ROAD TRIP!!!

 It's Friday, John slept through the night (more or less), I had a croissant for breakfast (with Nutella)...time to blog!
 A little over 2 weeks ago, we embarked on one of our massive road trips.  As we re-entered Florida Wednesday afternoon, Eric and I did some quick calculations and realized we'd traveled 3300 miles through 11 states and spent over 48 hours in the old Traverse.  Over the course of 15 nights, we'd stayed in 7 different beds (8 if you wish to count the night Eric spent with John in the living room of the Reddigs as he attempted to give me a 'full' night of sleep prior to the half-marathon...and many more if you wish to calculate the many iterations of sleeping arrangements the cousins created during our stay at the Reddigs).  We visited with 16 family members, 3 God-Children, my 92-year-old Oma (Ruth Louise), and a 10-day-old baby (Ella Louise)...actually while I'm counting Louise's...we visited with 4 of those.  Speaking of all of these numbers...Will confirmed what we've long suspected.  He is a numbers nerd as well.  He calculated how many days until his birthday, how many hours are in a week, and centimeters in a 400 meter track.  For fun.  Because he was in the car for 48 HOURS!

 The catalyst for this trip was our niece (and first God-Child) Rose's First Communion.  Last September, when we confirmed we would be coming, my sister, Katie, suggested we register for a half-marathon.  Why not?  So we did.  I went from not doing any running to half-marathon in a little over 3 months.  I sort of trained to get through a 5K at Thanksgiving...but, I started more seriously running in January.  And by 'more seriously' I mean trying to get in at least one run a week.  Preferably 2 or 3, but the majority of weeks I was lucky to average 1.  And get this, the half-marathon wasn't so bad.  It helped Katie was there nearly the whole way.  And I loved seeing our families at the halfway point.  So much so, I sprinted by them and missed reading the signs they made.  Later I find out that Will's words of encouragement he wrote lovingly on my sign were:  "You don't have to win, just don't lose!  Your number one Will".  I am so glad I didn't let him down.  Katie did beat me by over a minute and for two mom's of 4, I am pretty proud of our accomplishment. 

 We spent the remainder of that day resting for a Sporting KC game.  The game was a draw, but we had a wonderful time on our double date with the Reddigs...and we were only slightly sore by that point!

 The next day, we awoke to preparations being made for the main event of the weekend.   Rose is such a sweet girl and I'm very proud to be her God-mother.  My mom made her First Communion dress and I honestly believe she was the prettiest girl at the church.  Though, Peter-man with Eric's hat may have been the most sylish.

Just a random story, Katie told me that before church one day, Peter came down in a polo and khakis.  She told him he looked quite handsome and his response was: "I know, I look like Uncle Eric".  When I told Eric this, he immediately replied that Peter needed a hat.  FYI: Target has kid Fedoras.

All of the kids were so excited to see their cousins.  Some things we did that we do not have pictures of are going to the zoo (where Katie, Rose, and Mary Ann seemed to relish informing us that we may soon fall prey to an out of control Burmese Python population in southern Florida...seriously, look it up), playing soccer after eating gelato, playing some awesome games of Knock-Out, and going to one of the coolest parks in existence.  Will even won a game of Knock-Out (pretty much on the up and up...his starting line was a little closer than ours).  We also had a great time playing cribbage after the kids were supposed to be in bed (emphasis on 'supposed to be') and hanging out on their deck and super cool new basement.   

 Heck, Molly even made it through Mass without that many threats.

 On Tuesday, we headed west to Lawrence.  Where Nana provided a birthday dinner for John...which is good because on his actual birthday, we started out at the half-marathon and finished at the Sporting KC game...and I sort of slept the entire time between...he didn't seem to mind, though.

 John's birthday dinner consisted of spaghetti (his favorite food and attire), and a delicious chocolate chip cookie.  He was super excited about all of it. 

 And Molly was super excited about the beautiful red bow that Nana had tied on his present.

 Our trip to Lawrence included a visit to Dr. James Naismith's grave site.  We also visited Nana at St. John's where Dom and Molly insisted that she be her teacher.  One of these kids was much more insistent than the other.  Nana was a good sport and helped Molly write a couple of letters.  We also visited Dom's favorite store downtown (the Kansas Sampler, a virtual Mecca for any Kansas Sport loving fan), Eric's favorite restaurant (Free State), a new soda store that has a large variety of soft drinks that I am intrigued by, a park that John and Molly loved, and went bowling at the Jaybowl one more time before it closes after 62 years of operation.  It also happened that the Kansas Relays were going on during our time in Lawrence, so we decided to check those out.  Will loved it!  He loved the schedule, the scoring, and guessing who would win each race.  It started raining while we were there in the morning, but we returned in the evening after supper to watch the Steeple Chase and several relays with Nana.  I think we may have awakened a sleeping giant in Will.  The best part (for me) of the evening was that L'Opa took Molly back home.  Everyone won.  We didn't have to deal with Molly insisting that she should have a turn at the high jump, Molly got to eat cookies and watch Mickey Mouse with L'Opa, and L'Opa didn't have to sit on an uncomfortable bleacher. 

  On Saturday, we drove to Hays, KS for our second God-Child's First Communion.  We don't get to see Annie often, but when I knew we'd be in Kansas in April, I contacted her parents to see if there was any chance she'd be making her First Communion that particular weekend.  It was lucky and convenient for us.  They are a great family and we always leave them convinced we can definitely expect more of our own kids.  As a result, Dom (and I) are learning how to fry eggs.  (Just go with that).  We all had a great time visiting with this family of 8.  So much so...that we don't have a single picture to show for it...but, beautiful memories.

