Happy Pentecost!

One of the beauties of our faith is that you can come up with a culinary expression of just about any liturgical feast!

{phfr}, Road Trip Edition!

{pretty}

best friends

{happy}

what a blessing family is

{funny}

Mommy and Daddy make me do such silly things...

{real}

some of us are better car travelers than others

The Great Western Trek, part I

Most of our readers know (since we saw about 3/4 of you) that we took 3 weeks to drive to Minnesota and back, visiting friends and family along the way (and eating all their food).  The trip proved to me yet again that I am a sucky picture taker, but I also have an equally sucky memory, so I'm trying to train myself to capture moments on film (or pixels?) that we want to remember.

So part I, Westward Bound!  (warning: this is a very long post)

We made this trip at this time because my baby cousin Katie, aka Aunt Tatie, was graduating from college in Steubenville, Ohio.  I had been to both her 8th grade and high school graduations, so of COURSE we had to be there!  Not going would have been like not being at the birth of one of my children.  Just not possible.  We stayed with Aunt Terri & Uncle Jim -- I always feel like their home is headquarters, since it was home-away-from-home for me while I was in college.

Katie is also getting married later this summer (and Miriam's in the wedding!), so her friends threw a bridal shower tea for her.  We began our trip Thursday afternoon so the girls & I could attend the shower on Friday.  It was delightful and fun and classy, just like Katie!

with her maid of honor, Lenore

As part of the shower, Lenore asked for stories about Katie.  That was a lot of fun.  I told the engagement story from our perspective, since we were hosting Katie & Stefan the weekend they got engaged.  There were several women there who had known Katie since she was born, so many of them shared about when she was really little.  I still remember how much she loved dressing up like a princess when she was 3. :)

Edy and Miriam were joyfully reunited!

in fact, there was a whole table full of girls to giggle with!

Aren't those centerpieces cute?  Don't you think they're the cutest bridal shower centerpieces ever?  (Why yes, Miriam & I did help Aunt Terri arrange them, how did you know?)

they had a whole present-delivery system worked out.

It's so fun seeing what the bride has picked out for her new home! (and the groom too I suppose -- since he's the one usually wielding The Registry Gun)

MoG and  MoB

 It was so neat spending this time with 3 generations of women!

Daniel was there too.  He wasn't sure he liked all the extra estrogen floating around.

Eventually Stefan came with flowers for his bride.  Awwwwwww.

isn't she just radiant?  we can't wait to see her on her wedding day!

That evening was the Baccalaureate Mass.  I mention it because I think it made Steubenville history -- there was not a guitar to be heard!  It was all schola and Gregorian chant and motets -- it was all so... weird.  Lovely, but just... weird.  We're guessing it's because the celebrant was a big mucky-muck cardinal from Rome, so to honor him they brushed up on their Latin and hid all the guitars.  It was odd, actually missing the praise music.  We missed being able to sing along.

The following day was Commencement.  Stefan graduated earlier in the morning with his Master's in Theology (yay!), and then his parents knocked a couple decades off their time in purgatory by sitting through another graduation the same day, as we watched Katie walk.  She managed to score an extra ticket so I could attend!  (Greg, who also earned a "get out of Purgatory free" card, entertained and fed all the kiddos in the student lounge nearby, even Daniel.)  And Aunt Terri scored us some awesome seats!

There she is!  See her?  Shaking hands with Fr. Terry?  Okay, fine, here's another shot...

yes. it's blurry.  i was shooting from a distance in low-ish lighting with no tripod.

Katie's commencement speaker was Fr. Cantalamessa, THE preacher to THE papal household.  Yes indeed!  He is Franciscan, after all. :)  He was absolutely delightful.  He was quoting philosophers and theologians right and left, and had an impish sense of humor.  What a privilege to be able to hear him speak!  He promised to bring back to the Holy Father Franciscan Univeristy's warmest greetings.  That got a huge cheer from the audience. :)

And remember Lenore?  Katie's maid of honor?  She has the most beautiful voice.  She sang both the National Anthem and the Alma Mater!

see!  there she is!

She did a beautiful job.  I wish everyone else would have stopped singing so we could listen just to her. :)

Fr. Mike Scanlon is also finally retiring, so he was honored, and then he gave the final blessing.  I felt privileged to be there to receive Fr. Mike's final final blessing. :)

go forth!!

hooray for the graduates!

Katie graduated with degrees in both Math and Political Science, as well as completing the honors program, which we believe made Franciscan history (her senior thesis was a very clever combination, about _______________), AND she graduated with honors.

we are so very proud of her!

even Jo-jo, whom even sleep cannot protect from getting chubbed

There was an open house party afterwards, which Katie said was everything she'd hoped it to be.  Everyone just hung around, eating pizza, getting to meet friends-and-relations, enjoying the day.

