new pics coming soon & i need addresses

so much has been happening in the last month and i have lots to say, but i can't get my photos to upload, and we all know how boring it is to read blogs without photos, so when i get that problem fixed all will be up to date. in the mean time i need addresses for xmas cards. so if you want one, you best get me your address!!! :)

Happy Halloween, almost!

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When I asked Zoia what she wanted to be for Halloween she said a ghostie..... so here is my little ghostie all ready for her party!! (and since she is over the top about princesses this little crown, complete with spider webs and a spider, seemed to work out perfectly.)

i don't know if you are a shocked as i am but she let me put face paint on AND spray her hair white!!! and she loved it. she thought it was the coolest ever.

While Suzie and I chased Z and Jared around attempting to get a shot of them together, they just ignored us and went about their business. 2 year olds.... so fabulous!!!

my "beautiful" little girl

Okay, so this kid LOVES halloween. She literally makes me take her to any kind of store on a daily basis where she can look at halloween decor. She loves EVERYTHING halloween and literally the scarier the better. she also loves to wear halloween stuff, so this is her halloween outfit. (and just so you know, the kid doesn't like to smile for the camera so most of these are TERRIBLE, bit there is one that I love...)

no more pestering, teasing, or harsh tones ANY MORE

so it is official.... i am going back to school!!!! horray, or something like that. i finally got it all together, and with MUCH help from Erin, i am going to finish the two classes that i need to graduate. unfortunately i have taken both these classes before, but because i am an idiot and because of lymes, i didn't finish. so here i am retaking them.... perfect! anyhow, i wanted to let you ALL know so that there will be no more pestering, teasing, or harsh tones about the fact that i haven't finished yet!! okay, brant, scottie, mom, sky, and anyone else who has ever felt the desire. you'll just have to think of other things to bug me about!

More photos

This is my sweet 20 month old, just eating some cheese and being really happy about it!!!

Erin, sky's mom, or rather Ernie to the grandkids, decided to take everyone fishing at the fish farm. Zoia did not quite grasp the concept!

This is Alie, who is about 9 months older than Zoia. But the two of them absolutely love each other. There are literal screams of joy when they see each other. They do tend to beat up on each other now and then, and i have to admit that it is mostly Zoia doing the beating, but they both handle it really well.

Ernie, with all the grankids, and all the fish!! Kole just turned 5, Alie is 2, Zoia is 20 months, and Sophie is 10 months.

I just had to add this little seductive photo for you all to see. I told her I was taking a photo and this is what she did. hmmm....

and some photos....

The slide at hogle zoo. really the only thing she loved, until she had a major collision with Jared, and then she was done!!! (thanks suzie for the trip....3 months ago.. we LOVED it)

our little family at the beach. for some reason i did not plan ahead enough, go figure, so zoia and i were left without suits. hence her drowned rat look!

she LOVED the ocean. it was in fact freakin freezing water, but that didn't stop her. i think she needed a little break though, to contemplate the waves...

gratitude....

yes, i know it has been awhile since i have written and if i have any readers left at all it will be a miracle. truthfully i have been extra mega-busy since the move.... and there really has not been a lot to say. not to mention, that as most of you know, i tend to be a rather pessimistic individual as of late (yes, feel sorry for my husband). so all i could think to say were complaints. than today, as i was running through some quick emails and such, i took a look at a blog that i stalk and realized just how grateful i should be for my life. the blog is a beautiful photography blog, and a smattering of wonderful thoughts. i really just enjoy her viewpoint, her children, her photos... anyhow it seems that her last few post have in some way, been in honor of the remarkable women in her life. some have experienced tragic loss of a spouse, some have battled with horrific illness, or terrible accidents. and still others have left behind grieving families. i broke down into tears at my own selfishness. how could i possibly be pessimistic when i have so much. my daughter is the most amazing, wonderful, priceless gift and i can't imagine why i was so lucky to have been blest with her. she is perfect. she is funny and beautiful and crazy and simply the happiest little spot in my life. my husband.... i know he loves me. i know he tries so hard. i know i make him crazy and yet most days he puts up with it. he is wonderful. my family is such an amazing support system. we all are struggling right now with this and that, but at the end of the day there is nothing that we wouldn't do for each other. and i really mean nothing. i am healthy. i don't have cancer or diabetes or trouble conceiving or even heartburn. i have friends, that despite our lengthy separations and busy lives, truly love and care about me. what more could you ask for? i am so terribly sorry for these women who have struggled to simply be alive. i am so sorry for their children who have had to watch them in such pain. i am sorry mostly for the fact that i don't show enough gratitude to my heavenly father for my blessings. but i am, i truly am so unspeakably grateful.

