Basket Case

We knew this day was coming our way. And after 3.2 years of being with our rascal youth, we were "released". Bee says she is a rainbow of various emotions. And J says he will miss having excuses to get down and dirty with the boys.

Looking back it's amazing to see how we have changed and been able to loosen up and have fun!

Often times we found ourselves talking about "the kids" and what we could do help them during this awkward, yet important stage of their lives.




We will miss the breakfast table meetings Mano y Mano, President to President. We will miss being able to hang out with our youth twice a week and wish them the best as they move forward and grow into Men and Women of God!



Here's to 199+ days spent with our youth at weekly Mutual activities, Scout Camps, Girls Camps, Stake Dances/Activities, Fundraisers, Helamans Challenges, PJ Sleepovers, Firesides, and the days they would simply drop in to say hello. Made our day! :)

Varenna - licious!

Our next stop was Varenna, a quaint little town on the shore of Lake Como. We definitely recommend a stop at Lake Como to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and just sit back, enjoy the view, and chillax.

We stayed at the Casa Rosa which came equipped with its own little kitchenette, balcony with a view of the lake, cool looking bed frame, and a red bathroom that would make you giddy every time you stepped foot inside of its red tiled walls.

Floating down a river...

Ok, so here's some more detail about our trip to Italy accompanied by pictures.

We landed in Venice, which is actually a nice small little airport on the mainland. We arrived in Venice around 7:00 am (an hour earlier than expected) and everything was going perfect...too perfect in fact....so something went wrong.

We needed some cash to take the bus ride into Venice, so we go to pull some cash out of our ATM and nada...apparently our "card is not authorized for international use, remove your card and contact your bank...p.s. this machine will self destruct in 10 seconds"

We planned to use cash for most purchases and our Visa card for all others. So, accordingly we contacted our bank to make sure we would be able to use our ATM card abroad and put all our money in that account. We also informed our bank and the Visa company when we would be in Italy so there wouldn't be any issues. Well, you guessed it....there were issues.

So, we used our USD to purchase a calling card and had fun trying to contact our bank.
Things we learned the hard way:

• The country code from Italy to the US is 001
• Pay phones are a rip off, even with a sweet calling card
• 800 numbers do not work internationally
• Italy is 5 hours ahead of EDT
• Cash advances are not cheap
  

"...so what do you do in the face of defeat? go and enjoy Venice!"

"Somehow through the winding alley ways we found #1016 door. Home at last! After a quick call to "Costanza", our little helper walked us over the wood planks to the back door. Costanza greeted us & showed us to our cozy, arrogant, pink-walled room. We took naps for 1.5 hours...walked to San Marco square, took plenty of pictures, ate some pizza and a brawtwurtz (all J), watched gondolas, window shopped, ate some gelato, admired fresh flowers 4 sale, ate more pizza & drank the thickest hot chocolate around. did I mention we ate? g-nite!"
-Italy Journal

Stay tuned for our next post...

Fresh air and Mexican Food!

One week from today. That's when we arrived back on American soil. We had a great, wonderful, better than any expectations, super, fantastic time!
But, it's always good to be back home.:)
So, how do fit two weeks of magical adventures into one small blog post?
It's just not possible peeps. We went to a variety of cities, so I think we will have to divide it up that way.

Let's begin this recording of events.
Surprisingly and gratefully, we kept a journal each day on the trip.
On the flight back home we lamented of all the things we would miss and then quickly remembered of all the things we had gone without and were looking forward to.
For starters:

Dear Italy,
We had a wonderful time sharing your soil for a brief period of time. Here are some things we will miss about you:
* All the small, cobble stone streets that we were able to get lost on

*Chamber maids

*Being mistaken for Italian and then French
*Towel warmers
*The nice people
*Crazy Italian Fashions ie (boots over jeans on every woman, hats, fancy, compartmentalized jeans, coordinating outfits for men; from hat to shoes, to belt, to scarf, plus sized sun glasses, & puffy ski jackets).
*Pizzeria on every corner
*Pastel colored buildings

*Gelateria on every corner

and
* Clothes lines being put to use!

Thanks a million times over!

Sincerely,
J & Bee

Dear America,
While away visiting another country, we came to one conclusion: We missed you!
We are excited to again enjoy...
*Cold water...for free!
*Ice
*Popcorn
*Clean, non-smokey air
*American McDonalds where ketchup packets don't cost extra
*Less traffic
*One bed, rather than two put together. Not to mention soft!

*Watching a movie- in English!
*Mexican food
*99 cent value menu
and
*Shower big enough for one!

We're glad to be back in the land of the free!

J& Bee