Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Yes, Christmas and New Years is over and most of you are now focused on the upcoming Valentines Day celebration, but we did want to share our Christmas photo's before we got too far behind! We had a great holiday split between the Laurienzo's of Prior Lake and the Kirschner's of Burnsville. Starting us off in the photo display is Talia, our sleeping ballerina!

Giving Jessica Simpson's fashion line a run for it's money, Talia displays her own personal PJ creation. Footy pajama's with the purple tutu.

Not to be out-shined in the creative department, Vinny displays the Ginger Bread house he created with his Dad at a holiday party.

Christmas at the Prior Lake Laurienzo's started off with Ellie opening the wrong present. Ellie liked it so much, Santa saved the day and brought her one later that night!

Baby Alive.....sweet!

Here is Alissa waiting patiently for her turn.

Vinny lost in a sea of presents.....

Brian's great Aunt (Zia) Stella. She just loves presents!

Hockey Skates!

Here Vinny thanks Zia for the Christmas money that she gave him.

Mickey is all set up for the Twins opener in 2011.....now he just needs the tickets!

This Christmas thing is great.....

They sure do make you work at this!

Justin Biebers little brother.... ha.

Grandpa Bob in his favorite chair.

Joseph McDonald, Grandma Diana, Talia, Maria McDonald, Grandpa Bob, Vinny

Vinny, Auntie Liv, and Talia

Another Twins fan ready to go for 2011.

Vinny helps his dad shovel off the deck to make room for Dad's new grill!

New Years Eve out with the Franklin's.... Good times!

While Mom and Dad went out with the Franklins, Vinny and Talia decided they wanted to go to Grandma and Grandpa Kirschner's house.

Ohh ya....good idea to go to Grandma and Grandpa's....

Everyone needs a little fresh air, even in the winter time!

Getting a little stir crazy!

Talia had her Kindergarten assessment shortly after New Years. Here she is taking her eye exam with special Blue's Clue's glasses!

That is all we have for now! We hope everyone has a terrific 2011!

Pre-Christmas

Right after returning from vacation the pre-Christmas festivities were already underway!

This year we started our decorating early and put out the mantle and bannister garland before we left for vacation. However, we did save the Christmas tree project for after we returned home. Vinny just loves to decorate the tree!

JoAnne and Bob's annual Christmas party was another pre-Christmas highlight that we just love! Here is Talia and her cousin, Ellie getting into the Christmas spirit!

Whenever you decorate a Christmas cookie it is always "standard" that you taste test the frosting and the sprinkles. Any good decorator would know this.

Hmm. The three Stooges? The three Wisemen? Huey, Dewey, and Louie?

The best thing about this annual party is that Santa always comes for a visit! Showing that there is ALWAYS room for improvement, Vinny made the "Nice" list this year. Last year, not so much.

Ellie was so excited to see that even though she forgot to tell Santa she wanted a webkins, he just knew!

Let the battles begin. Soooooo cool!

Scott won the ugliest sweater contest for a second year in a row. He has raised the bar on creativity. Brian was runner up. Next year it's ON! Can Scott pull off the Triple Crown?

Here Scott models his grand prize. A Superman snuggie! Way to go Junior!

Here we catch Jeff Skubic enjoying one of Meg Ball's famous Tiramisu cupcakes. Tis the season!

Here she is, the famous cupcake maker! Mmmmmm. Another terrific job Meg!

Talia and Celia were so excited to see they both had the exact same pair of pj's! A very festive choice girls!

Talia and Celia were quite the musical pair. They can sing, drum, and play harmonica. LOUDLY. Here Celia anxiously awaits her turn. No one cares if they share a harmonica, right? eww. Another great party at the Franklin house! Have a very merry Christmas and we will see you in a few weeks!

When You Wish Upon a Star

The Laurienzo's were ready to take their first "real" family vacation this November. With Brian's crazy travel schedule this year, the car accident and other everyday life stressors, we decided to take a week off and have some fun! The kids took their very first plane ride to Florida. We spent five days in Orlando and then drove south to Sarasota to spend Thanksgiving with one of my best friends, Beth Wexler and her family.

Getting ready to leave MSP

Vinny was excited but not sure what to expect. We think he liked it.

As we were landing the plane made a sudden drop. Talia said in a very loud voice " Ohhh that was just a little bit scary".

This is Sam Wexler. He came and joined us for a day at the Magic Kingdom!

Talia took quite a liking to Sam. Hmmm.

Vinny enjoying the "Toy Story" ride.

See what I mean?

The teacup ride. As you can see, Mom is missing from the picture. I don't do spinning and for good reason. While the kids were on the ride, someone in another teacup lost their lunch.

While Dad and Vinny were on Space Mountain, Talia and Mommy took a ride on the Merry-Go-Round.

We did ride Dumbo but it was easier to take our picture in the stunt double.

We only took like 100 of these and we didn't even use it on the Christmas card.

My friend, Beth, with Talia in our hotel pool.

Vinny and Sam displaying their synchronized swimming talents.

Vinny loved the pirate ship pool. This hotel resort was awesome!

Stay tuned for hoola-hoop video. Sam is the "Master" Hoola-hooper, however, Vinny has his own style which I would describe as manic. It's a must see.

Talia loves anything "princess"

One of things Vinny wanted to see in Florida was the ocean. Once we got to Sarasota, we hit the beach.

She sells seashells by the seashore.

Ahhh. Taking a little snooze on Daddy. This Florida thing was great. Can't wait to do it again soon!