Traveling Thompsons

Thompson Christmas

2011-12-21T15:48:00.000-08:00

Christmas is fast approaching, meaning the year's end is soon upon us. As we in the Thompson family look back on 2011, we are surprised that each yearly iteration can actually be more complex and unpredictable than the prior. Here's a glimpse:

One week before what was to be our relaxing trip to stay with Oma and Papa in South Florida, a small fire began at our residence in the inauspiciously named Chimney Hill apartments. Most of our things were salvageable, since it turned out to be mostly smoke damage. However, we were forced to move in a matter of days in the dead of winter. While the myopic view might lend this experience to being no more than an unfortunate disaster, the outpouring of help and support, both physical and material, strengthened our testimonies of the goodness and love in those around us.

Christopher spent all summer applying for jobs in international trade compliance, but by summer's end, it was apparent that the market out East was too soft. So, after hearing about the oil boom going on in the North Dakota Bakken Shale play, Chris decided to head West and look for opportunities there. He was immediately able to land a position with an oil services firm, doubling his previous salary, and launching the Western chapter of the Thompson family story. After a couple months with the oil company, he joined as an associate with a law firm in Minot that specializes in oil and natural gas related work.

Angie was shuttling around much of the year with the kids, having spent several times each in Tennessee, Wyoming, and Florida while living in Michigan and North Dakota. Missoni and Alize also enrolled in recreational activities like gymnastics, ballet, and horseback riding, which kept Angie constantly busy. She also worked with the Beehives in Young Women's at church on Sunday and Tuesday nights. During the summer, Angie took the children daily to the swimming pool at Lifetime Fitness nearby. Since the spring, Alize went from saying a few words and in diapers to now forming perfectly structured sentences and being completely potty-trained.

Now this whirlwind of a year has settled us in North Dakota, where the people are wonderful and friendly. Angie is already part of a coterie of young mothers in the ward, and is running a small hair styling service out of the house. The girls have likewise made plenty of friends both through church and at preschool.

As our minds ponder this year and this Christmas Season, we have most to thank he who we Celebrate our Savior Jesus Christ. We are so grateful for our knowledge of him and our wonderful church that helps us get through so many difficult moves and times. We are so blessed!

To those we love and miss everywhere,
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

A few more Wy pictures

2011-11-29T21:34:00.001-08:00

Fall time fun!

2011-11-29T08:24:00.000-08:00

We have been traveling for the last 2 or more months. It has been a lot of fun visiting all of our family members and seeing everyone, but it was hard living out of our suitcases. We started our trip out by flying to Salt Lake from Detroit. We were able to see some of our old friends and go to the children's museum with Grandma. Then we headed over the mountain to Wyoming. We got to spend some time with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Duane, Aunt Melissa and Ryder. We also saw Aunt Brandi. It was a really fun 3 weeks. We went boating in Grandpa's boat, went to Yellowstone, saw Aunt Debbie and Cousin Jeromy and his wife, Ashley and their little girls. We saw cousin Amy and her adorable baby boy. We also got to ride uncle Duane's horses and that was a lot of fun too. After Wyoming we headed out to Aunt Tiffinie's in TN. We got to spend a few weeks hanging out with Bryce and Brynlee and then we headed down to Florida to spend two weeks with Daddy and Papa and Oma. Awww Florida, the best place on earth. We couldn't have asked for better weather while we were down there. Not to hot, not to cold. Perfect. Chris and I got to even go away for a night to Naples, our old stomping grounds. We had a wonderful date and stayed over night in the Naples Grand, where he had taken me on a weekend getaway the first month we were married. We also got to eat at some of our old favorite restaurants. Thanks Oma and papa for watching the girls. We also got to take the girls to a fun bounce house and spend hours on the beach. Then we headed back up to Aunt Tiffinie's house to spend Halloween and Brynlee's first birthday with them. It was wonderful, Aunt Tiffinie took us somewhere fun every single night before Halloween and then she also took us to Disney on Ice and we had 2nd row seats, which we could never had afforded, so THANKS AUNT TIFFY FOR EVERYTHING! Grandma joined us and it was so fun having her to spend Halloween and Brynlee's birthday with us. She also flew home with us and helped us on the flight and drive home to Wyoming. We stayed a few more days with Grandma and then headed off to meet daddy in Billings MT for the night. Then 6 hours later we arrived in our new home, here in Minot North Dakota. So in the last 2 months we were in MI, UT, WY, UT, TN, FL, TN, UT, WY, MT and ND. What a wild time. Hence our name Traveling Thompsons. LOL. It was fun and I will share a ton of picts with you! So sit back and enjoy!

