The Many Adventures of Billy, Rochelle, Zoey, and Coco

Hi!

2011-10-19T20:40:00.006-05:00

"Hi! Hi! Hi! Hi!" That is what I get to hear over and over and over again. Zoey has learned this new word and says it to anyone and anything she can. We went for a walk yesterday and I think she said "hi" to every tree, leaf, fence, and car that we passed by. I must say, it's pretty cute. In the morning we go to wake up Billy and she starts patting his shoulder saying "Hi daddy!" and I swear his face lights up. Do I ever get a "Hi mommy!"? No. Am I hurt? A little. I know I just need to be patient but...come on already!!

In other news, I am a mere 9 lbs away from my goal weight! I have been working crazy hard and I am so excited to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I may try losing a few extra pounds once I hit my goal, but that is in the future. Most of my pants are too big and I must say, it feels great. I am running out of cute clothes to wear, but I think I'll survive. In a couple of months I will be able to say that I have lost well over 50 lbs since having my sweet little Zoey and I will be 25 lbs under my pre-pregnancy weight. Woot!

Billy is on swing shift now so I have been spending my afternoons and nights alone. It's been nice to have some me time, but it does get a little quiet around the house. I have been exercising and cleaning to keep busy and also prepping for work the next day.

Which brings me to my next topic: My new job. I just got a job working from home and so far it has been great. I am adjusting to being a working mom, but at least I get to be home with Zoey while I am earning a paycheck. It's nice to be able to feel like I am helping out financially while still be there for my husband and child whenever they need me. Plus, now I can go shopping for some clothes that fit and maybe get some new shoes just for kicks. :)

Life in Omaha has been great for our family. We definitely miss all of our wonderful Utah friends and family, but the people here have been so kind and welcoming to us. We have been blessed so much and I am grateful that we have such an amazing life.

What else? I am crazy excited to go to Seattle next month and see Billy's family! It will be great to spend some time with the family and get to know our new niece and nephew. We can't wait to see you Owen and Maren! Zoey is going to have a blast getting to know her aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Speaking of Zoey...did you know she turns 1 year next month? 1 year!!! My baby won't be a baby anymore, she'll be a toddler. Time really has flown by.

Time to finish for the night. I haven't taken too many pics, but here are the ones that I managed to get. There is a picture of me during my show and some fun videos of Zoey. Enjoy!

September adventures...

2011-09-23T11:52:00.005-05:00

Things have been a bit crazy this month because my show finally opened and I have been at the theatre a ton. Now that I finally have a little time to myself I thought I'd give you all a little update on our adventures this month...

It has been getting colder out here but that hasn't stopped us from going to the park at least two times a day. Just like Katalyn talked about in her last blog post, rain or shine we end up going on walks and playing outside. The cooler weather has been nice because I finally get to put Zoey in her cute winter hats and sweaters. She loves to play on the slide down at the park while coco goes searching for bunnies in the field. There is one thing Zoey does not love at the park...swings! If I even take her near the swings she holds onto me for dear life and starts whimpering. Here are a few pictures from our two hour park excursion yesterday.

As you can see, they weren't happy I made them wait.

Another fun perk that comes from the cooler weather is cute winter jammies! Zoey has some super cute sleepwear I have been dying to put on her, but it was too warm until now. I love this set because it has the face of a bear on the tush. So Cute! I'm lucky she is small for her age and I can put her in the cute six month winter jammies I thought she'd be too big for.

Zoey is walking now! She prefers crawling, but she will walk all the way across the room if you can convince her to do it. I tried to take some videos of her standing and walking, but they didn't turn out so good. I'll post them because she is cute...just don't expect too much action.

Well, other than the 40ish lbs I have lost since December...yes I said 40...not much else has been going on. I'll try to post more often now that the show is wrapping up. Here are just a few random pics for the road!

This is the before picture of our house. Once I finish my fall decorating I will post and after pic.

My top 10

2011-09-09T15:26:00.006-05:00

I have been thinking about all of the things in my life that I am lucky to have and I thought I'd share it with the world...or at least the few of you who read our blog. :)

10. Aside from a couple of minor problems (aka my bad eye) I have my health.

9. Having several members of my family who live eight hours away or less

8. I am lucky to have the world's best in laws (sisters and brothers and their children included in that). I have been lucky enough to have these great people in my life.

