Halloween 2010

Hope Everyone had a happy Halloween this year! Below are some pictures to show off some of the fun we had!

Posing for a fall picture at the Pumpkin Patch

Talia has developed a fear of parades (mascots) not to mention buttons, so she hung out with her Daddy, Jeff, and Bob a little further back from the action.

Vinny and Mom watching the parade up close

Vinny, Gianna (GG), Jo Anne, Celia (CC), and Erin

Talia (TT) hanging in the back away from the "aminals"

Vinny looking closely for candy

Here CC and Vinny wait patiently for some candy to come their way. Let's hope they get some before all those candy hogs scoop it up.

Talia got a little braver toward the end.

RRRRRRARHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Back at the Skubics....treats, more treats...and silly faces!

Erin bought some necklace crafts and Vinny shows off his creation. We won't talk about what happened to CC's necklace when she asked her Mom to tie the string. Poor CC.

GG, Jo Anne, and CC doing crafts...(actually that is CC hard at work re-stringing her necklace).

The Halloween Party hosts: Jeff, Erin, and Celia

Here Jeff shows off his latest dance moves to the girls

Taking pictures is so much fun....

Halloween night. Right after the Vikings game. Ohhh TT, are you sad they lost?

NOPE! Just tired from all the Halloween festivities!

TT and her Daddy...

Katelyn (TT's best friend) and TT, getting ready to go out and get some candy!

They even decided to be the same thing!

Anakin (Vinny) and Miss Kitty (TT)

Talia did a great job trick or treating. When she came home she was so tired, we didn't even know she went upstairs by herself and put herself to bed, crocs and all. Candy collecting for two days straight can really wear a girl out.

Kidz Bop Throwdown

State Fair 2010

This year we celebrated our 10th year at the Leinie Lodge and can't believe it's already in the books! It's always great to see all of our friends and family that stop by to say hello.

Business was good this year. This picture shows how people are willing to line up for a cool refreshing beer!

Bob's sister, Sis, is seen here with Fairchild. You all remember Sis..she ran the back counter at the Beer Stube for years!

During the State Fair one of my best friends came home from Florida for her class reunion and I was able to sneak away from the Leinie Lodge for a night out with Beth! We had way too much fun and it was so great to be together again!

Vinny and Talia were very excited to be back at the fair this year.

Talia loved the rides in what she called "Hello Kiddyland". Thankfully, her cousin Maria, was nice enough to go on some of the rides with her.

Vinny helps Talia pick out a duck in the duck pond game.

Vinny had no interest in any rides at all. Vinny prefers the games of chance in the Mighty Midway.

Another fishing game. Another prize. Check out the stash in Brian's hands.

One way to cool off during a 95 degree day at the fair is to have your Uncle Paul set you down on an ice cold keg of beer!

Maria has the "cheese touch"

Talia has a kiss for the Daddy that she has been missing so much!

In case you are wondering, Vinny came into work early with his Mom and Dad and Talia came later, which is why she is missing from this little family portrait.

More games.....

More rides..... Love this picture because I only captured the top part of the "warning" sign. Looks like TT shouldn't be on that thing!

Talia loves the "ferrist wheel" as she calls it. Not sure who the boy is next to her, but she doesn't care. She just loves to ride.

Another state fair has come and gone. Hope to see you all at the next Great Minnesota Get-Together!

July and early August 2010

Just a few pictures from July and early August. Brian left right after the 4th of July for a business trip to Australia. Since he was gone over his birthday, the kids took a picture wishing their Daddy a happy birthday and left it on the camera he was using on his trip. Their Daddy loved seeing a picture of his kids when he was so far away from home!

Carolyn's first trip to Target Field. We all had a great time!

Papa Mickey's first trip to Target Field too!

Here is the one picture we have from the family reunion in Hibbing, MN. Talia was having so much fun it's hard to believe that about 10 hours later she got the stomach flu and was out of commission the rest of the weekend.

Here is a picture of Talia on our drive back home to the cities. We decided to come home a day early so she could sleep in her own bed.

Summer 2010

I guess you could say that this summer is getting away from us! Brian is traveling quite a bit with his new job. Although I am traveling more now too, I can't say that I am going to all the glamorous places that Brian is! The kids are still having a great summer and so I will post some recent and maybe not so recent pictures for you to see. I am sure our next blog post won't be until after that Great Minnesota Get Together, but ya, never know!

Vinny and the neighbor kids, Charlie and Allison.

While Brian was in DC, Carolyn took the kids to Cloquet for the weekend. Here is TT in Grandma Tina's kitchen.

That Saturday we packed a picnic lunch and headed for Park Point. Although it was late June, the weather that day was very cold and rainy. We were all disappointed and freezing.

We took a few quick pictures before we ran out of there. Here is TT all bundled up in a blanket.

Vinny was braver than the rest of us, but he got cold too.

Enough of this. Let's go to Sammy's Pizza.

Since the lake was a bust, we stopped and had pizza and then made an emergency trip to Target to purchase some Lego's. Here we see Zia translating the directions from English to Italian....

When all the giggling stopped, I peeked in to see why it was so quiet....

The third of July. Prior Lake. Vinny holds Emmy..the cutest little dog ever!

Emmy and Talia became best friends. It's the only dog that didn't come nose to nose with TT.

Vinny has become quite the swimmer and spent the entire day swimming with the big kids and playing on the giant water tramp...or, as Talia calls it...the water balloon.

Huddled on the boat.

A very tired girl.

Our friends house on Prior Lake. Beautiful.

A nice relaxing boat ride....maybe too relaxing.

Fourth of July. Knapp house in Rosemount. First fireworks of the night. Talia's face says it all.

Same place, different year... the pictures almost stay the same. Except for the kids get a little bigger each time. Sigh.

After awhile, Talia decided to head indoors. Too loud. Too scary.

Watching the big boys light fireworks.

While the fireworks were going on outside, inside we had Talia and Lyla practicing their cheerleader moves.

After the sidewalk fireworks, the boys and Calli headed back into the pool. They swam from 2:00 -10:00pm. How cool is it to swim in the dark with bright colorful fireworks popping up from every side? Soooo cool.

Calli, Vinny, and Connor, holding hands and going in for the tandem jump... in the dark.... this is so awesome! Hope everyone had safe and happy fourth of July!