Puttin' on the speed at the end.

Getting ready to start.

Cameron did the Mistletoe Mile run on base on Saturday. He ran the complete mile and even though he started in the back of the pack he finished in the first group.

Braces off!!

2008-12-08T19:23:00.003+01:00

Yes the title is correct. Cameron now has his braces off. There was a little catch though, he was eating soft serve ice cream and a baby tooth broke in half. The dental office wasn't busy, so they took him immediately. They had to pull the tooth and since he was already there and quite sedated, they decided to take the braces off. Now that doesn't mean forever. When he gets a few more permanent teeth in, he will have to have full braces. This just moved a couple permanent teeth so tops and bottoms didn't hit. Thank God for nitrous oxide, it made everything, even digging looking for tooth pieces, much easier to handle, for both of us.

Germany Day 13 (The End)

2008-11-30T11:17:00.003+01:00

Hostel Room.

DONE!

Map of our travels.

Today was our last day in Germany, our flight left at 1:30pm. So sad. The hostel was surprisingly nice. I thought it would be noisy like a dorm, but no it was great and for such a small amount of money, compared to the Arthotel, it was totally worth it. I would spend our whole Munich time in the hostel next time and would recommend it to any body wanting to stay in Munich. We left the hostel and took the train to the airport which is about 40 minutes outside the city. The flight was OK just about 20 minutes late and packed with babies. It must have been the more babies you fly with the cheaper the ticket. We were in row 6 and there were 5 babies in front of us. The flight was less than 2 hours, so we handled it. It is nice to be home and Pinky was happy to see us. House was in good condition, Pinky hadn't tore anything apart. VACATION WAS GREAT, BUT IT IS NICE TO BE HOME!

Germany Day 12

2008-11-30T10:49:00.007+01:00

St. Augustiner Brewery. New friends

Munich Christmas Market, Marienplatz

Munich Christmas Market

Ice skating in Munich

Leaving Rothenberg was very hard and sad. We really liked the place, the city and the people, but it was getting too touristy with many (what we believed to be) American Military people coming in for the Christmas market. There is a base pretty close by, too bad it is Army and not Navy, we would love to get a duty station right in Germany. Off to Munich again. This time we made our reservation in a hostel, yes a hostel. It was nice, we looked at it when we were there and we reserved a private room with 2 beds. Every place rents the rooms by the number of people and you get twin beds, sometimes they are put together and sometimes they are apart. We found this hostel we we went to Augustiner Brewery restaurant, it is across the street. Munich's Christmas market was in beginning today and we were there for the lighting of the Christmas tree and listening to the politician speaking. He had to be a politician because even though we didn't understand it, he was very long winded. Anyway, the Christmas Market was packed and we were colder that night than ever before, the sky was clear that's why. It was about 29 degrees Fahrenheit maybe a bit less. Remember we are from Southern California and recently from Hawaii. We had a bunch of Gluhwein to keep warm, but it didn't work. We finally gave up and took the train back to the hostel, well maybe not the hostel more like the brewery across the street. We had met 3 young (20s) American girls waiting for the train and they were also heading to Augustiner. We got to the brewery before them because we knew a bit about the trains and how to get there. Anyway after waiting 5 minutes we found a table. Now it is hard to imagine this, but there are tables and on each side of the tables are long benches on 3 sides and a chair at the head of the table. In that then, sometimes people are sitting at the table already and you share the table, so you walk on the bench seats, even with people sitting on them, you walk behind the behinds and get to your seat. We just happened to get the back part of the table and had ordered our Dunkels beer (dark beer), when we saw the girls walk in. There was room at our table and so Randy invited them over. They had never been here, so they weren't sure how to get a seat. Anyway they ended up getting to our table and sitting down with us. It was fun, they were just in Munich staying for the weekend, they were students studying in Spain. We had people to talk to. The guys at the head of the table were egging on their young friend to flirt with the girls. It was so funny to watch, the more he drank, the more courage he got. Anyway it was a good time, Randy talked with the guys and they were aerospace mechanics they worked on "We". Huh? What is a "We" mechanic. After a bit of listening, talking and finally understanding accents, he found they were "Huey" helicopter mechanics. It was a very good night, but Anne didn't eat enough and she had a few too many Dunkels, by the time we left Augustiner and walked across the street, Anne was done and Cameron was very tired too. Randy tucked us in bed and went down to the bar in the hostel were he met a couple from Norway.

Germany Day 10 and 11 (Rothenberg)

2008-11-30T09:59:00.007+01:00

View of the City of Rothenburg from the wall.

On the wall, looking into the city.

