THE 35TH ANNUAL Butte to Butte 4.5 mile walk/run

What a July 4Th! Accomplished a personal best for sure! My girlfriend Jennifer invited me to do the Butte to Butte with her. My run experience to date included ONE 5K and that was a century ago. So, without thought I signed up and said,"yes". Then the panic set in!

To start the race we watched the 10K runners take off, that was amazing. There were over 3 thousand runners that took off. It was literally a river of runners that seemed would never end.

Then 20 min later, we were off! Over 2 thousand run/walkers doing the 4.5 mile trek.

I'm proud to say out of that 2+ thousand contestants, Jen finished 59Th and I finished 79Th. We did awesome! But then that's just my opinion:-)

I had a ton of fun and want to personally thank my girlfriend Jen for the invite and the encouragement. Without it, I'd have never of made it!

More Italy pics

Top left to bottom: Banfi vineyards, Robbie and I in the Florence Piazza, Roma's Trevi Fountain, Our tour group and finally the domo (church) at Sienna....

ITALY ADVENTURES

Local Market-Heads and ALL!


Italy was amazing....There isn't enough room to post my favorite pictures. My most favorite memory was the first sighting of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Colliseum..... It was the pictures of my early school days coming to life...SPECTACULAR

The Vatican was unfortunately closed....CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? There should soooooooooo be a law against that but I suppose even they need a maintenance day.... Needless to say we where heart broken.

Our Italian cooking class was great fun. We cooked up a feast, hand rolled our own spaghetti noodles, made gnocchi (potatoe pasta) and fried basil. Then as if it couldn't get better, we sat and ate it all.......I have to say, we all turned out to be Italian chefs!

One of my favorite new foods is gelato. Many of you have heard of it, I hadn't. It is Italian ice cream to die for! One bite and your was hooked for life:-)

The country sides in the Tuscany and Umbria regions are magical! The sloping landscapes, cyprus trees, vineyards, hill tops towns, castles.

You can get completely lost in your imagination letting it take you back to what it must have been like century's ago. Their history is so rich!

Our Italian Adventure was only completed by the new friends we made. By the end, when it was time to say our, "Good byes" their where tears all around.....

Gone to Italy

Alright Gang, I'm off to Italy with my best friend Robbie....We have been planning this trip for years. Originally it was all 4 of my YaYa's..(Best girlfriends) but due to graduations, family commitments and other complications, it is down to Robbie and I.....

Plans: Visiting the Vatican City Sistine Chapel. A day trip to Pisa to see the leaning tour. Viewing the "David" in Florence. All day cooking class in Tuscany. Winery tours. Lastly, visiting any and all museums and churches that get in our way.

I think my favorite vision is Robbie and I grabbing a simple lunch of bread, meats, fruits and drink from the open market for a picnic on a rolling country hillside in Tuscany. Talk about a photo op moment:-)

I bid you Arrivederci and promise a full update and more pictures when I get home....
Robin

All moved in....

I know that I am way overdue for a blog update so here goes nothing:-) Besides If I don't do one my friend Rachael will scalp me:-)

I moved recently into a nice 4plex in town. I'm finally getting used to all the new noises that come along with a new place although I don't know why they sound louder at night? I really like the location, 5 minuets to work and 2 to the gym. My neighbor visited me with a plate of cookies (I liked her instantly). Seems she likes going to to to the gym so I have a work out buddy. 5:30AM and we are off like sleepy rockets...uguggugugu... Its early but nice to have it out of the way.

I recently joined a group called FLIP. FLIP stands for Florence Ladies Investment Program. I am looking into joining the Soroptimist group. I have been living in Florence for 2 years now and have yet to give back to the community so I'm due.

Evening activity, I am attempting to sew a king size quilt. I believe in starting BIG..hehheehhehe I may never finish it but it is keeping me busy and entertained for now....

BIG trip coming up, ITALY....Getting very excited about that. My girlfriend Robbie and I fly out on the 13th of May...More about that later and pictures I promise...

Landon, my grandson turns 2 April 21st.....I'll post pictures

That is about it for now. Work, home, grandbaby, working out. Hope to start golfing soon and waiting for May 13th to get here......

All in all things are going fine. Taking time to work on me and my place on the planet.

Now for my family.......Just a few pics.....I could put you to sleep with baby pics but I wont....

My people!

Thought I would add a few pictures. These are some of my most important people....

Ever notice that friends and family both start with F. No wonder its so easy to confuse

the two. It has been proven time and again we could not survive with out BOTH!

I know for me that is 1000% true.