December Fun

We had a great time in December! Dan's parents visited for the kid's school vacation and we had a lot of fun together (minus the stomach flu that went through the family person by person....). 

Hanukkah came and went and the kids had so much fun getting presents, lighting the menorah, eating latkes, playing the dreidle game, and sharing our traditions with friends.  They are finally at an age where they really understand the holidays and the history and it so wonderful to share in it together.


Here are a few pics to share from December fun:

New beginnings.... and more frequent blogging (hopefully)

Well, we've been sorely slacking on the blog front for a while now. Just living day-to-day life, and keeping very busy with our family of 5 here in Oklahoma.  We have some great news now, and we are looking forward to sharing our experiences with our family and friends once again!

This fall, Dan will be attending the Tuck School of Business to study for an MBA! So we are packing up our family, and heading to New Hampshire.  We are so excited and can't wait for this opportunity.  Dan will be leaving active duty in the Navy, hopefully transitioning to the reserves in a nearby reserve unit.   We are a bit bittersweet about leaving the home we built and school where our children have grown up and spent so much of their time, but we are so excited for what the future holds!

And, we are starting to stock up on cold-weather gear. Bring on the snow!

Lauren's First Time Eating Real Food

The other night Margaret let Lauren taste some real food - mashed up bananas. Lauren was ambivalent (at best) about the new food and taste. We'll have to try again in a few weeks!

Dinner Pal

Checkout who joined us for dinner the other night.

Allison loved watching her eat, before moving on to our neighbor's backyard.

Ethan's Buzz Cut

Today Ethan got his first buzz cut. Unfortunately it wasn't intentional. Luckily Ethan cares more about which lollipop he gets at the barber shop than what type of haircut he gets.

Ethan before.

Ethan afterward. Ya, he couldn't care less.

Allison's 6th Birthday Party

Today Allison had her 6th birthday party at a local painting studio. Ten of Allison's girlfriends came to paint an adorable penguin. Fun was had by all!

Allison painting away. Hmmm, I think one arm may be a bit longer than the other. I'm sure that's just me though.

The painters showing off their beautiful work.

Allison loving life while her friends sing 'Happy Birthday' to her!

Somehow the girls lost interest in painting when Lauren woke up. Hmm, I wonder at what age they can start baby sitting.

Yum!

Disney Baltic and North Sea Cruise!

To top off our time in Europe we (along with Dan's parents) headed off for a 12 night Disney cruise in the Baltic and North Sea in early July. Luckily we had perfect weather, smooth seas, and plenty of stuff to do. In the summer sunrise is at 4 am and the sun stays up until as late as 11pm!

Disney had the "service thing" down pat and seems to know a thing or two about kids. Seriously, Allison wanted a steak one night and presto: steak delivered to the table with a waiter who cut it up into kid-sized pieces and then made Mickey Mouse ears with the ketchup. Ethan absolutely loved the kids' pool and would spend up to 5 hours a day in there - coming out only to eat a bite of chicken fingers or fruit. Then again, you can't blame the kid since he found the section of the pool where the "older" girls were hanging out. Time and time again he played the cute card to strike up a conversation with a 7 or 8 year old. What can I say, the kid has game.

What was so nice about the cruise was the Kids' Club - a section of the ship where you can drop off the kids (all day if you wanted to) to do various activities, meet the Disney characters, and play with some Disney folks who seemed to love my kids more than I do. Of course, Allison's favorite activity was meeting the Disney princesses. For some reason that never got old to her.

Twelve nights gave us the opportunity to visit 7 countries - Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Russia, and England. The first few countries saw Bleichers young and old depart the Disney Magic ship, but by the second set of countries only the adults left the ship whereas the kids preferred to stay at the Kids' Club - can you say perfecto!

Here are some pictures from the ship (pics of the port calls to follow).

Meeting the Disney princesses in the lobby each evening never seemed to get old to Allison. Can't say the same for all of us!

Papa and Dan hanging out on the deck as the ship departs Germany.

Ethan didn't know what to make of many of the Disney characters, but he ran to meet Chip and Dale. Funny, I think that was his first time ever seeing Chip and Dale.

Papa and Gega hanging out with Ethan on the ship's deck as we navigate through the Norwegian fjord south of Oslo.

Allison and Ethan crushing Mickey Mouse.

We are in our stateroom sleeping as Papa and Gega took the kids to a character breakfast this morning. Don't worry though, we hit an unreal champagne brunch sans children a few hours later.

Allison resting for a moment before continuing to run up and down the deck, oblivious to the gorgeous Swedish archipelago passing by in the background. The island chain includes upwards of 24,000 islands of all shapes and sizes.

Allison about to say good night to Woody.

The ship had kid friendly shows each evening. This night Allison volunteered to go up on stage and participate! No idea what that ship did to our shy little Allison.

As luck would have it, just a day before the cruise Ethan took a nasty spill at the playground. He was holding a toy in each of his hands and opted to protect the toys as he fell down...at the expense of his face. It made him look pretty tough though!

