melted smoosh

(read part one here !) next they were off to Slovakia to visit  Ľubovňa Castle. what a life! I think this visit will be especially memorable to Cece during this upcoming school year, as the third grade history class always does a unit on medieval castles and the children create their own out of boxes and paper towel tubes. on their way to the next stop, the group made a quick stopover in Fr. Aron's ancestral hometown and surprise his cousin. his cousin speaks only Slovak but the joy and emotion was palpable when she opened the door to find him standing there. I just love these photos!  then the bus drove on to Hungary, where they had a traditional dinner of scones, goulash soup, potatoes, pickles, bacon, and fried gypsies (similar to ribs). and finally it was time for bed!  the next morning they visited St. Stephen's basilica and took a walking tour of the Budapest, including the famous market hall. that afternoon they spent a few hours at the Szechenyi mineral baths, and...

in Krakow in June, Nick and Cece took the trip of a lifetime along with a group from our priest friend's parish. for years, Father Aron has led pilgrimages to Europe for his confirmation class and their families, supported by incredible events throughout the year (he really puts the fun in fundraising). this year, they planned a twelve-day trip to Eastern Europe, visiting religious sites in Poland, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, and Croatia. our whole family was invited, and in a different season of life, I would have loved for all six of us to go! but we already did the two-toddlers-in-Europe thing once when we were young and crazy. for logistical reasons (not least being that Nick's services as organist for daily mass were requested), we decided that Nick would go with the older girls and I would stay home with the younger ones. from the very first time we brought up the idea of the trip, Cece was all in, and Greta was adamantly not interested. Nick and I debated about whether o...

wearing the tiara I wore on my wedding day; her veil and gloves were purchased for Greta's first communion, and her dress is brand new! what an incredible weekend for our sweet Cecilia Marie! she has been learning and preparing for her First Holy Communion all year with her catechism class at church. she also wanted to participate in the First Communion mass with her classmates at school (affiliated with a different parish). the mass at our home parish was held on a Saturday and the school mass was held the next day, so, with the blessing of both pastors, she participated in both! she has such a sweet, rich devotion to Jesus and it seemed very fitting that she experience this special occasion twice. of course, her "First" Communion Mass on Sunday was technically her second, but well worth it for her to be able to participate with all of her school friends and be listed in the same program with them. sweet hugs from her sister (wearing a winter hat for reasons only known t...