Spring Break Part 2

My grandmother turned 75 in March and we threw her a big party to celebrate. All of her 5 siblings and their children, & their children, & their children live in MN. So the MN relatives arrived mid-day on Thursday and that's when the partying started & it lasted until Sunday afternoon when they left. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking...

 My cousin Colleen owns her own salon called "The Perfect Touch" in MN and every time she comes down we all get our hair done, cut, color, etc.

 These were a huge hit! Gummy bears soaked in birthday cake vodka. They were so good!

 Maci Rose and McKenzie

 Uncle Woody, Aunt Betty (one of my grandmother's sisters), & Tucker the dog.

 Getting ready for the DJ to start

 Family shot

 And we went to a Mexican Restaurant after church on Sunday to say our farewell's before they left. We literally took up the whole patio of the restaurant!!

Thank you all for coming! It was a blast as usual and we can't wait to see you all again soon!

5 years

5 years ago today I said "I Do" to an amazing man & father. It was a very cold day in Birmingham, with snow flurries coming down as we were leaving the reception. Over 500 guests witnessed our marriage at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church. After, we danced the night away at Pine Tree Country Club to my cousin's band- Livewire. There were 12 bridesmaids and groomsmen, 1 flower girl, 1 ring bearer, over 30 out of town relatives and a lot of friends and family.  It is still by far the best day of my life and I would go back in a heart beat! Never have I ever felt more love and support from everyone around us. Thanks again to all of you. We will never forget all you guys did for us!!

We honeymooned on a cruise to the Bahamas.

7 months later we found out Maci Rose was on her way!

 And we became a family of 3!

And this is how she reacted when she found out momma had another baby in her tummy when she was only16 months old!

 We found out it was a BOY!

And became a family of 4.

 And these 2 babies are all we live, breathe and do these days!

These past 5 years have been the best years of my life! I wonder what the next 5 years will be like? Can it top the first 5? Maybe there will be more babies....who knows?? Happy Anniversary Jeremy! I love you more than words can say!

Thanksgiving 2011

So I'm a little behind on this post...but this year I am thankful for so many things starting with my Almighty God who has given me everything I don't deserve and who still loves me even though I am a sinner. He is great and he has blessed me beyond words.

I am thankful for my beautiful and healthy children. They make my world complete. I couldn't imagine life without them. And to get to experience a girl and a boy who have completely different personalities, looks, emotions, & interests is so much fun. I love them both in different ways but most of all because they love me unconditionally back. It makes my heart melt!

I am thankful for my wonderful and loving husband. Without him, Maci Rose and Carter wouldn't exist. He is my rock and has supported me through so many things in my life. He is such a hardworking and faithful man. Through the good, bad, and in between he is truly my one and only. I love you Jeremy!

I am thankful for my family. Being Italian, I have more family than many can dream of on just one side. And then to add my mom's side and my husbands side, we are extremely blessed. Although I am thankful for each and every one of them, it is becoming hard to fit every one in on holidays so I am thankful to have you all even when our time together is cut short I don't forget just how blessed I am to know you are there for us no matter what.

I am thankful for my friends. I have some of the best friends that exist. From high school friends, college friends and sorority sisters, my wonderful neighbors and my mommy friends I have all the support I need and more. I love having friends that are good in different ways.

And speaking of neighbors,,,,have I mentioned just how great they are?? I have the most fun and helpful neighbors ever. One of my neighbors gave me my job and I work for her. How convenient huh? Sometimes we even ride together to save on gas. She also keeps Carter for me while I work. On Fridays, my other neighbor who has girls in school with Maci Rose takes her to school for me. Another one came over last minute a few weeks ago to babysit while Jeremy and I headed to a funeral. My brother (Uncle Matt Matt) is only a street over from us and we can walk through the woods beside our house to visit on pretty days.

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving and did lunch with my cousins on my dad's side of the family, and then headed to my Aunt's house on my mom's side of the family to play a little flag football. We went to my inlaws on Friday evening and did Thanksgiving with them as well. By spreading it out to 2 days it let us have a little more relaxation than we're used to on Thanksgiving not having to fit everyone in on one day.

 The kids ate on a little kitchen that we used to play with when we were little.

 So much fun with all these babies around!

 there was so much food!!

 Aunt Em came in town from NY

 And then we celebrated my dad's birthday which was November 13th.

I couldn't keep my hands off my godchild Kate. I just love those thighs!!

 She's so cute!

And speaking of thighs, Carter is doing well in that department too!

I wish I had gotten some pictures of the flag football game. It was definitely a hit and something we're hoping to add to more holiday get togethers! Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving!!

FOJ 2011

This year we got to spend the 4th of July with aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, siblings & grandparents at the beach!! And a good time was had by all!

Here are some of the 1 million beach pictures I took....



On our way down to the beach for the first time

 My dad...the whitest full blooded Italian I know!

(yes, seriously this is how he came out to the beach every time)

 My family played a game to see how many people they could fit into this boat at one time before it turned over, I think the record was 18....pretty impressive!

 My aunt was burried as a mermaid and Maci Rose loved it...

 So she went next!

 Thanks to Uncle Matt Matt for letting her wear your sunglasses!

 Hunting for crabs

 Me & my crazy aunt!

 Playing yard darts or "sand darts"

 Minus the "sweaty-ness" I think this is a cute picture....I swear it was 180 degrees at this place. It was called The Hangout and it was a lot of fun but they seriously DO NOT have air conditioner. They have huge open windows to let the breeze in from the beach. I don't know how the servers do it!!

 Aimee and her boyfriend Matt

 Haha....Aunt Neisa in rare form!

 and again...

 About 1/4th of the crowd with us

 3 generations! (My mom, me, sister, Aimee & Maci Rose) If only we could have convinced my grandmother (who was fully clothed and sitting in the shade) to get at the very bottom we would have had 4 generations (if she could survive the weight).

 Maci Rose could have collected sea shells literally for 24 hours straight. I'm tempted to get a sandbox in our backyard and hide her sea shells in there and have her find them again. Kept her entertained for hours!!

 My favorite part...around 6:30 when the sun went down & we were all feeling "good". The weather was so enjoyable and everything was so humorous! Can't even tell ya what was so funny but sure do miss those fun nights with all my family around!

 Great pic Matt!

 My sweet girl! Maybe it was because I didn't have Carter around for this trip, but seriously Maci Rose was perfect! Not a complaint or peep outta this kid. Everyone can agree. She's definitely a beach baby!

 Our famous pose we've been doing since our 4th date!

 Cousins.

 My sexy man

 She did this for hours

 Yummy FOJ treats!

 Watching the fireworks!

I hope you all had a great 4th as well!!

On another note, my camera broke the weekend we got back and I just got a new one this past weekend. So I've been a few weeks with only an I-phone camera. It was long overdue!! I still have a lot of learning, but hope to be back to blogging with some better pictures soon. It's fun to adjust the lighting & try out different settings but I'm not good at it yet.