Birthdays and Mini Golf

I was actually the first one up this morning. Usually Katrina is the first one up. I guess I will need to wakeup Brandon in a few minutes.

I have a busy day today: Italian, parent meeting at school, birthday party, Mike & Jen over for dinner and last minuter packing for our trip to Paris tomorrow. Right now I'd really like to go back to bed and dream a little more.

Hey, the Broncos are barely 1-0! I have a gut feeling that this is going to be a very bad year for the Broncos. They can't play like they have and win games on luck each week.

Katrina did not have her Italian lesson this morning. She had a Benvenuto Club coffee this morning. This is a group for women who speak English. They meet at the sporting club once a month.

I had my lesson a bit earlier, since Katrina was not scheduled. It was a pretty good lesson. Sometimes I feel as if we talk and don't ever get to an actual lesson, then I realize afterward that casual conversation in Italian is a great lesson in itself. We chatted about Brandon, Katrina's photos from the races and Verona, a book Rosella bought for Brandon, and future travels.

This afternoon I attended a parent meeting at school. It was a chance to hear about the school and see what is and will be happening in the classroom. I really like Brandon's teacher, Mrs. Partridge. She is working hard to instill a sense of independence and responsibility in the children.

After the meeting I walked back home to finish wrapping a birthday gift for a party after school. I grabbed the gift and walked it, along with both of our bikes, to school to pickup Brandon. We then rode from school to an indoor mini golf course about a kilometer away from our house.

It was a 9th birthday party for Emilio, a classmate of Brandon's. Of course, I was the only dad there and the only person who didn't speak fluent Italian. I felt a little out of place until it was time for mini golf. Each of the parents took a group of kids around the course. I had Brandon, Hugo and Amelie. We had a great time, but I'm amazed that everyone left the party without a single injury. Imagine about 25 eight and nine year olds with golf balls and clubs. Kind of scary, but we had a great time.


Brandon takes his turn.


Amelie and Brandon count strokes for Hugo.

After playing mini golf, it was time for cake. The kids all sang Happy Birthday (in English) to Emilio, then enjoyed cake and drinks.


Buon Compleano Emilio - he's the one in the white shirt with blue sleeves.

We had Mike and Jen over for dinner this evening. I made pasta with olive oil and garlic, along with some bruschetta and salad. Mike brought some red wine and Jen made brownies for dessert. After dinner we played Wii until almost 11:15pm.

Off to bed. Tomorrow we fly to Paris!!