The Book Whisperer - Part Two

   Here in Texas we have a very early Spring Break - it is next week!  We've decided to go exploring a bit and are going to see what we can find in Arkansas.  What I am really looking forward to is shutting off the kids' phones for a few days.  I figure that this is a family vacation and their friends do not need to come along.
   I began this blog post in 2014!  I found it while searching for my original Book Whisperer... It only contained these two photos which are straight out of my old Family Home Evening scrapbook.  They are from 1999 and contain a list of some of the books that we had been reading aloud... OH!  How I wish I had kept that list going!  Anyway, reading the original Book Whisperer post was fun.
  My sister, Lori,  just asked me what we are doing for Book Whisperer now... I am glad she didn't ask me much sooner since I finally got my act together just a couple weeks ago.  I'll explain our new program right after I report on our first one.
  We began in September of 2014 and officially ended last summer.  Kimberly wanted to be done by the end of the school year and she did it.  Mark and I completed ours soon afterward with David and Natalie following up this past fall - mostly finishing up I think.  IT WAS GREAT!  The fact that we were required to read was wonderful!  It meant that there was always a book nearby and I reawakened my old habit of reading before I fall asleep.   In fact, everyone was going to bed sooner so that they would have time to read when possible.  We had a lot of quiet evenings as we sat together reading - when does that happen if you aren't Book Whisperers?

When Lori texted me her question
I looked up and there was Kimberly
reading "Standing Next to History"
A fun book we have all shared about
the Secret Service during the
Reagan years.  How we miss
Ronald Reagan!

  The other really positive aspect of our program was that we were required to read so many different genres.  They included Realistic Fiction (5 books), Fantasy/Science Fiction (5), Biography (5), Historical Fiction (5), Mystery/Western (4), Informational (4), Poetry (2) and My Choice (10).  This really worked to broaden the scope of my reading.  It also gave me permission to read some really fun books - before this I felt that I should be reading all "informational" books - and they can get rather boring.  Another aspect I loved... we shared books.  Someone would read and recommend a book and we could all pass it around over the next month or two.
  I had intended to report on some of the books that I read, but I cannot find my list - when I find it I will write about it.  For now, I will share our new plan:
  This time around we aren't counting books, we are counting pages.  We can read a lot of small books, one large one.and anything in-between   (Natalie just pulled out the unabridged Les Miserables which should fill her Historical Fiction requirement by itself... ) We will each read a minimum of 1,500 pages in the following genre:  Realistic Fiction, Fantasy, Biography, Information and Historical Fiction.  We will also have 3,000 pages in My Choice.
  A new twist... This time we have to write.  Yes, write... and I heard more than a few grumbles about this.  I bought the set of Moleskine notebooks from Costco - a little nicer to write in than composition books.  Inside of each book is the record sheet (since I kept losing my last one... seriously, once I found it outside in my backyard?!?) and the new rules.  We just have to write a short report on each book and what we learned.  I know... this kind of defeats the purpose of the Book Whisperer -reading-for-the-joy-of-reading... but last time there wasn't a prize.  This time we have prizes... and it isn't hard writing - more of a record that I wished I had from before.  What if I had written down a few notes on every book I have ever read? What a treasure (for myself)!  So... we will be writing.
  Kimberly has a big head start since she finished our last program in June 2015 and hasn't quit reading.  I explained this new program to her at the time... but (this will make everyone feel better) - I didn't get around to making these books and explaining it to everyone else until last weekend (Feb 2016).    Oh well, that's the way it goes...
  So - next week is Spring Break (without  friends texting).  The sunshine which has been so beautiful and present each day is going to be hiding behind some clouds/rain. We will be in Arkansas... and just in case rainy Arkansas doesn't keep us busy... we all have instructions to pack a couple books!  Let the games begin!

For more information search for my first Book Whisperer post - or Google "Book Whisperer" and learn about this incredible teacher.  It is inspiring!


