35 Baby!!!

So it was Enrico's 35th birthday on Aug. 26th,

and we decided to have a birthday bash at my Mom's house!

She helped us organize everything and decorated the yard oh so well!!!

Penny the dog, Enrico & Francesco

My good friend Alice, Virginié and me!

Diverland!

The other day in the car while driving back from the beach with the girl I babysit for, (her name's Mapi) she asked me a series of questions in a very "questiony" tone:

Mapi: Christina, have you ever been to the water slides?

Me: Uhm, yes, in California I have.

Mapi: ......... (a few seconds of pause) And have you ever been to the ones HERE??

Me: No hun, why? Have you?

Mapi: (with disappointment in her voice) Nooo, me neither.

Me: But would you like to go!?

Mapi: ......... (a few seconds of pause and shy voice) Uhm, em, yes!

Me: Well then! Ask your mom for permission and we'll go tomorrow!

Mapi: REALLY!!!!??? (in an astonished voice with disbelief)

Me: Yes Really!

Mapi: You would actually take me?? Aaand go on the slides with me??!! (still incredulous)

ME: Sure why not!???

Mapi: Oh my gosh! I can't believe it!

Later on that evening I received a text message from her telling me that she had gotten permission to go.... So Diverland it was!!!

Mapi at the entrance styling with her Ray-bans!

It was reported to me that last night she hardly slept and was up at 7a.m. even if our appointment was at 9:15!!! What a sweet girl she is!

At about 1p.m they shut down the slides for a pause so I went back to the locker and got the camera to snap a few Kodak moments!

She had to get a picture of me!

Showing me her excellent floating skills and hand stand!

We had a great time! and when we returned home, she was treated to go and see Shrek 4! I really think you can't beat her day!!!!

Four walls, three words, two hearts, one love.

Love this song by Randy Travis and just thought I'd share.....

My Grandpa farmed for a livin',
Content to live the simpler kind of life.
My Grandma worked in the kitchen,
Awfully proud to be that farmer's wife.
They used to say that they'd got everything that they need,
Each mornin' they wake up:
Four walls, three words, two hearts, one love.

Here I am, ring on my finger:
Grandpa's little grandson, all grown up.
I found my rock and I plan to keep her.
I wish they were here to see the two of us.
They'd proud to know we've got everything that we need,
Each mornin' we wake up:
Four walls, three words, two hearts, one love.

With the highway twice as wide,
And the farmland sub-divided.
It's good to know that some things never change.
I'm still lovin' an I'm still livin',
By those simple words of wisdom:
Life an' love come down to just four things.

My Grandpa, Lord knows, I miss him,
An' the way that he and Grandma looked at life.
And each day, I count my blessings,
To have that kind of love here by my side.
No matter what, we know we've got everything that we need,
Each mornin' we wake up:
Four walls, three words, two hearts, one love.

Yeah, we've got everything that we need,
Between the two of us:
Four walls, three words, two hearts, one love.

"Feriae Augusti"

Ferragosto is an Italian holiday celebrated on August 15. Originally, it may have related to a celebration of the middle of the summer and the end of the hard labour in the fields. The Catholic Church celebrates this date as a Holy Day of Obligation to commemorate the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.

Before the Roman Catholic Church came into existence, however, this holiday was celebrated in the Roman Empire to honor the Gods —in particular Diana— and the cycle of fertility and ripening. In fact, the present Italian name of the holiday derives from its original Latin name, Feriae Augusti ("Festivals of the Emperor Augustus"). Almost the entire month of August was taken as a holiday and leisure time in Italy in honor of this feast day.In present days, Ferragosto is mainly a short holiday when Italians take brief vacations. The holiday often coincides with peak activity of the Perseid meteor shower, leaving Italians at a particular advantage to view the astronomical event seen best at pre-dawn hours.

After that explained.....................

Here is what we did to celebrate!

Our good friend Sandra invited us and two other friends up to Cala Gonone in the Gulf of Orosei to spend the weekend with her while her husband is off to Vancouver to visit his Family.

Sandra & Stefano

Map of Cala Gonone and its coast

Sandra & I

Why is it when there's a hat stand you just HAVE to try them on!

Sandra's hat suited her just fine!

Enrico was smmmokin'! ;-)

Then we hopped on a plane and went to Hawaii...oops what??

I meant, we took the car and went to a near by beach!!!

Then we hopped on a boat and explored the coast!

Enrico was our Skipper for the day!!!

Magical caves and coast line....

Summer Job

Well... I still haven't found a Job "JOB"... so I do what I can to make do.

I feel like I've gone back in time 15 years but hey! If it pays right? Sooooooooooo, I've been asked to baby-sit 2 girls for the rest of August and 1st week of September. The best part of the job is that I go and pick them up every morning at about 9:30 and then we go straight to the beach! One girl's family has a beach cabana at one of our city's oldest and most renound beach clubs "Il Lido".

So I guess I shouldn't be complaining too much now should I??! ;-))

Entrance to "Il Lido" in 1900

Entrance to "Il Lido" today.

Inside the beach club

An aerial veiw of the beach club and salt marshes behind.

Bewitched by the Ashen Light of Venus

We spent the weekend camping on the beach in San Nicolò on the west coast of Sardinia.

Our Quechua pop-up tents... what an invention they are!

They make camping sooo much easier!

The sunset was AMAZING. It stayed like this until about 9.30 pm, and then we saw Venus. I had never seen Venus shine like it did that night, and was in awe staring at the beautiful light. It kept on getting brighter and brighter as well as lower into the horizon; it started to veer from a diamond sparkle, to deep gold then red to eventually disappear as it had sunken into the water. There was no moon that night, so it truly was shining bright!

Next day beach day!

Poor Enrico came camping nevertheless he cut him self open

surfing on the reef the other day...