here they come!

I'm so glad that we are having visitors over spring break! It makes it that much more fun. Kent and I have made all sorts of plans to make our family members believe that this place is exciting! Melynda comes tomorrow and then Laney and Taylor come on Friday. Posting over the next week may be more intermittent than usual, but I should have lots of pictures at the end of the week. and mom, I want lots of good pictures of China! Good luck on the flight :)

So, two of my greatest dreams came true this weekend!

First, we got a PACKAGE. I have this insane adulation towards mail. I am rather eager about checking the mail each day. I get so excited when I hear the jangling of the mail lady's keys. I seriously get all worked up about the moneysaver ads and the valupak coupons! Honestly, I prefer things from actual people, but just about anything will make me smile a little. So, yesterday we got an early easter package from our most wondrous Ohio psuedofamily--the Starkeys. Zeb is obsessed with the rabbit. He has been attacking it all day today! we also got two books, one about a doctor amongst the Amish, and, Are You Ticklish, a touch and feel (Zeb's FAVORITE type of book) animal book. Thank you so much Kathy! We love everything and we can't wait to see you guys soon!

Number two dream come true- I've been weary about posting this for fear that it will get out to the wrong people and my happiness will be spoiled, but I can't contain my excitement. Remember how the internet man came this week? to figure out what was going on with our connection? well, he fixed it. Apparently the cable company has been having this problem for awhile now, but the "trap" that blocks the cable tv has been interfering with the internet and the only way to fix it was to remove the trap. Consequently, we now have CABLE!! and we don't have to pay for it!!! We don't get the whole slew of stations, but we've gotten enough to make me quite giddy. We get USA, the Food network, Discovery Health, CNN, ESPN, crystal clear Bravo (it was fuzzy before), and a few others. Kent and I have been glued to the late night surgeries on discovery health! let's hope our desire to watch every cool surgery wanes as we become more accustomed to it!

he's so stinkin funny

Today has been WONDERFUL. Kent finished anatomy and we got to spend all day (from 3 on) together! and it's going to continue till NEXT tuesday. I love spring break. Zeb is going to be in heaven too. It's ridiculous how much he loves his dad. This kid is hysterical. Last night was long again but at least today he made me laugh. He LOVES to mimic Kent. He'll wave like him, talk like him, sing like him, and just about anything else (all of which I am very happy with! I'd love for little Z to end up like his dad). This video makes Kent and I laugh like crazy. This rugrat is a riot.

Zazoo by Richard Mosher

Thanks to Rachael for this recommendation (I stole it off your list). It had a bit of an artistic flair to it, but I liked it nonetheless. A young Vietnamese girl is adopted by a Frenchman and moves to France after the war. It wasn't the fastest moving story, but I stuck it out to read the ending. The author creates somewhat of a mystery at the beginning and reveals it in the last few chapters. Definitely a recommendation I will pass on. Enjoy.

Our little guy on the move!

He's destined to be in the military and go on some top secret mission where he has to army crawl through swamps or something. This kid is AMAZING. The video is a little long but it shows off his great "skills". He loves the water and figured out he could get there on his own!


Notice his hawk like eyesight. He spotted the cookie chunk faster then I had time to figure out what was going on.
This is at the local ghost mall--Southwyck. It's where walking group occurs every tuesday and thursday.

so so sorry.

Here was Zeb's reaction this morning when he saw the results of the primaries. He sat there open-jawed and completely flabbergasted for so long that he started drooling. I'm so sorry about Ohio. We tried. There's nothing I can do about Texas. I just don't even know what happened. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! The only thing that would cheer the rugrat up was his little video! He LOVES watching himself laugh on the blog. He'll beg to watch it over and over and over again. He'll shriek if I take him away and crawl to the computer if I put him down. Here he is watching himself!

he's so dang happy!!

People in Ohio stop ANYONE with children. They ooo and ahh and make all sorts of funny comments! I have now been asked THREE times at Meijer (the local super grocery store) on which aisle I picked up Zeb!
Almost every time we get stopped the first thing people say is, "He is so happy". The rugrat will actually YELL at people to get their attention. He always yells the loudest and longest at the library. We are so lucky to have such a pleasantly tempered child (don't get me wrong, he has his moments). He loves to laugh and giggle and honestly, I love when he does it! Tonight he just couldn't believe how funny it was when I spit chapstick at him.

