Time with Family and Sunburns

A good portion of my family was able to gather just over a week after we got back from vacation 

in order to celebrate Josephine's Baptism.

The day before the Baptism my parents and brother treated us to a day at the pool. 

It was a wonderfully overcast day, so we didn't even think about sun screen.

We all got a little sun, except for Joe.

He got FRIED!

You can see just a glimpse of his pain in this picture taken after the Baptism the following day.

Yeah... it was bad. I seriously couldn't touch him for a solid 10 days or so.

It was a wonderful day, though! 

Great conversations and time with family.

And T, of course, monopolized as much of Josephine as she could!

 

Love, Us.

T Is Finally Getting Her Wish!

T LOVES baby dolls.

More than just that, though, she loves the idea of dressing little people up in ribbons and frills and bonnets.

Long story short, she wants a baby sister.

Well, so far she has been stuck with little brothers, and not all of them are as willing to be gussied up as Romeo.

Poor kid...

Well, look what she got to do a week or two ago....!

Yup! She sorted though the few (in comparison to what I did have) girl baby clothes that we have.

It is true! T is getting her wish! 

Evangeline Mary will be joining us (God-willing) in just about 2 months!

She (and we) are SOOOO excited!

Love, Us.

On Our Way Back Home...

We had some great family time on our way back to Missouri.

First... the kiddos joined us for out last night at the house in St. Croix Falls.

Romeo took advantage of Joe sleeping in for the first time in months...

We saw some good friends and then made a long-yearned-for trip to the Lego Store!

And after that, we headed home!

It had been a great trip, and we were excited to have Daddy more present in our daily lives 

now that the Bar was in the past.

Praise God!

Love, Us.

Time with Joe During and After the Bar

We were blessed to be able to have some time to ourselves (without the kiddos)

for a couple days during and after the Bar.

We enjoyed a stay at Hotel 340 in St. Paul, which reminded us of our first apartment.

Much time was spent studying and praying and trying to relax.

Home-cooked food helped much in the relaxation, since we didn't have to try and relax at a restaurant.

With the Bar behind us (Praise God!), we were able to go out on the town.

As you could imagine, this is how Joe chose to spend a chunk of the following afternoon as I window shopped.

The poor guy was beat!

We also spent a couple nights at Dan and Chacha's place in St. Croix Falls, which was heavenly!

And, we fit in a visit to a great military friend and her family 

who happened to be visiting MN from their current station in Germany!

It was wonderful to have Joe available and relaxed. 

Now just keep your prayers going that he passed! Thanks!

Love, Us.

How Dad Relaxed for the Bar: Shooting Lessons!

Joe took most of the last two days before the Bar off from studying.

He had planned for weeks what his main event would be that day: shooting lessons with T and D.

It was a great success, thanks to the pellet gun!

After this basic intro and confidence-booster, the kids now happily and excitedly join dad at the range every week.

It has become a great way to spend time with dad!

Love, Us.

David: Our Little Gamer

D LOVES games! 

He made sure to check out all of Grandma and Grandpa and Oma and Opah's games.

He even wrangled an adult in here and there to challenge him.

I will mention that he did win the below pictured game. 

In his defense, however, it was Opah's first time playing... a 6-year-old. 

Love, Us.

Princess and Fun on the Farm

The kids had a blast up north... and so did Princess!

She sure loved to run free through the woods and the corn fields, chasing whatever smell intrigued her!

Princess even joined the kids for some fun in the yard. 

She happily (for little bits of dog treats hidden in T's pocket) joined a wagon and sled parade one afternoon.

I am shocked to say it, not personally being a "dog person", but we sure like our Princess!

Love, Us.

A Morning at the County Fair

I'm sorry for my absence here. 

We started school last week, and I put this little blog on the back burner. 

However, the week went very well (Praise God!), so I promise that I will be diligent this week and finish all of our vacation entries.

For today, here are some shots of the enjoying the County Fair!

Romeo is our little animal lover. He just couldn't get enough of the animal exhibits.

And we had the joy of meeting up with Joe's aunt, Sue, at the Fair.

She is always a joy to catch up with, and we are so thankful that she makes the effort to see us when we are around. 

Love, Us.

A Visit to Como

We were within driving distance of a wonderful and FREE zoo, so we made sure to make plans and get there.

It was a great day!

We did some summer reading program book-shopping, and then headed over for a picnic and the zoo.

It was baby day at the Zoo this day.

I didn't even get pictures of all the babies.

Here are a couple of the more remarkable ones that we spent a while oohing and aahing at, though.

The kids also enjoyed this big daddy!

And after watching Zootopia, we just had to go pay a visit to Mr. Sloth!

Love, Us.

Cousins and Kites

A couple more big events from our time up north for today.

First, we didn't make it to the BIG lake, but we did meet up with some cousins at the local beach for a morning.

It was great!

Also, we had some wonderful windy days in northern Wisconsin... the perfect recipe for kite-flying!

This guy was my kite-watching buddy.

And nope - I don't have corn dust in my hair. 

I will have a full head of white hair before my mother-in-law ever gets a grey.

True story.

David got his kite ALL the way up!

Love, Us.

Nights Out with Oma and Opah

T and D had some special evenings out with Oma and Opah while we were in Wisconsin.

First off, while mom and dad studied the Law, they enjoyed the fireworks!

T had her first try at capturing those illusive firework pictures.

Then, a few days later, they went to the Rodeo!

I know that cousin Mary will be very relieved. 

She couldn't believe that T didn't know what a Rodeo was.

Now they can chat all about it the next time they get together!

Great memories!

Thanks, Oma and Opah!

Love, Us.

Our Work-Cation

First off, a quick note: I've added a couple pics I overlooked to yesterday's post.

It wasn't all fun and games and winning prizes on our trip up north, though. 

We made sure to put the kiddos to work when we could.

I love how Romeo looks like the overseer in this shot!

And we, of course, saw very little of dad as he studied for the Bar.

I, fortunately, was able to see him more, but in my "student" role.

We spent an average of 2 hours a day, 7 days a week, together studying Law.

He was a great professor, and I enjoyed the quiet time with him away from the kids.

Love, Us.

Zelie, George, and Martha

We left Marshall and headed up to welcome a new goddaughter into the family.

It was a beautiful Baptism for Zelie and we were honored to be there for her.

A quick side-note about the Baptism:
The kids and I had stayed at the home of some good friends the night before.
We got up in the morning, had a great breakfast, got all gussied up,
and then Romeo proceeded to topple down the steep basement stairs just before heading out to the van!
This picture was taken 36 hours later.
His goose egg had lightened in hue and greatly decreased in size by then,
so you can imagine what he looked like that morning at Mass!
Yikes!

The next morning we woke up at Oma and Opah's house and heard that there was a parade in a local town. 

Not only that, but anyone could be in the parade, and there were $100 prizes at stake!

So... after about an hour of throwing ideas around and getting costumes together, we set off to the parade.

We were hoping to win the "Most Patriotic".

Before putting the finishing touches on the float, however, we enjoyed the carnival rides!

Here are the little Redcoats, waiting out of the hot sun for their debut.

And here is George, in all of his glory.

Martha also joined him for this fun endeavor.

And... we won! Yup. They were pretty cute!

Love, Us.