Merry Ho Ho Ho...

and all that stuff!

we had a nice christmas, very laid back. we continued our tradition of eating chinese food on christmas eve by going to a local place called Ho Lee Chows. funny eating chinese food in korea, served by koreans. after the girls drove us crazy bouncing all over the seats and declaring how much they don't like chinese food with sayings like "yuck" and"gross", we headed home. after the girls went to bed, i managed to write my christmas letter finally. so if you are anxiously awaiting its arrival, it should go to the post office today.

santa did manage to find our house this year and thankfully the Grinch did not. what a difference a year makes. after a slow morning of opening presents, playing, eating, and napping we went to the hotel on base here (its like a 4 star) and had christmas dinner. we all got dressed up and it was very nice. (all though it did remind us once again why we never take our kids out to eat...2 times in 2 days is a record for us!)

i also managed to complete 3 layouts in the last couple of days and am hoping to take advantage of the rest of christmas break to go on a scrapbooking frenzy.

well, hope you had a merry ho ho of a holiday!

k

move it DUDE!

yep! thats what i say to all the korean drivers (mainly cabbies) instead of another set of choice words...and now my 2 year old feels compelled to shout it from her back seat. haha! she's a nut!

finally pulled the christmas tree out and got things decorated around here. there is just something about a dark room with the glow of christmas lights that really makes me happy. i just may have to leave the lights up after the tree gets put away...hmmm, i think i'm onto something!

got to go to another stamp camp last sunday and had a lot of fun! i like having that time to wake up my creative juices! now i'm dying to make something or put a layout together...but 1st i must take care of some things before i play! i still have some christmas things to make & buy...i'm such a procrastinator! at this rate i will never die, because i will just put that off too!! haha!

well here is another picture of ella...this is how she fell asleep thanksgiving night (and no she didn't consume any turkey)...but of course we had to take a pic!

finding the christmas spirit

does anyone know where to find this? seriously curious! i am SO not in the spirit yet its not funny...my poor daughter...she's dying to put up the tree and i can't figure out for the life of me where the dog-gone thing is gonna fit this year...this house is so small!! oh well, we'll make due like we always do!

just finished the last of my edits for family sessions. i feel like a huge weight has been lifted off me! so, for the next month...i am free (minus my own edits, christmas presents...all the projects i want to make, etc)...geesh!

trying to decide whether to continue on with the photography here. its a lot of work and time consuming of course, but i love it so...for the most part. just trying to figure out if it cuts into my personal time too much. i have considered ending it for good...but then i start feeling guilty. (why, i don't know)...so if you are reading this and have had your pics taken with me, or was wanting them taken, drop me an email and let me know your thoughts...i only have a few weeks to decide.

well, i'm afraid this entry will not have a photo in it because i need to go to bed! haha! but will work on editing ella's b-day pics and post some of those. got some really great shots! (i'm such a tease!)

ready for a break:)

i think i'm ready for my own vacation:) i really love being a mom and wife and doing all the other things i do, but every now and then i want to relive some of those days from my early 20's where the house was mine, i slept when i wanted, watched what i wanted on tv and if i stayed up until 0500 scrapbooking, so be it...no one was affected but me! so i guess i'm having a pity party day:)

so i will change subjects all together so that this doesn't turn into a pathetic blog entry:) i completed a personal project last week and wanted to share it. this started off as a birthday present for my best friend here and it turned into a piece of art (if i do say so myself). i made a collage of photos of seoul and i took everyone one of them! i edited them all and put them together in my 1st piece of wall art. it is at the printers right now and i can't wait for it to get here in person so i can take it to get framed and then stare at it everyday. i just love it! so without further delay...here it is:

like it? yeah i'm pretty proud! (sorry about all the watermarking on the pic...you can never be too careful in this internet world! i need to get into the habit of doing everytime, but sometimes you lose some of the pic that way)

on an another note, we had parent teacher conferences on friday...abby is doing well, very strong academically...just need to work on her ability to STOP talking all the time (esp. when the teacher asks her)...uughh! any suggestions?? i'm really open to anything at this point!

