The Belchak Blog

Put on your tinfoil hat!

2009-12-15T09:18:00.001-08:00

Look, I'm not a conspiracy theorist or a tin foil hatter, I'm just a husband and a father. If what Ruppert say's in his new Documentary 'Collapse' is true we all need to do three things.

1. Plant an organic garden
2. Build your community
3. Buy gold.

Those three things can (and should) be accomplished by tinfoilers and sheep alike.

in reference to: http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091209/REVIEWS/912099993 (view on Google Sidewiki)

Chicago

2009-06-17T19:39:00.001-07:00

Scott and I finally went on our first vacation in at least 5 years. These past few years it seems all our money and time off go into trips to Utah (which is nothing like a vacation). We chose Chicago because Scott was going there anyway for a bachelor party, so we just thought it'd be fun if Sophie and I met him there a few days later. We arrived on Sunday, rode the train to downtown, ate breakfast and checked into our hotel. We took a short rest, as Sophie had been up since 5:45 and was exhausted. After our rest, we walked to Navy Pier. It was super close to our hotel, which was great. We spent a good portion of the day there just walking around and enjoying the weather, people, and beautiful views.

After Navy Pier we went back to our hotel and took Sophie swimming. Our hotel wasn't the most kid friendly, but she still had a blast in the pool. After the pool, we got cleaned up and headed out to Millennium Park. (We were actually on our way to a Blues Festival, but never actually made it there because it was getting late.) We had dinner nearby and then walked (a very long walk) back to our hotel. Sophie was a champ and stayed happy and fun the whole time.

On Monday we woke up and headed for Lincoln Park Zoo. I was very impressed with all that they had being that it is a free zoo that runs on donations. Sophie is really in to animals right now and would probably spend every day at the zoo if she could. After a long day at the zoo, we headed back towards downtown to take a walk down the Magnificent Mile. We didn't do much shopping, but were able to get some really yummy pizza. After our long day out, we finally headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest.

We left to come back home on Tuesday afternoon, but before we did we spent several hours at the Science Museum. Scott and I both love Harry Potter and they were having a big exhibit with a lot of the props from the movies. It was so fun! They had the wands, outfits, Buckbeak, Hagrid's Hut, a dementor, the flying car, and so much more. Pictures weren't allowed in the exhibit, which worked out well because my camera had died the previous day at the zoo.

Even though the trip was short, it was a much needed vacation and we had a blast. Click below to see some pictures from our trip.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7330247@N02/?saved=1

Sophie

2009-06-03T18:22:00.000-07:00

Little Soph is almost 2! Here's what she's all about:

Likes (In no particular order):

Bananas ("nanas")
Goldfish crackers ("fish" or "crack-kers")
Treats ("Tweats")-- (the girl has a sweet tooth just like her mom!)
French fries
Eggs
Elmo ("Melmo")
Dora ("Nonawah"??? Yea, we don't get it either.)
Going to the park ("cark")
Going to the zoo
Reading books ("gooks")
Playing with Leela (our neighbor) ("Lala")
Snuggling ("guggle")-- only at night time or first thing in the morning.
Her blanket ("ganket")-- She loves to gnaw on it and make it totally mildewy and stinky. Ugh.
Playing with diapers ("bipoors")-- putting them on her babes or just unsticking the tabs.
Helping set the table
Helping unload the dishwasher--but only if she gets to stand on her stool.
Playing in the car
Her house-- She really is a homebody. When we're camping, or even when we're driving somewhere, she often says, "Mome" (Home).
Spinning (or flying, as we like to call it)
Looking at pictures of herself or our families ("ditchers")

Dislikes (Again, in no particular order):

Sitting still
Getting into the car and not being able to play in the car.
Washing hands-- This has just happened over the past 2 days. Me requesting her to wash her hands has resulted in a total meltdown comeplete with crying and flopping on the ground.
Wearing clothes. What can I say, the girl loves to be naked. We kind of like it too because she is so much more pleasant. (And for some reason, it makes her want to dance.)
Walking barefoot on the grass, although she is getting better at this.

