Spring is here ... and boy has it been missed.
So first off: to every one who's b-day I missed: Happy belated birthday! (I think that 90% of the people I know were born between February and April). I have a reasonable excuse this time: rather than going to Iraq I will be going to that other place (again). Over the last moth 'they' have been trying to figure out exactly which unit/location I will be going to. This location-question was finally sorted it out about two weeks ago and I have subsequently been rushed all over kingdom-come to get the requisite training. I still have a bit more training to do, but I should be all done before long. (sorry to be so vague, but thats the way it has to be these days...)
Anyhow, Spring is finally here in all it's glory, and Italy is very beautiful at the moment. The sun has been out, the weather mild, little to no bug activity, lots of flowers and lots of wildlife running about. Over the past few weeks, Lucas and Aurora have been diligently excavating in the sandbox, conducting land-speed trials on their bikes, officiating numerous gelato & pizza tasting events, and have been collecting various boo-boos (but nothing too serious ;)