Preparing for Turkey Day

Dominic, my clean one, did not want to paint his hand to make turkey art so he traced his hand and colored it in!


Gianna and Kinzley loved painting their hands and making the turkeys!
Glitter glue was a huge hit!

At preschool Dominic made Gianna a neclace. His teacher said that it was all his own idea and he spent quite a bit of time threading the beads on the neclaces. Unfortunately someone accidently took the one he made for G out of his cubby...he was so disappointed! But he made her another one at home with beads his teacher gave him. They are so thankful to have each other!

Mornings with G

The other morning I head Gianna talking to herself in her bed. We let her stay in there for a while in the morning...she sings, talks to herself, reads a book in her crib, bounces...anything she can think of. Well on this particular morning I could hear a slightly louder voice than usual saying, "NO, MY MOMMA, O-TAY?" She was repeated this over and over. I think she was arguing with someone... not sure who exactly!

She is such an amazing morning greeter..there is seriously no way I could have a grumpy morning after going in to her room and hearing the "Hi momma" in her excited little voice. She puts her arms around my neck and wants kisses on "dis side," now "dis side" as she turns her head back and forth. Her next question is always " Daddy week (work)?" and "Wheer Dom?"

Then we walk out to the kitchen, she takes her place on the counter, and we cook the eggs...every morning!

I love the mornings!

The little things...

I was working at The Barn Girl's Boutique all weekend and so Daddy had the kids all weekend by himself. He said he had the best time...just him and the kids. They went to the little holiday bazaar at Dominic's preschool and had hotdogs, visited Mommy at The Barn Girl's (and made her day by running down the hall with oustretched arms calling "MOMMY!"), and then on Sunday they went to a movie- Madagascar 2. He said it was the cutest thing to watch how excited and appreciative they were...Dom was running around the theater foyer saying "this way, this way, over here" and Gianna danced in the aisle during the movie. (She cannot keep her little body from moving and shakin' when music comes on.) Then Gianna shared a seat with Dom and kept looking at Vinny with a huge smile- as if to say, "This is the best Daddy!" Dominic was thrilled that he got to share a pop with Daddy. (That a big deal at our house.) When I got home in the evening the kids ran to the door, spilling over with excitement about all that they had done. Gianna used a lot of hand motions and facial expressions as she babbled along after Dom. They were so happy to have these little foam ornaments from the preschool, and showed me how they danced at the movie. (Nick was not here this weekend.)
On Saturday night our family went up to the Langston's to celebrate Shelley's birthday with dinner and a bonfire. Usually we would spend the night there when it gets so late, but we knew we had a big day on Sunday so we got the kids up from sleeping and carried them to the car. I thought they would conk out on the drive home, (since it was 11 pm) but when I looked back through the darkness and intermittent street lights there was G...swaying back and forth to the music. It was so sweet.
Sunday morning was so calm...we all read books together...those kids would have us read the whole bookshelf if we would let them! Gianna is really starting to "read." She will look at books that we have read to her, and say the words that go with the pages as she turns them...she remembers the important vocabulary! (Exciting for a teacher mom!) Dominic is very into nonfiction- dinosaurs and vehicles!
Tonight Vinny and I were talking about how lucky we are that our kids are so thankful for the little things (you would think we were going to Disneyland when I get them new toothbrushes!) and who are so enthusiastic about what life has to offer them. We hope we can continue to instill in them how truly blessed we are, and..."the best things in life aren't things."

Soccer Days

Dominic and best buddy Pryce...there was a lot of wrestling, hugging, and silliness on the soccer field this first season! Nick is in the background- reffing the game (he has never played soccer, but hey, we will take any ref we can get at this stage of the game!)

This picture may sum it all up...in the middle of the last game Dominic sits down and poses for a picture! As you can see he took the game of soccer very seriously...or NOT!

At his soccer banquet his coach complimented his running skills! He was very good at running up and down the field...kicking the ball? Well, that would be next year's goal to work on! Dominic was so excited to get his first real trophy! It was a bobblehead soccer player- very sophisticated! Trophies have come a long way since I played sports as a youngster.

Frosting Cookies

The kids helped me bake sugar cookies, and had a blast frosting and sprinkling them! They probably ate as much frosting as they put on cookies! Gianna spread a little, licked a little...Dom was much more serious about his frosting duties!

New Style of Men's Haircut...Have you seen it?

Vinny's new haircut! Ok- this was too funny to pass up! My husband usually has me cut his hair, but as time got away from us, he ended up doing it one morning (in a hurry) before going off to work...I was asleep as he clippered away! When he got home from work, he gave me a hug and kiss, and turned to walk down the hall. This was the view I got as he walked down the hall! He had left a whole patch uncut, didn't know it, and no one said anything to him at work! I could not stop laughing!

Uncle Dan Surprises Us

CHEESE! We love grandma!

The boys had a great time visiting with Uncle Dan...they were all over him! (He's a pretty cool Uncle!)

Cuddling up with Uncle Dan! It was such a treat to have Uncle Dan come up with Grandma and Grandpa for a weekend visit! We had missed hanging out with him...as you can see the kids couldn't get enough! All of the boys went golfing together- the little ones loved riding in the cart with Grandpa. All of the girls went shopping. It was our first outing together with just the girls (Grandma, Mommy and G) getting coffee, shopping, walking downtown...such fun! Gianna knew it was a special occasion because she was on her best behavior...on second thought, she does turn into an angel around Grandma, no matter how un-angel-like she was acting prior to Grandma's presence. Grandma is such a present to us!

Buckin' Bronco!

Dominic rode the buckin' bronco (a.k.a Grandpa) with caution.

Woo-hoo! We could not get Nick off of the buckin' bronco- he kept going back for more!

And of course, Gianna was NOT to be left out of the rough-housing! She loves the wrestling and rough play...NO FEAR that one!

When Grandpa comes to visit there is massive chaos and loudness...but fun for all!

Proud of our Marine Corp. Daddy

The kids and I went to Vinny's Veteran's Day assembly at his school. The kids loved seeing him dressed up in his "costume." Vinny is a proud Marine, and served our country in the Gulf War. We are so proud of him! Each of the grade levels sang a song from one of the 5 military branches. As the classes were singing Gianna was dancing around to the songs! She stole everyone's hearts! Dominic wore his Marine Corp. hat to be like his Daddy...but took it off at the assembly to be respectful.

Halloween Fun

My two guys!...Ready for ACTION!

My little mini-me!

Two best buddies-Nick and Payton

Best buddies- Pryce and Dominic

Gianna loves her older friend "OPIE" (Hope)

A friendly shark ready to take a big bite out of candy!

All of the kids (except G, since we had to take that sassy cat home) collecting the goods downtown Sequim.

Our three...shark, sassy cat (and we do mean sassy), and Napoleon Dynamite!
Nick had his picture taken at a coffee stand where the coffee girls could not get over how CUTE he was! They were loving him! I think he kind of liked it too...with his little embarrassed smile!

Gianna and her friend Kinsley, collecting a free book in the morning. MEOW!

Here is the little kitty...so cute, but her claws did come out on this fun-filled day!