Not Your Average Block Party!

        This weekend was our neighborhood's annual "block party."  When we as Americans think "block party," we think of grilled burgers and hotdogs, chips and a cooler full of soda...not in Italy!  We were in for a huge treat.  Don't get me wrong...I love an All-American barbeque, but this was SO cool!  The morning started off with an American Pumpkin Carving--the Italians don't carve pumpkins, trick-or-treat, etc.   It was fun to watch all the Italian children carving pumpkins!  Appetizers started rolling off the grills by late morning...bruschetta with sausage or salami.  The first course of a homemade pasta was gobbled up quickly and the children even stopped playing long enough to run and grab a plate!  The men started the polenta cooking while the final pumpkins were carved.  Mac and I LOVE polenta!  It was so fun to watch some of the men from our neighborhood cooking the polenta from scratch with a giant wire whisk and a paddle.  Mmmmm....it smelled so good!  Then we all enjoyed burgers (Italian style--no buns, sauce, nothin'....straight up meat!), more sausages, ribs, grilled fresh cheese, and polenta.  Desserts consisted of tortes, strudels, fruit, and biscotti.  Chestnuts (that we had gathered together the day before from a neighbor's house) were roasted and munched as everyone enjoyed milling around and visiting.  The day was a blast!  Good food, awesome view, and great friends! Ciao!

*Please forgive the poor quality in the below photos...they were taken on Tim's phone...I forgot my camera! :)

Bradey carving his pumpkin.

Mason & Federico carving pumpkis.

The carving table

Sausages on a rotisserie griller

Giampiero stirs the polenta with a paddle...OH YUM!!!

This is a chestnut roaster made from a washing machine drum.

My good friend Ranae...her sons Giacamo & Gabriele are in school with Mason & Bradey.

All the kiddos & their pumpkins.

Paolo preparing chestnuts for the roaster.  All the chestnuts had to have a slit cut in them to prevent them from exploding when they were roasted...some did...much to the delight of the children!

Claodio putting the chestnuts in to roast.

Bradey was anxious to see the roasting process.

The final step in roasting...the chestnuts were salted and browned on this grill plate.

We brought our American bean bag toss for the families to enjoy.

Mac loved the sandbox!

The view!  We love Marsure, Italy!!!

"Train up a child..."

"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it."  Proverbs 22:6

Two weekends ago, Tim and Mason went to Vicenza, Italy for a Father/Son Retreat.  Tim used this special time away with Mason to help equip him for the difficult and sometimes confusing pre-teen to teen years that are quickly approaching.  (Where does time go????)  Tim and Mason were able to discuss key issues that face pre-teens and teens...and talk about what God has to say in His Word about them.  It was a time to talk about growing up and all the changes that young people are faced with.  Well, lest you think this was a time of just talk and no play...there was plenty of that too!  What a memorable weekend the two "guys" had bonding and hanging out!  We pray that this amazing time that Mason had with his Dad, will set the tone for a relationship based on godly priciples, communication, and trust as we head into these teen years.

The beautiful Vicenza countryside!

Mason's new Mt. bike...his b'day present.

Oops...someone took a wrong turn!!!

The pizza here is AMAZING!

Vicenza

Goofballs!

Mmmm....

Bowling!

This was prior to the crash going DOWN the mountain...lots of road rash, an ER visit, bandages, and a great story to tell!

We love Italy! However, Italy IS different.  Some of the differences are great, some not so much.  I thought I would post a few of the things that have been an adjustment for us. 

 Recycling!  Italians are mad-crazy-garbage-sorters!  The boys have adopted this duty!

This itty-bitty German washer takes nearly 2 hours to wash one load of laundry!  I cannot run the washer and dryer at the same time or it blows the fuse for the downstairs of the house.  Laundry takes planning and time!  I'm still not very good at it! 

Fresh tomatoes (and eggplant, cucumbers, and figs) almost daily from our sweet Italian neighbors!  Bradey eats the tomatoes like apples for his snacks!

What's bread and butter?  We almost always dip our bread in olive oil and balsamic vinegar these days!  Soooo yummy!  Even Tim who believes that no amount of butter on his bread is "too much," has taken up this Italian custom!

This is our dining room! At least for the summer...Italians eat most of their meals outside in the spring and summer months.  We love it!  We have only eaten at our inside dining room table ONCE since moving in!