Sophie is such a sweet and happy girl. She has said loads of single words for several months now, but within the last 2 or 3 weeks she has really been working on putting the words together. She has such a fun personality and has a good sense of humor. She is kind and sensitive. She hates seeing kids cry and feels bad when she knows she's hurt someone.

Sophie is so adaptable to change and has been really easy. Getting rid of her binky or switching her from a bottle to a cup, or her crib to her bed have been incredibly easy. She is happy to go with the flow.

These past two years have been so much fun, and we couldn't be happier to have her as part of our family. I am grateful everyday and I know Scott is too.

Camping

2009-04-29T17:17:00.000-07:00

Spring is here....well, sort of. We've had some good days here and there. On one of our good days, we got the itch to go camping. We went to a state park about 2 1/2 hours northwest of Minneapolis. We discovered the most fantastic way to camp! They have these little camper cabins all over the place. You get all the good of camping, like cooking over a fire and hanging out outside, but they have these little tiny cabins with heat and electricity. You, unfortunately, still have to use a group bathroom, but you get to be warm. We had so much fun! We were practically the only ones there. We went hiking, laid in the hammock, read books, and made yummy food. I love spending time as a family!

Camper cabins! This cabin was brand new and so cute! Sophie did so good sleeping on the bed, that we came home and converted her crib to a toddler bed.

Aaaah... Soph and her dad.

Relaxing in the hammock, munching on some licorice.

Our Proudest Achievement

2009-03-03T16:22:00.001-08:00

After 20 long months, we can finally get the tiniest of ponos!

Sophie update

2009-01-12T16:46:00.000-08:00

Our little girl is almost 19 months old. I am amazed at how she has learned and how quickly she has grown. She knows a lot of words, so many, infact, that I had to give up on the word list...I just couldn't keep up. She is beginning to put words together and can understand most things that we ask of her.

She is getting funnier and funnier every day. Here are a few things she's been doing that constantly make us laugh and smile.

I recently went to throw a dirty diaper in her diaper pail. When I opened the lid I found her little baby doll.

She's starting to dress herself. And she loves putting on shoes, just not her own. She even puts her dad's shoes on her baby.

She's been giving LONG kisses. Not just a quick little peck, but really holding her face against ours. It cracks us up.

Playing mother to her little baby dolls....and Elmo.

Christmas videos

2008-12-25T09:24:00.000-08:00

Here are two videos. The pictures from this morning are on flickr. You should be able to click the photos link on the side. Merry Christmas everyone! And thank you for the wonderful gifts!

Merry Christmas

2008-12-13T20:49:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

A pure adrenalin rush

2008-12-13T17:10:00.000-08:00

Since both mine and Scott's bio professes our love of the Utah Jazz, it seems only fitting that I do a post about them. Last Tuesday Scott, me, and 4 of our friends went to the see the Jazz play the Timberwolves. We had fantastic seats (Thanks Steve!!) and got see them up close. And yes, we were even on t.v.

Here are a few pictures, compliments of Jesse.

Boozer and his bling. Between his watch and his ring (that you can't quite see), we were briefly blinded.

We were disappointed to see that we weren't the biggest Jazz fans there. Circled in red, is crazy superfan. No, she didn't have a rubber chicken, but she stood, shouted, and pointed angrily during nearly every play. It was surprisingly distracting.

For the win!! The Jazz beat the Twolves by 3 points.

Wuzzat?

2008-11-10T17:34:00.000-08:00

Sophie is a very inquisitive little girl. All throughout the day she will point to something and ask, "Wuzzat?" Occasionally we ignore her because we don't know what she's pointing at. Sometimes we ignore her because we've already told her what "that" is numerous times just moments before, and sometimes we just ignore her because we're trying to do something else. So, as a work around, Sophie has taken to shouting. She gives us a chance and repeats herself once with quiet, "Wuzzat?", and then slowly she gets louder and louder and louder. She is hysterical! We love her so much!