we are moving...

yes, it is true... we are moving. long story, but i have been consumed with that for the last few weeks and will continue being consumed with that for at least another few weeks. so no posts from me for a while, sorry. but just as a taste for what is to come, me-hiking timpanogas (sp?) scary, moving, going to ca (hopefully), and probably lake powell. all these things will happen before i have time to blog so just think of the pics and the fabulous posts you will be able to read. HORRAY!!! until then, i hope you are all well and i hope you are having a GREAT summer!

when she is good she is very very good, but when she is bad she is HORRID!!!

yes, that is right... i am talking about my sweet, beautiful baby girl. the apple of my eye. the happiest thing in my world. my tiniest little best friend. who also happens to be the meanest, nastiest little piece of crap that ever walked the earth. on Saturday, while shopping at the local grocery store, where i see at least a hand full of people i know, my adorable little zoia says hello to everyone and waves and is just as sweet as can be. and then, suddenly, i pick her up out of the seat and she proceeds to flail about, doing all in her power to punch, poke, pinch, etc her unassuming mother. with keys in one hand, she clocks me in the side of the head with a full wind up and then grabs my mouth with the other hand and simultaneously pulls and pinches cheek until she is shaking and i am bleeding. yes, bleeding. and all the while the folks from my neighborhood are standing there, watching my 18 months old act like a wild animal. yeah. it was that fun. any parenting suggestions because my pleas and occasional yelps of "NO", "please, no", "don't" etc seem to fall upon deaf ears!!! maybe it's because she is cackling with such evil she can't hear me!


how can something so sweet be so bad!!?!

i want to be the kind of person that remembers!!

okay, so i fail miserably on a constant basis when it comes to remembering birthdays. seriously. i know i just missed felicia's and stacie's is like today, and i am certain that i have missed several other birthdays already this year, i HATE being that person. so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, leave a your birthday date in the comments. PLEASE. that means you. everyone, anyone. i am truly trying to be a better person and this is one of the ways that i want to do. so help me be better. comment your birthday (and better leave your address too, so that i can send the bday card that makes me the good friend that i want to be)(but if the address is too much, just the bday day will do). THANKS. (do it now, or you will forget. your crying child, or hungry spouse, or tv show will wait!!!) thanks

some recent photos and (much needed) happy thoughts

skyler LOVES to hike and be outside, so the minute that it got kinda warm he took us. i was excited, a little skeptical given my current state of being (ie: extra poundage). but we went and it was SOO fun. poor, fabulous skyler had to carry zoia all the way up, but he didn't complain and she LOVED it!!! this is us at the top. little did we know that it was the way down, through the snow and water, that would be the toughest!! zoia literally laughed so hard at me as i gracefully slide (or fell whatever) down the mountain that she couldn't breath!! for a city girl i actually had a great time!


just a photo of z. i can't get her to smile into the camera for the life of me. so don't be fooled my the blank stares that she shows in the pics. she is really very happy and smiley and not retarded!


on May 10th me, my mom, carianne (brit's bff), sky's mom erin, sky's aunt jodi, and erin's friend ran (or walked) the race for the cure. it was SOO much fun. seriously. i loved it. there were 17000 people running the race that day. can you image? and think of all the other races going on around the country as well. there are a lot of supporters of breast cancer research!!! and a lot of loving families as well!


