Day two of our adventures in Italy (Thur)

After a long but uneventful 9hr flight we arrived on time to the Ciampino/Rome airport. It was around 8:20 am in Rome. After getting our passports stamped by Customs we met Jackie and she took us to collect our luggage. That took a while the luggage handlers must have been having breakfast or something. Jackie took us right to the Metro which took us to the train station.

The Pennington girls riding the train to Viterbo Italy

In Orte we switched trains to get to Viterbo. The city that Jackie lives in where we will spend the day and night. Jackie brought us pastry's and fruit to eat for breakfast. The pastry's were so yummy. We arrived at the Viterbo train station around 10:40 am. We then walked, luggage and all, thru the city wall and the Piazza down the cobblestone street to our Hotel. It was only a block away from Jackie's Flat. We checked in and stashed our luggage in our rooms. We then went to see Jackie's place and taste some Italian pizza for lunch. After lunch we walked around Viterbo and took in some of the sites. And Of course everyone wanted to try some Gelato.

One of the many fountains in Viturbo and through out all of Italy!

The beautiful cobblestone streets of Viturbo, Italy!

Jackie had class from 3-5pm and so we did some window shopping and wondered around just trying to take everything in. We were getting really tired and hungry too. Jackie was taking us to one of her favorite restaurants to eat dinner. The problem was almost all sit down restaurants do not open for dinner until 7pm. So we went back to our room and tried to stay awake. It was not easy, Jackie promised us that if we did that we would not have Jet Lag!

The Duomo built upon a hill over looking the country side out side of the city wall.

The arches that we walked through on our way in and out of Viterbo.

We managed to stay awake until dinner and had a wonderful dinner with Jackie and her roommates at a wonderful restaurant. I had Tortallini soup and Darren had Steak. We walked back to the Hotel Tuscia and went straight to sleep.

Day one of our adventures in Italy! (Wed)

Nick and I went to Seminary this morning, we worked on Scripture Mastery and played S.M. bingo. After we returned home we all ate a quik breakfast, did some last min. cleaning up, locked the house and loaded the truck. We left for the airport at 8:20am. We arrived at the Charleston airport in plenty of time for our 10:20 flight to Washington Dulles airport. In fact we were so early that the TSA agent decided she wanted to check out what I packed in my suitcase. It took her about 15min. to go through my nice and organized suitcase. She even took my book "New Moon" out and flipped through the pages then turned it upside down and shook it. I wonder if she was disappointed when nothing fell out.

Nick waiting to board the plane to Washington.

Charleston airport is also an Airforce Base and the C-17's fly in and out regularly.

Gate A-5 our departure gate.

Darren checking on our flight in Washington on his I-phone.

Our flight to Washington was on time and was about 40 min. long. We met Rachel & Savannah in Terminal C in front of Wendys where we ate Lunch. We walked to our gate to wait for our plane to arrive. Our gate was C6.

Washington, Dulles International AirportIt was cold I thought in the airport and even colder outside. Our flight left on time and we were flying all night.

The day before our big adventure!

Tuesday evening

The baggage is packed. Rusty and Kirra are checked into the kennel. Darren and Nick are watching movies, so I think I will start my book Twilight. I am bring the series with me to Italy. I am super tired, the last 2 days have been super busy with preparations for our adventure. Darren was able to upgrade our seats for the flight over, we are sitting together in the Economy Plus. Rachel & Savannah also have seats together. We are flying United

Italy Here We Come:)

I've been tagged

Savannah and Cassy tagged us and so I (Laurel) will attempt to do this right.

Rules:
* Each player lists 5 + 1 Facts or habits about themselves.
* At the end of the post you list 6 people that you will tag. Leave a message on their Blog in their most recent post in the comments.

O.K. here it goes.

1. I love teaching early morning Seminary, but hate getting up early.

2. I almost always have my birthday cards ready early, but can never seem to find or remember to get 5$ bills. So they are almost always late:(

3. I love to take pictures!

4. I like to sleep with the blanket and sheet, I like them to be nice and neat too.

5. I Love BMW's and Mini's

6. I am going to Italy this month!

These are the people I tag:)
Rachel P.
Liz K.
Arianna R.
Diana J.
Ben J.
Jackie P.

