It’s Like a Ghost Town

Posted on May 19, 2012 by

My six year old has an odd fascination with history.  Don’t ask me where she got it, because I hate learning about/watching the olden days.  So, no I never watched Little House on the Prairie and I think I would have been depressed as a pioneer.  I do reverence my pioneer ancestry however.  I am so thankful it was them and not me. I don’t really care for dust or hardship.

Anywho…My daughter checked out a book from the library a few weeks ago about Ghost Towns.  One Sunday afternoon her dad started reading it to her and she got really into it!  All the Ghost Town talk sparked a memory for me about a song I used to LOVE when I was little.  I’m sure my oldest brother Rick who is 8 years older than me must have been really into it.  I think I was around 6 or 7 years old when it was popular.  I remember listening to it on my dad’s Ghetto Blaster and dancing around to it in my back yard.

You’ll love the classic hair you see in this video.  Also, the story-line…totally NOT corny at all.  Well, you be the judge.

Am I the only one who remembers this song?  I might be.  If you remember it pretty please leave me a comment and tell me that you do.

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Elliott Yamin–Not a Jiffy Lube Emloyee

Posted on May 18, 2012 by

This adorable fellow stole my heart during the glory days of American Idol.

This might be the most random post I have ever featured, and there’s been some serious competition, but I have to say,  I’m a big fan of Elliott Yamin.

I mean, I’ve never been to any of his shows and I don’t own any of his albums, but I get really excited whenever I hear his song on FM100.  I think that qualifies me to be a “big fan”.  There are a lot of songs on FM100 that I don’t care anything about.

Like everyone else, I got really excited for him when he was on American Idol during the glory days.   He was on with Kathryn McFee, who is now a big star on SMASH, and Taylor Hicks, who is somehow not a big star which is weird because he actually won.

Anyway, I rooted for Elliott who I then called “Jiffy Lube” because he looked so much like the oil tech that serviced my car all season long. I was SO dissapointed when he was voted off.  My sadness turned into joy when I heard his song on the radio.  Here’s the video.

I LOVED his story, regular guy, not overtly ambitious, but who had a dream and took the initiative to follow it.  That’s what I’m saying qualifies him to be listed here as an Inspirational Person.  I mean how many times has American Idol come to my city?  Several.  Have I ever auditioned?  No.  I’ve never auditioned for anything.  That might be because I’m not all that talented, but it’s also because I’m not a dreamer.

Here’s his American Idol audition which I found downright touching.  Especially his loyalty and eagerness to please his adoreable mother.

People with talent should take the chance on themselves to follow their dreams like Elliott. I hope this video  illustrated why I’m passionate about Elliott Yamin’s journey.  I’m just proud of him.  I know…I am such a mother.

Speaking of mothers…One of my favorite parts of the clip is his mother.  I LOVED seeing her on the show.  I’ll never forget her weeping inside the car that paraded down the streets of his hometown as he and he mother waved to his adoring fans.  It was a classic American television moment.  I hope you saw and remember that moment.  I tried to find a clip, but apparently that is the only moment in television that is NOT available on YOUtube.

It seems like he’s passed his initial 15 minutes of fame, but I wouldn’t be surprised if his career kept progressing and he becomes and important part of the American music scene.  I read his Wikipedia page an it looks like he’s working pretty dang hard even still.  People who are willing to work will go far.

 

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Winner Winner Cakebites Dinner!

Posted on May 17, 2012 by

Thanks to all of you who entered the drawing for The Sweet Tooth Fairy Cakebites!  A winner has been selected at random using this random number generator.

Congratulations to Ashley M!  I’ll be contacting you shortly via e-mail!

If you haven’t already become a fan of the Vocal Sokol on facebook.  Take this opportunity to do so.  We only had around 50 entries for this drawing.  Chances are pretty good that you’ll win in the future, but only if you know when they’re happening!  Click here to become a fan.

Thanks to everyone who commented.  It was a real Pleasant Event for me just to see what you all had to say about these sweet treats!

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Is There Life After Binkie? –A Reflection From the Past

Posted on May 16, 2012 by

I was thinking back the other day about when my oldest daughter’s best friend was her passey (or binkie, plug or pacifier–what ever you call it at your house).

As a new mother, I remember being so thankful that she had it and that it was so soothing for her.  It got us through so many hard times and long car rides.