can't believe my other baby is getting ready to have another birthday! doesn't seem fair that the years go so quickly and yet some days drag on forever!! looking down the road towards the holidays...don't know whats in store for us yet. we had planned on going somewhere for the holidays (cause i really don't want to stay around here...everyone is gone and since i don't have all my stuff or my family nearby, it was depressing for me last year)...but when i started looking at airline ticket prices, i about passed out! so right now it looks like we will be staying here:(....maybe that means more time for me to scrapbook since the daily routine will be minimal. guess we'll see!

well, hope you enjoy the pic! will share more soon!
k

gotta love modern technology!

the other day, out of the blue my computer decides to "pretend" there isn't a cd-rom drive. this can be problematic when i want to listen to music or burn a cd of pictures! so my sweet husband stayed up half the night (despite my begging him not to) and with the help of tech support...helped my computer find its lost cd-rom drive. of course, that can't be the end of this saga...now my computer has decided there are certain websites it won't take me too. uugghh! gotta love modern technology!

thats all for now...i have a headache and my oldest is out of school for a teacher inservice day...i think its gonna be a long day!

it must come with age...

i never used to like fall as a child. maybe it was because i was back in school and the freedom of summer was over. but as an adult, i LOVE this time of year. i never really appreciated the beauty nature graces us with during this season, but the past few years, i have really embraced it. so here's to autumn and all its glory!

halloween is officially today, but has been over for us for a few days. the girls had fun trick-or-treating and dressing up...and thankfully weren't scared from all the freaky costumes out there! ella even learned to say "ding-dong, tick a teat"...haha! it was so cute! in fact she still says it! abby isn't thrilled that she has to wait another year to get to go out again, but will live i'm sure!

lots going on in the next couple weeks...ella's getting ready to be a whole year older! man, does the time fly! she is definitely practicing for her "terrible two's" lately! NO is her favorite word, and she is getting a little more physical...but then again, she has had to learn to defend herself from her sister...

and then the next big event is my baby brother is getting married (on ella's b-day). i'm so sad i can't be there for the wedding. it will be the only one i haven't been able to attend, but i am hoping to have a nice reunion with everyone when i return next summer.

well, better get back to cleaning the house! enjoy!

k

meet our newest "bee"

we went to a "costume parade" at school today and everyone dressed up! so then i took advantage of the photo op! enjoy!

k

found mojo...

he was under some paper:) i haven't done anything scrappy related in almost 4 months...but last night, i created this cute little cardstock purse with 8 coordinating cards...and then today i gave it away as a birthday present:( but she loved it...so thats all that matters!

and then today i created another one (i'm really addicted) and it was just as cute! and then this afternoon, i gave that one away too (another birthday present)...so i think i can officially say i have my mojo back!!

too bad mojo can't help me clean up the ENORMOUS mess of scrappy supplies that line my counters and table right now! i was trying to organize stuff and then needed a change of pace...but the mess is still there! uugghh! why do i do this to myself??

enjoy the pics!

mach 10 with my hair on fire!!

yep! thats me! thats what i feel like! thankfully today has been one of the FEW relaxing days where i didn't have to go anywhere...on the downside...that means i have to clean! yuck! so i'm blogging instead! haha!

we just found out we will be moving in the summer...so now i have to start downsizing stuff! double yuck! but cool that i will get to see my family and hopefully some friends along the way!

well, i'm not going to ramble...just wanted to update and post some pics! enjoy!

been awhile...

well its been awhile since i updated this blog...lots going on...got over my illnesses during august, abby started kindergarten, my parents came for a visit and lots of traveling...so now i'm back and hopefully i can get back in the groove of updating this regularly.

abby is a month into school and has survived thus far. i think she has finally realized that i'm not giving in..she has to go. so now instead of tears, she waves good-bye and occasionally smiles from the bus in the morning. on a different note, i am developing a new relationship with ella which has been wonderful. we've never really had one on one time with each other for any significant amount of time, so this is a nice change. we are still going to playgroup a few times a week and we are getting ready to start a mommy-tot dance class. so i'm excited about that.

i also just agreed to help another mom start up a daisy girl scout troop here in the community we live in...so that is gonna completely fill up my already full schedule. but it should be fun and it gives abby and i some projects to work on too!

