What we've been up to...

Here are some pictures from our last few weeks:

This is my Strong Beginnings class at our graduation.  This picture cracks me up.  The kids were so over it at this point, and they just wanted to get those silly hats off and go back to the room for cupcakes.  We kept telling them "Smile!  Just a few more pictures"...you can see what that got us. 

The guys grilling on our tiny balcony.  Sean and Mike wanted to take a serious picture and just ended up looking really aggressive.  John Ralph didn't get the memo and ended up looking like a goober.   

My tomato plants are growing, growing, growing!  I can't wait until they are ripe.  Last time I counted, I had 16 little 'maters hanging on the vines. 

When we first got married and started entertaining and cooking for groups of friends I thought I had to make everything really nice and use nice plates and dishes.  That has now turned into me throwing them out on the balcony to grill, and us using paper plates.  Also, I cover everything in tin foil.  Easy cleanup is the key to success. 

I was super sad to say "goodbye" to Jennifer, the girl I co-taught with.  She and her family are moving back to Florida, so we had a going away dinner at a really delicious restaurant a few towns away. 

The building is really old and has a lot of history.  Apparently Palladio and Galileo used to hang out there together.  They have this really beautiful wine cellar underneath the building and a bunch of caves that run through the mountain lead into the cellar.  It was pretty neat. 

I'm pretty sure I'm going to convince John Ralph to build a cool wine cellar underneath our future house. 

This was the view down one of the caves.  I love all the old bottles. 

And this was the ceiling in the banquet hall where we ate.  Just beautiful.  Italy has really made me rethink my definition of "old". 

So, that's just a little glimpse of what we've been up to.  We got professional pictures taken of us around our town yesterday and I can't wait to see them.  Also, I'm going to start planning our Croatia trip today, so I should have a lot to update about in the next week or so.  Enjoy the rest of the weekend!  Ciao for now!