Mt. Angel Dinner

*Mommy here*

Way back in October, Ben and I went to the Mt. Angel Fundraiser dinner with Mom, Dad, Fr. John, Jim and David. It was a great night and we had a lot of fun.

Note: for some reason the pictures make everyone's hair look more grey than it is...just saying :)



It is still really cool for me to see my little brother in clerics! If you aren't familiar with the seminary - once seminarians reach a certain level of theology and preparation they wear the collar.
The Archbishop has asked Jim to go to Rome to get his Masters degree in Theology (like John did). He leaves this summer....I'm so stinkin' proud of him!

editor's note: Jim has since shaved his beard and don't I look awesome without braces! lol

Home from Mexico!

Well Mommy and Daddy got back from Mexico last Sunday. Mommy says she is sorry to all those she owes emails too. She's been playing catchup all week. First I'll tell you about our time with Papa and Grandma and then Mommy will tell you about their trip.

We had BIG fun at Papa and Grandma's house. Uncle John came home from Rome the night Mommy and Daddy left. We gots to play with him lots and Aunt Kristen too. We played lots with our cousins too - big thanks to Uncle Ray and Aunt Kelly! We were big helpers too. We helped Grandma walk on her crutches by holding onto them and walking with her so she wouldn't fall down and Abby was really good at demanding that Grandma sit down "Memaw - Sit down there right NOW!" We did really good at not missing Mommy and Daddy too much until Wednesday (5 days after we last saw them). Mommy called and Grandma asked me if I wanted to talk to Mommy and I said "No" and then Grandma convinced me to say hi and so I got on the phone and Mommy said "Hi Michael - It's Mommy. I love you lots and I miss you" and then I started to cry and ran and hid in another room. Mommy cried too. Then Mommy talked to Abby and then hung up the phone. A few minutes later I came out and wanted to talk to Mommy and so Grandma called her back and we talked for a long time. We had so much fun but were very happy to have Mommy and Daddy home...after the initial "where the heck have you guys been" glares.

Mommy here....we had a great time in Mexico. It was so nice to spend quality time with each other and Walt, Karen and Pat. We had great weather and did a lot of reading by the pool and/or beach and we also did some touring and snorkling.

This is a panaoramic shot of one of the 'beach' areas at the resort. It was an enclosed lagoon where you could swim/kayak/snorkle/feed fish. It was a nice place to lay out.

On Monday we all toured the Mayian ruins at Chichen Itza.
Here is Ben and I at the bottom of the main pyramid.
A year or two ago a 76 year old woman fell while climbing the
pyramid and died so it is now closed to tourists.

A panoramic view of the main square of Chichen Itza.
To the left of the main pyramid is the temple of the warriors.
If you walked 10 min to the left you would reach the "Well of Sacrifice" which is HUGE!
10 min to your right is "The Observatory."

The Observatory - The steps up to the observatory were very tall and narrow - made me a little claustrophobic to climb up.

Ben and I got to go snorkling - the reef was pretty devistated by the hurricane a couple years ago so we weren't able to see much corral but we did see many beautiful fish - including a Dory fish (from "Finding Nemo" if you are familiar with that movie - one of our kids favorites). Our guide gave me some fish food and as I released it into the water the fish swirled and swam around me which was very cool.

After snorkling Ben and I went parasailing. I wanted to do that on our honeymoon but didn't get the chance. It was actually really peaceful up there. We have a video of it too - taken with our camera as we rose above the boat but I'm not sure how to imbed a video link. Anyone know how?

We had a good time with Ben's brother (and Michael's Godpapa) Pat.

On Friday we toured the Mayian ruins on the cliffs of Tulum. Tulum was a major sea trading port. The views were beautiful.

This was the only day that the sky's were consistantly cloudy and cool.

You can't really tell here but I'm a tree - there is a palm tree behind me that was curved like I am standing.

Our maid always twisted our towels into fun little figures. This was my favorite - a little figure laying on a bed, complete with eyes/nose and mouth.

Time to go home - we miss the kids!!

Thanks again to Walt and Karen for such a wonderful vacation!! We love you!!

Mommy and Daddy Crash Chi-town!

Mommy and Daddy, Aunt Kelly and Uncle Ray went to Chicago and South Bend on September 15-17. They went to watch Notre Dame vs Michigan and got to see the Bears vs Detroit. The above picture was the view from their hotel room in Chicago.
The Golden Dome at Notre Dame - Daddy takes really good pictures.
Daddy and Mommy before the game (before it all went horribly wrong!).

They sat in the South endzone with all the Michigan fans. It wasn't the most fun section to sit in...Mommy says she knows more Michigan cheers than she cared to know - furious brain scrubbing ensued.

This is Soldier Field in Chicago. This is where Daddy's favorite NFL team, the Chicago Bears, play. Abby and I can now sing the "Bear Down Song." Mommy says if she can get us to do it on tape she'll put it on the blog.

The fearsome foursome had really nice seats for the Bears game. It was nice to cheer for the winning team this time!

Mommy and Daddy had a really good time just the two of them. If you were wondering what we did while Mommy and Daddy where gone...well...we had a big party at Dama and Papa's house. Our 5 cousins and us had sleep over - 7 kids under the age of 12 was big fun for Dama and Papa!!