T-Bone!

Jake's Pre-K teacher uses Clifford the Big Red Dog in her classroom as a teaching tool. For example, when the kids are good and listening, they get to give Clifford a bone. At the end of the day they count the bones together. Clifford's sidekick, T-Bone, gets to visit a child's home each weekend. T-Bone is at the Keating's this weekend. Jake shared some Triple Chocolate Cherry cake Mommy baked with him. I snapped a pic for T-Bone's journal and thought I'd share here. The chocolate face and the shirt make it too cute not to!

May Days

We had a few big events in May. I'm struggling to find good pics to post, b/c we're breaking in a new camera. I'll add more later. First big May day was Haley's 1st Communion. She has been to religious education all year to learn about reconciliation and the eucharist. She was very nervous about sipping the wine, but did it like a pro when the time came (uh, oh). It was a special day and again, fun to have her participate when going up as a family on Sunday. Ryan's folks, her godparents, were in town. We celebrated with Spidey 3 and dinner at Schlesinger's (outstanding). Another big day for Haley-girl was her performance in the number "Steam Heat" in the annual Broadway Revue at school. She had great rhthym and looked very comfortable onstage. Dance lessons may be in her future.

Ryan graduated from his Master's program mid-May. So proud of my Ivy League man! He is officially a master of Organizational Psychology. It has been a GREAT year for him and the family. His folks were here to attend graduation. We left the kids at home and spent the night in the city. There were soooo many people attending and his folks and I were about as far up in the balconies as you could get, but I managed to find him in the crowd. It wasn't hard, b/c it was the Teacher's College graduation, so I just had to scan for the group of non-metrosexual guys in the midst of all the gals, etc. I leaned over the balcony and waved and he actually spotted me. The weather was gorgeous and we went to the outdoor reception afterwards for a bit and met some of his professors. His folks treated us to Tavern on the Green for dinner after. It was amazing (and so was the bill - yikes)!

Mother's Day was the weekend prior to graduation, so Sandy and I got to go shop together at the outlets - always fun! We also had brunch at the Thayer Hotel. No shortage of dining out during their visit! My Mom's Day gift was over the top, this year! I got a trip to Germany to visit my Jenna! She is PCSing HERE in June and we wanted a last few girl's days in our old stomping grounds before she moves. It was a short trip (one day shorter than original itinerary - "what do you mean my passport expired?!"), but a fun one! We had our fave Greek meal at Athens in Grafenwoehr, went shopping in Regensburg, I had lunch with my old boss and dinner with our 2-2 Bn Cmdr's wife, my other fave redhead. FUN! More about that trip on my blog. More trip posts coming...

Easter

Easter was a neat weekend for the Keatings! For one thing, we have been sponsoring 4 cadets and we had the pleasure of having one of their girlfriends stay wih us for the weekend. Haley gladly gave up her room and princess pillow from "Aunt" Jenna. I cooked up an early Easter dinner Saturday afternoon. 3 of our cadets, 2 of which were football players, joined us along with a mom, brother and sister who were in town. I can't remember the last time I cooked so much food! Something that was special to me was using my Grandma's china that my Grandpa had bought her while stationed in Germany. I also used her silver for the first time. My Aunt passed it along to me when we moved back to the states last year. I remember admiring the china and silver when I was little. It was a treat for us kids to ever get to use it.

Easter vigil was that night. I did my 1st Eucharist and Confirmation. I had never been to a Catholic Easter Service. It was really beautiful! We "candidates" gathered around a firepit outside. Father Hurley said a few words and some prayers. The congregation waited outside the chapel for us to enter first. We had candles and lit them as we entered. The chapel was still dark. The pulpit was the only dim light, and there were scriptures and readings following the story of Christ's crucifixion. At the point where he was resurrected, the lights came on and you could see the multitude of flowers and the beautiful baptismal fountain. It has been a gradual, deliberate process for me to join this faith. It felt good and right, especially when we went up as a family on Sunday to take Eucharist together. We are blessed!!