Enjoying summer time!

Summer is in full swing and we're having a great time! Last week I was on the computer in our office for a few minutes when I heard Gabby behind me giggling uncontrollably. I turned around to see this...

She told her little sister to get into the television stand and Adriana did just that - she will do just about anything Gabby tells her to do, which her big sister takes full advantage of. I can't remember why Adriana only has on her diaper and bloomers but it adds charm!

Gabby thought it was so funny she went inside, too, and asked that I take a picture. Crazy girls!

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Last weekend, Aunt Bridget and Nana came to visit us. We took this picture at the park near the t-ball fields. They were able to catch one of Gabby's games while in town. They also brought the girls to see the Winnie the Pooh movie. The girls had a really good time. 

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This past weekend, the Tadtman family came for a quick visit and we all had a lot of fun. On Saturday morning they came to Gabby's t-ball game and because her team was short a couple of players, Colten was able to play, too. Of course we didn't have our cameras so we don't have pictures, but it was really fun to watch! 

Saturday evening before they left town, we brought them to the girls' favorite place in town - Incredible Pizza! The kids had so much fun playing the game. Here they are posing right by the entrance. 

Riding the carousel. 

Team work!

Gabby and Aubrey riding the train. 

Probably one of the favorites - the stomp the aliens game. 

Feeling like home...

It's been more than a month since we moved into our new home in Tulsa and it's starting to feel like home. In the last few weeks we have enjoyed our "box free" house. Everything is in its place. Over the next few months we will do some things here and there but nothing is urgent. So, it's been nice to relax and enjoy summer. We spend afternoons at our neighborhood pool as we meet and hang out with our neighbors. The girls attended summer camp last week at Gabby's new school, which they loved. They will go again next week and they can't wait! Gabby is still playing t-ball and doing very well. The kids are catching on and it's starting to actually resemble a game. They are playing 3 innings within the hour which is good progress! 

She loves t-ball!

Trying to keep Adriana happy during the game. She's enjoying some wafers. It's been more than 100 degrees nearly every day the past 2 weeks so it's hot even at 9 am!

She actually wants to play t-ball, too, and gets discouraged when she can't go out on the field. It's pretty cute!

Team huddle. Gabby is wearing the pink helmet of course.

Running to first base after her hit.

July 4th Weekend

We had another great weekend! Uncle Tommy, Aunt Danielle,Vincenzo and their dog Tank came down to visit us during Unc's vacation from work. We had a great time and were so sad to see them leave this morning.  

Gabriella's first time fishing! Saturday morning, David, Gabriella and Uncle Tommy went over to one of David's coworker's house to fish. His colleague's house sits on several acres of land and they have a pond full of fish. Gabby and David's coworker's daughter, who is just a few years older than Gabby, had a great time fishing and playing together. 

Because the pond has so many fish they didn't have to wait too long

 to get a bite. Here's Gabby exercising her patience - it's a difficult task for a 4 year old.

Gabby caught her first fish - a perch.

Uncle Tommy caught a big catfish!

Daddy caught a bass!

Later in the day we brought the gang to our favorite Mexican restaurant in Tulsa. The girls love their Unc and Aunt Danielle!

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After Mass on Sunday we took some photos of the kids together. 

Aren't they all so cute! Vinny is 3 1/2 weeks now and is a really great baby. He rarely, if ever, cries and sleeps like a champ. We barely heard from him all weekend. The girls love him so much! Gabby is obsessed with him (to put it mildly) and really can't get enough of him. 

Take 2!

Sunday after dinner, the girls enjoyed throwing "snappers" on the ground and watching the "snakes." We were warming up for fireworks later in the evening.

Vinny thought he'd take a quick snooze before the big show later on. :)

So excited to watch the "snakes."

Having a good time despite the 100 plus degrees and hot sun!

Later in the evening after it got dark, our neighbors invited us over to enjoy some fireworks and we watched the city's fireworks show from our driveways. We really like our new neighborhood and have made some friends.

Vinny even stayed awake for some of them. What a doll!

Adriana wasn't into the sparkers. She liked sitting on our laps.

This morning before they left. The girls got in a few more minutes of "Vinny Time." We miss them all so much and we hope they visit us again soon.

Father's Day 2011!

Happy Father's Day, Daddy! On Sunday we had a really special day celebrating what a great Dad we have in our house. After breakfast, the girls were eager to give David his card and gift.

They helped him open his cards.

The one from Gabriella and Adriana was Spider-Man themed. The girls and Daddy really liked it!

We surprised David with a new swim suit and a Dry Fit Nike t-shirt. His current swimming trunks are at least 4 years old so we thought his was in dire need of a new ones! 

Later in the afternoon, we ventured out to our neighborhood pool to spend some quality time as a family. Here's a picture of Daddy with his two little girls before we headed to the pool. David wore his new swim suit and shirt!

Happy Father's Day, David! We love you and appreciate all that you do for our family. You are a wonderful father and husband! Your girls are lucky to have you!

Our Big Move and our new family member!

Well, we're finally moved! Last week, our stuff was packed, loaded and delivered to our new house. It went smoothly - we feel very fortunate. We are pretty well settled at this point. We just have to hang things on the walls and do a few minor things we will take care of in the coming weeks. 

We wasted no time meeting new friends! Gabriella started t-ball our first full day in Tulsa. She had practice late last week and her first game last Saturday. She loves it and can't wait to practice and play again this week. Here are some pics from her first t-ball experiences.

Before her first practice. 

