Painting with a Twist!

You know you've been a bad blogger when your mom practically scolds you for not posting in a while.  Sorry mom!  I know I've been talking about how I've been so busy.  Well, now that Malu's gone for school, I'm super-duper busy now--and extremely exhausted with me working my crazy hours and caring for Sina.  But enough about that and on to the good stuff! 

Last night, some lady friends from work, and I got together for a night of food, wine, fun and...painting!  I felt bad because I was the only one toting a baby around at the event, which was attended by only a small group of really awesome ladies.  We still don't have a babysitter and I haven't quite decided whether or not I want to find one right now.  Thankfully, everyone was quite understanding and they pitched in to help me every now and then. 

It just so turns out that one of the girls, Heather, is opening a franchise called Painting With a Twist where you learn how to paint while having food, wine and fellowship with friends.  And no kidding...she's opening the business in Colorado Springs!!!  I know exactly where the facility is going to be!  She plans to open in November and I'm so stoked for her.

We had an awesome time, although I couldn't exactly focus with Sina being there.  She was one tired baby who woke up at 0400 that morning to take her daddy to the airport and was at daycare all day, so she grew crankier by the minute.  I think I'll use that as the reason why my painting came out looking like you-know-what.  Still, it was great.  We started the night with some yummy food and some wine, then Heather showed us step-by-step to paint Van Gogh's Starry Night.  While waiting for paint to dry, we'd have more wine and food!

As I said, my painting started out great, but once I got into the details...I messed it up.  I also found it difficult to do the swirls....or paint all together, which is surprising because I was once a great art student in middle/high school. 

Here are the ladies having some fun!

And then my disaster of a painting.

I tell you what...Sina loved watching us put all of these vibrant colors on our canvases.  As a matter of fact, she tried to walk out of the house this morning with my painting in hand.  At least she liked my work :)

Anyway, thanks to Heather for hosting.  She's leaving Germany soon, as she was on a short deployment here.  At least I know I'll get to see her whenever I go home.  We wish her the best in this endeavor.

Well, just so you guys know...Malu made it safely back to the states and has a cell phone that he was able to get through AT&T without a contract.  This should mean I'll actually be hearing his voice soon.  It's been a total drag without him and Sina's beginning to wonder where her daddy went :(

My best friend, Chrissy, will be here tomorrow morning!  She'll be staying for the next 3 weeks!  I won't be on leave for much of it, so she'll be traveling on her own (to Ireland all next week...lucky).  This weekend, we'll be heading to Poland with some of my friends to check out some Polish Pottery!!! I'll keep you guys posted.

Until next time...Happy Friday!  Long weekend...yay!

The Good & Bad Be PRAISED!

~The Good~

I've mentioned my friend, Anna, in previous posts.  She and I met in graduate school, which she attended as an international student from Germany.  At the time, she was dating a high-speed Special Forces guy and both he and Malu were deployed at the time.  Thus, we bonded over that and homework and became the best of friends.

This was us a few years ago in the late Spring of 2009...

 She and her SF guy had been married a few months and Malu was home for R&R.  At that time, we were child-free and just waiting to become moms.  That was the last time we'd seen each other, but we still kept in touch via email and Skype.

Fast forward to now....our daughter will be a year old next month and Anna and her hubby are expecting their little boy this fall!  She and her husband are stationed in Belgium and a friend of Anna's decided to throw her a surprise baby shower near Heidelberg (this past weekend), where her parents live.  I decided to join in on the surprise and boy, was she excited to see me at her parents' doorstep.  It was just Sina and I (Malu was at drill) and it was quite a reunion.

I couldn't believe how anti-social Sina was being that day.  She was so out-of-character, not wanting to look at, be near, or be held but anyone but me.  We think she missed her daddy.

Here's a picture of Anna with her hubby.  Don't they look like they're going to be great parents?

Getting ready to open gifts!

The happy couple!

It was my first time meeting both Anna's and her husband's parents and they are as sweet as ever.

Praise the Lord...

...for protecting Sina and I on the road and getting us there safely.

...for allowing me to see our dear friends again.

...and for granting these two wonderful people the gift of a child and allowing us to share this special moment with them.

We can't wait to meet Baby Vincent!

~The Bad~

On the way home from this lovely event, Sina and I were involved in an accident on the autobahn.  We were side-swiped by a driver entering the highway.  We had moved into the far left lane to give him some room to maneuver.  The driver, obviously not looking (and didn't make any signals either) crossed all three lanes and into our truck.  I pulled over as soon as I could, but never saw the guy who hit us.  I waited for half an hour, eventually gave up, drove home (scared) and immediately went to the MP station to file a report.

