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Weekend Movie

Issy with her 3-D glasses

The weekends are the only time I really get to catch up on my movie watching- this weekend I was able to watch two. Yay!

The first one was Mosters vs. Aliens. We took Issy to the theatres for this much anticipated 3-D Movie. It was just as funny as people said it would be and pretty clever! I have seen a lot of 3-D movies but I feel like the glasses upgrade we got this time really put it over the top. There is nothing I hate more than having to wear those flimsy little paper 3-D glasses for two hours. They are too small for adults and not sturdy enough for kids...c'mon where do they find those...the inside of a cereal box? Anyway I was pretty psyched that we got "the real thing this time"! The cast was great, and overall the film was clever and funny. The only downside was the price of the movie; at $14 bucks a pop...it hurts! Makes me wonder how on earth movie chains are surviving in this economy? To tell you the truth I forgot about the price as soon as it started and even more so when we walking out and we caught that big smile on Issy's face and the excitement of her voice asking everyone what their favorite part of the movie was...it was a huge hit...Go See it!

The second movie I got to watch this weekend was Milk. It was Directed by Gus Van Sant. Starting Sean Penn and a few other great actors like Emile Hirsch from "In to the Wild" (great Movie by the way). The movie is based on actual events from the life of Harvey Milk and his life working as a gay rights activist. Regardless of where you stand morally, the movie was amazing. I love movies that keep me thinking about what I just saw well after the movie is over...this movie does just that. Through his work, Harvey Milk has changed the lives of millions today. I give it two thumbs up. Believe me, it is well worth the $3 rental.

Spring clean-up!

Its that time again to start on the yard work...Today after work I decided that I could no longer stand the condition of my front yard and I had to do something about pronto. I started by trimming back the dead branches off two of our bushes (I don't know if its the right time to do it but I trimmed them anyway). Then I decided that since we had skipped on weed barrier last year I would pick up the old bark and grass that had grown all over that small area (I'm talking 3x3 at the most) and this is what I got....

What was I thinking?

That is right...a 32 gallon trash can full of grass, old bark and branch trimmings. The kicker is that I am not even close to being done. Now I know why you leave this sort of thing to the professionals....because its hard, it sucks and it will be done right the first time.

This is an after of the little area I am talking about. I know its not much to brag about just yet!

Jax was inside with Dad....happy baby like always! He was wearing a super cute outfit that Nana and Pappy gave him for Valentines Day.

Spring is here....

....................................... I just love this time of year!

Yes, I will without a doubt pay for staying up so late come morning!

Nope...I couldn't sleep...On my way in to work this morning I drove by a horrible car wreck, and for some unknown reason started bawling...ugh...what a great way to start the day. To make things worse I haven't been able to shake the scene from out of my head.
I have been in a "funk" lately having these horrible dreams about people dying, they are scary because in you dreams they seem so real. I just wake up in a panic. I hate them! I know I am not crazy and this all has to do with Tasche. I miss her a lot. Tomorrow it is three weeks since her passing and its hard. I have been to few funerals, but not for someone I was so close to.
I PROMISE I AM FINE! I am little (okay maybe a lot) quirky and its all just part of the grieving process...I have been refusing to mope around all day and scare Issy with random crying sessions so I am sure that only makes things worse when emotion hits.

Anyway....since I cant sleep I am back on the blog looking for more cute pictures to share..its where I always end up...I love going back through baby pictures of Issy and Jackson. I just cant get enough. I know I am a nerd but I tried to find similar pictures of Issy and Jax as newborns. My goodness they are cute babies! This may seem weird...who knows...but my life has been 100 times more hectic since Jackson's arrival, going back to work, preschool, Brandon's classes and everything else that gets mixed in and truth is I have never been happier. That doesn't mean I don't have moments (like above) but I my home life feels just right these days. Its like a high and I am soaking it all in.
Enjoy!

Happy St. Patrick's Day Everyone!

Hopefully you found a nice pot of gold or at least a nice cold green beer...
What are the Chopko's up to today? Well....we are just a crazy bunch, completely out of control. After a looooong day at work and preschool, Issy and I spend our evening sewing buttons on our faces (courtesy of Caroline.com) and now you can too....NICE! Like I said we are a crazy bunch!

Bottoms up!

P.S. Brandon is going to kill me when he finds out I posted this picture of him....Muhaha!

What a HOOT!

We went to Cafe Ole' today and we couldn't stop laughing at Issy's French Fry Taco! She originally ordered a grilled cheese sandwich, but liked Brandon's Carne Asada better. Lucky Brandon!
Afterwards us girls went shopping, while the boys went to Best Buy! As you can see, she was a riot, trying on the clothes and loving the "accessories". We read Where the Wild Things Are on our way to the Mall and when she found this purple fury vest she put it on and called her self Max! What a HOOT! Last night we had Dinner at our friend Randi & Dany's house. Keola brought the twins along. It was really fun to have the "boys hang out". They are two months younger than Jackson and equally as cute! Keola is such a good Dad. I took some pictures of the boys, as you can see Jackson is just a tank! :)

Lots of Fun things going on...

Today we went over to check on the progress of my sister Areli's baby nursery. It's still a work in progress but you can tell below that its really going to be princess worthy. We are so excited!

A picture for the scrapbook....
Issy was being a big helper (like always). Her smile is contagious isn't it?


While everyone was hard at work, Jax's was showing off for Grandma...smiling and talking! He is quite the little ham.


Other news:

We had parent teacher conference at Issy's preschool yesterday. Issy's loves school and has been doing very well so far. She is counting all the way to 100, she knows the days of the week, months and is excelling in social skills (Hmmm...I don't know where she gets this from!?). We were told she is ready to start reading and very ready for kindergarten. Yikes!
That afternoon, we took her out for Ice-cream at Cold Stone and let her watch one of the million Beethoven's 's that was playing on TV even though it was past her bed time. She was in heaven.
This afternoon we went to the library and stocked up on beginner reader books so that she can start practicing tomorrow.
Our baby is growing up....

Life is Good...

Okay, I know this picture is not glamorous by any means but I absolutely love it! Jackson loves being held and rocked back and forth on this chair all day long. Throw in the afternoon background noise and I tell ya....Life is good for this little guy!

-Jax is 3 months, 1 day old in this picture- outfit size 6 months

Got Milk?

Its been a rough couple of days for me, but thank god for Brandon and the kids who are refusing to let me sit around and stay bummed out. This weekend we took Issy and Jackson to the kids fair in Garden City. We were able to meet up with one of Issy's preschool friends, Brooke and her family. According to Issy, Brooke is her # 1 best friend forever. As much as I did not feel like going, how do you back out of going, when two five year old BFF's are so eager to see each other?

We ended up having a great time as we ran into several other acquaintances in addition to Brooke and her family. The best part of the whole morning was this cool picture we were able to take as a family at the dairy stand. GOT MILK?