Katie with Miss Lenore, whom I first knew as "Nory" when she was about 2 :)

The kids had a great time running around together.

Edy is a brave girl

a very brave girl!

Rapunzel, class of 2027

just needs a couple more years to grow into it...

Edy looks like the genuine article!

Sunday morning Aunt Terri hosted her traditional Brunch of Fabulousness so we could gather once more before we took off again. 

I like wearing my food!

Katie had to move out of her campus apartment that afternoon, so it was strongly recommended to us that we vacate the area before the moving-out chaos began. :)  So after spending a delightful time with the family we packed up (it's amazing how quickly your stuff spreads out when you stay somewhere...) and continued our westbound travels.

some of us are better car travelers than others...

Mother's Day

I had a delightful day yesterday.  We went to an earlier Mass than we have been attending of late -- and we were only 10 minutes late!  Yay for us!  After Mass Mr. Pickles fixed a delightful brunch with donuts, coffee, scrambled eggs and bacon (mmm, bacon...).  Then I spent the rest of the day pretty much doing what I felt like (which is exactly what any mother wants to do on Mother's Day, right?). :)  I spent some time sewing on a dress I started last summer (ahem).  Then Joseph starting pitching fits while Mr. Pickles was busy in the kitchen so I decided he needed some outside time.

It was a lovely day -- pleasantly warm but not hot, sunny, blue skies with fat white puffy clouds. I sat in the backyard, knitting with Miriam...

my knitting buddy

she's doing stripes!

...while Joseph waded in the murky rainwater in our kid pool (and fell in a couple times).

third change of clothes here

can you see how wet his shirt is?

"My hands messy!"

Katie came out too.

"Look, it's a potato!"  (it's really a rock)

Eventually Mr. Pickles brought Daniel out too.

attack Daddy!!

hey, Ma, look what I can do!

whee!  flying is fun!

The weather held, despite an occasional gray cloud's threat, so Mr. Pickles was able to grill.  He made steak with grilled asparagus and potatoes (Miriam wants me to point out that the kids had hot dogs), and chocolate lava cake with chocolate-covered strawberries and neapolitan ice cream for dessert.  Afterwards we all watched Star Wars, and then Mr. Pickles put the kids to bed and cleaned up the kitchen so I could relax.  I felt totally spoiled all day!  It was delightful.

I hope all you mommies had as lovely a day!

Hey look, it's Thing!

Is Easter still Easter if I can't eat any candy?

Well, fortunately we didn't have to address such a weighty dilemma, as everyone was just sufficiently recovered from a stomach bug to enjoy Easter goodies.  After Easter certain anonymous family members had to avoid caffeine, sugar, fats, and dairy -- basically everything that makes life worth living -- and go on a BRAT diet (Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Toast) for a couple days.  But we still had a mini Easter feast (thanks to Mr. Pickles).  By Saturday I was feeling recovered enough even to make Kulich, a traditional Easter bread.

my tulips bloomed just in time!

Miriam was the only one who stayed healthy while the rest of us were in various stages of recovery, so the poor kid had to entertain herself.  She did so very profitably, I believe: she made Easter decorations.

these are all her own ideas

 They add a nice seasonal touch to the dining room.

 

 The kids waited very patiently Easter morning for me finally to drag myself out of bed before they started on their Easter egg hunt.  The Easter bunny very sneakily hid their baskets as well as their eggs.

although perhaps the Easter Bunny should have remembered that there are ants near the front door and that ants really, really like sugary things like jelly beans...  (white powder is borax to disperse the ant super-highway)

Smokey helped us look.

it is very hard taking a non-blurry photo of a bunny in natural lighting

Daniel helped too.

The Easter Bunny thoughtfully brought some treats that Daniel could have, so he got to enjoy some Easter goodies along with everyone else.

mmm, yogurt bites...

Joseph, however, did not help look -- he is not his best self before breakfast.

But all the eggs were eventually found -- although some not until later in the day.  Chocolate and peeps were consumed in large quantities, along with Kulich and sausage and coffee.  Mr. Pickles wasn't feeling the best, so he stayed home with Mr. Sourpuss and I took the girls (and Daniel) to Mass. 

what a good-looking family!

Easter dinner was very simple, but still delicious.  I was feeling just well enough to make dinner, but not so well to make a big production out of it.  In some ways that was a grace -- I was forced to keep things simple and therefore not stress out!  

And even though we weren't able to make it to the Triduum as a family, we were still able to celebrate Easter in our domestic church in a way that made an impression on the kids.  To drive home the fact that It's Easter!, we also let the kids watch movies and play Wii for a good part of the day.

Christ is Risen, Allelulia!