Kelsey turns 5

My baby is growing up!  Can't believe she is 5.  We had a little party with a few of her friends from school.  She loved it!

Easter weekend and surprise guests!

Easter weekend we had a great surprise!  The Coburns got stuck in Rota for a night on their way back to Belgium.  We were happy to have them.  The kids had a blast.  Saturday morning the base had a color run, I took Shawn, Caden and Alyssa!  The kids did great on the run and enjoyed the day hanging out with Caden and Emma!  We just wish the visit could have been longer.

Cruise to Italy, Turkey, Greece and Croatia!

Seems like every good vacation begins or ends with an amazing sunset from our very own backyard! So lucky to call this home!  

 

Off we go to Italy!  Just like most trips we take it is planes, trains and automobiles!  Drive to airport, plane to new location and then train to another location, lay our heads down to rest then bus to next location! Final destination this time, our cruise ship out of Venice, Italy.   I wish I could say that getting on the ship was an easy process, but it was not our best cruise experience so far!  To make up for it we got some amazing views as we sailed right by St. Marks Square!

Our first destination was Bari, Italy.  We wondered around this cute little seaside village.  Enjoyed the sights, fun street performers, italian woman making pasta, and a father riding a bike with a baby on handlebars through traffic.

Our port in Greece, was Katakolon.  From here we took a bus to Olympia to see the first Olympic sight and the ruins there.  Everything was beautiful, from the cute little port town, to the blooming trees throughout the ruins.  Short, fun day to explore!

Izmir, Turkey, I have to say, we were unimpressed.  Just another big city, and not a clean one either.  We wandered the streets, but nothing impressive!

The views were amazing on the morning we pulled into Istambul, Turkey.  A beautiful sunrise over the Asian side of Istambul. Istambul is in both Europe and Asia.  We explored the European side by taking a tour to see the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia.  Both amazing pieces of architecture!  We also experienced the Grand Bazaar, which was crazy.  I am not very good at the bargaining thing, especially while making sure the kids don't disappear!  Fun day in Istambul!  I also enjoyed the views as the ship pulled out of Istambul and then as we were sailing.  Beauty in was seems like the middle of nowhere!

Dubrovnik, Croatia, was by far our favorite port. Our time here was way too short, the ship pulled into port late, shortening our time.  We decided to take the cable car up to take in the beautiful views from above!  Amazing!  Then we explored the narrow streets inside the old city walls.  I do hope we get the chance to come back to Croatia, we just touched the surface of a very beautiful country.
 

Back to where we started, Venice, Italy.  And today was our day to explore this wonderful city.  We didn't do many attractions here.  We had lunch then went on a gondola ride through the canals.  We wondered the crowded steets/alleyways and stumbled upon signs that led us out.  We were all happy just taking it in as we walked!  A nice last day of vacation.