 

Scanning and Smiling - Tornado Lessons

   As I drove away from my beloved home in Washington, a very rare tornado hit my little town of Battle Ground!  As a general rule, tornadoes do not happen in Washington.   The sky was very black, there was thunder and that sense of impending "severe weather."  Mark hurried the girls and I out the door, into our van and on our way.  We didn't even have time to be sad.

Tornado in Battle Ground, WA

   Mark and David were staying an extra day so that David could attend school - besides the movers were still there.  David was able to see the tornado from his school window.  It was  good one, toppling trees up to 3 feet in diameter.  As far as I can tell, our van missed it by about two minutes and one mile.
Another historic tornado welcomed us to Texas.  Dallas has never had a tornado in December, but here it was!  Our family sat on our patio that evening watching a beautiful electrical storm.  Our phones suddenly gave us a tornado warning.  We weren't sure what to think of this.  A few minutes later the tornado sirens went off and we decided to go inside - stepping outside occasionally to feel the warm wind and hear the thunder.   ( I really, really enjoy thunder and lightning.)
   I was unpacking boxes in my office when the wind and rain outside became very loud.  I think that this is when the tornado must have hit.  It wasn't until we began to get texts and calls from family and friends checking on our safety that we realized just how close we were and how destructive this category 4 tornado had been.

Finding our niche

   Lesson One - Had we taken these tornado warnings seriously enough?  No.  We do have an area under our stairs which appears to be reinforced and we have left it mostly empty for this type of emergency... but we weren't there.  We have come out of this with an increased realization that we must be better prepared - emergency kits and even more so - all of those important papers that we keep meaning to organize, scan, store in a secure spot, etc.
   Two weeks later we still haven't done these things!  What is it that makes us procrastinate something so important?
   Better lesson - what other warnings do we receive and not act upon?  I am think of personal items - perhaps a warning from a doctor about the need to change certain habits.  Maybe we read a book showing us how to improve a relationship or a talent and we feel those stirrings to follow up on the advice.  Most importantly - what about spiritual warnings that come as a response to our study and prayer?  Do we recognize them and still not act?
I am thinking that to be the type of person I most want to be will mean acting on all of these types of warnings....
   I won't type more about that.  However, I think it would be a healthy use of time to make a list of some of these unheeded warnings - perhaps each day we could check just one of them off.  I know I would feel better and BE better...  Yikes, now I am planning to post this for anyone to read I am feeling much more accountable.   So I will be specific - I will gather, scan and file a stack of important papers.  That will be first on my list.  If I like the way it feels (I know I will), I will come up with another item.

This fireplace and clock
stopped me in my tracks

   Lesson Two - As I walked this morning I enjoyed the quiet time to myself and the peaceful neighborhood.  Suddenly I recalled the sights of last weekend when my family went to help with the cleanup of a home devastated by the tornado.  This neighborhood (of brick homes) in the city of Rowlett was like a war zone.  Tears filled my eyes as we parked and walked to our destination.  Sobered.  That was the word I use to describe my feelings.  That is the same word I heard from many others.
I am often frustrated when I experience the beauty of nature on a hike or at the beach and I want to share it with others.  Photographs never convey the true beauty, probably because it is more than what  our eyes are seeing - I guess beauty is a feeling as well.  It is the whole experience.  Likewise, images on the television cannot duplicate the feelings of walking through this devastation.  We can see and take photos, but the feelings that are there permeate our souls.

Some brick homes are entirely gone!

   As first we didn't really know how to help.  Mark and David found their way into the home and helped salvage personal items to bring outside.  The girls and I helped to pack these items to be taken to a new home.  There were many, many volunteers - all anxious to help.  Each person or group found their niche and together we accomplished a lot.  Young men carried our full boxes to the front yard to be hauled away.  Groups of men came from yard to yard to take large debris and put it onto piles.  A woman (bless her) brought a large bin -house to house- of individually wrapped beef tacos to share.