Our Pension (Boarding house)

We woke up that morning, had breakfast, stopped at the Info Center and "got out of Dodge". I know Augsberg must have many many beautiful sites, but we were done with that city and decided to continue on the Romantic Road and forget our last evening. Traveling by car through Germany is wonderful. Randy was so surprised that snow sticks to places that are not mountain. He had only see snow in mountains and figured that was how it was. Our trip up the Romantic Road proved that one wrong, there was snow all over, but not on the Autobahn (freeway). Our traveling was nice today, at a very comfortable pace. We looked through towns and even walked up a church tower. I don't remember how high that was, but I will say it was REALLY high and very scary because beside walking up the old wooden stairs there was a walk way outside of the top where you could walk 365 degrees around the tower. I think we could even see the Munich Olympic monument, maybe not who knows. Munich was only 70 miles the way the crow flys. It was in the City of Nordlingen. We also found a quaint little Gasthof Zimmer Frei there, so if we didn't find anything we liked further on, we could always go back there. Gosh this trip was beautiful, we stopped in so many little towns, some of which were ones we stopped and really looked around, like Harburg with it's castle or some just were good with a drive thru view. This was a wonderful day and boy did we need it after last night. We ended up in the Medieval city of Rothenberg. This was the town to stay in and again we went to the Info center and they booked us a room, but we decided to walk the town to see if we could get better on our own. Anne likes to have a room half booked just in case it gives her peace of mind. Anyway while walking the town we found Zimmer Frei in the window of the local market. Quaint, cute and nice. The owners, father Eric and son Klause, were great, they showed us 2 rooms, one with a bathroom/shower and another with the bathroom down the hall. For almost 15 euro a night less, we chose the no bathroom. This was fine the first night because we were the only people. Next night we shared the bathroom and these people didn't know much about the sharing thing because they took the key to the bathroom and left their stuff in there. Again all our night stays included breakfast which included lunch meat, thin sliced salami, ham, boiled eggs, juice and coffee and of course kaiser rolls. These breakfasts were good, filling and full of protein. The next day we spent the whole day in Rothenberg, not leaving the Pension until after 11am and we walked the wall that enclosed the entire city. The town was so beautiful and had such a history. We took the walking tour with the NightWatchman and that was very informative and fun. The Christmas market didn't open until Friday night and we were leaving Friday morning, but it was still nice. There were many many stores especially Christmas stores. We loved this town and felt it was the best place we had stayed in and an all around great city. We want to come back in spring to bike the Romantic Road. We had dinner both nights at a small local place which served wonderful food, great beer and reasonable prices, what else could you want.

Germany Day 9 (Driving a lot!)

2008-11-30T09:31:00.004+01:00

One side Switzerland, the other Liechtenstein

Am I in Liechtenstein or Switzerland?

Bondensee

On the road.

What a day today was. We left Innsbruck and went driving to find our next destination and went driving and went driving and went driving. Anne really wanted to go through the country of Liechtenstein, just to say we had been there. It was only a 10 kilometer loop out of our way, so we did. Today we went through 4, yes count them 4, countries. We started out in Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and finally Germany. We intended to stay in Switzerland, but they didn't seem all that friendly. We stopped at the first Info Center we saw, which was in Arbon on lake Bondensee and the lady there said there wasn't much to do in the winter and if we wanted the mountains or fun things to do we should go to Zurich or Luzern. That was a bit more south and West of where we wanted to go, so we pushed on. We decided to catch up with the Romantic Road in Germany and when we finally caught up to that we just kept going and going. It was a very long day and I say the hardest we had for the whole trip. We ended up stopping because we were beat, not because we wanted to stop there. We stopped in Augsberg, Germany. It is a big city and well, we didn't like it. All the hotels were booked, it was too late and too big a city to look for Zimmer Frei's, so we finally stopped at the Info center and they found us a place. I will not use the word hotel, so I guess the word motel might fit. It was clean and OK, but I feel we weren't in the best part of town. We were hungry and so we checked into the place and the signs said Christmas Market open, so we went to find it. A couple turn arounds, a red light violation picture and we got there, but it was too late and everything was CLOSED!!!! We were starved because to keep the budget low we had been eating the breakfasts included in our rooms and then not eating until dinner. It was now 8pm and we were starved. We drove around a bit, nothing open we liked, went to the restaurant in our place, it was tacky. There was a McDonalds close, so we hit that and went to bed.

Germany Day 8 (Innsbruck, Austria)

2008-11-30T08:59:00.005+01:00

Driving from Garmisch, Germany to Innsbruck.

On the road.

Family Picture.

Innsbruck.

Innsbruck

The way to ice skate, Cameron outside skating, us inside drinking and keeping warm.