Summer time fun!!!!

2011-08-06T08:18:00.000-07:00

We have had a wonderful summer. We have done a lot of fun things this summer. Michigan has some of the best blueberry picking in the US. We went picking one afternoon and got 13 pounds of blueberries. Missoni also was able to take a couple different riding lessons. She is a natural and was already trotting. She also had her first manicure, when she and I went for a mommy daughter date. We are heading off to Wy in 3 weeks and hopefully starting a new journey somewhere afterwards.

Alize' turns 2!!!!!

2011-06-27T11:24:00.001-07:00

My little Zeze turned 2 yesterday. She is growing up so fast and doing so many things. I am so lucky to have her and be her mommy.
Alize' is 27 pounds, she is fully potty trained, she loves chocolate, chips and pizza. She is very independent and strong willed. She won't let me do much for her. She tries to do everything her sister, Missoni, does. She can say a lot of words and sentences. She can say I want ....., she can say yes, no, mamma, daddy, pizza, fries, poop, baby, shoes, and many more words.
We took her to Chuck E Cheese, and a barbecue on Saturday and then for her birthday, she took cupcakes to Nursery and they sang to her and she had birthday cake with candles at home, after a long nap. Thanks to Aunt Tiffy and Grandma, she had a new outfit to wear to church. Also, thanks to Oma for the beautiful card and dresses. We love Alize' so much! She is a wonderful, smart little girl.

Missoni and Alize' do gymnastics

2011-04-09T06:20:00.000-07:00

Mommy turned 30!!!!!

2011-04-09T05:56:00.000-07:00

I turned 30 this year and Chris really spoiled me this year. First he took me out for a nice dinner at the a sushi restaurant and then bought me some beautiful sunglasses and through me a huge party, where he made 2 yummy cakes, hummus, spinach artichoke dip, brie, salsa, guacamole, and pinacoladas. Thanks to my parents for the new bathing suit. 30 wasn't easy for me, but I am embracing it now!!! Thanks to all my friends for coming to the party and all of the awesome gifts.

What have we been up to?

2011-02-25T09:15:00.000-08:00

So I am sure most of you know we had a horrible house fire in Jan. Our camera was destroyed in the fire and so I don't have pictures of anything from the month of January. It stinks too, because we went to Florida for 10 days and had a wonderful vacation. We celebrated Chris and Missoni's birthdays while we were down there and really had a wonderful time with his parents and getting some much needed sun. We also got to see some good friends and Missoni loved playing with their kids. It was a great time.

Then we returned to Michigan and well we all got strep throat and felt terrible, especially mommy. I have to give a shout out though to the Farmington Hills ward and especially Sister Gibirt for all the help and love they gave us after the fire. Also to Missoni's preschool moms from Mayfair. May God bless you all for your kindness. We are now getting settled and Missoni is doing swimming lessons, ballet and a sports class right now. Thanks again to everyone! Hope all is well with you all!

Valentines Day

2011-02-25T09:02:00.000-08:00

For Valentines day this year we decided to do Indian. We had had a really romantic night out on our Anniversary this year at the Melting Pot, so we took the girls on Valentines and went out for some Indian cuisine. It was delicious and we had a fun night! I love my family!

My three Valentines!

2011-02-25T08:21:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve and Santa Claus came to town!

2010-12-29T10:48:00.000-08:00

This year we had a wonderful Christmas! Chris made a delightful Dinner on Christmas Eve. We had a brown sugar and clove roasted Ham, Some scalloped potatoes, some brussel sprout hash with caramelized onions, some delicious rosemary, sage and thyme stuffing, and some homemade squash soup it was so delightful. To top it off we had sparkling Cranberry juice and Missoni helped set the table. She actually did it all by herself. She is such a big helper, it is no surprise Santa brought both girls such nice presents, since they are such good girls.
This was Zeze and Soni all ready for church the morning after Christmas. What little dolls!

Christmas morning, Missoni and Alize' checking out their toys.

Santa Claus had come by and filled up the stockings and left his prizes.

Opening our one present on Christmas eve and checking them out!

Leaving eggnog and Christmas Bread out for Santa!
Chris' delicious hash, soup and stuffing! SOooo good!
The table Missoni prepared with such care. Ze waiting for her food!
Tots in the Kitchen all day Fri.

