We are the Chopko's

A little Christmas Funny!

2011-12-15T19:51:00.001-07:00

Hi there!

The flu bug made it's way to our house this week. Our little boy Jax has been fighting the bug for the last 2-3 days. Luckily today, he was back to his goofy, happy little self again! Anyway, in between cleaning house and washing toddler bedding, I came across this youtube video that totally made my day. Enjoy!

YouTube Challenge - I Gave My Kids a Terrible Present

Dear Santa:

2011-12-04T15:40:00.000-07:00

Our wish list have been written, and we are anxiously waiting for your visit! We promise we have been really good this year!

love,

Jax & Issy

It's Christmas time....

2011-12-04T08:21:00.002-07:00

Yes, thats us. This weekend we went to the visit the giant Christmas tree that gets put up every year at Faneuil Hall in Boston. I was in Boston on a business trip a few weeks ago and I happened to be there the very day that the tree was getting unloaded from a semi trailer. It was so cool to see it this weekend, fully decorated, and adored by so many people. Tis' the season!

Three Beautiful Birthday Candles!

2011-12-03T20:39:00.003-07:00

Jackson blowing out his birthday candles...this is little guy is so cute that this post requires no captions. Happy Birthday indeed!

Happy Birthday Buddy!

2011-12-03T18:53:00.009-07:00

Jax turned 3 today! Can you believe this? I still can't. When he woke up this morning and I saw how big and happy he was, I had to hold back tears. I love watching him grow, but at the same time I wish for just one long moment that I could slow the hands of time.

sigh.

For Jax's birthday we decided to spend the day at the Franklin Zoo in Boston. We just watched the movie Zookeeper with Kevin James, so we thought it would be exciting to check out the very zoo that the movie was filmed in. After the movie we went to Faneuil Hall to check out the enourmous Christmas tree at the plaza. While we were there, we also treated the kids to some ice cream.

When we got home, we sang happy birthday, and finally let Jax open his presents! Happy, Happy Birthday Buddy! Please don't grow up too fast. I love you so much!!!

Adorable!

2011-11-25T11:34:00.002-07:00

Beep. Beep.

2011-10-15T11:26:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday Issy...

2011-09-25T11:02:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday to my beautiful girl! You got your wish, a tangled theme party and a house full of girls! What an amazing day! Love you with all my heart!!!

Our 4th of July - Cranberry Lake, NY

2011-09-05T08:33:00.019-06:00

Now that I am getting all caught up on "What we did Last Summer", I had to post about our 4th of July vacation to Cranberry Lake in New York with my awesome In-laws! I had not been able to post the pictures before because I couldn't find the folder that contained all of our pictures from this trip. Turns out the pictures were in our main photo's folder the whole time, but the name of the sub-folder they were store under was throwing me off. I looked in every single photo folder except the ones they were stored in. Gotta love those few blonde roots that haunt me!

Bofore I even start telling you about how much fun the trip was, I have to tell you that in reality this trip begain LONG before we loaded the kids and our bags in the car for our New York trip. A few months ago my In-Laws bought a Gold Wing (pictured below). They planned this whole cross country from Idaho to NY with stops all along the way. Honestly, how friggin' cool are they? Very! I don't remember how long their one way trip lasted, but I do know it was somewhere along the two to three week range! Wow!

The town of Cranberry Lake is super cute! It's got a small town feel, but suprisingly filled with out-of-towners who have been traveling to this little town all of their lives. We stayed in a lodge right on the lake, with an adorable town beach literally next to the rooms on one side and a marina set up on the other side.

The first afternoon we hung out, let the kids play at the beach and looked the other way when Pappy stuffed the kids with candy!

The next afternoon we drove to Lake Placid and walked around the town. Lake Placid was much larger and more touristy than most of the other little towns along the way, so it was fun to walk around and check out the cute little shops. We even had the opportunity to check out the ice rink inside the Olympic center, where some figure skating classes were taking place. I've always loved figure skating, so even the teenager practices were fun to watch. Another cool thing about bing inside the Olympic Center was the motivational posters, all over!

Our last awesome treat was getting to ride a pontoon boat. Jax did not like wearing his life jacket and cried for a solid 15 minutes, but other than that, EVERYONE had an awesome time! I even went in to the water, which is a big deal considering that I have never been comfortable in the water. Once I was in the water, I loved it! I have to build my confidence in the water because I definatly want to do that again!

