Last Leg

Ooookayyyy, the last little bit of our road trip! The homeward journey. We took 3 days to come home, which was much more relaxed. While we packed up the van, the kids spent some quality time with our hosts, making Halloween decorations in their pajamas.

Joseph really bonded with their beautiful dog -- here he is reading the dog a story.

The first day of driving we didn't go very far -- just a couple hours to some friends' south of the Twin Cities (known simply as "The Cities" locally). The wife heroically allowed us to stay with them, even though she was recovering from a cold. They have 5 kids -- their oldest was a toddler at our wedding, and the rest of them are the same ages as ours, so everyone had a buddy.

These dads take their baby-holding very seriously.


We had a blast with them -- nothing like a house full of kids!

The next day was a long day of driving -- from Minnesota to Indiana.

Joseph found a moth sitting on his window, and he caught it! He was very proud of it and kept it on the bottom of his water bottle (see the gray speck) for a good part of the trip.

The longest part of the drive that day was trying to get off the tollroad in South Bend because it was the end of the day, everyone was tired, the baby was crying, we were ALMOST there, and THE STUPID UNATTENDED TOLL BOOTH ONLY TOOK CHANGE. Finally a real live person came over and helped us pay our toll so we could collapse happily at cousin Paul's.


Aunt Brenda was on retreat, and the two middles were visiting their Grandma's, so Uncle Paul just had his bookends. We arrived too late that first night for the cousins to see each other, but the next morning they got to play. The two big girls bonded while the grownups were rushing around repacking and getting ready for Mass.


We got to go to Mass on campus at Notre Dame. Way cool!


Paul & Brenda's newest baby is such a little sweetie. What a privilege it was to hold her!

We had a nice little visit, and wished we could have stayed longer. But that day we drove to Steubenville to spend the night at my godparents'. They graciously allowed us to stay in their house even though they were away -- we just promised not to use any water or electricity while we were there. :)

We got to spend a little time with Aunt Tatie which was really nice, considering she was in the throes of midterms. But she graciously spared us quite a bit of her time in between study sessions. :)


And finally, we were off on our way home! Because of timing, we realized that we were arriving in DC right in the midst of rush hour, so we pulled off the highway in Maryland to stop for dinner.

"The clustered spires of Frederick stand Green-walled by the hills of Maryland." (or maybe orange-walled?) --from Barbara Frietchie by John Greenleaf Whittier

We found a sub shop that was close to a park, which made creative use of old tires. Wish I'd taken a picture of the cool sea serpent made entirely out of truck tires. We were so glad we stopped, rather than push through the traffic -- this way, we breezed over the Beltway, and everyone was fed and refreshed for the last 45 minutes, instead of cranky and/or hysterical.

We were home! We made it! The house was still standing, and the only thing left to do was unpack...

Ahhhh yes. The Aftermath.

What a great trip. We were so grateful to everyone who graciously opened their homes to us and fed us. It was so wonderful reconnecting with the Midwest relatives again. Now that we know we can make this drive, and even have fun doing it, we're not totally dependent upon the whims of the airline industry to be able to spend time with the people we love.

Quote of the Week

Jo-jo: "No I want pizza. I want BEER. It so good for me."

Road Trip, part... oh i don't know

This was our last day with family before we started on our eastbound trip. Cousin Paul's birthday was coming soon after we were going to leave, so his family hosted an early birthday party so all the cousins could celebrate together.

It was an awesome party, from a kid's perspective. We started by raking the yard and creating the most enormous leaf pile.

Which was positioned strategically, right in front of the swing set.

Turns out snow shovels have a dual purpose! Who knew!

When the pile was satisfactorily huge, the kids took turns swinging and launching themselves into the pile.

Ahh, enjoying the fruits of their labors!




See, this is the kind of stuff I missed growing up in smelly ol' Los Angeles.

The weather was beautiful (a theme for the week). Even Daniel enjoyed the sunshine and fresh air.