my photography "thing" for lack of a better word ( i refuse to say business, cause i don't really feel like i am in business yet:) is going well. i am quite booked for the month of october and have decided after much thought that after this month, i will be done photographing until 2008. i need to find a middle ground where editing photos doesn't take every waking minute, but also still be able to practice and get better and learn more as i go. i truly love photography, always have...now i just have to balance it with my life as a mom, and a wife.

well, thats a wrap for now. will include pics in the next one!
k

some days just suck!

yesterday (sunday), after 3 1/2 hours of sleep that my kids allowed me to have for the night, i woke up to discover i had pink eye. that on top of a nasty cold, on top of the fact that matt is gone for another week and a half...and that just means one thing! SOME DAYS JUST SUCK! i was able to get some more sleep last night and my eyes feel a *little* better....just reminds me of that mary chapin carpenter song "some days you're the windshield, some days you're the bug"...well i think i was BOTH yesterday if thats possible...but hopefully everything starts healing more and more each hour.

abby finished swim lessons on friday and passed onto the next level...i just can't believe how far she has come since last summer. here's a picture of her on the last day, full of reckless abandon...jumping off the diving board WITHOUT a life jacket...

you go girl!

well, not much else exciting going on here (not that i can stand any more excitement at this time! lol!) i am excited to have a few more photo shoots in the works...i had a newborn one on saturday and have 3 more shoots coming up this week...very exciting! then another shoot next week and hopefully i can schedule our AWESOME babysitter to pose for me soon! (don't be nervous T. it's all good! you're so cute, i can't imagine a bad pic!)

well, i better go drug my eyes and start playing mommy today! haha! later~

i am a password I-D-I-O-T!

(that last word was *spelled* out because its consider a naughty world in our house). i have too many things that i have to remember passwords for. you would think the logical thing would be to synchronize them all...but i'm not that smart:) haha!

finally had a DRY day here! spent the morning taking photos of a new baby (gosh i just love babies...esp, when you're not the sleep deprived one!) it gets better L. i promise! anyways, she is just darling, as you can see.

tomorrow my partner in crime and i are going on a Buddhist Temple Tour. VERY excited about this on so many levels! 1) i have never been, 2) it's just a mommy outing, 3) i get the chance to take some touristy pics without hauling kids around, 4) get to hang out with the previous mentioned partner in crime...now knowing my luck...it will rain! **keeping fingers crossed** that it doesn't!

other things going on...week 2 of swim lessons starts monday (abby jumped off the diving board last week and was so excited...i'm so proud of her. she was the only one in her class to do it). matt has a "business trip" for the next couple weeks or so (NOT looking forward to that)...abby starts KINDERGARTEN in 2 weeks! i am starting to get nervous for both of us. thankfully she has no clue on time...or she would be worried too!

well thats about it~ enjoy!

swim lessons, monsoon & ella's new look

well monsoon finally decided to make its ugly, unwanted appearance. the kids are pinging off the walls, there aren't a lot of places to go here indoors to just let them run and i'm thinking mild sedatives for myself right now might help all of us! haha! oh the joys of living in this part of the world. and wouldn't you know it...abby started swim lessons on monday.

let me tell you...she stomped and screamed and cursed me out when i told her i was gonna sign her up...then a few days before they actually started, the anxiety returned...she BEGGED me on monday morning to please not take her...well she LOVED it! LOVES her teacher and just can't wait to go back. problem is, the monsoon has cancelled the last 2 days of it! uugghh! so i'm keeping my fingers crossed that this monsoon is short lived and praying that swim lessons will resume soon!

on a funnier note, here is a picture of ella sporting her "new look". she thinks its so funny to squint her eyes all the time. what a character!

haven't been able to take very many new pictures lately with all the rain...but hopefully that too will resume shortly! i have some cool ideas in my head, just had to make my camera actually listen:) here is a pic of a new plate of mine...just as soon as i can afford, i'm buying the rest of this stuff and replacing our current plates and bowls. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! it just makes me happy! did i mention that i LOVE it???

well enjoy!

