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!