Roma

We arrived in Rome yesterday, mid-afternoon, to a light drizzle. The rain was our perfect excuse to spend the rest of the day relaxing and attempting to fight jetlag. This morning the sun greeted us bright and early, but we still made a lazy morning of it. The city is a bustling hectic place with it's tiny alleys and wicked fast scooters that WILL run you down. The combiniation of consistantly tall buildings and narrow, meandering cobblestone streets make navigation quite tricky. I was surprised to see so many seagulls, but with the Tiber river just a few blocks down I suppose they've migrated from the Sea. And, with a Catholic church on nearly every block, I'm loving the crisp sound of old bells clanging every hour. 

The apartment in Rome - Via Della Barchetta, No. 12

My amazing loft with private bath and a rooftop balcony view of St. Peters.

An early afternoon photo shoot with Miss Cheyenne!

 Post lunch gelato, Nutella flavor - delish!

The Treve Fountain

Tossing my coin...

Stef modeling the latest in apron fashion.

Campo di Fiori - very close to where we are staying.

Avery's Antics 2.1

Sitting in her highchair eating a snack. I leave the room for a couple minutes and come back to all the pretzels broken up on the floor. "Avery, why are your pretzels on the floor?" "I's just feeding the hippos." 

"Mommy, I fix your hey-ache with my magic wand..."

After doing business in the big potty, "The toilet paper says, hi pee pee, nice to meet you!"

We often talk to Avery about things she can't eat because she's allergic to dairy. Right before naptime she says, "I can't nap. I'm allergic."

These family silhouettes are hanging in the stairwell and Daddy's face came unglued. Avery's response? "Maybe he's tying his shoe"

Make new friends, but keep the old...

Last weekend, Avery and I visited Arizona for a few days; partially to see old friends and also to secure new renters for our home. Hard to believe we hadn't seen our AZ friends in two years, but just like all good friends, it was as if no time had passed at all...

Mr. Tim was an immediate hit with Avery with his Mr. Potato Head collection! (Can you guess which one she made?!)

I learned that Avery is NOT a fan of drive-thru carwashes.

Mr. Tim also had a huge selection of storybooks and Avery loved reading with him (and Abbey) each night.

Catching up with some Hart gals over breakfast!

We even got to see Aspen!!! She looks so good and is clearly happy with her new family.

Brandee, Bella, Lindsay, Kenny, Easton, Joan and Tim all joined us for a great Sunday picnic!

 I consider myself incredibly blessed to have friends that, despite distance and time, are still as awesome as the day we left!

Easter

Easter this year was low key, but lovely. To avoid the crowds, we went to the Saturday night service at church. Sunday morning Matt had to leave early to drive to Nevada for a month of training, but was home long enough to see Avery score some sweet new sand toys from the bunny.

Avery and I then joined our San Diego fam, the Pettits and Baranowski's, for brunch. These two did a great job with the backyard egg hunt!

Check out this decadent dessert "tasting tower" the bunny hostess whipped up!

Unfortunately, the weather was overcast and chilly. But no Pettit holiday would be complete without some serious rocket launching at the park. Avery's new buddy, Jack got to join in the fun too... (No, we did not get a dog! Jack is a Pettit.)

All the flowers around the Pettit's place were so gorgeous! Love this shot of the lilies, minus my big ole feet at the bottom!

Business Blog

Hi friends and fam,

Just wanted you to know that I've created a new blog just for Custom Climbers! If you wish, you can now keep up with my little business adventures here...

www.customclimbers.blogspot.com

Or you can find a blogger button directly on the Custom Climbers website that will take you there!

H.

Lately...

'Cakepops' at the farmer's market...

Hello Kitty bandaids and kisses for headaches...

An update on Aspen! Healthy and enjoying her new shitzu friendship...

A 2 year old who's learning to use the trackpad, yikes!

Popsicle stick families ...  (eating all those ice cream bars a real sacrifice on my part)

Daddy home from 3 weeks of traveling (and Avery insisting he cut short his much needed nap to play popsicles!)

Avery's Antics

Our budding conversationalist has had Matt and I in stitches lately. Just for posterity, I think I'll occasionally record her random funny comments here...

Cuddling up next to me on the couch she exclaims "Mommy's got a big booty!" Much to the delight and encouraged repetition of my husband. 


After looking all through the house for her daddy - "Daddy's not takin' a deuce... he's in the shower."

Standing in line at the zoo, the teenager behind us has a gnarly black lip ring. (Very loud) "Mommy, what's on her face? Look Mommy, what IS it?!"

Apparently every illustrated man with a beard is Jesus, including the captain depicted on her box of fishsticks. "That's Jesus!"

Cancer.

Cancer has in some way affected most people. My mom has now been cancer-free for 10 years - Praise God! But others are not as fortunate as her.

Custom Climbers is honored to be contributing to an auction to benefit Valerie Koop. She's a mother of two young kids who very recently lost her husband to cancer. I don't know her personally, but her blog entries touched my heart. I don't often dwell on what life would be like without Matt, but Valerie's words gave insight into that anguish and a renewed gratitude for this charmed life I lead.

You can read Valerie's blog here and view the auction here. 

Auction ends at 4pm PST tomorrow (March 2) so go bid, donate, or at least allow her words to freshen your perspective too.

Monet in the Making

Mommy showers for 10 minutes + curious kid + red nail polish = 1 ruined shirt, 1 stained carpet, & 1 proud artist.

New Creativeness

Most of my creative efforts lately have been directed into my Custom Climber business. I even put together a dedicated website for them: www.customclimbers.com. Feel free to share it with friends. :)

It surprises me just how much fun I have putting those silly little steps together. A lot of it probably has to do with the process combining both computer graphic work with hands on artsy-feeling stuff. Plus, I like that the end result doesn't take forever like a painting can sometimes.

Speaking of painting... I had to keep this work a secret for awhile, because it was a surprise birthday gift, but here's a little pup-art project I had the pleasure of creating for one of my fabulous cousins!