After everyone had worked up an appetite we had a delicious supper followed by a cake decorated by the birthday boy.

It's a pumpkin!


The two Catherines

Everyone was sad that we had to leave (even Little Miss Contrary there).

Thanks to everyone for the great week!
(can you tell Joseph was tired?) :)

Road Trip, part deux

So we finally arrived in Minnesota late Sunday night. We stayed in the basement of an acquaintance of Mr. Pickles' from college, who felicitously has become a good friend. She very sweetly opened her home to us so we would have a comfortable place to stay (since we would have completely taken over Grandma's house!). The day after we arrived we went to Grandma's house to spend time with her, and wait for the cousins to arrive too. It had been years since these guys had seen each other -- since before Joseph was even born. There was some nervousness about meeting each other, but it melted away very quickly after the application of sun, water, and sand.

Nothing like building a sand castle to unite hearts and minds! :) At one point Bethany (the oldest cousin) exclaimed, "Wow! We're all coming up with really great ideas!" They really did all get along so well. It was a good beginning to a fantastic week.


While the big kids worked on construction, Joseph enjoyed the gorgeous fall day with Daddy.


Sand castle completed! Go team!


We also got to spend time with Mr. P's brother Dan. (Hey look! It's two Dans!) We hadn't heard from him in quite a while, so it was very good getting to see him again.


Two peas in a pod!


Cousin Paul is such a sweet boy. It was fun being able to watch him and Bethany at their gymnastics lesson later in the week. I noticed that he was the one who jumped the highest on the trampoline -- and you could tell he was loving it!


We made sure to take a day to drive out to visit with Grandpa Gene and Grandma Betty, so they could meet the latest grandsons.


Miriam took advantage of yet another beautiful day on Grandpa's hot rod. :)


One night we went out bowling -- the cousins couldn't make it b/c they'd had a really busy day, but Grandma and Uncle Dan came.




Bowling with kids is hilarious.



Joseph was impressed by the loudness of it -- you hear his reference to "thunder" at the very end.



We all had a great time (even the tired cranky ones). :)

For Cousin Libby

I can do it, too!



Copious amounts of drool are required.

He makes this noise when he is tired/wet/bored/awake/happy.

It's Lunchtime, So We Must Be in Ohio

Herein begins the chronicle of our recent Mother of All Roadtrips (TM). We owed the Midwestern branch of our family a visit, and decided to drive to Minnesota and back. Because we're crazy (in a good way). And because we would have had to sell at least one of our children to afford to fly.

The first step was making sure we packed everything, including children.

As proof of our insanity, we drove all the way to Chicago the first day. That's 700 miles. Six states. We packed the car the night before, and had the kids sleep in their clothes. We left home at 5:30 am to beat the worst of DC rush hour, and made it all the way to Pennsylvania before we made our first stop.

Yay! I'm so glad to be out of my carseat!


Pennsylvania was gorgeous -- it was at the peak of its fall color. The sunrise over the hills was amazing.

Ohio is a very wide state. Very, very, very wide. It felt like 80% of our trip was on the Ohio turnpike. (It was really only half.)

We took a nice long lunch break to run around and play horsie.


Of course, we had to stop a couple times for gas. There was also one eventful emergency potty break by the side of the turnpike with 18-wheelers zooming by at 70 mph, shaking the car at every pass.

I forget when exactly we arrived in Chicago -- with the time change to Central and the city traffic and the baby's hysterical screaming for the last 20 minutes, time sort of lost all meaning.


But finally, we arrived safely and were welcomed at Uncle Dave and Aunt Katie's. The safe arrival is even more amazing considering the lousy condition of our tires, which we hadn't realized before we set off. Somewhere in Pennsylvania the car started pulling to the right really hard -- we found out the next day that one tire was so thin it had a bubble right around the middle. AND WE DROVE 500 MILES ON IT. Our angels were totally working overtime, with the help of everyone who was praying for our safe journey.


