Rimini

 From Florence we went to Forli. The town of about 100,000 where my parents are assigned as missionaries. That night, we went to the nearby town of Rimini. Both Forli and Rimini are in the region of Emilia-Romagna. 
Rimini was founded in 268 BC. This marks the old Roman entrance to the city. The triumphal Arch of Augustus. Built in 27 BC. The bricks up top and surrounding the arch were added later.

 Contemplating the mysteries of antiquity. This arch has seen the birth of Jesus, the fall of Rome, the Dark Ages, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Unification of Italy, the Napoleonic Wars, two World Wars, the Cold War...and still standing. It will probably last forever.

 The other ancient Roman landmark in Rimini. The Tiberius Bridge. 21 AD

I love Italy at night!

Florence

Our journey to Italy began at 9:00 am when we left Soda Springs to drive to Salt Lake City. We landed in Balogna at 5:00 pm the next day. After landing we drove an hour to Florence and checked in to our hotel. Deanne was anxious to hit the town, so we only had a few minutes to bush our teeth before heading out the door.

Bright and early the next morning, we were on our way to the Uffizi Gallery. 

We were all a little tuckered out.

Maybe I'm a little gruesome, but this was one of my favorite statues.

This is replica stands where Michelangelo's David originally stood. The original David has a new home in the Academia. Such an impressive sculpture.

Ponte Veccio

The stores are built right into the bridge.

The Florence skyline.

It was a wonderful day filled with art, pizza, and gelato.

Sunshine and Summer Time

It's been three months since Paul and I were married, and it's been a great summer!

We went on several drives to explore this beautiful corner of the world.

This is the Henry Store in Henry, Idaho.

  It's not summer without a roasting hot dogs and marshmallows, 

but since we don't have a fire pit we had to improvise.

One Sunday the power was out for over 8 hours, so Paul and I played Scrabble. This is the first (and probably the last) game of Scrabble I will ever win.

We watched Monster's U at the Idah-ha Dive-In Theater.

 

Paul does not understand the appeal of the drive-in.  It's like sitting next to a bunch of annoying kids in a regular theater...except mosquitoes can bite you.  Also, Paul thought it was a Drive-Thru theater, and was hoping to get a burger and fries.  Instead he got stale popcorn and expired Swedish Fish. Tara, on the other hand, loved it!

  We went to Lava Hot Springs a couple of times with some great friends.  We floated the Portneuf River, played some intense water basketball, and ate some delicious Thia food.

On this particular trip, I decided I was finally going to overcome my fear of jumping from high places.

 

 I did the walk of shame instead. 

But it did make jumping off of the high dive much easier.

“I've always believed in savoring the moments. In the end, they are the only things we'll have.”
― Anna Godbersen 

The Cotten Clan

A couple of weekends ago, we went to Island Park with the entire Cotten clan.  We ate too much food, laughed too hard, and stayed up way too late.

On Friday, went to Nevada City, a ghost town and living history museum in Montana. A train took us from Virginia City to Nevada City. The kids LOVED it. We enjoyed the world's largest, public collection of antique music machines, panned for gold, talked with Whiskey Jo, and ate cinnamon rolls made by Miss Lindsey.

This was my favorite music machine. I wish I could have gotten a better picture, but it was too crowded in the museum. 

This horse is the original horse model used in the saddle shop. It was used much like a form.

 

There was a pretty extensive collection of old wagons.

 The girls didn't quite know what to think of Whiskey Jo.

Two story out house?

Unfortunately, my camera only lasted a few hours. On Saturday we floated the river and went to Seven Brides for Seven Brother at the Playmill in West Yellowstone.

My family has been going to Island Park every year almost as long as I can remember.  It is one of my favorite places, probably because of its consistency.  Big Springs is always beautiful and cold, Mom always makes white chocolate trail mix, ice cream from Aarowleaf in West Yellowstone is always delicious, the coyotes howl every night, and every year our family grows.

Last summer my brother Reed invited Paul to come to the cabin with my family.  It was the fourth time I had seen Paul and first time I spent more than just a few hours with him.  It's been an incredible year, and I look forward to many more!

Yellowstone July 2012