In the paper

So, Tuesday night was the big photo exhibition. It was a great time! The Mayor came and spoke, there was a collection taken for Autism Ireland (which thankfully raised a bunch of money) and plenty of snacks and drinks. The turnout was really good! Some of our friends showed up in support, and some that couldn't sent their well wishes for us. This is the second exhibition I've been involved in now, and I was just as proud to be a part of this one as I was the last time! The most exiting part came today though: Our family was chosen to be one of the artists put in the local paper! Here's the picture of all of us!

Triathlon

As you may have known, Jen began running a couple years ago, and ran a 5k. Unfortunately, that was the only one she could do because of some things in our schedule - and the whole Isaac being born thing. Well, I'm so proud to tell you that after just 7 months after delivering Isaac, today Jen ran the running portion of a triathlon held in one of our local villages. Now, not to stray from how impressive this feat in itself is, let me tell you a little bit about today, just so you can get a feel for just how great today was:

The weather was really the star of the show today. We woke up this morning to lashing rain, near gale-force gusting winds - just a miserable thing. But, the show must go on! The race format was set up for all the pro-class athletes to begin before the rest of the group, and they started the others in intervals after that. Well, when it got to be the time for Jen's team to start, the swimmer is actually a guy that swims the ocean every day here. The frigid, 50 degree ocean. (Can you say, psycho?) So, he was the only one doing his leg without a wet-suit! He stood out like a sore thumb, looking something like a single white pill in a field full of black licorice. Then the son of some of our friends did the biking leg, leaving Jen to do her 5K (which turned out to be 5.7 due to a last minute change in course.) Well, let me tell you...it was awesome to see Jen go out there, run her legs off, and finish the race. No stopping. No slowing in pace. She did it. Couldn't be prouder of her. Hannah and Cailyn even snuck up towards the last bit and finished the race with her, which was awesome. Me and the kids hung out in the wind and rain, and even though it was cold, it really was amazing. Nothing a good hot shower and cup of hot chocolate didn't take care of when we were done! (For those keeping track and all you worrying mother types ;), Isaac was the warmest of the bunch. He took a nap in his cocoon-enclosed stroller all while we were waiting. We were all jealous of him!)

Enjoy the pics I got! (There's only a few...the rain was just coming down too much, and I couldn't keep the lens dry to save my life...)

Jen getting started on her first lap of the day

Getting to the finish...Hannah and Cailyn were great supporters!

Very proud moment!!

If you want to know what the day was like, the girls' faces will tell you, lol

Camogie

Organized sports have begun in our household! Hannah is old enough this year to begin playing the sport of Camogie. This is a sister sport to Hurling, which is an ancient sport; estimated to be about 2,000 years old. It's fairly straight forward - two teams line up and try to hit a little ball called a sliotar (pronounced, shli-tur) in the opponents goal using something called a hurl that resembles a hockey stick. There aren't too many rules, other than you pretty much can't intentionally bash an opponent with your hurl and the ball has to stay in between the lines. It really does resemble hockey, which ultimately are shared in origin.

Today was just a spectacular day; absolutely beautiful outside, and perfect for going and playing some sports. She was a bit behind today being that they actually started when we were in the states, but she took to it right away. Immediately she began drills on how to hit the ball, and then moved to some practice throwing and catching, then they actually played a scrimmage. And the best part is, Hannah scored a goal!!! She was so excited and happy to be out there. Though there was a little nervousness as she began the day not knowing how to do it, she really took to it well!

Learning to hit the ball

Catching drill...not going to well yet ;D

Hannah got right into the action!

She may have just been as excited to run around on a nice day as she was playing!

Proud girl after her first practice!!