Survey

2008-10-10T18:29:00.000-07:00

My friend Gavin said that if I didn't complete this survey that I would wake up tomorrow with a third nipple....on my forehead. His survey is FOREVER long though, so in the essence of time I have selected a few questions-

What was the last song that was stuck in your head? "On the Turning Away" by Pink Floyd
Favorite Superhero? I don't remember from when I was younger, but now I would have to say Batman.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? Veterinarian
Favorite 80's band? Um, DuranDuran... is there anyone else?
Favorite Vegetable? Green beans or asparagus

Favorite cereal? I go through phases, but Kashi Go Lean Crunch is always up there... with blueberries!

Night person or morning person? Neither, really.
Have you ever met anyone with extra fingers/toes? No, but my mom once babysat a little boy that was born with an extra thumb.
Favorite smells? My clean baby, clean laundry, and rain.
Favorite Season? Spring (mid to late, when everything is green and it's getting warm)
Countries you most want to visit? Anywhere tropical, Ireland, Italy... the list goes on. I really hope to travel some day!

Quick life update

2008-09-12T13:50:00.000-07:00

I have been reluctant to make a post because I knew that I would push Scott's post down and then he really wouldn't get any comments. But now that Stephanie was kind enough to stroke Scott's ego, we can all move forward.

So...here is a brief update on what we are all doing.

Scott: Just started a new contracting position with General Mills. (I am, of course, in heaven because he gets to bring home delicious cereal for a discounted price. Hooray! Cereal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.) Getting back into full-time work has been difficult. He was really liking his "working" from home gig.

Sophie: Still making messes and starting to throw tantrums, but generally a good girl. She is starting to talk a lot and frequently says cheese, keys (deys), dog, cat, mom, daddy, squirrel (curl), car, hi, cracker (crack-ker), and juice. She is doing really well at her new daycare and seems to really enjoy the kids.

Me: I have been insanely busy, working way more than my 25 hours a week. Blah! Luckily, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and it is called November. I also just stupidly ripped all the wallpaper in my bedroom down, which now means I have to paint. Aside from work and my little home project, I have just been trying to enjoy the last few weeks of semi-warm weather.

Well, that's it for today!

I'm cute too.

2008-08-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

I just poked through some comments on the blog. Let me tell you something internet. Sophie and Kami aren't the only cute people in this family. I'm cute too.

So, to remind you of the facts, please browse the tribute to me. And just remember, I am 50% of the reason Sophie is cute. A-holes.

On a side note, Kami wrote my profile and she mistakenly said I was a "very talented web developer". I am actually an "extremely gifted software engineer".

I'm so cute even the dudes love me

Now, please enjoy one of Kami and my most intimate of private times. (I love how this video ends with a ding dong)

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Trouble

2008-08-13T17:53:00.000-07:00

Sick!

2008-07-30T17:31:00.000-07:00

Scott recently installed a cat door. Up until a few days ago it had been wonderful. Bella would come and go as she pleased and we were undisturbed. Well, a few nights ago, I went up to my bedroom and walked in to this....

I should've known that something was up because Bella was the happiest little cat that day. She was lovin' on all the neighbors that were out for walks and rubbing, what I now know to be, her disgusting carcass face all over me.

Summer

2008-07-09T17:13:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love summer. Lately it's been really hot and humid, but I still love it. Everyday we go for a walk or play outside or go to the beach. This has definitely been one of my best summers yet. I could, however, do without the mosquitoes. At any given time I have no less than 5 mosquito bites! The worst part is that they love me. (I know it's because I'm so sweet.) Scott can be outside half the day and maybe get one bite. I walk outside to turn off the sprinkler and come in with 2. It's horrible!... Well, you know how sometimes you smell something and it reminds you of a certain memory? I guess when I smell Off I will always remember this summer.

