Travels in May

In mid-May, the kids and I went up to my parents' house for a couple days.   My brother, Fr. Brian, was visiting for a little while from Germany, where he is stationed as an Air Force Chaplain.

Joseph got an early birthday present.

I think he liked it.

Time for some swinging!

There goes Anthony.

Dominic pushed his twin on the swing.

Catherine hung out with the cat.

Grandpa was busy with all the swings!

The next morning, we all went to the park in town.

More swinging.

Grandpa held Catherine and Anthony hostage.

Fr. Brian and Dominic went running on the trail that wound around the park.

The kids take their revenge.

Capturing the last kid for a picture.

Fr. Brian got in his upper body work out as well!

The kids with Uncle Fr. Brian.

Grandma and Grandpa fixed up popcorn sacks for the ride home.

A Sum Up of September

Our mama cat had another litter of kittens in August, but this time just two kittens, both of whom have so far survived.  I finally got around to taking pictures in early September. 

Catherine with Smoky, Anne with Velvet.

They are awfully cute!

The twins with Smoky.

Anthony carrying Velvet in his hat.

We picked a ton of tomatoes in September:

Here are a few of them.

Dan solved our desk dilemma by custom building two desks, one for Dominic and one for Joseph.  He built them in one weekend, I might add!  Each one is mounted to the wall and has a shelf.  They love having their own space!

Dominic is proud of his new desk.

 Notice the boys are separated by a bookshelf.  That has worked wonders to minimize distractions, as has facing the wall!

Catherine still has the same desk, but is in a new location.  I don't have a picture, but Anne and Anthony now share a long table.

 Towards the end of September, my brother, a priest and chaplain in the Air Force, came to our house one evening for dinner and visiting.  He is currently stationed at an Air Force base in Germany, but came back to the United States for a Convocation with his fellow Kansas City diocesan priests.  The Convocation was held in Wichita, lucky for us! 

The kids were excited to see Uncle Father Brian.

I was glad they got to spend some time with him.

I think they wore him out!

Later that week, Catherine did a science project which involved dissection. 

Dissection of flowers!

Our mini-van hit 100,000 miles in September!

The kids got to use their free ice cream cone coupons from the summer reading program at the library.

Yummy!

My aunt and godmother died in September and I was able to make it to Kansas City for her funeral.  I will always remember the picture I saw of my Aunt Barbara standing triumphantly at the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro, at the age of 68!!  After the funeral I spent some time visiting with lots of relatives.

My dad, third from the left, with two of his brothers and his remaining sister.

Time With Fr. Brian

In the middle of March, the girls and I drove up to my parents' house on a Friday evening to visit with my brother, Fr. Brian.  As you may recall, he is currently serving as a chaplain in the Air Force.  Last July through January, he was deployed to Qatar, and I had not had the chance to see him since he got back to his home base in Omaha.  Not long after he came back from Qatar, he received new orders:  he was being moved to Germany and he was to report there April 1st.  So I was glad the girls and I were able to see him before he left.  

Fr. Brian with Catherine and Anne. 

On Saturday, we had a big meal together.  All of my siblings and their families were there.

While the bigger kids went off exploring, the little girls got Fr. Brian to play with them.

I found out they were playing "Zombie."

Run, girls, run!

My little niece, Elizabeth.

Taking refuge from the "zombie" in our truck.

My sister, Beth, and my mom.

My goddaughter, Emily.

Elizabeth, Emily, and Clara.

Game over, the girls went to play on the see-saw.

My siblings and me.

Back:  Eric and Fr. Brian;  Front: Heidi, me, and Beth

Family Get-Together, The End

All of my siblings were at my parents' house on the last Sunday in June.  It was fun to see everyone and watch all of the cousins play together.  There are currently 16 of them (plus babies in heaven!).  We all went to Mass together, where Fr. Brian concelebrated.  After Mass it was time to play and eat together, and play some more.

I didn't see Anthony's funny face until after I took this picture of him with his cousin, Clara, who is exactly 2 weeks younger than he is.

Dan and Dominic, with Fr. Brian.

The swinging tree got a workout that day!

Lunch on the porch - Catherine, Emily, and Anthony.

My sister, Beth, with Andrew, Daniel, and Joseph, and Clara in front.

Dominic, Thomas, William, and Matthew.

Thomas in front, Anne and Isabella behind, and Patrick in the back.

Clara wanted her very own picture.

My mom with the inside eaters.

My brother, Fr. Brian, with the special cake made for him by my sister-in-law, Sarah.

We decided to get a picture of the grandkids.  First location did not work.

All of the grandkids, including baby Isaac in the back with Patrick, who is the oldest at 12.

Joseph was not happy about something.  Here Anne is comforting him.

Got everyones face!

And got the grandparents in!