So, while Mr. Pickles was at a shop getting the car checked out and then buying new tires (and paying cash for them to save $50 in taxes -- gotta love how Chicago does business), everyone else headed to a nearby park for some fun.


We had talked about doing something touristy, like visiting a museum downtown, but it worked out better this way. We were all seriously tired after our long day, and having one day just to relax and play was what we really needed. I don't think it was so relaxing for Dave & Katie. :) (I wonder if their cat Moxie will ever recover.) But we had a lovely time with them and promised to invade them again soon and break more of their toys.

The next day we drove the rest of the way to Minnesota. We don't have any pictures from that leg of the journey, so nothing interesting must have happened. Only one thing stands out about that trip for me -- Wisconsin is a very big state. That, and I think we missed a toll somewhere in Illinois. We tried to pay online later, but the website was extremely confusing (probably on purpose). I hope they let us back in the state so we can terrorize Moxie again.

Squeee!

I think all the essential family members have been informed by now, so it should be safe to post this:

Aren't Katie & Stefan the cutest? The starry-eyed newly-engaged look becomes them well. :) And I'm so happy it happened here in DC! It's come full circle -- I was staying at Katie's house when Mr. Pickles proposed to me.

We're so happy for them! They are SOOO good for each other, and now they have the joy of learning and growing together. It's such a pleasure to see someone I love so much so happy.
God bless you guys!

Back from Retreat

With a soul all fresh and sparkley-new! I even made it all the way to 9:30 this morning without yelling once at the kids! :)

Thanks to everyone who was praying for me -- I could really feel your prayers surrounding me. It was a wonderful weekend -- something I was much in need of. Half the beauty of the weekend was in the location itself -- this amazing stone English-style mansion on gorgeous grounds in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mtns. I kept expecting to run into Bertie Wooster around every corner. And the stars at night!! There were so many, I had a hard time picking out the constellations I knew.

I took Daniel with me on the retreat -- I was so happy they accommodate babies. There were two other moms with babies, and I think the rest of the retreatants were grandmothers who missed their grandbabies, so I didn't have any trouble finding someone willing to hold Daniel so I could go to confession, or eat a meal. It was very nice spending the weekend with him alone -- we both got very spoiled.

I've been feeling so overwhelmed lately that I really needed a weekend free from all responsibility, to be able to rest in the Lord and renew my spirit. I still have a ways to go before I will feel whole again, but I was able to be still and let the Holy Spirit show me some essentials that had gotten buried under the stuff of my life. I came home with some ideas for daily strengthening my relationship with God the Father, as well as taking the time each day to be renewed, so I don't get so burned out again. It will be a little while before I can get away for a weekend again (until Daniel is weaned, pretty much), but I've realized the importance of regular mini-retreats to recharge my spiritual batteries and remind me of what's really important when I get too busy and anxious about many things.

Thanks again for all the prayers, and especially to Theresa for her example and encouragement to go on this retreat -- and also to the wonderful Mr. Pickles for making it possible!

Gratuitous Boy Cuteness

Egad, I've got a lot of cute stuff to sort through! I just uploaded a month's worth of pictures and videos -- and a very eventful month it was. But until I climb out from under the Laundry Pile Monster, here is but one gratuitously cute baby video to tide you over until I have time to post again. (Say a little prayer for me, if you will -- I'm on retreat this weekend.)




Grandpa Mike should be proud. Only 4 months old and already playing his thumb! Such talent there is in our family.

September Photodump

Just some random cuteness, mostly of ma boyz.

Brothers hangin'.

Yes, archery is an essential aspect of a well-rounded education, in addition to catechism and good penmanship.

Mini-portraits of the Whirling Dervish and the Michelin Baby.


So much for mental stimulation...

The very hungry babypillar.

Ooo, 'cary face!

More posts coming down the pipeline!