Life on the Runn...

Yesterday was the Kroll Family Reunion (that's my dad's mom's side of the family).  As we drove the 50 minutes from our house to the athletic club where the reunion was held, I tried to run through all of the family members who might be present since the extended family doesn't get together all that often.  My dad's cousins, almost all of whom I realized I know quite well and have spent a good amount of time with, were there and remember me, so there was no need for worry, name tags or introductions.  It was wonderful to catch up with everyone, watch my grandma interact with her siblings, watch my dad interact with his cousins (and pick up a few more stories about the Unti boys and their antics) and relax with family for the better part of the day. I'm really appreciative of all the hard work that went into planning the event!  Thanks, Auntie Laurie, for that! I certainly hope we are able to do this more often, and I really like my mom's suggestion of headi...

As promised (though much later than I had originally intended), let me continue the story of our great Italian Adventure... As our wonderful stay in Florence drew to a close, we knew another travel day was in our future, but this one would was little different than the others.  This time, we rented a car, which was a nice change from the trains, which were crowded, slow and very hot. Our next few days were spent driving to and exploring the various hill owns Tuscany.   Driving in Italy is nothing short of insane, and it took some getting used.  There are very few controlled intersections, so it's a free-for-all with scooters buzzing around cars and cars trying to pass other cars and buses.  Once we were out of the city, the crazy driving subsided, and both Brian and I were able to relax. To break up the drive from Florence to Montelcino, where our next hotel was located, we made a short stop in Siena.  Though we weren't there long, we spent enough time in the...

One of the aspects of summer I really enjoy is the time I have for 'for-fun' reading.  During the school year, I'm typically reading what my students are reading, so when summer rolls around, I get to read all the books I've been hearing about all year long. This summer, I've read a few really good books, so I thought I would share my reading list with you. The Help by Kathryn Stockett the story of a writer seeking to find herself and share the experiences of African American maids, help, in 1960s Mississippi  The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls the memoir of Jeannette Walls' experience growing up in poverty  Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario the story of Enrique and his journey to find his mother in America Incendiary by Chris Cleave the story of a woman who loses her husband and son in a terrorist attack in London I enjoyed each book, but I especially liked The Help and Incendiary.  I read Chris Cleave's other novel, Little Bee,...

We've made it our goal to do and see as much as possible, so we are often gone, but we love spending time with family when we are home, and this summer we got to do some of that up north at Brian's parents' cabin in Lac du Flambeau, WI.  We basically made an up north sandwich of July and spent both the 4th of July weekend and the last weekend in July at the cabin.  It was a great way to start and end the month, and both times we had lots of fun, though the weather was a bit different each visit. The first trip began with a ladies' road-trip; my sister-in-law, mother-in-law, and I all drove up north on Thursday afternoon and were able to stop in Minocqua to see Aunt Barb play volleyball, a sort of Thursday tradition for our drives up.  After that, we made our way to the cabin, where my father-in-law had been for the past few days.  We spent all of Friday enjoying beautiful weather.  We took boat rides on the pontoon, went swimming and even made a trip to What's...

By mid-day Saturday, Brian and I had cleaned the basement, got the new cat supplies set up and organized our wine racks, which are quite full (I think a few parties are in order).  Additionally, Brian had mowed the lawn, removed a few ginormous thistles from our flowers (where did they come from?!) and pulled the weeds creeping over our back lot line courtesy of our neighbors. I certainly thought he was in need of a rest....but, while I was getting dinner started, my wonderful husband continued with his ultra-productive day of house chores. We love our backyard and sitting outside, but we get afternoon sun, which makes it very warm and often impedes on outdoor meals. Thanks to Mom and Dad U. ,that is a thing of the past.  We are now the proud owners of an outdoor dining set complete with table, chairs and umbrella!  Brian did a great job of putting it all together. Check it out... the table and chair the umbrella is safely stored so it doesn't end up in t...