Italy and bookshelves and Bieber

Hannah reminds me of my mom. My mom who took hatchet to our little pantry in Louisiana because the kitchen was just too small with it there. My mom who tore the mantle off the fireplace in Massachusetts because she wanted it gone. Hannah decided they needed bookshelves in her house and so she built some. Don't they look awesome? Just in time for her cousin, Sarah, to move in. Yes, Sarah and Hannah are now roommates! Very cool.

before

after

detail

Our nephew Jacob and his wife Susan went to Italy and visited the town Glen's grandfather Otto came from, Silvano d'Orba. They were able to meet one of my father-in-law's cousins (Rudolfo is John's 1st cousin and Simone is Rudolfo's great-nephew). They also ate at a pizza place owned by Perassos (the original spelling of Perazzo). Too much fun!

Rudolfo, Jacob, and Simone in front of Grandpa Otto's first home before Otto moved to America

My half-birthday was on Tuesday. We did not celebrate with cake and ice cream, but Hannah and Rusty made me a chocolate croissant, Rusty made me bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers (delicious!), and they gave me a Justin Bieber singing toothbrush. Wow. I'm so lucky. :)

Wednesday was my father-in-law's and my brother Kyle's birthdays. Happy birthday! Sorry you didn't get a Bieber toothbrush.

Pioneer Trek was Thursday, Friday, and Saturday for Alex. He came home tired and a bit sore, but says he had a great time. One of the things they did was square dance. Thanks to his grandparents, he was ahead of the game there and had an easy time picking up the steps.

Camp Fleischmann was Glen's project on Friday and Saturday. He was there to help open it up for the summer camping season.

I can't believe how fast last week went. On Thursday I told Glen it seriously felt like the day before it had just been Sunday. I hope the rest of summer doesn't whiz by like that. I spent the week scrap booking and working on stuff for seminary. It was a good week.

summer is off to a good start

Monday, Glen, Rusty, and Hannah put in our new swamp cooler. Just in time for the high temps we "enjoyed" this week. So grateful we don't have to suffer. I don't know how pre-air-conditioned society survived.

Monday was also Memorial Day, and it found Glen, Alex, and me at the cemetery. Mainly we visited Adam, but we did also visit some other graves that belong to the Perazzo clan.

Love the pineapple addition along with the lighthouse

My back is getting much better, but it limited my activities this week, so I started my scrap booking and photos projects. And now that I've started, I'm going to keep going. I was a bit behind, so this past week I put in all the pictures from 2013. I still have to journal in it though. I'm hoping to put in all of 2014's pictures this next week.

one of my photos projects

Besides hooking up the swamp cooler, Glen's good deeds for the week included working on the yard and in the garden.

Friday night we were given free tickets to go see the Reno Aces play the Las Vegas 51s. Glen and I made a day of it and went up early. We visited the Discovery Museum for the first time. Hannah recommended it. My favorite room was the DaVinci room, which had a bunch of puzzles to try and solve.

Our evening with the Aces was sponsored by the Northern Nevada Dairymen Association, so Cowabunga (aka Daniel) got to throw out one of the first pitches. Luckily for him, he got to watch the game as Daniel and not Cowabunga as it was very hot.

We had a blast. Alan took the scouts, so Alex actually went with Alan and the other boys. Glen and I went up early and took in the Discovery Museum, which wasn't too far from the ballpark. Hannah and Rusty came when she was done at work. The Aces won 9-0. There were several home runs and just a lot of action.

Grandma and Grandpa visiting with Cowabunga before the game started

Especially considering he couldn't really see, he did a great job with his pitch

It was Star Wars night, which meant a storm trooper, under Vader's supervision, also pitched

fun at the score board...each player had his photo merged with a Star Wars character

We got to hold Miles for a bit!

David, Grandpa, and Grandma

For the 7th inning stretch, this giant baseball looks over the field

Andrew and Heather sent us some photos!

love those smiles

I think Andrew needs a longer stick for his marshmallow if he's going to get it cooked

I guess Henry decided to nap during his mom's game

Heather is playing intramural soccer this summer