Great Time at the Great Wolf

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Making a splash at the Great Wolf Lodge

Having a great time at the GWL. Girls really do love it here. Thanks Mom-Mom for the gift card! Be home tonight with more pics.

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Everything from Diapers to Mattresses

Always amazes me how much one can actually get at Costco. Even mattresses? Nice!

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Good things come in "handmade" packages

My friend Lori has this great "welcome" sign that has charms
that hang for each season. She uses it as a front door
decoration, and I've admired it for years. A few weeks ago
I decided I wanted one of my own, but do you think I could
find it or anything similar anywhere? NOPE! I searched
online, in craft stores, home good stores, etc. Nothing!
My mom always says "That online has everything!". Well mom,
not this time!

Anyway, I decided not to try to find it, but to make it.
Well, not me make it, but my friends-to-be over at Etsy.
Etsy is an online marketplace for buying & selling all
things handmade. I connected with a very talented woman
named Lizette that made wood crafts and had a specialty for
painting - perfect! I gave her snapshots of Lori's
decoration to use as inspiration. The resulting product is
totally amazing and exceeds all of my expectations. Not
only is it seasonal and fun, but the hand painting is
beautiful - no, exquisite!!! This is something I'll have
and cherish forever!!! The best part (well, for Lizette not
my wallet) is that she will continue to make and sell charms
as we come up with other ideas, seasons, etc. I have
already given her two new ideas for me (he he he!).

If you love this creation and want your own, Lizette is
really amazing to work with and will continue making these
sets. I'm going to consider them for housewarming gifts,
bridal shower gifts, or just for fun gifts when I need
something creative. I completely recommend her, her
painting, and her communication - she is amazing, and I know
I will keep in touch with her! If you want to contact her,
email her at lizartistry@aol.com - you will NOT be
disappointed!!!

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Another Happy Year for Joe

Yesterday was Joe's 35 birthday. Not much celebrating
yesterday (work, gym, kids, etc) but we rounded out the
night with an apple pie and peanut butter brownies! Happy
Birthday Joe!

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President's Day

This morning Adelina went to my mom's for breakfast (she
doesn't go to school on Tuesdays).

Adelina asked "Mom-Mom, what day is today?"

My mom "Tuesday".

Adelina asked "What happened to Monday?"

My mom answered "Monday was yesterday."

Adelina asked "But I go to school on Monday and I didn't go
to school."

My mom goes on to explain that yesterday was President's
day, and all the kids had off school to honor the first
President of the United States.

Adelina looks at her confused and says "Do you mean
President Oklahoma?"

My mom laughs, teaches her how to pronounce Obama. My mom
tries to explain it's a day to honor past president's
birthdays like George Washington, etc. Not Obama.

Adelina looks at her and says "Oh, you mean like that George
that lived in the bush?"

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Party of 19 please

The past 3 (or 4?) years we have met friends for lunch on
President' day to celebrate Joe's birthday. It works out
well bc all of the kids are off school and most of the
parents are too. Its our fun little tradition! The only
problem is how we are growing! 4 families, 8 adults, 11
kids! Party of 19 this year! How many will we be next
year?

PS - this year we added a quick stop in Circuit City after
lunch. The are closing the location near us. Sales were OK
but the kids had fun climbing on boxes and on the empty
racks.

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February is getting a little crowded

In our family, we celebrate birthdays. Regardless of age,
we celebrate birthdays. Since all of the little kids have
arrived, we have started combining birthdays to a joint
party. This February party was Joe, Geneen, my dad, Eric,
and now baby Joseph.

All of the pics are posted to our web photo albums. I had a
great time shooting the kids.

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Happy valentine's day to me!

Joe and my Strawberry Passion martini!

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Adelina Ice Skating

Tonight was her final of 5 lessons. Well - I say final, she thinks she is just starting out. She did really well and mastered falling and getting back up. Silly as that sounds, without that she wouldn't do a whole lot :)

PS - she is in the purple coat (left) and in this clip she was told to sit on the ice and get back up. A few weeks ago getting back up would have taken about 15 tries and 10 minutes!