so for my mother's day, skyler taught my YW's lesson (thank you sky) and we had hannah and my mother over for lunch, and then we went to erin's for dinner. we ate in the yard out back and during dinner zoia decided to take a fall from two steps up onto concrete. so her gift to me was this wonderful scabby face of hers!! she cried for about 5 minutes, i cried for about 20. poor little thing. she doesn't seem to mind now though!


z has decided that her baby stroller is actually for her. she points to herself and says "baby" then climbs in. it seems to me that i would probably look the same if i tried to climb into her stroller. gotta love the roles!

just to clarify...

i just want to apologize... i think that sometimes i see my blog as a sort of journal and when i need to just let it out, i tend to do it there, not really thinking about how people might react or respond to what i say. so, please know that what i said was not directly related to anyone, or said to make anyone feel guilty or sorry for me. we ALL have low points, and high points, good days and bad. and that day was, obviously, not such a great one. so, PLEASE everyone know that i am really fine, just trying to get my head on straight and figure out how to be happy in this new place. also, i get really tired of the "my life is so perfect" blogs that i read everyday and feel like sometimes it is nice to hear about how people are really feeling, so that we all can relate to each other on more levels than one. so again, i am sorry if i made anyone feel bad. my intention was to simply get it out of my head so that i could move on. i love you all very much and am thankful for you all in my life.

i just need a moment to let it all out

so it seems that i have been a bit down lately and i am certain that there are several reasons for this, but i just needed to get a few things out of my head, and i guess out on the web!!! i probably should have a journal or something so that this things aren't open to the world, but whatever. so, here i go. for years, maybe my whole life, i have been struggling with the idea of being loved for being me. so i did everything i could to outwardly be the cool, happy, positive, smart, beautiful person that i wanted to be. but inside, i was still the shy, scared, quiet, awkward, frumpy, girl i had been in high school. so i closed that girl off, and tried my best to erase her, but when i got pregnant, i was so overwhelmed with how out of control my life had become and how big the challenges were in front of me that all the courage and selflessness and positivity and spontaneity and coolness slipped away to reveal the worst true me. and it was at that time that so many of the people that i thought loved me for me slipped away. and it was at that time that the person i thought i was, the person that i tried so hard to be, the person that made me like myself ran away too. so since that time i have been attempting to find her again. that person that i used to like so much, but i can't find her. i never thought that i would be the kind of mom that does nothing except her child. that can't seem to find her way out the front door, but i dislike the naked, raw, scared, self conscious version of myself so much that i just can't do it. and on top of that the one seemly terrible choice that i made has placed a permanently horrible person badge right across my forehead so that i can never be trusted again or unconditionally loved again or given any kind of respect again. and it breaks my heart. and it confuses me. and it leaves me to wallow in my own self pity because no one wants to be friends with a sinner.... (did i mention i am kind of in a negative, glass half empty, pessimistic place in my life...?) anyhow, i just am feeling rather fragile and scared and sad and alone right now and wishing that i was that other brooke who never felt any of those things...

Check out my Slide Show!

i don't know about the rest of you married folk, but when i got hitched my hubby put the brakes on me displaying any photos in "our" house that did not somehow involve him. (which means that the last 26 years of my life, those that did not include him, were to be remembered fondly...) however, i am a photo/frame kinda gal, and i LOVE my old photos. so i needed a place to put them so that i could see some of my fav's whenever i want. plus, it's always fun to show off your old (or new) ugly styles and really bad hair days. (or in my case the days when i didn't only wear sweats and i actually looked kinda hot...) plus, i thought all of you might enjoy seeing a photo or two of yourselves!!!! (and ya sorry stac, i had to put the prego pic up, it's the only one i have of sam!) ENJOY!!!!

i did not get tagged, but i am doing it anyway!

im breaking the rules and i LOVE it. seeing as i don't have any friends who would tag me, i am going to tag myself. that's right. (plus, i really need a reason to not have to clean the toilets, again.)