Praise the Lord...

...that we were in our big truck (that I used to complain about being too big) and barely felt it move upon impact (Sina didn't even wake up from her nap); I never lost control of it

...that the only damage that was done to the truck was a long scratch (and minor dents) to the rear passenger side of the vehicle and the removal of the rubber trim off one door.

...that Sina and I made it through unscathed and made it back to Stuttgart safely.

Thank you Lord for all the things you allow us to experience--both good and bad; and for your bountiful blessings upon us.

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

{from the song, Blessed Be Your Name by Matt Redman}

Amen and amen.

Have a blessed Wednesday everyone!

Friday Photo Flashback

I can't remember the last time I linked up with Alicia for Friday's Photo Flashback!  I just haven't had any old photos to scan.  This photo was actually scanned and posted to Facebook by my friend Melody (who is at the far right).  I just had to post it.  I can't believe how young we all looked.  And that was back in....early 2004, I believe.  Or maybe it was late 2003.

We were stationed at Fort Bragg at the time and were young lieutenants!  My other best friend, Chrissy, is in the center.  She'll be visiting us in September.

On Facebook, I remarked on how I didn't have to edit this photo much on picnik...no blemish-fix, brightening, nothing.  And proof that, at one time, I had perfectly clear skin!

So that was then.....and this is now...

Well, this was taken almost a year ago...Memorial Day Weekend 2010 in El Paso.  I think I was almost 30 weeks pregnant.  Okay, I didn't touch-up this picture other than to give it a frame, but man, I'm still surprised at how young we looked back in 2003/2004!

Now, Melody is out of the Army, but is the National Guard and works in Washington, D.C.  Chrissy is a senior Captain doing the Army's Training with Industry Program back in her home state.  She'll be returning to her normal Army duties in a few months.

Anyway, there's still time to link up for Friday Photo Flashback and if you don't want to scan a photo, at least take a look at Alicia's blog...it's pretty fantastic :)

Happy Friday Ya'll!

Cookout!

Malu and I have been dying to barbecue.  Okay, maybe it's just me.  And it's not so much the barbecue I've been wanting, but rather just wanting to find some friends around here.  I have some great friends at work, but haven't quite found a group of "regulars" to hang out with like we've had at previous duty stations.  Today, we finally had the opportunity!  We met up with some new friends of ours.  Well, actually, the person that invited me is an old friend from high school.  Meet the Fargo's!

This is Adam and his wife, Nichole, who's such a sweetie.  I really love how small the Army is.  You just never know who you're going to run into and when.  By way of Facebook, Adam found out that I was heading to Stuttgart and that I'd be working in the building right across from his (he actually works in the EUCOM headquarters).  Not only that, we pretty much work hand-in-hand on a daily basis and I must say that it's been nice to have my go-to guy at the headquarters. I would never have imagined, almost 15 years ago (when I last saw him at our high school in Carthage, NY, right outside of Fort Drum, where my dad was stationed) that we'd link up--and in Europe of all places!  I must also add that the years have been great to Adam.  He's done well professionally and has a beautiful family.

The Fargos introduced us to their lovely group of friends and we had a great time, more food than we knew what to do with, drinks and tons of laughs.  Although Mother Nature couldn't quite decide how to feel today (sunny, rainy, sunny, cold & windy), we were happy with the company and it was a lovely afternoon.  Here are more pics from today...

Sina quickly made friends with Adam & Nichole

Having fun!

She was totally diggin' that hat!

Doing some walking around the gazebo

I definitely hope this get-together won't be our last!

Thanks to the Fargos for thinking of us!

I hope all of you are enjoying the weekend.

Don't forget...Monday is the last day to enter my giveaway!

Happy Easter!

I saw this picture on Stephanie's beautiful blog, Silly Precious Piggies, and had to borrow it.  I sure hope she doesn't mind.  It is just so appropriate and keeps us mindful of the reason we celebrated today...Jesus!  He is Risen!

After spending the morning receiving some much-needed spiritual nourishment, we went to my boss' house for Easter dinner.  I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but my boss and I go back a few years to the days that we were stationed at Fort Bragg.  I had become one of his company commanders back in 2006.  Anyway, when I made the promotion list to Major last year, he found me while I was stationed at Fort Bliss and asked if I wanted to come to Germany to work for him.  Umm...go to Germany?  No-brainer.  So, since we've been here, he and his wife have been more than gracious to us.  Knowing how hard it is to be away from loved ones on special occasions like this (as they have three daughters who all live on their own now), they invited us and a few other friends over for dinner.