Christmas Market, Innsbruck

Today we left Garmisch and the military hotel. I was a little anxious about leaving because Cameron still wasn't totally feeling better, but we figured we would be driving and he could sleep in the car. A little Tylenol and away we went. We drove through the Alps and ended up in Innsbruck. This is a beautiful old city. The home of the 1964 Winter Olympics. We were just planning on stopping here then going on, but Anne loved the city so much we decided to stay. We talked to the people at the Info Center and they gave us some hints, the biggest was if they help book a room it will cost us more because of the fee paid to the Info center. So we decided to walk the city. Anne's friend (Thank you Edith) told us about "Zimmer Frei" which is room for rent. This could be a hotel, motel, Gasthof (motel with restaurant), pension (boarding house), or just a room in someone's house. We walked along the old part of town and inquired about rooms at many places and since Innsbruck's Christmas market was going on in the old part of downtown we decided to spend a couple euro extra and stay right there. Our room looked down right onto the Christmas market. Mozart stayed in our hotel with his father on a trip to Italy. Innsbruck is a fascinating city and I suggest every go there. I wish Cameron was feeling better because we were thinking about him trying to ski. We saw some of the places that were constructed for the Olympics and still in use for training and competition, but didn't go in. We had already been to the top of the the Zugspitz and well the Alps are the Alps haha especially when you are on a budget. We saw the ski jump ramp and that reminded us of going to the top of one when we were in Nagano, Japan. I could go on writing about the architecture of the city, which I loved, and everything else in Innsbruck, but I won't. Best to say it is a beautiful city in the snow, but I am sure it is GREAT in the spring/summer too. The Christmas market was great even though it was VERY cold. We drank "Gluhwein" which is hot, mulled wine and boy it was good especially when you are that cold. It was a wonderful experience.

Germany Day 7 (Zugspitze)

2008-11-24T11:44:00.003+01:00

Going up

Lower portion at only 2600 meters

View from Gondola

The Gondola going UUUPPPPPP!

The highest point in Germany.

Looking upon the Alps. FROM ABOVE THEM!

Geocaching in the cold

Wow what an experience today. We went to the top of the highest mountain in Germany. It was so fun, but BITTER cold. It was about -10 degrees Celsius. We had a beautifully sunny day and could see Switzerland, Germany, Austria and even the Italian Alps. Cameron did wake up with a fever, but he sucked it up and went with us. THANK GOD FOR TYLENOL. We tried to do some geocaching, but after a mile hike the snow was too deep to find anything. We came back to the hotel freezing and jumped into the outdoor jacuzzi with snow all around us. Tomorrow we leave for who knows were. Probably the Romantic Road.

This was the way DOWNNNN. Cameron was trying to scare Anne, which wasn't very hard.

Germany Day 6 (Disney Castle)

2008-11-23T06:48:00.005+01:00

Compare to yesterday's pictures. Hard to believe.

In front of Edelweiss resort.

Waking up on Day 6 was a wonderful surprise especially to Cameron. SNOW SNOW EVERYWHERE!!!! It must have snowed all night long because there was about a 3 inch coating of snow on the ground. What a beautiful sight. Our room looks onto a courtyard "grassy" area which was covered with a virgin blanket of snow when I got up. When the boys got up, kids had already been playing in it, but it was still beautiful. Our room looks onto the mountain with Auspitz looking down on us, but this morning we couldn't see anything due to the snow storm. As the snow let up, we decided to head off to Neuschwainstein Castle. That is the castle that Walt Disney copied for Disneyland's castles. It was interesting, but we thought that it would be a lot older than it actually was, it is less than 150 years old. I am really having a hard time grasping that Germany is actually a very young country though the areas are very old and rich with history.

Cameron's Snow Angel.

Germany Day 5 (Drive to Garmisch)

2008-11-23T06:37:00.006+01:00

View from our Hotel.

The Alps are hidden behind the clouds. (see day 6 pics)

It snowed while we were at dinner.

The City of Garmisch.

Day 5, has us leaving our hotel, ArtHotel, in Munich and renting a car. We decided to pick up a rental car in Munich so we could return there for one more night. We also decided to head on into Garmisch and stay at the military hotel there. It is a nice place and we were very surprised at how comfortable we felt here in the hotel. It is centered nicely for many things we want to do here and it is only a 2 hour drive from Munich. The roads are nice and the driving is very easy. It was starting to rain a bit as we got here. We spent most of the rest of the day in the pool and the outside jacuzzi. Our dinner was out in town at a small German restaurant in the middle of the historic section of Garmisch. Snow started to fall.

Germany Day 4 (Museum)

2008-11-23T06:29:00.003+01:00

Augustiner Brewery

River leaving Museum

Arriving to the Museum

Day 4 was the Duetsches Museum of Science. Someone said it would be an hour to go through it, well that wasn't us. It took us all day and we were tired. Cameron had a blast they had everything from beginning to end, things like water and water cycles, transportation from early times to space, flying and airplanes, textiles, paper and so on. It is hard to encompass everything we saw there, but the best part is Cameron REALLY enjoyed it. This was his day. That night we went to dinner again at the Augustiner Brewery Restaurant. It is so fun. We love drinking the dunkels (dark beer).