Taco Break

So, as I walked this morning in peace and reflected on what was happening across the lake I reflected on personal lives.  It was foggy and the homes I passed appeared serene, but I don't know what goes on inside those homes.  People we pass in public are generally well groomed and well mannered, but what is happening in their lives and in their hearts?
   We don't have to search very hard to understand that society is full of personal trial and devastation.  On a brighter note, I also believe there are many, many "volunteers" who are willing to help.  If we get out there amongst our friends, neighbors, family and associates (and even strangers), we can all find our niche - and like the tornado volunteers - we can accomplish a lot.
I propose that the best way to start is with a smile and a kind word.  I also propose that the best place to start is within our own homes.
   Well - this blog post has just spilled out of my mind and has developed a life of its own - prompting me to heed a little warning I have felt... that it is important for me to smile at my family members.

And that is all that I am going to say about this today....  I have to get busy scanning and smiling!

Family Traditions... what we ALWAYS do!!

"But.... that is what we ALWAYS do!!"
I started to hear this more and more as the children grew older... whether a cherished holiday tradition or making homemade pizza on a Saturday night - the children knew what they wanted... and what they wanted was for things to be done the way that "we ALWAYS do them" - - - The funny thing was that some of these things we had done once or twice... yet I began to learn that these events/activities were important to the children and thus to the family.  So, if it was good and positive... I would go ahead and implement, thus forming a Tradition, thus solidifying our family identity and building needed strength and love.  Even when this "tradition" didn't last long... it still provided memories to share together.
This is the reason that, a few weekends ago, we used two nights of hotel points, left our visiting grandmother home alone (it's ok, she had friends come stay with her), and drove five hours each way... the end result was this photo:

This photo is part of a somewhat silly but cherished family tradition and here is our story:

Our first official family vacation was in 1992 when Nathan was about 9 months old.  Before that time, our vacation has consisted of returning to California to visit our parents.  By now I was working as an RN in the operating room at UVRMC, so although Mark was still a full time student, we had a little money for a hotel and gas to get us there.  We found places with refrigerators so that we could pack our food.  We drove to Durango, Colorado and went to Mesa Verde.  When we walked past the old-fashioned photo shop we both remarked how we had wanted to do these photos as children but neither of our parents would agree... then it dawned on us... we were grown up!  We could take have an old fashioned photo taken and wouldn't our little boy be happy about that when he was older?  And so it began.
Two years later we found ourselves at Lake Tahoe with Mark's family.  We took an afternoon off from the reunion to have a little family time and explore Silver City, Nevada.  Of course a tourist town like this would have a photo studio - and we had a new little Greg to be added to our picture, so we once again splurged.  Both of the boys were pretty excited to be holding guns, especially when Daddy had one also.

One of our best vacations was in May of 1997 when we borrowed Mark's parents' RV and drove around Idaho and Wyoming.  Here we are in Jackson Hole - we have to smile when we see this photo because the kind man that took it had really no idea what he was doing.  He was a disabled vet who was watching his sister's shop while she went to lunch.  He just said - go stand there and starting shooting (the photo, we were happily the ones holding guns once again).  In these days the photos were not digital and I think that when he came out of the developing room and saw how awful both shots had turned out, he just gave them both to us - we think he pocketed our money and never told his sister that we had been there...

By the time we drove to Edmonton, Canada in 1999 to visit Mark's parents who were living there as missionaries, we had begun to notice a pattern.  We were having a baby one summer and taking a family vacation the next summer - adding a new little baby each year.  The boys were none too pleased to be holding school books instead of guns, but Jackie was very happy to be wearing a long dress, and of course, this year we included Natalie who was just shy of her first birthday.  I believe that we were at Fort Edmonton.

