I started writing this pre-Rome, but I obviously didn't finish. I'll try again.
The kids and I ran a 5K the Saturday before Thanksgiving. The base has a series of races, one a month. The shortest are 5Ks and I think they go up to 10 miles. They are all free, which is nice. The best part was running on real paths around the orange grove just off NAS 1. (Sigonella is divided into 3 parts. NAS 2 is only a mile away from Marinai where the housing is and NAS 1 is about 5 miles away.) Isaac took my GPS watch and went out for speed. He hasn't run in ages, but still rocked a less than 25 minute time. I stuck with the girls. It was Jessica's first 5K and she ran most of the way. She didn't take her first walking break for over a mile. Isaac finished and walked back to meet us. Makenna ran ahead with him and they were waiting at the finish for Jess and I. Jess was so worn out that she insisted she was "not proud". But later, she couldn't talk about it without smiling. The most awesome thing was how many comments about sore legs and pain going up and down stairs I heard the next day. "Oh! My legs! Oh, you have no idea!" Actually, I think I do. But it's adorable!
We had car adventures. After our first month was up, Matt had to go in to Hertz to switch cars because they apparently sold the one we were driving at first. Matt picked me up to drive him back to work so I could have the car to take the girls to dance. There was definitely something wrong with the new car. It smelled horrible--like the clutch was burning. We made it through work drop off, driving to dance, commissary run, picking up Matt and 1/2 way home before the frightening CLUNK! and no more gears. We coasted to a median and started calling co-workers for help. Long story shortened, Kind L3 Troy took our GPS coordinates and looked up our address on google maps and translated it into what the Italian tow driver needed to find us. (He couldn't come cause he currently had a SmartCar) Kind L3 Cecil came to pick up me, the kids and groceries and took us home while Matt waited for the tow truck. The driver then dropped Matt off at the airport to get a new rental. It smells fine and still works. It made me realize how MANY cars we have had since January. Matt had three different rentals driving to and from CA, all of which I drove also. He had two cars in Dubai, one of which I drove. We had three in Germany, I tried them all. We are now on our 3rd in Sigonella. Plus we had some minivan time this summer, thanks mom and dad for sharing! Almost all of them were sticks. Interesting.
Just a couple days after our car trouble, the SmartCar that L3 Troy is borrowing because he is waiting for a part from the states to fix his jeep, got a flat tire. Matt spent 2 chunks of 2 days helping sort that out. Getting a new tire is just not a simple thing. It takes a community, helping each other to do some basic things here.
On a related note. When Matt picked us up from the airport and asked if Rome was different than Catania, the kids said, "YES! There are actual drains in the roads and by sidewalks for water, and there are street names!" The lack street names and being able to communicate where you are when broken down made an impression. Not to mention the dozens of small ponds we drive through when it rains.
We have gone out to eat a few times now, but we still stick mostly to home. L3 Troy took us to a pizza place that was a bit of a drive (we would never find it again if we hadn't marked it on the GPS) but very good. We have plans to go back at least once. We also have joined Matt twice for lunch at a little place on the main road between NAS 1 and 2. They will take Euros or dollars on a 1 to 1 exchange rate, so make sure you bring dollars! You can do pasta or a panini or a hamburger, Italian style. The buns are huge bakery rolls that they smush warm like a panini. I tried a pistachio burger and added mushrooms, zucchini and sun dried tomatoes. It was very good. They start you out with a tomato bruschetta. Then you have your burger which comes with your choices of drink and fries. It's the $5.00 lunch.
