sneak peek

requests

i've had a few requests for the picture that follows. when i try to explain that i look pure 100% the same at 29 weeks pregnant as i did at 0 weeks pregnant, no one believes me. maybe they will now.


(taken yesterday)

so there.

it's a...

GIRL!

Frank said he needs to start his gun collection for when she starts dating. I think we've got a while on that one.

a few little trips

two weekends ago, we went to california to visit the fam. we took the kids to the discovery center in santa ana and apparently, those are the only pictures we got!

waiting to watch the "turtle" movie, which was really a make you feel bad about yourself scolding because of water pollution.


on a dino-quest!




probably my favorite picture of the day


this weekend, our branch had a temple trip to palmyra. i had never been there before, so we decided to stay over friday night at a cute little b&b. fun time.

vintage gardens bed and breakfast.


my favorite candy cane rose from the garden




frank's favorite street


we got to see lots of church historical sites. not too many pictures of that. here's one of us in the sacred grove.





we're staying home for the next couple weekends. next trip, anniversary in niagra falls. stay tuned.

a little afternoon drive

last weekend was the first weekend since we moved here that we've been able to get out and explore. frank was dying to try some things out with his camera, so off to the finger lakes we went. here's the proof.





and proof that i do not look 18 weeks pregnant. or maybe i've always looked 18 weeks pregnant. either way, it's embarassing.

galapagos

4 days of awesome-ness, aside from the wicked sunburn suffered in tortuga bay. here's some stuff we saw and did...

took a little ferry from the island of baltra (where we landed) to the island of santa cruz (where we stayed)


hung out with this dude. he was quite the charmer.


perhaps my favorite animal, the marine iguana. they doggie paddle in the water. it's ridiculously cute.


swam and kayaked on tourtuga bay. the water was super clear and you could see straight to the bottom. loads of turtles live there and would pop their little heads above the water. pretty awesome.

*don't let the overcast sky fool you. this is where the sunburn of the century was sustained. and yes, i applied spf 70 every 45 minutes, so don't even go there!

took water taxis. if you value your life at all, never, and i mean never get one of these boats. i swore it was the big one. first and last time friends. first and last.


generally had a great time in one of the most beautiful places on earth.

things that horrified me in ecuador

infant car safety. yes, this was taken while driving.


goats freely roaming the streets


and these dudes, everywhere.


next up, team suco takes galapagos. you can't wait. i know.

we're back

look closely. it will explain the look on my face. i mean, it's looking right at me for heaven's sake!

more pics to come.

dude. it's cold.

i can't take it anymore. my only consolation is the fact that in a mere 36 days we will be here...


the galapagos islands

and here...


salinas, ecuador

but most importantly, here...


guayaquil, ecuador

we'll be making the trip back to the motherland for most of march to visit frank's family. i'm happy to report, it's summer there. a glorious, humid summer. welcome back, bermuda shorts. it'll be nice to see you.

even the humdifier isn't safe

watch out friends, the husband is armed with a new canon rebel xsi. the photos may never end.




here's a pictoral run-down of our navidad:

christmas morning: opening presents


christmas afternoon: lunch con los amigos de rama


christmas night: a visit to the green in morristown to try out the new camera


and, last but not least, my new favorite christmas song.
cort, you can thank me later

it snowed a little

the longest driveway ever...when shoveling by hand


baby's first snow angel


yes, i'm wearing socks for gloves. don't judge me.

ready for the runway.

a few of my nieces and nephews after seeing a christmas carol, which is entirely too scary for little guys. i hope they've recovered by now.

deck the hall, and living room...

and front door.

we got started christmafying the house this weekend. we decided to accomodate our varying tastes, 2 trees will be needed. here's the first. i'll let you guess who's it is.

instead of folding laundry...

i thought i'd give y'all a peek into casa de suco. let me preface this by saying i am not a photographer, but when i pulled into my driveway after going to the grocery store, i had to pull out the camera. i love fall.

a little vinyl for the entryway. sometimes, people think i painted it. sometimes, i don't tell them i didn't.



the only wall fit to share with the internet.



a mum on the porch i'm trying not to kill. it was touch and go there for a while, but i think we're back on track thanks to a new pot full of miracle grow and to my husband who remembers to water it when he gets home from work.



from our driveway. isn't fall grand?



and one of the trees in the backyard. you should see it in real life.



back to folding laundry.

the longest blogpost ever.

it seems to be the trend these days to neglect your blog for weeks and then post millions of pictures of all the fun things you've been doing whilst ignoring your blog. negelct, check. a million pictures, coming atcha. you've been warned. since i'm a fan of lists, here's our summer in list form.

1. cook-outs.
for those of you who look at these pictures and say, hey, that's a bbq! you're right. go with it. i've found it's just not worth it to question east coast retoric.



2. shutterfly.com
trying to organize a million wedding/honeymoon pictures has turned out to be quite delightful with shutterfly photo books. our honeymoon book arrived today and i have to say i'm quite pleased. just in case you haven't had enough, here are a few more wedding photos. isn't michelle divine?





this may be my all-time favorite...


or maybe this one...


3. estoy aprendiendo espanol
si, es verdad. yo hablo espanol. kind of.
every wednesday night at casa de suco is noche latina. hablamos espanol solemente. it's mostly me being quiet, which is pretty difficult, but i've been learning a lot. my favorite part of the evening is when we sit down to watch the classiest of all spanish tv, doce corazones. if you have telemundo and you're not watching this regularly, i'm embarrased for you. trust me on this one.

4. new work schedule
my 3 hours a day in the car from here to there was killing me. i cut my hours and now work 4 nine hour days and take off fridays. house frau fridays, if you will. best decision i ever made. i spent most of the summer teaching a summer camp at the nj state museum. here's a pic one of the kids took. she's got mad skillz.



5. too cute to not include
my nieces and nephews at the wedding. i know, they take after me.











the end.