John and Rachel's Family Blog

Thanksgiving and Christmas

2012-01-29T18:20:00.001-08:00

We spent Thanksgiving and Christmas in Ft.Wayne with Rachel's side of the family. Claire really enjoyed giving a hug to her second cousin (or something like that) Isaiah!

Nicholas is definitely outnumbered but still enjoyed having other kids to play with, even though they were all girls.

I'm not sure if Nicholas was rolling out the dough for cookies or getting ready to hit a ball with that rolling pin!

Claire thoroughly enjoyed making Christmas cookies this year. She sampled everything from the flour to the frosting!

Here we are opening stockings on Christmas morning.

We're very thankful to have a wonderful family to spend holidays with!

Funny Faces

2012-01-29T18:13:00.000-08:00

Legos

2011-11-23T17:32:00.000-08:00

After a weekend with lots of time devoted to building with Legos, the final products were a police station, space ship, lots of vehicles, and one happy little boy!

While Nicholas was busy playing Legos, Claire entertained herself with her hair clips. I asked her how many she could put in her hair at the same time and she worked hard to find out!

Random family photo that turned out pretty good so I decided to post it!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-11-06T17:12:00.000-08:00

We found a pumpkin patch this year that had lots of fun stuff for the kids. Nicholas loved exploring in the tunnels underneath the giant hay mountain.

We're at the very top of the mountain here, even though you can't tell from the picture.

They baby cows were a big hit, too!

Claire had fun playing in the corn.

The kids and I took a ride on the cow train.

We also wandered through the corn maze and found our way out!

Nicholas and Claire had fun dressing up and going trick or treating! They got lots of comments about how cute they looked. Of course Nicholas wasn't too happy about that because "spiders are scary, not cute!"

Random Pictures

2011-10-23T16:55:00.000-07:00

Posing for a picture outside at the Children's Museum

Everyone say cheese!

Mmmm... Making brownies is so much fun!

These two love to be silly!

World's Smallest Pancake

2011-09-06T17:07:00.001-07:00

Yep, that little dot in the middle of the plate is the world's smallest pancake!

First Day of School

2011-09-02T17:43:00.001-07:00

Nicholas started pre-school this week and he loves it! He has a wonderful teacher has made some new little friends. He plays with one boy a lot and when I asked him what his friend looked like he said, "he has tangly hair except he's a boy". I guess he thought since his mom has "tangly" hair he needed to make sure I knew boys could have that kind of hair, too.

Claire started a mom's day out program this week. She goes once a week on one of the days that Nicholas is at school.

Michigan

2011-08-15T16:39:00.000-07:00

Last week Nicholas and I had a 48 hour play date in Michigan with some friends who moved there recently, along with some other Indy area friends. We met when our oldest boys were newborns and have been getting together for play dates ever since!

The first day was very windy, which resulted in some really big waves!

Nicholas had a great time waiting for the waves to roll in.

Oops! Not fast enough!

Here are the four original children of the group-Nathan, Issaac, Alex, and Nicholas.

Someone worked hard to make this huge sandcastle. When they left, Nicholas and Alex decided it would be a great place for a picture!

And the moms of the group-Taryn, Rachel, Shontel, and Noelle.

Here they are digging for treasure.

Nicholas really enjoyed the water and playing with his friends.

Here come the scary sharks!

Time with Family

2011-08-04T17:12:00.000-07:00

John's parents (Grandad and Grandmom) and sister (Aunt Lily came for a visit last week.

Grandad brought Nicholas a travel Lego kit that belonged to John when he was young.

Claire got a new baby doll from Aunt Lily!

We spent the day hanging out,

playing together,

and reading stories.

Reading Tme

2011-07-28T17:09:00.001-07:00

Claire and Nicholas both love to read books. Here are a few cute pictures capturing them in the act.

Fun in the Water

2011-07-25T17:14:00.000-07:00

Nicholas and Claire have been enjoying play time in the sprinkler on these hot summer days.

I think they were coming up with a plan to get mommy wet!

The water table also provides hours of entertainment.

Visit to Ohio

2011-07-22T09:46:00.000-07:00

We traveled to Ohio recently for a family get together.

Nicholas and his cousin Rion enjoyed getting re-acquainted as they played and picked berries.

