Week 51

Sicily

Connor and Whitney got to compete in a 2-day swim meet in Sicily so we made a trip of it!

Whitney always knows how to travel in style!

We got in late and had to eat first thing!  We were thrilled to find this beautiful restaurant and had the whole place to ourselves!  After we were done eating, the owner took us on a guided tour of his property. lol!

Sicilian Pizza!!

Our beach house.  We got in so late we didn't even realize we were right on the beach!  Whitney and I went exploring and one by one the boys woke up and came to join us.  It was so fun to see their surprised faces when they saw the ocean!

Whitney went right in - with her PJs and everything!

Then came Aiden!  We had the entire beach to ourselves.

And then Connor!  You can see Mount Etna in the background - the tallest active volcano in Europe!!

I wish you could see this smile!!!  It's beautiful!!!

Taormina

We spent the first day exploring Taormina

It's hard to tell from this picture but this was the craziest intersection we've ever seen!

Remains of a Roman Amphitheater

The view as we climbed to the Teatro Greco - a Greek Amphitheater

We were kind of bummed that they were setting up for concert that night.... but, what a great place to watch a concert!!

Seriously!?!  We are in one of the most famous tourist sites in the world and he's looking at his phone!?!

This ancient theater dates back to the 3rd Century BC!

After exploring we had worked up an appetite!!  Believe it or not, the boys shared this!

So many cannolis.... so little time!!

Sicily was so beautiful and so dirty at the same time.  Piles of trash/garbage along the road was no uncommon. 

Swim Meet - Day 1

Whitney's events

Connor's events

Morning huddle with coach

So cute!!

killing time while we waited for the rain to stop

Warming up. Go Whitney!!!

Lunch break

I was a timer the first half of the day and Jeremy was a time the second half of the day

Look at that concentration!!

Go Connor!!!

Connor and Whitney both did great for the first day!!

The kids couldn't wait to get back home to play at the beach again for the rest of the night!

Jeremy even built us a bonfire right on the beach!

We had the entire beach to ourselves all weekend, however, a sweet German family came out for a little bit when they saw the fire to see what in the world we were doing.  We introduced roasted marshmallows to their cute little boys!  

Swim Meet - Day 2

Showing off their cute meet shirts.  The back says 'Eat. Sleep. Swim' in Italian and the front is the shape of Sicily.

Cold water!

Relaxing, and warming up, after her last event for the day!

Connor and Whitney did so good for their first meet! I was just hoping they didn't get disqualified for anything and they didn't!!!  So proud!!

Once again, as soon as the meet was over the kids couldn't wait to get back to the beach!  Our house had a canoe on the side of the house that the owners said we could use - so, of course, we had to!!

Sticking her finger in the volcano

The boys had whitney lay down to block the water from getting into their hole

Then they put Aiden in the hole

After cleaning all the sand off Aiden actually lost his suit in the water!!  Good thing no one else was on the beach - he had to run to shore totally naked!!

That night we had a large group dinner at one of the local restaurants.  They separated the kids from adults.  I thought it was a genius idea until the kids were completely done eating when we just started getting our appetizers!!

Connors ribbons from the meet

Whitney's ribbons

I am really proud of these two for sticking it out.  Being on the swim team is a HUGE commitment and all very new to all of us!  They have done a great job learning the strokes and doing their best!