7. Having wonderful friends who live just a day trip away...that includes you Brad and Erica!

6. I am lucky enough to have the chance to do what I love the most...perform. I am so happy that we live in a place where I can use the talents that God has given me.

5. We are lucky to have a place to live, food to eat, and a steady paycheck. There are so many people right now who aren't so lucky and so I consider our family blessed.

4. Support. I have wonderful sisters who have been hugely supportive during my weight loss journey and I can't thank them enough for helping me have the strength to continue.

3. Coco! She is the best dog we could have ever wished for and she takes such good care of us...especially her pal Zoey.

2. The Gospel. I feel so blessed to be a part of our church and feel the peace and comfort that it brings into my life. Nothing compares to the unconditional love of my Heavenly Father. (Lumped into this one are the scriptures and the temple and all other "churchy" things)

1. My family! I have such a wonderful husband and daughter and each and every day they bring so much joy into my life. I cant imagine life without them and I am looking forward to the many memories we will make with each other.

So there you have it! These are a few of the many things I am happy to have in my life. I'll post tomorrow about what is going on around here and how the show is going. Love to you all!

P.S. I was able to find the pics that I thought were lost forever so here are some of the baby food photos I mentioned in the last post.

Lazy...

2011-09-05T16:05:00.007-05:00

Sorry I have been lazy about posting the past few weeks! Between the show and ZoeyI don't have much extra free time. I have lots of fun videos and pics to post today so lets get right to it...

Zoey has really been having a blast at meal time so I decided to takes some pics of her many eating adventures. Boy does this kid love to get messy! (I can't get the font to match the rest of the post so oops!)

We took this with Billy's iphone so it's a little blurry, but you can still see the happy little messy baby!

She has also been trying to feed herself as of late and, as you can see, food gets EVERYWHERE!

No matter how messy things get she still manages to look like a little lady. So cute! Since our little princess loves eating so much I have taken to making homemade baby food so that we spend less in that department. Here are some pics from my baby food adventure. Wait...I just loaded my pictures onto iphoto, deleted the originals, and then an error occurred and now they are gone forever! That makes me very sad since I had about 50 pictures of Zoey, the flooding, baby food, and Zoey's nursery. I guess you will just have to use your imagination this time!

Moving on I guess...Zoey, Billy, Coco, and I have been having a blast walking all over the neighborhood and taking coco to the dog park (see pic below). All of these activities make her a messy baby so we always make sure to give her a bath at the end of the day (see other pic below). She loves getting into the warm water and playing with the bath toys her pal Gina gave to her. She is just the happiest baby and I love hanging out with her every day.

Billy has been busy as well. A few weekends ago he volunteered to participate in some sort of exercise for the medical people and he got to have some pretty gross makeup put on him. On my birthday weekend he volunteered at the air show and ended up getting a pretty bad case of food poisoning. After a few days feeling pretty crummy he is now back to feeling healthy.

As for me? Well, I am still busy rehearsing for Children of Eden. Our show opens next weekend, so let me know if you want to come! As far as my diet is concerned...I have now lost 25 lbs in the last 2 1/2 months and I am feeling great! I feel better and better every day and soon I think I am going to need to buy some new clothes!

Zoey has woken up from her nap so I guess I should go and get her. Sorry for the scattered thoughts and lack of pictures. Until next time!

P.S. Don't you love her "just woke up from a nap" hair in the second video?!?!

Dinner ideas...

2011-08-19T15:16:00.004-05:00

Hi all! I'd like to ask my blog readers (because I have sooo many of them lol) to tell me their favorite recipes. I want to change up my dinner menu and I figured the best way to get tasty dinner ideas was to ask for your favorites. You can leave more than one if you would like, and feel free to include desserts as well. I'm on a diet so if any of you have some good low calorie recipes please leave them too. As a thank you I will leave you with a couple of my favorite recipes. Hope you are all having a fantastic day. Enjoy!