Playing short stop at her first game. (The middle kid with the blue hat.) Gabby is one of two girls on her team. The opposing team didn't have any girls, but she didn't care. She had a great time! The parents help with coaching their kids, so when the kids are fielding they stand next to their child to help them understand what to do. David and Gabby had fun together playing short stop. 

At bat. She hits the ball pretty hard.

Running from first to second.

This was so cute! After she scored a run, she turned around to cheer!

One of Gabby's teammates birthday was last Saturday so they celebrated with cupcakes afterward. This was Adriana's favorite part. 

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On Wednesday, June 8 at 7: 40 p.m. Vincenzo Thomas Mangino was welcomed into the world by his parents Uncle Tommy and Aunt Danielle. On Sunday, we drove to Hutchinson to visit with our nephew and cousin and the proud new parents. Nonna and G-Pa were there, too, so it was a fun day to be together as a family celebrating Vinny's birth.

Adriana's first meeting with Vinny.

Gabby couldn't get enough of him. She wanted to hold him and help Aunt Danielle take care of him the entire time we were there. It was so sweet. She is going to be a great cousin and is already a great big sister.

Nonnie and G-Pa with their three grandchildren. How special!

Isn't Vincenzo so handsome? He's simply perfect and looks a lot like both of his parents. We can't wait to spend time with him again.

A Lesson in Compassion and Humanity

As I am sure you are aware that a little more than a week ago a massive storm front hit the Midwest. On Sunday, May 22, while we were in Tulsa visiting Daddy, Joplin, MO was hit with the deadliest tornado ever recorded in U.S. history. This EF5 tornado, with winds in excess of 200 MPH, demolished about 1/3 of the city and as of now more than 130 people have died. The images of this tornado's destruction are overwhelming and saddening.

On Monday, May 23, the girls and I headed back to Lawrence as we had planned. We take a bit of a longer route through KC so that we drive on four lane highways the entire way. As it turns out, we pass Joplin on I-44. From the interstate I could see the destruction to homes, trees and a car dealership. We were in stopped traffic for about 20 minutes so I took a few moments to take it all in and snap a few photos. Truly unbelievable. I didn't want to scare the girls so I let them watch Aladin while I drove and surveyed.

Tuesday and Wednesday also threatened most of the Central Plains and Ozarks area with tornadoes. A band of storms and several tornadoes touched down along southern Nebraska to Texas. Most of Tuesday afternoon and evening, I kept the Weather Channel on to track the storms headed toward us, Tulsa and Hutchinson and several other parts of the states where we have family and friends. I generally do not tune into television programming during the day when the girls are awake, but I did on Tuesday because of the strong possibility of more deadly tornadoes. Gabby saw images on TV from the devastation in Jolpin and live tornadoes in the Oklahoma City area. She had several questions that day and the days following. I tried my best to not scare her with my answers but to reassure her that we were safe and doing the right thing by watching the weather reports on TV.

On Wednesday, Gabby persisted with more questions as her little mind took it all in from the previous day's happenings. Rather than write a check to the Red Cross or the tornado relief efforts, I thought we could use this as a lesson in compassion and humanity and take a trip to Wal-Mart and purchase items that those in charge of helping the people of Joplin had requested. Gabby was so proud of herself and kept telling anyone in the store and our cashier that these items were "for the people who lost all of their stuff in the tornado." Here is a picture of the girls with our donations. Gabby was really happy to help others which warmed my heart greatly.

On the way to Wal-mart, one question that Gabby kept asking is "Why did the tornado take all of the people's stuff?" I said that so many different things were happening with the weather that it created this very big storm that had strong winds that moved their houses and belonging around. She said, "But why?" And I replied, "Mother Nature has been busy the last few days." (We have talked about Mother Nature before so I was eager to know how she would respond.) She stopped for a few minutes and asked "Is Mother Nature a witch?" I assume watching the Wizard of Oz lead to this conclusion. I said, "No, she's not a witch. She brings the sun, flowers and the pretty days, too. The cool of spring and the warm of summer collided and created these big tornadoes." This seemed to be a good enough response at the moment.

On Thursday, we brought our donations to a Red Cross drop off in town. It was humbling to see so many American pulls together to help those in desperate need.

May God Bless Joplin in the coming days, weeks and months. 

Moving update and our recent visit to Tulsa

Moving day is fast approaching! We put a contract on a house last month and are set to close next week. The moving company will arrive in about two weeks to pack up our things and head south. We are very excited for this next step! However, we are still hoping and praying we sell our house soon.

This weekend we spent time as a family in Tulsa. Mommy and the girls left Thursday afternoon and arrived home this evening. We had a fun and relaxing weekend. Below are photos from Saturday.

We went to this event held in downtown Tulsa each year called Mayfest. It's an art fair with live music, yummy food and lots of fun activities. The girls enjoyed getting their faces painted. Gabby chose a princess design and Adriana chose Elmo.

She was such a big girl! She sat still and enjoyed the experience!

What pretty faces!

Sitting on the curb enjoying the beautiful weather. The girls are sporting their new Tangled t-shirts we purchased at the Disney store at the mall the evening before. 

In the Kids Zone they had some fun activities. Gabby (and Adriana for a little bit) participated in a stretching activity on the lawn. 

Daddy and Adriana enjoyed some yummy kettle corn!

A little more stretching.

Daddy and his girls.

After lunch and naps, we went to a park (the same one we visited last time) and enjoyed the warm and pretty weather. The girls love the tire swing. 

There was a nice shaded area under some trees next to the pond so I took some photos of the girls and Daddy. I thought this one of Gabriella turned out well.

Adriana showing off her endearing and sweet personality.

What a handsome Daddy!

What a lovely weekend! We are looking forward to calling Tulsa home in just a few weeks!