Uncle Paul took us to visit his farm while we were there. Nicholas was excited to get close to a big tractor!

The highlight of the farm tour was seeing the baby cows.

We also enjoyed lots of time in the pool over the weekend.

Nicholas was super excited to wake up Saturday morning and find that his cousin Kate was there! He'd been looking forward to seeing her for a long time! We sure do miss our family and treasure the times we get to spend together.

Happy Birthday Claire!

2011-07-04T18:12:00.000-07:00

Claire turned two a few weeks ago and we celebrated the weekend before by having Grandma, Grandpa, and her cousin Kate come to visit. Although her expression doesn't show it, she really did like her cake!

Nicholas and Kate had lots of fun playing together. Claire joined in whenever they let her. She didn't understand why they kept getting mad when she knocked down the towers they built!

These two little monkeys (and our neighbor) climbed the tree in our front yard. That was no easy talk since there were so many branches to maneuver.

Helping to deflate the air mattress was something they all had fun doing together.

They also had lots of fun playing with Grandpa!

One more picture after we said goodbye to Grandma, Grandpa, and Kate. Nicholas was very sad when they left so we made a paper chain to help him count the days until we will see them again in Ohio. Claire asks about Kate at bedtime as she names all the people she can think of who are going to bed, too.

Some friends of our came to visit one evening and drove their motorcycle. Nicholas was very excited to try it out!

Catching Up

2011-06-17T17:10:00.000-07:00

Nicholas has been enjoying the Legos he got for his birthday. I'm amazed at the things this little boy can make all by himself! He's got a great teacher (his dad) to help him, too.

Here's one of his recent machines he made.

Yeah for bath time!

Silly face!

There's nothing like father-daughter naps.

Nicholas played soccer this spring and even though he said many times that he didn't like it, you sure couldn't tell when he was playing!

He did get sidetracked sometimes by cool bugs on the field but most of the time he was right in the middle of the action.

Happy Birthday Nicholas!

2011-04-11T10:44:00.000-07:00

I realize I'm over a month late in getting these pictures posted but better late than never! Nicholas asked to have a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese this year. We also had a small celebration the weekend after his birthday.

Nicholas got a big boy bike this year and has been riding it every chance he has!

Aunt Lily and Uncle Joe gave Nicholas this fun Thomas puzzle. It's almost as big as he is!

Nicholas' cousin Kate came down with his grandparents to celebrate again. He didn't know she was coming and was super excited to see her! They finally got to have the sleepover they'd been planning for a while.

Claire decided to make a chair out of a storage container and Nicholas thought it looked like fun so he joined in, too!

Nicholas and Claire are pretending to be babies.

Every day when John gets home Nicholas and Claire hide and wait for daddy to find them. This was their hiding spot one time.

Train Time

2011-02-27T17:34:00.000-08:00

All aboard!

"See mommy, I'm not too big for my doll's stroller!"

Nicholas wanted to take a picture and this is how it turned out. He did a really good job!

It's time to play super heros!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-11T17:05:00.001-08:00

What would you like for Christmas?

2011-01-03T15:57:00.000-08:00

Nicholas often looked through this magazine to show me what he wanted for Christmas. One day as we were getting ready to leave the house he showed this to Claire and asked what she would like.

This was Claire's first experience playing in the snow.

She was so bundled up that when she fell down she couldn't get up by herself!

Claire discovered recently that when she can't reach something she wants, all she has to do is use the step stool to climb. I'm sure she learned to do this from watching her big brother!

Claire's first 18 months: newborn, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 18 month pictures. Somebody please slow down the clock!

Thanksgiving

2010-12-12T17:35:00.001-08:00

For Thanksgiving this year we traveled to Gatlinburg, TN to be with John's side of the family. This picture was taken on the balcony of our cabin.

Grandad and Claire had lots of time to get acquainted and bond while we were together.

Grandad and Nicholas spent lots of time reading together.

Nicholas had a great time helping Aunt Lily make his very own pizza!

Nicholas taught Uncle Joe how to build sheds for his trains. They became best buds very quickly!

Nicholas had a great time playing fireman in his new costume from Grandad and Grandmom.

Nicholas got to roast marshmallows for the first time.