Christmas Tree in our home and our little family!

2010-12-20T10:01:00.000-08:00

Daddy daughter date and Nutcracker!

2010-12-20T09:57:00.001-08:00

Christmas parties and parties!

2010-12-20T09:47:00.000-08:00

Ward Christmas Party! Going to Bethlehem!

2010-12-20T09:43:00.001-08:00

Christmas is here!

2010-12-20T09:03:00.001-08:00

I hope none of you mind getting your newsletter electronically this year. We have had a very blessed year in the Thompson home! A lot has happened and we have seen the lords hands in our lives the whole way. We started out the new year in Germany at Chris' brothers house with bright fireworks out our window, then we flew home to Syracuse for the start of a new semester for both of us. I took some classes at OCC the community college in Syracuse and Chris took 18 law credits to finish law degree by spring. I am so proud of him. He finished with outstanding grades and we celebrated with graduation and party for him. Shortly after, he started to study for the New York bar exam, which took more of his time than the 18 law credits, if you can even imagine. He studied and studied and then we thought we would move to D.C. for more chances of a job coming our way and as we were about to move he got an offer from JPMorganchase in the metro Detroit area. We weren't thrilled at first because we wanted to go to D.C. Nicer weather, more things to do etc. However, we have been so pleasantly surprised with this area of the country. It has been wonderful living here and we have really enjoyed it. We moved in to West Bloomfield Michigan on July 7th and we have met and made friends with some wonderful people. We miss all the friends that we made in Germany, Florida and Syracuse. We have been very busy since moving here. Chris started working right away, I stayed busy, doing all of the unpacking, caring for two little ones and much more. Chris would come home from work and go straight into studying for the Bar. He flew to New York on the end of July, took the bar and flew home. We kept our fingers crossed for four long months. I got Missoni into a preschool, which she enjoys very much, and we just did a lot to keep busy. Meanwhile I had been running a lot and started to train for a marathon. I ran my first half marathon on Oct 17th. It was an amazing experience. Then Chris got hit with the wonderful email of his passing results. We were so happy for him and our family. It really was a miracle that confirmed God in our lives and his awareness of us and our needs. We continue to be blessed, with two wonderful daughters. Missoni is doing so well in Preschool, she is a social butterfly that loves to play with her new dolls from her cousin Londyn and loves having friend over and is game to do just about anything. She has a positive attitude and a real zest for life. Her little sister Alize', is something else. She has serious attitude. She loves dollies and playing with and doing what her sister does. She is a spirited little girl and won't let anyone walk over her. She knows how to push her way to what she wants. She can say several words and is getting to know the potty. She will go into nursery next week. SOB! It has been an honer raising such wonderful little angels and having such a hard working husband. Chris is now working two jobs, still at JP morgan, where he is learning so much and now for a Lawyer who handles a lot of bankruptcy cases. It has been a wonderful year and we couldn't have done it without he who we celebrate during this holiday season and with out all of you! So thank you for all you do to love and support us and Thanks to our Savior for his birth and his life and his death! We wish you all a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

More Fall Happenings and Trip to TN

2010-12-03T06:29:00.000-08:00

A lot has happened in the months of Oct and Nov.... since my last post! I will try to catch everyone up to speed. It has been a very busy last two months. They have flown by. We found out the great news of Chris passing the NEW YORK STATE BAR at the beginning of NOV and so we went out to celebrate that night at a Thai restaurant. In the month of Oct, I had my race. Cortnie Johnson and her husband and little adorable baby boy came all the way from Syracuse to run with me. I picked up running about 10 months ago and decided to run a half marathon. It was really tough and I am glad I did it. We got about a 2 hour and 44 min time. Which we were happy with, considering the bottle neck at the beginning and the potty stops we had to make. All in all I am proud of myself. It took a lot for me because I am not a runner and don't really enjoy running so to commit myself enough to do 13 miles made me very proud.

Chris and I are the activity co-chairs at church right now and I think we put on a pretty awesome Halloween party. We also dressed up as Cats and of course princesses for the girls. Cats the musical was our inspiration for Chris and I think we did a pretty good job. It was a big success and a lot of fun. So we have picts of that. We also went to the Franklin Cider mill and the Circus before we left for two weeks in TN. It was a lot of fun, but both girls didn't make through the circus, they passed out before it was over, so we left a little early, but it was a pretty cool circus.

