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!

Vinny's 6th Birthday

Happy Birthday Vinny! What a party! Our Sunday started out early with lot's of party prep. At 11am all of Vinny's friends gathered at the Eagan Police Department for a tour of the station. Officer Bob showed us all around. Following the tour, we went back to the house for a birthday lunch and then all the kids went into the backyard to play Nerf dart tag! The kids had a good time despite the gloomy weather. Of course there was lot's of cake and presents too. What a great time. After that party was over, we had two hours to prep for the family party that followed. We ordered pizza's and had more cake and ice cream and more presents. Vinny said he had a great day.... and we did too!

Vinny requested that Mom make Strawberry cupcakes for his party.

Officer Bob

Talia and her Papa Mickey

In this picture, Officer Bob is showing the kids the way to the holding cell, or as everyone else likes to call it, JAIL!

Here are all the kids sitting in a jail cell. Hmm. Which ones do you think will be back there in 12 years?

Vinny's friend, George, poses for a mug shot!

# 4.... Please step forward. ha ha...

Enjoying the view from the back seat of the police car. Cha cha...you are looking too comfortable in there!

The kids thought it was great fun to be piled into the back seat of a squad car. I wonder if they will think it's that fun the next time it happens?

Dart Tag

So many presents. This is great!

The birthday girl and birthday boy.

Presents...round two.

One of Vinny's presents was a real live Betta fish. Why Betta? Because they are Betta than a Goldfish! ha ha... Vinny named him Billy.

Happy Birthday Vinny!

Easter 2010

I know that it's been a few weeks since Easter, but we have been very busy in the Laurienzo house! First there was Talia's birthday, then Easter, then I left for Washington DC, Brian just started a new job and now we are busy planning a fun birthday party for Vinny and his friends. So, Enjoy our Easter photos and stay tuned for Vinny's birthday pix!

The day before Easter, Talia took part in her first Easter egg coloring.

Little did we know that you do NOT put vinegar in the pink dye. We would still be wondering why the pink didn't stick to the egg until we read the Maras blog and discovered that is the reason why!

Vinny takes his egg decorating very seriously.

This is really fun and so far we have only broken two eggs.

My masterpiece!

On Easter Sunday, Grandma D brought over a special Bunny cake just for us! Thanks Grandma!

Let the egg hunt begin!

Vinny was looking high and low.... he found a ton!

Time to see what we got!

Sharing my candy with Grandpa Bob. Ok..not really sharing, but whatever.

Nice.

Mommy and her kids on Easter Sunday!

M & M's. They melt in your mouth, not in your hands. BS. As you can see from Talia's face, the slogan should be: Numa nums. Melt all over your mouth and in your hands.

Talia, Maria, Vinny

Talia, Maria, Vinny, and Joe..

Joe and Maria McDonald. They are growing up so fast!

Grandma and Grandpa Kirschner and their grandchildren.

Ok. This has nothing to do with Easter, but on my quick trip to Washington DC, I did manage to squeeze in a trip to see the White House. It was storming in DC and I was able to get this picture right before the big downpour!

While I was in DC I was lucky enough to be able to hook up with Brian's cousin, Joy, and her husband Julio! They took time out of their busy schedules to drive me around and show me some sights and take me out to dinner to a fabulous Italian restaurant! Thank you so much! I look forward to seeing you again in August at the family reunion!