The land of the sirens...

Since both of us were pretty tired and sore today from all the walking ( I think I'm more sore from my run on a treadmill the other morning and thrusters...) we decided to take it easy and go for a long and very windy drive along the Amalfi coast. Boy was it worth it! I hope that someday I will have more a gift for words so I could describe things better, but for now, this will have to do. When we first left the hotel, our GPS took us down this super narrow, and I'm talking super narrow back road where even our little car could barely fit! I had to pull in my passenger mirror so we could fit through some spots. It was like this mile long alley behind all these homes. At that point we were wondering if our GPS was a blessing or a curse. We found a bigger road and then found the right road that took us first to a great look out spot. Sooooo amazing! And then down to Amalfi. We stopped several times to take pictures. In between Positano and Amalfi, there was Grotta Della Smeraldo! We stopped, paid €5 each and went down this elevator probably at least 100 feet right outside this beautiful sea cave! The water is so amazing here. So clear and hardly any waves! Inside was one man, rowing this rectangular shaped row boat. When his first group got out, it was just Jerm and me, so he said he would give us a special tour, just the two of us! It was his job of course and we just happened to be the only ones there, but we took it. The water was about 30 feet deep inside and you could see the sun coming in and turning the water this beaucitful iridescent blue, although they said it was green. This man sang to us, rowed around, asked us not to forget the driver, meaning don't forget the tip. He was pretty funny and especially loved it when I gave him €5 because that's what I had in my pocket! After we got out of the boat, he thanked me and told me to send any single girls I know over to him since he was single himself! Jeremy and just laughed and laughed! It was nice to be the only ones there enjoying this gorgeous scenery. When we got up from the elevator, we went into this really nice ceramics shop. They are all over the place here since it is one of there specialties. They also had these beautiful oil paintings of the coast. I had been wanting one of those, so I bought one! It isn't very big, but it is sooo pretty and will be such a nice reminder of our trip.

We drove through Amalfi, then took a sharp left up the hill towards a town called Ravello. Think of PCH and the hills strait up from la jolla or sycamore and then make them taller with several story buildings built into the side of it and that's what you have down here. There are also tons of orchards terraced all over the hill. They don't look very pretty since they cover them with the black or the green netting.

In Ravello we were looking for this Villa Ciamprone. At this walking intersection, I asked Jeremy which way he wanted to go since we could take two different ways to get there. To the left he said. This was definitely the long way! We went down for a little while which was hard on the sore legs, then we came to about a hundred stairs again in different sections! At least I could tease Jeremy about it since he was the one who chose that way! We made it back up and walked through these beautiful gardens that ran along this really high cliff above Amalfi. Well worth the drive! It would be even prettier in May since none of the flowers had bloomed yet like the hydrangea and a huge rose garden.

Positano.....

So gorgeous!

Inside the Grotto

Our "captain" took this picture.

Picture stop.  We did a lot of these. The scenery was just so amazing!

There is a little nativity scene under the water.  Naples which is near here, is known for its nativities.  Each family will design their own and put their own characters in it.  It's kind of like our Christmas villages here.  They have a whole area in Naples dedicated to making pieces for nativities. 

The long walk we took in Ravello to get to the Villa.  We took the short way on the way back! It was pretty cool going past people's doorways and wondering how in the heck they unloaded things from the car, etc...

The main square and church in Ravello.  We were eating our gelato and watching these kids play soccer.

more coastal scenery

This is a view looking south from the Villa.

Jeremy was pretty pooped, but we were almost there!

The under side of the Villa.  You can't go inside, at least it wasn't open at this time, but the gardens were and that's what I wanted to see.

The entrance

All those plants trellised up would bloom into wisteria! It must look amazing in full blown Spring!

This was a balcony of sorts called the way to infinity or something like that.  It was part of the hill and it was a pretty steep drop down!

This is looking down at the terraces below the balcony.

David and Goliath sculpture

This is by John  Keates.  Apparently the owner of this Villa lost his wife and had this stone out up in honor of her.

Island of Capri with the three Fraglioni on the end off it (if you look closely).