On the 17th Nov, the girls and I headed down to TN for a couple of weeks. The first week was a bit of a rough start because, I came down with a bad cold right as we were leaving to go there. So as would be expected with a new baby, (Brynlee was born on the 5th of Nov), I was sent to the room to recover before I could be around anyone for several days. haha. All in all, it was nice seeing the family. I hadn't had Thanksgiving with my mom and dad in about 10 years, so it was really nice having it with them. We had a fun time. Tiffinie took us to some really fun places. My camera ran out of batteries before I could get everything, but it was really fun. We went to ChuckECheese, the Sea Quarium, a Christmas light show, swimming with Brandi (Brandi and her family came over too, and were very sweet to Missoni and Alize', the girls love Brandi and Londy... and Jordy and Gary too! We also went to Library story time, the park and rode ponies. Everyone was very nice to the girls and we had a very nice stay. Thanks Tiffinie, Brandi and Mom and Dad for giving us such a nice time. We miss you all already! So that is our last two months and it looks that December is going to be just as busy, so I will hopefully update you all toward the end of the month. Merry Christmas to everyone and hope all is well with everyone!

Fall time and the apple orchard! Yummy Cider and Doughnuts!

2010-10-01T09:50:00.000-07:00

Missoni has started Ballet and she loves it!

2010-10-01T09:45:00.001-07:00

Library Time with Clifford!

2010-10-01T09:40:00.000-07:00

Brush my teeth=no cavities=Missoni's first dental Checkup

2010-10-01T09:29:00.000-07:00

We took Missoni for her first Dental checkup here in Michigan. Of course Aunt Tiffy has been a good teacher and done a great job watching her, because Missoni had a perfect mouth! Yay! She had no cavities and no issues, they were very proud of her, and she was very brave and a very big girl. Yay, Missoni I am so proud of you!

Missoni photographing me!

2010-09-20T10:47:00.000-07:00

Girls girls girls

2010-09-20T10:43:00.000-07:00

Playing around!

2010-09-20T10:39:00.000-07:00

First day at the May Fair!

2010-09-17T11:58:00.000-07:00

Missoni just started Preschool! She loves it of course! It is really fun. I worked there on Tuesday and they do wonderful things there. They paint and paste and play with play dough. They have a rice table and water table. It is all a lot of fun. They have story time and dress up. Next week we are going to the apple orchard.

Past month living in Michigan

2010-08-22T17:33:00.000-07:00

This is the girls everytime we get in the car, they can't resist the car. It takes over and they pass out everytime, within minutes..... so cute!

So we have really been enjoying our time here in Michigan. I really need to take picts over at our pool but I thought I would post some picts of the girls here in Michigan having some fun. As you can see Ze found out she could crawl in the dryer which is so fun for her since we didn't have a dryer in our last place, and we found a carousel that they loved going on at the mall. We also, did a service project in Detroit and got to eat at Mexico town afterwards, which I must say was a delight, since Chris and I are half Mexican! We love our new ward and have been having a great summer. I am now training to run a half marathon and it has been tough getting back into after taking a month off, but it is beautiful running around here. Michigan is a beautiful state with fresh water lakes and green everywhere. I sure hope I will be saying that after the winter comes. Well I just thought it was time to post! We miss our old friends and hope everyone is having a great summer!

Our new House!

2010-07-19T08:48:00.000-07:00

Friends in Syracuse!

2010-07-19T07:18:00.000-07:00

Last few weeks in Syracuse!

Syracuse fun and friends!

2010-07-19T07:04:00.000-07:00

Although we were never big fans of living in Syracuse, we did grow to love some of the people there! Here are some picts of our last few weeks there. We will miss the Whipple girls so much! All 4 of you, so you better come and visit us!

Days with Cortnie!

2010-07-19T06:56:00.000-07:00

My good friend Cortnie, is also best friends with Missoni. She helped me out a lot to get things ready for the move and I am so blessed to have a friend like her. Thanks Cortnie. Missoni thought that Cortnie was her friend because every time they would hang out, Cortnie would do the funnest stuff with her. This day she took her to a lake and as you can see they got chocolate and ice cream and climbed and played. What more could a 3 year old ask for? Thanks again Cortnie, I know I will miss you and I KNOW MIssoni will miss her buddy too!

End of year Preschool picnic and sprinklers!

2010-07-19T06:51:00.001-07:00

Alize is ONE already!