On 4th of July we made smores, hung around the beach and got bitten like craaaazy by those dang biting flies! At night, we got to catch some fireworks and just hang out as a family. My favorite part was how much the kids loved being with Pappy and their Nanna! We love you so much and with that Gold Wing you guys are just the coolest people! We loved being with you. Thank you for another amazing adventure!

Back to School 2011

2011-09-03T23:30:00.007-06:00

I know I say this ALL the time, but I still can't believe how grown up Issy is getting. Our little girl is now in the 2nd grade! Issy loves school, and could not wait for the year to finally start.

This year we enrolled her in a private school. This is all new to us, but I do believe we will be really happy with the experience. During the tour she was given a summer reading list and a book report form that was due the first day of school. I am personally excited about having a school uniform because this should mean that we dont have to struggle to find something clean that also matches everyday.

On saturday, after she finished her book report, she looked up at me and said I can't wait to work on in the school science lab! I can't stop smiling about the excitement in her voice, or when she talks about making new friends or her new dress (uniform) that she feels so pretty in. I want to squeeze her!

I want to Thank both sets of Grandparents for helping us make the right choice about her school, and making this day possible all of us! We love you very much!

Where to Start?

2011-09-03T20:44:00.009-06:00

I keep getting harrased about the lack of pictures or updates on the blog so here I am again. The summer is almost over, and I haven't even had a chance to start writting about the begining.

1-The Bangs - As some of you know, I gave in when Issy's requested to have her bangs cut at the begining of the summer. I promised a picture, but I never did quite get around to posting it. Here it is...She looks adorable, but only when they are trimmed and when they stay in place. The very thing I feared the most comes true every 2-3 weeks, when I look at her cute little face and her bangs are super long again. Sigh. I told her we had to let them grow out until she was old enough to seriously take care of her hair by her self. I don't have the time or the patience in the mornings to fight about the exact placement of the bangs (on top of everything else, including our little dude Jax) before my cup of joe in the morning. Lucky for us the side sweep bangs are totally in!

2-How can I forget our Garden plot?

I decided that it would be super cool, and super fun to get a garden plot at a Community Garden. I don't know anything about gardening, but I figured, whatever I didn't know I would just google. It started out really well. We (Bran and Issy helped) cleared out the rat's nest of a plot that was given to us. We marked it, seeded and watered it religously. We waited several weeks and got got a couple of baby radisshes. Waited a little bit longer (neglecting it a little bit more each week) and got two nice tomatoes. Left on a couple of summer vacations mid July and then came back and everything had died. Oh! Barnicles!!!

3- Portland, ME

For Mother's Day we spent the weekend in Maine. It's only about 2 hours North of where we live, but it's such a fun getaway! The water was still too cold to "swim" that early in the season, so the beach was completly empty and we were able to let the kids run their little hearts off. And they did just that. During our visit, we also drove to the coast of Maine to see the lighthouses, which are my personal favorite. The kids loved jumping on the hotel bed. I have several pictures of them doing nothing but jumping, and wrestling on that awesome pillow-top matress!

Disney World 2011

2011-08-15T22:22:00.005-06:00

Sometime in early spring, someone decided that it was time for the family to get together. I don't know who, and I don't how know how exactly, but some how in the mist of our spring fever we came up with a destination family gathering to Orlando, FL. Before our August trip, I had gone 1o months without seeing my family in Idaho. You can understand why, when the idea came up about going to florida to see family, it didn't take a whole lot of convincing to book that flight.

Prior to this vacation I had never been to Florida, and apparently no one else in the family had either, because it is only now, that we survived the heat exhaustion and dizziness, that I know why someone who has never been would ever book a vacation to FL mid-august. I sweat like I've never sweat in my life. We were all so hot, that I am sure at some point we all wanted to cry. I think I can ever remember a time when even my sweat, was sweating. oh lordy, it was rough.

With that being said...everything else was really, really fantastic! We saw mickey mouse, Bob and Frozone from the Incredibles, Rapunzel, and many other Disney Characters the kids adore while we were at the parks. Still, the best part about the whole trip was just spending that time together as a family unit. Over here in New England, it's just the four our us. In FL we were 11, we were powerful! I love my parent's, I love sisters and I used to forget how important they were to me. I miss them so much, especially the way we just all get each other. That we laugh at the same things and so on. Seeing our Disney friends was just a really big cherry on top, but nothing beats family!

Anyway, here are some of our pictures from our vacation.

More pictures later....

