Moran Family Fun

Samantha loves to take pictures with my little green point and shoot camera. It's interesting to see her photos, to see the world from her perspective. And apparently her world has alot of Natalie in it, a little bit of me, and SHOES! Man, that girl loves shoes. The many faces of Natalie Natalie and Samantha Natalie's "Silver Tappy Shoes" Me driving "the Dragon" Samantha's white church shoes Me at the grocery store Natalie exploring on the floor

Jared was on the committee for Women's History Month for the base here. I know he's not a girl but he loves a bunch of girls so it seemed like a good fit for him. He helped to coordinate the 5K that was held as part of the celebrations. The night before we were talking about what we were going to do for the weekend and Jared says, "Oh yeah, I'm working on this 5K thing and I thought we'd all run it." Okay, so 5K is not that far, but I had just gotten back from my trip to the States and I didn't want to run at all so I would like to make some excuses now. I was terribly jetlagged, I had just begun my annual " it's Easter time I'd better eat as many Cadbury MiniEggs as I can before they're gone until next Easter" diet, and I did not relish the thought of running/walking with Natalie and Samantha (this fell to me because Jared would be trying to get a good time for his run!). So imagine how grateful I was when we woke up to RAIN on Satu...

This picture isn't of any big event, but I just love how it shows Natalie's personality AND her new Hello Kitty earrings! Our family is a little scattered, geographically. So it was so great to be able to see three sisters, one brother, three brothers-in-law, and all of my nieces and nephews in one fell swoop! Oh, and a big thank you to Don and Charissa for hosting us all, I know me and my girls had a great time and I think everyone else did too. It's nice to have Jared's family, some of my family, and the Kennedy's all in a line; just three hours from one end to the other. It makes it logistically easier to see at least some of the people I love. My sister Charissa is nice and sends us her girls' outgrown clothes; Natalie and Samantha always love to get a box from Leah in the mail. So when I said that we were going to Leah's house for a visit they were excited - especially Samantha. I don't think they even realized the fun that having all of their cous...

Okay, so continuing my travel related stories - I did not just hang out at my mother-in-law's house the entire time! Samantha, Natalie, and I rented a car and headed north to Pennsylvania to see our dear friends, the Kennedys. I always have a great time with John and Larisa and their kids. All of the Kennedys are talented and amazing; they sing, they dance, they run marathons, they play instruments, they deliver babies, you know, that kind of stuff. We were able to to listen to a wonderful rendition of the Happy Working Song from Enchanted and I was really moved by hearing Hannah and Glo practice their instruments accompanied by Larisa on the piano. But to me, the best thing about the Kennedys is that we didn't have to actually DO anything to have a great time. The girls and I spent most of our time there just hanging out and it was great. Talking, jumping on the trampoline, chasing the cats (well, that was just Natalie), playing games, and watching actual TV with commericals!...

Natalie and Samantha were having fun from the very beginning of our trip when Grandma Moran picked us up at the airport. Grandmas can always be counted on for treats, hugs and kisses, and fun. There were toys to play with, books to read, craft projects to do together, and baking to do. Thanks Grandma for making our time at your house so special!

Early in March Samantha, Natalie, and I decided to try and get back to the States on a Space A flight. That basically means flying standby on a military flight. There are three flights a week from our base here in Germany to Baltimore and Baltimore is close to family and friends. Everyone I spoke to me told me that it should be pretty easy to get seats on any flight from Germany to Baltimore; coming back is where there's a bit of a gamble. Because if we could not get on a plane the girls and I would have to stay at a hotel and try for a flight another day. Thankfully we were able to get out to Baltimore the first time we tried and coming home was just as easy! The nice thing about this particular route (Ramstein to BWI) is that instead of a big military cargo plane we were able to fly on a chartered commercial airliner. That means there were movies, meals, flight attendants, and all the other good things that I am used to on an airplane. The other nice thing is the baggage allowanc...

I love having flowers in the house, and Jared is nice enough to bring me flowers pretty often. Every year I look forward to the first time I see tulips at the flower shop. They are my favorite spring time flower, and maybe my favorite all the time flower as well. The last time I stopped in our local flower shop I was thinking, "Please have tulips, please have tulips" but they didn't have any quite yet. Especially this time of year they are a beautiful reminder that winter will be ending sometime soon. I was so happy when Jared brought home these the other day, and in a nice sunny yellow too!