Happy (and Rainy) 4th!

It is often said here, "summer begins after the 4th of July". Boy, is that being taken literally this year. With temperatures expected in the 80's later this week, it is disappointing to have rain on the 4th.

Even more disappointing is that it was not expected to rain so we geared up to do the boat thing with our dear friends, Ed and Vicky and Ed's kids visiting from the Netherlands. And we got out on the boat only to look off in the distance and see it raining. It was no more than 3 minutes of 'boat time' before we turned around and headed back home....Scout was thrilled!

Here are some mediocre photos and some fantastic kids. Ed's kids are truly a pleasure to be around and were so fantastic playing with Oli and Julia.

Chiara and Julia

Giancarlo and Julia...

Or as he nicknamed himself, "Mr. Giggles".

Oli'ism #100: (not sure that I can recreate this one to do it justice but here goes..)

(my parents sent Julia a cd that has the most special lullabies...they have Julia's name in it as if the songs are made just for her. It is a very special gift.)

CD: "Julia, it is time to close your eyes."

Oli: "Wow, this cd is special for Julia!"

CD: "Now when you are sleeping, know that you are loved"

Oli: "This cd is SO true. When Julia is sleeping, we ARE thinking about how much we love her."

(I cannot listen to that cd now without tearing up knowing what Oli said. He is the most kind and loving big brother. He adores Julia.)