The cats out of the bag!

We are relocating!

We will be moving tomorrow from Treviso to a new city called Montegranaro! Ryan has decided to make a very quick change to a new team called Fabi Shoes Montegranaro. We have absolutely loved our team and the people here at Benetton but Ryan and I (along with a lot of prayers) decided it's time for a change. The team that we are going to has been interested in Ryan for a few months and on Friday we decided it was best for us to join this new team. Yes, you read that right. The decision was made FRIDAY and we move MONDAY! We are packing up like crazy and I am experiencing many emotions. I think that being in the 3rd trimester has put me on an emotional rollercoaster. I love new adventures and getting to know all new people! I can't wait to meet the great people of Montegranaro but will not be able to forget about my friends here in Treviso. The baby already had so many people waiting for him and wanting to love him but I guess we will just be adding more people to his posse. Ryan is beyond excited to get on this new team and jump right in there! Here's to another great journey ahead! Another place to add to the list of places we've called home! Wish us luck!

Goodbye Benetton! We love you!

Hello Fabi Shoes! We can't wait to love you too!

Awkward moments

Don't you hate when someone asks "How are you?" And you say "Nothing, just hanging out!" or if someone says "What are you doing?" And you respond with "Good, how are you?" Well, I hate that! I never know how to recover from these awkward moments. This funny story on the other hand isn't embarrassing for me but it made my night! A couple weeks ago Ryan called the Apple Customer Service Line to ask a few questions about his ipad and new iphones etc. He was talking to the guy for about 10 minutes and was getting all of his questions answered. When the time came to get off the phone Ryan said "Thanks for all of your help man!" and was going to hang up when the guy responded with "Love you dude(awkward pause)" and hung up! Ryan and I immediately looked at each other and asked if the other person heard that same thing. I ABOUT DIED LAUGHING! I am sure he hung up and wondered how on earth that slipped out of his mouth! We were laughing for a good fifteen minutes and I even had to call my sister and tell her. I guess we don't know his side of the story. Maybe his coworkers dare each other to do things like this but to me it was just hilarious. I love awkward moments.

We love you too apple worker!

The art of pizza...

One of our Branch members named Salvatore owns a PIZZERIA!! How fun is that? He is the funnest and nicest man. A couple of weeks ago he invited us to come to his pizzeria so he could teach me how to make an Italian pizza with the true Italian techniques. I underestimated the work they put into these pizzas. It's HARD! You have to hold your hands a certain way, apply the perfect amount of pressure, work from the inside of the dough towards the outer edge and throughout all of this try not to put holes in the delicate dough. It was amazing to watch him go through this 1,662 step process (maybe a little exaggeration) in about 3 minutes and it took me at least 15 minutes even with his help. I had holes all over the place along with something that was not even close to being round. BUT one thing I was very good at was throwing the pizza! I'm a master! Didn't even drop it once. Got it to spin and everything. Salvatore made me a perfect round and beautiful piece of dough and the only thing that went wrong is I got 1 hole!

Salvatore working his magic...

Is your mouth watering yet? Mine is!

Salvatore and his son work together at his pizzeria. They are so cute together! Salvatore made about 12 pizzas and we headed over to another Branch members house where we had a fun little party! It was great! Such a fun experience.

Enjoying our massive pizza!

Buon Appetite!!

Valentine's and 30 weeks

I love Valentine's Day!

I think it might be one of my favorite holidays even though ours this year was pretty low key! We both agreed to no gifts- well sort of. Ryan wanted sunglasses which he got in Austria and also everyday when he buys something on ebay I say "Happy Valentine's!" or now it has changed to "Happy Birthday!" As for me I told Ryan that I didn't want anything here and I want to go shopping when I get home in the summer after being prego! So as for the celebrating it went a little like this...