A most memorable vacation in May of 2001 to Boston, Massachusetts.  We had enough frequent flyer miles to fly the whole family and hotel points for the week.  Our good friends, Nathan and Sarah Smith, were living there going to M.I.T. and they provided great food and acted as tour guides many times.  We saw a lot of American and Family History sites - combining them on this day as we visited Plymouth.  Where else can you dress as pilgrims?  Nowhere - I think that this shop was out of Cape Cod - we had just had a very long day and seen a lot - the boys missed their guns, but those little girls felt so pretty with their basket and flowers.  They never wanted to take off their costumes!  Here we have David at 10 months old.

Life got a little crazy by the time our sixth baby, Kimberly, arrived.  It looks like she is about two years old in this photo and we hadn't been on a vacation - at least not one with old fashioned photos.  We had moved from Oregon to Washington in July 2001, and this was 2004.  Everyone was happy with the Civil War theme as there were swords/guns for the boys and the girls were dressed up to be beautiful.  We like this one because our little one behaved very well, but wasn't thrilled to be wearing gloves.  You can see that she is taking one off while its pair is there on the floor already.  A fun moment to capture.


2006 and we are back on schedule for photos, but had no more babies to add.  Quite alright, we fill up the photo just fine.  Here we are in Deadwood, South Dakota.  We are dressed as a gang of outlaws.  We thought we should get back to our western theme to celebrate our location, but soon-to-be-8 yr old Natalie flat out refused to be anything but a cowboy.  Jackie refused to be anything but a lady in a pretty dress.  Kimberly wanted to hold a gun, so we decided to be a gang of outlaws.  Mom agreed to wear the dress for Jackie, but balance it out by wearing a cowboy hat and gun.  The momma of ruthless outlaws needs to be ready for anything...

Seaside, OR, 2008 - we saw these cute outfits when we came in 2004 and thought it would be a fun addition to our collection.  At this point our tradition had morphed from adding a baby to just taking a photo with a new theme every two years.  Thankfully there is a great little photo shop in Seaside and we looked forward to other events here such as renting one of those nightmare three-bench bikes.  It was fun the first time... but the second time... read on...
Back in Seaside in 2010 - we are scruffy, merciless pirates.  We took this just weeks before sending Nathan to the Philippines on his mission and sending Greg to the hospital for chemotherapy.  We realized that this might be the final time to have Nathan in our photos - and we decided to morph the tradition once again to counting down the children - that is, to take a photo each time a child leaves home.  For the record, this was our second bike rental and we happily headed down the street only to find out that it had no brakes...and I think there was a problem with the steering.  I just have an image of driving wildly past oncoming traffic into a curb to stop ourselves - not my favorite memory.
A bunch of wild Indians - that's us in 2012 as Greg prepares to serve as a Spanish speaking missionary in Oakland, CA.  This is not our favorite - but it is fun.  We are back in Seaside, and maybe this is the time that the brakes gave out - I don't know, it is all getting to be a blur of costumes and salt water taffy...  Therefore, for our final photo before Jackie leaves on her mission to Utah, we thought it worthwhile to drive the five hours to Leavenworth, Washington where we not only had the fun experience of seeing our men in Bavarian lederhosen, we ate some delicious German food - and here I will put in a plug for the Andreas Keller Restaurant - very authentic!

I was just thinking that the first time I ever saw an "old-fashioned photo" was when I was quite young... I probably have the memory all fuzzy, but it seems that it was at my parents' friends' home - perhaps the McNeals who lived up Poly Canyon?  I thought, even at a young age, that an old picture was very cool - and then to realize it was modern people... well, that was just magical to me.  It was probably 20 years later that I walked into the little shop in Durango, Colorado to get a picture of my own... and look at me now.
This is just one of our traditions - a rather unique one I think.  Just like us...

Salt and Honey in The Land of Enchantment

Next time we will need a
much larger U-Haul!

