Marianna post

It's been ever so long since I bragged on my little peanut.  Here's some pictures that capture her spunk.

Princess 'Nonna (that's what she calls herself)

Disaster left in the wake of said Princess.

Her favorite, must wear everyday, bunny sweater.
(Except she calls it her bummy sweater.)

Always ready to help in the kitchen while saying, "Here go"
and handing things to me. Or if the mood strikes,
throwing everything in reach on the floor.
(NICE little helper)

Another One Bites the Dust

We enjoyed it while it lasted...

Dan is calling it our Halloween decoration for this year.

We are actually pleased with the clean dishes from our hand washing troupe, so I'm not sure we will be replacing this anytime soon.

Dan says he'll look for a couple of cabinet doors to cover this spot and we're calling it good enough.

The End

(of the dishwasher wars, that is!)

A few pictures from Joe's weekend at home...

Took 4 guys and a tin can to heal Stephen's noisy beast.  I will truly miss the excessive growl of this vehicle.  It always warned me when Stephen was coming or going.  Apparently, the cops are not fond of the sound, though. I'm sure Stephen will not miss being pulled over and followed by law enforcement officials on a regular basis, either.

Love to watch big guys play with little guys (and one football loving gal, too!).

There's always the lone soccer player, as well! (He joined the football action a little later but I wasn't willing to stand outside in the cold to capture any other pictures.)

Beautiful Sunrise

Sweet Serenade

Marianna is enjoying Timothy's tunes.

Wish I could have captured her singing on video.

Perpetual bed-head hair!

Tools of Timothy's Trade

Timothy scrounged around town for this tabletop and added the drafting tools Dan had stored in the garage.

Looks very official...

P.S.  Status of his new job.... BORING, but the money is good!

There's a first time for everything!

Yep, it's true!  Last night we hosted our very first girl party.  Teenage girls giggling until all hours of the night in the garage.  (Thank God for a heated garage!)  They watched a movie and painted t-shirts.  Oh what joy! Enough giggling and boy band music to scare off Stephen when he came home from work around 10PM.  I preferred to enjoy the sounds from the comfort of the living room, so this is the only picture I have to show for all the excitement...

I have no idea what all that paint is supposed to say.
Words to a song, maybe?

Our newest architectural detail

This beauty will grace the front of the garage for the winter.

Good thing the neighbors seem to enjoy the adventures around here as much as we do!

Because Joe's baby awaits some TLC.

The question is....

When do we have enough wood?  Or IS there such a thing as enough wood?

Birthday Recap

Yesterday we celebrated Matthew's 12th birthday.  Clare and Marianna made brownie pizza and chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake on Saturday.

Cheese smile to go with cheesecake.

Clare's baking do.

Matthew and Andrew played all the music from their respective lesson books.

More cheesy smiles...

Celebration time!

This morning the birthday boy is having his cake and eating it, too (right out of the pan)!

 (For breakfast, that is.)

Fall Clean Up: Part 2

Just lots of outdoor photos of all the fun we had while raking leaves.

Fall Clean Up

Leaf blowing duties have officially passed to the next generation.

Couldn't get a clear picture, he was moving so fast.

The rest of the crew was dragging leaves off into the woods.

Just threw these in for the cuteness factor.

Just a few pictures from the past week...

 Matthew is taking a portrait drawing class and sharing his knowledge with Andrew. Here's Andrew's finished drawing of Padre Pio. (I'd post Matthew's masterpiece, but he doesn't want Joseph to see it until he's home for a visit.)

Johnny has graduated to reading Bob Books.  Therese is revisiting them, too.  Notice Johnny's book has seen better days.  I guess that's what happens when 8 kids practice reading skills over the years.

Marathon games of Rat a tat Cat.

Now that it's getting kind of chilly for playing outside, it's time to find fun in the garage.

(I thought they were playing ping pong.)

Uh, oh!  We know what this means.

Time for Marianna to make friends with the potty chair. Fun, fun, fun!