Halfmoon

While on the phone I got a great view of a delicious dimpled, rubbery bun.

June Woodstock Visit

My sister-in-law, Mary, took these pictures back in June when we went to Chicago for John's Purple and thought I'd share them... (John tied for second in the tournament, by the way)...

Benny, Constantine, Jack, and Dominic

Constantine (11 months) and Dominic (9 months)

Grandpa and Grandma Klocek with all their grandchildren.

Dominic and Constantine



Klocek boys: John, Constantine, Andrew, Tim, Patrick and Brent (non-Klocek-but-looks-like-Klocek)



A couple of additions to the Knoell family...

Welcome to the world...

Audrey Therese Knoell

June 14th, 2011

Malachi Francis Knoell

July 26th, 2011

Two Emperpor's in the West?

Oh man, I must have laughed about this for an entire day... even in my sleep.

My sister, Clara, sent me the following picture with the caption reading, "Zac found an Asian Constantine".

It's almost his spitting image, ha-ha!

Where Ever I Go, You Go

Happy 1st birthday to our sweet baby boy!

We had such great hope that Constantine would dive into the beautiful and yummy chocolate cupcake that we put in front of him. Instead, we had to coerce him into touching the mud ball and once he did he winced and whined that his hands were dirty. He then went on to fuss in between me forcing him to touch the cake and me having to feed him some bites. It was, by far, the most unclimatic moment of my life. I know, it's not always all about me.

I can't believe it took me 35 years to meet you. You were well worth wait!!
Constantine, we love you so very much!!!

The Great Escape

Let me first preface this by saying that we keep Constantine in a gated area to keep him safe from all the perils of the kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms, etc. Lately he has figured out how to get by one of the gates so naturally I created some sort of barrier to discourage him. Discourage him it did not...

Soon after he pillaged a village and ate a throw pillow.

Stuck... Again...

...and twice in one day...

I admit, I feel guily that I grab the camera first and THEN help him.

The Beginnings of Walking...

Reminisce #3: Arctic Circle and Back

One spectacular sunny Thursday afternoon as I was sitting in the office in downtown Anchorage I decided that I wanted to take a road trip. Where shall I go? Hmmm, how about the Arctic Circle? After hours of researching the routes, etc. I departed on Friday afternoon. A couple of friends accompanied me until Fairbanks and then I continued North solo.

I was a bit intimidated by the James Dalton Highway which I would be traveling on. It begins just north of Fairbanks and ends at Deadhorse near Prudhoe Bay/Arctic Ocean at mile marker 414. It is a wash board dirt road which is infamous for destroying tires. Not only that but the Dalton highway is one the of the most isolated roads in the United States.

Gas was only available at the Yukon River crossing before the Circle. I must have paid nearly $5 per gallon there. I guess not so shocking today.

It took me 24 hours round trip. Since it was summer the sun shown around the clock so it never felt too early or too late. I had some fantstic music mixes and I sang my heart out while imbibing Red Bull and snacking on black licorice bits (weird, I don't even like black licorice).

Thanks to my guardian Angel I made it to the Circle safe and sound.

Once again my guardian Angel helped me return safely to Fairbanks to meet up with my friends again. I was one of the happiest and sleepiest person that night. I will never forget you, James Dalton Highway. I wonder if Pudge would be up for returning one day to drive you all the way North to dip our toes in the Arctic. Sigh...

View looking North to the Arctic Ocean

Running Man...

Look at those chubby legs go!

My Mother

As a youngin' my mom has been described as a phenomenal competitive swimmer, avid horse rider, ravenous pitcher, fearless water and snow skier, and all around fantastic athlete.

In my personal experience, I would describe my mom as hard working, persevering, high energy, organized, stern, quite a good writer, and humorous. She is always scrubbing, cleaning, or organizing SOMETHING and at times needs to be told to, "Sit Down, Woman!" And she is a wonderful dancer and still is even in her 60's!

But most importantly, there is no doubt how much she loves all her children. She tirelessly helped raise 11 children and has 28 grandchildren (two of which are still in the oven).

I have really enjoyed being back in Phoenix and I feel like I am making up for lost time with my mom now. She has become more of a friend than just my mother.

Sure love you, Mom!

Happy Mother's Day!

Mad Scientist?

My father-in-law accidently came across this spreadsheet on my laptop during his last visit to Phoenix. "What the hell?" was all he could ask.

I explained that instead of a scrap book I have an intricate Excel spreadsheet of Constantine's sleep schedule, patterns, and major milestones to compare and contrast in the future. I told him that I thoroughly enjoy collecting facts and data like a scientist.

Even after this vain attempt to explain myself he still thinks I am a weirdee...

A Little Dancin' Before Bed...

Easter Holiday

So, I am not what you would call a "crafty person" but thanks to Mary Weisse who gave us this wonderful idea on how to make an Easter garland I actually quite enjoyed sitting down tracing, cutting, and gluing this project together. I felt like a kid again really... so excited to hang it up for John to see when he came home.

Although the Easter bunny did not make an appearance at the Klocek household this year I'll bet he'll start making plenty of visits in the coming years. But we did indeed have a nice Easter. I was cooking and baking well into Saturday evening and we spent a lovely afternoon with family at my sister's house on Sunday. I love holidays. I wish there were more of them in a year.

The next holiday approaching is one that my husband considers a very serious and significant holiday on his calendar. It's called THE PURPLE. But more on that later.

It's Rainin' Bags

Since our kitchen is as big as an outhouse I have been racking my brain on how to neatly store all my plastic grocery bags. If I had the cupboard or cabinet space I would stuff those darn things out of sight but unfortunately that space is severely sacred. Having them out in the open is my only option.

So, I got an idea off the internet which I tried/started. You fold each bag like a flag.

Ok, so it is a bit tedious when you have hundreds of bags to fold and I am not sure if I have the patience to complete this task. So, until I get over my laziness I have given the fish bowl a different job in the meantime. I hope the bowl is cool with 'dat.