Claire provided some meal time entertainment with a lively game of peek a boo!

The Aoun Clan

I Love Popsicles!

2010-11-22T18:30:00.000-08:00

Claire had her first popsicle a few days ago and loved it!

It's time to vacuum!

Wow, this machine also doubles as a blow dryer!

Happy Halloween (a few weeks late)!

2010-11-18T17:44:00.001-08:00

Nicholas asked Daddy to carve a scary face this year.

Claire looked so cute in her bumble bee costume!

Nicholas was a scary T Rex!

This shows the long tail he had to drag around for an hour and a half! No wonder he was tired when he got home!

While I was drying my hair one morning, Claire entertained herself with some stickers she found in a tub I didn't know she could open!

This little sister loves to carry around her big brother's backpack!

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-15T16:38:00.000-07:00

We took the kids to a pumpkin patch a few weeks ago. We had fun despite the freezing day! Here's Rachel with her scary T-Rex and Claire on the hay ride out to look for pumpkins.

Claire loves to look at books. She loves it even more when someone puts her in her comfy chair to read.

Nicholas was in his room having quiet time while Claire and I took naps. When I came out of my room this is how I found him.

Chillin

John and Nicholas worked together filling up the new sandbox. Of course Nicholas couldn't pass up an opportunity to be silly for the camera!

Funny Faces

2010-09-25T18:55:00.000-07:00

Claire wants to do everything her big brother does, including riding his bike!

Big smile for daddy (he's taking the picture)!

Caught in the act...

Such a happy girl!

"Look Claire, the neighbors are out. Let's pretend we're dogs and bark at them!"

The latest injury

2010-09-21T16:56:00.000-07:00

We were walking to our playground one evening and Nicholas was watching his shadow instead of where he was going. Ouch...

Claire has discovered the sandbox! She likes to dig with the shovel but her favorite thing to do is mess up whatever Nicholas is building.

WEEEEE!!!

Nicholas has become very brave lately (in the past few weeks). It's kind of scary being the mom of a 3 year old who wants to climb to the top of the tallest slide all by himself!

Claire Dancing

2010-08-23T17:48:00.000-07:00

At the Museusm

2010-08-15T16:40:00.000-07:00

Claire gets her first ride on a motorcycle.

Nicholas had a great time dressing up and playing the guitar as he sang the theme song from "Bob the Builder".

Playing in the rain.

Nicholas fell asleep on the couch and Claire thought it was a lot of fun to wake him up!

Here's Claire with her favorite blanket.

Playing in the kitchen.

My two bundles of joy.

Claire loves to pull books off Nicholas' shelf. One day they were playing together in his room and being awfully quiet. When I asked Nicholas what they were doing he said, "We're taking ALL the books off the shelf!"

Random Pictures

2010-07-23T11:34:00.000-07:00

Nicholas found his Halloween costume in the closet from when he was about 20 months old and wanted to try it on. I was impressed that he could still actually get into it!

Claire's such a happy girl, especially when she gets to play with shoes!

Nicholas has been enjoying playing fireman with the hose this summer. He was putting out a fire in the tree here.

This is one of my favorite recent pictures of these two.

Day Out with Thomas

2010-07-17T07:52:00.000-07:00

We took Nicholas to see Thomas the Train a few weeks ago. He had a great time and has already asked to go back again! Here he is with Sir Topham Hat, director of the railroad.

We took a ride on Annie, one of Thomas' coaches.

Nicholas got a close up look at Thomas after the train ride.

"I love trains!"

Nicholas played some miniature golf to end the day.

Happy 1st Birthday Claire!

2010-07-01T18:01:00.000-07:00

To celebrate Claire's 1st birthday we had a party with friends at a nearby park. I had to hold her back when she saw the cake!

Nicholas was happy to fulfill his big brother duty of teaching Claire how to blow out her candle.

While Claire was sitting in her stroller she reached over and put her finger in the frosting. As you can tell from her expression, she was not pleasantly surprised by what she found!

Claire was happy to chew on this lovely bow while Nicholas helped open the gifts.

Thanks to all our friends who came to celebrate this special day!

We had another small party for Claire at her Grandma and Grandpa McCullough's the day before her actual birthday. Here she was checking out her new baby doll, which she now takes to bed with her every night.

