Here are the men choosing teams for bocce. It gets quite spirited!

We went to my nonna's house everyday for lunch and dinner. At 82, she can still make a mean plate of pasta. On Easter, the whole family converged on her house to celebrate. In the morning, we ate eggs and homemade cheese bread. Then we went to church. After church, we went back to nonna's for an amazing feast. The women roasted a whole lamb in the outside oven and grilled pork and sausage. We had homemade linguine, salads and more. I ate and ate and ate. This is a funny picture of a bunch of the men resting after their big meal. Soon they would play bocce.

After our walk through town, it was time for my favorite part of Italy-the gelato! This stuff is amazing, and italians take their gelato very seriously. I love Cold Stones, etc., but this stuff puts it to shame. Seriously, I think if angels entered the food business, this would be their fare. I could eat it everyday for the rest of my life. The best is nocciola (nutty), but really, there is no bad flavor. Have I said enough about gelato because I feel like I could burst out in song right now. Gelato rocks!!!

Now it was Creed's turn. He took his job very seriously, and really tried to compliment the other musician. Citta di Castello is a small, medieval town with a lot of personality. We really enjoyed visiting. It was funny how this old town had some very modern, upscale stores along its streets.

Along our walk, we met some street performers who were excited to try out their English. They insisted that the boys try their hand at playing the guitar. Here is Cole jamming along with the gentleman in the background. He was singing in english, but I can't remember now what the song was.

After we went to the park, we went to downtown Citta di Castelo. The entire center of town has a huge walled fortification that was built around it for protection. Parts of it were destroyed during the war, but much of it is still standing. Many towns, including Gubbio, have walls like this. Anya loved Betta's husband Luigi, and often held his hand or caught a ride on his back. Anytime we would go somewhere, she would ask if Betta and Luigi would be there.

I love this picture for a dozen reasons. My baby girl and my favorite cousin, Betta, swinging together. Betta was fantastic with my children and they loved her. It was hilarious to watch Anya talk and talk to Betta without her being able to understand much of what she was saying. Regardless, they had long, indepth conversations.

The boys practiced their best Mission: Impossible wall scaling on this thing over and over. The italian bambini stared in wonderment.

Italy Trip

After lunch at Betta's, we took the children to a nice little park that had a pond and geese. My kids were so much wilder on the equipment than the italian children. I assured my family that at home that's how all the kids play, but we raised a few eyebrows. My cousin said that in Italy there's a huge problem with childhood obesity because the parents work, the kids don't play that much, and they eat too much. As I looked around, I could see the proof.

We spent a great day at my cousin Betta's house. She and her husband cooked an amazing italian meal for us. After lunch, we went to a park and to the town of Citta di Castelo to have some gelato. Yum! Here the children posed as statues.

We arrived in Rome on a Friday morning, and then had a 2 1/2 hour drive to our hometown of Gubbio. That evening we went to an Easter procession in the piazza. The kids fell asleep on my sister and cousins, but woke up for the procession.

Italy Trip

The kids were perfect on the plane. I can't believe how well they travel. Anya slept quite a bit, and the boys got some napping in, too. When they weren't sleeping, they watched movies and played with their toys in their carry-ons. Creed said his favorite part of flying is making friends with the flight attendants. I think the flights were much harder on me than on them. I didn't sleep, and by the time I landed, my feet and legs were swollen to twice their normal size. P.S.-I don't know why Cole is under his tray table in this picture. I think he dropped his fork.