W36 of Y2

Laser Tag

We got together with some of the kids friends to play laser tag this week

Reading the results to us

Also in the same building is a Chuck E Cheese type of arcade

The biggest fuse ball table ever!!

Such a fun night!

Camp

Whitney got to do a camp for the first 2 weeks of summer break.  They really do a great job here!

Summer!!

It's finally here.  Flashbacks from last summer are returning!!  We are prepared this summer though.  We already got our pool up and made sure all the air conditioning units in our house were working before the heat became unbearable. 

W35 of Y2

8th Grade Promotion Ceremony

It's official... Connor is no longer a middle schooler!! :(

Black teeth from the frosting! lol!!

We couldn't be more proud of you Connor!
Your sweet, mild temperament is a rare Christ-like attribute that I admire about you.  Your ability to make good choices will benefit you your entire life if you always trust your instincts.  I've learn to trust your decisions because you have proven that you have a unique ability to discern right from wrong and always MAKE GOOD CHOICES!  You surround yourself with good friends and good people and are a wonderful example to your younger brother and sister and also to me.  

Last Day of School!!!

We wanted to do something fun on the last day of school since the kids got out at 11:00am!!  However, we had a tornado warning in effect so we stayed in to play a massive amount of board games.  (to the kids disappointment there was no tornado)

Finding Dory

It's always fun watching movies on post because you're sure to see lots of friends there!  

Pool Time!

We learned our lesson from last year's HOOOOOOOOOT summer and are setting up the pool now before the heat becomes unbearable!!

Late Bday Party

Whitney celebrated her birthday last month on our cruise.  Her friends were not having any of that though - they kept asking when she would have a party with them!  So... we pulled together another outdoor movie night.  We were TOTALLY lucky to not be rained on either!!! :)

opening presents while we waited for it to get dark enough to show the movie

Whitney's sweet Italian friends (neighbors) came to celebrate with us

Jeremy's MacGyver skills were in full force!!

We totally lucked out with perfect weather for an outdoor movie!  RARE!!

Great picture!!

Whitney is so blessed to have such loving, sweet friends!

Father's Day

Jeremy is an amazing Father!  He puts us before everything and everyone else. He is not happy if anyone of us is unhappy and will do whatever it takes to fix any problem in our lives.  He always has the answers to any question and always knows the right thing to do or say.  The kids look up to him so much and live for his love and affection - which he's never ashamed to show.  I'm so grateful that our children are blessed with a wonderful example for their Father.  

When I asked the kids what they love most about their Daddy, this is what they said:

Connor:  "He's really funny and he always knows how to make me feel better."

Aiden:  "He's a really good role-model.  I like to hear stories about when he was a kid and I always try to aspire to be like he was."

Whitney:  "He makes me feel important."

He really is Whitney's first love and the boys first hero!
Thank you Daddy!!

And Happy Father's Day to my Dad who is recovering from shoulder surgery.  We love and miss you!!!!

W34 of Y2

Murder Mystery

This was so fun to watch!  One of Aiden's classes did a murder mystery activity Friday night.  

I've heard of these before but couldn't really imagine what it was like.  

The kids were all really into it!   I want to do one for adults now!!

Aiden is a gun-slinger disguised as a preacher

Baseball Tournament

Aiden's team has missed the last few practices and games due to rain!  They finally got a dry Saturday to do the tournament.  But.... as usual, I'm terrible at taking pics during the games.  I'm too into them!!

Team pic with the great coaches!

Aiden's team won the trophy!!

Aiden played 1st base all season and did a great job!  He loves the game!!
Good job Aiden!!

SAGRA!!

We went to our local Sagra in Lerino for dinner Sunday night. Unfortunately we missed out on the rides, shows, booths etc... because we had to run home to miss a huge storm coming through!  

Not even sure what everything was that we ate... but it was delicious!!

After the storm!  Italy is beautiful!

W33 of Y2

Memorial Day

We had a fun day planned for Memorial Day to include Lake Garda and Verona

We were packed in like Sardines!!

The sky wasn't looking too promising and you could barely see the other side of the lake

Got lunch out of the way

After lunch it was pouring!!!

The kids were so cute with their ponchos!

Scaliger Castle
Had to keep going even in the rain!

The girls were having a good time in the water until this swan came and kicked them out!

Walking through the town of Sirmione

The sun started to come out and... gelato!

These guys were tough!  That water was cooooold!

Trying to muster up the courage to jump in!

Trying to push Daddy in!

Verona 

The girls wanted to "hold" the colosseum up

We found Juliet's balcony but it was closed off because a couple were having a private dinner in the courtyard!
How romantic!

The girls writing a note on Juliet's wall

Trattoria all'Angela

Jeremy and the Deshlers spent the day in Venice.  As soon as they got back we left Connor in charge of all the kids and the adults went to Piovene Rocchette for a cooking class by Mauro and Bari at Trattoria all'Angela

Bari showing Chad how to cut the shallots

Zucchini scales

Appetizer - a tower of grilled vegetables with balsamic vinegar and oil

Quail eggs

Mauro doing "the wave"

First course - Asparagus and Truffle Risotto topped with a Quail Egg

Main Course - Sea Bream Fish Fillet on top of oven-roasted tomatoes and potatoes with a layer of zucchini and capers on top

Orange-Vanilla Panna Cotta with a Cherry Compote for dessert

We had a wonderful evening and want to do a lot more of these cooking classes now!  

The Deshlers left in the morning for the week traveling through Austria, Slovenia, and Croatia.

8th Grade Formal

I can't believe Connor is just about done with Middle School!  He had his 8th Grade Formal dance this weekend.  He is such a great kid!  We are extremely proud and in total shock that we could raise such a responsible, smart, sweet, honest, kind human being! He has such a good heart and I learn from him every day!

Looking good Connor!!

Kayla

We spent our entire Friday night looking for Kayla - from about 4:30 pm until we finally found her at 1:30 am!!!

We are thinking that she snuck out of the gate when I left around 3:15 pm.  About 5-10 minutes after I left there was a big thunder/lightening storm.  Kayla is extremely scared of thunder and lightening.  

For some reason she ran out of the gate when I left and we are guessing she was so scared of the storm that she just ran and ran!  Jeremy posted this picture on facebook to see if any other Americans in the area may have seen her.  We were completely surprised at the response.  Several people had seen her in different locations.  As soon as they posted seeing her we would go out to that area but could never find her.  Kayla would run away from anyone who tried to catch her.  

Finally she got trapped in a yard that was just a few houses down from ours.  We could hear her barking and crying around 1:30 am when we finally found her!

This old lady had quite an adventure!

Bowling

Saturday was another cold, rainy day!  

We spent the day bowling with Connor's friend, Tristan and his family.

Reunited!!

The Deshlers returned for one more night before flying back to the States.  

These girls are hilarious!

So sweet!

By the end of their week in Europe these girls were ordering gelato by themselves like pros!!