Beef Stroganoff

2 Tbs vegetable oil

1 pound beef sirloin strips

Salt and Pepper

6 Tbs unsalted butter

12 oz sliced buttoned mushrooms

1 medium yellow onion, chopped or sliced

1 Tbs tomato paste

2 Tbs flour

2 cups beef broth

1/4 cup sour cream

2 tsp Dijon Mustard

2 tsp lemon Juice

1 Tbs chopped Parsley (or you can use dried)

For noodles:

salt and pepper

One 12oz package wide egg noodle

2 Tbs unsalted butter

Directions

Preheat a large skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Raise the heat to high and heat 1 tablespoon oil (I just use cooking spray to make it "healthier"). Season half the beef with salt and pepper, add to the skillet, arranging it in a single layer, and saute, without stirring, until well-browned and still pinkish inside, about 1 to 2 minutes. (it will finish cooking in the sauce) Transfer to a large plate and set aside. Repeat with the remaining oil and beef. Discard any excess oil.

Return the skillet to medium-high heat. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter and, when the foaming begins to subside, add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until well-browned, about 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to the plate with the beef.

Heat 4 tablespoons butter and, just as the foaming begins to subside, add the onion and cook, stirring, until lightly caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 1 minute more. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Pour in the beef broth and, whisking constantly, bring to a full boil. Remove from the heat. Whisk in the sour cream, mustard, and lemon juice and season with pepper to taste. Set the sauce aside covered.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously, and cook the noodles until tender but not mushy. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Toss with the butter and season with pepper to taste.

Add the beef and any juices, mushrooms, and parsley to the sauce and reheat over medium heat until just hot.

STUFF YOUR FACE! :)

Brown Sugar Oat Muffins

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

3/4 cup 2% milk

1/4 cup canola oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

In a small bowl, combine the first six ingredients. In another small bowl, beat the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened.

Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 400° for 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Serve warm. (They taste great with honey butter)

Back in Business!!!

2011-08-18T11:40:00.004-05:00

Well, we finally made it Nebraska and are settling in quite nicely. I am excited to get back to blogging regularly and keeping you all up to date on our many adventures. We had a very long and exciting road trip (it took us three days!) from Mississippi to Nebraska, but we made it to our new home and have finally have our stuff unpacked and organized. Here are just a few pictures from out road trip to the Midwest:

We were able to move in to our house about two days after getting to Offutt AFB, which I'm told is very lucky. The bad part about it all was that the moving company wasn't going to get our stuff to us until a little over three weeks later. Not fun! Everyone here was so kind and lent us some dishes, towels, and other basic necessities so we could survive until the moving truck came.

Soon after moving in we spent the 4th of July with our good friends Brad and Erica (they live only two hours away!) and had fun just relaxing and grilling some delicious food. The next weekend I was able to take Zoey and go to Wisconsin to visit my parents, and as an added bonus I was able to see my cousin Brooke's family AND my best friend Gina.

About a week later mom and I drove back to Omaha and she helped me get the house unpacked and decorated...thanks mom! It was really fun having her here to help out with Zoey and all of the moving in chores that I absolutely hate. Because she is so amazing, we were able to get everything unpacked in 3 days! Crazy right?!

Before mom left I had the chance to audition for the show Children of Eden at the local theatre and I was fortunate enough to be cast. We have been rehearsing for a few weeks now and it has been a blast. We open on Sept. 16th and run for three weekends so if you are in the area you should come. I have been cast as part of the Snake, a storyteller, and Yonah. I can't tell you how much a have missed being on stage. I am so happy to be doing what I love and meeting wonderful new people. Billy has stepped in as super dad and watches Zoey while I am at rehearsal. Those two really have become the best of friends.

Coco has also had some fun here in Omaha. She has a little girls who comes by to walk her and play with her. That coupled with the trips to the dog park and the bunnies in the back yard makes for a very happy dog.

On a completely different note...I've lost about 20 lbs since my last post! I have been working really hard at keeping up with my diet and exercise regimen and I am seeing results. I still have a little ways to go until I hit my ultimate goal, but it is so fun to slowly watch the numbers on the scale go down and down. I am starting to be too skinny for my skinny jeans. Woot!

