Cinque Terre- Italy

January 4th, 2024- First stop on the Tuscany roadtrip with Cobb and mom and dad was Cinque Terre. This has been on our bucket list for some time, so was really excited to go check it off. After a minor delay and an unexpected audible on who would be driving for the trip we set off and got a gorgeous, blue sky sunny day. We stayed in Manarola and loved it. It was so charming and picturesque and fun to take in the views. Definitely planning to come back with Alyssa and the kids. 

A view for the memories :) 

Never a better spot to do some back stretches. 

The next morning had lots of fun exploring Vernazza and Riomaggiore. Riomaggiore was definitely up there with Manarola as a favorite of the Cinque Terre. 

Back to December

Dec 2023: Forever catching up on the blog. . .  I was going through it and saw I never blogged Christmas and that is an essential and favorite time of the year for the family. So back to December! This month is so magical. I hate the cold and the dark that the winter here brings, but having the holidays and little kids just warm the soul. 

 It is funny to think our kids will have memories of Sinterklaas who comes for two weeks leaving little things in the shoes and then at December 5th drops a bag of goodies by the door. It really has been exciting for everyone to wake up and see what is in their shoes and just starts the day off and gets you in the holiday mood! We did lots of festive things this December, including a Christmas market in Gent,  and had a great Christmas with the kids! One happy memory and new tradition we started was seeing the lights of Amsterdam together (but in the morning). We woke up early-ish and biked under all the city lights. It is dark for a few hours in the morning, and Amsterdam is dead quite (without the noise and party scene of night) . . . so we all bundled up and biked the city and got hot chocolate at a bakery. It was really pretty and really fun.  I love seeing a city wake up and the lights are so pretty strung over the canal homes. It was a great Christmas and Santa spoiled us, even knew to fill up Luke's stalking with hot sauces. The boys got a really cool new track and remote car and Lucy got a stroller for her doll she still is obsessed with.