Nicholas and Claire had fun playing outside at Grandma and Grandpa's house. In the picture below Fireman Nicholas was putting out the flames of a burning building.

The Wreck

Here are a few pictures from the accident I was in a few weeks ago. As you can see, Ms. Butterworth (no joke) did a lot more damage to her car than mine when she hit me.

Nicholas got to see his 3 favorite characters at PBS Kids at the Park. Here he is with Clifford,

Buddy,

and of course Curious George.

It's Been a While

2010-06-12T20:06:00.001-07:00

Nicholas had a great time at Touch-a-Truck Day at the park!

Nicholas came up with the idea to make his own wrecking ball.

Busted! Claire loves to get a hold of shoes of any kind. She must be her mother's daughter!

Awww!! My three biggest blessings are all looking at the camera at the same time!

Claire

2010-05-10T17:36:00.000-07:00

Getting Messy

2010-04-25T16:29:00.000-07:00

Claire is really enjoying table food! She still eats some baby food but usually after a few bites she pushes it away. Her two favorite things right now are bagels with cream cheese and grilled cheese sandwiches. She also likes green beans and bananas a lot!

Tent time! I have a feeling this is the first of many tents these two will be playing in together!

Nicholas took a break from playing at the Children's Museum for some reading time in this nice, comfy chair.

Lots of New Pics!

2010-04-04T18:07:00.000-07:00

We spent part of this beautiful Easter day at the park. Nicholas has a great time playing in the sandbox, running through the woods, looking for geese in the pond, and trying to yell loud enough to scare birds away (his newest experiment)!

Nicholas found all his eggs (and Claire's too) during our Easter egg hunt.

Welcome to the office of Nicholas Aoun. He's at work here, just like daddy.

Claire vs. the dinosaur!

Happy girl, mad girl. We hardly ever see that upset face, at least not long enough to capture it with the camera!

Nicholas loves playing with Claire, except when she grabs his hair!

Mmmm, peanut butter tastes even better when you lick it out of the jar with your finger!

Claire (left) and Nicholas (right) are both at 8 months old in these pictures.

2010-02-13T17:08:00.000-08:00

"Here Claire, let me show you how to play this game on daddy's iphone."

Time to paint!

Claire likes to look at books

but she likes to chew on them even more!

"Hmmm..."

My little burrito

My beautiful baby girl

A couple vids

2010-01-31T18:03:00.000-08:00

Finally took some time to download the videos that have been piling up in the flip... Here are a couple of Nicholas and Claire & the latest from their repertoire:

2010-01-22T17:18:00.000-08:00

Nicholas took a bad fall right after Christmas and hit his nose on the edge of the bathtub. He cried really hard for a few minutes and then said "I want to watch cartoons". The next day he had two black eyes. Poor little guy. Thankfully it's all healed now.

Claire loves to get her toes when she's laying on her changing table. She sometimes bends over to chew on them while she's sitting up, too. I think she kicks her socks off on purpose just to get to her bare feet!

Here's Claire trying cereal for the first time. She ate a few bites but wasn't crazy about it. Her favorite part was chewing on the spoon.

Claire got this giraffe chew toy from granddad for Christmas. It's now one of her favorite toys!

2010-01-02T17:50:00.001-08:00

Claire has taken a real interest in Nicholas' toys lately! She wants to be right where the action is.

My little Santa Clause.

Claire posing for a Christmas picture.

Nicholas opens his stocking.

Opening presents.

Checking out the ornaments up close.

My Sweet girl

2009-12-06T14:23:00.000-08:00

My sweet boy

2009-12-03T16:41:00.000-08:00

Sometimes it's more fun to play in the bathtub without any water!

Nicholas loves to get ice cream cones at McDonald's except he doesn't like the cone!

We spend most of our time these days playing with Thomas and Gordan (trains, for those of you who don't know). Lately Nicholas has been making them crash in all the ways he can think of. Here they are knocking down towers. It's fun to hear him play because he makes the trains talk to each other. He's got quite an imagination!

Hang Out Time

2009-11-19T17:33:00.000-08:00

After almost 5 months of being a big brother, Nicholas still loves Claire VERY much! I thought the novelty would have worn off by now but I was wrong. He loves to make her smile, and even though he's a bit rough most of the time, I guess it's better than having him ignore her.

