Rooms With a View

NEW PAJAMAS!

Every Christmas Eve, the kids get new pajamas! I grew up with this tradition and I pray that my kids will continue it with their own kids. 

Vinny got to go first this year.

Snowman jammies and a blue top.

Mitchell really wanted Ralph Lauren pajamas. I had him convinced that I could not afford them.

Lucky for him I found them on sale!

As you can see, he was very happy!

Patrick went last.

Las Vegas pajama pants. Why? Well, he was born in Las Vegas and he is addicted to solitaire. 

Can you see the cards?

Next up, our annual new jammies photo shoot.

Vinny checking her nails?

No idea?

Ticking.

Why is Mitchell eating Vinny's hand? Is Patrick really asleep?

My favorite photo!

Patrick's face cracks me up.

The nice, normal shot! Have a great weekend and I will be back next year! Have a safe and wonderful New Year!

TRADITIONAL SMORES~

Every Christmas Eve after mass, we roast marshmallows. In Utah, we did them in our fireplace which was wood burning. Here in SC we do it outside because our fireplace is gas and it is usually warm enough outside to do them in the fire pit. After we eat the smores, we play a game called Telephone. The first person thinks of a sentence then whispers it to the person next to them. That person changes one word and tells it to the next person and so on. When the sentence has made it all the way around, the person who started the sentence tells the rest what the original was. It is actually a very fun game. Now for the photos.

Now for the game.

Charlie whispering to Mitchell.

Mitchell whispering to Patrick.

Patrick whispering to mom.

Vinny whispering to daddy.

Patrick got a case of the giggles and could not speak.

Daddy.

Mitchell looking swag.

Vinny.

More giggles.

And more giggles.

These boys could barely talk with their giggles.

Mitchell looking confused.

We had a nice surprise visit from Levi who is home on leave for the holidays. He and the kids then when into the garage and did a little workout. Next up, new pajamas! Thank you for the nice Anniversary wishes. We had a great day!

CHRISTMAS EVE MASS~

We went to the 4 pm mass on Christmas Eve. The kids usually sing at our normal mass but not on Christmas Eve. It was so nice to have the whole family sitting together. Maddy could not join us since she needed to go to her Grandfather's house. I took a few photos of us before we left.

Mom and Mitchell.

Mom and Patrick.

My three favorite guys.

Mom and her beautiful daughter Vinny.

Maddy and Patrick.

Maddy, Vinny, Patrick, and Mitchell.

Mom and Daddy. 15 years ago today, I was lucky enough to marry this amazing man! Happy Anniversary to me and my man!

HOMEMADE TRUFFLES!

Friday, the day before Christmas Eve, Mitchell had his friend Logan over. They are just friends in case you are wondering. Vinny found a recipe on Pinterest for No Bake Vanilla Cake Truffles. We thought we would give them a try. I made them and the kids did the dipping.

This was the messy part of the process. Why I let the kids do this is beyond me.

This is Logan. Isn't she adorable?

Can you beleive these were gone by the next day. True, we did give the neighbors a few but only a few.

Best friends! Christmas photos tomorrow, I promise.

ANNA & ANNA KATE~

Guess who is home from Marquette for Christmas break? Anna!! She stopped by on Vinny's birthday and the next day to hang out with Vinny and Mitchell. It was a rainy day so the photos are not the best.

Anna scooping the ball.

Vinny catching the ball

A very blurry Mitchell.

Anna working it like a beast!

Vinny making an amazing catch.

Making a throw!

After Lacrosse, Anna and Vinny played a little volleyball. Anna played volleyball in high school.

Speaking of Lacrosse, our friends the Murphy's, have an adorable daughter, Anna Kate. We adore this young lady who also shares a birthday with me. She will be 5. I will be 35. We bought her a little Christmas present.

A very happy little girl.

Her own Lacrosse stick. With two big brothers who play Lacrosse, she immediately knew what to do with it.

I hope you had a blessed Christmas. We had a blast! I will share a few of the hundreds of photos starting tomorrow!

MISS TEENAGER~

We let Vinny open her birthday presents a day early. She knew what Mom & Dad were getting her and was anxious to give it a try. It was an early morning since we had to get ready for church. That is why the kids look a little sleepy.