Dog Days of summer!

well the dog days of summer have definitely hit here! everything is wet from humidity and its only comfortable being outside if you are in the pool! i am SO glad we have very efficient air conditioners (that have a rapid cool setting...it cools down the house within 10-15 min).

most days are spent at the pool and both girls have become little fishes! we bought abby a mask in guam that also covers your nose and now she acually swims under water. they both have floatation vests, so they feel more secure in the water. ella is our fearless one...she loves playing in the water and wants to do everything her big sister does. we have a slide at our pool and both have gone down it already...they have so much fun!

the other day we explored a new park here. it used to be the old golf course for the base until we turned that land back over...so it is GORGEOUS! i can't believe i haven't been there before! what was even nicer is that they have sprawling lawns of green grass...i'm sure most of you are like...yeah, whats the big deal about that? well there just isn't a lot of it here! so they ran and played, fed the fish and ducks...just lots of fun. definitely one of my new favorite places to take pics! (as you can see from the ones i added) hope you enjoy the pics!

k

wanna fry your brain???

try figuring out HTML codes! i have spent the last several nights working on my new photo website. (the old one is discontinuing service). well this new website is awesome and offers much more than the old one...but there weren't any premade "templates" for me to use. so i had to suffer thru...but i am so proud i stuck with it. the website itself isn't completely done, i still need to add more photos, but the basics are there. so check it out if you'd like and let me know what you think. http://www.kristycoxphotography.smugmug.com/

summertime here is just chugging away. lots of time at the pool, lots of time at the playground...and some very grubby kids by the end of the day. i think that is why johnson & johnsons makes their soap smell so yummy...they know parents want to smell that after a long day of playing hard.

ella's new words are: poo (pool), ite (slide), ott (hot). she cracks me up. its so amazing to me how different both of the girls are. abby is growing by leaps and bounds...at least you don't notice the big height difference with shorts and skirts. once winter comes though, she may have to get a job to support her growth spurts. both girls have so much fun playing with each other. i just love the relationship sisters have. i love watching them support each other (like ella sitting in time out with abby out of empathy)...pretty funny. they are truly my greatest accomplishment.

well enough sappiness...i am severely sleep deprived (from that stupid coding)...so i need to head to bed. but of course i will leave some pictures. later~ (just in case you're wondering in that last picture, ella's mouth is packed with gawk-gawks (crackers)...sometimes thats the only reason she likes going to the pool...for the snacks!

getting back the mojo...

well i have been on scrapbooking hiatus (so to speak) for the last month or 2. lost my mojo...but i am finally getting it back. and the bigger surprise was that my 1st layout i shared on CX the other day ("just be") got chosen as POTD (pick of the day)...now thats awesome! talk about making a girl feel good!

in other news...abby is still in the process of recovering. she spiked a nasty temp on friday (103.7), threw up in the night and then started having it on the other end. poor thing! she does ok as long as we keep her on tylenol or motrin...but as soon as it wears off, she spikes again. hopefully this bug hurries up and gets thru her system and doesn't infect anyone else in the house! for now i just keep my fingers crossed for an uneventful night.

thats about all that's happening here.

k

26 things...

to jump start my photo creativity...there is a challenge at two peas to help get your creative juices flowing with photography. they listed 26 things and you take pics based on your interpretation of them. now this challenge started back in june, but i am just now jumping on the bandwagon. so periodically you might see "different" pics...thats why. its been fun trying to think of things to photograph.

#13 patriotic

#1 angles

#8 patterns/repetition

#21 path

life here otherwise has been all right. the weather is hot and extremely humid...monsoon is right around the corner and keeps teasing us. we will get a day or 2 of horrendous rain and then it stops. the clouds and smog (when its not raining) make it dreary everyday:( i need some vit.D!!

the girls are fine. got some cute pics of them at the park yesterday, i will post. i am practicing with different lenses and modes, so not all of them come out like i saw in my head...but hey, thats what practice is for! i think its helping me get my mojo back...i actually feel like scrapbooking again! of course i just organized my cabinet...so everything is neat and orderly...isn't that how it always works?

ella is talking up a storm. she is so funny! her latest "sentence" is " bobby...R U?...come!" translation is abby, where are you? come here. she cracks us up!

we took the girls to the samsung childrens museum on friday (since matt had the day off). they had so much fun! i think they liked the water exhibit best!

