All roads lead to... Rome

 All roads lead to... Rome.  Or so the saying goes.  I have to say that I have about the best husband in the whole wide world!  He had two days off from work, and so what did he do?  He sent me on vacation for two days.  I took Isabel with me, and the boys stayed home with dad.  I went to see a good friend, Jenna, who lives in Rome.  She's an amazing mom of 5.  She too is American and married to an Italian.  They lived near us in Salt Lake, and moved here about the same time we did too.

So I went to Rome Saturday evening to Monday afternoon.

 My first morning I woke up, totally care free! And I woke up to one of my favorite things in the world: a beautiful sunrise.  It was nice to get up and not have children calling me or needing me.  It was nice to get on my knees and pray without being interupted.  Amazing!  It was nice to not be the responsible adult.

 I also went to see the LDS temple being built in Rome.  It's almost done and some of the scaffolding has been taken off.  As a Latter-day-saint, the temple is my special place where I can step away from life and my problems, and turn my heart to my creator.  So this is a big deal for me.  Only 3.5 hours away instead of 8!  It's supposed to be done and dedicated in 2015.

 On Sunday afternoon we drove to the beach which is about 30 minutes from Jenna's house.  She only has one girl too, and for a weekend these little ones had an adopted sister, or at least some girl time that they don't normally get.

 It was cool, but not too cold.  Warm enough to walk bare foot in the sand, but not warm enough to go into the water (even though Isabel tried... more than once).

 Monday, Jenna and I were totally crazy brave and walked around Rome in the cold, pouring rain.  Isabel was SOOOOOOO good and didn't even cry while we did so.

where Paul was under house arrest for 2 years

 For those of you who are Bible buffs, this is where Paul was placed under house arrest for 2 years, and he taught the gospel to many from here.  He later died in Rome, but not here.

And a nice lunch and hot chocolate out!  Thanks again Jenna for hosting.  And thanks to my wonderful husband for letting me go on an adventure!