Katie's Wedding Shower

One of the main reasons we came to Wisconsin this summer was for Karl & Katie's wedding celebration and I am so glad we arrived early enough to attend her wedding shower from the Gesch side.  We had a great time and check out Naomi in the "wedding dress".  

As you can see, all the babies & Naomi got to enjoy the shower as well

I know the pictures are dark, but this is the blanket/hope chest that my dad made for Katie (& Karl).  Isn't it beautiful?  Continuing in the tradition of how Grandpa Gesch made hope chests for the granddaughters.  Grandpa Gesch continued with Grandma's tradition of filling it with all kinds of fun and practical gifts for the couple.  

Katie received a few aprons!  :)

The two teams--Naomi and Brynn (sp?) were the models, but only 1 can win and...

Naomi's team won!  What a little beauty she is!  Oh and Katie too of course!!  :)

Holland Fest!

What a blast we had at Holland Fest this year.  All 8 kids (all under 6) were dressed in their Dutch costumes which were made by mom and Erika--hats made with help from Aunt Laura.  It was a beautiful day for it, and the kids did great--although we discovered Savannah is not a fan of loud noises and kept her hands over her ears for most of the parade.  Also... this was the day Evie came down with her ear infections and bronchitis.  :)  Still, they both had a fantastic, first of many, Holland Fest.  

The hairbraiding begins (above)  and SpiderMan appears after Friday's Holland Fest

Savannah in her Dutch costume minus the hat and no klompen this year

The three babies together 

The Bergmeister (sp? mom) has declared the streets are filthy and need cleaning!  

Let the street scrubbing begin!  (Katie above with Diana)

Aww... taking a break to give hugs--I think this is Savannah but could be Marcy.. :)

BJ and Naomi were pros at this!

A pile of kids enjoying the parade together

I love this one of Karl and BJ!  

Savannah above and Marcy below, again, I think... :)

Tessa Mae is exhausted after the festivities and takes a snooze in the car :)

Let the after-festivities begin at Oma and Opa's house!  

Evie was trying on her tutu that Katie made for the babies for the wedding

Goofy, exhausted, clothesless children enjoying being together

The three toddlers (and BJ) 

WISCONSIN TRIP SUMMER 2012

Here we go again--this will take several posts and probably several days!  And these are just the Wisconsin trip pics.  Enjoy!

A quick few pics

Enjoy a few pictures from the wedding--it will be awhile before I post more, but here are a few from that day... it was a beautiful wedding and reception and we are so excited for Katie joining our family!--the children behaved great despite the picture below of Savannah..

                              (below) the 6 original siblings!  It will be a long time before we are all together again!