Shiprock, New Mexico – as we approached Shiprock I told Mark the story of my family’s experience in Shiprock almost 40 years ago… My parents had moved to Farmington, NM and when they heard there was a parade in Shiprock they thought that they would take the family to absorb some local culture. Well, it worked… I was nine years old and I recall the “Cuchina” dancers, but my parents remember that we were definitely a few grains of salt in a large pepper shaker – definitely the wrong ethnicity and not exactly welcomed. Oh well.
Yesterday it would appear that Shiprock had once again had a large parade – maybe they do this quite often. The traffic was horrific, but as we slowly made out way through town my mouth was watering over the many little stands selling Navajo tacos. Though we make them at home, I know that they are not as good as the ones I remember from my childhood in New Mexico. Therefore, when we came to a little gas station/café in a town called Cuba – we decided to order some Navajo tacos and frybread.

Delicious - but it burned!!

“Green or Red Chili,” the man was asking me – I asked which was the least hot…
“They are both hot,” was his reply – hmmmm.
“I guess I will take red”
“Red is hot!”
“Then I will take green.”
“Green is hot!”
“Please make mine without chili.”
….I got green. It was hot. We ordered to go and pulled over beside a little adobe Baptist church to eat. It was delicious, but hot. Too hot. We enjoyed a few bites and set them aside to eat the fry bread with some honey. I noticed that she had also added little packets of salt, probably to spice up the green chili, but I decided to add it to the honey on my fry bread (cheap honey packets aren’t too great) and was rewarded with a kettle-corn-like fry bread experience. Yummy as it was, Mark had spoken of some great sopapillas in Albuquerque so I only had a few bites. I guess I am going to have to get used to eating deep fried food if I am going to live in the South.

Sopapilla stuffed with
carne adovado - YUM!!
(Chili on the side - unused)
Mary & Tito's in
Albuquerque

Back to Farmington – watching the map as we drove through town I saw that we would be driving right past my old neighborhood and was so thrilled for a chance to check out the old house! We drove right to it – 1409 Camino Monte. Almost 40 years later and there are all the memories coming so clearly – we passed my friend Tanya’s home with the large addition in the back that my dad helped to build… there was the home that was robbed the same week as ours… the driveway that we weren’t allowed to rollerskate on even though their cement was so smooth… the neighbor’s house with the nice dad who saved us when we (the children) thought our house was on fire but it was only us burning up our treat in the oven… the Butler’s home where we lived while waiting to move to Wyoming… the Carlson’s home where I had my first babysitting jobs when I was 10 years old… and my house – missing the tree in front that I used to climb.

