Not Our Regular Dinner at Dom's...

How many people can Dom host for dinner? We came pretty close to finding out on my birthday!  I was definitely feeling the love when so many of our Naples family came out to help me celebrate!

The view from the other end of the table (restaurant)

Papa Byler, EJ, Kenny, and Julia

 Antonio, Maria, and Alicia on this side of the table

 Steve, Elyssa, Antonia, Madds, Frankie, Beth, Shelley, and Tim on this side of the table

 Jim and Ron

 Matt, Jenny, and Kate

 Camden, Keller, and Campbell

 Kirby, me, Monica, and Ben

 Emma, Caitlyn, and Madison

 Kenzie, Madeline, and Sadie

 Dave (with a sleeping Gabriella) and Steve

 Madds, me, Sherri, and Mel

40th in London!

I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate my 40th birthday, than spending it in my favorite city in the world!

After Chris finished coaching basketball Saturday afternoon, we flew to London.  

Sunday morning we walked through Kensington Gardens

 Then we took a tour through a special exhibit, Diana: Her Fashion Story at Kensington Palace

It was amazing to see many of her iconic dresses up close and personal!

 We strolled past the Royal Albert Hall where they were preparing for the BAFTA awards later on that night!

 Buckingham Palace

 Parliament

One of many pub stops throughout the weekend!

 We fought Monday morning rush hour traffic to get to Windsor Castle. The grounds were gorgeous and it was a bright, sunny day. The audio guide tour was one of the best I've been on! There was a special exhibit for Prince Harry and Meghan's wedding (including her dress and his uniform). 

Here we at the front entrance of St. George's Chapel

 The royal family's residence wing of Windsor Castle

 As if the weekend couldn't get any better, this was the grand finale!

 The cast was beyond talented and I am still in awe of the creative genius of Lin-Manuel Miranda!

Watch out 40, I have arrived!

Coach K's 44

Chris celebrated his 44th birthday on the 4th! We enjoyed a spaghetti pie dinner followed by a Grandma Rosie Bar "cake"

There was not a lot of time for celebrating, because he has been busy coaching high school basketball. Here are a few pics of him in action...

 Last week he traveled to Germany for the European Championship Tournament. These boys played their hearts out!

Roman Rhinehart Reunion

I LOVE a reunion!!! This one has been in the works for over 5 years...

When we spent Thanksgiving 2013 with the Rhineharts in Spain, we planned a reunion in Italy within a few years.  The Rhineharts wanted to visit the new Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Temple that was schedule to open in Rome soon.  After numerous delays, it was finally ready for an open house in the beginning of 2019!

Renee just happened to be in Naples the week before for a class for work so we got some extra time with her. 

 Elevator selfie heading up to their apartment in Rome

Owen, Renee, Emma, and Camden enjoying some lunch

Waiting for the bus to the Temple and taking a silly-sucker-selfie under the umbrella

The Rhineharts, Hamms, and Kaspareks in front of the Rome Temple

Official group photo in the visitors' center

2013

 2019

 Gelato at Rome Termini station before we trained back home

Opening Day Youth Sports Basketball 2019

The Kasparek kiddos are back on the court for another season of Youth Sports Basketball.

Their final "first game" pic on the same team.

 Coach Dad giving some shooting tips

 Emma loves to go for those steals!

 Fast break down the court

 Camden playing tough defense

Point Guard Emma

 Sibling teamwork

 A determined throw to his teammate in the lane

Munich MLK Ladies' Weekend

When mid-January rolls around, it's time to round up my ladies and go on our annual getaway!

This was the 10th year for the MLK Weekend Girls' Trip. 

Sherri, Melissa, and Madds are the 10 year queens. This was my 6th trip.

Wine and dinner at the Naples airport 

Cuddling up in our house in Munich

So happy Angelia came from Kaiserslatern for the weekend!

Ready for our first morning exploring the city

 The crew in front of our house

 First stop: the Marienplatz

 Shopping for a new warm hat

Madds & I trying to stay warm

 Waiting for the noon Glockenspiel show

Lunch at the famous Hofbrauhaus

 The biggest and best pretzel of the weekend!

Guinness at a cool Irish Pub

Another sweet reunion with Jen, who came from Stuttgart

 Hard Rock Cafe

 Sunday morning we toured the beautiful Nymphenburg Palace

After the palace tour, it was time to warm up with some Gluehwein

The Naples girls in the snow

We enjoyed a delicious brunch and then wandered to the biggest beer garden in the city: Hirschgarten

Gluehwein and beer delivery!

What a perfect Sunday afternoon: keeping warm by the fire as we watched some locals curl. It even started to snow :)