Positano at dusk on our way back to Sorrento.

Of course we had to stop for gelato on our way out and then we had pizza again for dinner. And tomorrow night we'll have pizza again with mom's cousin Randy. Can't wait! On our way back home, Jeremy was even relaxed and having fun driving, thanks to all his years driving PCH at home. I better sign off since he needs to study. Bueno sera!

La isla da Capri

Last night we decided to go tote island of Capri today. It's about a half hour ferry ride away and has this really cool cave that you can go into called the Grotta aurora. There is another one on the other side called Grotta Esmeralda since it is green when you go in. W weren't very Smart about planning and didn't check what time the ferry was this morning. When we came down from upstairs, we realized we had just missed one at 9:50 and had to wait for the 11:45 one. Okay, no big deal, we'll just walk around sorrento and check out what we haven't seen yet. It just so happened that we walked by a church that hadn't been open yet, so we got to look inside it, small, clean and simple. On the way out I thought I would drop a coin in the collection plate only to realize the it was the holy water tray! Good thing I didn't drop it in! W had our ost inexenpensive breakfast this morning! Two bananas and some milk we mixed with protein powder for €1.60. Since they charge for just about everything here, that feels so cheap and I was grateful I brought some bars and protein powder. After the church, we came upon this lemon and orange orchard that is right in the middle of the city. And it's about ten feet above the street as well. The street that we walk down every day is very busy and very noisy, so it was nice to have a little quiet spot to walk through. The wa they surround their orchards is very unique as well with these really tall posts that wrap around the orchard that they put up a kind of fence about fruit level. They sometimes even have a screen covering on the top as well. Maybe it's to keep birds away or something. From the outside it's kind of an eye sore, but inside it was really pretty. They also don't really cut the trees like a bush like we do. They let them grow tall. This area is known for its limo cello, in inch we tried b accident last night at a gelateria. It's a lemon flavoring that would be equivalent to vanilla in alcohol. Needless to say, it burned a little on the way going down!

After the orchard, we coninued to meander down toward the port where the ferry was. We had to go down these stairs that were about 100 feet down. I'm not sure how many stairs there were, but it was probably about 150. If you drive down it, it is very steep and very windy. We gt to the ferry and waited a few more minutes for what was supposed to be the hydrofoil. We couldn't really tell lid it was a hydrofoil, but they charged us like it was. Jeremy did very well and did not get sea sick! I'm glad he didn't since the sea could not have been more glassy. The water is sooooo clear and blue, it's amazing. We were wishing we could go snorkeling or something. It was pretty nice today as well in the 60's. You have to be prepared for anything, though because in the sun it's nice, but if you go in the shade, you get cold. We did fine in our long sleeve shirts and sweaters.

When we got there, we wanted to avoid the crowd at the blue grotto, so we decided to take the bus which was literally packed like sardines, at least we were in the front....to anacapri, a smaller town up the hill from the port. From there we could take another bus to the blue grotto or we could have taken this ski lift thing to the top of this mountain that is in the middle of the island. We waited a minute for the bus, then decided to walk through the pedestrian area. We saw some pretty churches, awesome yummy cookies and then kept walking. We saws sign the said it was about 3km to the blue grotto, so e thought we'd hoof it over there. The buss ever came anyway. W thought that was a bit strange. As we were walking down these narrow roads, the homes reminded me of the estates a little bit: lots of gated driveways, lots of property and rich looking old houses.i don't think we could have appreciated that from a crazy bus. Keep in mind that these buses are mini since they are in an island. Jeremy found some stairs and we thought, what the heck we are on an adventure, we'lltry it. They took us straight down towards the water and then on to the right which was the direction of the grotto. They then walked us right along the edge of a cliff where there were some old forts built out of the natural stone from the 1700's. By the time we got to the blue Grotta, wehad been walKing for about an hour and half. You have to go down about a hundred more stairs where there are supposed to be row boats going into the grotto. We got all the. Way down there only. T find out from some very nice French people, the the boats weren't going to be there until April! We just had to laugh! Even though two different people told us it was open, including a woman at the tourist info desk! Pretty disappointing since the was all wehad time for since we had gotten over there s o late. We looked atte bus schedule and the bus wasn't supposed to come for about another forty minutes. By the point we had walked over 3miles down hill and were running out of water. Luckily, not very far up the hill, we found some secret stairs that shaved off at least two miles! We kept walking and found another short cut up a ten foot wall. We got a few looks scaling this wall jus to shave off another quarter mile! We were pretty pooped by this point and trying not to bummed.esecially since we didn't get to see any other parts of the island. Se la vi....we still had fun and ate some delicious food. Jeremy and I both fell asleep on the ferry after we fought our way to being one of the first people on. It was so crowded. We got to see the sunset, then walk back up those first stairs back to our hotel which is probably a mile or so away from our hotel. I haven't tracked that yet n my garmin.