Finishing touches on the Home Theater

Darren hard at work in his garage/woodshop. He is creating the finishing touches to the lobby area of our Home Theater!

Auto shop 101

Nick is working on earning his Automotive Merit Badge. He worked on wheel and tire changes.

He learned how to check the fluid levels and brake pads for leaks and wear.

It is a must to take the vehicle for a spin when the work is complete.

Don't forget your sunglasses and always wear your seatbelt:)

Some days are like this!

A friend of mine sent this to me in an e-mail. I could not quit smiling, I think it should make the top 10 :) Being a Mom is not easy, but it is so worth it! Mom's need to continue standing up for everything that is right, good and decent!!!!! Keep up the great work Mom's.

The Lazy Summer Days are Gone!

Well it really is fall here in the Low Country. We turned off the AC a few days ago and the air is much drier, chapstick is needed alot! I was out strolling around the yard pulling a few weeds and caught this guy out of the corner of my eye. He looked pritty content so I went in and grabbed my camera. He was still there when I got back, it didn't phase him a bit while I was taking his picture. This is unusual for these little gecko type lizards. They usually run the first chance they get if you sneak up on one.

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet !!!!!!!

This is how to make Home Teaching even more fun than normal !

Nicely parked in its newly remodled bedroom

I must say that this is the funnest car I have ever driven! My obsesion with this car started with those great shows of the 80's like The Rockford files, A Team, Dukes of Hazard, Harcastle & McCormick, Miami Vice and yes my favorite was Magnum PI.........Higgins would be so proud :)

Labor Day is not for Laboring!

Our day started with a ward Softball game at Gahagan ball fields.

A turn in the dug out.
This is brother Tom Hallock a true Duck's fan. He named his son Autzen, he is 3 and knows all about the Oregon Duck's.
Nick in out field
Darren playing third baseman.
Another picture of Nick playing right field.

Darren waiting for the batter to Swing.

Garrett comes to South Carolina

We loved having Garrett here for the week! I think he liked hanging out in the RMTC room. There was lots of game playing, movie watching, and surfing. I did not go surfing with them. There is only room for 5 in Darren's truck and to be honest I need a bit of time to clean the kitchen.

Nick's Birthday

Nick Turns 17! He has his favorite dinner Hot Cheesy Chicken and baked potatos. His birthday cake is an Ice cream cake from Cold Stone! He loved all the cards with $$$$ in them. Thanks everyone for making Nick's birthday so awesome!

FHE Fun

Nick is behind the board:)
Ben enjoys riding backwards, upside down and sideways!
Aaron is making good use of the whitewater today!

The Surfdog is at it again!
And they say this was a terrible day at the beach:)
It was windy and I had a hard time keeping the sand off the camera:(

An Evening at the Pops

This is not unusual at our house during dinner preperation. A little music makes all meals taste better, at least that is the thought around 5:00pm in the Johnson household!

Thursday night out!

We decided we needed a break from the house. So we went to California Dreaming for some seafood. Darren, Nick and I had fresh Mahi. Ben and Aaron did not venture in the seafood part of the menu, they ate beef. The real reason they like the place is because of the flaky fresh crescent rolls.

3Beach front property for sale in Folly Beach right across the street from the washout. I have a few phone numbers in case any of you should have a few extra $$$$ burning a whole in your pocket.

3A walk on the beach in the warm summer breeze!




Dessert at Bruster's on the way home.

The three Milkateers awaiting their milkshakes!

Temple Trip

Darren and Nick went to the Temple with the youth of our ward on Saturday. They were able to do the work for over four hundred who did not have the opportunity to be baptized here on earth!

This is a picture of them before they left and just after Ben woke up! Yes Nick is the tallest at 6'

Seminary Kickoff party

Nick going off the high dive into the lake.

Tonight we held our first Seminary party of the new year!

We start on the 22nd of this month and are studying the Old Testament.

We went to somerset at Lake Moltre and had a BBQ and Cake. The Branham and Smith families brought their boats and took everyone out on the lake.

Garage

Darren loves a project and this has been his latest one. He designed this on his computer first. It has turned out very nice.

He painted the walls all by hand, he projected the picture on the wall and traced it first with a pencil. He is working on the trim here.