Christmas in Rome

At some famous place

At the Vatican museums

Mmmm.. panettone al cioccolato

Not this Christmas, son..

At the Trevi fountain

When in Italy.. Go to Rome, right?

Getting tired of being in the on-base lodging and having a break from work, we took the train down to Rome and spent five days there over Christmas. The weather was good and the crowds were only about half of what Jill remembered them being in the summer months. We saw the big sights and also got to experience some local flair, like carolers on the piazza outside our apartment and ordering a panettone from a VERY busy local bakery on Christmas Eve!

The boys did great on our sightseeing. JR was a good walker, especially when bribed with biscotti and gelato. And Joey was happy as a clam being strapped to Mamma's chest. He also liked the attention from Romans who called him "bellisimo" and cooed at his blue eyes.

Ho-ho-ho

One of the cool things about being back in a fighter squadron is your kid gets to see Santa Claus arrive to the Christmas party in and F-16. JR got a pretty big kick out of that. Joey was less impressed.

Family pics

Before we left Tulsa, we had a photographer take some family pictures.  Here's a really good one of the boys.  They're pretty big file sizes, so please email me if you want to see more for displaying/printing.  (We'll send out Christmas New Year's cards eventually.. they'll have some of these pictures in them.)

Benvenuti

We were welcomed with this view from our bedroom window when we woke up the first morning in Italy. This is the view looking out at the Dolomites from on-base at Aviano. We'll be living in a town just at the foot of these mountains for the next three years. Hello hiking and skiing!

Leavin' on a jet plane

We're going back a few months with the pictures here. I have to catch up after a busy transition period..

We left Tulsa in mid-November to start our journey to Italy. Here's JR sitting in the left seat of a 737 while we were on our way from Tulsa to Detroit.*

* We were parked at the gate in St. Louis at the time.. :)

On the farm

Here are some pictures from Jill's trip with the family out to the farm in Arapaho. JR liked hanging out with Uncle JD. Plus there were four wheelers, hay bales, and cows. What more could a little boy ask for?

Trick or Treat!

Love it!

Pumpkin patch

We picked some pumpkins on a beautiful fall day. JR was a big boy and rode a camel (!) all by himself.

Day out with Thomas

We made a trip down to Oklahoma City on Saturday for a day out with Thomas the tank engine. It was a bit of a cold and rainy day out, but JR had fun seeing a life-sized version of Thomas and riding while Thomas pulled the train. Pull Thomas, pull!

The fair

We went to the state fair in Tulsa last Friday. Grammy was in town also so it was an extra special day. We saw livestock, arts and crafts, and JR rode some kiddy rides. JR got to dress up like a fire fighter and we tried some fair food of course -- but not the donut burgers.. maybe next year.

Tulsa Aviation Museum

I've been remiss in my duties.. We visited the Tulsa Aviation Museum last month when I was in Tulsa. We took JR and his cousin Mason. They were both eager to show that they have the right stuff. :)

High speed haircut

JR got a real treat when Momma took him to the barber's today!

Wszystkiego dobrego!

One more date night

Do zobaczenia, Krakow!

We bid farewell to Krakow. It was a wonderful two years and we have memories to last a lifetime from our experience living in Poland. We are grateful to the Olmsted foundation.

Here's a toast to the memory of the founder of this fine program, Major General George Olmsted.

Last days in Krakow

One more time for ice cream on the square

Our neighbor, Pani Dana

Pretty in blue

At the Krakow zoo with Paweł and Ada

Sadly, all good things must come to an end. We fortunately had a few days after the movers packed our things to spend a little more time enjoying the atmosphere of our adopted city and to say goodbye (or, see you soon) to our friends.

Helsinki

Senate Square with tram lines and Helsinki Cathedral

Aboard the submarine museum.  Dive!  Dive!

Vessiko, one of five Finnish subs from the 1930's

For the last stop on our Baltic trip we visited Helsinki. We took a hydrofoil ferry from Tallinn that got us there in two hours. Not bad.

In Helsinki the Fins were enjoying the sunny days like there was no tomorrow. On the day we arrived every park bench and nearly every sunny spot seemed to be occupied by people trying to get their annual dose of vitamin D. Outside is the place to be in Helsinki in the summer.

We likewise spent our time outside, touring the city by foot and by tram and taking the ferry to an island that used to have fortifications to protect the city from attack. JR and I even toured a 1930's era submarine. The Fins we met were all very friendly and like the rest of the Nordic countries they spoke great English.

Tallinn

Walking through the Old Town

The city medieval city walls are largely intact

Viewpoint of the Old Town

Rose garden in the Kadrioru Park

After our overnight cruise from Stockholm we spent a day and a half in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. This is the land of Skype and other successful digital technologies, but the old town is so well preserved (and there are so many cruise ship tourists) that you feel like you're in Disney World. The old town is pretty, but it the number of tourists is overwhelming between 10am and 5pm. After that though they go back to their boats and the city is very enjoyable. On the second day we took a trip to a park just outside the city that was established by Peter the Great when he built a summer residence there.

Stockholm

Watch out, dragons!

Seeing reindeer at the skansen

Eating reindeer on the cruise ship!

Cruising through the Stockholm archipelago

A cruise ship like ours, passing us at 11:30 pm (!) 

Please bear with me. I'm a little behind with the posts. Here are some pictures from our trip to Stockholm, Tallinn, and Helsinki about a month ago.

Stockholm was our favorite of the three capitals. It's beautiful and has more interesting things for tourists to see and do. We especially liked the views of the city from the harbor taxis and the skansen, which is like an outdoor museum and zoo. JR saw reindeer. We stayed two nights then took an overnight cruise ship to Tallinn. The buffet was pretty good -- Jill tried reindeer! I don't think it was the same one from the skansen..

Independence Day celebration in Krakow

Jill and I attended the US Consulate's Indepedence Day celebration last night. It was held at the Kościuszko Mound, which is a kind of monument and museum dedicated to Tadeusz Kościuszko, a Polish general and engineer who played a big part in the America's revolutionary war and later ill-fated attempts at Polish independence. He designed the fortifications at West Point, among other things. There are many cities, parks and monuments dedicated to Kościuszko in the US, although most people have no idea nowadays what he did to deserve the honor.

It was a beautiful evening and a great venue, up above the city and overlooking the district where we live in Krakow. We enjoyed one more chance to mingle with some of our Polish and American friends here. Oh, and there were fireworks to celebrate my successful defense of my thesis yesterday morning. :)

Time's getting short. We're going to miss this assignment!