Besides enjoying chapstick this evening, Zeb was so excited to help us vote! He loved the touch screens and just really enjoyed being a part of the democratic process. Hooray that we live in the United States of America.

new president! big elections! change your clocks!

So, I've got to get in a few posts today because our internet is on the brink of self destruction. The fix it man is coming Wednesday! Let's just hope we can make it that long. Right now we can only get on blogs and only about 50% of the time can I read and/or make comments. When it does work, it takes AGES . Many times I have just given up and decided the fates do not want me to comment.

This blog has become my journal. Luckily for me, my journals have always been public domain. I can't lie down for bed at night unless I have posted something...anything. Thus my scatterbrainedness in posts, thoughts, and opinions. Somedays I just spew what's on my mind. Enjoy today's regurgitated musings.

"Dmitri Medvedev (dimitri of the bears!), first deputy prime minister of President Vladimir Putin's cabinet, won a landslide victory in Sunday's presidential election". It kind of makes you worried when the acceptance speech is given by Putin, the exiting President, rather then by the President Elect. I heard one news report today calling Dmitri the "marionette of puppetmaster Putin". Sometimes it appears that Russia is moving backwards and it makes me so nervous.

Hooray that we have at least somewhat better electoral processes here! Tomorrow we have to battle the lines at the local elementary school to vote! I would love to see a line, but I'm assuming it won't be too bad. I'm so excited about it. I love going to bed at night when I know something exciting is happening the next day! don't you?!

Lastly, Maybe I've just not been paying attention, but I cannot believe that it is already clock changing time! and there's nothing worse then losing that hour! luckily (due to stake conference) church starts half an hour later anyway. Really, it'll be like losing half an hour.

"Into the Wild"

I started it last night and couldn't put it down! Eventually my exhaustion kicked in and I closed the book with just a few chapters to go. The internet wasn't working this morning so I decided to finish it up while Zeb roamed the apartment :)
The story is fascinating. It's just over two hundred pages and I'd wished it kept going. Jon Krakauer, the author, tells the story of Chris McCandless, a young man who decides to abandon his normal life and roam the country. Eventually he decides to live off the land in Alaska for a summer. It's based off his own journal entries and interviews from people he met on his trek. Just an overall intriguing book.
I highly recommend it.

A Girl Named Zippy-- by Haven Kimmel. This was a recommendation from all over the place. It was quite the pleasant read. One of my all time favorite genres is memoirs and this book didn't disappoint. It was very quaint, funny, and just all around good. I picked up a handful of other memoirs from the biography/autobiography section so we'll see how they turn out.

This little rugrat has made me insane the past twenty-four hours. If his molars aren't coming in, he better have a pretty darn good excuse for his behavior. Last night was hideous. He didn't have longer than a 2.25 hour stretch of sleep and, coincidentally, neither did I. I'm pooped and the day hasn't been any better. The poor little guy has been miserable and has dozed off sporadically throughout the day for about seven-quarter hour naps. To make matters nightmarishly worse, Kent has a test this week and planned an eight to eight library day! Fortunately for me, I have the best husband in the world and he came home at lunch and surprised me with a trip to Olive Garden for soup and salad (thanks for the gift card met-spaghett!). It was delicious and I was happier. Plus, despite zeb's despondent condition, we got some pretty funny pictures! He's been chewing on his fingers, the medicine bottle, and this "gum massager" for the past full day. Poor little guy. His cheeks are all red and rashy and he's got a fever. He fell asleep once with the tylenol bottle in his mouth. I still love him.

happy leap year

I'm not sure why the kid on the rock will be back on Sunday, but Happy Leap Year to all. Growing up I always wished that I had a leap year birthday. Honestly, I still wish it. Leap year is such an enigma to me. I understand the gregorian calendar thing, I get the whole 365 and 1/4 days..blah, blah, blah. It's still an enigma. This extra day every four years... from out of nowhere!! It's wonderful really, besides the fact that it makes March seem just a little further away. I do enjoy the anticipation that it adds to the birthday wait though (21 days away!!!)! March has got to be one of the best months. I would live in September -March if I could. Just nix April through August. So, yeah, like I said earlier... Happy Leap Year! I hope that you all find something great to do with your extra day! I'm just insanely glad that I have such wonderful people to share it with. Kent and Zeb and I are having our own little Leap day celebration.