May 2021: Back to School...Again!

May brought a return to in person school, white water rafting and more antics with our dog pack. 

Riding lesson with her favorite teacher Isaac.

Maria spent a lot of time this month with her best friend Amelie.  It has been bittersweet as this has been a long goodbye- Amelie moves to NYC over the summer.

Marshmallow roasting with best friends.

What could go wrong when you combine 12-year-old boys and fire?

Paolo's birthday present- framed photos of each of our pack for his office wall.

Two days after Paolo's birthday Gioia turned 2...with a peanut butter-applesauce cake, of course!

Maria's (hopefully!) final Zoom class of 2nd grade was art. 

I was so excited for school to reopen that I had all of their bags packed 3 days early!

Winston meets the water truck.  We had a month with no city water so we needed these trucks to come to fill our tanks.

Waiting for the bus at last!


Some puppy antics.  Gioia loves to clean Winston's ears which is quite a project!

Winston attends puppy class every Saturday.  He loves the playtime part and eagerly plays with all of his classmates.  This is what he does during the actual instruction part of the class....

One weekend Paolo took both children rafting.  I will very happy to stay home with the dogs...

Maria was invited on the first (easier) day.  Paolo's expression here is because he was worried she would panic...

...she did not!

The second day Maria stayed at the camp and the others did a more difficult part of the river. They capsized once, had to leave the river at one point and carry the raft to avoid a hippo and her baby and had a terrific time!

Salt has a new favorite perch.

One our very short walks around the neighborhood (Winston can manage about 10 minutes of walking), we often have to stop at his best friend's house hoping Kobe will come out to play.

                     A typical scene in our garden these days....

A wild Saturday night at home.  Ear cleaning has become a daily ritual.

Next month will bring a lot of excitement as we travel to the USA, 3 of us get our first Pfizer shots and Maria begins summer camp in Maine! Stay tuned...

xoxo.  Clara