I am famous! I knew it!

Greetings earthlings! It's been a while. We have been sick, sick, and more sick. But I'm sure you'd love to read all about THAT. So I'll spare you...for now.

We've had a few exciting things happening in our family! Firstly, my grandparents came home last Friday from serving their second mission in Sydney! I am very proud of them and I'm so glad they made it home safe and sound. I can't imagine what it would be like to live two years of service, and then come back home and go back to a "regular" life. But I guess many people have done it. As a matter of fact, someday I hope to do it.

Also, drumroll please....Ava is potty trained! Yay! Well, she has been for a few weeks, but she is doing so well. She has not had one accident yet (not even at night) and hopefully that will continue. I feel pretty darn good about it. I mean, she's my first one after all, and I don't know who's more proud, her or me. And we will save loads on not buying two huge boxes of diapers anymore. I wish I could say Kael is potty trained also! But not quite yet.

Ok, so Andre and I have been watching Smallville, one of his favorite shows. I can't figure out if the show grows on me, or if I just hate it. But the reason I am famous is because in one of the shows, there is a picture in a frame at the Kent farm, and guess what? I HAVE THE SAME FRAME!! It is sitting on my dresser right now, with a very lovely picture in it. I know, I know, you'll all be so thrilled to be acquainted with me now.





And no, that is not Andre. That is Clark Kent.








Let me address some books. I have finished The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan, and it is honestly my favorite thing by him so far. I have read a sample from The Kane Chronicles and that was good also. I also read the first book in the 39 Clues series by him, and while I liked it, I liked his other work a bit more. I am just really starting to get into The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, which so far, is very enlightening. I have now started Charlie Bones, and it is very cute so far. More to come on that one.

Well our lease is up March 31st and we are looking at lots of places. I hate moving so much so I really hope that this time we will be able to stay put for a few years. We are definitely staying in this area, just a different home (or apartment, condo, shack, whatever).

Before I end this edition of Trochez Clan, I wanted to share a quick recipe. I got this from my aunt, whom I believe got it from another aunt. It's chicken tacos. All you do is get some boneless skinless chicken breast, and put it in a crockpot with a jar of your favorite salsa, and cook on low for 6 hours or whatever, or on high for 4, or just until it's done. You can shred it, but I like just cutting it into pieces when it's about halfway done. Then you just serve that with flour tortillas of your choice, and for taco toppings I usually use cilantro (A MUST!), sour cream, hot sauce, black beans, avocado, and I guess whatever else you'd like. Oh, and you can serve it with lime wedges. Can't go wrong! I am a huge fan of crockpot meals.

And my favorite new children's brand is: Vive La Fete. Of course, I can't really afford any of their things, but they are cute! Maybe for a photo shoot...hmmmm...

Anyway, g'day peeps!

And then there was snow!

I live in WILMINGTON NORTH CAROLINA PEOPLE!!! What looks out of place here??


















Could it be all the fluffy litte white freezing cold particles falling from the sky onto the ground? I moved away from Utah, and hopefully, away from the snow! But no, it has snowed here for the second year in a row. So much for a 65 degree winter.We went outside and played for a bit. Kael didn't like it so much, Ava cried when we had to come back inside!























Ava loved throwing snowballs, and Kael just wanted to come in the house.

































Well Andre's AT got changed from the end of January to July. And he got new orders to leave the end of February to Wisconsin. My grandparents are almost home from their mission in Sydney Australia. I can't believe it's gone by so fast! I remember when they left, I thought it'll be forever until we see them again! And now they are finally coming home. They are perfect examples of selfless service.

Ok so don't laugh, because I know what this sounds like, but Andre and I want to do a team triathlon together. He's so good at all three events (swimming, running, biking) and he's done one before. I'm so horrible at all 3 events, I'm having a hard time deciding which one to do. We need a third team member, so if you're interested, let me know! It's in May, in New Bern.

Our friends Greg and Jayne just had their baby. Welcome to the world Penny Gentry! And welcome to a white world of snow!

Ugh...January

So I try and find things I like about each month, and I especially love months with holidays, but you know, January is just kind of "ugh" to me. I don't know how else to say it. First, it's in the winter, and I'm not a fan of winter. Second, there's just not very many exciting things happening in January. I do like the start of a new year though. My little brother John has gone back to Utah (very sad day) and we loved having him here! Ava is very confused as to where he went. We didn't do much New Years Eve. How sad that I couldn't even stay up till midnight! I could barley keep my eyes open and I was so exhausted and I looked over at the clock to read 9:45 pm. Wow! Things have really changed. I just made a bunch of snacks for New Years Eve and we stayed up eating. New Years day I traditionally do like a 6 course meal (I think last year turned into 7 courses). This year I only did 3 courses, but it was pretty good. I used my new cookbook that my in-laws gave me for Christmas. Here's what we had:


























We even busted out the china! And nothing broke. Kael is slowly picking up more words. He does a good job of communicating and Ava always knows exactly what he wants at least. I poured him some cereal this morning in a bowl, got him a spoon, and gave it to him. He looked at me like he was very confused and said, "Mu?" I guess that meant, "Hey, where's my milk?"

Ava was so tired this morning she fell back asleep. How creepy is this?


















I promise you in that picture she is dead asleep, snoring and all. Also, I got really sick of Kael's terrible haircut so Andre cut his hair last night! Check it out:






















I guess my big goal for this year is probably 95% of other Americans. Since I have become such a fatty mcdaddy I will be trying to shed a couple hundred pounds. If anyone needs an exercise buddy, I need one too! I also formed this repulsive and convenient habit of putting off things I really need to do, all the time. So that is my other major goal. To just do things, and do them right away. So if you could help me out in this goal, and just not ask me to do anything, that'd be great.