Well, here are a few pictures of what we've been doing-

Playing at the beach. This is Sophie's new swimsuit that she got for her birthday. I actually had to slightly cut the leg holes so they didn't amputate her little legs. Haha. (Sorry about the cloudy picture. I am beginning to dislike my little camera, but I really hate lugging our nice one around.)

Celebrating Sophie's birthday. See our flickr site for more birthday pictures. You should be able to click on the link on the side.

Finger painting. Sophie's artistic talents haven't really developed yet, and if she's anything like her parents, they never will. She mostly just made a mess. Again, sorry for the poor photo, but I had to be quick so Sophie didn't crawl off the table.

Hanging out with our friends and family. Well, this picture is just of friends. We had such a great time in Utah. We miss everyone so much.

Weekend in Brainerd

2008-06-23T08:47:00.000-07:00

On Friday we headed up to Brainerd, MN to spend the weekend in the sun with Scott's coworkers. We stayed at a resort called Maddens. It was a beautiful place and we had so much fun! Here are some of our highlights-

Cook out on the beach.

Playing in the lake.

Playing with Agnes.

Playing in the sand.

Playing in and by the pool.

Golfing

Scott also got a little crazy on the dance floor, but unfortunately I don't have pictures of that. I'm sure you can use your imagination!

Weekend

2008-06-04T13:24:00.000-07:00

I don't have much interesting to say today, so I thought I would just update everyone on what we've been doing. Over the weekend there were a lot of fun things going on. This is one of the reasons that we love Minneapolis. As soon as spring is here, there are multiple festivals going on on any given weekend. This past weekend we went to Grand Old Days. The Grand Old Days is on Grand Avenue, a whole street of houses converted to businesses. There are some really unique and fun shops there. At Grand Old Days a lot of the businesses set up booths outside and street vendors come. There were lots of entertainers- dancers, jugglers, magicians, etc. There was even a whole section with rides and a petting zoo for kids. We took Sophie to the petting zoo where she got to feed a goat and touch a sheep. It was so much fun and the weather was perfect. We forgot our camera, so unfortunately there are no pictures.

Other than that, we've pretty much been home. In the next few weeks we will be pretty busy, so we are enjoying the quiet. On Monday I go to Jacksonville, FL on business. On the 20th we're going up to Brainard, MN for a weekend of fun, and then on the 24th & 25th we leave for SLC. We are so excited to see everyone, especially all the babies. We are also very excited to celebrate Sophie's first birthday.

Sophie is getting closer to walking every day, but still doesn't seem to want to let go. She has also recently been doing the sign for "milk", which is pretty cute. I am way impressed because we have been terribly inconsistent signing to her. She is babbling a lot... it's so cute...like she has her own little language. She is so much fun.

Well, that is all for today!

6 years ago today, I married an amazing woman.

2008-05-24T08:12:00.000-07:00

Her name is Kami and I forgot to get her a card.

So, here it is Kami, for the entire internet to see.

For those of you who don't know Kami; let me tell you a little bit about her. She is the kindest, most beautiful, sincere woman I have ever met. She enjoys life to the fullest and loves the ones around her passionately and without reserve. She is a joy to be married to. Out of all the things I love about her, there is one thing that sticks out. She loves me for who I am, she knows everything about me and still manages to not only hold on to her sanity, but continues to love me unconditionally. She is strong, smart, gorgeous, giving, loving and all around wonderful. She has stuck by my through the rough times and the good times. I remember when we were dirt poor when I was delivering appliances (and before that when I was at call centers. blah). She loved me the same then as she loves me now. She is the most consistent thing in my life. Through the ups and downs she has stayed strong and loving.

This past year for us has been a really amazing year. The icing on the cake was a little tiny person named Sophie that brings joy and inspiration to us. She is the greatest gift Kami could give me.

