I snapped this picture while visiting my brother at the seminary this weekend.

Meet my new nephew and godson, Harrison.  He was born in May, and his baptism was in early July.  I need to travel to Arizona to see him again soon!  Before he’s all grown up.

Christmas and New Years were both very properly celebrated with chocolate and wine and ham and lots of goodies.

Touristy things were visited.

The Hollywood sign from Griffith Observatory.

Sunny and smoggy downtown LA from Griffith Observatory.

Personally the most exciting touristy thing over vacation was getting the change to see a gray whale migrating off the coast.  At Point Vincente, volunteers track the whale migration.  This time of year the whales are heading south to birth their young.  We had been to this spot before for whale watching, but despite our previous hours of patience, had not actually seen anything.

This time around we were treated to a gray whale upon our arrival.  I know it looks small…it’s cooler in person.  Really.

Christmas presents were played with.

No, this isn’t a picture of the family contemplating the skies or the meaning of the Korean Friendship Bell.

They’re checking out Dave’s kite, with it’s 9′ wingspan and 50′ tails.

Quite honestly, I’m shocked that the kite didn’t fly away or launch one of us into the Pacific Ocean.

But the most important we got to do in California was visit with lots of family and friends!  I only wish we lived closer so that we could visit more often.

Now we’re both back in the swing of work, and almost over the colds that we got after returning to Chicago.  Blah.

Our favorite Pickles stopped by for a couple nights as they made a grand road trip through the eastern half of the United States to see family and friends…with four kids.  Brave people, I tell you, very brave people!

I was a little worried about the fact that our apartment isn’t exactly kid proof…a cat with claws, chemicals under the sink and knives within reach of tiny hands…but we did survive injury free!

And fun was had by all.

The penguin slide finally got some serious love.

Katie learned to fly a helicopter…also known as a “hockerpocker” in some circles.

Miriam gave us a beautiful piano concert.

And adventures were had at the local playground…the one that I had walked by almost everyday for two years without venturing into.

What people say about how hard it is to get kids to smile in the same direction…it’s true.

Smiles!

Uncle Dave got to practice keeping small children alive.  See Dave, you can do it.

And Katie being silly.  Funny thing is I didn’t notice this shot until I started scrolling through the pictures today.

Good times!

It was wonderful to have the Pickles as our guests.  I only wish we lived closer, so that we could visit more often.

Everyone survived the weekend…with the kid unfriendly apartment, pointy cat and all.  The only one of us who was seriously traumatized was Moxie!  Oh, and quite possibly our downstairs neighbor, who I personally thank for not knocking on the door at 7 AM on Saturday to ask why we had suddenly adopted a really bouncy football team.

My brother Michael started his seminary studies this fall, and we celebrated with him at the family day festivities at Mundelein.  My parents came into the city for the event.  It was really wonderful to see Michael in his new element, getting into the routine and discipline of seminary studies and prayers.

Who would have guessed that Michael would be the holy on in the family?

The campus is quite lovely.  We enjoyed an architecture tour, Mass and lunch with Michael’s new friends and a good old fashioned ride on a restored fire engine, the personal hobby of one of the priests at the seminary.

And to top the day off, we had a dinner and early celebration of Michael’s birthday.

Study hard Michael.  And pray hard too.  We are very proud of you!

We recently spent a weekend celebrating the marriage of a mutual college friend, while joining in the ten year college reunion that accompanied the wedding.  Turns out we do still have a few things in common with our friends from ten years ago, with one glaring exception…we don’t have four kids.

Mom and two of my sisters just spent a few days with us, visiting Chicago for a little relaxation and shopping.  I’m so glad we’re in a location where people stop by!  Sadly, I’m so behind on everything, that I never actually cooked for them while they were here.  Well, I did make a salad to go with the pizza I ordered for dinner one night, but I burnt the homemade croutons.  Oh well, my family is good about not caring about burnt croutons.

So with all our fun activities and my work schedule, which has included a bit of weird travel lately, Dave and I are looking forward to a vacation from all our summer vacations.

I am happy to announce that for the foreseeable future, I get to sleep in my very own bed.  That’s right.  That’s what makes me happy.

Uh oh, having just typed the last several sentences, I can feel the jinx that I have placed upon myself.  Well, let’s hope things are quieter for a little while!

This is our newest nephew and godson, Daniel.

Dave and I just got back from a five day trip to Virginia to hangout with the Pickles.  We spent most of the time kid wrangling, with a few real conversations along the way.  We traveled for Daniel’s Baptism, and so did Dave’s family.  So the Baptism turned into a mini family reunion.  It was great to visit with everyone, although through all the kid chaos I feel like I missed an important adult discussion somewhere.

The Pickles kiddos are some of the sweetest and most well behaved kids that I’ve ever had the pleasure to be around.  Bravo parents.  Someday I will call you and beg you on bended knees for your secret sauce.

And every time the kids see me, they warm up to me a bit more.  It’s lots of fun to be “Aunt Katie”.

Our summer seems to be turning into a whirlwind of travel.  Tomorrow we’re heading to a college friend’s wedding.  We’re looking forward to the wedding, and the mini college reunion that comes with, but I am starting to worry about the extra pounds and all that maturity (ha!) that we’ve gained since college.  What will we have in common with friends from 10 years ago?  Dave assures me that everyone else has had 10 years to change too!

As my godson, it somehow seems fitting that the little guy has started to cause problems from such an early stage.  And as my godson, I will pray extra hard for the little guy.  Looks like he might need it.

Welcome to the world Daniel!  You knew EXACTLY when you wanted to join us.

Little Morgan graduated from high school last weekend, and is soon off to the University of Southern Indiana to study nursing.

And after only 32 years of parenting, my parents are about to be empty-nesters.

Good luck kid!  We are very proud of you.

Oh, and dear parents, go on vacation.  You deserve it!

Dave’s cousin, Phil, was in town for work for a couple days last week.  He brought along his lovely wife, Rachel, and their cute little baby, Libby, for the ride.  It was a really fun visit, with lots of baby snuggling and several parties with family and friends.  I love it when we have visitors.  Being centrally located in Chicago is paying off.

Upon mentioning the cuteness of the baby to my Mom, however, she promptly intensified the, “When do I get a grandchild, already?  Just conceive a child now, PLEASE.  You don’t love me unless you give me a baby.  I would like to spend time with my grandchildren before I die” comments.

Also this weekend, my little sister, Morgan, who is not so little anymore because she is off to Nursing school in the fall, was confirmed on Sunday.  Dave and I made a day trip to Indiana on Sunday so that we could be at her Confirmation.  I’m really glad we made the trip.  It was great to see Morgan and spend a little bit of time with my family.

All this family fun, combined with a little sleep deprivation and a lot of work drama, makes Katie and Dave want take Wednesday off work just to sleep all day.  We won’t really do that.  I have lots of work to do, and Dave gets free bagels at work on Wednesday mornings.