In the morning I attempted to make pink heart shaped pancakes that in my head would be a lot cuter! Of course it didn't cross my mind that when they get a little golden they aren't so "pink!" AND have you ever tried to make a heart shaped pancake? Not so easy! It's the thought that counts right? Ryan wanted pancakes, eggs, sausage and orange juice! So that's what the big guy gets!

When I was making breakfast Ryan mysteriously disappeared. When he finally returned I noticed that a card had been set on the table. I about died!! Look at how he sealed the envelope...a "T" wax seal! haha Ryan randomly bought this monogram wax seal in Venice and it has sat in the box ever since. Well, Valentine's it was put to use. He said it took him a lot of practice to get the wax to drop in the right spot. What a cutie...he still wasn't satisfied with the product on the actual envelope. I told him he'll have to start writing letters home and get some more practice. Don't be surprised if you get a random piece of mail with a wax seal. Chances are there won't be anything inside the envelope. It will have just been practice for his sealing skills.

After breakfast we went on a little walk just to get out of the house and enjoy some sunshine. Later Ryan had practice so I went shopping for dinner. We had steaks, garlic mashed potatoes, green salad and brownies for dessert! Not going to lie...it was good! I've decided I like eating home on Valentine's WAY more then fighting the crowds and being forced to a set menu that is triple the regular price. I'm always up for eating out but this was just relaxing and still delicious! While Ryan was at practice I put hot pink post-it notes in a huge heart shape and wrote things I love or think about Ryan on each post-it. I think he enjoyed it...especially because I wrote things like "I think you're super cool!" I can't stand to write 60 super cheesy things. Sorry for all you sappy people out there. I let you down! But Ryan knows I love him!

A side note on dinner. As I was cooking before Ryan got home I was skyping my sister Kim. The computer was sitting on the table and I was talking to her with my back to her as I cooked over the stove. I was heating the pan for the steaks when all of a sudden a paper towel lit on fire! I was screaming and not knowing what to do! Yes, I'm the genius with a paper towel RIGHT by the stove. I quickly grabbed it and was trying to blow it out. Another genius move. That makes bigger flames! Then it finally crossed my mind to throw it in the sink and put water on it. Glad that was my third idea. Hopefully next time it will be my first. Let's just say my sister Kim about had a heart attack watching the whole thing through a computer screen. Gave us a good laugh AFTER my house didn't burn down!

I am now 30 weeks!

This week I got my babycenter email and kind of had a little panic attack! This baby is really coming! Obviously it has seemed real ever since we found out it was a boy to next feeling him move etc. But now we are on the major countdown and we will have a sweet little baby here before we know it! I have body parts stick out of my belly and I can tell he has a little less room to move around in there. He loves to stick his knees and feet straight out and push all the way up in to my ribs or almost push his way through my belly button. Makes for an interesting night of trying to sleep! I still love, love, love being pregnant but am now experiencing some of the beautiful things that come along with it. My feet get fat after a full day, my clothes are getting tighter and tighter along with some gorgeous marks that have joined my hips! I still have 10 weeks left! WHAT! I find myself getting sad sometimes about these things and then I am quickly reminded that I have been blessed with the amazing opportunity to become a mom! I remind myself that my body is going through these "interesting" changes so that a healthy, precious little baby can join our family and this world. I don't know why I am going off on this tangent. It has just been on my mind a lot lately! I think it's because I see these pregnant celebrities walking the red carpet at the Grammy's and wonder how they're further along then me and more then half my size. That's when I remind myself I'm a real girl NOT a celebrity! Really all it comes down to is being grateful I am blessed with a healthy pregnancy this far. I truly am enjoying these new experiences of pregnancy and look forward to the many experiences still to come when he is born. Long story short is I love being pregnant even with the unpleasant things it does to my body! Maybe there is someone out there that is supposed to read this?

Well, I think this ends a way too long post. Sorry to those of you that fell asleep and are now drooling on your keyboards!

I hope you had a marvelous Valentine's Day!