We rested for a little while, waiting for at least 7:30 to come around. If you try and find place for dinner earlier then the, you will find a lot of places closed. Our desk clerk this evening recommended this yummy place away from the center of town called filipos. Itwasvery nice and they even sent a car to come pick us up. The gnocchi was sooo yummy and Jeremy's steak was delicious. We even got dessert: I had a yummy crispy thing with nutella and creamed risotto on to and. Jeremy had this yummy English soup gelato that tasted like the homemade ice cream mom and dad used to make. It also had chocolate chips in it.

We are now down in the lobby watching a very crucial Italian soccer game where Napoli is unfortunately losing. When we were driving home from the restaurant, the streets were bare! Normally there are people alla over the place in their cars or walking, but tonight, everyone is watching the game. Sorry for all the typos. For some reason on the iPad, I can't get the cursor backup to a word to fix it. Ciao!

I hope you can see these ones. This first one is the secret stairs that saved us the two miles. The next one is the water. So pretty! We saw lots of kiddos today and were missing our kids. W love you Cozette, Atalie, Wyatt and Scotty! Xoxoxo

Pompeii

Jeremy and I visited Pompeii this afternoon! We got into Naples yesterday after a four hour flight to Cincinnati which really was northern Kentucky, then from there we had an eight hour flight to Paris, where, sniff, we had to leave, but then ended up in windy, chilly but clear and beautiful Naples! We rented a car since it came with our package, but today it is sitting in the hotel parking lot for a meer 16 euros a day since we didn't feel like risking our lives driving to Pompeii when we could take the train. If there are mis spellings it's because of the iPad.... After waking up leisurely this morning, I went to work out next door at the gym while Jeremy studied. We felt pretty good after a good nights sleep and were ready to go on an adventure. Who knew that trying to find the train station would be such an adventure. We walked in the direction of the train, but ended up missing the little street it was off of and found the big Tuesday market here in Sorrento. We walked through all the stalls of clothes, shoes, undies, socks, plants, etc...and kept on going. The map we have doesn't have every street on it, so it was pretty confusing. We walked I think at least a mile and found it right after we stopped for our first gelato, that was so delicious. We still can't believe how busy these little streets can be with all these little cars and mopeds every where. It took us about 30mins by train to get to Pompeii and 4€ but well worth it. We could see the ruins from the train stop. Jeremy and I had no idea how big this place was and how old it is! So cool! After starting out with no map and no guide, we decided we better get the audio tour and map which was much more informative. We walked about 4 miles all the way from one end to the big amphitheater on the other. On our way back, we were trying to find the bathroom and this guy who appeared to work there, attached himself to us and was showing us all these cool things, even the stuff behind ropes and things. Of course we thought he was expecting some kind of money, especially after he took us up to a new dig where they found some more bodies that had been freshly unearthed next to a vineyard. It was very cool and worth the money he asked for in the end. Riding the train back proved to be very fun with tons of people literally crammed onto it since the train before it just decided not to show up! Only in Italy! We made some fast friends with some other Americans that were there from Texas. There were also street musicians who got on at one point and were playing and asking for money.

Looking at Mt. Vesuvius through an archway in Pompeii.

The house of the Fawn

Wondering what those big rocks were for in the middle of the street.