Well, Zoey is up from her nap so I should probably wrap it up. I'll post pictures of the house and the area as soon as I am feeling better (Zoey and I got sick). Until next time...

So much to do, so little time...

2011-06-20T20:46:00.005-05:00

Well it is finally here! We are starting our road trip to Omaha in 2 1/2 days. I can't believe the time has finally come for us to "settle" somewhere. I mean I know you don't really ever get too settled anywhere being in the military, but you know what I'm trying to say. I am very excited to get to know our new home and FINALLY have all of our stuff with us. My biggest fear is that we'll get there and Billy will be deployed as soon as we get unpacked. I know it's not very likely, but it is always in the back of my mind.

Today I have been busy doing my least favorite moving activity...packing. I know only have a few suitcases and some baby toys, but it is still a huge pain. I better do a good job packing this time because it may not get unpacked for a couple of weeks (we don't have a place to live yet so we will be staying at the AFB hotel). It'll be exciting living in a hotel room with no separate rooms for an undetermined period of time with and infant. We will get super good at tip toeing around!

I'm crazy excited because I am going to see my parents in the next couple of weeks. They live only about 8 hours away from Omaha so my mom (and maybe my dad) is going to come out and help me unpack and take care of Zoey. Also, I get to see my best friend Gina when I drive back to Wisconsin so I am just looking forward to a lot in the next month. BTW, if anyone is in the Omaha or Milwaukee area give me ring and we'll hang out!

The bruise pretty much went away and this is all that was left after I iced it. (not a great pic of Zoey)

What else? Hmmmm. Zoey feel and bashed her forehead on the coffee table today and now she has a bruise above her left eye. Poor little girl! She cried for a good half hour until she finally fell asleep in my arms. It looks like I can't even turn my head for a second or she is going to hurt herself bad.

One of Zoey's favorite activities

In other news, I have started a diet and exercise program and I am working really hard to lose the last few pounds of baby chub and then some. The goal is to be back to my high school weight. I have already started feeling better and I am slowly but surely noticing the changes. By the end of the year I am going to be one hot momma. I just want to feel confident, healthy, and beautiful again so I am taking charge. It helps to write about it in our blog so that I am motivated to stick with it.

That's all for now. See ya!

For the Dads...

2011-06-19T23:15:00.003-05:00

Do you see how red her knees are? She crawls everywhere!

I just wanted to write a very brief post expressing my love for all of the wonderful fathers in my life. I especially want to let my husband know that he is a great father and I couldn't have asked for a more amazing man to be a father to my child. I see the love he has for Zoey and she for him and it makes my heart melt. I love you sweetheart!

What a cutie! She looks a little funny without her bow on...

That's all for now, but I will write more about our upcoming Nebraska adventure soon.

7 months old

2011-06-16T12:24:00.003-05:00

Out little Zoey is now 7 months old and I thought I'd write a entry dedicated to this sweet little girl.

Lots has happened to Zoey since she turned 7 months. First, she is now not only able to crawl, but climb. She climbs up me, the couch, the coffee table...you name it, she climbs it! If she keeps this up she'll be walking before we know it.

The other big thing that has happened since turning 7 months is that she has gotten her first tooth. It is the bottom front tooth and it is CUTE! I would post a picture of it, but she won't let me near her mouth.

Since she has turned 7 months she has also gotten more adventurous in the pool. She kicks, tries to put her face in, and splashes like a maniac!

The last big thing she can do like a champ now is hold her own bottle. She actually prefers to hold it and roll around on the ground while she eats. What a crazy kid.

I bet you didn't know so much could happen in just four days. Well...it can! Now you know a little more about my 7 month old sweetheart Zoey Jane.

Just another day at the beach...

2011-06-08T16:53:00.000-05:00

It's been rainy and hot here the past few days so we thought we'd take advantage of the nice weather and take a trip to the beach. As you can see, mommy is a little more excited than Zoey at this point.

Then she started to get a little more excited about the trip and made funny faces with me.

