What happened to the meadow?

We just loved walking down the street to the meadow in the summer and when fall came, we still took our daily walks there . . . but everything had changed! All the carrots had been picked, the sunflowers faded. Our walks were really like mini science adventures: always exploring nature and the changes during the seasons.

Silly Sof Winter 2008

Looking through some of the photos from December, I thought these were pretty funny!


Sofie dressed up with a duct tape bracelet ready to backpack across Europe. (She's checking her flight schedule) :)


We like taking pictures at mealtime. . .




Static Cling!

Lovely Flix for Etsy

Here's a sample of some of my Etsy pictures for sale. For those who don't know about Etsy, it is an online "store" where artists sell any and all things handmade. If you can think of it, it is probably for sale on Etsy: handmade!! It's nice because if you do find something that you like, you can speak directly with the product's maker--in which case is very handy for things made for children. There are so many cool arts and crafts on Etsy, and now you can find me on there too. I have my own "store" called RuziPhoto.

Christmas with the Ruzichs

Wow. Our family is so amazing. First, Dad and Penny came a week before Christmas since this year they drove all the way from DC! Penny picked out such adorable gifts for Sofie and Dad and Matt were good sports to put together the little grocery cart. One of the coolest gifts from the Waites was the Constellation Turtle, which displays a glowing map of real star charts onto the ceiling. The best part was the family time. We made our parents watch Squidbillies--but still, nothing compares to the year we made them watch Team America. I will never forget that moment when Kim Jong Ill sings next to the Hummel collection and Dad nearly lost it laughing so hard. Yeah, that's Christmas with the Waites.

Mom and Jerry had a relaxing Christmas Eve compared to the normal all-nighter, which was a nice change. We started out slow with a nice lunch and the kids devoured their gifts by 6pm. Plenty of time to get them snuggled in for Santa. I did enjoy staying up late with Mom and Gram. It always surprises me that (except for when I was pregnant and cranky) it's very often the three of us who outlast everyone else. Very fun. And I thought I lost my tolerance for alcohol.

And for a very nice change of pace, we got to the Ruzichs early this year on Christmas Day. Eugenia was dying to open her gifts as usual. Jeanne made the best food and I don't know when I've seen more gifts and people in one place--ever!! Truly amazing. Everywhere I looked there were laughing people and kids and laser blasters and barbies, and loud stuffed animals singing--a real RuZoo!!! :) And we loved every minute of it.


So far, the real faves. of all the lovely generous gifts have been the Little People. Sofie can play with those cute Little People all day. Oh, and the Glo-E bear. Sof pretty much loves it as much as her beloved Red Bear. I have to admit, the Glo-E bear is pretty rockin'. But so is the the sing-n-say guitar, and the magnadoodle, the GIANT CareBear, and the shopping cart and veggies, and the teapot baby doll, and the water baby--not to mention all the superfly clothes (where can I get a coureroy poodle skirt to match Sofie?). The MegaBlocks are a hit too. I think I have the most fun creating wild and bizarre abodes while Sof has a 'blast' knocking them down. I was just really happy to receive the complete works of Jane Austen and an iHome and be lazy lazy lazy with my most wonderful husband and little sweetie. lol

A little Summer Throwback

How do swimsuits sound when the weather is 5˚? Not so great. But the thought of summertime warm June days sound delicious. Here's a little throwback to summer.