Germany Day 3 (Munich)

2008-11-23T05:48:00.005+01:00

Day 3, we went on a walking tour of Munich. It was very informative listening to the history of Munich, where the Third Reich first started and how Munich was re-build after WWII. We also got to see the Glochenspiel, the church the Pope Benedict XVI used and many other interesting things about Munich. This evening, I found a restaurant listed in the restaurant guide, that I wanted to try. It was only 2 subway stops and a bit of a walk. Well, that wasn't quite so short, after an hour of walking including a stop at Lowenbrau Brewery (which was closed), the place was very small and now quite what I had hoped for. So we hit the subway and went back to the old standby of the Haufbrau House. This time it was a bit more fun.

Germany Day 2 (Munich)

2008-11-19T16:18:00.003+01:00

The second day of our trip we went on an all day tour of Dachau Concentration Camp. It was the first and only continuous running concentration camp of WWII. It was a very informative and somber tour. Our guide was wonderful. After that we went to dinner at to a restaurant that our tour guide suggested. It was great just about a 15 minute walk from our hotel. The funny thing about eating here is they have huge tables that seat almost 20 people. You don't have to know the people at your table, you just stand up and they walk across your bench, even men in business suits. It was a great experience.

Germany Day 1 (Arrive Munich)

2008-11-19T08:39:00.005+01:00

We made it to Germany and are having a blast. It is nothing like Sicily, it is very clean and moderon and food choices GALORE!! I will update pictures later, but it is off to a walking tour of Munich right now. Here are pictures from our first night. We went to the Haufbrau house for dark beer and pretzels.

Mineo after the rains

2008-11-14T12:12:00.001+01:00

The town of Mineo looks so beautiful after the rain storm yesterday.

Veteran's Day

2008-11-14T10:20:00.007+01:00

We spent Veteran's Day at a National Cemetery in Catania. We couldn't find the Sicily-American War Museum here in Catania, so we decided to pay respect to all the Allied Forces who died for Freedom.

Today - One year

2008-11-13T07:46:00.004+01:00

Usually my blog is full of happy times of our happenings in Sicily. This entry will be different. This is the one year anniversary of my Mom, my Best Friend's, death. The pain is still so unbelievable. I have been trying to keep busy so it wouldn't over take me, but today it is overtaking me. Randy has to work the 24 hour shift today, meaning he left at 6 am and won't be home until 4pm tomorrow. I guess the military doesn't see my pain, EVER, as something that needs a spouse for. I was awoke this morning by thunder and lightening and now the rain is pouring down very hard. It is actually beautiful because I love rain, I can't stand cloudy days. I miss my Mom so darn much. I shared everything with her and though I may not have always followed her opinion, I did listen to it. She was my confidant, my confessor, my stabilizer. Anytime I wanted to get up on my soap box, I would call her and she would let me "let it all out", so I could be calmer, smarter and censored when I spoke to others. Now I speak with no senor, which is not good.

I feel if I replay the day she died in my head that it will cause me pain that I need to feel, but I can't take that pain. I have been so busy that I have not had time to fully feel the pain and I would hate to start that now. I know she is now with the Lord and with family that has passed and that she is with me for the rest of my days and that she is finally out of pain. Physical pain and whatever pains she lived through throughout her life. She is free, she can walk, run just be alive, stuff she couldn't do for years. And unlike with my Father's death, I do not want her back no matter what pain. I have no guilt or feel I needed to say anymore to her, I felt the release of her pain and sadly enough I felt the release of my overwhelming obligation. My Father died quickly and suddenly and that left many loose ends. My Mom died a slow agonizing death and with that we could tie off some loose ends, but it also is hard not to get angry and frustrated with the slow death. Maybe it would have been easier if I wasn't so close to my parents or didn't depend on them for so much, but I wouldn't trade this pain in for not being close. The pain and emptiness is a tribute to their love for us and I know everything they did was out of love for us.

Now I read I am babbling, so I will end this. I am hoping putting it down my ease me of some of the pain and loneliness. The terrible loneliness!!

Medieval Motorcycling

2008-11-10T16:06:00.004+01:00

Randy got away today with a couple of friends on base. They went motorcycling in the hills outside our base. Here are some pictures from the day, they went to a castle ruins, then to a broken down old house. We wonder how long those have been there.

Yard Sale

2008-11-09T07:19:00.004+01:00

Saturday, Cameron decided to have a yard sale. It was Cameron's yard sale not ours, I don't like to do yard sales. I would prefer to just donate or trash everything. Cameron did everything for it, he put up the signs, cleaned and put everything out, got the change, and got up at 6:30 am to be ready. I sit inside and listen to make sure everything is OK, but in general nothing else. Cameron did pretty good, he had about $50 and 5 Euro. Not too bad.