Daddy's on his way home

Just got an e-mail from Ross that he is ON a plane, headed for the states towards Georgia ( hopefully with enough gas in the tank unlike last time when they had to land at JFK) and should be arriving at a lovely 6:30AM. So everyone call!! Or NOT! Unfortunately Ross' BB had been down the last couple of days so I didn't know what was going on over there in Dubia...little freaky but he got through to me. As you can see I was able to download some pics of Raquel from my old camera so when Ross gets rested he can show me how to do it with the new camera. Be looking for them soon!

A new swing and lookin' COOL!

We decided that Raquel needed her own swing here at the house since that's all she likes to do when we go to the park. So daddy installed it and now that's all she wants to do! She especially likes to be sprayed with the hose while swinging and always looks COOL when she stylin' in daddy's shades!

Still sorting it out

Sorry again! Ross is in Dubia and I can't figure out my new camera so no pictures right now. I am trying to get my old camera to work so that I can post some pictures. We'll see how that plays out! I've got a funny story for you all...Raquel (who we all know is very tall) decided that she had taken about all she could handle of her momma and LOCKED ME OUT OF THE HOUSE on tuesday night. Yup, that's right...had to call the fire department and have them jimmy open a window in the basement for them to get in and rescue her. I just didn't realize that she was tall enough to reach the deadbolt, guess I know now :) Needless to say my neighbor now has an extra house key and I don't walk out on the deck without a key of my own! Take note you parents with tall toddlers, you never know until it's too late! Oh, a side note, she now opens the fridge and freezer with ease so a safety latch went on that badboy. I guess it just goes downhill from here (not in a bad way) just her growing up!

I KNOW I KNOW, TELL ME SOMETHING I DON'T KNOW

Hello to all. Guess you have been wondering..."What the hell happened?"...No updates, no nothing????? Well, what happened was the blog was taking way too long to update and a rather tall person for her age decided to THROW DOWN momma's camera while in Iowa a couple of months ago and bust it into a bunch of tinie tiny pieces. BUT, my lovely sweetheart bought me a new camera for my birthday last week (OH I know, you all forgot...yeh,yeh,yeh!!! Forgiven!) Anyway, things will be up and running in no time...just as soon as my babe shows me how to work the new camera on the computer. Be looking for updates soon and if you haven't already, please download a hard-drive of the blog if you want to keep it because we are going to have to delete some in order for me to actually have enough sanity to continue this. :) FYI Anyone who is game, Raquel's 2nd b-day is Sept 4 and true to form we are having a "PIRATE LOOKS AT TWO" party, BUFFETT style of course and you're all invited. Just let me know who out there that would not typically be on the invitation lis, let me know if you would like to join us. We have plenty of room! Just don't stay too long:) Much love...No worries! The CRAZIES

Did you call a mechanic?

Miss thing loves to ride her ATV that aunt Jonann and uncle Brent gave her for Christmas and she pushes her ride to the limit! She loves to drive it up to the top of the driveway and then lets off the 'gas' and it roll BACKWARDS down the drive until she hits the gas and pops a wheelie and charges right back up the drive. She's a MANIAC (which she gets from her dad) and loves to give mom a heart attack. But like my sweets always says,' You got to let her be a kid" so I hold my breath and then have to bust out laughing! I'm just glad that being she likes to ride it so hard that she is able to fix it all by herself. Give her a couple of screwdrivers and she's off!

Life of a SUPERSTAR

At first she didn't see all the photographers because had she, she would have made sure to pose. When she did spot them it was, oh no, and she tried to fend them off. But, they kept coming so eventually stardom has it's price and 'Rockin' R.J' had to let them have what they came for and did her posing routine with such style and grace that she made the front cover of every Hot Toddler tabloid so it paid off. now they're after her for a movie deal...will it ever end?

Ten year anniversary!

