Everybody Wants to Love

If you want to smile, try taking a listen to Ingrid Michaelson's "Everybody" here.

~Sara

MUSH!

Saturday, 3/6 is the ceremonial start of the Iditarod in downtown Anchorage and Sunday, 3/7 is the official restart in Willow. It is one of Alaskan's favorite local events and is also world re-known!

Watch live video and follow each individual musher on the official Iditarod web site if you are interested!

Twirl

I (Sara) have recently started substitute teaching at the Anglo-Italian International School on the NATO base here in Naples. My degree and employment background are in Human Resources and business management, but I've been enjoying this fun change of pace, environment and challenges! My Mom taught for about 35 years (right, Mom?) and I've always looked up to her for her ability to communicate with children, respect them and teach them. So it's fun for me to get a glimpse of what she did every day and the energy it required!

So the reason I'm writing this post...a little girl in class twirled today and it made my day! I've really enjoyed chatting with kids from different countries in each class and they all have some of the same core perspectives and behavior tendencies. There are children from Italy, Turkey, Germany, Spain, America, France, etc. This week I've been teaching a class of 5th graders. Today one little girl walked over to ask me a question and when we finished talking she turned and twirled back to her desk. She didn't walk, she twirled. It made me smile!

Sonthofen, Germany

Another work trip that ended up being truly fun and relaxing for us both. The boss held a conference in Sonthofen, Germany for his Commanding Officers and their staffs. We stayed at the Algau Stern Hotel about 2 hours south of Munich (just a couple miles North of Austria). The view was truly amazing. It snowed the 2nd night we were there, so we got to enjoy some nice walks in another winter wonderland! It was very relaxing and the food was amazing! The hotel provided all three meals in the form of an endless buffet. It was fun to hang out with people from work along with their spouses, and of course truly a blessing to spend time together!! Though the job comes with lots of travel, it seems worth it when we get to spend time together and NOT DEPLOYED!

Carnival in Venice

I'm convinced there's no place on earth like Venice. History, culture, food, romance... it was awesome. We went during the Carnavale celebration... which might not have been the best time to visit, but ended up being fun. Thousands of people rushed to St. Marco's Square where most of the festivities took place. Fire shows, costumes, incredibly long lines, great vendors, fun shopping... and of course amazing food! Valentine's Evening was spent enjoying complimentary Champagne at our Bed and Breakfast which was about a 5 minute walk from the center of town. Everything in Venice was elaborate and expensive, but still very romantic.

For more photos, click here.

East Coast Winter Wonderland

We traveled to Washington D.C. in late January for some meetings at the Pentagon and I was able to bring Sara with me! American soil was more wonderful than we we would. DC is such a great city. Needless to say, there were lots of visits to Starbucks and a wonderful stay with friends in Annapolis :) We spent the weekend playing games watching the snow fall and exploring Annapolis. We had lunch at the Sly Fox (a favorite for both of us) and even got to enjoy a burger at Cheeburger Cheeburger!

We were planning to drive to North Carolina to visit Sara's Aunt and Uncle, but it snowed almost 14 inches on Friday night, so we were pretty much got snowed in for the weekend. Sara flew to North Carolina on Sunday instead shortly before I departed for Bahrain that evening. We're hoping to get back to the East Coast soon to see family and enjoy some more time exploring.

I love America

Grant & I are both in Washington, DC right now. Grant came for work and I tagged along. Joy!

Even though I've only been in Italy for three months, it feels great to be back in the US for a few days. I love my country!

Amalfi Coast, Italy

Another beautiful day at the Amalfi Coast. With such a beautiful coast line just an hour away, it's quickly becoming our favorite place in Southern Italy. We went with our friends, Kirk and Nicole after all the Christmas fun. We decided to take a trail known for it amazing views of old bridges, creeks and churches.