Indonesia

I am always blogging about the things we do while Mon Amour is gone. But never about his trips. This is mostly cause I don't have much to stay about his trips.  But I feel as though I should give them some kind of mention.  So, Mon Amour, please correct me cause I am sure to butcher the details of your trips. 

His most recent trip was to Indonesia where he say some very fascinating things.

Like strange fruits...or vegetables...or something.

and some random, and definitely not politically correct, tourist gifts (a "piggy bank" and a mug)

I am pretty sure this is some kind of local delicacy that is...shall we say...an acquired taste.

Mon Amour is very brave about trying local things. Braver than I would be, that's for sure.

A fun restaurant!

And a delicious beverage!

I believe this is dragon fruit. Which, Mon Amour says, is legitimately delicious.

I think this one is not tasty...

Fun tower that Mon Amour went up.

Random mask thing!

Rhode Island

Since we were in the area, (Rhode Island area, that is) on the way back from Little Brother's graduation, we stopped in to see some friends who recently moved away from our home city. It was so nice to see them. And so convenient where they picked to live - if they had to move away, I am glad they moved to a place that is halfway between us and where Mon Amour's parents are going to live in Maine.  We will be taking advantage of our friends hospitality often!

A little family photo by a standing by a bunny statue.

Duck ponds! Without many ducks (it was getting chilly)

We were conveniently there on the Saturday before Veterans' Day - so there was a parade! Hooray!

Our friends little girl, watching the parade!

It was a perfect day for a parade.

After the parade, we checked out the local belgian cafe for some crepes!

Then back to our friends house to play.  Papillon loves her little friend.

Hibou practiced her standing.

These girlies had such a fun time.

And so did we. Thanks for letting us stay!

Hibou's Baptism

Don't mind this post. I know it's publishing in March...but with a November date. Somehow it slipped my mind to publish, but I don't want it to go unmentioned.  So,  back in November...

Hibou was baptized!  It was the Sunday after Thanksgiving. We temporarily removed her helmet for the occasion. Pastor Craig did a great job!

Afterwards we had a fun little part with the friends and family who came out to see the baptism.

Papillon had lots of fun giggling in bed with one of her friends.

And reading books in bed with lots of her friends.

Hibou hung out with everyone.

Thanks to everyone who came out, especially to those who came an extra long distance (we had folks from MD, DE, ID, and VA).

He's in the Navy Now!

The following November weekend, it was off to Rhode Island to see my little brother graduate from Officer Candidate School. He's in the Navy now! (has been I suppose for a while...but he's got the uniforms now, so it seems more official). 

It just so happened that we were heading north during the first NorEaster of the season.  Fortunately we just missed it, and so it only made our drive more scenic. 

We even made it around New York without any problems. We were expecting some hiccups cause of the recent "Super Storm" that hit the area. 

Our girls are such road trip champions!

We made such good time that instead of making it just in time for the dinner reception, we made it in time for the afternoon Pass Inspection (probably the wrong term...it was something like that) 

Great Nannie and Hibou waiting for the fun to begin.

Tada! That's my little brother on the left. How did he get picked for the Color Guard, you ask?  Cause he's tall. That's it. They picked the 5 tallest (or most uniformly tall) guys to be in the Guard. What an honor! Haha.

The first of many family photos for the weekend.

We pretend to take this kind of thing seriously...

Chillin at the hotel after the festivities.

Then it was off to the "Hi Moms" Reception where all the famlies got to eat at the Officer's Club and enjoy a slide show of all the Officer Candidates from when they were kids. 

Papillon enjoyed the "'emonade"

Time for graduation!

Hibou and Aunt Mimi who made it up for the event but was in town for like 12 hours or something. It was a quick trip.

He's graduated!

Only they left him out of the program....dun dun duuuun!

More family pictures.

And some self portraits.

Hibou, making the rounds to all the family.

Between graduation and lunch, we did a little driving tour of the Newport mansions. Oh my goodness were they insane. I've seen big houses before...these were legitimately mansions. 

This one was my favorite. Its hard to see, but the house is gorgeous, and in the front yard there are house-sized boulders. How cool would that be!

This one would be fun too! (Though in all seriousness, I don't want a house this big. A bigger house, sure; but not this big. This is ridiculous)

Lunch time!

Hibou was very hungry.

More food for Hibou! (that's a cracker-face, not a sad face, I promise)

Dad, making a speech. My dad doesn't say much. Ever. He's a man of few...almost no...words. But gosh, he's does make a good speech.

Mon Amour and Hibou - so cute!

Congrats, Little Brother!

Chilly November Wedding

Our November of insanity (its been a really busy month) began with a weekend in Mon Amour's home state for a little outdoor wedding. The weather was gorgeous...or at least looked gorgeous. It was actually quite chilly. Something that the bride and bridesmaids didn't really plan for when they picked their attire. There were a lot of chilly ladies in sleeveless dresses standing up front for the ceremony!

The groom, waiting for the bride.

It is generally one of the best moments of a wedding to watch the grooms face light up when he sees the bride start walking down the aisle.  For this wedding though, the groom was so deliriously happy the entire time that his face didn't change a whole lot (couldn't have changed much, really!) when the bride appeared.

Did I mention the weather looked really nice?

Fun times at the reception!

Listening to some toasts. (They were some quality toasts!)

Pretty fall decor.

Escaping through the bubbles!

Papillon did a great job. It was a long day with a lot of people. By the end, she was still smiling, but she was ready to be done. So, of her own accord, she put her coat on like this:

And walked all the way to the car without being able to see anything or any one. (She was pretty trusting about holding my hand and walking briskly and blindly)