Talk about great times.  Not only was the company wonderful, but so was the food!  There was so much, including a most wonderful carrot cake that I'm hoping I'll have the recipe to soon.  Not sure if they'd read yesterday's post, but they made sure they had more than enough eggs for Sina to play with and had a cute little Easter basket for her.  Either way, it was really sweet of them and she had a field day with the eggs as well as the attention--she was the only kiddo there :)

Banging her eggs together.

Dig, dig, dig...and yup, another bad hair day.

They even let all of us dye eggs just for nostalgia's sake.  I tell you, I can't remember the last time I dyed eggs and I was surprised to find out that it was the first time Malu had actually dyed an egg.  He said he'd drawn on some before, just never dyed one.  Guess you learn something new everyday, huh?  So, Sina got a lesson on dyeing eggs too...only after she decided to stop trying to eat them.

These eggs are yummy!

First egg-dyeing eggs-perience!

It was truly a great day of fellowship and fun.  And we could not have asked for better weather too.  We sat out on the porch and enjoyed Spring at its best...birds, flowers, trees, a beautiful breeze..even the pollen!

My loves.

As always, thanks to the Godfrey's for being fantastic hosts and for always making us feel like family.

Well, I hope that everyone had a very blessed Easter too.  I also hope that our families back home know just how much they were missed today.  We love you.

Have a great week everyone!

Fun Times!

We've been having the best of times with family and friends here in Colorado.  Despite being caught up in all the hullabaloo from the holidays, Baby V's dedication and my promotion, we've been able to get out and just have some fun.

My best friend, Chrissy, finally got to meet my family after seven years.  Up to this point, they'd come to know her only from what they'd hear about our experiences growing up in the Army together.  I was so glad that my family finally got to put a face to her name.  Because she was only here for four days and she was "stuck" sitting through all the parties/events we had going on, we didn't get to do much sightseeing.  But we did get to take her to the Garden of the Gods on her last day here.  We didn't take too many pictures because it was so cold out, but we got the signature "balancing rock" photo.

I wish we could crop that guy out of the photo.

That same evening, Malu, his brother Vaea, my sister Roz and I took her to The Melting Pot in downtown Colorado Springs.  Both she and Vaea had never eaten there before and we thought it'd be tons of fun.  It definitely was...and we ate sooooooo much.  I love, love, love fondue!  Chrissy said she enjoyed it and Vaea seemed to have fun with it too.

appetizers...cheese fondue and spinach/artichoke dip. yummy!

vaea trying out the appetizers.

malu getting ready for the main course.

my goodness, the meal was fantastic!

We spent the rest of the evening playing guys vs. girls Catch Phrase at home.  Chrissy left early this morning and made it home safely.

She's planning on visiting us in Germany in the fall.  Oh, I hope time flies by.  I miss her so much already.  Today, I spent the entire day with my sister and had a great time.  The fact that we have under a week left has definitely started to set in.  I miss my family so much already.  I don't know how I'm going to be able to leave :(



Baby V's Dedication

Thanks to those of you who have stopped by and left comments on our blog despite how busy your holiday schedules have been.  As soon as things die down for us, I'll get caught up on your blogs soon!

Today, Malu and I were happy to dedicate our little baby girl to the Lord.  Malu and I made a commitment to God, to her, and to many of our family and friends, to do everything in our power to raise her in a godly way; so that one day, she can make a decision on her own to follow God. 

About 50 of our family member and closest family friends gathered at our church to witness this momentous occasion.  This bunch included about 6 sets of her godparents (yup, that's a lot.  it's also the Filipino way!)  Those people and about 50 more gathered with us for a reception afterwards.

I tell you what, Sina was beautiful in the dress that her Grandma Ruby bought for her.  She was in the best of moods during the ceremony--not a tear was shed.  And she was quite taken by our pastor and his trusty microphone.  I thought she was going to yank it out of his hands before he could finish the closing prayer.

We chose a life verse for Sina, taken from Jeremiah 29:11-13, which states:

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

We sure hope that when the time comes, that she chooses to seek Him and to follow the path He has laid out for her.

We'd like to, once again, thank all of our family and friends for all of their love and support and to Pastor Darrin, his wife and the Pikes Peak Christian Church for putting on a beautiful ceremony for us.

Here are some more favorite pictures from today:

With Malu's brother (one of Sina's godfathers), Vaea.

