Spooktacular 2013

The Halloween season has officially begun in Italy!  Friday was a spectacular evening for Spooktacular 2013. The kids had a blast and MWR put on another amazing special event.

Mario and Luigi

 Emma and Camden with the Naples Wildcat

 Emma and La Delphina

 Cool dudes!

 Bob the Builder (Nina) was there, too!

Camden, Arianna, and Emma

Camden, Finn, and Brody

 Emma and Ellie were partners in the Toilet Paper Mummy contest

 Chris joined forces with his From The Bench partner, Darby

 Mummy Emma!

 The famous From the Bench team! Check out a podcast of their Monday morning radio show:

https://soundcloud.com/afn-naples/from-the-bench-oct-21-2013

 Meagan and Emma

 Chris, Ron, and Nate at their finest. 

With a photo bomb from Ellie :)

 I think they're ready to go home...

Thrift Shop Happy Hour Party

When the government shutdown at the beginning of the month, we started thinking of a fun theme party to mark the occasion.  Since some of our friends were furloughed during the shutdown and we are all unsure what our next paychecks will look like, we had a Thrift Shop Happy Hour.  

Wear the oldest thing in in your closet (that should be taken to the thrift shop) and clean out your fridge and cupboards. NO spending $! 

I still have the dress I wore for high school graduation and my shoes from senior prom. Chris has his high school letter jacket and soccer warm up jacket. He also found a Michael Jordan hat from the early 90's.

 A competitive gave of Pictionary: MWR vs. NES

 What would you guess Sherri drew?

kangaroo

 Cathy getting her team to focus!

 One classy group

 Jimmy, Nate, and Chris went to the airport dressed like this. Lucky for Abby, she arrived before them and did not have this waiting for her inside!

Vocabulary Hat Parade

The Vocabulary Hat Parade is a NES tradition each October.  Camden and Emma took full creative responsibility for their hats this year (and assisted me with my hat). 

Thank you, Sherri, for capturing hibernate and government during the parade!

Cefalu

We stayed along the northern coast of Sicily, just outside the town of Cefalu. 

Here is the beautiful cathedral that backs up to La Rocca de Cefalu 

 A go-cart grand prix through the streets of Cefalu

 Peek at the beach

 Sicilian snacks: Lemon granita, brioche, and cannoli

 We made it to the top of the rock!  It was H.O.T. in case you couldn't tell from the sweat dripping off of us. 

 What views!!!!!!!!

Savoca and Forza d' Agro, Sicily

Chris and are blessed with some amazing friends.  Thanks to Judi & Terry, Melissa, and Maddalena, we were able to take a getaway to Sicily for Columbus Day Weekend.
One of Chris' favorite movies is The Godfather. Over the past 12 years, he has been trying to get me to watch it. Alas, I always fall asleep (which thrills him to pieces). I did make it through the movie in a few sittings in honor of our trip.

We spent a day exploring the eastern part of the island.  Our first stop was Savoca.

 The famous Bar Vitelli

Wandering around town

 One magnificent view after another!

 We rented a 5-speed Fiat 500 for the weekend, which meant I was the fearless driver.  I backed down this dirt road after the GPS lead us on a "shortcut". I ought to know by now: when the GPS sends you down a dirt road, you don't listen to her!

 We made it to Forza d'Agro and wandered around this adorable mountain town.

That evening, we went to Catania and met up with Sigonella's CYP Director, Debbie.
 We  enjoyed a delicious Sicilian dinner at Risorante Fuedo Delizia.

Oktoberfest 2013

The German community from the NATO base hosted their annual Oktoberfest last night. We took a few iPhone pictures during the festivities.

"It must have been the mustard!"
A little inside joke from last year's Oktoberfest

Terry and Chris enjoying their beer

Camden crawled up on my lap and fell asleep

This will be a great picture to give Camden on his 21st birthday! ;) 

Bob and Chris

Diaconal Ordination

We had the honor of attending a special ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica. The Pontifical North American College ordained 41 Deacons during an amazing Mass.

 Our setting: the Alter of the Chair 

 We arrived 2 hours before Mass started to get good seats. 

 His Eminence James Cardinal Harvey celebrated the Mass

 The newly ordained, Deacon Mark Murphy

 The college hosted a wonderful reception after Mass. The guests supporting the 3 Deacons from the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa were out in full force.

Chris wore his Hawkeyes tie in honor of Deacon Mark

 Deacon Jeff Dole

 Father Mike Casey