Happy Halloween 2016

Spooktacular Friday started out as a beautiful sunny day. 

Then the winds came .

 Winds like I've never seen before on a perfectly sunny fall day.  

Here's one disappointed penguin when they had to come up with Plan B for the event:

With just a few gusts of wind, this is what remained of some pop-up tents

Miranda Sings

Safari Man

Love these crazy kids!

 Trick or Treating around the Youth Center Gym

 We found this adorable little monkey outside.  Noah is too cute!

 Halloween morning before we left the house.

I didn't get any pics of the kids before they took off trick or treating with friends.  I got to hand out some candy to this cute little chicken, Thea Rae.

241st Navy Birthday Ball

We had the honor of attending our first Navy Ball this year. We joined up with Team MWR at our house before heading out to the ball.

Chris, Me, Bunny, Heather, and Ryan

 Cute Mustache Heather

 During the cocktail hour we met up with Dave and Madds

 Sammi, Chris, & Bunny

 What a great night with these ladies!

 Admiral Michelle Howard was the night's guest speaker.  

What an impressive lady! Not only was she the first woman to become a four-star admiral in the Navy, but she is currently the Commander of Allied Joint Force Command Naples and is the Commander of U.S. Naval Forces in Europe and Africa

 Dinner time selfies :)

 Sammi, Me, Jess, and Heather

 Dave & Madds are ready to boogie on down!

 We danced the night away to the awesome 6th Fleet Navy Band!

Tuscumbria Trip: Cortona

We spent a wonderful Sunday Under the Tuscan Sun in Cortona.  Chris and I visited Cortona back in 2012 and I was excited to go back again.
We drove up into the city in a thick fog. Luckily it cleared, but you can still see a little fog at the top of the main piazza's bell tower.

Emma, Jenna, and Thea taking a snack break

Lamar, Sherri, Tony, and Mel found an interesting wine shop

Thea rides in style!

Artist in the piazza

Our Under the Tuscan Sun picture 
(with a random Italian guy lounging in front of us)

A beautiful view of the valley as we headed out to lunch

 Sherri & Ron at our lunch and wine tasting at Tenimenti d' Alessandro near Cortona

Silly boy with the wine barrels

Exploring the gardens at the winery

You don't want to stand for a nice picture with me? 

Fine. Beat each other up.

Mel & Emma with their twin Adidas

Back at the villa for a very fun night of games, wine, and laughter on the porch!

Mels and her K kids

Too many sunset pictures to share, but here are a few of my favorites!

Tuscumbria Trip: Civita di Bagnoregio & Madonna Del Latte

When Columbus Day Weekend rolls around, there is no place I'd rather be than Tuscany.  We actually stayed in Umbria (near Orvieto) and ventured up to Tuscany for a day.  Saturday morning's stop was one of Italy's most famous hill towns: Civita de Bagnoregio. There is one footbridge that leads into this fascinating little town.

Camden and Ron trekking up the footbridge

Guess who's thrilled to get their picture taken in front of a church?!?!? :)

Sherri & Mel

Camden finds a mysterious door to check out

Happy Thea Rae!

Testing out a "tomb"

One amazing view after another

Mel, Ron, Tony, and Lamar at our quick lunch stop

LOVE these ladies!

Taking a rest before we walk back to the car

The view from our home for the weekend

We had a full sized soccer field in our yard :)

In honor of Lamar's birthday, we went on a fantastic winery tour and tasting

A few scenes from the vineyards

Leon (or Lucca as we called him) and my wonderful tour buddies

Delicious wine in a beautiful tasting room

A rainbow on our drive back to the villa