Missionaries

The other night we had a game against a Greek team. It was a really fun game but we didn't have much of a crowd because it was Tuesday night and the game didn't start until 9. BUT, guess who got to come! THE MISSIONARIES! They got permission to stay out extra late in order to see one of Ryan's games before they go home. They had such a good time and I enjoyed having them along! We love the missionaries. They are so sweet and outgoing with all the people around. We appreciate all of their hard work out here in Treviso! Way to go Elders!

To top of the fun of having them there...WE WON! GO BENETTON!

A journey to Salzburg

We took a little road trip! Ryan had 2 days off and we definitely wanted to take advantage because this doesn't happen very often. We decided really quickly, I booked our hotel and we left the second Ryan got home from practice. We were off on the 4 hour drive to Salzburg, Austria! It was a beautiful drive and it actually flew by. If you know me well then you are aware of the fact that I don't like driving for long periods of time! This was a time that I actually didn't complain once! Here is a run down of our trip...

We checked in! I slept like a baby in this bed! The mattress was actually soft and Ryan enjoyed having some extra space compared to our bed here in Italy. Our hotel was in a perfect location right on the main shopping and restaurant street. It was also about a 2 minute walk to the beautiful river flowing right through Salzburg and a 5 minute walk to the base of one of the biggest castles in all of Europe. I'm not sure if that's an actual fact about it being one of the biggest but that's what we were told so I'm going with it!

The night we got there we asked for a recommendation to the best Austrian Cuisine. We went to a restaurant called "Alter Fuch's." pronounced fooks! We decided we would give it a try! We looked through the menu and I had no clue what to get. I was going to keep it simple with a soup and a salad but then we decided that was boring so instead I went all out. I order the Beef goulash and don't ask me why. I'd be lying if I told you I liked it. It was definitely different and I made it through about 3 bites.

Ryan got the Weinerschnitzel plate that had 3 different kinds of what I like to call hot dogs. He liked his! I liked his a lot better then I liked mine also! The restaurant served the yummiest, huge, warm pretzels that I devoured! Since I didn't like my meal we ordered a bowl of potato vegetable soup. It was delicious! I should have gone with my first instinct!

Those are all hand painted eggs. They were AMAZING!

The next morning we started off our day with an American Buffet at the hotel that was delicious! We then headed out to start our day. We started on the main shopping street but no one was out yet because the stores hadn't even opened. So we then started to make our way up to the castle.

Of course on our way we walked by a bakery and tried the yummiest cream filled donut! My goodness...we miss good donuts!

That is the castle that we were making our way towards. Of course with our luck when we arrived we were told that the tram up to the top of the hill is currently shut down for reconstruction. This meant a little hike. Yikes! I'm definitely not in hiking shape but we managed to do it. It was hilarious! I needed drink breaks a few times but other then that it was great! Everyone would point at me when we were hiking up and seem so concerned since I'm pregnant. I survived and am still alive and well!

A picture on our way hiking up to the top. Ryan was so funny the whole time we were hiking up. It was a little bit icy with tons of gravel and I was in Uggs. Every time I would barely slip he would flip out and grab me as hard as he could even though I wasn't close to falling which would then make us both almost fall. You probably had to be there but we laughed and laughed and laughed pretty much the whole hike up and down (in between my drink breaks of course).

The view from the top of the castle. To be honest the actual castle was non-eventful. Ryan wanted the torture chamber to be really cool but it "only" had about 5 different things they would use on the people. That wasn't creepy enough for him. He wants to go back to London to see the "good stuff" again. But since we were there in the off season they were doing lots of construction and so a lot of the castle was closed. All well...

Of course when we got back down we passed this little street market and had to try something. We weren't even hungry but in my family you have to try things when you see them. Our first pretzel we tried was a cheese and bacon pretzel. It was amazing.

Of course about 5 minutes later when we were still walking around we tried another pretzel that was pizza flavored. Not my favorite but Ryan loved it!

