Cole's Birthday Party!

Friday was Cole's birthday and he turned 2-years-old. I was telling Melissa that it seems like he's been around so much longer than that. I guess that when you have these little nieces and nephews come into your life, it seems like they've always been a part of it. Briton and Melissa had a little party for him and invited both sides of the family to come. He was so cute. He still doesn't talk very coherently, but he can say words here and there and some names. He goes around calling both my mom and dad "Cheryl."

It's fun to watch little kids grow up. You start to see glimpses of their personalities little by little. They are so uninhibited and so refreshing. While Cole was opening his presents, Caroline turned to her aunt, who is 2 years older, and said "Chelsea, after Cole opens all his presents, we get to play with them!" Cole didn't really care. He was content playing with the wrapping paper and a balloon he carried around with him all night. Later, as we sang "Happy Birthday" to Cole, he got really shy when he noticed all the attention in the room was centered on him. He's definitely a Zurcher!

Cole tried to blow out the candles by placing his front teeth on his lower lip. It didn't quite work, but his dad helped him.

Cole with the flannel blanket that Grandma Cheryl made him.

I love this little pouting face!

Caroline (4) with her Aunt Chelsea (6).

My favorite thing about this picture is Jacob smirking in the background, wearing his Thomas the Train paper conductor hat. What a dip!

Happy Birthday Danny!

I've joked before about how I could say anything about Danny on my blog and he'd never know because he never reads it. Well, his girlfriend, Amanda, told me that she looks at it every now and then and tells Danny when he's mentioned. So I figure he'll see this post . . . eventually.

Danny has mostly been a good big brother. I remember being teased a lot by him when I was younger, but that has pretty much died out. I use to love to watch him play video games and sometimes still do. He's always game for a little Mario Kart, Settlers of Catan or any other game. On top of all of this, he's the smartest guy I know and I'm sure he will be a successful doctor. Happy birthday Danny. I love you!

Have you done this?

I thought that since this is the beginning of a new year, making a list of the things I have done would be fun, but I found this list on another blog and decided that I would post it instead. The items in orange are things I have already done and obviously the items in blue are the things I have yet to do, or may never do. When I went through the list I thought that I had done a lot, but I counted and I've only done 40 out of 100! You'd think that having lived in Salt Lake City for almost half my life, I would have swam in the Great Salt Lake by now. I have work to do. How many things on this list have you done?

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen an eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Been to Niagara Falls
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Been to the Grand Canyon
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Been to the Alamo
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Danced the night away

New Year's 2008 and the New Year 2009

This weekend was so great. I wish I could live it again. It started out on New Year's Eve at Market Street Grill with my family. My mom made a reservation for us back in October and it was a good thing she did because it was crowded! Briton, Melissa and the kids met the rest of us there. I'm not a fan of fish and there's about 3 things on the menu that I can order, but I still like the place. After dinner, Danny, Amanda, Kate and I played Wii Mario Kart and then Jacob joined us to watch the ball drop in Times Square. It was pretty uneventful, but it was a nice New Year's.







The rest of the weekend consisted of taking down the Christmas trees, finishing the 2000 piece puzzle (we did a total of 6,750 pieces this year!), reading, and general relaxation and lounging around. On Friday I went to lunch with my friend, Paige, whom I had not seen for a whole year! It was really good to talk to her in person. After lunch, we went to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button with our moms and Jacob. Despite it's length, I thought it was a pretty good movie.


Emily flew in from LA on Friday night to spend the weekend with us. On Saturday night, Jacob brought his girlfriend, Heather, and we went to Goodwood. We went home and watched Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day. It's an excellent movie for those of you looking for a good flick.






Now I'm back to work and I'm in a contemplative mood at the start of this new year. I wonder and am anticipating what might happen this year. I feel like it will be a good year and I'm excited to live it. I hope your year will be as great as mine is going to be!