Sunday afternoon...

I am always receiving dandelion bouquets from this little one! She LOVES to pick them. I overheard Dom say today-"I just love dandelions. They are beautiful!" I guess beauty is surely in the eye of the beholder!

Changing things around...

Dom has been asking for a desk in his room for a while now so today I started rearranging furniture and made a desk area in his room. (We have a few desks at the house:)) Luckily when he asked for a desk, we didn't have to buy one since I have picked up so many at garage sales! Vinny gets annoyed at all of my treasures that I bring home from the sales...but look! today we didn't have to try to find a desk... we had one!!! (and I had the curtains, tension rod, and home-made whiteboard!!!) Of course when Dom got a desk in his room, little sister NEEDED a desk in her room too:)

Yup- had one for her too! As you can see, she decorated in her way around the desk...trying to keep my mouth closed...

In the mood for change...

Been painting up some of our outdoor furniture... sanding some of the garage sale finds sitting in our garage...getting ready to paint... sitting and staring at the rooms in the house... what can I do for CHEAP???? We have been investing in the outside of the house lately (plants etc), and there are sooooo many things I want to do INSIDE!!! Patience is a virtue, but nobody ever said it was one of mine. I have other really great virtues...loyalty, honesty, trustworthiness, strong convictions, protector of family and friends, loving, compassion, big heart, empathy...(my husband just gave these to me:)) but again, patience is NOT my virtue! So it is KILLING me right now...all these projects and plans in my head, and knowing I have to WAIT to invest in them! This may be a time I wouldn't mind being rich with endless amounts of cash. Truthfully I would not want to have a bottomless pit of money (too many obligations and expectations I don't want to fulfill)...except in certain situations-making my home homey, traveling whenever I felt like it, (especially to visit family and not having to worry about expense), and funding my children's education-that is what I would love to not worry about! So trying to be patient and work on that character trait is hard...especially when I want to create a backyard oasis!!! Anyhoo...

6 Pack Bday dinner

Getting ready to head out for my bday dinner with the 6-Pack.

We thought it was funny we were following a cop on the way to dinner-guess you had to be there!

fourth and one- in the parking lot, on the way into dinner!

this pic just cracks me up:) LOVE

Hanging out with Grandpa and Grandma

It is always a flurry of activity and excitement from the moment that Grandpa and Grandma arrive! They bring hugs, smiles, goodies, presents...

Gianna just loves to crack Grandpa up! Grandpa can get Dom and G soooooo wild!!

new cushions for spring! please ignore the mess in my "office closet!"

aaaahhhhh new bedding and new paint makes me happy!!

Spiffin' up the outside...

G (and Dom) love hanging out with Grandpa while he works! They were sitting there while eating lunch, taking a break, and just chattin'. I'm bugged this picture is blurry...but here is the fire pit my dad made for us when he came up to visit! Thanks Dad!! We love bonfires and sitting around the fire and so this is just in time!! G was riding in the back of Vinny's truck across our back field and she was standing up (against orders) and hurt her nose...she came out all bandaged up! First outside meal of the year -taking a break from the planting and working. Planted a bunch of shrubs and flowers on the back deck-looks way better! Thanks mom and auntie gail for your contributions to our gardening effort!!

Vince worked hard on getting all the new plants into the flower beds that he and Nick dug out and put new dirt in last week.

The ones we chose will get much bigger and fill in the spaces over time...hard to wait, but plants are expensive!!! so slowly we will get this place looking how we want!

Turning 34

Today I turned 34 and it was a great day! The sun was shining down and little special things popped in my path all day! I got many beautiful renditions of the birthday song sung to me, sweet cards from friends and family, thoughtful breakfast and dinner layed out beautifully, treats on my chair at school...a great day all around! This little girl was so excited to open my door this morning and burst into song! Her sweet little voice was one of the best presents I could ever ask for! She got up early with Daddy to make a special breakfast and coffee, since the boys had made me cards the day before. Vince does such a great job of involving the kids and having them participate in these type of events.

Who wouldn't love coming home to these sweet kiddos each day? Lucky me!! 34 is going to be a great year!!

Just Goofin'...

How is that 2 little people can bring me so much joy?! I am constantly entertained by them and their antics! Tonight we just had fun playing around and taking funny pictures.

No matter what kind of day I have had, seeing these two faces lifts my spirits.

"Mom, take a picture of this!"

"Now take a picture of us dancing!"

Dom called me into the kitchen to show me a message he had made for me on the fridge...melted my heart:)

It's the little things that mean the most.

Snow fun

These four had a great morning running around in the snow before school the other week.

G loves hunting for icicles, and then licking them!

She played forever out in the snow by herself. After everyone else had gotten tired and had come in for hot cocoa, she was still traipsing around, having a ball!

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'...

Our first born, Dominic, turned 7...SEVEN YEARS OLD!!! How has this much time passed since he had chubby cheeks and was my little baby boy cooing at me???

I did not like 6, but I definitely do NOT like SEVEN! Seven sounds so very old and he is growing so fast. Time needs to slow down. All week, leading up to his birthday we talked about his birth story, what he was like as a baby, and looked at photo albums from years past.

The weather was crazy this year! The 2 days before his bday, school was cancelled due to massive amounts of snow! Thankfully, nothing can keep Grandma and Grandpa from being with their grandkids....no snow would hold back their little Subaru, "goat" of a car!

Grandpa and Grandma gave Dominic his first gun. He was so excited to have reached this milestone!

Ready to try it out!! (Oh yeah, that tattoo is from the week before!)

Uncle Jared and Aunt Toni sent Dominic an awesome sweatshirt and some money:) Kaden even wrote Dominic a sweet letter!

When I was decorating the night before, Dominic got really into it and started cutting out the number 7 too. He hung this one on the cabinet, and then all of the other ones he hung in his room. He was so excited!

Ready for the guests to arrive...

Rigo made a special message for Dom on the fridge.

Nourishing ourselves before heading out to rollerskate!!

Dom's buddies-so excited to celebrate with him!

I loved watching his expressions as everyone sang him happy birthday!

Yummy-ice cream cake!

Nerf guns are always a hit around this house!

Oh YEAH! Along with many other things, the Glassers knew the perfect gift for Dom- a headlight!

Special friends

Duct tape!! 3 ROLLS-the Langstons know how fast the kids use it around here! Fun colors too!

And can you tell he is happy about this???

Thanks Langstons!!

Waiting for the present from us...

time for a new bike!

Ready to GLOW and ROLL!!

The ROCKIN' Rollerskating Crew!

Thanks girls for celebrating with us and making it so festive for Dom!

Whole family skate!

This girl was so independent! She continuously politely refused our offers of holding her hand. She wanted to do it herself! "No thanks Mom."

This was Nick's first time skating...after hugging the wall for a while, he cautiously moved away and started having some fun!

I offered to hold his hand:) but surprisingly he said no! hmmm!

Vinny just grabbed his hand and didn't give him the choice! haha

I think the adults had as much fun as the kids!

YUP they're special all right!!

The glazed eyes are evidence of a fun, busy, day and night! Dom said it was his best birthday ever! I am so glad since we had to adjust a couple things, and were not even sure if we would be able to make it to the skating rink with the snowy roads. It turned out to be a fun, filled with love, laughter and family-friends time.