well thats about all i can think of. have a good one! and enjoy the pics!

i just love these people!!

thanks for looking:)

k

i'm baaaaccckkkkkk.....

from guam that is. and let me tell you it was HOT & HUMID!! reminded me of Georgia in August. that being said...it was GORGEOUS!! and so nice to be away and not be on a schedule. we spent most of the early part of each day finding stuff to do until it cooled off and then late afternoon we hit the beach or pool...depending on what the girls wanted to do. we got to see quite a bit of the island, ride a trolley quite often, go to an aquarium, go to a water park, eat some really good american food:), shop at k-mart; ate traditional chamorro food and visited the chamorro village that had lots of traditional island crafts, etc. we visited both military bases there, had to buy an extra bag for all the extra stuff we bought and paid way too much for cabs!

we are happy to be home now...it was time. abby was actually begging us to come home. she just missed her things. one of the great things about staying there was we had a fabulous room and the girls slept most of the nights all the way thru...so we got some good "catch up" sleep.

the picture above is from our hotel balcony. more pics to come soon!

the start of a new year...

today matt passed the torch so-to-speak in his job...so we are free from the unrelenting cell phone ringing at all hours and i finally have my man back! his ceremony was this morning and afterwards we came home and just relaxed all day...this is how the start to a vacation should be!
we leave for guam soon and can't wait! (now i'm just holding my breath on the weather forecast that shows rain for the entire time we are there:( hopefully they are VERY wrong!)

we are continuing to build our summer tans by hitting the pool almost everyday. very convenient since it is located about 50 feet from my building! the kiddie pool is very nice...and the girls have a blast...so between that and playing at the playgrounds here for hours and hours...we are quite busy. abby is signed up for swim lessons, but they aren't until august. they are very hard to get here and i actually got her in the last slot.

ella has become the "cookie monster" of the family. if you remember how he eats his cookies, thats my child! sound effects and everything...she eats at least one meal a day this way. i can only take it that its her way of complimenting my cooking! haha!

i haven't scrapbooked lately...lost my mojo. actually, thats not true. i made a layout the other night for a friend and i hate the way it turned out...so its back to the drawing board...because i won't except it as just "ok". i think there has just been so much going on, and i am completely drained by the time the kiddos are in bed. matt's nights this past week have been so late coming home that somedays he didn't get to see the girls at all. thank goodness that is over! so i am anxiously awaiting our vacation and some down time...physically and mentally. and then when i come back i will be a renewed, energized woman! woohoo!

as far as photos...i'm always taking photos, still trying to figure out all the settings on my camera and all the neat things photoshop can do. so hopefully i return from our trip with some EXCELLENT pictures as well! until next time...
k

knotheads & boyfriends...

well here is a picture of my "not always paying attention" 4 year old...she was running at the park (of course not looking where she was going because she was too busy STARING at someone)...when she turned around she came face to face with a very solid metal pole. this happened a couple days ago...and the knot is still as big as it was when it happened...all though now it looks like she will be "lucky" and get a black eye out of it too!

on a lighter note, here is a recent conversation we had:

abby: mom, why don't you have a boyfriend?

me: umm, your daddy IS my boyfriend

abby: NO mom, he's your husband...you need a boyfriend too!

me: umm, ok...

well, i better get off to bed before my children decide tonight is a good night to keep me up.

here is a pic i took of ella today...been taking so many of other people and their kids that i thought i should get some of my own kids. plus it was a good day to! enjoy!

k

if only i could hook up my brain to the computer!!

then this blog would be updated MUCH more frequently and i would be the most organized person in the world. quick recap since the last post...we are heading to guam for some much needed rest and relaxation in about 10 days...very excited about this.

abby has managed to give herself an ENORMOUS goose egg on her forehead (ran into a metal pole cause she wasn't watching where she was going)...poor thing...it looks like she's trying to bud a horn there or something as swollen as it is!

we are trying to get approval to move in the apartment next door which is TWICE as big as the place we are in now...hopefully we will know something next week.

i have really kicked off my photography "thing"...don't really know what else to call it...check it out at kristycoxphotography.com and let me know if you would hire me:) haha!

