Ciao!

Matt and I had an amazing few days in Italy! We started our trip by meeting up with my dear high school friend Wendy and her husband Matt for tours of San Gimignano, the "Manhattan" of medieval Tuscany, and Siena. We climbed ancient stone towers to watch the sunset, drove tiny cars through even tinier cobbled lanes, gazed admiringly at stunning architecture and artwork, ordered antipasto plates every day...and ate our weight in gelato. It was a fabulous time!

Then we packed our bags and headed to Montepulciano for Sonali and Jon's wedding. I've been friends with Sonali for nearly two decades, and we've lived in the same cities for a remarkable amount of that time--Canfield, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Now she's in London and I'm in D.C., but there could not have been a better place than Tuscany to watch her celebrate her marriage. We stayed in a beautiful villa with sweeping views of the Tuscan countryside, climbed the picturesque streets of Montepulciano, indulged in the finest cured meats and wines, and met and mingled with warm, wonderful friends gathered to share in Jon and Sonali's special day. It was perfect.

Our last day in Italy was spent hobbling through the streets of Florence (darn those blisters) and cursing the pigeon that pooped on me! But despite these minor irritations, we were in Italy, sans kids, and we savored every moment. We just knew it was time to head home!

A special thank you to our parents, who spoiled our kids rotten in our absence. They are still talking about all of the amazing adventures they had while we were away.

A Week at the Beach

Well, suffice it to say that I am way behind on my posts. The Hartings clan headed to the Outer Banks back in July for a fabulous week of sun, sand, surf, and sensational cocktail hours! All of the kids loved the beach--they were fearless in the water and spent hours making sand castles and sand dinosaurs (Claire's favorite!)

Happy Birthday, Jack!

There were no storms knocking out power today to commemorate Jack's dramatic birth...and that was a good thing. Instead, we had a nice rainfall around three to clear out a little humidity, followed by a quiet family party at home. Jack was delighted with his new trucks and his push mower...at least whenever he could wrest them from his sisters!

The girls insisted that Jack wanted a spaceship cake (to match his bedroom), so that's what we made. Kaitlyn even decorated mini Nilla wafers to look like Jack, Claire and her, as well as a nice green Martian. In about five minutes flat, Jack had a third of the cake eaten! Kaitlyn ate her fair share, too, and Claire did some major damage on the icing. All in all, we'll call it a success!

Fun Times in Piqua

The kids and I had a fun week with Grandma and Grandpa Hartings in Piqua, Ohio. Poor Matt had to return to DC to work, but we got to spend five more days exploring and picnicking in the great outdoors, splashing in the town pool, petting the goats and sampling fired cheese curds at Young's Jersey Dairy, and...riding an elephant (at least the girls did!) And I got to see Marie and Megan! Thanks for a great time!