St. Patricks Day - Arizona style

Alright, this is the second post of our trip - For St. Patrick's Day here, we decided it would be fun to have an early birthday celebration for Cailyn and her cousin Jared since their birthday's are so close together in April, but we're all together now. So, we all loaded up and went to this massive indoor play place. This place was awesome! All indoors there was go-karts, bumper cars, laser tag, bowling, miniature golf, and a whole section just for the little kids with tea-cups a carousel and one of those circle "roller coasters". So we spent the day just having fun, playing arcade games, and riding rides. It was so much fun!!! Here's some more pics of our time (not just of the day at the arcade)

One thing we absolutely miss are the Arizona sunsets. They are simply amazing. I haven't really had the chance to get any landscape pictures, but one night as we were hanging out at the pool, I thought this scene was pretty spectacular:

Another picture with Grandpa and his grandkids. Isaac looks pretty comfy!

Hannah and Cailyn had to demonstrate some Irish dancing. Cailyn is giving it her best shot!

And then Hannah gave some lessons to her cousin and Grammy

The birthday kids!

This was called the frog drop. It basically lifts the entire group up to the ceiling and then drops them. And lifts them. And drops them. It's so fun! Hannah and Cailyn were a bit nervous before the ride, but as you can tell, they're loving it! Cailyn had this look like, "Where has this feeling been my whole life?!?"

And Isaac got to go for his first Carousel ride!!

Hannah and her cousin on the roller coaster

And Cailyn and her cousin took a turn as well. Such joy!!

Arizona!!!

We're so happy to be back 'home' even for just a few weeks. The weather has been awesome - mid to upper 80's, and just absolutely perfect in the evenings. We've had such a good time so far, just relaxing and reconnecting with our families. Jen was able to see her family last year briefly, and they've been to see us in Ireland, but it's been two years since we've seen Seth's family. So it's been great. We've just been eating some good food (Mexican mainly!!) and enjoying time at the pool. So far, it's been great! Sorry we haven't posted a lot of pictures, but taking time to be on here has been limited! Here's some shots for you though of the trip so far...these first ones are of Isaac as he's meeting Seth's family.

Meeting Grandpa Deibel

Meeting Grammy Deibel

3 generations :)

Isaac has been full of smiles this whole trip!

New Playground!!!

Something VERY cool has happened in our village...they opened a brand-new playground! Just in time for spring! The other day, we all got out on a nice (yet cold) day and just played and laughed and enjoyed the glimpse of Spring coming right around the corner. The great thing is this ground is just a couple minutes' drive from the house adjacent to the local sports grounds. Already having been there a couple of times, we've run into loads of people that we know. It's going to be a great place!

Got a capture of Isaac's face when we put him in the swing for the first time. I'm not sure he was liking where this was headed...

But then, the smiles came out! He loved it!!!

Hannah showing off some hopscotch skills

First time all 3 kids in what we refer to as the "bubba-tub" swing

Now THIS is the main attraction. It's a zip line! You get up on a ramp on one end, and zoom down to the end where there's a spring mounted on the line which both softens the end of the line, but shoots you up in the air a bit too. This is a continuous motion capture of Hannah all stitched together...came out cool!

And, not to be outdone, Cailyn had a go. I'm no longer allowed to walk next to her on the ride after this, her first time. She's a pro now...

This is actually the first picture I took at the park that day. Jen just ran and jumped on it! The girls thought it was hilarious seeing mommy do it!

And of course, I wasn't to be left out!

Welcome to the US Isaac!!

*Long post, but hopefully worth the read...*

Well, he was a US citizen technically from the moment he was born, but this weekend we made a trip to Dublin so we could go to the Embassy and get him properly registered and apply for his passport (a very important item that will come in play later!) It was a neat trip and sort of exciting...in the combined 4 years we've lived in Ireland, we've never actually BEEN to the Embassy before!

