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

Soccer Opening Day 2013

It's soccer season!  Emma and Camden are on the same team this year.  After coaching the high school girls last spring, Chris was itching to get back on the field.  He claimed the black and gold uniforms right away to go with our team name: The Hawkeyes :) 

My friend, Sherri, let me borrow her camera and I had a blast snapping over 200 pictures of the first game.  

It's a beautiful morning at Carney Park

 Mr. Price chasing after Emma

 The Hawkeyes are announced at opening ceremonies

 Chris let the kids pick out any jersey number they wanted. In true Kasparek fashion, Emma and Camden had to be original...

 Let the game begin!

You need to click on some of the pictures to enlarge them - Camden's facial expressions are priceless!

 A little sidelines talk from coach

Camden took over as goalie in the 2nd half

 Take a look where he stopped this ball - ouch!

 A pat on the shoulder for the goalie

 This boy can drop kick a ball!

 NO FEAR!

 After a few balls got by him, Camden needed a little pep talk from coach/dad