I thought this was so random right in the center of Salzburg. "Bye honey! I'm going to play life size chess for a few hours!" And you should have seen how serious the players and the little crowd were taking this game of chess. It was SILENT all around them so that they could contemplate. Interesting!

Look at those blocks of cheese!

After the castle and the street market we went to the main shopping street. We bought Ryan some sunglasses finally! He has the hardest time finding sunglasses that he likes. We found some and didn't even think twice about getting them because it has taken us 2 years to find some he'll wear. This picture doesn't do the street justice. It was beautiful with amazing stores! We roamed this street for a few hours!

After shopping we headed back to the hotel to get ready to head home. We had to stop and take a picture with the beautiful river that flows all the way through Salzburg. Don't mind my coat that makes me look even more large than I am! I call myself a burnt marshmallow in this puffy maternity coat but AT LEAST I'M WARM! Back off people ;)

The famous chocolate of Salzburg. It is milk chocolate with dark chocolate, white chocolate and marzipan on the inside. It was pretty good! It's named after Mozart because he was born in Salzburg. We had been told to "be sure to try the chocolates in Salzburg!" So we walked and walked and walked trying to find what looked like an amazing chocolate shop. Every single store had the exact same chocolate! Same red boxes or wrapping and the exact same chocolate. We were confused! Then of course we found out that this ONE kind of chocolate is what they are famous for. Had we known it would have saved us a lot of confusion as to why all these different shop owners want to sale the exact same stuff. Why would you ever have 5 "Hershey's" stores right in a row?

This picture is for my family! It's the cafe at the Hotel Sacher where we stayed a few years back!

A picture as we were driving to head home. Look how pretty the buildings are!

Another castle right when you leave Salzburg.

This little vacation was exactly what we needed to get rejuvenated for the rest of the season! We called it our Anniversary trip because I will be ready to pop any second on our actual Anniversary. I loved going on a little getaway just the two of us!

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!! xoxo

Start of the 3rd...

Sorry folks!! I've decided my blog is incredibly boring to read unless you're my mom. The only thing I have to post about is things about my pregnancy which is very exciting to me but maybe not to the rest of you! Life is pretty much a repeat every single day! We wake up, eat breakfast, Ryan goes to practice and I go walking then we eat lunch, clean and hang out until the next practice! Of course there are some random things worked in there like games, the grocery store, a small walk together through the center or maybe an occasional night out with team mates! As you see it's pretty much the same thing day after day! So, next time I have something new to post my title will be "You might actually want to look at this!" Until then, enjoy more belly pictures.

28 weeks/beginning of the 3rd trimester today and everything is going great!

This is now the view I get when I look down. Most of the time it is lopsided to the right because our little guy tends to "Let his shoulda lean!" For my friends you'll know what song I'm singing...

Here is a great story to make you get a good little laugh!

Ryan was driving one of his team mates to practice the other day. Ryan listens to Hip Hop on his way to and from practice and his team mate loves his music. Ryan had the song "Let's Make a Toast" playing when his team mate became incredibly confused. If you don't know this song, youtube "Let's Make a Toast" by Dolla and you just need to hear the chorus so that you actually understand this story! His team mate looks at Ryan (he is Italian but speaks fluent English) and says "Ryan, I don't understand this song. It makes no sense to me. I like the beat, he sounds very cool but then he is saying "Let's make some toast!" Why would he say this? Does he mean let's make some toast with formaggio and pomodoro? I don't get it!" Ryan couldn't hold it in! He burst out laughing not at his team mate but realized that if you don't understand how in America we say "Let's make a toast" to good luck etc. this would be confusing. Why would a guy be singing about making a piece of toast? He explained it to him and said it's the exact same thing as raising your glass and saying "cheers!" like they do here but we sometimes say "Let's make a toast!" His team mate finally understood the meaning and no longer was confused but now they always say to each other "Let's make some toast!"

I love the confusion language barriers can cause!