I love you...

A tribute to a beloved family member can take many forms. I have seen window decals on cars, buildings with names on them, a beautiful monument. This tribute made me cry because it was so very personal. We have been praying for Ann and her family ever since her diagnosis of pancreatic cancer in 2007. Life IS what YOU make it.
As Ann would say, "Much Agape."

Happy 4th of July!!!

...or Happy Celebration Day! That's what they used to say when my mom was young!


Fun pics of fireworks...Sparkler pics with a couple of boys, so don't be shocked :)




Ha! This last one is my sweet Sam! His older brother thought it was too funny...that sealed it.
Hope all is well with all with everyone :)

Pheweeeee!

I checked out when i last posted---APRIL! I should be ashamed. I should be, but I'm not. My good friend, Jen keeps reminding me that I haven't posted in FOREVER! She lives down the street and God love her, knows more about my life than she would like, I'm sure.
School is finally OUT! Will is gone to Student Life Mission Camp in Tennessee and will return Saturday. His little bubby has really been missing him--sleeping in his bed at night :) Isn't that sweet? Heck I think so, but I'm the mom. Will turned 16 in May... OK, the cake looked like cornbread. He doesn't care for icing. Note to all: CANDLES DON'T STAND UPRIGHT IN PLAIN CAKE VERY WELL. However, kids stand up great in the sand...

...and jump well too!
Sam turned 12 this week...
Ms. Cindy made slew of cupcakes for his birthday and he shared them with the kids at The Master's Workshop. We had a great time! We went to Friendly's for dinner and ice cream...
What a crazy time of year to have babies. They both were 5 weeks early. If they had come on their due dates, their birthday parties would have been easier to plan for crying out loud!

So I took my first online photography class with Sheye Rosemyer. I LOVE her photos and now have a great respect for the amount of work involved in taking beautiful photos. Even more, the talent for post processing those photos is something I hope to achieve.
This is Curt and I with the Eye Candy Action "Circa 1963" from Sheye Rosemyer...
I just plain LOVE this guy. I feel sorry for the rest of you ladies, but he's mine :) !!
Happiness to you all :)

"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...

NBC Today show featuring Sam!

100th Post : Pizza, The Big Apple & the Today Show

Sam I have been in New York City February 27-March 3 at the New York Food Restaurant Lodging and Pizza Showcase! We came in 2 days early and hit the ground running! The first night we ate in Times Square. At least technically it was night, but not in Times Square!
A little wave from Times Square...Saturday we jumped into our clothes, had a hot breakfast and caught the subway to the Museum of Natural History. Sam has always wanted to go there and after seeing Night at the Museum where it was filmed, we HAD to make it there this year! That angel of mine dragged me over every inch of the museum! LOL!! I was saturated after the first 2 1/2 hours, but nooooo...he was determined to see every inch. Disclaimer: we didn't see Amazon and Caribbean Cultures exhibits. We had already walked waaaaaaaay past them and I just couldn't double back again. I knew I would regret it. Now we can't say we saw the entire museum. **large sigh** I know what we will be doing the next time we are in NYC...taking a trip to the Amazon and Caribbean, that's what. I digress...
A Trip to the Museum of Natural History---Largest meteorite--34 tons

HMMM...Cousins?
Big and dusty!!
Giant clam!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A little TOO Natural...
Macy's wooden escalator'sOn to 3 days of pizza spinning
....and pizza eatingAND it snowed!!!!!Sam was interviewed briefly by Al Roker and spun Throw Dough proudly representing the U. S. Pizza Team (see the video on my Facebook page!).. and met and spoke with Giada DeLorenzo!! When she complimented Sam on his beautiful eyes, he gave her his trading/business card! She loved it! She is as beautiful in person as she is on TV. Al Roker is very gracious and was glad to have his photo made with Sam. Thanks to Dave, my long time college friend and husband of my best college girlfriend (I introduced them :) ) Here they are in the Limo after the culinary competition at Cha Cha's Backyard Garden Cafe' & Bar 113 Mulberry St. in Little Italy in NYC
What a great time we had!! Thank you so much to the Green's of PMQ Pizza Magazine for bringing us along to NYC again this year! We always have such an exciting trip and it is so good to see everyone. We all are looking forward to the trip to Italy in a few weeks!!