Leah's 7th Birthday

All of the family came over to celebrate. Leah enjoys spending time in the spotlight.


Kylie and Claire enjoyed pushing each other around in the toy shopping cart.


Claire was hanging out with Grandpa too!


The kids always get to pick their cake. Leah tries to challenge me. This year she went for the Gehrig cake. It was a yummy pound cake with whip cream and strawberry filling.


The kids gathering around for the cake.

Here we go!

Daddy and Claire making funny faces for the birthday girl!

Leah's 7th Birthday Party

Leah wanted to have a DIY Party (Do it Yourself).

Leah is getting so big!

We made scarves and strung beads on the end. Grandma and Nonni were here to help.

The girls were able to decide on how they wanted their pasta. (And of course, they also had Leah's favorite - broccoli!) They chatted like they were high school girls having lunch.

They were able to decorate their cupcakes anyway they wanted to! We ended up with more sprinkles than cupcake.

The girls with all of their DIY items, bracelets and scarves: Leah, Maddie, Alyssa, Makenzie, Maya, Anna, Gabby, Olivia & Sidney.

Leah learns to ride a bike!

I have bragged about our neighbors before. As many friends know, whenever a house is for sale on our court, I try to get everyone I know to buy it. We are lucky to live here!

The boys across the street have helped both Jared and Leah learn how to ride their bikes.

Lucas & Kyle hanging out!

Leah trying to maneuver through the hockey players. Even Duke is helping out.



It took a lot of courage to get going!

Success! It didn't take long before she was circling the court.

It was a tiring day!

Pinewood Derby 2010

There is nothing better than the Pinewood Derby Saturday. This year we had a few problems with the paint drying so it wasn't our fastest car.

Jared & Jeff getting the wheels ready.

The fans were ready! Of course, the twinkie cars for treats are always a big hit.

The car is ready to go!

Jared's the Cake Boss

Jared and I love watching The Cake Boss together. We saw a great episode that showed them making a dog cake. (I enjoy baking but this guy is amazing!) Jared needed to have a visual for a book report and so he decided to make a dog cake. He needed very little guidance.


He baked it, cut it out and frosted it.

He was pretty proud of his creation. The kids in his class thought his book report was the best one of the year. Move over Cake Boss!

All I want for New Year's...

...is my two front teeth! Leah's almost 7 and she is toothless. She couldn't be more excited about her new smile. She even allowed her dad to pull them out with floss when they were hanging by a thread.

Playing in the Snow

My favorite Christmas movie growing up was White Christmas. I longed to have a "White Christmas." Now that I know how much work it is to actually live in the snow, it is fun to just visit.




The kids had a great time. Jeff and I aren't skiers so we just stick to sledding.

Claire was a little nervous at first but loved going down the hill.

Jared was fearless as always and took his sister down the hill.

Jeff caught this shot of Leah and me with faces full of snow.

Lucas and Claire enjoyed eating the snow the most.