6 Wide Down the Mountain

The Martino family is now 6 wide down the mountain!

Giuliana and Marco both tried downhill skiing for the first time last week. They both took to skiing with ease and seemed to really enjoy it. I think the younger you start them - the better. The little kids don't seem to have any trouble with crossing their skis, etc. Marco earned himself a mid-day nap on my chest. And, Giuls fell asleep while eating her crackers in the lodge at the end of the day. They were happy & pooped!

Gabby and Rocco are both skiing like champs and ready for more challenging runs.

There is a lot more snow in Tahoe this year compared to last. So, we decided to buy season passes for the family. We were able to get them up the mountain 4 times over the holiday break which was nice. It's a hop, skip and a jump from our house so it's quite easy to cruise up for even half days of skiing after school or the kids weekend basketball games.

Now we just have to HOPE for more rain storms in northern California this winter, bringing even more snow to the mountains!

Oh, and check out this ADORABLE photo some guy took of Marco and Dan on the chair lift. Marco's face is SO CUTE! Their chair lift buddy had this tiny little digital polaroid camera... pretty cool.

Ciao, Italy!

Dan and I went to Italy for 10 days. Just us. No kids.

That's right... NO KIDS!!

Since this was our first solo vacation in a really long time, we sort of played the honeymoon card and booked first class tickets there and back. 

As much as it pains me to admit it--it was totally worth it. Hands down the most relaxing, comfortable and enjoyable flights I've ever been on. 

Granted, THIS WAS OUR FIRST TIME ALONE WITHOUT KIDS (for longer than like... 4 hours) IN A VERY LONG TIME!

Did I just scream that? :))

Yes. I did. It was R E L A X I N G!

(doesn't mean I didn't miss my little rascals)

It was a long trip. San Francisco to Seattle, to London Heathrow, and finally landing in Rome. We spent 4 full days and three nights in Rome, then traveled south by train to Naples. In Naples, we hired a private driver to show us the Amalfi Coast and drop us off in beautiful Positano. After two nights in Positano, we took a train north from Naples to Tuscany where we spent three days in Florence. I wish we would have had more time to explore and enjoy Tuscany. Next time! After Florence, we took a train to Venice. We spent two nights in Venice. In hindsight, we would have spent one less day in Rome and one additional day in Venice. We loved everything about Venice. We ended the trip with a train ride from Venice to Milan and flew out very early the next morning.

We both preferred northern Italy over southern Italy. Oddly enough, there is a noticeable difference, between the north and the south. Southern Italy being more relaxed--the people and culture all revolve around family, food and religion. Whereas in the north, the general feel is much busier and business-like. More money = less gypsies. The people in the north also seem to have a general hustle and bustle about them while working their way through the streets. 

Rome was amazing. The history, the ruins, the Coliseum, Trevi Fountain, the cathedrals, Vatican City, the culture, the food (ohmygosh - the FOOD!!), etc. We spent 4 nights and 3 full days there. It gave us plenty of time to see everything we wanted to see, and eat as much as we could. Did I mention we ate a lot? As in, Dan set a record at one restaurant for most entrees ordered. Five. It was insane. We did feel a tiny bit guilty. In a solid effort to alleviate the guilt, we also ran a lot, allowing us  see even more of the city. 

The Amalfi Coast is beautiful - the views from the cliffs, the seaside communities, the people, the food, the culture in general... just fantastic and really fun to explore. It was exactly as it looks in pictures, but more beautiful in person. It seemed to have a hint of the touristy experience if you went to "those places". And "those places" gave you what you'd expect... average food, lots of tourists. Dan and I tend to prefer a more local experience, less touristy... so we find the hole in the wall restaurants. Ask locals what to see & do. We also took an 8 mile run as far up the mountain as we could w/in Positano. We saw how the locals farmed on these steep hillsides, the homes people lived in, visited the local butchers, got caught in a parade of tiny cars going to church on Sunday. Such simple living in Positano. All about family, food and religion. A beautiful life, right?

Florence was incredible. Things that stick out in my mind... it's a college town, El Duomo (ummm... quite literally the most amazing structure I have ever seen), The David (enormous, and so incredible in person), more upper-class dining/restaurants, gelato and pastry shops everywhere, aristocrats, artists, academics, you name it. One of our favorite experiences in Florence was dining at a restaurant that our good friend Marco recommended. He grew up outside Venice and this was one of his favorites. No menu. One of the staff sat with us to explain each of the courses and our options, followed by the proper wine recommendations. This was my first experience at a restaurant that served “brain” as a delicacy. We didn’t partake in eating brain, but everything we did eat was melt-in-your-mouth, wish-you-could-freeze-time, write-home-about goodness. Yeah. Everything was amazing. I was certain my stomach was going to explode.