10 YEARS AGO...
i was a senior in high school, just finishing up Hi-Lo's (drill team), getting ready for the new group of try-outs, wanting to just get the hell out already, and simultaneously freaking out because i wasn't sure what i was going to do. not to mention driving past nick's house and shavy-shavy's house, and jerom's house with kellie and matou in my little 2 seater crx, and working at zuka, and being kellie's shadow. (can anyone believe that 1998 was 10 YEARS AGO, wow.)

5 THINGS ON MY TO-DO LIST...
1. (obviously) clean my toilets
2. wash, fold, put-away, and re-organize the laundry (it seems zoia's new favorite game is to scramble her drawers.)
3. CLEAN (everything and anything. my house, sky's mom's house, the car's, the garage...)
4. make phone calls (sky's mom, my mom, young women's, getting photo's taken (wish kel was closer), getting tv (ya, we have not had television for almost 2 years, so my mom
thought it was time), ty, marge, steve, marian, my prayer circle sisters, etc...
5. do a few things for myself (finish EAT, PRAY, LOVE (you should read it), exercise (yoga booty ballet for today), shower, maybe brush my teeth, sow...)
(i think my to-do-list is the same everyday...)

5 SNACKS THAT I ENJOY...
1. de-caf coffee (my stake president said it was okay)(and no i didn't ask, we were joking about it and he brought it up!!!)
2. vanilla/cinnamon almonds
3. ice cream (of course)
4. vanilla yogurt with grapenuts
5. zuka's (okay jamba juice, but i liked zuka better)
6. pizza (is that a snack?)
7. oh wait, it was only 5 huh?!?!

IF I WERE SUDDENLY A BILLIONAIRE I WOULD...
do what most everyone else would do. ie:
- build our dream house
- help my family
- finally get the DAFFODIL PROJECT (romanian street kids project) up and running
- travel with sky (india, ireland, scottland, hungary, romania...)
- buy zoia lots of toys and clothes
- have sky finish his cruiser, his chevelle, his anything
- go shopping at H&M, and since im a billionaire, how about saks and bloomies
- get a gym membership & a personal trainer & a personal chef & lipo
(wouldn't everyone want to do that?)

5 PLACES IVE LIVED...(interjection by me) SINCE I TURNED 18
1. Armonk, New York
2. Rexburg, Idaho
3. Kihei, Maui, Hawaii
4. Brasov, Romania
5. Provo, Ogden, Orem, Utah

5 JOBS IVE HAD...
1. Zuka Juice
2. Nanny for the Slaps
3. Hallmark
4. Nanny for the Butin's (over and wonderfully over again)
5. Discovery Academy (Boarding School for troubled youth)

5 THINGS NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT ME...
1. I actually LOVE sushi. I used to HATE it, but sky made me try it so many times that i actually started to like it. Plus, it is so beautiful. How can you not just want to eat it, or take pictures of it.
2. I pick at EVERYTHING. My nails, my split ends, my lips... terrible habits.
3. I am terrified of butterflies and moths. Yup. it is true.
4. Being a mom is the most fun, most scary, and the BEST thing that i have ever done. I LOVE IT.
5. I LOVE to have crazy hair colors. Ive been blue and green and most recently pink, and the secret punk rocker that lives inside me LOVES it.

okay, so since i tagged myself, i am going to tag all of you (and if your name is not on the list that does not exclude you...) k8s, kellie, stacie, eni, marge, vern... i am serious about all of you. these are things that i would like to know about all of you!!! and apparently i wanted you to know all about me!!

i know that we are all on diets, but break it for these cookies...seriously?!!!

Okay, so i have become a sort of cookie connoisseur of late (in other words, i really like cookies and i like to bake lots of them). and well, i think i have decided that these are truly some of the best. no joke, they are like magically delicious (minus the lepricon (how do you spell that?!?!)).

