Santa

We went to see Santa at the "Christmas in Cook" event and Izzy asked for a "pretty necklace, a ring, and a hair salon". Vinny started crying and said, "No! No!!". He wouldn't even go near him.

Louis is such a good boy. He still sleeps with Izzy but now Vinny tries to call him in to his room. He usually lays in Vinny's room while the stories are being read and then crawls into Izzy's bed so she can read to him. If he could only talk he would know a ton of books by heart.

The family picture that didn't make the Christmas card.

Izzy with her "cheese" face.

Isabel with her cousin Molly Nelson and with Grandma and Grandpa Nelson.

Wedding

In October we went to Grand Forks to my cousin Lynne's wedding and the kids had a blast. They were the first ones on the dance floor and Tony and I had to drag them literally off at 9pm. They swam and ate pizza in the room and they all got to sleep in "mom and dad's room".

Horses

Vinny and Izzy love horses so much that last time we went to Fosston Vinny asked to see the horses steady for the first hour of the trip. We tried not to talk about them because he would be so insistant that he see them right now!! The first thing they both do when we get to Fosston is run down to the pasture and call, "Annnnnnnieeeee, Saallllly!!"

Tony and the kids carving pumpkins. Izzy was really into it this year and she loved eating the roasted seeds.

My little "pumpkins".

Halloween

This year Halloween was so fun because Izzy was Little Bo Peep and Vinny was her lost sheep. She talked about it for weeks before and even tried it on. The only bad thing was that it came with a shepherd's hook which she used to "hook" Vinny with and he didn't like that one bit!

It really hasn't seemed like fall around here because the weather has been so hot. The leaves have changed and finally fell off this week. School is in full swing and I am taking 2 Grad classes online towards a degree in Library Media Specialist. We have been playing outside as much as we can and we were lucky enough to get a merry-go-round from Tony's cousins the Picek's.

The kids are growing so fast; both of them are in the 85-95% for height. Vinny loves to follow his "sissy" around and try to do what she does.

Fall

We had a wonderful August and we tried to enjoy every minute of our last summer days. Izzy and I were swimming in Vermilion on Labor Day weekend. The lake was cold already even though the air was warm but Izzy is one tough little swimmer! We visited my sister and the kids for a day and Izzy and Vinny had so much fun playing with their cousins. Here are a couple of pictures of Izzy, Vinny, Thomas and Gabby.

Sisters and Brothers

Izzy loves to paint. Vinny loves it too and he will give you the brush back so that you can change colors for him. He is running everywhere now and he loves to play with all of Izzy's stuff. She has been pretty good about sharing but the one thing there is always a fight over is "her" chair. I told Tony that we may need to have two little chairs from now on.

Vinny showing off his new teeth.

Summer Days

The kids love eating outside so we eat lunch either on the deck, at the lake, or at the park almost every day. Where ever we are, we have to watch Louis because he is very sneeky about stealing food, especially from Vinny.

Louis and Oliver's birthday

We celebrated Louis and Oliver's birthdays' this year with a homemade liver cake. Izzy thought that this was so fun but I had to convince her not to eat the cake! Oliver is saying "Hurry up and blow those candles out so I can eat my cake!"

Tony's 30th Birthday

We had a little party on Tony's actual birthday this year and a big summer party with all of our friends in July. We usually host a Christmas party but this year we decided to have a Christmas in July party and also to celebrate Tony's birthday since the weather isn't as nice in May. Here are a few pictures from May 14th.

Grandparents

Izzy and Vinny are so lucky to have so many wonderful grandparents around them. My mom and dad came up for her dance rectial in May and she was very excited to have them here.

Easter

We spend Easter this year with my family in Fosston and the Easter Bunny dropped eggs with candy and money all over my mom and dad's farm. Izzy and Vinny had a lot of fun finding the eggs with their cousins.

Tea Party

Izzy's best friend Kaiji had a birthday party this spring and it was a tea party. Izzy loved dressing up and she especially loved using a real tea pot and real cups.

Izzy loves seeing her cousins Gabby and Thomas. We have gotten together with them about once a month lately, usually in Fosston. Here they are in Grandpa Tom's spot on the couch.

The Day the Snow Melted

We had so much snow this year that it took forever to melt. I remember seeing snow in May in the woods. One day in March it finally melted enough for me to shovel off the deck so the kids could play in their sand box. What a difference a few months makes!

Summer

Summer has been great here and with all the activity the blog has been neglected. I am going to try to be more diligent about posting from now on because the kids are growing so fast! Izzy is swimming like a little fish out to Don and Marcia's and Vinny is liking the water better now since the lake finally warmed up in July. June was so cold that when Izzy and I would swim we would have goosebumps for a good hour afterwards. It has been so long since I've posted pictures that I will have to start with a 1st birthday picture of Vinny and Izzy's dance recital in May!

Party People!

Party fun!

Spring

The last couple of months have been so busy with me working full time that I haven't had time to even download my pictures! We had two big birthdays with Izzy turning 3 and Vinny turning 1. Izzy had a big birthday party up at the hotel in Orr where there is an indoor water slide and kid pool. We had a lot of family and friends come from out of town and many of her friends from school too. She had a blast and still talks about "my party at the froggy slide". Here are some fun pictures.