Opening our gift.

Not a great shot. We got her a hair straightener. Not just any straightener, the top rated one!

Her Uncle Sam bought her an Artists Model.

The boys and Maddy gave her a beautiful lace shirt.

The next day, she had a very early morning surprise...

She was still asleep and not very happy to have someone jump on her at 8:00 am.

Until she realized it was her best friend Allison who now lives in Charleston. When Allison found out the night before that she would be able to spend the day with us, she thought it would be fun to plan a surprise party for Vinny. We started planning at 6:00 pm on Sunday night.

The next day, Vinny, Allison and I made sugar cookies. Allison and I knew that at 1 her friends would arrive and we would decorate them. Vinny was clueless.

The girls had fun with flour. Did I mention we made these cookies from scratch? I found the recipe on Pinterest, my new favorite website. When the cookies were finished, we "realized" we forgot something at the store. This gave her friends a chance to arrive and hide.

She was totally surprised! All six girls we invited were able to make it.

We had around 3 dozen cookies. I was surprised when the kids each decorated only one cookie, at it and then decided they were done.

I wanted to get a good picture of the group before it got to cold or rainy so we went out to our photo tree.

Vinny, Allie, Katherine, Heather, Abigayle, Allison and Raven.

Then it was present time.

I told the girls not to worry about presents since the party was such short notice. They did not listen. 

Excited about some money. She also received candy, a book mark, and a gift card.

Then they went upstairs to shoot some pool.

Her favorite present arrived Monday night.

Anna is home for Christmas break from Marquette University and our sweet Leah brought her over.

Later that evening, we had some cake. 

Making a wish! It was a great day and a fabulous birthday! I feel old. I no longer have any children who are not teenagers. In five months I will have a 20 year old.

Merry Christmas to my few readers! I hope you have a wonderful holiday!

DIFFERENT PHOTO SHOOT MEANS MORE OUT TAKES

Yesterday I showed off the frames I made for the Italian cousins. Today, I am going to share the out takes from the photo shoot. The kids were being their silly selves and it took a while to get a good shot worthy of making the trip across the ocean to Italy.

Not bad. Mitchell looks like he smelled something stinky.

This was my favorite but I was out voted.

Let the goofiness begin.

I could sense here that Vinny was about to get the giggles.

And I was right.

Close.

Patrick's head looks too small.

Too posed.

Just not right.

Too much of the neighbors house in the background.

This was the winner!

Happy Thursday!

ITALIAN FRAMES~

Every year we get the most amazing gifts from Charlie's cousins in Italy. What do we send them? Nothing. So, this year I decided to make them each a frame and put a photo of my three beautiful kids inside. I was able to take a photo of each of them before Charlie mailed them.

They are very simple but I love how they turned out! Happy Wednesday.

TUXEDO~

Last Monday was Mitchell's first High School Chorus concert. I will post a video later but first the photos.

Charlie helping him with his cummerbund.

Big brother Patrick helping with his bow tie.

All ready to go and sing! Is he not the most handsome 9th grader you have ever seen?

With his friend Logan.

With his Lacrosse buddy Tanner after the concert. Tanner made the ACDA Region Honor Choir along with Mitchell.

Tanner, the beautiful Miss Vinny and Mitchell. Have a great Tuesday!

TEENAGER!

Thirteen years ago, I gave birth to the worlds most amazing little girl! Okay, I am a little biased. To me she is the most amazing, beautiful, smart, funny, kind, messy, talented, moody young lady in the world. I am so proud to be her mother. She started out as a dark haired princess who would not wear pants to a tall, brilliant young lady who won't wear dresses. That is not totally true. She will wear sun dresses and skirts, just not to school.

I cannot believe my baby is finally a teenager and will be in High School in 8 months. Now, for a little photo journey through the life of Vinny.

12 hours old.

4 months old.

6 months old. 

One!

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

And Twelve and three quarters. I plan on taking a photo of her today. She has changed a great deal over the years. She just gets prettier with age. I love you my sweet Vinny! Happy Birthday!