With Grandma Ruby and Grandpa Mati.

With Aunt Chrissy (one of her godmothers).

at the reception with Auntie Jolene.  I love this giraffe outfit Auntie Rosalynn got for her.

Sina and her Uncle Jon.

On a personal note, I'm noticing now that I didn't get a single picture of Sina with my sister or my grandma.  However, I'm sure those pictures are out there somewhere.  At one point, there were eight to ten different cameras out at the same time.  I'm waiting to be tagged on Facebook!  And I'm embarassed at how low-cut my dress was.  I really didn't realize that it was that bad, that I was showing that much skin.  It's an old dress and I pretty much grabbed it out of my closet in El Paso before our household goods were packed.  I got the dress a few years back and, well, it doesn't fit like it used to, and I didn't pack a cardigan today. I hope no one is offended.

My friend, Chrissy, is dumbfounded at how much my family does around here (i.e. all the parties we go to) because she hasn't rested one bit since she got  here.  Well, we have one more big family event tomorrow.  Then she can get her rest.  I'll tell you guys about it soon!

On Leave...

...and enjoying every bit of our time with family and friends.  I'm posting this picture of our happy little family just to buy me some time.  I know I haven't been posting regularly as of late and I really want to tell you guys about the week we spent in Utah with Malu's family, I'm just too lazy to do it right at this moment. 

We are truly missing our loved ones in Utah right now and are so grateful to them for showing us such a wonderful time there.  We are currently in Colorado, enjoying time with my family and waiting for the rest of Malu's siblings to arrive for Christmas (his younger brother, Vaea, is already here with us).  We can't wait.

I guess I should also add that our little girl has been getting spoiled left and right and I know she is loving every minute of it!

In any case, this picture was taken at our friend, Jennifer's, Ugly Christmas Sweater party just a few days before we left El Paso.  Since all of our stuff had been packed and we really didn't feel like buying sweaters (and ugly Christmas ones at that) we found these really funny shirts at Target.  They were about $7 and a big hit at the party.  While we were at Target, we also found an "Elf in Training" outfit for our baby girl and she was also a big hit at the shindig, although the outfit was slightly too big for her. 

While I'm mentioning El Paso and friends, I just want to thank all of our wonderful El Paso friends (you all know who you are) who made our experience there so memorable.  On one of the evenings before we left, about 25 of our closest friends and their kids threw a farewell party for us at one of our favorite restaurants in town.  We were presented with beautiful parting gifts and shared a few laughs and lots of hugs.  Later in the week, Jennifer held her party and we were able to spend some time with her and her family (she grew up in El Paso) who I'd become extremely close to while living in El Paso. So everyone truly just made us feel so special and we can't thank you guys enough for your love and support.  We miss you guys so much already!

Well, it's late and I must get to bed.  I promise to post about our Utah trip soon!

Christmas Cards & A Farewell

Procrastination is biting me in the butt once again.  I finally took the time to sit down and make our Christmas cards on Shutterfly (remember the 50 free cards I got?).  But I've waited so long that the cards are not due to arrive until December 16th.  With the move coming up, we're having our mail forwarded starting next Wednesday, the 8th!  So now, I'm relegated to having them mailed to my mom's house.  The only thing is that we won't get to Colorado until the 18th, since we're taking leave in Utah first.  That means I'll only have a week until Christmas Day; which means I'll have to send them out as soon as I get to Colorado.  Yup, procrastinating stinks.

On the bright side, this is what our Christmas cards are going to look like!

I am quite pleased with them and since we're moving, I thought to include our blog address so that people can keep tabs on us.  Oh, and the pictures were taken by my friend, Sasha.  And I'm so glad that she did.  They came out great and there's no way that I would have been able to take any good ones of Sina.  I'll have to post some more of the photos later.

But I apologize in advance to those of you that will be receiving this card, um, probably on Christmas Day or shortly thereafter.

Today, Malu and I attended a farewell luncheon for my good friend, Danny.  He happens to be Sasha's husband.  I actually call him Chief most of the time because he's a Chief Warrant Officer and because he, along with my NCOIC, pretty much ran my shop while I was assigned to the Bulldog Brigade.  He and his family are leaving El Paso in February.  While that's bad for the brigade, it's great for me because they're moving to Germany as well.  In fact, he'll be about two hours away from our family.  So I'm stoked.  But today, I got to take a picture of us at his farewell.

These are the folks that made me shine every day--our HR Team.

It's Danny, Leah, me and MSG Williams.  I will forever be grateful to them and to my Soldiers for their support and for their friendship.

