"Remember when..."

"Mom should I pack my tap shoes?" Will asked this the night before we traveled to Italy. "Sure!" I said, "When are you going to get the chance to tap in San Marcos Square?" So he packed them and he got the chance....If that's the memory Will has every time he sees tap dancing, then that makes me happy. If he sees a photo of San Marcos piazza in Venice, Italy and is able to say, "Hey! I tap danced there when I was 15 years old! Here is the picture to prove it!" That makes my heart smile too. It really doesn't take much to make me happy. My boys being happy and healthy is quite enough. It's quite enough for all of us, isn't it?

Will also got the chance to play a lead role in "Anything Goes" on his return to the States. (This is why he had the tap shoes). It was a last minute surprise. His little brother read lines with him every chance they had...
Sam refused to read the last scene though. He didn't want to know how it ended until he saw the production on Opening Night. He's a great little brother.
He had a "Chance" as well...
Spinning pizza in San Marcos Square for a huge crowd was fun! Who can say, "When I was 11 years old, I spun pizza in San Marcos Square in Venice Italy!" Sam can say it now. It will make a good story when he is 40 years old. Good stories are what make getting together a fun and bonding experience for families. I love it when someone says, "Remember when..."

Ciao! Italia...Kitty, Kitty, Kitty???? Part I

Ciao! as they say across the way in "The Boot"! We just returned from 8 days in Northern Italy traveling with the U.S. Pizza Team as they competed in the World Pizza Championships! It is the first time we have traveled in Europe and it was GREAT!
Our group had a translator-Paola Laghetti--who was so wonderful. God love her...we were not the most "together" group and very prone to wondering in all directions like a bunch of cats. She worried that we would get lost and not be able to find our way back to the group! This went on every day we were there! She just started looking around calling, "Kitty, Kitty Kitty???" in hopes the litter would reconvene. I will say I NEVER strayed too far from her side. My Italian was very limited, and I was constantly asking her questions about the surroundings--buildings, people, plants, clothes, customs. She was probably very glad for the questions to stop :) However, we did bond quite well, especially when one night after dinner, the restaurant owner (former DJ) put on the music and we started singing Gloria Gainer's "I Will Survive". (By the way, what happened to Gloria Gainer?). THAT was fun! It was followed by YMCA and Italian love songs. We also shopped by ourselves on the last day in Italy when the other litter mates decided to stay in the hotel and pile up and nap. I came home from Italy with 5 handbags:)
I did not come home from Italy with 6 bottles of Bolla wine...that was left in Security in Milano. Apparently, that much liquid cannot be carried onto a plane--Duh. We were so tired from the night before, we were not thinking clearly. Bar fights will do that to you. Yea, I did say bar fight. Strangely, Paola and I were singing "I Will Survive" again, when a bar fight erupted between one of our team mates and the other American pizza team. Nice. I have a feeling it was the highlight of Will's trip. His eyes were as big as moonpies. Big misunderstanding, but the police came to cap off our trip. Amazing our fast one can walk on cobble stones in high heels...everything worked out.
So that is a quicky of our trip...I was the photographer for the Team, so there are hundreds of photos. I have many posted on my Facebook page. I think I will post individual stories over the next week...