Venice. Love! If I was given the right opportunity, and had to choose a place to live other than the USA, I would choose Venice. So beautiful, fun, busy…the food, the people, the culture. I felt like we didn’t have enough time in Venice. We ran 6 miles through the city—it’s super easy to get lost with all the bridges over the canals and narrow pathways, etc. All the buildings and homes are eye candy--unique and fun to look at. We enjoyed lattes, cappuccinos and dessert at the famous Cafe Florian in San Marco Square. We hired a gondolier for a ride on his gondola—another great way to see the city. We must have ate 5 meals a day since we couldn’t pass up anything that caught our eye food-wise. SO many amazing cafes and bakeries in Venice. My mouth still waters when I think about this “special toast” we enjoyed at a dive bar. Cheese, mushrooms, the most perfect tomatoes, prosciutto, and I don’t know what else. Special doesn’t begin to describe it though. Wish I could recreate that! Taking a taxi boat through the Grand Canal is really quite an experience in and of itself too. Pretty awesome.

It was such a great trip! Dan and I need to try and make time for just the two of us more often.

It’s just really tricky with 4 kids.

The journey home was long. Milan to London to Philly to San Francisco. It was exhausting. We woke up at 5am in Italy, and arrived home at 3am PT.

The second I walked in the house I had to go look at my babies and give them kisses on their sweet little foreheads. I could NOT wait to wrap my arms around then when they woke up.

10 Years of Togetherness

Dan and I have now been married for 10 years. Ten years that have been both short and long. Ten years that have been filled with the best moments of my life, and our greatest achievements in life. Ten years that have been somewhat tainted by the most horrific tragedy I can imagine any one person, or any couple ever having to experience… that being the loss of a child. Sometimes, I wonder where the past 4 years went. Sometimes I wish we could completely rewind. We’ve been through the best and worst as a couple… and here we are ten years later. Still together. Still in love with each other.

So, how does one celebrate a 10 year anniversary? Well... you should go ask someone who has celebrated it! Because we certainly didn't. For multiple reasons. Don't get me wrong - we both had dreams of taking a trip to Italy to visit some sites, eat good food & drink yummy vino. Or... maybe just taking a trip down the coast and hitting a beach in Mexico for a few days.

But, with a newborn who's breastfeeding, and nobody who can take care of our other 3 kids overnight... the dreamy celebration is just that. A dream. I guess it will have to wait. I’d like to say I’m completely fine with that. But, I’m not. I’d LOVE to have two nights away with JUST my husband. We have not had one child-free vacation in almost 7 years. That’s just ridiculous. Right?! I think even one night away would be so healthy and good for us.

Instead, on our ten year anniversary, I talked to my husband more via text message and voicemail. This was actually the case that entire week because our au pair was on vacation. I worked all week and Dan had the week off (technically, but he still worked a quite a bit too). Poor Dan though... his days off were filled with helping watch the baby while I worked, running errands, grocery shopping and then our taxi service for all of the following quite literally consumed him:
· Gabby to and from swim & tennis camp every day from 9-5

· Rocco to and from school 3 days

· Gabby to and from gymnastics Mon & Fri nights

· Rocco to and from gymnastics Tues & Thurs nights

· Giuliana's parent/tot gymnastics class on Monday morning

It was just an absolutely nutty week… and perhaps that’s a good thing. Our anniversary week is also the 4^th of July holiday week, and the week that Matteo died. So, instead of being excited about and looking forward to our anniversary… the approaching date makes me want to vomit and I find myself being irritated/upset for most of the week. Matteo’s death is so much bigger and life-changing and emotional than any silly holiday or anniversary. So even though I would like to have celebrated the big TEN… I’m not sure my heart would have been there.

So, I think we ate take-out food with the kids, dealt with multiple tantrums and a fussy baby. By 10 o'clock, Dan was asleep on the sofa and I was cleaning bathrooms. Doesn't that sound exciting and glamorous?!

Dan is an amazing guy. He’s kind, he’s got a big heart, he’s handsome, he’s so understanding and forgiving. He’s the best daddy and playmate to our children… and he truly enjoys them and loves them so much. I know for a fact I surely am not the easiest person to be married to… so perhaps Dan even wears a bit of the *saint-hood hat*.

I know I love Dan with my whole heart. And, I know he loves me. Hopefully someday soon, we’ll get to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. (And, yes, I totally realize at the rate we’re going… this might not actually happen for another 10 years!)