Nicholas had a great time playing in the leaves!

2009-11-07T13:52:00.000-08:00

Nicholas is still my cuddle bug.

Claire has learned to roll from her tummy to her back. Here she's in the middle of her new stunt.

Mommy's little helper.

Nicholas and Claire showing off their new shirts.

Nicholas and Claire are ready to go trick or treating. Nicholas had a great time and enjoyed all his goodies. The next day he woke up and said "Halloween's coming up!" I guess he thought it should last more than just one day!

Pumpkins

2009-10-23T17:38:00.000-07:00

John shows Nicholas how to scoop out the goop.

Then Nicholas finishes the job.

The final products.

Nicholas got a new bed a few weeks ago and loves it!

Nice and comfy

Claire is starting to get the hang of her Johnny Jump Up. It's a good way for her to exercise her little legs that never seem to stop moving!

2009-10-08T17:12:00.000-07:00

Claire's already learning her colors at 3 months old (hee hee)!

Nicholas and Claire are always happy to see each other in the mornings. Claire always has big smiles for her brother, and Nicholas loves to give his little sis hugs and kisses and to tell her "I love you Claire". May it always be so.

Claire has been enjoying her play mat and so has Nicholas! All the baby toys have become interesting to him again, for about 5 minutes!

Curls

2009-09-23T04:53:00.000-07:00

I love the curls that pop out after Claire has her hair washed!

Body Art

2009-09-23T04:46:00.000-07:00

Claire's doing a great job sitting in her Bumbo seat. She likes to sit up so she can see what's going on around her. Nicholas also likes the seat and can still fit into it!

2009-09-14T17:36:00.000-07:00

Baking a birthday cake for Mom was a perfect opportunity to learn how to lick the beaters, bowl, and spatula clean

The new Panera Bread Company mascot...

2009-09-14T17:30:00.000-07:00

Nicholas loves his sister and likes being silly with her!

Big brother reading to little sister

Our cutie-pie

2009-09-14T17:27:00.001-07:00

Nicholas Chattering

2009-09-14T16:47:00.000-07:00

Claire at bath time

2009-09-14T16:22:00.000-07:00

2009-08-25T17:29:00.000-07:00

We visited my parents a few weeks ago. Here are some pictures from our weekend together.

Fun Game

2009-08-25T17:02:00.000-07:00

Nicholas had a great time chasing mommy with the broom. His exact words were "I sweep you mommy!"

Playing Pool

2009-08-25T17:01:00.000-07:00

This is how Nicholas plays pool!

Smiles

2009-08-25T16:59:00.000-07:00

Getting Messy!

2009-08-25T16:51:00.000-07:00

First Nicholas played in the pool, then in the big pile of dirt. Next he decided to mix the two and make mud! He was quite a sight by the time he was done!

Family Photo

2009-08-25T16:43:00.001-07:00

Cousins

2009-08-25T16:41:00.000-07:00

Indiana State Fair

2009-08-18T17:43:00.000-07:00

Nicholas loved the fair this year! He didn't like the big, loud cows but there were lots of other animals to see. We went with several friends so he had a great time being "Mr. Social". Claire was less enthused, needless to say. She did, however, stay awake almost the entire 3 1/2 hours we were there!

My guys

2009-08-18T17:40:00.000-07:00

John and Nicholas pose for a picture while checking out what's behind the cage.

Pigs

2009-08-18T17:38:00.000-07:00

Nicholas liked the baby pigs the best out of all the animals this year.

Tractor Time!

2009-08-18T17:33:00.000-07:00

Nicholas had a great time driving the tractors. He looks like a natural!

Aaawww!

2009-08-03T20:24:00.000-07:00

I put Claire down for some tummy time and the next thing I knew she was asleep!

Friends

2009-08-03T20:22:00.000-07:00

My friend Staci and her family came to visit on Saturday. We each got to meet the newest additions to our families. We're looking forward to living close enough to see each other a lot more often.

Six Week Comparison

2009-08-03T20:07:00.000-07:00

Here is Claire at six weeks old. Below is a picture of Nicholas at the same age. Even though they have quite a strong resemblance, we'll always be able to tell their baby pictures apart since Claire has all that hair and Nicholas was bald at that age!

