My super cool studly brother...and a few more Connecticut pictures

So Joe sent a note from West Point this past weekend:

"This morning I did a 18 mile ruck march with a 22 lb ruck (very light). It was for the German Proficiency Badge among other requirements for it. I had to get under 5 hours to get the Gold and we did it in 4:13. It was just fun to do it with my buddies Jake and John (Idaho Falls boy) and a couple of firsties from my company who are awesome guys. I really am starting to have a few guys who I can call, my best friends, and family. And Jake and John are among those guys. School is good. Hard but thats the way things go. Working hard and hope to do well enough on a couple of exams to get to go to the Air Force/Army Game this next weekend."

Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers...



Cousin Yvonne sent these pictures from our visit in CT...below from left to right Yvonne, Robert, Stephen (Yvonne's son), and Sandra.



Yvonne is definitely well-trained in the art of feeding people until their stuffed to their eyeballs...Mateo was introduced to manicotti and loved it!!



We're looking forward to our next trip back east when Joseph graduates from West Point in Summer 2010!! Until then, we are hoping our Connecticut family will trek west to see us.

Love from Oregon, Sarah

Papa Photos

So we had a great visit with Papa this last weekend. He came in on Thursday night (after a plane ride that probably could have made a milkshake with the turbulence). Matt picked him up and we had a feast of a dinner at MamaNona's. Dad hasn't been trained in the fine art of eating Italian...so when we told him there was dessert, I wasn't sure he'd be up to it. But any of you who know my father, know he loves apple pie. And Nona makes a mean apple pie.

On Friday, Matt took Papa & Mateo to the AC Gilbert House (Children's Museum in Salem) where Mateo got to play on equipment and in the bubbles.

It is right next to the Salem Carousel, so of course, there were several rides on that!! Hope you enjoy the video below...





On Saturday, we hung out and watched college football. I worked on a web page for Dad...which will be unveiled soon, so keep checking back. The portrait of him is for the website...and for those of you who are wondering, I don't really do websites...I just dabble in them.



Sunday, we went to Mass and then finished a visit to Maggie Kelley's sixth birthday...which was a ballerina fest. I have never seen so much pink in my life!!

I am back to work and trying to keep my head above water. It's a challenge, but I am grateful for all the flexibility that comes with it.

I am headed to bed now...hope all is well with you & yours. Hugs from Oregon, Sarah

One more picture (and the 100th post!!)

This one came today in email from Grandma B...we had a great time seeing her family!

Catching up #2

John & Andrash Britschgi teaching ladder ball to Mateo


Kinga Britschgi, Mary Goode, and Papa LaPlante filling up


Nancy Gomez (wife of Colonel Gomez who helped Joseph get into West Point), Grandpa B, and the guest of honor!


Cousin Whitney tossing Lukas around...


Colonel Gomez speaking about how proud he is of Joseph...and encouraging us all to come hear him speak to prospective candidates and their families. I got a chance to hear him talk, and it was awesome. I respect what he is doing and am proud of the choices he is making.

It was a great time...Rachel throws a great party!!

Catching up #1

Mateo loves Tia Rachel's big back yard...



Joseph and Lukas had a rousing game of hide & seek...



Cousin Andrash Britschgi kneels and is still taller than Mateo...



Mateo loves sitting in a little chair...



More pictures soon...Hugs, Sarah

Memphis Memories...

We have had a great time in Memphis...we arrived rather uneventfully in Little Rock, Arkansas on Thursday afternoon to 90+ degree weather and lots of humidity. It took about 2 minutes to confirm that neither Matt nor I could be long term Southerners...we would simply sweat too much!!

Matt's brother Mark picked us up in Little Rock and drove us back to Memphis where he lives with his wife Paula and daughter Sarah. We have had a blast exploring all the sights and sounds and partaking in the Southern cooking extravaganza.



Near Mark's house there is a huge farm that has been turned into a park & rec area...where we got to get out of the car and see cotton growing up close...it is amazing that something so soft can come from such a prickly little plant!!



We had the opportunity to go to church with Mark & Paula & Sarah. Their church worships in a former country club and so we were able to take a family picture outside just after the service. For the record, I insisted that we bring "church clothes" so that we would fit in, and in fact, they prefer to worship casually (much like St. Paul's)...but the TN Millers agreed to dress up for this photo opportunity!



And a picture of Mark & Matt & Mateo...if you ever wondered if the brothers look alike, I would say they do...

Our plans have changed a bit...we were headed home on Tuesday, but got a phone call yesterday from Matt's mom to tell us that Matt's father's brother (and his godfather) had died in CT. It was not unexpected as he had been sick for a long time, but no one was sure when he would die. Well, after a ton of phone calls, we have rearranged our schedule and are now flying to Connecticut tomorrow for the wake & funeral...then we will spend a couple of days with Matt's cousins on his mom's side. It will be a nice opportunity for them to meet Mateo after supporting us with love and prayers for so long. We will fly back west on Friday and split in Las Vegas...I'll go to Boise because my little brother Joe will be in from West Point for a recruiting trip. Matt will head home from Vegas.

Then on Monday, October 15th, I am due back to work...so we go back to a more normal lifestyle at our house.

The boys are off to the Memphis zoo today, so we will have more pictures to post soon. Hope all is well with you.

Hugs from Tennessee...Sarah & Matt & Mateo

spoon training...

The pictures tell the whole story...

I forgot...

The best news of all about last week was that yesterday, Mateo finished his more than 9 month course of antibiotics for his TB exposure. He is officially free and clear of medication crushed up each day in baby yogurt (at least for this particular disease). And now he can have all the utensils he wants. We had not been letting him have them so he would take the medication each day without a fight...Matt did aggressive spoon training last night (which translates into helped Mateo learn to use it by trying lots of different things on the spoon).

Praise God that we live in a country where we can prevent serious disease simply by a $4 per month drug!!