Preston's 6th Birthday

Preston spread his birthday throughout the week. We got home from Italy just a couple days before his birthday and he was still jet lagged and struggled that morning acting like a ‘birthdayzilla’, but calmed down and was very fun.  

He loved being able to have lunch with James in his office and then have a birthday swim party that evening. He was enjoying swimming so much that when I asked if he wanted to get out and open his presents he said “no thanks”. We saved the presents until Thursday when we did a Finlay family get together at Westminster Gardens. 

He insisted he needed a “birthday trip with Gramma” and listed out date ideas he could do. (i.e. go to the Arboretum, learn to play tennis, learn to drive the golf cart, go to the park, etc.) Gramma was so nice to take him on a date on Thursday (2 parks, In N Out AND icecream!) and he loved every minute of it.

Preston requested toll house pie for his birthday dessert.  He had a whole menu of dinner options he wanted and thought he could have all of them in one night!  Broccoli Cheese Soup, Chinese Chicken Salad, Pizza, Potstickers, Hamburgers...we spread the food out all week.

Preston 6-year-old interview and stats

Preston is enthusiastic and lights up a room.  His emotions are extreme: when he is happy he is REALLY happy, when he is sad he is REALLY sad.  All his feelings are very evident on his face.  He will engage with anyone in a conversation and is friends with everyone.

My name is: Preston (aka: Friendador, Friendliest Friend, Prepre, PJ)

Height: 50" (99%)

Weight: 54lbs (87%)

Sleeping: About 11 hours 8pm-7am.  As a 3rd child he often is out past is supposed 7:30 bedtime as we're involved in other activities.  When sleep schedules have been thrown off (travel, too many late nights) he will sleep in until 9 or 10 when given the chance. He still has bad dreams, but not as often...maybe waking up a couple times a month.  He likes to listen to music to go back to sleep.  

Hobbies: Loves music.  Plays piano and took a general music class. Hasn't had a desire to participate in any organized sports, but enjoys swimming and riding his scooter-especially to show me his tricks.

What is your name? Preston

When is your birthday? June 10th

How old are you? 6
What is your favorite color? Red, Orange and Yellow
What is your favorite song? The Eye of the Tiger
What does Mom do? Wash the dishes, do the laundry
What does Dad do? He goes to work
What do you want to do when you are a grown up? Be a farmer
Where do you want to live when you grow up? At a home
If you had 1 million dollars, what would you do with it? I would spend it for a bunch of pizzas
What is your favorite food? My favorite food is Broccoli Cheese Soup
What is your least favorite food? Broccomole?  (We're not sure what that is.)  
What is your dream car? A limousine
What is your favorite animal? A zebra
Where do we go to church? The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
Why do we go to church? To learn about Jesus
What is something you’re good at? Riding the scooter
What is your favorite movie? Lion King
What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Vanilla
Where would you like to travel? Ecuador
Where do you like to eat? Pizza Hut
Who is your favorite person? Mommy and Daddy
Who is your best friend? Brooklyn, my cousin
What is your favorite book? Piggie and Gerald Books
What is your favorite thing to do? Read
What are you most excited about being 6? Doing my birthday interview, which I'm doing right now.
What is broccomole? Guacamole? Hummus?  No, I'm thinking of something, but I don't know what the name is.

Thursday, June 6-Rome

We took the train to Palatine Hill, Roman Forum and Colosseum area. It was very cool to get off the train and see the impressive colosseum.  

We stood in line for about half and hour to get tickets. Then toured the Hill and Forum. 

It was fascinating to walk through the streets of the Roman Forum.  We learned that the green door on the building in the background was at street level in the 1500s, so there was a lot of history buried that has been discovered in the last few hundred years.  

We had timed tickets to enter the Colosseum at 1:50, but it was about a 45 minute wait to get through security and get in. There was no shade on the lines so everyone was hot and tired which was probably the least favorite part of the trip for most people, but once we finally made it in the sights were very cool to see.

We then went to the Mouth of truth-no one had their hand eaten off.   

We did some geocaching close by and then walked up to the Aventine keyhole before taking the train back to the house. We ate dinner there and then went out for one more gelato before getting packed up to head back home early the next morning.

Wednesday, June 5-Vatican City, Rome

We started the day by going into Vatican City for a tour of the museums and Sistine chapel.  It was incredible.  The kids loved seeing the pope-mobiles.  We were thankful to have a friend that arranged a tour guide to help us navigate our way through the lines.

St. Peter's Basilica is enormous.  The 'paintings' are all impressive mosaics, which were very cool to see up close. 

We opted to climb the 550 stairs to the top of the dome.  It helped give a better perspective about just how large the building was.  The letters that looked small from the ground were taller than James.

It required some steep steps that are squeezed in between the inner and outer part of the cupola, but ended with amazing views.

