And now back to the continuing saga of what we've been doing for the past seven months. In Part I (here) we learned that I don't yet have a good grasp of what goes into to painting a room, despite having painted like . . . thirteen of them now. Also, that breaking...
Hey guys! It's been a while, huh? House stuff, book stuff, school stuff, kid stuff . . . it's all been keeping me pretty busy. But it felt like time to share an update with you, the good and patient people of this blog. 1. Ya know how when you're a Catholic mommy...
This is Part IV of the Washington DC trip recap. If you missed anything you can click over to catch up on Part I and Part II and Part III. Day seven of our DC area adventure started at our hotel in Richmond. The forecast was for rain. We headed to Monticello anyway....
This is Part III of the Washington DC trip recap. If you missed anything you can click over to catch up on Part I and Part II. Okay, now where were we? Annapolis, White House, monuments, miracle cousins, basilica, Mt. Vernon . . . ah, yes. Day five: Gettysburg. 'Cause...
This is part two of our Washington D.C. area family adventure, if you missed part one, you can check it out here. On Sunday, we went to Mass at the very impressive Basilica National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, where we got to meet a fella I like to call...
We have had a crazy couple of weeks around here, what with trying to get the school year FINALLY finished, and an awesome visit from my sister-in-law and niece and nephew, and -whew- have I ever been feeling pregnant lately. But things have settled down a bit and I'm...
If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you have already seen some grainy iPad mini photos of our big Camping Thanksgiving trip to Utah. But NOW, I'm going to virtually trap you in my living room and show you my vacation photos like an aloha shirt grandpa with a...
Okay, so where were we? Flew to Barcelona, saw modern masterpiece; went to Lourdes, prayed for intentions; went to Torreciudad, saw mosaic of Virgin Mary on her iPhone . . . which means . . . LOOK OUT TINY TOURISTS! THERE'S A GIANT BABY IN FRONT OF THE...
If you missed Part I (in which I learn that not all modern architecture reminds me of jello jigglers) and Part II (in which I wax poetic about Lourdes) of the recap, you already missed my favorite part of the trip. Today, you'll get to see my SECOND favorite...
Our family has a very special devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes. My parents volunteer there for a service week each year, my kids love the CCC cartoon about St. Bernadette, and, oh yeah, we believe that my husband is alive because of her intercession. So, even though we...
It was Spain. That's where Lulu was. And a little bit France, but mostly Spain. As you may recall, the whole family was in France just last spring. So we didn't really intend to go back to Europe this year, but the husband was invited to be a part of a delegation...
In the comments to my post about the time it took us thirty-nine hours to fly to France, Erica noted that I was wearing a dress. And I was. The same dress the whole time, as a matter of fact, since while WE were hanging out in Toronto, our bags were kickin' it...
Our last stop was Paris. After our flight to France was delayed by a day, Air Canada offered to slide our return date one day as well. Since we were staying in so many different cities and hotels, there really wasn't a way to shift the whole trip. So, we decided to...
Did you ever want to just get away from it all to your own private island retreat, accessible to the mainland at low tide by a scenic 600 meter stroll across the salt marsh? Well. Have *I* got an island commune for you. Complete with strategic fortifications AND...
Jack took this photo as his entry into the Boy's Life Magazine summer photo contest. What do you think? Installment number four of the trip recap takes place in Normandy. After Lisieux, we drove to Bayeux, to a lovely bed and breakfast in an old hunting lodge, built...
But first . . . Chartres! If you like Gothic, get thee to Chartres. It's a masterpiece of French Gothic architecture. The present cathedral was begun in 1194 and dedicated in 1260, sixty-six years! But if you saw it, you'd understand. Every inch of it is carved. It's...
If you read Part 1, you'll know we arrived in Lourdes one day late. So, instead of the two days I had planned for, we had one full day in Lourdes in which to Do All the Things! And we did. Really, we did. We met up with my parents, who had already been in Lourdes...
Okay folks, we're going to ease into this trip recap thing, because unlike some people, *I* went to Lourdes and developed a bit of a medical condition. It seems silly to complain about, especially on the day when Nella announced that her cancer is back, which is much...
We moved to Los Angeles when Jack was four, but we didn't make our first family trip to Disneyland until his sixth birthday. We really think that's the ideal age for the trip. At six our kids are old enough to be familiar with the characters, but not too old to hug...
Baby's due in less than three weeks (!) so the husband and I spent last weekend in Santa Barbara. Just us. It was very fun and very relaxing, and I may have even learned a few things . . . --- 1 --- I spend a lot of time each day planning and preparing food. I...
We are big fans of the National Park System. Each year, we head out on a different National Park trip, to appreciate God's majesty and Teddy Roosevelt's foresight, and to meet some Germans (who are usually the only other people we see in the National Parks). This...
--- 1 --- Simcha, Hallie, and Charlotte have opened up a can o'worms (which is great, I do love me a can o'worms) about how different types of blogs affect different people. the header graphic from Simcha's Blog: I Have to Sit Down Apparently, some moms (including...
Not MY ten year reunion, but still . . . I have thoughts. The husband and I were married in August of 2001. <so. many. tangents. resisting . . . okay, here we go> We left immediately for the honeymoon, then were back in San Diego just long enough to move our...
So here we are back the the good ol' U. S. of A., and after spending every waking hour with my kids for ten days in Italy (and more non-waking hours than I'd prefer with them since we've been home) maybe I'm starting to embrace my boys' philosophy that everything...
In the interest of coherence, I'm posting the trip a bit out of order, but the last two sites to discuss are the Shrine of St. Pio in San Giovanni Rotundo and Pompeii. Both were lovely and if you're in the area, I'd heartily recommend stopping by each. Here's Anita in...
When I was planning this trip, the aspect that caused me the most heartache was deciding how to get our party of ten from one place in Italy to another. Feet and buses are great for Rome, but then we wanted to see a number of spots in Southern Italy while keeping one...
This is the second in a series of posts on our family trip to Italy. If you missed it, the first is here. Well, first thing after we arrived in Rome and checked in to our apartment near the Vatican, we had to head straight for St. Peter's Square. We've been...
Okay, so I may have underestimated the difficulty of getting First Communion from the Pope for your son. Again. After all, last time it came together so swimmingly. But this time, with all the scheduling upheaval of a new Pope and this particular Pope's way of doing...
--- 1 --- This is Trevi Fountain: When we went to Rome for Jack's First Communion, we threw coins in, because when you actually ARE in Rome . . . well, you know. Some folks think that means we're destined to return. Of course, we're not superstitious, because...
On Tuesday, I wrote about how I keep my two-and-ups entertained during air travel. But what about babies? Just look how entertained he is. For me, six months and under is EASY. They just nurse. The whole time. Trans-Atlantic, trans-continental, whatever. They nurse,...
Thanks to a reader question from my dear sister-in-law (Hi Brie!), today's post is on flying with kids. Ah yes, that's it. Safety first. Although this way is also fun. And this. I have done A LOT of traveling with kids. From a trip to Hawaii with the husband and our...