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter
1 & 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups Guittard Green Mint Chips (the recipe is yummy with the mint chips, but if you make them with semisweet you'll be eating crazy-good double chocolate cookies)

Preheat oven to 350. In double boiler melt 1 bag semisweet chips & butter. Set aside to cool. In large bowl beat eggs, sugar and vanilla until light. Blend in melted chocolate and then dry ingredients. Stir in chips (either mint or semisweet) and chill for 20 minutes. Bake 8-10 minutes; cookies will be soft in centers but will harden as they cool.

did i mention how much i love her....

"family time"

okay, so i haven't written in some time for several reasons, one of them being that the computer was taken, and another being that there has been a seemingly endless amount of "family" time over the last few weeks which has occupied most of my time and ALL of my thoughts. And while you would assume that "family time" would be enjoyable and entertaining and a favorable switch from the typically mundane, the truth is that it completely stresses me out. i'm not sure if it is because i have incredibly set expectations, or if families are retarded, or if i am just the one that is has no ability to see past my own desires. which ever one of these aspects is true, does not change the fact that "family time" actually means stressed out, over emotional, completely out of control time. mostly from lil old me, but i tend to be triggered by others. anyhow, there were moments of fun and laughter, sprinkled with words of bitterness and tears of anger. ya, it was a memorable time. is it just me or are families harder to deal with the old that everyone gets? i watch these movies (like Dan in Real Life, for example) where loving grandparents, friendly siblings and adoring children come together in one little house and seem to abound in happiness and good cheer. and then i attempt to do the same thing with my family and the only thing that is abounding is pissy-ness and resentment. don't get me wrong, we all love each other dearly, we just really don't like each other dearly as well!! let's just say i am praying that the next "family time" event will be in the far away future! (some fake happiness photos on the way)

sky's going outta town and takin' the comp with him!! grrrr!!

skyler works at a boarding school for boys (and loves it) and one of the boys is amazing at tennis. so sky is taking him to a tournament in vegas this week. and i was gonna go, and long long story short, im not anymore. and for a moment i was thinking that i could finally post some of the pics of z and the family that i wanted to post and say a few things besides how much i love alanis. but as it turns out he is taking the computer with him. and just to complain a little more, he is also taking the good car (for obvious reasons, but i feel entitled to bitch about it. especially since z HATES the car and the only way i can get her to even get in is to promise to let her watch NEMO.)(did i mention that the good car has a dvd player...?) so not only am i stuck in the house with no tv, no computer, no good weather, i am also forced to take a screaming toddler in the tiny lil beater. yeah, it's true, i needed to complain. life goes on. even without blogging...

My humps (Black Eyed Peas)

Just so you can compare.... and then so you can see why alanis rocks

Alanis Morissette "my humps"

so i am TOTALLY on an alanis kick right now, so i think all of you should be too and this is why!!!

Alanis kicks some serious booty

a few months ago i mentioned that katie got me tix for the alanis/ matchbox twenty concert. well, i was literally counting down the days because i LOVE alanis. yeah, i know that most of you are laughing right now, but seriously, the chic is kick ass. not only is she a "lyrical genius", she also is just freakin' rad!!! when she speaks you can tell that she is very articulate and that she is well educated. and for many other reasons, i just like her. anyway, the point being that we went to the concert and it was FABULOUS. she is completely crazy on stage, almost like the girl has turrets syndrome (is that how you spell it). and it is GREAT to watch, so entertaining. much to my disappointment she didn't play for as long as i would have liked, but it was still amazing. and i was not particularly stoked about the matchbox 20 thing, but actually they were good, and fun!! it was definitely a strange combo because alanis mostly sang songs from "jagged lil pill" and matchbox 20 mostly sang songs from their new album which has A LOT of songs from their 1st album... away all this to say that both of those albums were popular during my junior and senior years of high school. so listening to them with katie was a strange blast from the past. lots of memories from 10 years ago came spilling back!! dances, and hi-lo's, and zuka, and friends... strange that it was 10 years ago... time goes by fast. anyhow, the concert was GREAT (thanks k8s, it really was SOOO fun), the company was great (when you are away from a good friend for a long period of time, you forget how great it is to be around them...) and well, it was just great!!! and if you don't listen to alanis, at least occasionally, you should. especially "so called choas" & "under rug swept". im serious!

