It is a new day....a new year!

A new family moved in across the circle. I have been waiting for this family to make their appearance since March/April. I have been on a mental countdown and NOW......THEY ARE HERE! You are probably wondering why I am so obsessed with this family.....why would Tracy act this way? Because they hold the secret that is needed for our family......what could that secret be?! They have a FOUR-YEAR OLD BOY!!!!!!!!!! This is a vital, vital element that has been missing from William's life.....a playmate. He has friends from school that he talks about and really likes to play with the big girls here at the Camp. Unfortunately, the girls don't always like playing with William. I can't imagine why girls would want a three-year old boy around. One that wants to play in puddles, mud, with cars, and frogs. Especially when they have their barbies out and are getting them dressed for tea. (Please note though.....not every girl on Camp is this way....there are some that do love William and enjoy playing with him.) See the problem is that there are not alot of boys William's age living at the Camp. We are "girl rich" as they say at William's school.

Back to the wonderful discovery that has moved into the circle......the FOUR-YEAR OLD BOY! Yes, this boy has a name....it is Parker. Mommy heard that they were here yesterday...and well, I staked out the home. I waited and waited and waited for the car to return....and when it did.......I ran into the house and told William, " William, they're home! Get your shoes on! We are going over to introduce ourselves and say hi!" Those that know me, know this part of my behavior is normal.....but the fierceness in my desire to meet this is NOT! That means the staking out of the home part......or the mental countdown part, too.

We walked across the circle and met them. When William and Parker locked eyes....it was little boy talk to little boy talk and they were gone!!!! YAY!!!!!!!! They were off in the back bedroom jumping off a step ladder onto a blow-up mattress. This is the greatest thing to happen to our family.......William has a friend! We stayed for a bit. The mommies chatted and the boys...well, they played. I invited her boys over to the house while their furniture is being delivered tomorrow. I also gave them a frozen pizza for dinner.

This is a good thing.....as Martha Stewart would say. This is a needed thing......as I have already said!

What a wonderful year we have ahead of us!!!!!

Eye round, #2

It is time for an update about the eye. Since Friday I have seen the doctor every 48 hours. I am still continuing with the drops, but have graduate from every hour to every 2 hours. After my appointment yesterday, I can now sleep for 4 hours and then put in the drops. She says I will have a scar on my eye....though it should not be visible and I will need to be fitted for new contacts. Today is the first day that I do not feel the ulcer. This experience has made me even more ready for Lasik surgery! Kevin and the kids have been wonderful. William and Paul went with me yesterday to the doctor. William wanted to help Mommy and kept my medicine for my "sick eye" safe. We met a nice man in the elevator and when he asked William how old he was, William replied "We had to come to the doctor cause Mommy has a sick eye and I have to hold the medicine." Too cute.........

I know you all just log on to see the Italy pictures...so I promise to post some more soon.

Bye bye gumless smile....hello teeth! Oh, and the eye doctor.

Yesterday was a BIG day in the Capozzoli household. It was a crazy day...filled with joy and excitement. Isn't everyday that way though?!

So, here is the scoop. Wednesday night I took my contact out of my right eye and felt like I had scratched my eye. I thought "No big deal. It will get better overnight." Well, the next day came....and I put my contacts on. I know, I know, I know.....you should never put your contacts back on when you think you scratched your eye. But, I had some big work things to do that day and really could not go with just my glasses. That night when I took my contacts off I had the most excruciating pain in my right eye and thought "Oh, I hope this gets better." Well, it didn't and yesterday we went to the doctor. Of course I can't drive so Kevin has to come with me to the appointment and bring the kids. I won't blog about waiting to see the doctor....that is a post by itself!

So, when I get in to see the doctor she of course can't find a scratch....great! But, I am still in major pain and have an eye the color of a fire truck! They send me to the Opthomology Department....of course they had to call the doctor back in because it is Friday past 3PM. For those of you not affiliated with the military, the base and all services close down at 3:00PM exactly for the weekend. Getting services over the weekend is pretty much a bear. So, back to the saga. The doctor and tech come in. I meet with them, have loads of drops put in my eyes and have several exams consisting of blue lights and bright, white lights. Diagnosis.....I have an ulcer on my right eye! Good thing we caught it early because it is not that close to my cornea and is not effecting my vision...YET!!! Treatment....I have to put drops in my eye every hour, even during the night, until Sunday when I go back to see the doctor. She says I will still experience the pain, pressure, and sensitivity to light until then....and I mean even end up with a scar on my eye from where the ulcer was. HOW FUN! And how did I get this....probably from my contacts and when my little scratch got infected! So, the learning lesson is no matter how clean you are with your contacts, you can NEVER BE CLEAN ENOUGH! Let's hope this gets resolved quickly.

On a good note, Paulie has cut his first tooth! My adorable gumless smiling boy is no more....sad! He will soon be able to start eating more table food and enjoying Mommy's cooking. He still remains the sweetest, most laid-back baby ever created! I am truly blessed.

A tree dies in Eglin Air Force Base

Our tree in the backyard has died. It was a beautiful Sweet Gum tree that was the center of yard. it provided lovely shade for all of us. Sadly, it was removed last week. The removal process was quite long with several different machines. William was glowed to the window for hours. Here is some pictures. The are uploaded in reverse order....sorry about that. You may want to scroll from the bottom up of this blog to see the tree in various stages of removal.