Now, a little background on what's going on here lately: Ireland has come under the thumb of a massive Arctic blast that's actually terrorizing other parts of Europe. As well as Ireland can cope with cold, it comes to a stand-still when there's any kind of snow involved, especially the multiple inches they got over the last week or so. I've been diligently watching how much snow Dublin has received knowing we were going to have to head over, and thankfully, the last few days have seen some relief. I know what you're thinking: why didn't you wait? Good question, BUT, we had to go; the Embassy makes you schedule appointments and we'd made the appointment weeks ago. As I watched the snow reports, I tried to see when the next available date would be and cancel this appointment and reschedule but nothing was open until February, and we just couldn't go for that. That's just too late for some other things going on for us to get it...so we basically had to go. Thankfully, I grew up in snow, and though mishaps happen even to experienced drivers, it helps that I've driven in snow a lot before...we just figured that the trips across country would take some time. So carefully, we headed out.

We got to Dublin and popped in to see some friends we know there, and had a great afternoon (aside from me getting a migraine and having to take solace in a dark room for a while) and then headed to our hometel. Yes, I spelled that right. That's what the girls call it. All 5 of us in a room for the first time though...oh boy! We were waiting for disaster. Surprisingly though, things went well. Isaac actually slept really well, and Hannah and Cailyn did, well, alright. They just love staying in hotels so much that they're pretty wound up about it, so sleep doesn't come to them (or mom and dad) too quick.

Got up today, and the adventure continued, though not for the best...one last task we had to do, of course, was to take a passport photo in for Isaac. Of course, it has to be a white background, and mom and dad's hands can't be visible holding his head up. Easy, right? WRONG. Infant passport photos are insane! I was able though to get a good photo of him and tried printing it at our pharmacy the other day...it worked, but the picture wouldn't qualify because of one little part in the background wasn't white. I didn't want to risk delaying the process anymore, so yesterday morning before we left, I staged another one and took it with us on my jump drive, thinking we could just get it printed in Dublin at the mall near our hotel. Wow...NOT. I go to the pharmacy to print it, and theirs don't print passport sizes prints. Of course! How silly of me to think a drugstore in a city of +1 million people could do something a pharmacy in our small neighboring village would do...ugh. They did have the option of using a little photo-booth, but since we'd already taken a road trip from the hotel to the mall lasting more than 30 seconds, Isaac was asleep, so that wasn't really an option. (Bear in mind the photos have to show his eyes...) Thankfully, there was a film processor in the mall, so I ran to see him with my jump drive. He immediately tells me he doesn't do infant passport photos. CRAP. Now...we're about 1.5 hours ahead of our appointment, and at this point, I'm starting to freak out. This SHOULDN'T be this hard!!! He begrudgingly decides to help me out by trying to use the pic I had on my jump-drive (which is what I asked him to do in the first place...not take a new photo) and he yanks the jump-drive out of my hand. Apparently he had to save all my photos to his hard drive, then to an sd card, and then into this little printer he has set up just for passport photos...like it's a holy grail or something. It wouldn't work. He tried opening the photo in photoshop and resizing it and resaving it on multiple sd cards and, still nothing happens. It's like the photography twilight zone...this one photo won't open. His special little machine wouldn't read it. He brilliantly (after I make the suggestion) crops the photo to a 2"x2" passport size photo and prints them on 4x6 paper. genius! Thankfully, this works, and we now only have just over an hour to make it through the city center and get to the Embassy on time for our appointment. (While we were waiting for all this, Jen ran and got us Starbucks...probably our saving grace emotionally...) Oh, by the way - Isaac now needs to eat before we leave the mall. AARGHH!!! Jen gives him a quick snack to try to tide him over, which works thankfully, but now we're down to 45 minutes. Somehow, we're able to get to the appointment on time. Actually, we showed up early which is something we learned that we're not allowed to do. We had to pace around in front of the gate in the freezing cold for 20 minutes until 1:00 on the nose before they took us through security, which is more serious than airports. Like seriously...they would be well suited to take all these body-scanners of the airports hands and make their lives easier...After that though, everything went smooth. The paper work got filled out, we paid our fees, and in a few weeks we should have his social security card, and passport!