Matt and I also went out with a big work group. There was a visiting boss who took everyone out. Wives were invited, but I was the only one who got a babysitter. (It's awesome having a 12 year old!) So it was me and 9 men, but the food was amazing. There is no menu. You have to make reservations so they know how many they are cooking for. It was traditional Italian dining. We started with antipasta which included more than a dozen different dishes. There was bruschetta, many different vegetables prepared different ways, an omelet, slices of some sort of cheese pie, cheese with jam, olives, and I'm sure I am forgetting some. You sample off the plate. The others warned about pacing. Next the Primi piatti, the pasta. There were two different pastas brought out, both entirely homemade. Secondi piatti is the main course, the meat. There was chicken and there was a take on cordon bleu. Dolce was luckily only one choice, as no one had much if any room left. The site was beautiful, completely off the beaten path on a large, well maintained orchard/farm. Family run for decades, of course. Mom cooks the food and the son is the server.
I started this originally by saying "tomorrow is Thanksgiving." That has come and gone. We had and still have much to be thankful for. Number one is that we are all here together as a family. There are two guys we know here without their families one is an L3 guy from Salt Lake. The other is Air Force and happens to be our old neighbor whose backyard met ours at the corner. We have adjustments and inconveniences and cramped living quarters, but we are together, not chatting on google voice. I'm grateful we started homeschooling when we did and that it has been so successful for us. School is the biggest thing allowing us to tag along with Matt on these short assignments. We are grateful for our families and their correspondence. We are grateful for the Savior in our lives. We are grateful to be American even though we aren't currently there. The kids are gaining more of an appreciation for some of the freedoms that have been taken for granted. Homeschooling is illegal in Germany. Dubai is tolerant of other religions but it is illegal to discuss it. This has been and will continue to be enriching in more ways than one.
Thanksgiving was very nice. We went to the McEwens' in our branch and were joined by the Shefchiks and L3 Brian from SLC. We were in charge of mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, and two pies. There was LOTS of good food, kind company and playmates for the kids. They all had at least one person their age. It was a little odd not spending hours in the kitchen or making rolls, but that would be a disaster with this pathetic excuse for an oven. It doesn't have a temp control. It is OFF or ON. The only way I have figured out not to burn things is to put them in cold and cook for about 1/2 the time, watching like a hawk. There is still a tendency to have an overdone top and mushy bottom for all that.
I'm done for now.
ciao.
The kids and I ran a 5K the Saturday before Thanksgiving. The base has a series of races, one a month. The shortest are 5Ks and I think they go up to 10 miles. They are all free, which is nice. The best part was running on real paths around the orange grove just off NAS 1. (Sigonella is divided into 3 parts. NAS 2 is only a mile away from Marinai where the housing is and NAS 1 is about 5 miles away.) Isaac took my GPS watch and went out for speed. He hasn't run in ages, but still rocked a less than 25 minute time. I stuck with the girls. It was Jessica's first 5K and she ran most of the way. She didn't take her first walking break for over a mile. Isaac finished and walked back to meet us. Makenna ran ahead with him and they were waiting at the finish for Jess and I. Jess was so worn out that she insisted she was "not proud". But later, she couldn't talk about it without smiling. The most awesome thing was how many comments about sore legs and pain going up and down stairs I heard the next day. "Oh! My legs! Oh, you have no idea!" Actually, I think I do. But it's adorable!
We had car adventures. After our first month was up, Matt had to go in to Hertz to switch cars because they apparently sold the one we were driving at first. Matt picked me up to drive him back to work so I could have the car to take the girls to dance. There was definitely something wrong with the new car. It smelled horrible--like the clutch was burning. We made it through work drop off, driving to dance, commissary run, picking up Matt and 1/2 way home before the frightening CLUNK! and no more gears. We coasted to a median and started calling co-workers for help. Long story shortened, Kind L3 Troy took our GPS coordinates and looked up our address on google maps and translated it into what the Italian tow driver needed to find us. (He couldn't come cause he currently had a SmartCar) Kind L3 Cecil came to pick up me, the kids and groceries and took us home while Matt waited for the tow truck. The driver then dropped Matt off at the airport to get a new rental. It smells fine and still works. It made me realize how MANY cars we have had since January. Matt had three different rentals driving to and from CA, all of which I drove also. He had two cars in Dubai, one of which I drove. We had three in Germany, I tried them all. We are now on our 3rd in Sigonella. Plus we had some minivan time this summer, thanks mom and dad for sharing! Almost all of them were sticks. Interesting.