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Happy 1st Birthday Joseph

Happy Birthday Joseph! What a great day. We cannot believe
how quickly this year has passed us by.

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Happy Birthday Pop-Pop and Aunt Geneen

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Valentine Rice Krispie Treats

Both girls need to bring in a small treat for their school
Valentine parties tomorrow, so I decided to give Rice
Krispie treats a try. Sounds ridiculous to even say this,
but I've never made them before. We did the basic recipe
with some sprinkles and food coloring:
http://www2.kelloggs.com/Recipe/RecipeDetail.aspx?RID=1605.
Lori had mentioned adding food coloring to the marshmallows
for an extra punch, so we added red to make our treats pink.
Very festive and totally girly!

While these are pretty straightforward and a very sweet
treat, I found myself all caught up in marshmallow goo and
sugary webs. Did I do something wrong? I tried a spatula
sprayed with cooking spray and also tried using wax paper to
press down the mix onto the baking sheet, but it was still
super sticky. Regardless, Adelina had a ball and our treats
are now cooling. Should be very cute for school tomorrow.

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The Magic Garden

Remember the Magic Garden TV show from when we were kids? My mom told Adelina about it and Adelina had a ton of questions, so I showed her a few clips I could find on YouTube. She loved it! It brought back so many memories for me. I still remember all of the songs and the silly jokes! Adelina wanted more than a few minutes on YouTube could offer so I just ordered her the DVD box set that they released in 2008. I think the Easter bunny will bring it for her this year. I think it's neat that she likes something that I enjoyed for so many years too.

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Joseph is now officially a Marinello

He had spaghetti for dinner!

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Kayla's "Totally Cool" 8th Birthday Party

Kayla's 8th birthday party was "so cool" - according to
Adelina. Aunt Michelle setup stations so the girls could
get their nails done, makeup, and super cool diva hair. So fun! But
that was just the beginning. Then they did a fashion show,
karaoke, and even a dance party. Whoa! Check out the
girls' dance videos under "Our Videos" on the right - so
fun!

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Dance Visitation Day

Today was visitation day at the girls' dance school.
Adelina is in the 4/5 ballet and tap class. It has 21 girls
in it! She is really enjoying the class and especially
loves making noise with her tap shoes! Isabelle is in the
3/4 ballet class. It is a great class that is nice and
small so each of the girls lots of attention during class.
Isabelle is doing really well and had a great time showing
off her sautée (to jump) and chassé (to chase) dance steps.

For the rest of the year the girls will work on their
routines for the end of year show. Adelina will do two
routines - ballet and tap. She is so excited because that
means two costumes!!!

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Infamous bath photos - we all have them

I am trying to get a photo of a brother taking a bath with
his sisters that will haunt him well into his 30's :) We
all have those photos, Joseph deserves one too. But I can't
quite capture a good bath photo. I'll have to keep trying!

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Snow, snow, go away

This year it feels as if winter has brought a continuous
flow of school delays and early dismissals. A little snow
here, a touch more there. Haven't had the big doozie of a
snow storm yet, but just enough to throw lots of wrenches
into the daily routine. February 4th now - how many more
days until Spring?

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Happy Birthday Joseph

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Pictures vs. Sleep - pictures always win

Who was I kidding - wait until tomorrow to post Joseph's
pictures? I could never go to sleep without seeing them.
So they are all posted under "2009 winter".

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First Birthday Party - check!

Another first birthday party complete - check! Off the
list! Thanks to Lori for playing photographer for the day.
I'll post all of the pics tomorrow. Thanks for a great
party everyone!

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Ready for some football?

Here is a sneak peak at the football cupcakes Aunt Geneen made for Joseph's 1st birthday superbowl party today! So cute!

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