On my four-wheeler

2011-07-31T19:37:00.007-06:00

Since our last post...we moved! It's nice to have a driveway again... Happy Summer!

Love,

Jax

Daisy - Camporee 2011

2011-05-31T06:16:00.004-06:00

The Girls Scouts day camp was located about an hour south of where we live, in RI (right on the water- nice eh?!). We got a day filled with an assortment of activities, we started with some fossil education, then bubbles, coloring, gak making, science experiments, hot air ballons... you name it! Issy was so proud of having me tag along as a parent volunteer and I loved that! What a fun day. Can't wait for next year!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T13:25:00.002-06:00

Easter

2011-04-24T09:11:00.001-06:00

Dear Nanna & Poppie,

Thank you SO MUCH for the Easter surprise! We loved all of the books and candy!

We love you and miss you like crazy,

Jax and Issy

Could it be an early Spring?

2011-04-18T21:29:00.010-06:00

We took advantage of the little sun we had today by taking the kids out the park. We were determined to get Issy riding her bike today. A little progress was made, but it's definitely going to take a few more trips to the park before she decides she is ready.

She fell one time, and it's all it took for her to shut down.

She decided the battery powered toddler four wheeler was "less wabolly" and safer.

Jax gave her a try and then decided that the four wheeler was his ride.

Oh the joys....

My little Issy Busy!

2011-04-16T09:31:00.004-06:00

I wish I could remember everything about what I was like as a child. I see the way Issy is now, what she talks about, and how she thinks... and I wonder if my parents thought I was just as smart, as I believe my daughter to be. She knows what she likes, what she doesnt like and she is so confient. I admire that about her so much. I remember being 19 and holding her as an infant in my arms wondering how on earth we were going raise her. we were so young... It was so frigtening. Now that we look back at everything, I am able to realize that even though have, and still make so many mistakes, at some point we have done enough right that she has become this incredible girl. I see her, and my heart swells up with Joy. I am so proud of her. Last month she asked me if would take her to get her bangs cut. Her sudden request suprised me, but I told her that she would have to think about it for a month, and at the end of the month if she still wanted to get her bangs cut, then we would talk about it. The month came and went and if you know Issy, then you know she does not forget things easily. And she asked again. For some reason, I was still so hesitant to say yes. I know its not a big deal, hair is hair and it will grow back. It's the idea that, today it is hair, later is a belly ring etc. She is growing up so stinkin' fast. Its so sad. In case you are wondering...Yes...I did give in to the bangs. She was patient, and most importantly she did not throw a fit when I didnt give her an answer right away or told her to wait a month so we can talk about it again. I figured that a month for a seven year old kid is a long enouh time. If she didnt really want the bangs, she would have forgotten about it and she didnt. Plus, I knew that at the end of the day, she didnt have this unreasonable request. She is simply finding herself. My heart swells. I will post a good picture of her new hairstyle later on.

Our little Hercules!

