Getting ready for the Holidays... more chaos in the Cozart home.

UGH! Usually the holidays creep up on me, this year they are kicking the door down! Everyone is decorating already (a week before Turkey Day!) and talk of Black Friday and Cyber Monday is buzzing in my head. As usual, my husband has no idea what is going on, knowing that I will take care of it all :)

My goal this week is to get ready for Thanksgiving (clean the house, meal preparation, etc.) and be caught up with work so that, come Thursday, I can have four days to plan the heck out of Christmas:) The great thing this year is that I have done a significant amount of shopping throughout the year for Josh and the kiddos.

Josh is busy rehearsing for the December 4th symphony concert. It is always interesting to hear him practice (and the constant stream of swear words that accompany practicing:) Now we have two musicians in the house with Alexis learning the violin. It is hilarious to hear Josh tell Alexis "all good musicians practice with a metronome" (which is an incredibly annoying little device that sounds like tick tick tick tick- keeping time) and then hear him yell at the metronome later when it is his turn:)

We are supposed to get light snow this week and I am really tempted to try out running in the snow. However, I'm not so tempted as to buy special shoes and biffing it in the snow doesn't greatly appeal to me either. I think I'm going to have to get new snow tires on my car, but spending hundreds of dollars on tires always makes me feel like I'm throwing money out the window.

We wish everyone a blessed week and hope all who are traveling stay safe!

Arianna

WOW! It's been a long time baby....

Hello everyone! Happy Fall! It has been quite a long time since I've posted. I have decided that I'm going to disconnect this from my Facebook because I only want people who I want to read it to read it and only people who want to read it to read it. If that at all makes sense:) That will give me a push to update more often and post a lot more PICTURES:)!!!!

So if you are interested, subscribe to the Cozart Clan blog NOW! After the switch from FB to private, I will do a more comprehensive catch-up. But for now...

So this last week we have gotten to have Josh's brother, Colt, and his brother's fiance, Bekki, for a visit. They are currently living in Alexandria, Minnesota. Alexandria is a sort of lake-resort type community. There is a lot of water, but it is very flat and not very many trees like our beautiful WENATCHEE!! Bekki's parents live about 1.5 hours away. I have no idea how far away Josh and Colt's parents are, several hours I believe. Colt and Bekki have a 3 year old daughter named Savannah, she looks A LOT like Colt. When she was little, she really resembled Marilyn. But Savannah didn't come with them this time:(

We had such a great time! We went to the Owl Soda Fountain where Josh outdid himself with their Smore's Delight (holy cow was it huge!). We also went up to Smallwoods Farm and visited the petting zoo, the speeding cow ride, the mazes, and a million other things. I bought some Churro Nuggets (no good) and some Rainbow Popcorn Kernels (that wasn't really Rainbow).

We also went to Alexis' soccer game, introduced Colt and Bekki to the Settlers of Catan, watched Get Him to the Greek (not that good), visited the Farmer's Market, shopped Downtown Wenatchee, and watched a lot of bridal-themed shows (Colt and Bekki got engaged at Ohme Gardens while they were up here!). The couple stayed at the new Mariott in Wenatchee for a couple of nights (beautiful!) and we played in the pool for a while. Colt and Bekki also visited the Rocky Reach Dam, Ohme Gardens, and Leavenworth.

Alexis and Marilyn fell in love with both Colt and Bekki. We are now looking forward to attending their wedding at the Lakeside Resort in Glenwood, Minnesota. It looks SO beautiful! We also hope to exchange letters frequently and learn how to Skype!

Here's to keeping on top of our letter writing and becoming more technologically advanced!!!!

What's New with the Cozarts- April 2010

The Cozarts are SUPER EXCITED for Spring! As I am sure you are all aware, we've had the craziest weather ever! Alexis had her annual Fund Run on Friday and it actually snowed! She ran 18 laps, a 3 lap improvement over last year.

Arianna has been keeping pretty busy but still has not found a new home as an attorney. I am keeping really busy with CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), looking for a new job, and playing soccer mom. Usually I would be beginning my running season about this time but I am taking a hiatus on running any races until the Saul Gallegos Memorial Run in June. My plans for the Spring are to find a new job (God willing!), train (again, God willing!), and catch up on a few things around the house. I'd also like to get an early start on some Christmas 2010 projects and start scrapbooking again.

Josh is continuing to excel at Chase. He has been working a lot but that is always a good thing! He continues to play his clarinet in the worship band and also played in The King and I this last fall. He has also started to work out with his best friend Cameron. His current focus appears to be push-ups which he likes to do in front of me to show off:) He is still "gaming", his current favorites are Modern Warfare 2 and Borderlands.

Alexis is of course doing great at school. She is currently reading book 4 of the Twilight series and loves it. When she is finished she is going to start the Harry Potter series. She is doing great in soccer and considers herself an expert on both fashion and dancing.

Marilyn continues to love life. She is SO full of energy. We try to go to indoor playground at the gymnastics place on Mondays and she wears me out! She is also playing in her second season of soccer and scored 6 goals at her last game. We had a great Spring Break (except for the weather of course) going swimming, to the library, doing arts and crafts, and the occasional walk and visit to the park.

We have several events in April (two weddings and a fundraising event) in addition to the myriad of soccer games and practices. We still love where we live, despite the birds and squirrels that taunt Buddy the Cat endlessly. They recently filled the irrigation canal off of our backyard and it is beautiful as always. I have already begun purchasing our spring garden goods (soon to be dead I'm sure).