Who would have thought that ten years could fly by as quickly as they did! I can't! We decided to go into Buckhead and have a very nice dinner and celebrate that we haven't killed one another (HA HA). We've been very blessed over the last fifteen years of our relationship and especially blessed for the last ten while we have been married. Ross had put together a time capsule on our wedding day that I didn't know about, so when we got up the next day we went through it and let me say, what a great idea! Some of the topics in the articles that he collected said things like,' hi-definition is only for the wealthy and will never take off with the general population' OH REALLY? It showed cars that we don't even see on the road hardly any more and many more topics that Ross and I got a kick out of. Needless to say, we took a picture of our family), put it together with a bunch of newspapers, magazines, etc. and sealed it up so that we can open it, and the original, in another ten years and so on and so forth. It was a very thoughtful idea that my loving hubby thought of. One that I will always treasure!

Super Grandpa came for a visit!... Again!

Super Grandpa came out to see us for a nice weekend trip. Raquel has grown so much since Christmas that S.G. couldn't believe it was the same girl. She is definitely coming into her own with her personality and vocabulary. We started her in a gymnastics class in Feb. and she loves it! We're continuing on with the next level appropriately named "Beasts" (they go by age groups) so I think that will continue to be a lot of fun for her. Not to mention I have met some lovely people that I know hang out with. So it was good for everyone!

Raquel's Easter picture with live bunny

So, finally the blog has let me back on...sorry for the delay but I've been having quite the time with this blog lately and had all but given up. Then I decided, one last godforsaken time I will try and if it doesn't work well, IT"S OVER!! And low and behold it worked! So here's Raquel's final picture with the bunny that she almost maimed. Sorry for the reflection but we had to take a picture of the picture because we can't duplicate professional photos without them getting a cut-no way we say!

Happy Easter everyone!

Dad and Raquel found another thing in common...licking the glass and making funny faces! Raquel is developing such a personality and it tends to wear off on us so we too get a little goofy! Yesterday we went and had pictures taken of Raquel with a live bunny for Easter. For the most part she did pretty well until she got a good grip on that poor little bunny and the handler said that was it. Photo shoot over. Hope you all had a good Easter and here's hoping that the easter bunny made it your way...if not, it was because we ate him. (ha ha)

I'm ready for my closeup!

Always the poser. Raquel has recently turned into a mini "Posh Spice girl" meaning she rarely likes to smile for the camera anymore but would rather strike a pose. Drama queen! Sorry it's been a while since the last posting. The blog we post on was having difficulty for the last couple of weeks so I wasn't able to do anything. All is well here in Atlanta. There have been quite a few crazy storms hitting here but we have been fortunate not to have any damage, not so fortunate have our neighbors been or the Georgia Dome for that matter! Ross has been traveling a lot overseas this year. Since January he has been to Spain, Switzerland, London, France, Florence Italy, Hong Kong and he just got back this past friday from Egypt. Holy Cow i say! I think his next trip is to Saudi Arbia in May so we get him for a little while here with us! YEA!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Ross would not tell me what we were doing for v-day, he just said to be ready at 6:45pm and look 'hot'. So he drove us to a destination that I would soon see. It was a very romantic restaurant and we had a lovely time and that's all the details that you are going to get :) I am SO lucky to be married to him!

Aunt Aundrea came for a visit!

So Aunt Aundrea came to see us, while we still live here, and OF COURSE we had to visit her friends and "love of her life" at where else but the zoo! Aundrea has a fasination with the gorillas and where ever we live (which seems to change frequently) she insist that we visit her friends but this time I think she got a little smitten with the orangatans especially this guy, she didn't want to leave, but we did just before the zoo authorities were called because of her stalking! On a different evening joined up with my cutie (Ross) for his appreciation dinner for his staff hence the dress up evening. All in all we had a fabulous time and wished that Aundrea could have stayed longer!!

Who says it doesn't snow in Atlanta?

