20120714 - 20120716 Visits With Extended Family

David, in general, can pass himself off as more of a 3 year old than a 2 year old, but on our trip back to MN after MI, his 2 year old self was in full bloom. I gave him one marshmallow, which he ate happily, then a 2nd, which seemed to be satisfying him for quite some time. Therese was napping at the time, so my regular "mommy alarm" was not working. After a bit, I looked back and found this...

Can that really be from ONE marshmallow? Wow, David! You are 2 and talented!

Our first visit was to my Godson (and the kids' God-brother, as they refer to him as), Michael Posteuca. We had a great meal and some good bonding time between Michael and all of us. He is quite the 10 month old... easily beating David in the weight area, and the best smiles ever!

We spent the night at Nancy and Bill's, and after Mass headed over to my aunt Joyce' s for her annual pool party. There was a pretty good showing from both my generation and the next. Therese attached herself to her great-aunt Raterra, who helped her work on her back float and was a great play mate. Both of the kids enjoyed the water, and David was even a dare devil on the diving board. After his first jump he never hesitated again, and I think if someone wasn't there to catch him he wouldn't have cared all that much!

Bubble fun poolside!

Therese needed a bit more encouragement on the diving board...

David... no fear!

Great-Grandma even joined the fun!

So we HAD to get a shot of her with all the great-grandkids that were present!

I didn't get any pictures of the occasion, but that night we also attended a bridal shower for my cousin, Sam's, fiancé. There, Therese attached herself to the two women she recognized: her Great-Grandma Nancy and her Great-Aunt Cha-Cha (Angela). We had a very nice time.

The following day, we had a nice morning visit with David's godparents (again, can't believe I didn't take a single picture!). The kids had a great time playing, and it was wonderful to catch up and just chat with them.

The final occasion on our way to WI to visit Oma and Opah was to have lunch with my Grandparents in St. Croix Falls. It was a lovely time - I always enjoy chatting with my grandma Nancy - and I actually DID remember to get a couple pictures!

God Bless!

Love, Us.

20120710 - 20120713 Second Week in MI

First of all, my second week in Michigan didn't start on a great foot. While my dad was driving through the night he kept hearing the news feed on the radio about a tragic IED attack in Afghanistan, which he informed me of at the breakfast table the next morning. (He now knows NEVER to mention such a thing to me during a deployment! I don't watch the news for a reason!) Anyway, such news got me quickly to a wifi location where I soon realized that the casualties were definitely from a location very near, if not exactly at, Joe's location. Thanks be to God, Joe had just a day or two earlier purchased internet access, so I only had to desperately sit there and wait for my iPod to ring for less than probably 20 minutes (it felt like years, though!). He was fine, but the casualties were from his platoon - and he had nearly went on that mission! This really woke me up to the dangerous position that he is in, and got me and my family and friends praying that much more for his safety. Also, it made me never second guess again whether or not $100 was too expensive per month for poor internet access in Afghanistan... it is worth it's weight in gold at moments like that!

But... back to the fun stuff: When Bumpa arrived at Michigan we let him rest for a day, and then we had another adventure. We drove a bit along the shoreline and went to the "zoo" there. I must say, it was the saddest zoo I have ever seen, but the kids enjoyed it, and it gave me a chance to get a few more cute pics with their shirts!

T feeding the goats.

...and carrying her favorite buddy (who wasn't always fond of the length of the hugs)!

And some silly cut-out pics...

A beautiful evening for s'mores...

and the result of that beautiful s'mores evening!

And, to end our Michigan adventure in pictures... the traditional last trip to the lighthouse.

This time, Bumpa got his pictures with all the grands taken.

And Grandma joined for a few more.

 With Gus officially a walker now, we had to end the photo shoot with this super cute line-up!

Which, of course, all ended when Gus missed a step!

Well, that sums up our time in Michigan!

Love, Us.

20120703 - 20120710 First Week in MI

Get ready for a picture-heavy run-down of our first week with the family in Michigan!

A MAJOR highlight of Therese's vacation was the babies. She is SUCH a baby girl - both baby doll and real ones. So... she was snuggling with 2 month old Rose and "mothering" 1 year old Gus whenever possible!

Here is T's first official Rose snuggle.

Due to there being no internet connection (or phone connection at that) at the cabin, I averaged going into Manistique once a day in order to get messages and possibly a call from Joe. At this point he was still on his way to his final destination, so his contact was frequent and for the most part unhindered by bad internet, etc. on his end. So... I (and Dave, because since he "lost" his daddy, he was having absolutely NONE of mom going somewhere without him!) would spend some time wherever there was wifi. Here, right outside the Burger King I was "using", my brother, John, was introduced to David's intensity when he decided to "play" with him. John was immediately designated as the "bad guy" and the race was on... with sword in hand, of course!

David also enjoyed spending some quality time with his uncle Paul, fixing the bridge over the swamp.

Our first big excursion was to "Log Slide" sand dune on the shore of Lake Superior. Here is a picture to give you some perspective. This is with my camera zoomed as far as it can zoom and still be clear. The tiny dots of people swimming at the bottom are the uncles and the Lanoue kids.

And here was our "perch" waiting for them to come up. Everyone made it, but some needed some extra cheer support.

And I had to include at least one classic "movie van" picture of all the kids vegged out...

David found a friendly and furry friend at the restaurant we visited in Munising.

Another Rosie moment for T!

These are the biggest waves we saw both weeks. It was an extremely calm lake... definitely the calmest we have had for our times there.

And here is a photo story about my little soldier:

He found 2 things: a wooden "sword" and the "boat" in the sand. With these two key elements, Dave was set for quite the exciting adventure on the beach. He was chasing bad guys like there was no tomorrow, and he would wait in his "boat" until just the right moment and then "Go Get 'Em!". At times he even totally fooled the bad guys and let them think he had been hit, only to quickly get up and get after then again! Needless to say, this was a GREAT day at the beach for this soldier!

...the fake out...

...and back in action!

He did participate in cousin stuff too... just once the "bad guys" had all been taken care of.

Here are some pictures from a sunset trip to "Beautiful Beach", as we dubbed it years ago.

I must admit, whenever T was not monopolizing Rosie, I was!

Mary and her VERY cute little alligator!

And my son, the Sand Monster!

Therese really enjoyed a large tube that the Lanoues had. I think it was actually playing in the tube that started to give her confidence in slightly deeper water. Here her and cousin David are enjoying their trip to shore.

And... the classic sunset pictures on the beach.

Another trip to Burger King for internet, and David getting a snuggle from Uncle Paul.

And here is the 3rd uncle, Bill, having some great niece and nephew time.

Project time!

The Lanoues also had a fantastic idea to do tie-dye shirts for all the kids. They were super easy and turned out better than any I had ever seen! So we had to get a group picture of them all.

For the second time, we've been in town for the 4th of July parade, which the kids enjoy tremendously, as it is the most candy-heavy parade I have ever witnessed!

Ruth and Rose!

T giving Gus a walking lesson... he would take his official first "real" steps that evening and would be walking like a champ within the week!

...but she couldn't forget Rose for long!

Silly girl!

The uncles were leaving the next morning, so we had to do our tradition of walking out to the lighthouse and taking pictures. Here is grandma and all the grandkids.

And here are all the "ladies".

And our family minus soldier Joe!

And, to finish off this entry of our first week in Michigan, a last picture of my crazy Dave!

...and a calm day at the lake shot.

Love, Us.