See you soon!

Funemployment- Take 2 DAY 1

SO, HERE I AM, FUNEMPLOYED YET AGAIN! AND THAT IS OK! I REALLY LOVED MY JOB AS A PROSECUTOR AND I REALLY HOPE I CAN RETURN, AND SOON, BUT THE CHELAN COUNTY BUDGET IS OUT OF MY HANDS FOR THE TIME BEING.

THIS TIME I AM GOING TO DO THINGS A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY. MARILYN IS GOING TO STAY IN SCHOOL, AT LEAST FOR THIS MONTH AND THEN WE'LL RE-EVALUATE AT THE END OF THE MONTH. MY LAST EVENT FOR LAST YEAR (WAS SUPPOSED TO BE IN THE FALL) IS THIS NEXT WEEKEND. TODAY WAS MY ONE DAY TO GATHER MY WITS, NOT PUT ON ANY MAKEUP, WAKE UP LATE (7 A.M.), AND TAKE A NAP. BUT TOMORROW, WELL, TOMORROW WILL BE DIFFERENT. THIS TIME WILL BE DIFFERENT.

FOR STARTERS, WITH THE HELP OF MY WORKOUT BUDDIES AND MY DAD'S GENEROUS CHRISTMAS GIFT, I AM GOING TO GET IN THE BEST SHAPE OF MY LIFE! YEAH ME! I START A 12 WEEK PERSONALY FITNESS PROGRAM AT THE YMCA ON JANUARY 11TH.

I AM ALSO GOING TO START MARILYN ON A FORMAL PRESCHOOL CURRICULUM HERE AT HOME. I LOVE HER DAYCARE, BUT I JUST DON'T THINK SHE IS GETTING ALL THAT SHE SHOULD BE ACADEMICALLY.

I WILL WHIP THIS HOUSE INTO SHAPE! ORGANIZE, DECORATE, AND MAINTAIN THE CLEANLINESS! AND, JUST MAYBE, I WILL PLANT A GARDEN THAT LIVES THIS SPRING :)

CAREER WISE, I AM EXPLORING LOTS OF OPTIONS. I'M CONSIDERING OPENING MY OWN FIRM, AS WELL AS LOTS OF OTHER THINGS.

SO, 2010 IS THE YEAR OF THE COZARTS! STAY TUNED FOR UPDATES!

Being Sick

Ha, well it has been 3 months since my last post, I can't believe it! I am currently sick, really sick. Like so sick I thought yesterday I might just pass out at Coldstone in Leavenworth with the unbelievable heat and my unbelievable fever. It is just a severe cold, I hope (no need for swine flu here, thank you!). It makes me realize how we take advantage of good health. The ability to sleep, eat (and taste), breathe, and be active are all such huge blessings. My friends have a new baby that I really want to see, but I don't want to infect anyone! I felt like a terrorist in the ice cream shop yesterday, unable to stop sneezing, sure that I was about to be lynched by a mob of angry parents and tourists that didn't want my crud!

So I am here at home, really REALLY wanting to be out in the world. I feel better today than I did yesterday and have no fear of snotting on anyone. However, the cold has moved into my chest so the possibility of going into a severe coughing fit and puking everywhere has increased exponentially (clean up on Aisle 20!)

I missed a really important bridal shower, I missed Movies in the Park (Hotel for Dogs), and I missed church for the third week in a row. BOO HOO!

Ok, so off my pity party. I am READY to feel better! Since I am not snotting everywhere, I am going to take the longest hottest shower possible, attempt to clean up my house, do some laundry, and get ready for the week, and yes, most likely attempt grocery shopping. So if you see me out and about today, wish me luck and keep a safe distance;)

The Things I Do- Day 3

Well, here we are on Day 3. Not the most productive day, but fun nonetheless. Today I: got the girls ready for school, put together and delivered a rather complex summer birthday snack, took the girls to school, paid some bills, went to the dentist where I convinced the hygienist not to floss my teeth (it hurts!), worked some more on my finances, had lunch with my husband, went to Starbucks, went to Target, talked to my Mom, took a nap, hung out with Josh and Cameron and got some AWESOME pictures of them trying to sit comfortably in the sprinkler, went grocery shopping for all of our Bakefest needs, dropped off our prescriptions for our quit smoking stuff, put the Waterville wine on Wenatchee' Safeways list (hopefully!), commenced Bakefest with Julie, Baby Maddie, and the girls, BBQ'd with friends, got the girls in bed, got Josh to vacuum, cleaned up the bedroom, living room, and kitchen.

Things left to do: Hopefully Josh will save the video game he borrowed from a friend (brand new hard-to-get game, somehow the XBOX scratched it), possibly write up a meal plan for the next week and grocery list, clean up from the BBQ.

Peace out!

The Things I Do -Day 2

Well today was not quite as productive as yesterday. But, alas, still productive.

Today I: got the girls ready for school, read, worked a lot on organizing our finances, had a great meeting with a colleague, received a very encouraging call from a friend, had some revelations regarding my health and fitness, talked to my Dad, had a great time having coffee with a friend, did the dishes, did a lot of laundry, took a nap, did some calf raises, and I think that is about it! Still plan to: work some more on finances, fold some more laundry, finish the kitchen, make a phone call, and go to bed!

Tomorrow is a new day!