Grandma is Visiting

Grandma is visiting for Christmas, and Jack graciously gave his bedroom to her. We actually have a spare bed that is located, quite inconveniently, in my closet.  So sometimes, the couch is a better option.

Christmas Baking, Kind of

 Cream-cheese mints. I think I am still on the learning curve with these; plus they aren't technically baking.

These are magnificent cookies, made from a kit that good friends K and M gave to me. The ingredients were all wrapped up so beautifully that I didn't want to make them. But, I am now so happy that I did! They are delicious, and I am disinclined to share with my roommates.

O'Dea Wrestling

 I like how it looks as if Andrew is levitating.

So far, the team and the twins have done very well.

It is good to be King

Apparently, all the Christmas preparations and celebrations have been very exhausting.

A Christmas Play

Jack was "Shepherd One" in the Christmas play at school, which is apparently the name of the Pope's plane. He was quite relieved, as being a shepherd meant he did not have to sing. I think that those around him were relieved as well.

Readings and Carols

It was poignant and beautiful. I think my favorite was the Filipino carol.

A Good Combination

This is a combination of my favorite things, our beautiful Cathedral and my handsome trio, yep, I like it.

Apparently my shepherds came from Italy to see the newborn babe

More Tree

Joy Indeed

Choosing the perfect Christmas Tree

Decorating, it helps to be the tallest in the family

It's the best tree we have ever had!!

How many Ipsens does it take to change a light bulb?

Our house is where light bulbs go to die.  I probably change 4-5 bulbs a week, and the porch light is the most heinous of jobs to accomplish.  But now that I have these huge and handy boys, changing the porch light is no longer my job, but it does indeed take three of them to do it.

Determined

There might be one more, last morsel in the bottom of the bag, even if I have to suffocate to get it!

Christmas is Coming!

Oh Tannenbaum 

Last Football Picture, I Swear

I just had to put in this last picture from the football season.  It is just the sweetest picture of Grandpa walking and talking with Andrew.  It makes him so happy when Grandpa comes to his games.  And now, on to wrestling.

A Thanksgiving Feast

 Appetizers

 The table before we fell upon it like starving beasts.

Dad's plate, full of starchy goodness!!  Grandpa and Grandma were our guests and made the meal a true treat.

Learning to Drive

 Isaac is attempting what can only be described as a smoldering sexy look, while learning to drive in his jammies and wearing dads gloves.

Andrew has added the touch of the ear muffs, also quite sexy.  Now if they can just stop stalling the car all over the parking lot.

Holy Names Homecoming Dance

 This is handsome Andrew before the dance.

And this is after the dance.  A dance that apparently caused a terrific hunger! So he and dad hit the local restaurant for some after-dance fare.

More Football

Jack played for the Olympic Cougars, it is always easy to find him with his fantastic red cleats.

Andrew played for the Irish of course.  He is easy to pick out because his uniform is faded and falling apart.

Still Hungry

Frosty the Wonder Dog is still begging for food, even after losing all those teeth to the doggie dentist.  And wow, does he have a complete ignorance of my personal space.

Our Last Year at Holy Family

This is the last year of the Ipsen dynasty at Holy Family.  Really, we have only been there for 10 years, much less time than other families.  The best part, Jack gets to be there all by himself this year, no more being mistaken for one of the twins.

St. James Altar Servers

They're kind of a big deal, even if this is only about 1/3 of the crew!

Holy Names/O'Dea Picnic

The new freshman picnic was a whirlwind of activities...for the twins, and three hours of boredom for Jack, at least the food was quite good.

First Day of School at O'Dea

The first day of high school, holding picture from first year of elementary school, quite a change.

Smiling Through the Pain

Well, Frosty the Wonder Dog has survived 15! extractions, and he now has an almost toothless grin. He is still stumbling around after several mega doses of morphine, poor baby.

Malaise

I think Frosty the Wonder Dog knows he has a dentist appointment (extractions!) on Monday.

Go Fighting Irish

The first frosh football game.  Andrew looks like he is playing on a team of giants. 100 boys turned out for freshman football at O'Dea. Wow.

God

Pictures like this always make me think of God.  Ted is getting quite good with his camera.

Post-Mass

Clearly, altar serving is exhausting, and leaves one so cheerful and full of life..., or maybe it's just too early to look happy..

Yard Monkey

ToorCamp With Dad

Neah Bay

On the ferry to Bainbridge Island

Soldering

Jack and Dad went to ToorCamp, which is some kind of geek/nerd/hacker/tech camp. Jack learned to solder, and to program his robot...and lock picking, for some reason. Jack also made some hacker do push-ups for losing at Bicycle Jousting! A great time was had by all.

Birthday Dinner

Tradition says each boy gets to pick his birthday dinner, chosen from mom's repertory. Jack: Thai Peanut Noodles, Lemon Curd Cheesecake,  Isaac: Chicken Fried Steak, Gravy, Smashed Potatoes, and chocolate marshmallow pie (pictured), and finally Andrew: Spicy Crispy Beef, fried rice and Three Berry Cobbler, my intention was to have pictures of all the meals, but they were eaten almost as fast as they were made. I think MY birthday dinner should involve going out somewhere.

Happy Birthday!!

And now the twins are 15, we just can't stop the growing in this house.  Praise God

Our Baltic Cruise, Minus Me

Helsinki Lutheran Cathedral (Helsinki, Finland)

A girl, her ice cream, and her cannon (Porvoo, Finland)

Caprese, sea-bass carpaccio, prosciutto-wrapped melon, eggplant-wrapped tofu

Approaching St. Petersburg at sunrise

Cathedral of the Spilled Blood (St. Petersburg, Russia)

Cathedral of Peter and Paul (St. Petersburg, Russia)

St. Isaac's Cathedral (St. Petersburg, Russia)

Inside St. Isaac's Cathedral (St. Petersburg, Russia)

Inside the Cathedral of the Spilled Blood (St. Petersburg, Russia)

Riga, Latvia

Freedom Monument (Riga, Latvia)

Polish Girl Scouts (Gdansk, Poland

Sausage, ham, cheese, liverwurst, and salad in Gdansk, Poland

Blueberry deliciousness (somewhere on the Baltic)

St. Hedwig's Cathedral (Berlin, Germany)

Berlin-style Wurst

Ted and I were supposed to cruise the Baltic with my family, but I couldn't go after I trashed my knee, so he went and took great pictures and quite obviously, enjoyed the food.  He tortured us at home by uploading food pics to his Flickr account.....hmph