So when everyone told us that we were moving to "Hotlanta" and that it never snows they were insane (or the end of the world is coming). We actually got accumilation of three inches and this town SHUT DOWN! Everyone was driving like a granny and all the schools were cancelled and the shelves at the grocery stores were empty...What the hell I thought to myself, don't they know that snow doesn't melt people? After a couple of days it was back to things as usual. Raquel was given a new Jimmy Buffett shirt from her Daddy so we all were sporting Buffett wear on this day. For those of you who don't know this, we are true and through Jimmy Buffett fans. (Some may equate it to stalking) but I just like to know where he is at all times..oh my, did that sound bad?

The beginning of the Marcoot Family Fun Vacation

We decided that we IE: Ross, Raquel, and I would celebrate cristmas at home before we left for our cross country treck to the lovely, freezing midwest to visit the rest of the family. Somewhere along the way we thought it would be a brilliant idea to travel via automobile with the dog and all of us and all the presents back to Iowa and IL for the holiday. We must have been drunk when we decided this! So first we must open our presents here in Atlanta and what a stash we hauled in. It was very nice and Ross got cowboy boots just like those that Raquel received from Al and Ellen. Well not exactly like them, his aren't pink. However I have noticed him eying hers!

First stop-Super Grandpa's house in Bloomington,IL

So after an 11 hour drive from Atlanta,GA and thankfully, uneventful drive (no bad weather, baby meltdowns kept to a minimum with the help of a prepared cooler full of snacks and milk) we pulled into Ross' dad's house and was greeted by Randy's new dog Hank as well as Randy of course. After getting settled in we waited for the others to arrive. Unfortunately the weather had turned bad and Aunt Jeannie and Ol' Uncle Bob had to postpone their arrival for an additional day. But everyone did make it including Grappy (Raquel's great grandpa) from southern IL. We enjoyed time with everyone and then Super Grandpa went and done it...He bought Raquel a pony! It's big, hairy, cute and did I mention PINK! We IE: me, named her Pink Champagne because she's pink and momma likes her champagne:) Everyone else wanted to name her Squishy which I was not going to let happen, so the next day we all loaded up in the car (Ross, me. Raquel, Lil' Prince Jolly Mon' and Pink Champagne) plus a slew of goodies and headed off to our next destination, Des Moines, IA.

Next stop...Brent and Jonann's

So after spending almost 11 hours driving to Super Grandpa's we decided that Raquel needed to be strapped in for some more touring of the great mid-west and off to Brent and Jonann's house in Des Moines,IA we went! I had forgotten just how BORING the drive between Bloomington and Des Moines was....until then.....boring doesn't describe how that 4 hour drive felt longer than the 11 that we had just spent driving from Atlanta. Just think, Ross and I used to do that drive all the time, how easily one forgets. Anywho, all the family converged on Brent's house to open presents and enjoy his annual prime rib dinner YUM-YUM! It was a lovely time and as you can see Crazy Momma and my Dad of course were there but unfortunately Aundrea had to remain in the "armpit of America" as she likes to refer to it. Others may refer to it as Sioux City, IA. She of course had to stay back and enjoy all the CRAZY people that would be coming out the day after christmas to shop at her store. She was missed (but not too missed, because that meant more prime rib to go around)! Oh ya!

Raquel's first experience in the snow

After arriving at Brent and Jonann's for Brent's fabulous feast it started to snow. We decided to see if Raquel was a mid-western gal or a gal of the south.Let's just say she ain't no snow bunny! After unsuccessfully mastering the snow she fell down and said,"This is for the birds!" And where are all the birds right now you ask? That's right...in the south! Enough of that and inside she came!

And our last stop

Our last stop on our Marcoot family fun vacation was to visit Grandma Zibilich in Cedar Rapids and to our delight Aunt Deb had just flown in the same day so we had a lovely visit with her as well. Here ends our visits...now just 10.5 hours in the car again and we're home! Happy New Year everyone!