Well, it's the end of the week you guys!  Enjoy your Friday :)

Labor Day Weekend Wrap Up

While Baby V is sleeping (in her car seat no less; we returned from our evening walk a while ago--and she sleeps so well in that thing!), I figured I'd try to knock out this post to quickly wrap up the Labor Day weekend.  Boy, it flew by!

~Friday~

Went to the outlet mall with my friend, Jennifer.  It was absolutely gorgeous out.  About 80 degrees, no wind and hardly a cloud in the sky.  It was just a great day to be outside and shopping of course!  The sales were out of control.  I walked out of there with bags full of baby clothes and maybe one or two things for myself.  I have the feeling it's going to be like this for a very long time :)  I'll be dressed in rags while I continue to get the cutest of outfits for this girl!  I spent over $100 at the Carter's outlet store.  In my defense, a good amount of that were gifts for two of my friends' kids.

~Saturday~

Spent the entire day at home with Baby V.  This is the most television I've watched, like, ever.  It's the only thing to do when you're breastfeeding every two hours or so.  I've probably seen every season of Friends (all over again) and The Office (which I love).  There were also some really good movies playing.

In the evening, I went over to Jennifer's house for dinner.  Her mom made homemade enchiladas.  Delicious!  We also watched The Last Song.  My second time watching it.  It's a cute movie.

~Sunday~

Went to my friend, Laura's, house for her son's birthday.  Joey turned 3 this past week and she hosted a party. 

I absolutely adore this little guy.  He's going to be a great big brother in a few months.  Laura hit her 33rd week today! 

I made a killer Baked Bean dish that day. 

Here's the recipe, if you're interested.

~Monday~

Baby V is one month old today! 

I almost hate the fact that she's already this far along.  She's gotten so big!  Today, we met up for lunch with our friend Katie and her son, Baby Gage.  I met Katie through a mutual friend at work.  When I met her and her husband about a month or two ago, she and I were very pregnant--only Katie was about 2 weeks behind me.  Well, nature took its course and Katie ended up having her baby on the same day we did. 

Baby Gage was born about four hours later than Baby V--and at the same hospital.  And we got to visit a little bit during our hospital stays.

So Katie was so kind enough to send me an invitation to celebrate our babies' one month birthday at the Olive Garden today.

Unfortunately, neither child was wanting to be photogenic today, but what a great way to spend the lunch hour.  We exchanged stories and anecdotes about our experiences in the first month of motherhood--and had quite a few laughs and I know I walked away with some good tidbits of advice.  We plan on getting together some more!  You know us new mommies need to unite!  And thanks to Melissa for introducing me to a great new friend!

The rest of today was spent at home with Baby V.  She and I took a very long nap together this afternoon.  And now it's about time to wake her up to feed her and put her back to bed!

Another day closer to seeing Malu again. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.  He does his first two jumps tomorrow.  You have to jump a total of 5 times to complete the course.  And while it's all fun and a great rush, it's very dangerous.  So please pray for his safety.

Have a great week everyone!

Wednesday Randomness

Today, I'd set out to the hospital to pick up some vitamins that had been prescribed for Baby V when she had her two-week appointment.  That was last Friday.  It wasn't until I got to the hospital access gate that I had left my ID card in the outfit that I had worn to that appointment last Friday.  So I couldn't even get into the hospital parking lot, let alone pick up her vitamins.  And darn it, I was supposed to schedule my OB follow up. 

Oh well...I'll go back tomorrow.  In any case, I went back to the old workplace to show Sina to my old shop (since they hadn't seen her yet) and to see if any of my lady friends had time to go out to lunch with me.  Luckily, they were.  And while we were visiting, I was able to catch a picture of Baby V with my friend, Laura! 

Laura is the lone survivor left in our "maternity ward" trio.  At one point, it was my other friend (and my assistant), Leah, Laura and myself in this group.  The name was so aptly given to us by our bosses (both male), whom I must say, had to be intimidated by the thought of having three pregnant ladies in the workplace--and one that is predominantly male! 

Leah, had her baby in May.  I just had mine.  And Laura hits her 8 month mark on Monday.  Her baby is due on October!  I can't believe we're almost there.  And I'm so glad that we'll still be here to see her baby born! 

Anyway, Baby V was such a great visitor today.  She was wide awake and well-behaved!

Now we're back at home, and all is at peace because she is sleeping!  I must say that every day is getting easier.  We've gotten into somewhat of a routine at night and I'm better able to get her back to sleep after every feeding as opposed to staying up all hours of the morning trying to get her comfortable and back to sleep.