2010-06-28T15:37:00.000-07:00

Yep it is true Alize turned one on June 26th. We wanted to celebrate outside at a lovely park, but unfortunately we got rained out and had to take it inside. Since our apartment is in shambles from moving we decided to hold it at only the coolest place on earth..... YES THAT RIGHT, the one and only CHUCKECHEESE! ya! So since I don't want to be the mom that never makes my girls cakes and cooks (even though I usually am, unfortunately:( ) I decided to make Zeze a barbie cake. So thanks to my girlfriend Christine (who did most of the work and showed me the way) I was able to make this adorable Arial cake. Isn't it awesome. ALize is the best. She is loving smart and so sweet. She loves her sister and wants to do everything she does. She can sleep anywhere and loves her backpack so much. She weighed in at
25.15 pounds
33 " tall
She is healthy and delightful, she can give kisses, loves babies, says baby and mamma and can talk on the phone. Oooooh I love my baby girl Alize, I can't believe she is so old!

Forge the Gorgeous!

2010-06-28T08:21:00.000-07:00

Thursday, Cortnie and I decided to enter into a trail race of 7.5 miles. We had never done trail racing before and especially had never done this trail. I wish we would have had our camera to show you the steep hills that we were running! When the race first started, I remember thinking, ya right we can't do this, we are just going to turn around and forget the whole thing. Then I got into it a bit and I thought, oh I will just take the short route. (Why am I so negative?) Because once we were half way there I felt great and could have run even longer. My feet hurt quite a bit from all the uneven trails and going up and down hills, but it was great and I am thankful for my running partner Cortnie who has such a positive attitude and helps push me a long and accomplish things like this, that I thought I couldn't do! So here are the picts...... sorry I look so awful, no makeup mixed with a long run equals these pictures, so enjoy!

More family pictures!

2010-06-22T15:08:00.000-07:00

New Family Photos thanks Kristi Hart!

2010-06-22T14:53:00.000-07:00

DC here we come!

2010-06-13T12:32:00.000-07:00

That's right, we are heading down to DC on the 2nd of July. We are really looking forward to this change! We love DC and are looking forward to seeing all of our old friends down there!

Yep, my baby is a walking!

2010-06-08T18:31:00.000-07:00

I don't have any good pictures of this yet, but Zeze started taking steps last week and it is so exciting!!!!! I can't believe my baby girl is walking! They grow soooo fast. She is an awesome humble sweet little girl and I am so thankful to have her in my life! She is already going to be a year in just under 3 weeks..... honestly where does the time go??????? Pictures soon to come!

We love to go on the bike stroller behind mommy!

2010-06-06T17:17:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning cuteness!

2010-06-06T13:53:00.001-07:00

Law School at the beginning and Law School at the end!

2010-05-27T14:30:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to post a picture of the our first time at law school and then one of now! As you can see we have a new addition to our family. I think Chris has also put on some weight, what do you think! Well now we are heading down to D.C. July 1st. D.C. Here we come!

Graduation Day, Law Class of 2010

2010-05-24T10:47:00.000-07:00

Three years ago, it felt like this day would never come. Yesterday, Chris walked across the stage to receive his Law Degree and International Relations Masters from Syracuse University. We were very proud of his hard work and accomplishments. He has worked very hard writing many long papers, working on a arbitration team for Vienna and studying for very difficult exams. He has also fulfilled all of his fatherly and church duties while doing 18 law credits this last semester to get in all of his credits for graduation. He is a very hard worker and it has paid off. Yay! We are so proud of you honey!

Karaoke Graduation Party!

2010-05-24T09:59:00.000-07:00

Chris has always wanted a Karaoke Microphone since we got married! I decided that since he had put in 3 long hard years of Law School and a Masters program that he was well deserving of a Magic Mic! So to trick him we had him open his C.D. first and so he thought that was all he was getting and then we broke out with the bigger gift later, wow, was he ever surprised. We started and singing and we don't want to stop! Sorry honey you already had to go back to school today! We are very proud of your achievement and know that you have put in a lot of work and time.

2010-05-12T08:06:00.000-07:00

2010-05-12T07:37:00.000-07:00

2010-05-12T07:30:00.000-07:00

Princesses at Tea Time!

2010-05-12T07:26:00.001-07:00

March Madness and Easter!

2010-04-04T07:33:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we had the funnest day. Missoni and Alize got to eat pancakes with the Easter Bunny! It was great! We got to go on an egg hunt and decorate eggs! Everyone was complementing the girls about how beautiful they looked in their Easter dresses!