2011-03-23T20:06:00.007-06:00

One drawback about moving to Mass this past year is loosing our incredible pediatrician. The office was new , the staff was always so super nice. Our doctor was always available when we needed to schedule an appointment. We had an after hours nurse care line. I could go on and on. Here in Mass (okay maybe not the whole state but at least the town and the ones within a 10 mile radius) has been a completely different story. Not only does someone need to have their childs entire medical records readily available before they will pencil you in for an appointmen, but the wait time for appointments are ridiculous. Often a month out or two for a get well. The process of getting a doctor has been exausting and frustrating specially becuase through the process of getting an doctor the kids were almost 6 months past due on their 2 year and 7 year old appointments. Long story short, we found a awesome pediatrician in RI and the kids finally had their appointments this week. I had been there before with Jackson for a sick visit, but this was the appointment where they check them out from head to toe. I am happy to report that our little tank, Jackson is now 37 lbs (of pure muscle I am sure). And 37 inches tall. This means that he is in the 90th percentile for both weight and height. What a SOLID little dude! I would have liked to have been there for this appointment, but I was not able to be there so Brandon filled in for me. This is the very first time I have been not been to a doctor's appointment so I was really upset about not being able to be there. The last time Jax and I were there, he gave the nurses a really hard time getting the weight and height measurements. What we did is let the nurse leave the room for a minute while I put him on the scale to get his weight. As long as the nurse was not there, he was happy to stand on the scale. Well, I forgot to pass on my secret to Brandon. Not only did Jackson scream and cry the whole time, but in order to get the Jackson weight the nurse made Bran weight himself first, so that later he could hold Jax in his arms and subtract his weight. How friggin horrible would that be? I can't imagine going through that. Bran said he was so embarrased. Oh! I owe him big for that one. Everything else looks normal- which is wonderful news! At this point he is speaking very well. He recognizes everyone in our family, including himself. When you ask what his name is he says "Jack", not Jax or Jackson, however we still call him Jax and that is the name he answers. For some reason I find this really funny. And, when he is not trying to ride Sandy like a horse, he tries to give her commands. She only listens when he is going to sneak her a snack. Smart dog. He is still sleeping in his crib, but we are planning on getting rid of that here shortly. Lastly, we are going to try to start the potty training very soon. Right now, he hates being wet or dirty, but aparently not enough to actually sit on the potty. Maybe I am glorifying the whole experience with Issy, but I just remember her being so much easier to train. Not just easier, but her traning came a lot sooner. I am not sure if it was just becuase girls are EASIER, or becuase all of our attention was focused on only her at the time. Her mildstones were OUR mildstones and all of us were going through them as the first time. With Jackson...well, I just feel like he is not quite there yet. I dont want to make the mistake of being too pushy, just becuase someone else "had their kid completely potty trained by this age" and making his fear of the potty worse. He and Issy are still best "friendenemies". Isabel has so much patience for him. She is the first one scream at him if they fight, but also the first to comfort him when we are not around. He is learning to love books from her love of reading. When we are home and the house gets too quiet that I rush in the room in a panic, I can often find them sitting on her bed reading a story together. How stinkin' sweet is that?

St. Patty's 2011 - Boston

2011-03-21T18:44:00.009-06:00

This year we celebrated St. Patty's Day in what has become our new back yard-Boston. The South Boston parade is home to the second largest Celebration of Irish Herritage in the country. As you can imagine the parade path was a complete zoo, people were loud, proud and rowdy. I personally loved every second of it! Since we were able to meet up with our new friends (with kids the same age of ours) Issy had a pal to cheer and collect candy with. She came home with a pocket full of loot and hopefully another memory to look back on.

We're Back!

2011-03-02T10:48:00.005-07:00

Hello friends:

I know. I know. I have been MIA for a while! We've had a lot going on lately. I while can't say that I havent' had the time to sit in front of the computer, the last thing I have wanted to do is sleepily put my thoughts together for the blog. So I havent.

I am back now, but I still can't promise that I will go back to doing daily posting. What I will do is try to post onece a week to at least give you a run down of what we have been up to.

For now, it is safe to say that the 30 day challenge is going to be put on hold. Towards the end the challenge I felt like I lost focus, and all of my post were about me, and not about the our family- which is what this blog is really intended to be. I may come back to finish it, but it wont be for a while.

for now I leave you with these two pictures of my sweet kids. To me these pictures not only capture a cute little brother/big sister moment, but they also capture the moment where perhaps two siblings are becoming best friends. When my kids grow up, one of the things I want is for them to be close and love each other as much as I love my sisters. As a Mother, there is no greater joy than rare moments like these.

30 Day Blog Challenge -Day 22

2011-02-03T17:01:00.000-07:00

30 Day Blog Challenge -Day 22 - A letter to someone who has hurt you recently.

This post is going to be pretty boring because I seriously do not feel like I have been hurt by someone recently enough to remember the incident and then write about it.

What did I say? Boring.

30 Day Blog Challenge -Day 21

2011-02-02T16:38:00.000-07:00

30 Day Blog Challenge -Day 21 - Post a picture of something that makes you happy.

Reading makes me happy. I love getting lost in the words and emotions of a good book. Sharing my love of books with the kids is a gift I hope I can pass on to my kids.

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 20

2011-02-01T16:14:00.002-07:00

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 20-- The meaning behind your blog name.

I can't say that there is a lot of mystery to the blog name. When I was creating our family blog, I often worried about who would be reading it, and what they thought about MY family. I've never been one to really obsess over what people think about me, but when you are putting it all out there, it does make you think twice. Before publishing my first entry, the words "it's who we are" kept nagging at me. And I was right. This is who. we. are. - I feel like no matter how much we evolve, the name will always make sense.

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 19

2011-01-31T15:59:00.003-07:00

30 Day Blog Challenge: Day 19 - Another Picture of you.

I don't have a lot of pictures of myself. I wish I had more, and I am determined to change this fact, so for the time being I found this picture of Bran and I the summer we started dating! I love this picture of us.