sometimes i just need a project

sky's aunt has me do random project for her now and then and this is the most recent one....

it was dr. suess day so they decorated the teachers doors. so i decided that i would take the class picture and put each of the children's heads on one of the characters. it was fun!!! and it turned out pretty good! what do you think?

our back yard

for those of you who don't know, the house that sky, z and i live in is sky's dad's old house. sky's dad owns a large piece of property in the heart of North ogden and sold some off several years ago to a housing development. well, long story short, tom got one of the condo's that were built on the edge of his property. and we bought it from him. so all of the windows in our house, minus the front two, face the ranch, or part of the property that tom still owes. it has a beautiful pond and lots of big trees, and incidentally tons of ducks and geese, which of course z LOVES. her second word was duck. anyhow, a few weeks ago we found out that tom has sold off the portion of the ranch that is behind our house. so the beautiful pond, trees, and ducks will all be gone. i am SO sad about it. it is so much fun, and truly so beautiful, and i will miss looking at the windows at this wonderful view. i took this picture last night during the sun set..... AMAZING HUH!???!?!?!

new updates

so, it has been a while, yes!??!?! lots of things and nothing has happened. sky and i went away for the first time since z was born and it was FABULOUS!!! it was only a night but it was amazing!!! who knew leaving your kid behind could feel so free!
i also have been working on some art projects and work projects so i forgot about blogging. not that anyone really reads it anyway, but here it is.
and here are a few of my favorite new pics of z!! she is HILariOUS these days! she copies EVERYTHING i do and is SO proud of herself for it. today i was attempting to change the light bulbs in my living room but i could NOT get the light fixture off. so i am standing on a chair in the middle of the living room growling in frustration. i jump down to try something else and when i come back in z is standing on the chair, staring up at the ceiling, growling.

z hates riding in the car, particularly when the sun is shining in on her. so we bought her these new glasses and literally, she did not take them off for days!! diva!!



she also has decided that baths are the COOLEST thing because not only can she take them with dad, but she also can dunk her head under and then whip her hair back and shower the entire bathroom with water (look at her face in the pic of her drenched. she is thrilled with herself!!)

these, and other fantastic z moments make up the days of my life. so i have nothing else to share. i hope you all are well!! ~b

mmmmm... yogurt!

zoia is one of those kids that really wants to and does eat EVERYTHING!! however, i can not get her to eat yogurt not matter how much i try. so today, i offered her the yogurt, and she did this with it... i'm not sure if she liked how it tasted, or just how it felt squishing around in her fingers, and belly button!!!

oh the PECIA

last friday one of my favorite friends came into town and we were able to spend a few fun hours with her. pecia works for a fabulous band called the Jonas Brothers, for whom i am very grateful. not only because they treat pecia with the respect and love that she deserves, but also because they have been touring for the past several months and have brought pecia to utah TWICE!!!! whoopi. which means that i owe them a little room here on my blog... if you haven't already heard of them, here they are (and when i can figure out how to get music on my blog, ill be playing them!!)

pecia, as the butin family deemed her, has been a dear friend and soul sister for a long time. she has seen me through some of my most challenging times, as well as those moments that defined who i am. she was also a bridesmaid (hence the photo!) i am thrilled that she was finally able to meet my sweet baby z.

thanks pecia for the wonderful afternoon, the yummy lunch, the fabulous bag and much needed happies, for the tix and meet & greets (they LOVED it),and for loving my little cartoon character!! WE LOVE YOU!!!!

