MOOOOOOOOO

We are serious milk drinkers in our house so imagine our pure joy when we found the local dairy farm that has a fresh milk dispenser!! FRESH MILK!!! Our kids drink this stuff like it's going out of business. Cade and Lily love in insert the money and push the start/stop button and watch the milk fill up the bottles. Cade is always eager to help, which makes it a little tricky for me. Lily loves to go so she can see all the animals. The farm has cows, sheep, miniature ponies, chickens and rabbits. Lily's favorite are the baby cows. There is a special place they keep the baby cows until they are about a week old. Lily and Cade love to let them lick their arms. I am proud to say we haven't bought milk at the Aviano Commissary since March!

Lily inserting the money

Fresh Milk filling up one of our bottles

Cade helping to screw the lids back on the bottles. This makes me very nervous. Safe to say, milk has been spilled!

Baby Cows (notice Cade's boots)

NO Sammy NO

I was in the kitchen when all of a sudden I hear "No Sammy No!!!" coming from the living room. I go to see what exactly Sammy is up to now and this is what I find:

I had just given Cade a string cheese and apparently Sammy wanted it. Cade is hiding behind the banana chair to keep Sammy away from his cheese. Cade is very protective of his food, especially when Sammy is around.

YUMMY!!

I love me some Reese Cup Cookies!!!

Mind Gone!!

We looooove our Grammy for many reasons:

She is a good reader

She is a good cook

She likes to go for walks

She has a cat

She lets you play with her hair

She likes to laugh

She comes to visit us

She has friends that are kids

She sends packages (probably one of the favorite things)

She has a horrible memory

Grammy went shopping for the kids at the local consignment shop and sent some cute clothes. When we called to say thank you, she had already forgotten what she had sent. It had only been 1 week. So, here are some pictures of the kids modeling for Grammy she can remember what she sent.

We love you Grammy....even if you have lost your mind!

Southern Asian

Is it possible for an Asian to be a cowboy? It is in our house!!

FINALLY!!

Lily was finally able to fulfill her life long (all 7 yrs) dream of taking horseback riding lessons. Oh man!! She has been asking for over a year to take lessons and she was able to earn them this summer. She had to do some summer reading and writing in order to take lessons in the fall. She got everything done, rather quickly, and can now start lessons. Her teacher does not speak English, but I believe Lily will quickly learn the Italian words and phrases in order to communicate with her teacher.

We met the teacher on Saturday and scheduled her first lesson for the following Wednesday. On our way home from meeting the teacher, Lily said she wanted to get her outfit ready for her first lesson. We had to remind her it wasn't for another 4 days! Everyday she told us that she was going to go to bed early Tuesday night so she was well rested for her lessons. As it turns out, I was the one who had dreams the night before. I dreamt we forgot her helmet and she wasn't wearing the right pants. Oh boy, what has this girl done to me?

She had a blast riding the pony and loved it when she was able to go a little bit faster. She was pretty serious the whole time and the teacher had to keep asking her if she was ok. Lily forgets how to relax and enjoy things sometimes.

We knew it was a good day when she asked if she could take lessons everyday instead of once a week. When I told her no, she asked if she could sleep in the barn with the horses. Will the obsession ever go away???

Cade got a little bored

Venice Adventure

To say thank you to all those that labor (Labor Day), we went on an adventure in Venice. I'm sad to say that we have been here for 7 months and this was our first trip. Every time we planned to go, it was either super cold or it rained. Not good days to be outside. We had a great day and the kids were super. Lily did wonderful walking around so much. I think the gelato gave her that extra boost of energy. Venice is awesome and I can't wait to go back.

Cade was sooo happy to ride on the train

St. Mark's Square

Where's Waldo? I mean, where's Tyler?