2009-08-03T20:05:00.000-07:00

Mmmm, Nutella is yummy!

2009-07-28T10:48:00.001-07:00

Tummy Time

2009-07-28T10:47:00.000-07:00

Nicholas loves to have tummy time with Claire. He also likes it when mommy or daddy join in on the fun!

2009-07-28T10:46:00.000-07:00

2009-07-28T10:43:00.000-07:00

Father and Daughter

2009-07-16T18:16:00.002-07:00

Sleeping Beauty

2009-07-16T18:16:00.001-07:00

Dancing

2009-07-16T18:14:00.000-07:00

Nicholas had fun playing with his cousin when she and my sister came to visit!

Claire's first Sunday at church

2009-07-16T17:40:00.000-07:00

We got to show off Claire at church for the first time last week in her new little dress (girl clothes are so much fun!).

Ta da! Look at my cool garage!

2009-07-16T17:37:00.000-07:00

A Few More Pictures from the Hospital

2009-06-28T18:06:00.000-07:00

2009-06-28T18:05:00.000-07:00

2009-06-28T18:04:00.000-07:00

Sooooo sleepy....

Home

2009-06-28T18:02:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken shortly after we got home from the hospital. My (Rachel's) mom came to help and Nicholas was really glad to see her!

New Talent

2009-06-28T18:00:00.000-07:00

Nicholas shows Grandma how he can color with his toes.

Belly Button

2009-06-28T17:57:00.000-07:00

Nicholas seems to love his sister and is fascinated with her little fingers, toes, etc... He doesn't like her belly button though (the remaining cord is still there). According to him, "belly button a little bit yucky".

My Precious Babies

2009-06-28T17:56:00.000-07:00

Hair

2009-06-28T17:53:00.000-07:00

Claire's hair had some tiny waves after her bath. Maybe there's hope for her to have curly hair like her mommy!

Aoun Family's Newest Addition

2009-06-22T16:29:00.001-07:00

Once things calm down a little, I'm sure Rachel will get back to posting. I know some of you wanted to see more pictures of Claire so I'm throwing a few up to tide you over for now...
(as always, you can click on an image to enlarge)

The Birth Announcement:

Rachel with our Doula (left) and the delivery Dr (right)

Claire before & after her first bath then finally to bed

Nicholas was excited to hold and hug his new sister:

Vatican Trip Pictures

2009-05-19T18:24:00.001-07:00

Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls:

Colluseum:

Damascus Premiere:

Sightseeing in Rome:

Pope's Sunday Blessing:

St. Peter's Basilica:

Around the Vatican:

Italy Trip Tweets

2009-05-18T14:23:00.000-07:00

Thought this would be a fun format to give you an idea of the trip. Pictures to follow soon...