Here's to you Kami. The greatest wife in the world.

Tornado or Toddler?

2008-05-20T15:40:00.000-07:00

2008-05-18T11:43:00.000-07:00

Scott and I have our 6 year anniversary coming up on May 24th! To celebrate we spent the night in St. Paul. Even though St. Paul is so close, we don't get over there much, so it really did seem like we were on vacation.... a new city to explore. We went to dinner and then to see a play. We saw "The Hollow", an entertaining murder mystery based on an Agatha Christie book. It was a lot of fun.

Sophie spent her first night away from us at Cheryl & Mouse's. She was a party girl and stayed up until 9:00!! I couldn't believe it when I called to check in at 8:45 and she was still up. Cheryl & Mouse got her some new toys and even let her try a little pizza and garlic bread. I woke up early to go pick Sophie up. I brought her back to the hotel and we all went swimming. I didn't take pictures of her in the pool because I was in the pool too, but I tried her swimsuit on her yesterday... have you seen anything cuter?!

Twins vs Red Sox

2008-05-12T12:16:00.000-07:00

Sophie went to her first Twins game on Saturday. Here is the footage (It's not very good, sorry). She was a good little fan and cheered the teams on.

2008-05-10T06:41:00.000-07:00

Diaper changes are becoming increasingly harder these days. This picture doesn't even capture the full extent of the struggle. Sophie will wiggle away, grab whatever she is after, and sit up with a look of triumph on her face. I am getting very good at putting a diaper on in unconventional ways.

2008-05-06T17:28:00.000-07:00

For the few people that actually read this, you may have noticed that there is not a picture of me. Well, I have spent hours, possibly days, scouring my computer for a recent picture where I am alone. This picture does not exist. No ETA is available.

Get in Gear

2008-05-01T15:50:00.000-07:00

I ran (or jogged, rather) my first 10k last Saturday. It was the Get in Gear 10k, which is one of the largest 10k's in Minnesota. Over 1700 people participated in the 10k with other people participating in the 3k and 5k. I am proud to say that I finished in 63 minutes, which I felt like was really good. Alas, I still placed 926th! Anyway, it was a lot of fun and I will definitely take part in some others throughout the summer.

Snape vs Scola

2008-04-19T19:10:00.000-07:00

Legilimancy has it's merits, but so does sweat. I've watched every Jazz game this year, and have watched a fair share of Rockets games due to the 22 game win streak, and have always wondered who would win in a fight between Scola and Snape. I think it's pretty obvious that Scola has a little bit of size on Snape, but Snape is quite a bit better at Occulemncy. I think Scola has an edge on pure hustle, as the only time I've ever seen Snape hustle was right after he killed Dumbledore. I'm pretty sure that they both have the same chances to 'get with' Lily Potter. Don't these silly sweaty men know that Lily likes her men clean, funny, and non greasy?

I'm pretty sure that if Scola were to punch Snape in the mouth, he would win. But the same goes for Snape pulling off a Levicorpusing his ass.

Anyways, go Jazz.

Scola, if you read this, take a shower at halftime please.

Utah Jazz

2008-04-19T18:40:00.000-07:00

So... My other love, in addition to Scott, is Deron Williams. He is amazing!!! We're just getting ready to watch game one against Houston. Scott thinks Utah's going to win in 6 games. I believe in my love and think we will win in five. Go Jazz!

Kami's prediction: 106-101 Jazz
Scott's prediction: 94-87 Jazz

2008-04-18T13:13:00.000-07:00

Wow, I rule. It's been two months and I have yet to do any work on this blog. I have been reading up on some of my friends' blogs and am feeling inspired today. Plus, Sophie is sleeping and I don't have much else to do.

New Blog

2008-02-18T19:17:00.000-08:00

I was having so many problems with Wordpress that I just decided to scrap it and start over. This is a work in progress. Please be patient.