Here are some of the tree from last summer.

A photo of the same tree a year later.....it was ready to go.

This is how William spent the morning hours.

A picture of me and my boys.

This is all that is left of our tree.

An adorable picture of Paulie.

Vegetable garden video

I finally was able to upload the video with our vegetables from the garden. Scroll down to the bottom of the blog and you will see it. It is the first video under the Capozzoli Video section. Enjoy!

Von Gunten Family Pics...The VGs

This past weekend was the Von Gunten family reunion. It was in Naples, FL. Kevin and I were not able to make it this year due to work and vacation schedules. I wanted to put up the picture of everyone.

The Von Guntens

My nieces, Abby and Caroline. Too sweet.

Abby in her bouncy.

Happy Father's Day!

Kevin had a nice Father's Day morning. He came home from his daily 5:30/6:00AM meeting and was greeted by sweet baby Paul smiles, coos, and hugs. He then gave Paulie a bottle and then took a needed morning nap. Meanwhile, William awoke and we signed Daddy's "Happy Mother's Day Car". Ever since Mother's Day William has a hard time grasping the difference between Mother's Day and Father's Day....it is all just Mother's Day to him....can you really blame him....I can't. Anyway, back to Daddy......so, we signed the card and then put Paulie down for a nap. We then went into the bedroom and awoke Daddy with sweet kisses and I love yous. William gave Daddy his card and Mommy made William and Daddy breakfast in bed. It was just too good. Then they went and picked fresh veggies and herbs out of the garden. This morning has been good!

Check out a later post on the garden growth and a video of our vegetables.

To all the fathers, new fathers, grandfathers, stepfathers, and fathers-to-be, enjoy your day as King....you do deserve it.

Venice by night......just too beautiful

If you ever thought Venice was beautiful by day, you have not lived till you see it by night. The lights are so soft and comforting that you want to stay and enjoy the ambiance and Italian wine. We had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant recommended in Rick Steves' Italy. There will be a future post on just food and wine alone....look for it. After dinner, we walked the city a bit more and got lost in the lights and warm Italian breeze. Here are some shots.

On the water taxi heading back to Lido.

The city at twilight.

The city right outside St. Mark's Square....too beautiful. Just enjoy the photos and the views.

New videos

I have uploaded some new videos of Paulie. Scroll down to the bottom of the blog to check them out....and check back for new posts and video of our Italy vacation.

Venice by gondola

Kevin and I decided that while on vacation money was NO object......if you believe that I have some real estate with a GREAT ocean view in Fountain, Colorado. Ha ha ha! We did decide, however, that an 80 Euro, 30 minute gondola ride was worth it. You never know when you are going to be back in Venice and Venice is more beautiful and inspiring by water. So....here are some photos from our ride. Oh, and....our gondolier did not sing.....that would have been 100 Euros.

Us in the gondola.

Some of the buildings and palaces....and a nice shot of my ankle.

A view of the Grand Canal.



This is the oldest palace in Venice. Our gondolier said it is about 1200 years old. It has been reclaimed and the city plans to turn it into a museum....though it is slowly sinking. They have about 12 inches before the water runs over the first floor.

A beautiful building with gorgeous flowers.



A view of the Rialto Bridge from the gondola....a truly different experience going under the bridge in the gondola versus the water taxi.

Our gondolier.

Strolling along in Venice.....aaahhhh....

After visiting St. Mark's Square and touring some of the area museums and palaces, we decided to stroll along in Venice....get lost and just see the sights. Our handy tour guide, Rick Steves, suggested we take a boat ride up the Grand Canal to begin the tour and then just walk. Mind you, the first night in Italy while walking home from dinner, I sprained my ankle. It was a pretty bad sprain. Before leaving Lido we had to find a pharmacy to purchase an ace bandage and some Motrin. You will notice my lovely footwear.....a wrapped ankle (if not, take a look at the previous post). So, our walk in Venice turned into a slow, slow stroll....but that made for a lovely afternoon. One fill with gazing at beautiful window boxes filled with flowers, pastel colored buildings, cafe breaks, and of course.....people watching. Enjoy the pics.

A gondolier in the Grand Canal.

A view of the Rialto Bridge....amid some beautiful construction supplies.

A view of the Grand Canal from the top of the Rialto Bridge.

Photos of Kevin and I on the bridge.

The view of the people walking the bridge towards the market.

This is the market place right off of the bridge. It was neat seeing the vegetables, fruit, and fresh meat for sale. Prices were OUTRAGEOUS!!!!!! We did not stop to buy gelato here. Most of the vendors and the placement of the vendor stores made me feel like I was in an indoor Swap Shop/Flea Market. Cheap trinkets to buy at very, very high prices.....we just looked at the goods.

A view of a walkway in the Jewish Ghetto portion of the city.

A pretty bridge and scene.....I will be posting a post strictly on beautiful buildings, walkways, Venetian waterways and other scenes. Check back, if you like.

The San Marco church. This is the church that has been named after the explorer, Marco Paolo. The church is completely made of marble and is the only church you can see from all four sides. It is a smaller church, but still quite lovely.

Me in the city....with my decorative foot wrap.

Some more waterways.