YESSSS!

Dann and Brian just won their second-round match against the #1 seeds. The score was 5-7, 6-4, 10-8. I was a bit nervous! They didn't have many fans, as their opponents were both Italian. Even not feeling his best, Dann played well, and Brian was great too. I am so happy for them! Let's hope they can keep it up!!

Their match had live video feed online, so if that happens again, I will try to post before the match how to watch it in case any of you are interested. 

Keep praying for us!

Napoli

I know I am so far behind! We are currently in Napoli, or Naples, Italy. We have been here for a week now. Our hotel is pretty nice, though it is the first one that is charging us extra for each child. 

We have spent most of our time at the club or hotel, trying to focus on tennis rather than sight-seeing. Hopefully this will pay off! We have internet access only at the club, which is why I am so far behind on updates!

The kids are feeling better, though Bella isn't 100% yet. And, yesterday, Dann started feeling sick again during his match. He spent the evening in a warm bath and then bed. He will be playing again here in a few minutes, so we'll see if they can pull off a win, even when he's not feeling well. 

The bugs here have been terrible. We have all had a ton of mosquito bites each day. Some days the kids look like they have the chicken pox! We are still eating a lot of pizza, though we did find a McDonald's here that we have been to a few times.  I am still washing all of the clothes by hand. We did find a self-service laundry a few weeks ago, but it cost$20 for one load, so I think I will stick to doing it myself. The worst things to wash are Dann's clothes and socks after he has played tennis on the clay!

All of these pictures were taken from the top of our hotel

Victory!! in Naples

I am so happy to say that Dann and Brian won their first-round match today in Naples! The final score was 6-4, 6-1. They played great! Way to go guys!!

Ferry Ride

Our "cabin"

This time we found the ferry we couldn't find before, which we boarded (and drove our car onto) around 6 p.m. It departed about 8 p.m., and we arrived in Napoli the next morning about 7 a.m. 

We got a "cabin," which was a small room with 4 beds, a bathroom, and sink. The kids LOVED it! The ferry also had a kids playroom, a restaurant, a cinema, and some lounges. It was awesome. Sleeping wasn't the best for me and Bella, but I think everybody else slept pretty well. I think it was the best way to travel. No driving for Dann, and the kids didn't have to be restrained. I wish we could take a ferry everywhere!

Almost ready to dock, with Mt. Vesuvius in the background

The bay of Naples (Napoli)

Palermo

A view from the hotel

The view of the ocean from the hotel

I finally have internet for a few minutes, though my computer battery is almost dead, so I will try to be quick! I am feeling better than when I last wrote, both my spirits and my body. Things have been better this week.

Palermo was beautiful, though it rained a lot again. Our hotel was right on the water, and the views were amazing! We didn't go to church there, since we were all feeling a little under the weather. Sam was pretty happy about that. I know that church can be pretty boring for a 4-year-old, and church in another language where you don't understand anything must be REALLY boring! Sunday afternoon we felt well enough to go for a walk along the beach our hotel was on. 

These pictures were from our walk

Dann and Brian played a close match again, but lost first round. That night we tried to go to McDonald's and got stuck in the WORST traffic I have ever seen. It was amazing. The roads here are so poorly planned, and there was nowhere to get off the autostrade, out of the mess. There must have been an accident, though we never saw anything. And we never made it to McDonald's. But we learned not to take that road again. 

This was the traffic mess we got stuck in 

We arrived in Palermo on a Friday, they played Monday, and after the loss, we headed back to the mainland by ferry on Tuesday. That will be my next post!

Homesick

The kids' colds finally caught up with Dann and me, and I think I feel the worst of everyone. My body and head ache along with the head cold, and I am missing home more than ever. It's one thing to be sick, but to be sick and have to take care of sick kids while traveling across a foreign country is no picnic. I think I hit a low point last night and told Dann through my tears that I was ready to go home. He just said "I think you need a warm bath."  

We made it here to Palermo last night, but not quite the way we had planned. We got to the ferry in Napoli too late, since we drove around lost for a while. Our GPS has been invaluable while we've been here, but we didn't have an exact address for the ferry (which we didn't realize until after we had left the hotel and internet access). Rather than wait until the next evening for the next ferry, which would put us in Palermo too late, we spent the night at a hotel in nearby Pompei. We found a McDonald's, which was wonderful (I never thought I would say that about McDonald's!). I have never enjoyed their food so much!

