20111006

First off... HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!

Well, these pictures are a long time coming, but here you go!

We were heading up north a couple weeks ago, so I decided that both of our men needed a hair cut... gotta love the buzz cut! 

Now, these may look like a bunch of random shots, but I was trying to take pictures more of the bubbles that we were playing with than the kids... try to find the bubbles!

On our way to Minnesota... we drove into the night a bit and ended up at whatever Hotel was in our path... and we found an AWESOME one!  The Hampton Inn and Suites outside of Des Moines is GREAT!

Therese enjoying cartoons before her morning bath and breakfast...

And the men doing men things in the bathroom... No, we didn't actually "shave off" the cream from David.  It came off in the bathtub.

Our first stop upon arrival was a visit to David's godparents (and our good friends), the Langs.  It was a beautiful fall day, and we took advantage!

And mom would be proud of me... we got some great "group shots" before heading out!

Our next stop:  Family time with Nancy, Bill, Gus, John, Oma, and Opah at the Bandzuch's!  I think both parties were so excited that we had a hard time getting beyond the doorway!

Oh... Therese missed her Gus-Gus!

And so did Aunt Maria! 

Uncle Johnnie Snuggle! Hey... there is a similarity between these two men... I just can't put my finger on it... oh yeah - it's the hair cut! Lookin' good, men, lookin' good!

It is so great to see family! 

Joe had the camera...

Nancy... being wonderful Nancy... had a couple art projects all set and ready for Therese.  And actually, I even got an entire art project done while we were there.  Good old Nancy, always good for a fun and creative time!

And some more enjoyment of the beautiful day!

For some reason, I just love this picture! She is such a goofball! 

Nothing like a bit of Chicka-Chicka-Boom-Boom with Oma!

And we saw her a day early, but we couldn't end the evening without wishing Oma a happy birthday... and what better way to do that than with a delicious cheesecake and TRICK CANDLES!

But... everything good must come to an end (except Heaven)... thanks for the great day! Sorry our kids give such ridiculous good-bye hugs!

Our next gathering:  Joe and I were honored to become the Godparents of Michael John Posteuca at St. Agnes parish in St. Paul the following morning.  Here is Nicki, the glowing mom.

And gorgeous Michael. Good thing the Baptismal waters don't have to penetrate the child's hair to be effective... because they didn't! 

The proud Godmother and "God-Sister and -Brother"

 And the proud Godfather with Baby Michael.

We changed in to our traveling clothes for the party... Therese presented Michael with a Rosary that she had made (she strung all the beads... mom must tied the knots) for him. He liked it.

Next, after a few hours in the car, David got to ride with his beloved Bumba on his beloved tractor!  It doesn't get better than that!

I'm sorry that the pictures are lacking for the afternoon in Marshall, but I was in the basement going through our things getting ready for Fort Bliss.  I did emerge for the bonfire in the grove, however.  It was, once again, perfect fall weather.  What a blessing!

The Bandzuch's even followed us down so we could have a few more hours with them as well!

Somehow there was a gathering in the basement room with all of our stuff before the evening was out... it was a little cozy... and the kids found some things to take off my hands... sorry for giving them junk, Ruth!

Some pre-bed fun with Uncle Bill... man those keys are cool!

And some early morning fun with Uncle Bill... man you are snuggly!

Nothing like a plate of "Bumba Cereal" before heading out on a cross-country trip!

One more Gussy snuggle!

Surprise!  We Bumpa-napped Bumpa!  

Not just the kids travelled well... Bumba also took a nice nap!

We didn't get any pictures of showing him around, but his departure sure came quick!  Thanks for coming to see us, Bumpa!  We love you!

Now back to normalcy.  I don't know how to turn these pictures, but you can turn your head, I guess.  I just thought this was neat.  The kids and I each colored a picture from our new coloring book.  

First: David

Next: Therese

And Finally: Mom

Maybe you don't think it's that neat... but I thought it as cool just to look at them side by side.

The days are starting to get chilly here.  We haven't turned on the heat yet, but we do spend some time sitting in the sun light from the windows every afternoon.

Here are some cool dudes styling dad's Eye Pro.

As you may know... Therese is so much like her father it is a bit scary, but she did get her mother's ridiculous joy of packing and organizing (good for military life, right?).  So... here Therese wanted to play "packing" with daddy, and in order to get them interested, they needed costumes.  These "packing hats" seemed to fit the bill nicely!

A very important part of the "packing" game... popping the bubble wrap, of course!

A fun Sunday afternoon trip to the park on post...

Can you find all three of them?

As I said... the chilly fall mornings are definitely upon us... and to combat them, I've realized that our blankets make great burrito wraps for the kids.

And to finish off our pictures for the installment, here are the costumes that the kids emerged in the last time we were having a play date at Lauren's place.

And yes... I did get Joe's permission to post these pictures of David.  For his defense, Lauren only has girls, so there weren't any warrior or he-man outfits that he turned down in order to choose Minnie Mouse.

And now, for those of you who actually read the whole post, you get to hear our new BIG news!  JOE IS GOING TO RANGER SCHOOL!  Yay!  And all of you who are up in the Wisc-sota area, the current fake plan is that the kids and I will spend most of that time (from approximately Halloween until after Christmas) up in your neck of the woods.  So... watch out... here we (might) come!

Congrats, Joe! We are SO PROUD of YOU!

That is it for now!

Love, Us.