A late dinner for two after Tim got out of class!  Outside...of course!

Marble and granite floors! They are gorgeous and easy to take care of too!

Yes, the bidet had to make the list!  We had to inform the boys it was neither a water fountain nor a urinal!  

No window screens means critters come to visit!  This bird flew in the playroom window and hung out with GI Joe for a while.  Sarge has chased the neighbors cat up and down the stairs to the attic, and chased lizards around the dining room!  

Some more things that made the list but I have not pictures for:

*Internet...slow, spotty, unreliable...only frustrating when I can't reach family!
*McDrive! the Italian version of McDonald's except way healthier and cleaner! The Italians actually dress up for this restaurant too!  So great!
*Stores close daily from 12noon-3pm for an afternoon rest time.
*Gelato!!!  Hands down beats Ice Cream any day!!!!!
*No Walmart or anything that resembles it...NOPE...I don't miss it!! :0)
*Bikes, Bikes, everywhere!!!  You know me...this is incredible!
*Narrow, narrow streets often made of brick or cobblestone.
*Buying my bread at the local bakery, fruits and veggies at the market, fresh eggs from a local farmer...Yay, Organic!!!
*and on and on and on the list goes!.........................

Italy continues to awe us (and frustrate us too!)  We love it and continue to adjust to all the changes.  Come on over for a visit and see it for yourself!

Big Mac

Mac turned 1!!!!  It is so hard to believe that McAlister is already one year old.  Man, time flies.  We had a small family birthday celebration for Mac and invited a few friends.  Mac received several packages in the mail from grandparents and aunts so that was fun!  Thanks to a sweet girl at church who gave me an allergy-free icing mix, Mac even had a first birthday cake! (gluten, milk, and soy free!)  Well, my official toddler is growing fast and keeping us busy.  He is walking well now and his vocabulary is expanding.  His most common words are:
Papa
Mum-mum
May-mame (Mason)
Bubba (Bradey)
Baw (ball)
Bir (bird)
All (I'm all done)
Up
I dee ( I did it)
Mell-mo (please)  hmmmm...not sure either...but this is what he consistently uses for please. :0)

Here are some pics from his first birthday! 

Mac woke up rarin' to go!

Peekin' in the package from Grammy and Grampy

He liked ripping the paper!

He loves to play ball!

Mac and Bradey spent the afternoon in the little pool.

Opening the package from Granny and Aunt Hannah.

New trucks!

Birthday b'bque with friends...complete with allergy-free cake!

Mason helps with the first bite!

1st birthday cake with the birthday duck sent from Granny.

"Geppo"

This is the Italian version of a favorite American children's song:

We've Got A Walker!

Mac started walking a few weeks back!  I meant to get a video on here sooner but I kept forgetting.  Here is a short video of our quickly growing little man.

Festa Di Cultura

The Aviano Cultural Festival was this past weekend.  All the area schools--elementary to highschool--participated with various types of performances.  The teacher's and parents had told us how important this festival is to their school calendar...that it was "beautiful!"  Each of the boys' classes would be doing a cultural dance.   Prior to going, I grilled the boys on the need for good manners, and respect for the event and what it meant to their Italian friends and teachers...you know, no giggling when things seems different or funny to them.  Perhaps I should have made that same little "mommy speech" to Tim and I.  The Festival was truly the oddest thing we have attended since our arrival.  We did not find it beautiful or amazing...but truly chaotic and bizzare! Tim and I had all we could do not to laugh out loud.  Okay, so we actually did a few times.  We couldn't help it.  Tim said we should have taped the whole thing so that we could share it on this blog, but alas I only got fragments of it.  What made it so odd?  Well...it could have been the Italian theatrical rendition of Peter Pan turned into a musical by the addition of the Grease soundtrack...or all the handmade pinwheels that we were supposed to wave following each class' performance,...or the "American Hokey-Pokey" that wasn't American at all, but the crazy Italian version of this American favorite,...or was it the black-tie caterers handing out hor dourves amoung the crowd as if we were at an extravagant dinner party?...Maybe it was the organized tug-of-war competition that was smack dab in the middle of all these "artistic expressions".... could have been just watching my children sing and dance in a foreign language...whatever it was, it was fun to experience and surely brought a smile to our confused American faces.

Bradey and some of his classmates

Mason and his class friends

Festival Caterers...hmmmmm????