Last Friday we took a trip to the zoo/safari near Verona. The safari was amazing! The kids loved every minute- except for Christian when he was afraid of being ate by the lions. Look for his picture- tightly buckled in, and intently looking for the lion to possibly jump, at any minute at his window. I couldn't help but laugh when we were stuck for 10 minutes, because a llama decided to take a little rest right in the middle of the road, a few cars ahead of us. Kirra's primary goal was to see some monkeys. We offered several times to let her stay with them, she declined, but begged us to bring home the cute monkey with the long white beard. :) Chad got a kick out of the crazy haired birds. I think if the Army didn't have such strict regulations he may have started growing his hair to match by now! Enjoy our pictures!!!
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Camping @ Darby
On the 8th we settled in at Sea Pines
for a little vacation!
We know how to camp in style!
The kids played hard...
and slept even harder!
With all the sightseeing we did... the sleep was well deserved
Pisa Italia
This tower is famous simply because it leans. It stands 187 feet high and until 1990 was leaning over at about a 10-degree angle, the top being 17 feet further over than was originally intended. It was estimated that the lean was increasing by one inch every 20 years. It is a bell tower to accompany the cathedral that it stands next to. It isn't quite clear who the actual designer was, but construction was begun on August 9, 1173. Due to the fact that the people of Pisa were involved in a lot of wars, with several stops to fight, it took until 1350 to complete the building.
Our first veiw of La Torre Pendente (The Leaning Tower in Italian)
Evidence we were all there
The tower is built on unsuitable ground for such a heavy and tall building. It is only about 6 feet above sea level and built on a riverbed. The underlying ground is made up of layers of sand and clay. The layers are not even and the weight of the building has compressed them. Because the layers are not even, as the ground has compressed, it has sunk more in some places than others.
But no need to fear...Chad went to hold it up!
Several plans have been tried over the years to stop the tower from falling. Some of them have been almost disastrous. In 1934 an Italian engineer drilled 361 holes into the base and filled them with mortar. The tower promptly leaned over some more. In 1993 650 tons of lead were hung from the North side of the building to try and stop the lean increasing. For a while it worked. In 1995, they decided to try and increase the foundations under the South side of the building. They froze the ground using liquid nitrogen, to stop it moving, and then started to remove stones, so they could insert metal rods. What they didn't know was that the stones they were removing were part of the original foundation of the building. That is the nearest the tower has come to disaster. In one night the lean increased as much as it normally increases in two years. They quickly added another 250 tons of lead and decided to rethink their idea.
Wow...Good thing strong people stop by to hold it up!
At this point everyone was just about ready to give up. Then a British engineering professor came up with yet another idea. His plan was to remove ground from under the high side, instead of trying to add ground under the low side. In 1999 work began, and was done very slowly, so that the building wouldn't get a sudden shock. At the beginning of June 2001, the work was complete, and the tower had been straightened up by about 16 inches, which returns it to the position it held in 1838. The engineers believe that it is safe for at least another 300 years.
With everything safe...we relaxed and had a gelato...
But the question lingers....if they know how, why didn't they just straighten it up all the way?
I guess it is the Leaning Tower of Pisa and just wouldn't be the same if it didn't lean!
A late night stroll on the Arno...
This beautiful 150 mile long river starts in the Northern Apennines flowing it's way south to Arezzo where it turns northwest; it proceeds generally west, through Florence and Pisa, to empty into the Ligurian Sea.
The Arno valley is famous for its scenery. In 1966 a great flood on the Arno heavily damaged the art treasures of Florence.
After visiting the leaning tower we decided to take a little stroll down the river.
and make a few memories of our own.
The MANY sights of Florence
Firenze~ one of the most beautiful places on earth.
Our tour bus for the day
We're happy to be on vacation
My sweet Kirra
He acts like he's too cool to have his picture taken
The Duomo, Battistero, and Campanile
The frescoes on the inside of the dome.
"Gates of Paradise" at the Duomo
Church of Santa Maria Novella
Jessie and Christian watchting fish
Kirra and Charlie
Michelangelo's statue of David
All my Children ;)
We bought one of these beautiful paintings on glass.
Beach Bums
On our last day we hung out at the beach... 
When it was all said and done, we had to pack up and go home :*( But we had an AWESOME time!!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
A night out...
For those of you in the Vicenza area, you should check out the Brazilian restaurant. (if you haven't been there yet) We had a fun evening there with the Petersons and the Polenskis earlier this month.
odd photos found on my camera
Kirra and Christian are always asking me if they can take pictures. Most of the time I tell them no...but recently I guess I've let my guard down. Here's some photography from my sweet children.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Body Combat...
For our Young Women's activity,
Lexi taught Body Combat. 
Taylor, Julie, Antonella, Reagan and Diana
We worked up a good ol sweat,
but had a lot of fun doing it!
And with this...I've finally posted everything from JULY! WHOOOHOOO!!!! LOL
Yummy Kabobs!
Chad Supervising
It doesnt get any better than this! GOOD FRIENDS, GOOD FOOD, GOOD FUN!!!