The coloseum of Pompeii.  We walked around about 4 miles and only saw about 1/3 of Pompeii.

The man who took us "behind the scenes" showed us these big wine cisterns and the bodies below.

Casts of bodies not seen by the mass public.

One of our first views of Sorrento.  We forced ourselves out of the hotel that first evening to stay awake so we could get over jet lag better.  And it worked!

Finally figuring out the those big rocks were "cross walks".

Our actual first view of beautiful Sorrento!

After leaving the train, we walked further into sorrento with our friends looking for their hotel and wanting to explore some more. We ate dinner at around 7 which is closer to the more normal time of eating here. The place was not so great....smoking everywhere, dinner not so good and service not so great. Ah well. The girl at the next gelato place was great and made me some delicious hot chocolate. We are now unwinding and ready for bed! Goodnight!

Cross Fit

So if any of you don't know what cross fit is and need a boost in your workouts, you should check it out. It's awesome! I go about three times a week and really enjoy it. Not only that, I have seen some major changes in my body, too. I am also getting pretty strong. Here is a little video of me dead lifting 205 lbs this morning!

December 2011

Dear Family and Friends,

As we reflect on the year, we have grown not only as a family, but individually as well. Jeremy and I enjoy being parents, for the most part, to four wonderful children. They each bring their own strengths and challenges, but, then again, so do Jeremy and I! I asked the kids to think of what their favorite thing was that they accomplished this year to put in our letter. Here goes…

Scotty turned three in September and learned, very quickly, how to ride a strider balance bike (a bike without pedals or training wheels). Sounds weird, I know, but he is very confident on it and loves to stride along as we ride our bikes. He is very good at balancing on it. He also loves to sing and dance. Anytime there is music, he is moving and shaking all over the place! He can’t wait to start preschool next year and is looking forward to leaving nursery and starting primary next week. He is a very sweet boy and his mommy loves having some alone time with just him at home. One sweet experience we’ve had this year is to take my grandmother who is 94 to get her hair done every other Tuesday. He loves to go with me and loves his Bedstemor. Of course she spoils him with lots of hugs and treats!

Wyatt is six and started kindergarten. He loves it! He is excelling in English and Spanish and we are so glad we waited a year to put him in. He loves to dance and tries “free styling” all the time. He just started a hip-hop class and we’ll see what that brings. He also lives on his dirt bike during our trips out to the desert. He has no problems riding and keeping up. He has tried climbing hills, but will promptly tell you that his bike won’t make it up since it doesn’t have enough torque. He is such a joy to have in our family and has one of the biggest hearts!

Atalie is nine this year and really loves fourth grade. She is a wonderful student and her proudest accomplishment wasn’t doing the splits in dance, but making the Super Quiz team at school! She is very excited to be studying her book and making sure she’s ready for the challenge. She gets to take a field trip to Sacramento this spring. She loves her lyrical dance class that she gets to take with Cozette and is great at it! We love having Atalie in our family and are thankful for her spirit and help.

Cozette is eleven and in sixth grade and boy does she have a lot of homework! She is a great student and wants to get all A’s this year and is very close. She and Wyatt both played soccer this year and she loved playing goalie. She did a great job and learned a lot. Her team even got second place overall! One of the coaches nick named her “Tinkerbell.” We are so thankful for good coaches and teachers who love our children. She loves to play the piano and trumpet and we believe she wishes she had more time to practice. We will find her and Atalie up late some nights, both buried in books with their lights off and headlights on, books in hand.

We could go on and on about our children. It’s nice to have time to reflect on the good things and hopefully forget the rough patches! Jeremy is still working at Verizon and enjoys it for the most part. He is always exploring other options, trying to figure out where his talents can be best utilized. He is a hard worker, wonderful husband, who puts up with me, and a great dad! He enjoys dancing with the kids, riding his dirt bike, of course, and working with the eleven year old scouts at church. This last year we were able to be team teachers for Cozette’s Sunday school class. It was very enjoyable and we learned a lot from these great kids! I learned that most of those lessons I taught weren’t for the kids at all, but for me!