Since it was over 90 degrees outside we only stayed at the beach long enough to take a few pictures, walk along the ocean, and put our toes in the water. Based on Zoey's reaction I think we will be making a few more trips to the beach before we move to Nebraska. Next time I think we'll bring Coco along so that she can play too!

And just for fun, here is a video of Zoey talking. Enjoy!

T-minus 16 days and counting!

2011-06-07T15:56:00.000-05:00

We are about two and a half weeks away from moving to Omaha and I couldn't be more excited. First of all, I will be VERY happy to stop living out of a suitcase (which I've been doing for six months now) and start feeling settled again. Secondly, I can't wait to start getting nursery furniture and finally giving Zoey a room of her own. I love the kid, but I am sick of sharing a room with her! Most importantly, I am ecstatic that Billy and I will get to live under the same roof after spending the last 6 months in two separate households. I am ready to get our lives back to "normal" and start exploring our new home. I am looking forward to making friends, going to church together, and just having a chance to be a family.

On a completely different subject I finally have some new pictures to post. People have also been asking me to put up a video of Zoey crawling so that will be inclu

ded in this entry as well.

"Hi mommy! Do you like what I've done with the place?"

Zoey decided that she was going to open the door to the entertainment center and pull out all of the DVDs. Coco watched from the couch looking very concerned.

Now for the moment you have all been waiting for...ZOEY CRAWLING!!!! **Crowd Cheering** Enjoy the video and I guess I'm out for now.

Quick update...

2011-05-31T13:38:00.000-05:00

Zoey and I are sick today so I thought I'd make good use of my lazy day and fill you in on what has been going on as of late...

Zoey is officially eating baby food now! I can't believe she is growing up so fast, but I guess is was bound to happen. So far she loves carrots, squash, and sweet potatoes. I learned the hard way that she is not a big fan of green beans...she spit a mouthful at me and it all ended up in my hair and down my shirt. Every time i put food in my mouth now she will open up her mouth really wide and stick out her tongue with hope that I will give her my food. Just keep dreaming Zoey!

Besides eating baby food Zoey is now crawling. CRAWLING. She has decided that following Coco around the house is her favorite game. she crawls up to Coco, grabs her paw, and tries to eat it. This leads to Coco kissing her to make her stop and Zoey sticking out her tongue to kiss Coco back. Gross Zoey! I'll post some videos of her crawling once we are all healthy and up to the task.

Zoey is up from her nap so I guess I'll post more some other time.

Family walk behind our apartment

2011-05-16T16:51:00.000-05:00

This afternoon Zoey, Coco, and I decided to go for a walk around our complex and explore our new home. I thought I'd bring along the camera so you all can see where we are living for the next couple of months. Here are the the results of the photo session. Enjoy!

What should I do with this book?

I know...EAT IT!

My townhouse is the one on far left.

Lots of shells.

There are a ton of these trees out here and the flowers smell AMAZING!

Coco couldn't decide if she should get in the water. She did.

Adventures in Mississippi...so far

2011-05-16T10:54:00.000-05:00

As I sit here and write this post I have Zoey trying to play with the laptop. She is curious about EVERYTHING now and tries to grab (and eat) anything she can get her little hands on. So Far we are enjoying it out here on our own. It has been really nice to see Billy for a little bit each day and have Zoey get to know her awesome daddy. The two of them have really seemed to hit it off! She has daddy wrapped around her little finger and she adores and can't get enough of him. Coco has been very happy to see Billy as well. With him around she actually gets to go on walks and have some extra attention. Although it is lonely here most days it is all worth it when we drive to the base and see Billy each night.

The place we are renting in Ocean Springs is nicer than I had expected it to be. Here is the lovely view from our back porch:

It really nice to be doing dishes and see that out the window. I hate the bugs out here, but I do love the view!

Zoey and I have been trying to keep busy so that the days aren't too boring. So far we have taken Coco on walks, played around in downtown Ocean Springs, gone to the Special Olympics and done LOTS of swimming.

I have been trying not to be too stressed out taking care of everything by myself and I think I'm doing a pretty good job. I am starting to make friends and I think that soon I will have lots more things to keep me busy.

Zoey is getting fussy so I guess that is my cue to say Goodbye. Until next time!