Friday:
*Chatted in French with Mr. Dialo my TSA agent… wow am I out of practice—timely encounter?
*At gate, loving the free wifi and wrapping up work.
*Pavarotti wanabe sitting behind me driving me nuts.
*On plane, squeezed between Pavarotti's overflowing gut & the lavatory—going to be a long flight!
*Just landed in Philly accompanied by Pavarotti's incessant whispered profanities at having to buckle his seatbelt.
*Walking to my departure terminal, talking diamond shopping with a great friend—exciting times ahead!
*Had to cross 3 terminals just to find a Philly cheese steak—so worth it!
*Never seen so many rocking chairs in my life! White rockers everywhere you look. Great idea though!
*A big fan of my AT&T home internet plan that includes access to wifi hotspots!
*Work is done, now enjoying Dunkin' coffee while watching planes take off & catching up on the last 2 issues of 'Among worlds'.
*Flight boarding 45 minutes before takeoff. US Airways trying to on on time?
*767 is no Airbus but it will do.
*Never seen so many iPods in one place. No doubt who the market leader is!
*Sitting in front of "Flavio" the Italian and his South Carolina wife and in-laws. Gotta love English w/ a mix of Italian accent and Southern Drawl
*Can't sleep & can't see the screen b/c of tall dude's head—sit still for a minute will you!?
*Lights on; breakfast; finally; OJ & some sort of cheese Danish. US Airways food sucks!
Saturday:
*In Milano, waiting for the border police to get here so I can actually enter the country.
*I love my European passport! No line, no wait (once police got here that is)
*First cup of Espresso! A taste of heaven!
*Hey, there's tall dude & g/f… guess we're all headed to Rome
*On LufthansaItalia A319 bound for Rome. I love these planes!
*Landed 15 minutes ahead of schedule. Gotta love German efficiency
*No pickup—missing German efficiency
*Figured out how to use my cell phone on Telecom Italia Mobil. TIM is my friend
*1:40 after landing & finally have a driver
*This driver has 2 speeds: ridiculously fast & really ridiculously fast!
*Stuck behind a Porsche Cayenne. Ironic!
*Comment on the irony leads to 5 minute tirade in Italian by my driver. Interesting though: he can still drive ridiculously fast while ranting & waving his arms.
*This driver is cracking me up: loves to honk at subpar drivers, cut them off, then give them the evil eye glare
*Made it alive—and rather quickly—to the Champagne Palace Hotel!
*This room is about the size of my walk-in closet. All needed amenities are present though, bidet included!
*Shower & 30 minute nap. Now time to suit up!
*Off to St. Paul's basilica. Loving the blend of new, old, and ridiculously old buildings in this city!
*Made it through the gipsy beggars. Suggested Dad hire some of them next time he needs actors for a drama production.
*Syrian TV crew on site. Cool!
*St. Paul's head of security says no filming on the premise.
*Henry works his magic. Cordial’s office OKs filming.
*Our tour guide is one of the residing Benedictine Abbots. A great source of history wrapped into quite the comedic act!
*Words can't describe how amazing this basilica is! Blows my mind that I’m actually *standing by the remains of the great apostle Paul!
*Can’t stand to look at his chains… bringing me to tears.
*Damascus DVD is already for sale at the basilica’s book store!
*Back to hotel for a short rest before the premiere
*No wifi or Internet access :(
*Suited up & had my 2nd espresso before heading to the premiere
*On the way to the Vatican. Hey, there's the coliseum!
*Best Chinese restaurant name to date: Mr. Chow
*On St. Peter's square! Cool view at sunset.
*The cardinal has arrived!
*Just stumbled through an awkward greeting…
*And there is the patriarch of Syria—less awkward greeting—I might make it through the evening
*Henri & Henry navigating last minute politicking. True masters!
*So many people I haven’t seen in years!
*Diplomats from 52 countries—apparently a record for a Vatican event not attended by the holy father.
*String duet sounds great
*Time to get this show on the road—Henry opens. Poor translator dude is nervous & struggling
*This soprano must have some pipes. She has positioned herself 3 feet from the mic…
*Wow! She does have an amazing set of pipes! Probably the best live performance of Ave Maria I’ve heard
*Patriarch’s speech. What a character! Ended up translating for himself. English, Italian, and Arabic!
*5 pages of notes! Good thing he was limited to a short speech!
*His eminence now speaks. What a gracious & eloquent man! Definitely a diplomat!
*Lights down & Action!
*Great docudrama! (even tho I did struggle with jet lag a little) I’m so proud of Dad!
*& more people I haven’t seen in years & more practice speaking French. This is embarrassing!
*A lot of networking going on in this room!
*Ran into Debbie Ionetti as well as Brian Evans—cool!
*Time for dinner after-party.
*Bus is full to off to find a taxi.
*Got a ride in the Syrian TV crew’s car. Have 3 languages floating around all at once.
*Getting my rear kicked in French talking to Hélène. My French skills suck!
*Driver has gotten us lost somewhere in Rome. Who knew via Aurelia has 2 separate sections..on 2 separate ends of the city! Dad’s 3G iPhone to the rescue!
*Interesting menu—pasta & cheese followed by more pasts & cheese
*OK, grilled fish is good
*Now we’re talking: Tiramisu for dessert!
*Dad is presented with official papal blessing on him & his family! That’s awesome!
*Finally back at hotel. Sweet sleep!
Sunday:
*Another sunny day in Rome! Great weather for a tour of the city
*1st stop to pick up some more members of our group slightly delayed by a sea of people streaming to St. Peter’s square.
*Beautiful little church with amazing gold mosaic & fresco
*Saw the possible future site of Vatican office for overseeing distribution of Damascus movie
*Back on the bus and the way to hear the holy father give his Sunday address
*On St. Peter’s square with ~200,000 excited pilgrims awaiting the pope’s appearance
*And there he is at the window! 200,000 waiving and cheering faithful. The energy is amazing, hard to hold the emotion in.
*He’s quite the linguist! Blessings in 5 languages!
*Now for lunch. Sampling some great Roman pasta!
*Off to St. Peter’s cathedral
*Haha! Lady in front busted by Vatican security for showing too much skin. No uncovered shoulders allowed!
*St. Peter’s is even more amazing than St. Paul’s… didn’t think that was possible.
*Thought La Pieta would be bigger. Is Notre Dame’s copy larger?
*Christ’s feet are so delicate—Michelangelo really was a master!
*Loving the Swiss guards’ uniforms
*In a taxi: Fiat mini-mini-van. Chrysler be very afraid!
*Nap time!
*Off to do some more site-seeing and dinner with Mom
*Every time I see a road sign for “Piazza such & such” I get hungry
*United Colors of Benetton boutique—haven’t seen one of those in ages!
*Dinner at a small tratorio on some random side street. Serenaded by a local accordion player. Special music = Beatles’ “yesterday”
*Think I finally understand Italian dinner routine: 1. Appetizer 2. 1st main course (pasta) 3. 2nd main course (meat) 4. Cheese 5, Dessert
*Heading back to the hotel but have to stop for Gelato on the way!
*Time to pack & head to bed.
Monday:
*Up at 6:30 to figure out ride to airport.
*Oops limo leaves at 7:30 for airport. Quick breakfast & good bye to Dad
*This Benz van is pretty cool… still think I’ll stick with the Dodge for now though
*Made it through security without being singled out for the typical “random” screening! Now to spend my last few Euros on some chocolate for Rachel & Nicholas!
*Never had my passport checked this many times before boarding a plane!
*Sweet! This Airbus 330 is not full. Have 2 seats to stretch out in! I’m flying in style!
*Landed on time, sat by the gate for 35 minutes. Once again US Airways sucks!
*Reminded why we all LOVE TSA so much!
*Back in the USA. Next stop Indy, pick up car & finally home!
*wifi!!! Back to the 21st Century!
*Tweets over... copying to blog