Missoni was a good girl this year so the Easter bunny left a trail of eggs to her basket filled with yummy candy.
Missoni is looking for Easter eggs!
Isn't Zeze so cute in her beautiful Easter dress!
Easter Bunny holding the two adorable girls. They were good this year of course!

We have finally got some great weather here in Syracuse, so we have been spending the whole day outside. It has been so wonderful!

Missoni has been taking swim lessons! She has been a water baby since she was born in Florida and so she is learning to swim all on her own now. She is doing so well, she used to not like going on her back and now she loves it. We even got her some goggles that she can start using. Plus, Tatay taught her how to plug her nose and go under water.

The girls love to ride the Carousel at the mall! We couldn't believe how much Zeze loved the horses.

Missoni also is in Ballet this semester. She is such a beautiful ballerina. I am so proud to be her momma. She loves dancing and is so good at it. She is also doing tap dance.

I wish I would have taken more pictures but we got to go down to visit mommy's family in Tennessee. Grandma and Grandpa came from Wyoming, Brandi, Gary, Jordy, Londy all came from GA. It was so much fun to be together and see everyone, and we got wonderful news that Tiffinie is expecting. It is great how our family is growing.
Happy birthday to Mommy, Happy Birthday to Mommy, Happy Birthday to Mommy, Happy Birthday to Mom! Chris made me a wonderful cake and treats for my birthday this year! I can't believe I am already 29! One more year until 30, I can't believe it!

Friends

2010-02-14T15:23:00.001-08:00

Silly picts!

2010-02-14T15:18:00.000-08:00

Beautiful girls!

2010-02-14T15:12:00.000-08:00

Swimming, leg warmers and piggy tails!

2010-02-14T15:07:00.000-08:00

Missoni on her birthday and little Zeze!

2010-02-14T15:02:00.000-08:00

Sleeping Beauty!

2010-02-14T14:58:00.000-08:00

This is usually where I find Missoni around 4 oclock if she wouldn't take a nap for me at 1:00. She gets so exhausted from playing in her princess dresses that she has to rest. It is exhausting being a princess!

Happy 4th and Valentines Day! I love you!

2010-02-14T14:47:00.000-08:00

The whole Family, Thanks Kim and Les for having us!

2010-02-14T14:45:00.000-08:00

Daddy and his girls!

2010-02-14T14:40:00.000-08:00

Adorable little Cousins!

2010-02-14T14:36:00.000-08:00

Missoni Belle the Tinkerbell!

2010-02-14T13:35:00.000-08:00

Missoni had a wonderful Birthday this year! She wanted to have a princess party. She is super girly. We went to the Disney store and she decided that she wanted to be Tinkerbell, so even though Tinkerbell isn't a princess, she still had a princess party and invited all of the other princesses over to join her! It was a great day. We played several games such as duck duck goose, tinkerbell bingo, find the tinkerbell shoe balloon game and tinkerbell tatoos, and cake and pizza. It was a lot of fun, we even played the Tinkerbell soundtrack in the background. Happy 3rd birthday Missoni! We love you very much! I can't even believe Missoni is 3 already, Missoni is an absolute joy to have around. She is so smart, sweet and loving. Missoni is in preschool 3 days a week and absolutely loves it. She is very outgoing and social. She loves her sister very much. Missoni was completely potty trained two weeks before Zeze was born and did very well in the almost 6 months in Germany. She speaks a lot of German and made some wonderful friends there. She is a light to all of those around her. She always says that I am her "Brest friend" other funny things she says is "mommy you just don't understand me" and she loves to sing and dance. I am so thankful for Missoni, she is a blessing to our family.

Also, Missoni had her 3 year old checkup at the Dr. and everything looked great. She is now 40 pounds and 39 inches. She is beautiful and has the most adorable smile.

Christmas morning! Two girls on the nice list!

2009-12-25T12:02:00.000-08:00

All of the Christmas presents. As you can see, my girls were good this year!

Santa's presents. Those are Missoni's on the Rocking chair. Kim has the most beautiful Christmas tree.
Waiting anxiously to see the presents from Santa Claus. Missoni and her two cousins, William and Andrew!

More PreChristmas Picts!

2009-12-25T11:54:00.000-08:00

We really enjoyed Berlin. We will miss it so much! My girls are so cute in these hats. I just had to add more!

Weeks leading to Christmas in Berlin!

2009-12-25T09:59:00.000-08:00

Pictures from our last days in Berlin. At top is the family in KaDeWe, the largest department store in Europe, located in the Upper Westside of Berlin.