Then the next morning we got up and drove to Reggio Calabria, which is the "toe" of Italy. It was about a 6 hour drive, and we weren't feeling too well. However, we did see some beautiful country. We have driven down most of the country now. 

When we got there, we waited in line to drive our car onto a different ferry, which took only about 1/2 hour to get across the water to Sicily. The kids really enjoyed that part of the trip.

Then we drove another 2 1/2 hours to Palermo. The kids did fairly well through it all, but then when we got back into the car after checking into our hotel to go out and get dinner, Bella let us know she was not happy to be in her carseat again. It all made for a long day. 

Bella won't drink the formula we have found here, but maybe it is just because we have to use bottled water, which is never warm. I don't know what to do about this. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

And, Lily fell off the bed last night, hitting the bedside table, and now has 2 black eyes (she got the other one jumping around earlier in the evening). 

I am sure things will get better. I miss normal life and all of you. For now, I am still hanging in there.

Here We Go Again...

Well, it stopped raining long enough to play a few more games of the match, which didn't go so well again. The final score ended up 3-6, 2-6. We attended the player's party last night for the free food! 

The kids all have colds. Bella keeps pulling at her ear, but has no fever yet, so I will have to watch her for a potential ear infection. Dann and I are still healthy, and hoping we stay that way! I took this picture of cute Bella yesterday. She is getting big and really loving food. 

We are on to the next tournament today. We will drive to Napoli, then take a ferry (10 hours...an overnight trip) to Palermo, which is on the Island of Sicily. The kids are excited! I hope they can get some sleep. I will write again when I can!

Still Raining

I don't have much of an update except that there isn't one. It rained again this morning, and they kept pushing back Dann and Brian's match to try to get more singles matches done first. So, they should play tomorrow evening, unless it rains again! 

Tonight Brian and Mark watched Sam and Lily so Dann and I could go out to eat. I was getting pretty tired of picking up pizza. We drove around and found a little restaurant, where we met a guy from England who was really friendly and told us what we should order, as he eats there daily. Our meals were great, and it was wonderful of Bella to sleep so we could have a few moments of quiet. We don't get that much these days! 

Match Update

Dann and Brian's match got rained out today, so they will finish playing tomorrow, right where they left off. They lost the first set 3-6 and were down 2-4 in the second when they stopped it. I will post the result after the match!

Sunday Sight-Seeing

Today was really great. This morning we went to a 9 am church about 1/2 hour away. We met a lady from Arizona who married an Italian and has lived here for 12 years. It was great to have somebody to talk to! There were also 4 Elder missionaries there, all from the United States. One of them sat behind us in Sacrament Meeting and translated for us. It was so nice to know what the speakers were talking about. Some of the members of the ward drive 3 1/2 hours to get to church. We really enjoyed meeting them all. 

Later we came back to the hotel and found out that Dann and Brian made it into the doubles draw and will play tomorrow after 3:30. They will play some friends of theirs that are the #2 seeds. Hopefully it goes well! 

Late afternoon we drove to the top of the hill to check out the city inside the walls I wrote about yesterday. Brian came with us, and it was great to have his help with the kids. We walked around and saw some awesome cathedrals and beautiful views. The buildings are centuries old, but now have trendy new shops and apartments in them. Kind of funny. There was an outdoor concert set up to begin at 9, but it was getting cold and we didn't want to be out that late. 

This is really an amazing place! 

Todi, Italy

We made it last night to Todi, Italy, after about 6 hours of driving (yes, we do have our own car now). Our hotel here is not bad, but we only have 2 twin beds. Like last week, we have a grocery store just across the street, which is really great. I think most of the tournament hotels have good breakfast buffets in the mornings, which makes things easier for me. 

It is beautiful here as well. There are amazing hills and fields and it looks just like I have always pictured the Italian countryside to look. There are some really old city walls around the original city with 4 arches leading inside. A local was telling us some history today, and it was fascinating. Maybe we can check it out tomorrow....

Today Dann and Brian both played qualifying singles matches. Neither of them turned out too well! Sign-in for doubles will be tomorrow. On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at a little cafe, and I had pizza with sliced potatoes on top. It was actually really good! I think I have eaten pizza or pasta every day we have been here. For the first time in my life, I am wishing I had more vegetables to eat! 