Ethan's New Favorite Song

Here's Ethan's new favorite song. Can't say it isn't cute...

Landscapin'

As some of you know, we rented our house out while we were in Italy these past two years. The tenants were great about paying rent, but not so good about keeping the house up to Bleicher Standards!

So as soon as Dan got home he got to work on the landscaping. Here are a few before and after pics. I'm sure Dan will fill those beds with annuals come Spring! We'll upload some pics of the interior soon!

Halloween!!

Halloween in Oklahoma is more than just trick-or-treating - it's Storybook Forest, pumpkin patches, and yes, some trick-or-treating too! Above you can see the house with the gazillion pumpkins the kids "had" to have.

Ethan waiting patiently for some "customers" as the kids called them.

Allison and Ethan getting ready to trick-or-treat with Chloe and Chase!

Ethan found covering dad's eyes while crossing the bustling street was even more entertaining than getting free candy.

Allison preparing to help daddy carve a pumpkin.

A and E going crazy at Orr Family Farm. Of course we are partly to blame since both had 2 cupcakes about 30 minutes prior to this picture!

The kids continuing to work off those cup cakes on a giant air mattress.

Back in the US of A !!

Well it has been a while since we've posted anything, but we figured now is as good a time as any! We are settled back in Edmond, Oklahoma and enjoying life! Dan is busy at work in the squadron (VQ-3), Margaret is racing around town trying to entertain two energetic kids, Allison is having a blast in kindergarten, and Ethan is (in his own words) "crazy."

Here comes a slew of pictures from the month of October!

Here are some pics of Allison's first ever field trip! The class went to a farm south of Oklahoma City for some hay rides, pumpkin patch games, corn field mazes, and a petting zoo. Dan followed the bus and was a chaperon for the day. It was wild watching little Allison get off the big school bus!

Mrs. Hall's kindergarten class!

Allison resting on a bale of hay with her prized pumpkin (she picked it in the field!).

Allison and a friend trying to find their way through the corn field maze!

So tall!!

Ciao Europe!

After two incredible years living in Europe, here are most of the places we visited:

Austria

Kitzbuhel

Saltzburg

Belgium

Bruges

Brussels

Ghent

Czech Republic

Prague

England

London

Greenwich

France

Annecy

Beaune

Chamonix (Part I and Part II)

Normandy

Paris

Germany

Garmisch

Munich

Oberammergau

Warnemünde

Hungary

Budapest

Ireland

Aran Islands

Dingle

Doolin

Dublin

Italy

Assisi

Bellagio

Capri

Castellina in Chianti

Cinque Terre

Cortona

Florence

Greve in Chianti

Lucca

Matera

Montecassino

Montepulciano

Orvieto

Paestum

Perugia

Pisa

Positano

Ravello

Roccarosa

Rome

San Giminangno

Siena

Sorrento

Todi

Veranna

Vietri sul Mar

The Vatican

Russia

St. Petersburg

Norway

Oslo

Sweden

Stockholm

Estonia

Tallinn

Denmark

Copenhagen

Ethan's Bee

Ethan and Dan are at the playground when...

Ethan (quite upset): "Daddy, a bee flew into my ear!!"

Dan quickly checks Ethan over, but finds no evidence of a bee or insect for that matter. "Ethan, I don't see any bee...you're okay, go play."

Ethan (now becoming frustrated by his father's incompetence): "No daddy, the bee flew INTO my ear and went into my tummy."

Dan: speechless

Ethan (starting to get upset as he realizes...): "Daddy, the bee is going to eat my food."

Allison (in a matter of fact tone): "Oh Ethan, it's okay. The bee will only eat a little bit and then fly out."

Dan: still speechless

Lake Como/Bellagio

Last weekend we flew up to Milan and drove an hour north to Lake Como. Margaret found a great apartment in Bellagio, which we used as our base to explore the scenic lake towns nestled into mountains. It was the perfect time of year to be in Lake Como since the gardens were full of plants in full bloom and the weather was awesome (80 degrees and clear skies!). Given that the towns had plenty of palm trees, we were surprised to see snow capped mountains along the lake.

The gardens in Varenna offered spectacular views of large villas overlooking the pristine, turquoise, and clear waters of Lake Como.

Departing Varenna, heading back to Bellagio for dinner. So colorful!

A & E devouring homemade gelato after lunch. This gelateria (Gelateria la Giazzera) served cinnamon gelato that was unreal!

The ole' family taking a ferry from Bellagio to Varenna. This was a passenger-only ferry, however you could also take your car on larger ferry boats. It appeared by "car", the locals mean your Ferrari or Maserati.

Allison was in heaven with all of the flowers lining the lake.

The final boat of the evening arrives in Bellagio.

Allison in the gardens just outside of town.

Allison looks like she got a little color today. She also looks like she's about ready for a nap.

Ethan patiently waiting for mom to bring him breakfast on Sunday morning.