I am still running and hoping to get my half marathon time in less than two hours. I was very close with the last one I did in September. I also got to go to Girl’s Camp as the camp leader for our ward. I was very spoiled to be in the same cabin as my older sister Kirsten and with our Aunt Gayle. It was a great experience.

I love this time of year to remember our Savior even more and try to be like him even more. I truly am thankful to have Him in our lives and Jeremy and I are trying to instill His principles into our children’s lives as well. They are the future! May we continue to look for the good in others and remember our Savior and all that he blesses us with.

We love you all and hope you have a wonderful new year!

Love,

The Wagers

Jeremy, Ditte, Cozette, Atalie, Wyatt and Scotty

Fast Sunday

Today is fast Sunday, meaning I chose to go without food for two meals and donate that money to help the poor. I also usually fast with a purpose: today was for me to have more benevolence, which turns out to be charity. After studying the Bible and Book of Mormon about this topic, I found a few scriptures. In 1 Corinthians is the famous scripture of charity in chapter 13:4-8. It says "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth..." I know I've read this scripture a million times, but this time as I was thinking about being benevolent and looking for the good in people, this has really struck me. I want to be like this. I don't want to think ill of people or be mean just because I feel bad about myself. I can be confident in myself when I act more charitable towards others.

Another scripture that has stuck out to me is in Doctrine and Covenants 64:33-34, "Wherefore, be not weary in well doing, for you are laying the foundation for a great work. And out of small things proceedeth that which is great. Behold, the Lord requireth the heart and a willing mind..." The small things that I do are being prepared for something bigger! I am helping people when I am kind in a small way or when I don't keep track of how I was hurt by them. I love the scriptures! I love praying and knowing that Heavenly Father does hear my prayers and wants to help me overcome these natural tendencies! This post is more for my own journal, but I thought I might put it out there in case there was someone who needed this, too.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween was pretty fun this year! During the day, Scotty and I just piddled around the house, carving his pumpkin and waiting for the evening festivities to begin. Jeremy had gone riding with a friend, Kevin, and when they came back, we carved Wyatt's, Cozette's and Atalie's pumpkins. It was fun watching the kids carve them and not wanting to get their hands dirty. I had to reach in to several pumpkins and get the "guts" out of them. Jeremy and Kevin were good sports helping the kids with that job as well. Around dinner time, we went to my parents house for Sloppy Joes and trick or treating. The older kids all ran ahead of us because Scotty and the other kids couldn't walk as fast. Cozette even put on roller blades to make her time more efficient! Scotty and Charlotte were trick or treating buddies and kept saying the cutest things. Charlotte would say, "I trick or treat you!" and after each house Scotty would run down the driveway and say "I got trick or treats!" That little boy is talking up a storm! Sometimes you can not get him to be quiet or whisper! He has so much to say. He also loves to sing! It's fun being at home with him and enjoying this time with him!

Since Halloween is my birthday, we had pumpkin pie and some brownies that Bronwyn made. I got some cool gifts as well. Jeremy got me a Garmin 610 GPS watch that I can use while running. I've used it twice already and have already seen myself get faster! It's so awesome!

Thanks to all those who remembered me on my birthday and those I got to spend time with. That's my favorite: being with people I love!

Zombie workout girl! My shirt says Workout or Die...

The girl's screaming with "Justin Bieber" around!
Gramma and Evelyn the Tootsie roll!

Wyatt had his last soccer game yesterday. He has really loved soccer this year and it's been fun to watch him enjoy it so much. He scored the one and only goal, but he was right there with that ball for most of the game. It was great having Isaac be on the same team as well and getting to know other really great families around here.

Here are some pictures from our events lately!

Last night, I was able to take the girls on a date to a choir concert. It was the Master Chorale and they sounded so good! A friend of mine got me some tickets. Poor Cozette had a stomach ache, so we had to leave before the end, but we really enjoyed dressing up and listening to live music. There is nothing like it!

I got that cute hat and scarf for my birthday from my mom! Thanks mom and dad!