ok...so i'm gonna quit babbling right now and post some pics! leave me a comment so i know you visited me:) its a lonely world here:)

the stats are in...

ella had her 18 month appt on friday and she is topping the charts once again. she weighs 31.6 lbs (95%) is 33.25" long (90%) and her head circumference was in the 94%...she probably won't end up being as tall as abby, but will more than likely be taller than me...go figure! haha

we have so far had a rough start to our memorial day weekend since ella got her shots on friday and is CRANKY... so we are once again severely sleep deprived...but hoping tonight is an improvement.

k

the graduate

my baby's growing up! she just graduated from preschool on monday. and then i registered her for kindergarten on tuesday. sniff, sniff...where did the time go?? and when i look at this picture i can't believe how grown up she looks. she can't WAIT to be 5...she's so excited. i think she thinks its a magical age and that all of a sudden she's gonna be allowed to do all the things she isn't allowed to do at 4...i'll just let her keep thinking that:)

looking forward to a nice long weekend of catching up around the house. the pool opens this weekend and abby is so excited. she DEFINITELY doesn't remember how cold it was this time last year. (the pool isn't heated and only gets a few hours of sunlight a day).

will post some more pics soon!
k

been awhile...

well its been awhile since i last posted any updates. been SOO busy wrapping up the school year, finishing the slide show for abby's graduation (5-21), making teacher gifts, going on very little sleep (ella has been very restless lately)...its just been crazy here.

i am very excited for this upcoming long weekend...maybe we can catch up around here. been taking lots of pics, got a new lens & computer for mothers day...so now i get to start the arduous task of transferring ALL of my files! yuck! and the new computer is windows vista...very different than windows XP...so that will keep me busy well into june:)

the girls are as busy as ever. ella is talking up a storm...seems to learn a new word daily. my favorite is "bobby" for abby. it sounds so cute when she says it. and now abby has a new nickname (she always wanted one since we call ella (ella bean)

finally planning an exciting trip to a remote tropical location....guam...woohoo! just as soon as matt changes jobs, we are OUTTA here! so psyched!!! i want to spend everyday on the beach with the girls and then come back to the hotel and all of us crash for long afternoon naps and then back to the beach again. and this may not sound exciting to many of you, but since i am missing my american stores, it will be nice to be near some again. they don't have a target:(, but they have a kmart and a mall with a macy's...so we will probably need to buy extra luggage while we're there.

well, gonna make this one short. will share some more pics soon!
love, k

out of the mouth of babes...

the other day we went to visit my friend tava and her older son is a year younger than abby. they were out in the playroom playing kitchen. abby would hold up a piece of plastic food and ask gunnar what it was and he would tell her...tomato, apple, etc. well she holds up a plastic croissant and asks him what it is and without missing a beat he says "moon bread". so thats the "official" new word of the week.

this morning we are driving onto post and matt's cell phone kept ringing. each time he got off the phone, abby would ask him who he was on the phone with. since she met his 1st SGT awhile back, she often assumes he's on the phone with him. well when matt told her he wasn't talking to the 1st SGT she asked if he was talking to the 2nd SGT... now if you're not military, you probably don't know that there is no such thing as a 2nd SGT.

kids...gotta love them!

i'm on top of the world!!

woohoo! got a WONDERFUL email this morning from the staff at Creative Express saying that one of my entries for the monthly scrapbook contest won 1st PLACE!! can you actually believe that!??!! i was TOTALLY psyched!! so other than bragging rights, i won a $75 gift certificate for their store!! that place rocks!! anyways, just wanted to share my good news. the layout pictured is the one that won. enjoy...

all hail the republic of whichitstan!!

abby surprised me awhile back by one day reciting the pledge of allegiance and singing my country tis of thee. i had no idea she was even learning these, she never practiced them around me. but lo and behold, she knows them and sings them with vigor.

as you might expect with a 4 year old, she doesn't recite them exactly verbatim, she makes up some words too. so i was listening to her the other day and as she was reciting the pledge she says, " and to the republic of whichitstan," i just cracked up!! all hail the republic of whichitstan!!!

switching subjects completely, i got the chance to take pics of my friends new little one. he's so cute and little...you just forget how quick they grow. enjoy!