Silly Face

2009-05-14T18:50:00.000-07:00

This is Nicholas' new silly face. Grandma showed him this when we were there last time and he hasn't forgotten!

Yeah, a package!

2009-05-14T18:47:00.000-07:00

We received a package in the mail the other day, which meant a new box to ride in for Nicholas.

A Fan in the Making

2009-05-14T18:41:00.000-07:00

Nicholas is becoming a fan of Little House on the Prairie! He brings me a case of CDs and says
"ready". He likes Laura, pa, and of course the horses. Ten minutes is about his limit but I'm thrilled he's taken an interest in my favorite show as a child!

A Big Stick

2009-04-26T18:15:00.001-07:00

We enjoyed the beautiful day today by spending some time at the park. Nicholas played for a while and then discovered some other interesting things.

2009-04-26T18:14:00.000-07:00

Bugs

2009-04-26T18:06:00.000-07:00

Family Photo

2009-04-25T18:55:00.000-07:00

My mom celebrated her 75th birthday last week and all of my sisters and some of their families were able to make it for the party. It had been seven years since all of the girls were home together.

Sisters

2009-04-25T18:50:00.000-07:00

Here are the six of us at the end of a long but fun day.

Toddler Pool

2009-04-25T18:49:00.001-07:00

This is the way Nicholas and his cousin Rion enjoyed playing pool.

A Wink and a Smile

2009-04-25T18:47:00.001-07:00

Lately, when Nicholas has been asked to smile for a picture, this is the face he makes.

At the park with Daddy

2009-04-11T19:02:00.001-07:00

Peek-a-boo

2009-04-11T19:01:00.001-07:00

ABC's

2009-04-11T18:55:00.000-07:00

At the Indianapolis Children's Museum

2009-04-11T18:48:00.000-07:00

Banana phones

2009-04-03T19:49:00.000-07:00