Fine...I'll blog....

Heather tells me today, "You haven't blogged in forevah! I was the last one to blog on Feb 2 and I nevah blog." Her New England accent comes out when she's talking to her Fathah.

The boys and I went camping last weekend. Nick left Friday night and I met him there with Tom and the Webelos den on Saturday night. The campsite was about 10 minutes outside of Niscemi - a mid-sized town about an hour south of were we live. The boys scouts took the Webelos under their wings and they had their tents set up before we left for a 3 mile hike. The hike took us through a cork forest - trees that are harvested each year for their bark to make cork (cork stoppers in wine, cork boards, all things cork.) Good times...

Heather has been taking swim lessons. She rides her bike to the pool - about 6 miles - does her swim lesson and rides home. So, a mini-sprint biathlon twice a week. And she wonders why she's so tired in the evening.

This Tuesday Heather starts a new class...The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I took it a few months ago and enjoyed most of it. I'm looking forward to her view.

A few months ago I was asked my by boss at work if I to attend a quality of life focus group conference. I was a bit stand-off-ish as focus groups are a little to weird for me...until I found out it's being held at the Edelweiss Lodge and Resort. I upped the ante and said if Heather could get selected, I would consider going. The conference was looking for delegates who are prior active duty, disabled veterans, spouses....Heather, Heather, Heather. When I asked if the boys would get a plane ticket to go with us, I was told no. So I immediately agreed! LOL! Actually, we've both never been away from the boys at the same time for more than one night, so we're a little nervous. They will stay with two or three different friends here in Sicily for five nights. We leave Sunday, March 9th (a week from today) and come home late Thursday night.

Also, we have a trip to Rome coming up next month in April...so now seemed like the ideal time to make a few investments in our family's fun vacation, memory-making electronic gadgetry. I bought a new lens for my camera (18mm - 135mm f/3.5) and a GPS unit for the car. The GPS has an internal rechargeable battery so we can take it out of the car and carry it around with us in Rome. And the lens is the perfect focal length so I don't have to lug around two lenses in a bulky bag all over the Eternal City. Also, I got Heather a new point and shoot digital camera. The one she has now is pretty bulky and she wanted something smaller to carry around in her purse.

Heather attended a birth a few days ago. The second one since she's been here. It's been kind of nice her not being busy with pregnant ladies so often. It was 27 hours! Thomas asked if doulas get special training to stay up all night long.

Alright, I guess that's it. Heather's still on the phone with her fathah in NH. I guess they have four feet of snow in their backyard! He's had to shovel the roof three times so far this wintah. They live next to a small stream that's sure to become a raging river her in a few months when it all melts.

Ciao,

Bud