Tonight...she'll be taking her first bath! 

In any case, I finally posted the recipe for the Simply Sensational Strawberry Shortcake dessert I mentioned the other day.  So head on over to my cooking blog if you want to try it out!

Enjoy the rest of your hump day guys!  I've got 16 days until Malu heads back from Fort Benning!

Update:  ten minutes after posting this, I went back to look for my ID card.  Turns out it was in my wallet the entire time, it was just hidden behind one of my pictures and I couldn't see it. Figures.  But I still got to see my friends!

Great Friends

Baby V with Maddie and her daughter, Madisen

Malu and I have been so blessed with friends in this area who have supported us throughout this entire journey into parenthood.  This week, my girlfriends from work have arranged to bring dinner to us every night just so he and I can focus on nothing else but bonding with our new bundle of joy.  Last night, our friend Joy brought us a fantastic chicken dinner--only, I was an idiot and forgot to take pictures.  Malu and I felt entirely too spoiled. 

Tonight, the Finch Family came over and the spoiling continued.  They literally brought over a feast--a salmon with strawberry salsa dish (which I'm waiting on the recipe--it was sooooooo delicious!) with salad, bread, wine and juice, and a cookie cake for Baby V.  They even brought over fruit and streusel for tomorrow's breakfast. 

As if that wasn't enough, she got us picnic plates and cups, beautiful pink roses, a comfy outfit for me to wear, and toys for Baby V and Lucy!  We visited for a short while and Baby V surprisingly stayed awake to socialize the entire time (we were so proud!).  When they left, we enjoyed our wonderfully prepared meal and just talked about how fortunate we are to have true and generous friends.  We also took a picture of Baby V enjoying her new toy...it's one of the cutest pics we have of her yet.  Looks like she's giving the Finches a thumbs up!

I still have to make my 'birth story' post, I know.  And I will!  But all is going well and we are having so much fun with our girl.  She and Malu are inseperable and I have the best time watching them together.  I am recovering very well, and breastfeeding was a breeze until I started feeling the pain of engorgement a few minutes ago.  Yikes!  And with that, I bid you guys farewell for the evening.

I promise I'll give you guys more details here soon!

To Anna With Love!

How cool is it that I have a BFF named Anna who lives in Belgium?  Anna and I met in grad school at Colorado State University-Pueblo over two years ago (and I can't believe it's been that long already).  We completed the MBA program together.  At the time, she was engaged to Mike, an Army SF guy who was deployed--and Malu was deployed as well.  So not only did we bond over school, but we shared the difficulties of being without our loves--and had so much fun in the process.

Anna is actually originally from Europe--she came to the states as an international student from Germany.  She not only speaks German fluently (because she grew up there), but she is Italian and Portuguese (and speaks those languages too--I think).  She and Mike are now married; they have a cute dog named Howard and are stationed in Belgium.  I sooooo can't wait to visit them when we get to Germany.  They're only 4 hours away!

Anyhoo...Anna and Mike were so kind as to send Baby Vaiosina a package with tons of goodies!

LOVE the lady bug onesie and the shorts and plaid shirt from H&M!  Too cute!  And Anna definitely knows how much I LOVE German chocolate.  She sent me tons of it! 

So Anna and Mike...thanks for thinking of us!  We love you and will see you soon!

 

Summer Fun

June was a huge month for all of my best buds from work in terms of birthdays, anniversaries and welcome homes.  So we decided to have a big shindig at Laura's house to celebrate all of these wonderful occasions and just to have an excuse to pig out on some great eats!

You should have seen how much food there was.  And don't think I stopped one bit to rest.  Here are some favorite photos from that night.

Laura's backyard has a great news of the Franklin Mountains and they were looking especially lovely last night. Thanks to Melissa for taking this great picture of Malu and I on his birthday!

Melissa made so many cakes...this one was for all the June birthdays!

I couldn't get over how adorable Laura's dog, Winnie, was!  I love Charpei's!

I also couldn't get over how many maraschino cherries my friend, Maddie, put on this cake, which she made especially for Lilly (Melissa's daughter). 

My lovely friend, Joy.  Her birthday was on the 23rd, but she was in the field at the time.  Love ya, Joy!

Of course, we couldn't end the evening without taking a group pic of all the ladies.  The guys were out there with all of our flashing cameras.  Felt like the paparazzi were on the prowl!

Thanks again to Laura and hubby, Matt, for hosting such a lovely night out!