We had decided to be as American as possible on the day, since technically, we were stepping into US soil while we were in the complex. So, with me wearing my American flag t-shirt under my jacket, I helped the girls say the Pledge of Allegiance in front of the building, then we headed to T.G.I. Fridays for an early dinner before beginning our snow-bound journey home tonight. The whole first half of the trip home was just a downfall of snow...the kind that when you switch on your high beams you blind yourself from the light bouncing back at you off the flakes. The trip was cool for me though; it reminded me a lot of when I was around 12 years old? playing for the Flagstaff All-Star soccer team. We played our tournaments in the winter, and we always played in Phoenix. Even though we knew storms were on the way before we left for the tournaments, they graciously drove me down to play only to make the long journeys home in blizzards just so I could play my soccer. Thanks Mom and Dad!!!

Overall, it was a fun trip with a little excitement just to keep it from being dull.

PS. While we were wandering around waiting for our time-slot I asked jokingly if Mr. Rooney was in (Pittsburgh Steelers owner and current US Ambassador to Ireland), and was politely was told that he wasn't. I thought it was just because he would have been up late the previous night since the Steelers were on Sunday Night Football, and he stays up to watch all their games if he's over here. Actually, he watches it via sling-box and apparently has to keep calling his family to tell them to quit changing the channel! LOL) Anyway, as I was writing this blog, I had the game on from last night (I'd recorded it to watch when we got home)...lo and behold, Dan Rooney was actually at the game. I thought it was funny anyway...

All of us in front of the Embassy with Old Glory waving behind us...

On to the American food!!!

This was hilarious to me: Everywhere in Dublin snow is all over the sidewalks; EXCEPT for all around the US Embassy. Yeah, that's right...we actually SHOVEL snow! LOL

We took a walk down the major shop street in Dublin after dinner before heading back to town...this old man playing the whistle was great!!! Now we know how Santa occupies his time before making his run! ;)

And of course, there's a Leprechaun in Dublin...

Speaking of the girls...

Not that I'm not ready to dedicate every post to Isaac or anything, because he's just cute as a button!, but I thought I'd give you a quick glimpse of what the girls have been doing through all of this. I know I've put on here before how they're becoming SUCH good friends and playing so well together. Well, tonight after dinner, they went in the kitchen and we heard a bunch of singing so I peeked around the corner to see what they were up to...

Hannah and Cailyn come to meet Isaac

Oh, what a GREAT night last night! Hannah and Cailyn were able to come to the hospital last night and visit Isaac for the first time, and boy were they happy!!! Isaac was in great form, and loved meeting his sisters. He really did act like he knew them! Both girls got to hold him, and it was just a great time...the first time our whole family was together! As I combed through all the pictures that were taken, tears have come many times because I am SO incredibly blessed with a wonderful family!

A big thank you also to our friends W & D who have been watching the girls, really since all this started for us Tuesday morning, and they were our photo/video crew for the event...guys, this week has been really amazing with all the help you've given us. We appreciate you so much!!

Anyway...enough talk! How 'bout those pictures!!!! ;)

Hannah seeing him for the first time

And then Cailyn's turn

Both girls really were anxious to give him kisses!

Hannah getting to hold him for the first time

And then Cailyn got her chance. She was so taken with him!

Isaac was so thoughtful and brought them princess dolls as presents!!

Isaac needed a little help from his sisters opening their gifts to him...

First picture of 5 member Deibel Crew

Cailyn got another chance to hold him before we headed home

Amazing how tiny he is, huh? I love this picture of us!!

Sweet picture of the new big sister holding her brother

Not sure if you can tell but Hannah REALLY loves her new brother! Love this shot!!!!

Photo shoot with Hannah...

I decided to take Hannah to one of our favorite spots this afternoon and practice some different techniques. Some of the shots came out pretty good! Enjoy!

When she's asked to smile pretty, she goes all out!

LOVE this one!!

Caught in the tree...