1409 Camino Monte - 2015

Bluffview Elementary

Camino Monte - 1977

We drove to Bluffview Elementary – on the way I saw the house where the lady told me that I was too old to trick-or-treat; though in reality I was just tall for my age – I was 9 years old and so mortified Inever went out trick-or-treating again… I saw the alley where someone had dumped old sheetrock and we would take pieces of it be chalk on the sidewalk… The school had changed of course… it was so much smaller than I remember… I saw the gym and remembered sitting at a before-school parent meeting with my mom being so shocked that we would be expected to bring our own school supplies because we had moved from Reno, Nevada where they had enough money to supply paper, pencils and other supplies for their students…. There was the library which made me remember the day that I had pretended to be sick in order to skip the all-school spelling bee. My friend and I had won our grade level and I was so afraid that I would win again and be sent to a larger spelling bee – the teachers made it sound fun, but to me it sounded like a nightmare. Then there was the playground... the fun get-your-wiggles-out equipment had all been replaced with colorful and safe yet boring places to play. They used to have rows of half-buried tires to do hurdle races and we even had a semi-circle of telephone poles buried on-end at different heights to jump between.  Someone had donated hundreds of giant tractor tires and they were creatively made into all sorts of play equipment.  There was an awesome piece of equipment called "The Spider" which entailed hanging on vey tights and being spun in the air - like a merry-go-round in the sky.  There was always a big line to play here - and usually one or two injuries each year... but even the injured kids were back in line as soon as permitted.  Poor modern children - There are schools in town have "no running" rules.  Really?!?  My teacher kept a shoebox of Indian pottery pieces that we would find at recess while digging around in the dirt. We could take them home if we wanted, but it was fun to see her collection grow also.  I suppose that would all be illegal now...  For the record, I had the same teacher for 4th and 5th grade - her name was Amaryllis Trujillo and she was amazing.  She is the teacher who introduced me to one of my all-time favorite books, The Hiding Place  by Corrie Ten Boom.
Wow – I was amazed at how the memories came flooding in. Life is so interesting. So many people with which to interact… so many experiences to shape and form who we are today.
And the Land of Enchantment… I am, indeed, enchanted. Driving through New Mexico was a beautiful adventure. The bluffs and free standing monoliths – different colors and shadows. I wanted to get out and explore so many places – enchanting is a great description for what we saw yesterday. Southern Utah is magnificent as always. As I type we are driving through Western Texas – it is flat and I find it invigorating. Big sky… the hills are beginning to roll now (typing while en route) and I am reminded of my roots in Central California. Driving out Friday through the Columbia River Gorge I knew it would be one of my last times to make that drive – the Gorge has intrigued me since I first saw it almost 23 years ago. It is no secret that the beauty of the northwest is intoxicating to me – but driving through the varied landscapes for the past three days reminds me that I simply love the earth. The variety is spectacular and I am grateful that my Father in Heaven has provided such a get-my-hands-dirty-and-have-fun-doing-it type of playground in which to live, love, laugh and learn!  He obviously loves us very, very much!!

10th Birthday on Camino Monte:

I found this photo of my 10th birthday party - we moved away the next year but I remember most of these girls... left to right - Lori, ?, Elizabeth Penrod, Andrea Nygren, Myself, JoAnne, Shirley, Nanette Nygren, ?, Patty Palmer.

Buon Appetito! An Italian Food Experience...

Buon Appetito - and in Italy we learned one cannot help having a great meal each time you sit down. The ingredients are so fresh!  Restaurant tomatoes usually make me cringe, but here they really did taste like they were fresh from my garden.  Our favorite part of the Italian restaurant experience was probably the waiters... handsome, charming Italian men playing their part wonderfully well!

One handsome, charming Italian man stands out as our family favorite!!  His name is Angelo and he was our official Make-A-Wish Wish Grantor.  Today's post will be a record of the wonderful day that we spent with Señor Angelo...

Jackie's official wish, "A Food Experience in Italy," was a mystery to us all.  Our local representatives were also unaware of what it would entail.  This would be our final day in Rome and we simply did not know what to expect.  All that we knew is that we were supposed to go and stand in front of our hotel at 10:00 a.m. and that a driver would come for us.  We had read about food tours that went to several restaurants and thought that this would be our activity.  We had spent the week in hot, crowded conditions and were simply hoping that we could be on a small tour, ideally just our family.

Pizza samples, sold by weight

Our worries were put to rest by the appearance of a gentleman who introduced himself simply as Angelo.  His kindness and his charisma put us at immediately at ease and we could see that we were in for a very special day!  He centered his attentions on Jackie... this was her wish and he often referred to her as "Queen for the Day" or introduced her, "This is Jackie, today she is the mayor of Rome!"

Fried Rice Balls

Angelo Amorico, of Access Italy, is Oprah Winfrey's personal tour guide when she chooses to visit Italy.  His list includes Sharon Stone, Diane Sawyer, and others.  On this day, he was ours, and our day was fantastic.
An open air market was our first stop.  We have been to these markets in Mexico and the Philippines, but a market in Italy is a much different experience - primarily because it smells so good (no dead chickens hanging here!).  The produce smelled delicious.  A man was demonstrating a fun kitchen gadget which has many interesting uses such as cutting carrots into corkscrews.  Angelo bought one for Jackie and she has enjoyed using it at home.  We proceeded to a cheese store for a few cooking ingredients.  Along the way we kept meeting members of Angelo's office staff.  He had given them the day off to spend with us!  They are all young, personable and hospitality-oriented... just the kind of people that make you feel welcome.  We popped into a couple delis to sample different pizzas and a couple flavors of some sort of fried rice-ball.