Pictures of the kids in their Peruvian hats and scarfs. There was a Peruvian clothes dealer in one of the outdoor Christmas markets near our pad.

Hmm, the potty looks like a great place to sleep!

2009-11-21T09:19:00.000-08:00

So we had a very long day. We decided to take an adventure on the train to a friends baptism today. Missoni is very good friends with her son in nursery. So we headed off, but because it started at 3 Missoni couldn't have her nap, that is starts usually between 1 and 2. So on the way home she was acting so tired. We couldn't take the stroller, because there aren't lifts at all of the stations. So poor Missoni was walking. She made it up the stairs and as ran to the potty. After about 10 seconds, I had laid Ze on the bed and went to check on her, and there she was. Sound asleep, on the potty! It was hilarious. Poor girl, I really wore her out. I didn't know how right I was when I said that Missoni could sleep any where! haha. Here is a picture, I just couldn't resist!

What can I say, My baby is already 4 months old!

2009-10-27T02:43:00.001-07:00

I have the most amazing little baby girl. Alize' turned 4 months yesterday and has been sweetest little baby that any one could ever ask for. Alize is an amazing sleeper! She doesn't cry at all. She loves, loves her older sister Missoni! She will ride in stroller and not fuss. She smiles and giggles all of the time now, especially at her sister and she has the most amazing hair! Just take a look at those locks that would make any grown man jealous! I love her sooooo much! We took her to the dr. two weeks ago and these were her stats!

8.6 KG
67 cm long

I think Missoni was a little bigger at this age, but they are very close. I love my chubby little ladies! We are so thankful to our Heavenly Father for Alize'!

If you look closely you can see her pony tail sticking out here!

Berlin Aqua Dome!

2009-10-27T02:34:00.000-07:00

Last week we visited the Aqua Dome, here in Berlin! It was a lot of fun. We went up into a glass elevator that was a 25 foot aquarium! It was amazing, and Missoni loved it too!

Fun in Berlin...

2009-10-27T02:26:00.000-07:00

We do a lot of fun stuff together here in Berlin. This is a beautiful castle that we used to live by for 3 weeks. We went back last week while papa was visiting to see it again. It is very nice.

Missoni couldn't get this shirt on.... it was so funny!
My sweet little Zeze!
Missoni is in a drama class once a week now. This is her with her little friends acting out a fun game.

As the world turns so does the days of our lives!

2009-10-27T02:18:00.000-07:00

We have a lot of time here in Berlin to just have fun with the girls. Here are some pictures of us doing just that. Missoni has made a very good friend and we are loving our time here!

Chapter 1 Bavaria!

2009-09-27T10:07:00.000-07:00

So I know that I am way over due with blogging and so for that I am sorry. As most of you know I have been just a little bit busy with well lets see, first I had a baby (via 24 plus hours of med free labor and then a C-section). Which I will say is the worst of both worlds, 2nd I was given 4 to 5 weeks while recovering to pack and clean up my house to sublease for 5 months while we were out of the country. 3rd I had to prepare the documents and hassle everyone to get my new born a passport too leave the country, 4th I had to still take care of a new born and a 2 1/2 year old. 5th, I had to pack all of our bags and make sure I didn't forget anything, because the dollar is worth practically nothing over here. 6th take a 4 hour drive and then an 8 hour flight with a 5 wk old and a 2 1/1 year old. But at last we are here in Germany and I must say, though it was a bit rough the month of July. WE MADE IT! It has been a wonderful experience for our family and for me and the girls. We have had some great times as a family. We got to spend the first 3 weeks in Stockstadt, with Chris' aunt, who treated us so kindly. We were able to visit Munich, Frankfurt, and other surrounding villages. The girls and I were able to meet for the first time their UWA OMA! (spelling?), who we love dearly. We were able to visit beautiful German gardens and swim parks. We also got to spend time with Chris' cousin and his wife down in Munich. They took us to a Bavarian festival and we got to see everyone in their durndles(sp) and lederhosin(sp?). Missoni even wore a cute little lederhosin that had flowers on it, she fit right in. It was so fun to see them and spend time with their adorable little ones. Emily is 5 and Mauritz(sp) is 2. The kids had so much fun and now I know why Missoni is so big, her cousins make her seem just like the normal height. We also got to see Chris' brother, wife and boys who we hadn't seen in a year. Les is just outside of Frankfurt right now and was able to come to the blessing of our beautiful little Alize. It was a joyous day, Alize was blessed in an english speaking ward just outside of Frankfurt and Chris' brother was in the circle with him.