Time to get serious...

2011-04-28T22:56:00.000-05:00

I have always been shy about posting on our blog because I am not very great at writing down my thoughts. Now that my life has been taking lots of unexpected turns, i feel that it is high time to start filling people in on what is happening in the lives of Rochelle, Billy, Zoey, and Coco Pickett. Here is a top ten list of the things that have happened to us in the last two years:

10. I finished school.

9. Billy stopped selling alarms and started working for NFIB.

8. Billy got VERY sick.

7. I got pregnant.

6. We bought a house in Springville, UT

5. I went blind (temporarily).

4. Billy quit his job.

3. Billy joined the Air Force. (Can't get pics of Billy in uniform to download)

2. We had a baby girl named Zoey Jane Pickett.

1. Billy went off to Basic Training and Tech school and I moved to Arizona to live with my sister.

I know it isn't very detailed, but at least you have an outline as to what has happened to us!

Ok, let me tell you about my awesome daughter Zoey Jane Pickett. She was born at 2:59pm on November the 12, 2010. She was 6 lbs 2 oz, and 18 inches long. The 19-hour labor was rough and we had quite a few complications, but in the end we ended up with the sweetest little girl on the planet! Zoey has been such a joy in our lives and I know that she will continue to brighten our days for the rest of her life. Since Billy had to leave for Basic Training when she was 6 weeks old I have had the tough job of raising her by myself until we are able to live together again. It has been hard work, but totally worth it and Billy and I know that it is what is best for our family.

I'm very excited today because next week I am moving to Mississippi to be closer to Billy while he is in tech school. We can't live together until he is finished on June 27th, but at least I get to be ten minutes away from him. He is studying to be a computer systems programmer for the US Air Force and I couldn't be more proud. He has been so happy since he's joined the Air Force, and I can't wait until we are a family living under the same roof again.

Lets see...Coco has been having a blast in Arizona with my sister's family. Monica was kind enough to let us live with her while Billy's gone, and it has been a huge blessing. She and her family have helped me take care of Coco and Zoey and allowed me to take some much needed naps. It will be hard to leave them, but we'll happy to be with Billy again.

I'm going to head to bed, but I WILL be posting on a regular basis so that you all can watch Zoey grow and follow us on our military adventures. I'll post more pictures in my next post. Here a a couple of Easter pictures as a parting gift. Until next time!

We got a puppy!

2009-06-11T16:50:00.000-05:00

We got a new puppy about a month ago and I am finally able to get some pictures up of her. Her name is coco and she currently weights about 12.9 lbs and is 10 weeks old. She was only 5 lbs when we got her so she is growing fast!

How did we get her???

Well...Billy was out knocking door to door and one of the families told him that they were giving away free German Shepherd puppies and Billy just couldn't resist. He called me up and told me to drive out and look at them if I wanted a puppy, and sure enough I fell in love.

Coco has been a great addition to our family. She has been very fun to train and has kept me company while billy is out selling. She has a fun personality and loves Billy to pieces...it is so cute!

So far Jackson has been good to us I guess. I mean, Billy has 50 sales already and I have myself a new puppy to play with. I'll write more about what has been going on this summer a little later...coco needs to go outside. Peace.

I'm so bad at remembering to post!

2009-03-13T20:35:00.000-05:00

Time to catch everyone up...

Things have been going really well for us over the past two months. Billy did some preseason sales trips to Arizona and Nevada and was very successful. He's great at bringing home the bacon! I'm happy he is doing so well, but sad that he has to be away sometimes. He is getting pumped for the summer season, which starts in May. As it turns out, we will be heading back to good 'ole Jackson, MS for another summer of fun. He is also excited to interview for a more permanent job once we get back from MS....more on that later.

Hmmmm, what else? Billy had his 25th b-day a little less than a month ago. We went to dinner at our favorite restaurant, Bombay House, and ate delicious cake from an Italian bakery and just enjoyed the evening with each other. He was happy to get some shirts and another guitar hero guitar.

