Our backyard

I wanted to show you all the little bit of grounds that we get to call our backyard. I just recorded what it looks like on the way to "the grass" as Emma calls it.

First the vine-covered wall just outside our apartment

The way Stella gets around.
hmmmm yummy lens cap

Ta Da! The grass!
Ok, most of that is a road.

Emma's favorite personal fountain

A nice courtyard outside of the fancy faculty lounge... I think.
I don't think we'll be sitting there.

 If ever there was a place for some girls to run, this would be it!

"Um, since I'm the only one running, does that mean I win?"

 I think I'd like to get the girls trained early in soccer. Especially for Stella. She doesn't even walk straight yet, which means she'll be great at zig-zagging through other players.

"I've got a perfect shot! ...But where's the ball again"

 Then I was very, very thrilled to discover that the rock path kept their attention for a very long time. At the end, I just put them all back in their section. I guess worst that will happen is that one of them may get a rock to the head. We're working on the 'no throwing' part.

No sampling please!

And then run!

 Stella did this every time she picked up a rock. Then she usually brought it to me.

The champion!

 These girls don't have to try too hard to be cute.

"Can I have your money... pleeeease?"

What a team

 A little Stella charm

 A little conducting to the rocks....they just wouldn't stop shouting!

 Amazing!

"Can you believe it?! I found another one!"

Like I said....we had a lot of rock time

Say cheese! Stella, cheese!

 Then on the way back we spotting a very life-like Roman statue.

A rare Roman statue

Those are some of the grounds that we can call home!

Peace!

St. Peter's

I know I'm a little behind on posting, but here's a few shots from my first trip into St. Peter's on the 30th.

The every familiar view

Now with movie stars!

 The pictures I took were fairly random. They're just what I thought was awesome, and only some of those at that.

The awesome holy water font at the entrance

Saint.....read for yourself

 This is what Stella looked like, checking out the ceiling of the church. It's pretty amazing to me that even a baby can at least notice the awesomeness of the church everywhere.

"Whoa. Big Church"

The Baldechino

The kids aren't very sure about the guy taking the picture. We're only sort of hiding that ourselves. 

More tolerable family pictures

Emma swiping at the worn St. Peter's foot

My saint, Helena of the True Cross

The chair.
How does the Pope get up there?

St. Veronica and her veil

 I really enjoyed the details on the ceiling... to be a reference for future decorating.

My future bedroom ceiling

More ceilings...

Flowers and stars

Some fish on a holy water font

Amazing paintings

Pope Pio VII... I think

With surrounding statues

Another cool painting

This is how I look reading the Bible

Such a well behaved little group....we could stay here all day!

One of the four Gospel writers

A very moving statue

And then we high tailed it out of there into the hot sun. It was very cool, and I like that we can go there pretty much whenever we want.

Our Apartment

So, I think that delicious pizza I had a few nights ago finally caught up with me...or Stella rather. Leon didn't go to bed again last night because he took too long of a nap (I was out shopping and was supposed to wake him up when I got back...which was supposed to be a lot earlier) and he said that Stella was crying about every 10-15 minutes. I just remember waking up at 2:30 feeling like instead of sleeping, I had be letting multiple buses hit me.

So I'm exhausted this morning and don't know if I have any energy to leave the apartment. Which makes this a good day to let you in to our lovely little abode.

 The front entry

The front door...Amazing! I actually really like the entrance way. It has a perfect spot for what we've already started to pile there...The backpack, grocery roller cart, a few bags and shoes. And note the bag of trash. Very important.

If you walk straight in from the front door, the bathroom is on your right. Complete with a bidet. For you non-Europeans, here's the definition of a bidet: A bidet is a low-mounted plumbing fixture or type of sink intended for washing the genitalia, inner buttocks, and anus. Lovely, isn't it! My definition is a sink that is impossible to keep children out of  and a great place to lose your keys.

The big buttons on the wall about the toilet are for flushing. I actually find the flushing fascinating. It kind of reminds me of a bubbling hot tub. With some obvious differences. You can sort of see that our over-sized (awesome!) bath towels have the Vatican emblem on it. In the top left corner, you can see the smallest white corner. That's a strategically placed cabinet for smacking your head into when standing up from the toilet. And in the right corner is a small enclosed shower.

Across from the shower is the sink. Low enough for Emma to have a good time in it. I also really like that she can see herself in the mirror, so that every time I've sent her in to wash the peanut butter off of her face, she actually comes back perfectly clean. 

Walking straight from the toilet is a hallway. On the left is the kitchen. Complete with an ity-bity washer, dryer (left of fridge), stove, and fridge. Seriously, I've never seen appliances so small. These people are clearly not living the American dream. The cabinets look plain white, but if you look at the slightly reflected part above the sink, you'll see they're shiny with matte stripes. Pretty cute.

Speaking of pretty cute...

Stella always wins that one. Especially when eating.

Oh yeah! I really cool element in the kitchen is the dish rack directly above the sink. You've seen the kind where the plates and bowls are stacked vertically like a bookshelf. Well this one has a metal grate beneath that so you can put the plates and bowls in dripping wet. You can place cups and silverware on the tray and they all just drip into the sink to dry! That's the only reason why there are no dishes on the counters in these pictures. :)

Moving on. Then there's the cute team, in the living room

Here's Stella drawing on the living room floor. Totally at home.

 and another, looking out on the small enclosed patio. Through it you can see the washer in the kitchen, so you can walk completely around.

Then the floor of the girls' room...already broken in...

Another shot of a messy girls' room...

We stole the twin bed mattress to be the baby bed next to our bed.

Here's Emma in day 2 or 3 of jet lag in her room.

And one of the coolest features is the larger patio...

A little bare, but will be awesome with a bunch of plants

Looking up from there...

See! A tree!

Then the other corner...

Ooooo...chairs!

And up from that view...

Very Roman arches I'm sure.

Now you know the worst its going to look like when you visit. Hopefully we'll be more settled in soon. And by that, I mean we'll be surrounded by more of our familiar crap. :) I mean personal belongings.


Peace!