Kalleen!

Come back Kalleen!  We were so very, very lucky to have Kalleen, Renee (her mom), and Melissa (her sister in law) come for a week long visit.  It was so fabulous and sooo very needed and timely.  I could feel myself slipping into the post-partum blues and a visit from one of my favorite people was exactly what me and the family needed.  We tried our best to show them some of the sites here in Sicily while they were here.  

One day was spent in Siracusa and Ortigia.  Siracusa has an amazing historical site with ruins from as early as 450 B.C.  This Greek theater is the most breathtaking part.  I've been a few times now, and I'm always blown away at how much is still intact.  

That same day we made our way over to Ortigia.  It's a small little island right next to Siracusa.  Every town in Sicily or probably Italy, for that matter, has a city center.  This one was beautiful!  The church and surrounding buildings are gorgeous.  

Jason took the week off to either join us on our day trips or stay home and watch Benny and baby.  

Kalleen got some great pictures of Benny while she was here.  

More of the Greek Theater

I hadn't met Melissa before she came, but we fell in love with her!  So sweet and so fun!  Not to mention beautiful!  She was missing her baby that she left at home with Dad, so she became Benny's buddy.  They played and played and napped together on the car rides.

This is one of the streets we walked down in Ortygia.  This is a typical street in many of the little towns.  Tiny, right?  Lots of italians will drive their little cars down a road like this.  Minivan?  Not so much.  

Love this shot of Benny boy.  

We made our way to Caltigirone on another morning.  Still one of my favorite places.  I loved sharing it with friends!

We introduced them to Arancinis (pronounced AR-AN-CHEE-NEE).  It's a fried rice ball with meat and sauce in the middle.  We found our new favorite arancini spot in Taormina later in the week, though.  

My birthday was the week before they came, so sweet Kalleen made me an amazing cake.  I hadn't been sung to yet, so it was fun.....and delicious! 

Later in the week Jason stayed home while the girls went to Catania to visit the shops and see Piazzo Duomo (city center).  

This is what the produce part of the market looks like.  The Catania market opens every day and closes around 12 or 1:00 pm.  It has produce, meat, fish, purses, shoes, clothes.....and much more.  This is making me want to go again....I've only been a couple of times.  

One of the churches at Piazza Duomo.  The red banners were in preparation for the festival starting in a few days.  Each town has a patron saint and they are celebrated each year through a town festival that lasts about a week.  Catania's saint is Saint Agatha.  

More shopping

We, of course, had to take them to Taormina.  It was gorgeous.  The weather was fabulous and I loved seeing it again through them.  It'll never get old.  

I remember thinking around this time how grateful I am that Kalleen and crew made the trip.  What a blessing.  

Kalleen also got a great shot of Mount Etna erupting.  This was a pretty clear day, but you can see the little bit of smoke coming out.  She'll (people call it a "she") erupt for a few days at a time like that.  Kinda cool.  Kinda scary, too.  

I was so sad to see them go!  We were planning their next trip during the last few days of their visit.

We are anxious for more visitors!  Especially now that we know we aren't coming home this summer.  It's been heartbreaking for all of us, but it's just too darn expensive.  Many tears have been shed at the Ray home.  Hopefully we can fill the summer break up with fun trips and sights.

Lucy's Happs

Our Lucy has been a very busy girl this year.  Fifth grade school work has proven to be a bit more intense than previous years.  But, along with homework and studying, she has been quite the extra-curricular phenom.  

She was on the front page of the weekly Naval Air Station Sigonella newspaper!  She's been running in the monthly base races.  Her latest was a 5K.  She's running with her friend, Camilla.  

Swim, swim, and more swim!  That's what Lucy's been doing since we first got here.  She tried out for the Sigonella Swordfish swim team just a week after we got here.  The rest of the swimmers had been in the water all summer, so she had some catching up to do, but she made us proud.  She practiced after school three times a week. Unfortunately, we weren't able to make it to very many meets because of the new baby, but hopefully next year we'll see more.  The team travels to Belgium, Germany, Lisbon, and Northern Italy.  She competed in two here at Sigonella, one at Aviano, and one in Naples.  

Many of the meets are held on Sunday, so that was a bit of a struggle for a little bit.  Lucy handled that very well.  Of course, she was disappointed, but I was so proud of her and the way she explained her beliefs to some of her friends.  

Lucy also ran for Student Body Vice President and won!  Here's one of her Instagrams from when she was campaigning.  Silly girl.  

She had to make signs and give a speech at an assembly.  It was so fun listening to her plan and practice what she would say.  She also made pins to pass out.  

I was less than five minutes late for the assembly and missed it!  I was sooo sad.  The advisor had her give it again so I could see her at the podium.  

She has had a lot of fun being involved with everything and helping with the planning of different events.  She has always been an organizer and natural leader.  So proud of her.  

Side note:  She babysat Benny and Graham for a couple hours last night for the first time.  She did great!  It was a success!