Another thing I am enjoying about Italy is the gelato...I usually get plain chocolate, and it is sooo good!

About the pictures: these are the views from the tennis courts

Portofino

Yesterday, on our way to a new tournament, we stopped at Portofino, which is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. It is a really old port with cobblestone streets and shops and boats and everything about it was amazing! The water was warm and clear, and the kids were thrilled to find some shells. There were beautiful boats, beaches, castles, very narrow streets, and a lot of greenery. It was just like a postcard. We didn't spend much time walking around (we had a schedule to keep!), but I hope to go back there sometime. 

Oh, how I am missing you all and wishing you could be here!!

More About Genova

I finally have a minute again, but now all my news is old! We are in a new place again, but I want to finish up our week in Genova for future reference for myself. Our hotel was right next to a grocery store, which was wonderful. The Euro is worth about $1.50 right now, so things are more expensive here. We didn't have a car all week (Mark and Brian did, though), so we didn't do much sight-seeing. However, we did spend a few evenings with friends of Mark that he met or baptized while on his mission. None of them spoke English, but it was still fun to visit. Thank goodness Mark speaks Italian! 

About the tournament....Dann and Brian played the #2 seeds first round and lost. It was so cute, though, that even after they lost, all of the ball kids ran up to them (not the other team) to talk and to get autographs. Everybody loves them, and all of us who know them know why. Another great thing about the tournament site was that it had a playground close to the courts. I wish they all had one! Sam and Lily loved playing and making new friends. It amazed me that it doesn't matter to kids whether or not they understand someone or not. They can be friends just the same. 

We couldn't find a place to do laundry, so I have been hand-washing all the dirty clothes. I actually don't mind too much, as it has given me something useful to do. Dann thinks it is pretty great, but I am hoping we can find a laundromat somewhere soon!

Also, while here in Genova, we had a great big wildfire on the mountainside right near our hotel. We had a fantastic view right outside our window. It made things pretty smoky all week, but we got used to it. I am not sure what started it, but someone told us it was not natural.  

This last thing is for Emily and Kiana: at the tournament, we met a nice guy named Pierre. Dann asked Lily to say "Pierre," and I'm sure you can just hear how it came out: "Pee-yay-yay." It was pretty funny!

Genova, Italy

I haven't been able to post anything since we have been here in Italy, so I have a lot to write! The flights went well, except that none of the adults got any sleep. So, it was a little strange when we got to Brussels to change planes, it was already morning. The lines to get our passports checked were long and unorganized, so we ended up running from there to the security checkpoint. Then they checked our bags by dumping them all out because they thought they saw something that looked like a knife in my diaper bag. Then we ran again to the plane, which we were 15 minutes late for, but since Mark and Brian were already on board, they waited for us. The flight from there to Milan wasn't long. We rented 2 very small cars and it took a while to figure out how to get all the luggage and carseats in. We drove from there about 2 1/2 more hours to Genova, where we are now. Mark and Dann drove, and I have no idea how they stayed awake. We were all so tired by that point. Upon arrival, we checked into the tournament hotel, which is nice. We (Dann, me, and kids) have a king bed and a pull-out couch, which works great. I will have to write more later....

Staten Island

With only one day left here in NYC, we have been trying to visit the most interesting (to us) tourist attractions. Yesterday we took the Staten Island Ferry that takes you past the Statue of Liberty. We made it to the ferry about sunset, and the statue was beautiful! There are other boat rides you have to pay for that take you up to it, but since the ferry was free, we decided it was the best option. We also drove over the Brooklyn Bridge and walked down Wall Street. 

A few things that I didn't know before about New York City:

1. The roads are terrible! Meaning bumps and very uneven, making the driving even worse!
2. There are bags of garbage on all the city streets each evening. Tons of them. The garbage man must come in the middle of the night to pick them all up, but it sure makes everywhere look dumpy! 
3. We looked it up and found out that 1/3 of the people here were born in a different country.  A very diverse population, though most of the people we have seen are blacks. 

A little off the subject, Sam started sounding out words he saw on signs while we were driving. It was so cute! He is reading better each day. He sure is getting big!

WE LEAVE FOR ITALY TOMORROW!