 It would be a rare trip west that we don't make at least a short stop in to see Eric's family in Oklahoma.  This was not that rare trip.  We made our way to Edmond and spent about 36 hours with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Megan, Uncle Scuba, and Zachary (God-Child number 3: Hat Trick!).   On Monday, we went to lunch and headed to The Main Event.  This place has everything.  Bowling, Lazer Tag, Arcade Games, and a floor game that the kids played on for an hour...which was free.  Go figure.  Those who know Dom will appreciate this story.  As we ate lunch, he could see Chuck E Cheese across the way.  He asked if we were going there.  I said we were going somewhere even better.  He leaned in and whispered excitedly:  "Dick's!?" 

 We had an awesome trip.  We tried to pack as much as we could into those 2 weeks.  As a result, we also made it to Arby's 3 times for Dom and Super Target twice for me.  I even got in a trip to Costco.  But, even if we'd just sat around tables talking to our family and friends, it would have ranked as one of the best trips ever.  We are very blest in our family and friends and it makes it worth it to load everyone up and travel thousands of miles to see them.  Now...your turn! (oh, and if you happen to have more pictures...maybe pass those along as well)

Happy Birthday, John!

 Happy Birthday, John!

 How has a year gone by so quickly?  Probably because we've been on the move since you were born.

 Traveling across country before you were 6 weeks.

 Visiting the beach countless times.

 And you have been one laid back kid...though these pictures are a little misleading as you continue to not sleep through the night.  But, it will come...and until then, coffee will be a good friend to your parents.

 Speaking of friends, you have three solid ones in your camp.  Not many kids are as lucky as you are to have such happy people to hang out with.

 It probably helps that you look similar, but I suspect they'd love you even if you didn't look just like them.

 Because you love to laugh and play and be where the action is.

 People in stores will always try to get you to smile.  You give them such long stares and then your smile creeps out.  It is a gift.  If they do nothing else all day, they walk away laughing about how hard you made them work to get you to smile.

 Now that you are on the move (and even experimenting with walking) you love to find everyone and be included.  I love the sound of your voice as you jabber about who knows what.  Just letting us know you are there.

 Even if you get upset, we know that we can take you outside where you are content watching your siblings play, riding in the wagon, or playing at the water table.   Another alternative is to give you a bath.  You love to play in the water.

 You also like to take everything off of the shelves.  Dad and I have watched you methodically take every single book off a shelf with the air of:  'I just did this and some clown put these back...Well, if you want to do something right, you better do it yourself'...Luckily, your messes are pretty contained.  I'll also take this moment to say you have followed in your siblings footsteps in how you let us know you are either done or displeased with the food choices on the tray.  You simply pick them up and toss them over the edge until we remove the food from your sight. 

 We missed going to the Triduum services last year because you weren't even a week old, but we enjoyed including you in the family foot washing this year.  You enjoyed it also (see that part about loving water).

We sure do love you, John Eugene Anthony.  While carrying you for 9 months, I wondered what sort of kid you would be and how you would add to our family.  As your personality emerges over the next year, I suspect we will laugh quite a bit and thank God a bit more frequently for the blessing of our family.   You are one special child and I am so grateful to be your mom...even if you do have a nasty 2 AM habit.  But, I know from experience it won't last, so I will continue to drink my coffee and enjoy having you as you are.  Because, I wouldn't want it any other way.

Happy, Happy Birthday!!  We love you so very much!

Mom, Dad, Dom, Will, and Molly

Holy Thursday

 It was a great day today.  Something about Holy Thursday always makes me excited.  Probably the end of Lent has a lot to do with it.  Inspired by the new season, I changed all of the sheets on the bed and actually looked up how to fold a fitted sheet.  Not that hard it turns out...though, mine are quite a bit more lumpy than Nana's.  But, way better than the alternate way I normally put fitted sheets away.

Then, Molly and I made a flourless chocolate cake.  I lost Molly's assistance as soon as the dark chocolate came out.  She was too busy testing every single chip for the level of excellence my baking demands.  After this, the boys assisted me in tidying up the kitchen, living room, and Florida Room. And while John took the longest nap he's taken (nearly 4 hours), I was able to set the table lovingly (I wish I had taken a picture.  I kept hearing my mom's voice saying:  The end of education is gracious living.  I mean, I had cut flowers, a candle,  our wedding china, matching cloth napkins...the works!) and try my hand at a new recipe that Dom gave a 99% (high praise, a meal I made earlier in the week got a 30% and Dom got the 'Thumper' lecture).

After dinner, we went to Mass which I thought was wonderful, especially as we missed last year's Holy Thursday Mass due to having a 6 day old in the house.  However, Will felt it went on the long side (his estimate was 50 hours).  One story from Mass.  At one point as the Deacon incensed the altar as well as Fr. Bob, Dom asked why he was throwing smoke at the priest.  I gave a poor explanation which Dom accepted, because he is Dom and not Will.  But, clearly his mind had jumped to something way better.  His next question:  When does the priest throw water on us?  He is referring to the next several Sundays (during the Easter season) when the priest goes around sprinkling the congregation with Holy Water.  Easter Sunday is the absolute best time.  Some priests use branches and really can get you wet.  The boys eyes just light up when this happens and I believe it is the biggest selling point for a priestly vocation for their particular demographic.  I love that Dom is remembering more and more of the liturgy from year to year.

One change this year was that our church went back to only having the priest wash the feet of a few members of our church instead of doing a communal foot washing.  The boys were a little disappointed to not get their feet washed, but we had started a tradition a few years ago to do our own foot washing at home.  They all enjoyed it, but my favorite part was when it was John's turn to have his feet washed.  All three kids wanted to do it.  John, of course, was thrilled (WATER!!).  It was one of the moments as a mom that your eyes well up and you can't believe how lucky you are.   Naturally, I stopped everything to make sure we got a picture.  A much better memory than a prettily set table.