Inside or Outside

Castello Brolio - August 2005. I liked the way the light was coming through the doorway of the church and Colby was leaning on it, waiting for us to come outside. I softened the light in the background so it wasn't so harsh and you only get a hint of Colby's features.

Touching an Icon

Looking up at the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

A Glass of Chianti

You just can't help but take a picture of the grapes when you're taking a walk through a vineyard.

The Elements of Growth

I'm going along with the nature theme we had yesterday with the butterfly thing with this pretty fern. They were growing all over the place in the small woods along the walk Colby and I took near Il Sole Verde. There were a lot of really huge horse flies too, but no horses. So the flies substituted with us. We got bit several times.

Lunch Break

Castello di Brolio - August 2005. My butterfly is definitely not as nice a picture of my brothers butterfly he posted on Mick's Photo Blog, but I tried. I just wanted to be like him today. Maybe some of his great talent will rub off on me.

A Quiet Walk

Tuscany, August 2005 - Colby and I taking a walk through vineyards. This is part of what Italy is all about.

Towering Flag

The Flag of Pisa flys on top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I read that most of the towers in the area were destroyed in WWII by the US Army because of their potential risk of snipers. Pisa's tower was scheduled to be destroyed but was saved by a last minute retreat. Thank goodness.

Playtime

Fabro Italy - August 2005. As we were waiting to get our car fixed in small town Italy, we waited it out at a small park. I love it when the boys get along so well. Most of the time when we are getting on to them, it's because they are being really loud laughing and being extremely goofy. I wonder how long that will last.

In the Eyes of the Beholder

Leaning Tower of Pisa - August 2005. I was just taking a picture of Eric and noticed that I could get the image of the tower in his big Texas Cop sunglasses. There's me in there too.

Under the Tuscan Sunset II

Same sunset as yesterday's post, but now I'm standing at the farm we stayed at instead of in town.

Under the Tuscan Sunset

Marcatale, Toscana, Italy - August 2005. There were a few nights while we were on "holiday" in Tuscany where the sunsets were spectacular. This night I was finally in a good position to be able to get a picture of it.

Tranquility

Il Sole Verde - Marcatale, Italy - August 2005. We've made it back from our trip to Tuscany and it was fantastic. Once you get away from the grim and trash of Napoli, Italy is so very beautiful. Tuscany was everything I'd hoped it would be. It was quiet, quaint, beautiful, and relaxing.

Trullo

Selva di Fasano, Italy - April 2005. On our trip to Zoosafari in Fasano, we were able to stay at a wonderful little country Inn amongst a beautiful country neighborhood. In this area of Italy along the Adriatic Sea there are tons of these buildings called Trullos. They are an ancient architecture and built without cement on their coned roofs.

The Keyhole

On every door in our apartment there is a keyhole. There are no push-in locks on the knobs. There are actually no knobs. The door handles are just that, handles and below the handles are the keyholes. You have to have one of those long keys to lock and unlock the doors with and you can do this on either side of the door. Well, dummy me just noticed yesterday that you could look through the keyhole. "How cool is that?" I thought to myself. Then I thought it out loud to Brad. We experimented with the camera and he got bored with me and went to read. Sooooo, I experimented more and came out with some funny pictures. Here's the best one. Brad is reading Harry Potter in his room.

Freckles

Most often when I take a picture of Colby he gives me a goofy face and it doesn't look natural. When I was taking all the pictures of him and Napoleon, he gave me this look and I'm glad I caught it. I believe you don't always have to smile to have a good picture. I love the look in his eyes, the shape of his face and all the freckles on his nose.

A Cat and His Boy

One more in the series.

Snuggle Time

Third in the series. Aren't they just too cute? Colby loves to cuddle with Napoleon, though sometimes Napoleon doesn't like to cuddle with Colby. I'm not sure if Napoleon will grow out of it or not, but when he's sleeping, he must be right up next to one of us. It doesn't matter who, anyones lap will do.

Best Friends

Second picture in the series of our two youngest in the family. Napoleon is such a sweet kitten. I took him for his first vet visit Wednesday and we found out that he has some sight in his left eye after all.

Afternoon Nap

Just like a Mom, I took a bunch of pictures of these two characters like this. Colby is watching cartoons and Napoleon is doing that thing he does best, sleep. I'm going to post my five favorites in the next days and you tell me which one you like the best. My favorite will be the last one. Oooo, the anticipation.

Ghostly Boys

The Roman Road Support Site, Italy - August 2005. The boys were getting very restless since we'd been in the apartment all day so at around 9:00 last night I took them outside to walk down the Roman Road and take some night time pictures. The pictures didn't turn out as well as I'd hoped but I caught this creepy picture of them not standing still. :o) Do they ever stand still? Nope!

Relaxing

The Balcony, Napoli Italy - August 2005. About a month ago, I was sitting out on the balcony in the golden hour drinking a glass of good Italian wine. I was enthralled with the way the light was reflecting through the wine and vowed I'd take a picture of it someday. Well, last night was that someday and I like the results of the picture and the good glass of wine.

Don't Mess With Italy

I have no idea if there are trash dumps here because most of the time...all the trash gets dumped on the roads or empty fields. Then they burn it and leave the littler of glass and metal with all the scorched ground behind. This was the biggest culture shock for me when we arrived. There is so much trash everywhere that it just makes you sick to see it. The people don't care at all what their country looks like and it shows. This pile of tires next to a tobacco field is very tame compared to the pile of trash a little ways down this road. You have to hold your nose to drive past it. Sad, very sad.