We got to watch the changing of the guards.  The uniforms of the Swiss Guards were designed by Michelangelo.  They've been using the same design since 1506. 

Once we finished Vatican City we decided to keep going to some of the other favorite attractions in Rome. 

We stopped for some pizza to refuel and a carousel ride increase the energy to continue our walking tour.

Rome has water fountains everywhere.  It made it nice to be able to fill water bottles or grab quick drinks.  

We walked through piazza navona

Tossed coins into Trevi Fountain.

Posed on the Spanish Steps

And checked out the hole in the roof of the Pantheon. 

It was a long day with a lot of walking, but the kids kept it fun.  

As with most nights we ate a late dinner back at our apartment.  Ian was great to know what to shop for so we had fantastic home cooked italian food.

Tuesday, June 4-Pitigliano, Viterbo, Rome

We would have loved more time to explore everywhere.  There was a lot to do around our hotel, but we wanted to get to Rome.  We got a later start than we hoped for when Preston accidently tried to walk right through the screen door of our hotel room.  The hotel was very understanding after James tried and couldn't repair.  

We went first to Pitigliano a city built out of volcanic stone with Etruscan ruins.  It is known as little Jerusalem because of its large jewish population.

We then stopped by Viterbo and toured the underground caves.  There we learned about historical uses of the caves as water ways, then where they experimented with Alchemy plus examples of Etruscan pottery etc. The tunnels were used as Air raid shelters when Viterbo was badly bombed during the second world war in 1943.

After a few frustrating attempts at filling our car with gas we made it to Rome.  We kid swapped at the temple so Ian and Annie could attend a session and James and I could go in with Brielle to to Baptisms.  

The visitors center was amazing, and there was a playground on site, so the kids were very happy to spend the evening there.  It was beautiful!

Monday, June 3-Sienna, Saturnia

We said our goodbyes at the vineyard and headed south Monday morning.  We stopped in Sienna to look around and loved it.  

We found a good spot for a picnic lunch, and then walked around to see the church, the plaza and other sites. 

 Outside the church were some souvenir stands where Brielle found some touristy things to bring back to friends and we all enjoyed looking around.

It was less crowded than other cities and had so many great details to appreciate.

and random places to relax.

We continued on to some thermal hot springs in Saturnia.  They are off the side of a dirt road, and you walk down a path that looks like you're in the middle of nowhere and then it opens up to these amazing pools.

Everyone enjoyed time to relax.  

Ethan made sure to take time to find a geocache...one of his favorite things to do at all the places we went.

Our hotel was close by the springs and had a great set up with the rooms being right across the hall from the hotel's restaurant.  We got pizza for the kids and enjoyed a night out for the adults with fun foods like pear infused cheese, rabbit ragu and stuffed crepes.

Sunday, June 2-Florence

We went to church in Florence which was set up for tourists with english translation.  We then parked at airport to take train into Florence.  

Florence was hot and we knew we wouldn't last long after so many busy days with the kids, so we decided to just get a feel of the city without diving in too deep.

We walked past the Uffizi for pictures of the David replica outside the museum.

And then went to the bridge Ponte Veccio. 

The favorite stop was the Michael Angelo overlook. Florence is beautiful from above.

We got back to the house about 5:30 for a relaxing evening. Kids swam, we went on a walk around the vineyard…The views are stunning.

Dinner was another fantastic meal. They made us typical Tuscan dishes. A white ragu pasta was the favorite. We also had Pappa al Pomodoro dish.  And then vanilla gelato with strawberries for dessert. We ate outside again, not even starting dinner until 8:30pm. Kids were actually excited about going to bed again when we finished around 10.

Saturday, June 1-Cinque Terre, Greve (Tuscany)

The hotel we stayed for the night had vouchers for pastries at local bakery. Since we didn't want coffee they gave us a ridiculous amount of croissants.

We took the train from La Spezia to the last city (Monterosso) of the cinque terre. 

It was beautiful, but hot!  The boys swam in the ocean while James flew his drone and Brielle and I soaked our feet in the nice cool water. 

We then took the train to the next city down Vernazza.  It had a different feel.  Long and narrow streets (crowded with tourists) that then opened up at the ocean. 

This region is known for its pesto, so we picked up some pesto focaccia, which was pretty incredible.

We drove by Pisa on our way out, which was a fun stop.  

It really is leaning as much as it appears to in pictures.  

From there we drove to Greve to stay at a friend's bed and breakfast. It was so nice to get out of the city and into the beautiful Tuscan countryside. We were spoiled with a fabulous dinner with the family. Most of them spoke English pretty well. We had melon, grilled zucchini, bruschetta, grilled toast with fresh olive oil, ham, grilled steak, hotdogs, chicken and potatoes.  And with the amazing views sitting in the vineyards it tasted even more fantastic.