Ciao Dolce 2017, Benvenuto 2018

As I see many people saying “bye, Felicia” to 2017, I can’t help but have some mixed feelings. I can’t really say I’m happy to see 2017 go, but I’m looking forward to the journeys ahead in 2018. For starters, in 2017, my brother and Jacque tied the knot in April, which could not have been more perfect of a day and now I have a new sister in my life, that we all adore. In addition to that, Aubrey completed her first year of preschool, she finished out t-ball and soccer strong, and she turned FIVE years old! Nolan started speaking in an understandable language, melts the world with his smile, and he turned TWO years old! My kids are my world, and I love that I get to teach them. With that being said, we got to vote again in our primary elections, as well as the general elections. The kids and I also got to travel to the Outerbanks with Nanny and Jeppie for a quick vacation. As for me, I got my CLC (Certified Lactation Counselor), started my clinical rounds at Moses Taylor, and started my own private company providing nutrition and lactation support. As a family of four, we went to Kalahari (with Michele, Laynee, Nylee, Nan, and Jep) and Knoebels…rode so many rides, ate too much food, and laughed a lot. Then the icing on the cake was a fifteen-day trip to Italy with the entire family. It would be impossible to sum up the trip into a few sentences, but highlights were: surviving two extended plane rides with a toddler and preschooler (8 hours and 10 hours), seeing Rome, the Colosseum, the Vatican, the Pantheon, seeing Florence, Michelangelo’s David, the Ospedale degli Innocenti (my personal highlight), getting to see Paul, Jessica, Bela, and Sophie (and experience all of these places with them), the gelato, the villas, the vineyards, the tiramisu, the views to die for, the pasta, the sauce, the wine, seeing Arezzo, Nerano, Ravello, Positano, Sorrento, finding sea glass at all the beaches, finding treasures wherever we went, hiking Mt Vesuvius, getting Miss Marie and Grandpa to the crater of Mt Vesuvius (we spread their ashes there), swimming in Nerano, spending time with our awesome drivers, seeing Pompeii, and finally, and most importantly, experiencing these places with people who mean so much to us. My parents, my brother and Jacque, Aunt Linda, Aunt Patty, Paul, Jessica, Bela, and Sophie. I know that I have missed so many things, but this is a good sampling as to why I am thankful. So as much as I am looking forward to what 2018 has to bring, 2017 has been VERY good to us. Ciao dolce 2017, 2018 you have BIG shoes to fill. ​