Best Daddy on the Planet!

We have the best daddy on the planet! He loves us so much and always wants to play with us. Sometimes mommy has to remind HIM to be quiet (just like she reminds us!) while we're all wrestling around so HE doesn't wake up the baby. Our daddy helps make dinners for us, he helps clean up after all of our messes, he takes us to gymnastics, swimming and soccer classes all the time to help mommy out. And, he helps give us baths and put us to bed.

One of our favorite things to do with daddy is snuggle on the sofa and watch cartoons in the morning. We also loves that he'll sometimes let us eat chips for breakfast... and if we ask him nicely, he'll even take us to McDonald's every once in a while even though mommy is not a fan of those fast food restaurants.

 We tried really hard to take a nice picture with daddy on Father's Day while we were out to eat at a great local restaurant. But, well... it's just so hard for all of us to smile and look at the camera at the same time, so this is the best we could do!

WE LOVE YOU DADDY - YOU'RE THE BEST! HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!

I love these Bat-boys...

Dan’s 40!!

Dan turned 40 years old in October!!

At his request, we didn’t do anything fancy or too spectacular to celebrate. We basically went out to dinner as a family and then went home to eat ice cream cake. The kids LOVE ice cream and cake… so put the two together, and it was basically crazyville here trying to get them from jumping onto and into the cake before we actually lit candles and sang Happy Birthday.

I’m so lucky to have such a wonderful, caring husband who is an unbelievably devoted and fun-loving father to our children. Dan Martino… you’re the bomb and I love you more and more every day. XOXOXOXO

Dan's first half marathon

After supporting me in running the San Francisco full marathon... Dan decided he would like to try doing a half marathon. I was of course VERY supportive of this... and found him a race to run within 10 minutes of his declaration! I also had a training plan whipped up for him 10 minutes later. :))

I can't speak for Dan, of course, but I think there were several reasons he wanted to sign up for a half marathon. First, he wanted a reason to HAVE to run/workout every day. He had been SO busy with work over the summer that he just wasn't taking time to exercise and he didn't like that. Second, he wanted to get back in shape. And, lastly, I think he wanted the challenge of having to run farther than he'd ever run before. And, seeing people of all ages run and finish the half and full marathon in San Francisco was inspiration.

The race I chose and he agreed to do was in 6 weeks. Yikes! Most people that have never run more than 4.5 miles would choose a race 12 weeks out... so they could get proper training in. But, we wanted to choose something in September when the weather would still hopefully be nice. And, I figured with the shorter training... he might not get bored with "running" before the race and stick to the plan.

The longest Dan had ever run before this training plan was 4.5 miles. And, he used to hate running. But, Dan finally got a taste of the runner's high... and after building up to a 10 mile run the week prior to the race, he declared he LOVED running and and his long runs on the weekends. I think I shed a little tear! Ha! Not only did he start to love running... but he also lost weight and got quite slim. Now, I usually get much leaner when training... but I also typically gain about 5 pounds. Granted, my clothes all become a little loose... I guess it's true that "muscle weighs more than fat". But, he got both lean AND lost weight. Men have it so easy - I swear!

Anway... race day arrived. We all woke up at 6:30am and left the house by 7am. His race started at 9:30am (what a great start time! I'm used to the awful 5:30-7am start times!), and we needed to arrive by 9am so he could pick up his race packet. Now, if it would have been me running the race, I would have noted the address where I was supposed to pick-up my race packet... but in typical Dan fashion, we arrived... and after spending 20 minutes of driving around trying to figure out where the starting line, etc. was, we found it. I was seriously nervous he was going to miss it. But, he pulled through! Whew!

We cheered Dan on from 100 meters after he crossed the starting line and about 50 meters before the finish line. Had we arrived earlier and gotten more acquainted with the course/town, I think we would have been able to cheer him on from a few more locations, but it all worked out and was fine. Also, it's not exactly easy to take 3 little kids with you on a race chase in a town you are not familiar with at all, by yourself! But, the kids REALLY LOVED seeing their daddy running a race and so did I!!

Dan did fantastic! Especially for this being his very first race, the longest he'd ever run, only six weeks of training and constant 25-45mph winds. Outside of the crazy winds... the weather couldn't have been more perfect for a half marathon... low 60's at the start. mid/high 60's at finish and cloudy.

Dan finished 13.1 miles in 2:06:09, which equaled a pace of 9:52 minutes per mile. I was SO PROUD of him! And, now he's looking for his next half marathon... and working on building his speed! YAY, DAN!!