Just a couple days after our car trouble, the SmartCar that L3 Troy is borrowing because he is waiting for a part from the states to fix his jeep, got a flat tire. Matt spent 2 chunks of 2 days helping sort that out. Getting a new tire is just not a simple thing. It takes a community, helping each other to do some basic things here.
On a related note. When Matt picked us up from the airport and asked if Rome was different than Catania, the kids said, "YES! There are actual drains in the roads and by sidewalks for water, and there are street names!" The lack street names and being able to communicate where you are when broken down made an impression. Not to mention the dozens of small ponds we drive through when it rains.
We have gone out to eat a few times now, but we still stick mostly to home. L3 Troy took us to a pizza place that was a bit of a drive (we would never find it again if we hadn't marked it on the GPS) but very good. We have plans to go back at least once. We also have joined Matt twice for lunch at a little place on the main road between NAS 1 and 2. They will take Euros or dollars on a 1 to 1 exchange rate, so make sure you bring dollars! You can do pasta or a panini or a hamburger, Italian style. The buns are huge bakery rolls that they smush warm like a panini. I tried a pistachio burger and added mushrooms, zucchini and sun dried tomatoes. It was very good. They start you out with a tomato bruschetta. Then you have your burger which comes with your choices of drink and fries. It's the $5.00 lunch.
Matt and I also went out with a big work group. There was a visiting boss who took everyone out. Wives were invited, but I was the only one who got a babysitter. (It's awesome having a 12 year old!) So it was me and 9 men, but the food was amazing. There is no menu. You have to make reservations so they know how many they are cooking for. It was traditional Italian dining. We started with antipasta which included more than a dozen different dishes. There was bruschetta, many different vegetables prepared different ways, an omelet, slices of some sort of cheese pie, cheese with jam, olives, and I'm sure I am forgetting some. You sample off the plate. The others warned about pacing. Next the Primi piatti, the pasta. There were two different pastas brought out, both entirely homemade. Secondi piatti is the main course, the meat. There was chicken and there was a take on cordon bleu. Dolce was luckily only one choice, as no one had much if any room left. The site was beautiful, completely off the beaten path on a large, well maintained orchard/farm. Family run for decades, of course. Mom cooks the food and the son is the server.
I started this originally by saying "tomorrow is Thanksgiving." That has come and gone. We had and still have much to be thankful for. Number one is that we are all here together as a family. There are two guys we know here without their families one is an L3 guy from Salt Lake. The other is Air Force and happens to be our old neighbor whose backyard met ours at the corner. We have adjustments and inconveniences and cramped living quarters, but we are together, not chatting on google voice. I'm grateful we started homeschooling when we did and that it has been so successful for us. School is the biggest thing allowing us to tag along with Matt on these short assignments. We are grateful for our families and their correspondence. We are grateful for the Savior in our lives. We are grateful to be American even though we aren't currently there. The kids are gaining more of an appreciation for some of the freedoms that have been taken for granted. Homeschooling is illegal in Germany. Dubai is tolerant of other religions but it is illegal to discuss it. This has been and will continue to be enriching in more ways than one.
Thanksgiving was very nice. We went to the McEwens' in our branch and were joined by the Shefchiks and L3 Brian from SLC. We were in charge of mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, and two pies. There was LOTS of good food, kind company and playmates for the kids. They all had at least one person their age. It was a little odd not spending hours in the kitchen or making rolls, but that would be a disaster with this pathetic excuse for an oven. It doesn't have a temp control. It is OFF or ON. The only way I have figured out not to burn things is to put them in cold and cook for about 1/2 the time, watching like a hawk. There is still a tendency to have an overdone top and mushy bottom for all that.
I'm done for now.
ciao.
It's great the homeschooling has allowed you to do all that you are. What interesting adventures. Your family is learning so much about the world and how to adapt. Happy Holidays!
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