I have been busy taking lots of Ballet classes and conducting the ward choir. It has been so much fun getting back into shape and seeing the results of my hard work. I'm so excited to finally finish school and move on with my life. As excited as I am, I'm also sad to close this chapter of my life.

There you have it! An update on the oh so exciting lives of Billy and Rochelle Pickett. Peace.

Almost a Year!!!!

2009-01-17T15:03:00.000-06:00

Hey everyone! I know it has been such a long time since I have blogged and there is really no excuse, but I am making up for my laziness. We have done so much in the last year! Billy and I moved a lot this summer because billy did summer sales. Also, we moved to Pleasant Grove for the off season and have done lots of traveling. Now I am taking my last college class ever and billy is getting ready to take online classes and do preseason selling.

Ok...so first I'll tell you a little about what we did this summer. Billy went out to Detroit, MI to sell security systems with a company called Platinum last April. I had to finish school and go to New York for my senior showcase so I didn't join him until May. About a week after moving to Detroit we found out the company was moving us to Pittsburgh and we had to pack everything back up. As it turned out, things weren't working out with the company and we decided to switch to a company called Apex. My brother-in-law Glenn had a brother who was managing an Apex office in Florida so we packed our things and moved to Clearwater. Billy sold door to door and I worked as an office assistant for the same company. The market in Florida wasn't as good as we hoped so our manager Andy moved the office Jackson, Mississippi. So by that point I had moved three times and hoped that we were going to stay put this time. Despite having our car broken into on our first night there, Mississippi turned out to be an awesome market and Billy was really successful selling there. Yay! (He even won an X-Box 360 for selling 10 systems in four days!)

After a long summer we took a road trip to visit both of our families and then moved into our apartment in Pleasant Grove in the beginning of October. We have had fun buying our first couch and our first table and decorating our new apartment...even billy helped me decorate! We have had fun putting up art and matching colors. Billy has a very good eye when it comes to putting up pictures. He is such a sweet and helpful husband. Since we were so busy working this summer we decided to take the next few months and spend some time together. We were able to go to Wisconsin for Thanksgiving, the Bahamas with our friends Andy and Tricia, Idaho for Christmas, and even Mexico! It would take too long to tell you every detail of those trips, but they were amazing! We ave been surrounded by great friends and family and feel so blessed to have to means to visit them so often.

I guess that brings us to the present. Right now I am taking my last Ballet class and billy is figuring out what online classes he wants to take. He has had a nice break and is getting ready to start preseason selling with Apex. We have a few months to relax and then another summer of door to door adventures! Thanks for reading! Check out some of the pictures from our adventures over the year...

Busy Busy Busy

2008-03-07T19:01:00.000-06:00

Life has been getting pretty crazy around here! Billy is getting ready to move to Detroit in about a month so we are quickly trying to pack everything up. I will be staying in Utah until the beginning of May so I can finish up whatever packing we don't get done before he leaves. Packing party anyone???

Ok, so I made the not so smart decision to do an independent study course this semester so I could do things at my own pace and now I have about four weeks until I need to have it completed and I've barely finished the first lesson. Needless to say, I am going to be quite busy studying for the next few weeks.

Other than our crazy work and school schedules, I guess I don't have much else to report. I hope everyone is having a great March so far.

We finally did it...

2008-02-27T17:02:00.000-06:00

I have been putting off starting a blog for quite some time and now I've finally given in. I've always been a bit hesitant to start one of these things because I have terrible grammar, but finally I realized that most people don't care about that.

Now that you are aware of the reason for the blog, I should probably let you know what we've been up to over the past year. Billy and I have been married for almost fourteen months and time sure does fly when you're having fun! I was in a production of Little Women last fall and now I'm getting ready to graduate this April and go to New York to audition for casting agents (yikes). Billy has a few more semesters left so it looks like we'll be in Utah for another couple of years and then who knows where we'll be?!?! After graduation we are moving to Detroit for the summer so that Billy can sell security systems for a company called Platinum. We're looking forward to making good money this summer so we can finally have a nest egg established. Billy has been great because he has been working hard to support us so I don't have to work while I am finishing up school. I keep teasing him that I will be his "sugar momma" as soon as I graduate.

I think I'll call that good for today. Until next time...