Thanks Wisconsin

Welcome to Dom's Work Trip to Madison Wisconsin!

Ok, we tagged along too. I must say, getting into your swimsuit when there are inches of snow outside, was a little bit strange. But we pulled it together and really enjoyed the indoor waterpark. The only hard part was the fact that our room's backdoor actually faced the pool and setting boundaries with our boys about when they had to come in or get out was a BATTLE ROY-YELL. But they survived and had lots of fun.

Our little dare-devil Gianni was a HUGE fan of the LARGE waterslide and had some really special tantrums because he couldn't go down by himself. As you can see below, it's a little fuzzy, he loved going down the slide with Daddy! He's actually yelling "Cannon-ball" --Not kidding!

Now I get to rave about my Mr. Cautious. Poor kid is just like his Mommy was. Well, Dominic was very content swimming around the pool, no waterpark rides needed for this kid. But as you can tell he really did enjoy himself too.

When the days came to an end our boys were VERY good about leaving. We really enjoyed ourselves in Wisconsin and hope that next time we will get to visit with our family in the more-North part of the state!
PS--This was Jr's final say about our trip...

No Federal Bailout for the Tooth Fairy

I realized that not only has inflation hit the Tooth Fairy, but she can't ever be a subject in a bad economy! No federal aid for her!

With that being said she has been here a lot in the last couple of months...but two times in one week...how does she find the time?

That's right...Dominic Jr has lost a total of 4 teeth now, but the last two were kind of a funny story...so I thought I would share.

This picture is circa September 2008--This was a picture of the first lost tooth. He was totally freaked by the process and didn't want anything to do with the Tooth Fairy, he just wanted his tooth back in.

Then, a couple weeks ago, through no fault of his own (I blame the "clumsy" genetics I passed on) he knocked a front tooth out that had been loose to begin with. He was running towards his brother and jumped into this little jump tent that Santa brought and actually kneed himself in the face in the process. After the blood curtling scream and removal of his hand from his mouth, being the loving Mother that I am I said, "Where is the tooth?" I then pushed him aside and looked all over the floor. Although Jr. hadn't gotten himself completely into the tent...his tooth had managed to make it inside...After the blood was cleaned and crying had stopped, this is what it looked like...The next morning was one of the many cute moments I will always remember in Jr's life because I was woken up by, "Mom, I got MONEY!!! She brought me MONEY!!!" He waved that ziplock bag around like his tooth had just paid for his college education; I will never forget that moment.

BUT....

Because the incident was so traumatic, Dom and I were unable to convince him that the second tooth (hanging by a string) needed to go too. It was quite comical that the tooth talked when he talked, pointed all different ways and basically grossed us all out...but Jr. was determined to hang on to it as long as he could. So, for the next couple of days a series of "sneak attacks" and food choices were utilized to get a final extraction of the dangler....But Dom Sr. and I had underestimated Jr.'s skills of estimating our sneakyness... And the tooth remained....

Then Friday morning came and Jr. was lazing around the house and then said, "Mom, I got it, can you put it back in?" Of course I wasn't sure what he was talking about...I hadn't quite got the first cup of coffee down yet...and then I cheered and told him that we wouldn't be able to put it back in, but explained he should be excited because that meant the Tooth Fairy needed to make a turn around trip to the cold, HA! But being the good sport that she is, she came back and left another dollar for the second front tooth. And this is the cute little smile we are left with after all that!

You're Gonna Have to Hit It!

Well...we finally did it! I am not sure how I finally talked my skittish husband into doing it, but we did it....This is us, car and all, ON Lake Minnetonka!

Yippee! We finally said "Let's Do It!" and we did it.

Although we finally jumped on the bandwagon with all the other ice fisher-people (I mean, little Saturns and such were doing it), it was an adventure getting off the lake. Unfortunately, when we purchased my car we did not plan on living in a place where AWD was key to successfully maneuvering through the terrain...but I am a good sport and have been doing just fine. There have only been a couple of times that I haven't been able to get up the "hill" home since the winter has come. By the way, it would have been nice of someone from this environment to have warned us about living on top of the hill when winter comes!

But again...I digress...

After we nearly parked a front tire IN a fishing hole and tried freezing our noses off to get the "right" picture, we loaded up ready to head home. Well...the hill/boat ramp that was our immediate way off the lake was a beautiful, BUMPY, ramp of 3 inch think ice, with one little patch of saving grace asphalt to grab traction with. So, as I mentioned before, my husband very calmly approached the exit and creeped up and over the big lump of ice and tried to then proceed forward, emphasis on TRIED. Well, the tires were movin' but the car wasn't, so in quite a huff, Dom says something along the lines of "Great! What are we supposed to do now?"

As I tried to remain calm and not laugh...because it would not end good if I had...I told him "Reverse and then hit it!" Unfortunately again, he wasn't liking that answer, because he was afraid we would scrape the bottom of the car. He decided to try another little road out and to make a long story short, we reversed onto the lake again. So, again...I tell him "You're gonna have to hit it hard and get that spot of asphalt for traction and then we should be fine." Well, he did just as I said but hesitated in the final moments and so we made it 3/4 of the way out before we were rolling back again....Then comes a little voice from the back, "You didn't do it AGAIN Dad!"...thanks for that Junior!

I contained my "I'm telling you attitude" and encouragingly told him, "OK, next time you're gonna have to really hit it and turn toward the left where the snow has melted without launching us into 4 lanes of traffic." Oh and did I mention that there was a running, yet empty, Sheriff's SUV parked 50 yards from us? I am sure he was watching us from somewhere around there and laughing his butt off!

As I always say, 4th time is a charm, so we calmly reversed onto the Lake, then reversed a little more....and he did it...he hit it and hit it hard! We made it up that hill and out of the way of traffic and quickly decided that we weren't going to be doing that again anytime real soon! It was good laughs for all! Moral of this story...enjoy these photos because there will not be more of them until we have a vehicle better equipped to get us off a frozen lake!

Our Capital By Starlight

One thing I keep raving about here in MN is everything there is to do.

We have been keeping busy right now by doing things that are safely inside and out of the cold. But, one thing I am looking forward to is going on a full tour of our beautiful Capital building in St. Paul.

Last month we were driving by it after we had just finished eating dinner at what I will, for now, say is the most "authentic" Mexican food we have found here in the Northern range. I mean when this guy is there to greet you, how could it not be?
Senor Brown knew that Boca Chica had what we were looking for!

But I digress....

My, no coat wearing, husband braved the night time elements to get a couple of very beautiful shots that I wanted to share.

So, come one, come all....of course once Spring has sprung....and visit us Minnesotan D'Arpino's!

Man Jammies Unite!

What could be better then brothers who love each other?



Having cozy "man jammies" to cruise around in!





Thanks to Nonna...my little guys are sleeping cozy in these and they are too cute because they are really loving how warm they are for these frigid months. We got these modelling pictures last month before Christmas decorations were cleaned up and they insisted that the pictures be taken by the fire place!

Look at these boys!

Here is my little hammy...the ladies call him G....especially when he is rockin' his man jammies!

I am not sure what happened to Dominic's attitude during the shoot....

So, thank you Nonna from the D'Arpino midgets for decking them out in their favorite jammies right now!