A poem for the weekend

Ethan's second grade class has been studying a unit on poetry.  He came home this weekend with this poem:

Cute!

Sports Weekend

Well, We have been very busy this weekend with Ethan's sporting activities!  For some reason this year, winter sports have overlapped with spring sports.
And so, Ethan has had a very busy day.

It started with soccer in the morning.  Next up was the championship basketball game.  Ethan's team was in the finals.  He played really well, scoring 2 baskets award the end of the game--they only won by 1, so his were pretty crucial!  I was pretty proud.

Next to little league opening day.  Due to soccer, he missed the parade, but he did have team photos and his first game.  And the weather cooperated beautifully--high of 71 today!

He will sleep well tonight!

Rome and Southern Italy

We have just returned from an exiting vacation--Southern Italy!  Ethan has a mid-winter break, aka "ski week" in February.    As it turns out, I had been researching Italy, since Jason and I are planning  a trip there in September for our 10 year (!) anniversary.  I was feeling overwhelmed by all the places to see there in 2 weeks.  Then, we stumbled across some cheap tickets to Rome over Ethan's school break.  We thought: "Can the kids do Italy?  Will it be a trip full of meltdowns or a cool cultural experience??".   Not knowing what to expect, but very tempted by the price we booked the tickets.

Fast forward to today.  We have just returned, and the trip was fantastic!  Yes, we did have a few tough moments, like the time we had to leave the line at St. Peter's because of a complete and total Alaina temper tantrum.  But on the whole we had a really nice time.  Actually, I think the roughest part has been the return--jetlag going west is tough to overcome.

We spent five nights in Rome at an air bnb apartment, and three nights on the coast in Sorrento.  The fact that we could rent an apartment was really great--extra space for the kids, laundry, and a kitchen.

One thing that made the trip extra kid-friendly was the food.  first of all, it was excellent.  And what kid doesn't love pizza, pasta and/or gelato?

Rome had many cool historical sites.  We loved the colosseum, and the pantheon.  The Vatican was really amazing,  and we all made it 550 steps to the top of St. Peter's Basilica (on the next day).  We waled a ton--at least 6 miles a day, and I have to say, Alaina did a great job of keeping up.  She certainly could not have done the trip a year ago.

After Rome, we too a high speed train to Naples, and then a local train to Sorrento.  On the way we stopped at Pompeii, and learned more about ancient Roman civilization.  It was really quite an impressive place.  Roads, drainage, sidewalks, thermoses to keep food hot, a sophisticated rainwater collection system etc.

Sorrento is the gateway to the Amalfi Coast.  Being low season, there were less tourists, and of course the weather was not warm enough to enjoy the beach, but the sites were still beautiful.  We took a day trip along the coast.

The following day we took a boat to Capri.  Capri was an incredible island--huge cliffs that drop into the brilliant blue sea.  We took a chair lift to the top--wow!

So overall, a great trip.  I was sad to hear that Ethan ranked it only a "7/10" (last years trip to Mountain meadow was a 10/10).  But, I am proud of how the kids did.  I hope to inflict them with the "travel bug"!  And maybe someday Ethan will rank the trip a 10/10!