The next day we headed off for the next chapter in our lives. I will post picts of our month in Frankfurt and Munich area first and then we will go to Berlin! Hopefully I will be posting more now that we are settled for a few months. So stay tuned!

These first few pictures are of that last month in Syracuse! Oma from Florida came to visit! Thanks Oma! We love you!

Say "cheese" for mommy!

2009-07-17T06:31:00.000-07:00

Now that I have two little divas, we have been having a great time playing dress up! Missoni found a pair of her old sunglasses and we put them on Alize! Arn't they so cute?

Aunt Tipsy comes to town to meet baby Alize!

2009-07-16T16:55:00.000-07:00

We decided to take some pictures with grandma and Tiffy since we are heading off to Germany and won't see them for awhile! Thank you Kim for the beautiful matching dresses you bought for the girls they looked so adorable!

Missoni loves to paint and she especially enjoyed teaching her cousin Bryce all about body painting!

We had so much fun with Tiffy and Bryce. They came to spend last week with us and we

Rose gardens and 4th of July!

2009-07-13T07:42:00.000-07:00

We had a great time for the 4th of July this year! We had a one week old and grandma with us too! Alize and grandma stayed in the car while we went for a hike. The ward had a party at this beautiful park with a waterfall this year. Missoni had a great time riding on Tatay's back and mommy was enjoying the exercise after having a new baby.

We had fun posing for the camera before heading out too! Look at our new family of four!

Missoni is such a little diva. We have raised a little super star!

Missoni just loves her little sister! She couldn't be a better helper. She loves to help get Alize' ready in the morning and change her diapers. Her favorite thing to do is hold her! It is so adorable when the girls are holding eachother.

Alize at one week old!

We brought the girls to this rose garden with grandma. It was the perfect back drop for some nice pictures! It has been really nice to have grandma here! She has been a big help and we love her so much!

Introducing baby Alizé!

2009-06-30T09:29:00.000-07:00

Alizé in her homecoming dress lying on her sister's soft blanket.

Alizé showing off her Brit Pop hairstyle.

Alizé: 'My Mommy likes me in bows.'

Havin' Sweet Dreams!

Alizé: 'Oy! My head is killin' me...you mind turning off those lights?!'

Missoni: 'Don't you wish you had a sister like this!'

Alizé exhausted from all the picture-taking.

Alizé's nurse on the first day (who happened to be Mormon) combing out her thick head of hair after her first bath.

Forming a faux-hawk.

Fresh clean after her first bath.

Brandi's Wedding!

2009-05-27T14:51:00.000-07:00

We just got back from Atlanta Georgia yesterday! We went down for a quick trip for Brandi's wedding. She did such an amazing job. Everything looked perfect. We hadn't seen grandma and grandpa since July too, so it was great to be with everyone. Here are a few picts from the photographer!

International Vis Competition in Vienna

2009-04-25T13:31:00.000-07:00

A picture of Christopher and the other representatives for Syracuse University in front of the Austrian Parliament.

I recently returned from Vienna, home of the 16th Annual Vis International Commercial Arbitration Competition. Regarded by law geeks as the Olympics of international trade law, this turned out to be a once in a lifetime experience. Competing were 200+ law schools from all over the world. We had the privilege of facing the University of Zagreb (Croatia), ITAM (Mexico), University of Lausanne (Switzerland), and a team from Warsaw, Poland.
We could not have hoped for better weather during our visit. It stayed around 70 degrees the whole time we were there, and it cooled down to the 60s in the evenings. This made it perfect for sightseeing and picture-taking during the daytime and strolling the plazas at nighttime.

Mommy's wonderful Birthday in NYC!

2009-04-18T13:30:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Chris' dad, who does a lot of traveling, we were able to stay in a beautiful hotel right in the middle of Times Square. We headed down to NYC, early Friday and stayed until Sat evening for my birthday. It was a wonderful trip and we had a lot of fun. We took Missoni to the children's museum on Friday and night and she didn't want to leave. Then we had dinner at this fabulous Italian restaurant that we still talk about finding again to eat there. The next morning we headed down to China town and strolled around, then walked down to Central Park, where we spent the afternoon enjoying our first 70 degree day in months. It was a wonderful weekend. I am so glad that we are able to experience some nice things, thanks to both of our families who help us out. Thanks family!