A lovely last weekend in Raleigh ...

Ciao! It is mind-bending to think that this time tomorrow, I will be flying over the northeastern states, on my way to Italy ... Italy! This past weekend has been surprisingly free of stress - busy, yes, and quite full of to-dos and such, but not unpleasant in the least (the exact opposite in fact!).

Friday night I had the pleasure of seeing my sister and brother, Mary and Michael, perform in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, which was the culminating event of their two-week drama camp. They both acted wonderfully in their respective parts, and I was absolutely thrilled that the performance came before and not after my departure!

Me and my Mary

and Michael boy!

Saturday was a major day of preparation, one that left me quite spent by the time I crawled into bed, but thanks to the help of Hillary and Amber, as well as the countless little aids provided by Mom and Mary throughout the day, much was accomplished without even a hint of frustration or stress. After kicking off the morning with Starbucks, Hillary and I made one last trip to Target before beginning the arduous task of deciding what clothes were going - and which ones were staying. Thankfully, she was up for the task - and my indecisive, scatterbrained way of going about it!

As was Amber when it came to actually packing what Hillary and I had deemed worthy of packing. Then, after I saw Hillary off to an evening of Peter Pan, Amber came in to finish the job. Her efficiency in the art of packing was the push my procrastinating ways needed!

Check out her handiwork!


Later that evening, my mom prepared a spectacular dinner for us (which was followed by an equally wonderful array of desserts), and we ended the night by curling up on the couch and watching one of my favorite movies - An Ideal Husband.

Today was spent enjoying my last Sunday at church, a quiet afternoon at Grandmommy and Granddaddy's house, and then a restful evening at home. Here are some of the pictures we took after church and at my grandparents' house:

Mommy and me

My puppies - Penny and Callie

My "aunt," Sugar

Charlie (a cousin)!

What a sweetie!

Grandmommy and Granddaddy

I am not sure when exactly I will get to post again, but a reasonable guess would be sometime Wednesday or Thursday.

Ciao, i miei famiglie e amici! A dopo!