Natalie and Angelo add Olive Oil

Learning to roll the dough

The pizzas cook quickly

Heart pizzas for parents

Many hands make light work

Two chefs magnifico!

Back in the van, we could hardly believe it when we pulled up to a pizzeria and they met us with hats and aprons for the four children.  The kids washed up and were led into the kitchen where they mixed a large batch of pizza dough to be used that evening, enough for 50 pizzas.  Dough was supplied for each of them to create their own pizza.  Italian pizzas are much more simple than ours - and it was a bit of a surprise to the chef when Natalie requested ham and pineapple... but he supplied some chunks of fresh pineapple and prosciutto.  Mark and I were sent outdoors to the table so that we could not see them preparing heart-shaped pizzas for the parents.  Each staff member then ordered a pizza and we all ate together at tables set in the narrow street.

Adding a layer of chocolate

Making tiramisu at Angelo's

At this point Angelo was going to take us for some amazing gelato - we had eaten gelato at least once a day for a week, but Angelo assured us that we were in for a treat.  Unfortunately, we were all very full... so we moved on to an even better surprise.  Señor Angelo took us to his home!  Here we met his charming wife - she grew up in Boston, but when she married Angelo he informed her that she would need to learn to cook Italian... and she has.  We all crowded into her kitchen and were taught how to make tiramisu!  Only one problem - the biscuits are supposed to soak in coffee... and here I had to let them know that we do not drink coffee but usually just substitute milk.  These kind women did not miss a beat - immediately they were making hot chocolate and we soaked with this instead.  They had us add a layer of chopped chocolate in the middle so the flavors blended beautifully - it was delicious.  While it soaked we simply enjoyed being in their home...

Angelo, Jackie and
an un-named, but famous, pope

Angelo's door - look at the step

I really loved this door!

If I remember correctly,
this stonework was
originally at St. Peters
until it was remodeled.

Angelo had told us the building in which they live was built in the 1400's.  When we entered there was a plaque with a date in the 1600's - so he clarified that it was built in the 1400's but remodeled in the 1600's.  The door into the building was so old - I was enchanted because the step below the door was also quite worn with age.  We saw a lovely garden and a small chapel which housed a vault in which a pope had been buried.  This pope is famous - in St. Peters Basilica there is a large statue of Christ, Peter, Paul and a pope... this is that pope, but I do not recall his name.
Sadly, our adventure came to a close.  We would like to have walked through more streets and heard more stories - For example, a fun fact he shared with us was that a plaque on a building banned putting any sort of trash in that area - this "law" had been in effect for hundreds of years on that street because no one is allowed to change it.  I wondered what all the other plaques had been saying.
Angelo has been doing this for a lifetime - and for us, spending a day with him was the opportunity of a lifetime.

Jackie is an official
Italian Chef!

Just for fun - after being dropped off at the hotel we had to choose our final activity.  We decided to return to St. Peters Basilica because we liked it so much the first time.  As we left we remembered that Angelo's neighborhood was also near the vatican... we wandered the streets until we came to a gelato shop - hoping that it was the one that we had missed earlier.  With the best flavors and no labels in English - we think we found it and... YUMMY!!!

We think we discovered
the Best Gelato Ever!

Italy held many delights and adventures for us - ancient ruins, fountains, the Vatican, Pompeii, pizza, gelato... but Angelo truly stands out as a Wish-Come-True!!
Thank you to Make-A-Wish... and forever thank you to Señor Angelo Amorico.  He's the best!

Thank you Angelo!!!

We made some delicious tiramisu
last week but had to use Vanilla
Wafers - couldn't find ladyfingers.

We wore our Make-A-Wish buttons
as we traveled.