ode to uncle chris

with the posting of z's bday, i just had to include an "ode" to her uncle chris, not only because the two of them have the most adorable love affair with each other, but also because A- he moved (mean ol' uncle chris), and B- he wins the best birthday gift, maybe EVER!!!!
let's give a lil' background info shall we...
chris and sky met in high school, volleyball buddies. they stayed close and even went to new zealand together for 3 months, which became the sleeping in the same tent, falling from the sky, sloshing through pitch black tunnels together, kind-of-close. chris came for sky's homecoming, which is when he met me, because sky and i didn't spend one second apart from each other the minute we saw each other again. and i immediately thought chris was awesome!!! so then, after much convincing and condo craziness, chris decided to move to utah. he was here about 7 months, in which time zoia fell head over heels for him!!! the 3 of us were like a replica of the scrubs "family"(okay 4 of us, including z, but since there is no baby in scrubs, she is not included in the replica) w/ sky and i playing turk & carla, and chris as JD (and the best part is that chris actually kinda looks like zach braff!)
so in those 7 months there was a lot of camping, attempted hikes, driving, swimming, eating, shopping, etc. during one of the shopping adventures, at IKEA (the happiest place on earth), zoia decided to climb into the bin of sheep skin rugs!! and there she stayed for about 15 minutes until i pried her purple-lipped, screaming body from the bin. (she loves things that are soft. rugs, stuffed animals, garments, ya know....) so sweet uncle chris decides that for her bday he is going to drive the 45 minutes to IKEA to get her one of the coveted rugs.
and his drive paid off because when she opened his gift everything disappeared and she cuddled with the thing and hasn't stopped yet. in fact she not only sleeps with it every night, but she drags the thing around like a blanket!!!!!
so that is the ode to uncle chris!!!! we love you. and miss you.


p.s. if anyone knows how i can rotate pics on blogger can you let me know!!! i can't figure it out. they are flipped when i view them but when they post, they are turned again.... (computer retarded, yup that's me!!!)

just a little reminder

Two of my closest friends just returned from Romania.  They spent a month trying to finish the documentary that Ty and I started over 3 years ago.  They had quit the adventure....  I will tell more when I get a few pics from them, but I just wanted to post some video from You Tube just to remind you all what goes on out there in the world that we forget to notice sometimes...  

a few more photos from the bday

here are the cousins....  Cousin Kole, who teaches "baby z" how to be "tough as nails" is holding his new baby sister Sophie, or better known as "Ophie".  and then Miss Alie Jo who is only 9 months older than z is "holding" zoia....  maybe it should have been the other way around since z literally weighs almost 10 pounds more than Alie....

and this is my fam....  who all, by the way, LOVE zoia

grandma is OBSESSED.  uncle jesse and dayna love her, but she is not so sure about them.  aunt katie always gets hugs.  and hannah, well hannah really is the favorite.  Zoia will go to hannah even when she is crying, even over grandma!!!!  

i have a ONE YEAR OLD!!!!

yes, yes it is true. i do in fact have a child that is one year old!!! and she is so delicious. she is becoming the funniest kid ever!!! i am so lucky that i get to be her mom. don't get me wrong, she definitely has her moments when i wish that someone else would be her mom for a minute, but those don't last long!!! (usually) anyhow, we had a little party for her, and it was a lot of fun. she loves her little cousins, not always so fond of the adults, but she gets over it.  i even got to bake, which i love to do (ya i know, who knew that i would ever be able to do a thing in the kitchen, but it turns out i can bake).  I love cupcakes, so i made the barefoot contessa coconut cupcakes, which were FABULOUS!!!  and then some chocolate ones too!!   they were yummy,  and i am certain that i ate more than anyone else!!!!  i also made zoia her own cake, thinking that she would love to get messy and have her very own cake to eat, but she barely even poked at it....  bummer, maybe next year!!  anyhow, it was a fun night.  lots of food and presents and family.... she loved it!!!!

a few photos from the past few months

well, it seems that i may not be as technologically advanced as i thought and the whole blogging things was simply not working for me. but i will try again...
life has been busy and absolutely slow all at once. but here are a few photos.....