I remember being terrified of taking it away from her.  I knew it would be hard on her and also hard on me.  I counted on that thing for long stretches of peace and quiet and child satisfaction.  I knew I couldn’t let her keep it forever because it would start messing with her teeth.  Plus, teenagers who use a binkie are, you know, weird.  I had to take it from her before she got to this point.

I actually wrote a blog post on my old family blog that I thought I would share here.  Below is most of the post from more than three years ago.

I’m sharing this as a thought on happiness, because it was one of the successes I had as a new mom.  I remember feeling so satisfied after the ordeal was over that I had done this hard thing when it would have been easier to just let her keep it.

Read post below:

The passey (binkie) has been a very important part of Alyssa’s life, until yesterday that is.

That’s right. She is a big girl now. She no longer needs a passey. A year ago she gave up passies all except for sleep times.

I always told myself that as long as she was younger than three it wasn’t completely ridiculous that she still sucked a passey for naps and night time. Her third year is rapidly approaching so yesterday we did the deed. Here’s how it happened.

Here's Alyssa vacationing with her Kiwi cat.

When she woke up yesterday I told her we could go to the store and trade her passies for some new toys. I suggested that we get some new friends for Kiwi (her BFF cat stuffed animal). She was excited about that.

We headed off for the Target which again, as it always does, disappointed us. Nothing there worth trading passies for.

So we went to Ross. I mentioned to the cashier upon our entrance that we were here to make a special exchange, passies for toys. The cashier was happy to be in on it. Then we went and scoured the toy section where she found and fell in love with a little baby doll that came with her own car seat carrier, a bottle, a toy and a change of clothes all for the bargain price of less than $10.

She decided that it was worth trading her passies for and we headed to the front.

We waited in line for quite a while (standard procedure for Ross). I kept asking her if that was what she really wanted to do. I wanted to make sure she understood what was about to happen. She really seemed to.

While we were waiting in line she looked up at me and said… “But I can still keep my yellow blankie?” (her favorite blankie) I told her yes, of course she could. (I still have my special childhood blankie, but I don’t sleep with it anymore.) I told her she could always have her yellow blankie.

When it was our turn we approached the counter and the cashier said.. “That will be two passies please…” and held out her hand. Alyssa put her passies in the cashiers out stretched hand, then took ownership of the baby doll and proudly carried it out of the store. We opened it when we got to the car and she was tickled to have it.

The test.

When nap time came around, she gathered her doll and scurried into bed. We read our stories sang our song said our prayer and then she quite calmly informed me that she would indeed cry for her passies. I then informed her that if she did, she would not be able to sleep with her new dolly and that was that. She didn’t cry.

When night time came around she did cry a little for her passies but again I informed her that she would lose her doll and again she stopped and settled for another sip of milk, then went to sleep.

So there you have it. Alyssa is a big girl now.

SideBar: You should know that last year about this time we attempted this whole process and failed. I was so nervous about how she would react and what our life would be like without passies. I attempted to tell the cashier my plan but burst into tears and couldn’t get it out. The cashier put her arm around me and told me that if she still needed it, she was little and should keep it. I still attempted it, but Alyssa started crying and wouldn’t hand her passies over. I cried too and we both left the store crying with passies in hand.

Then that same day talk radio host Dr. Laura had a caller asking how to take her passey from her two year old and Dr. Laura said to let her keep it, saying two year olds are little and need comfort objects. So we bagged that plan and instead just went to passies are only for sleeping, which was a good transition.

So this attempt was much better than our last, no tears from either of us.

Fast Forward Several years to today:

Looking back it seems so silly that this was such a difficult thing for me to do, but it was.  Accomplishing this with out a total meltdown of our household brought me great joy.  Anyway…if anyone out there needs advice on how to take away a child’s passey, I hope this post is helpful.  It’s one of the best things I ever did for my child.  She’s never missed it and as I was asking her about it the other day (now that she’s 6) I learned that she can’t remember even having one.  So, all is well.

Here’s to happiness in doing hard things.

Posted in THOUGHTS ON HAPPINESS | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

We’re Going Places

Posted on May 14, 2012 by

I mentioned that my life has been going a million miles an hour.  Well, the marathon of urgent life events is finally over.  For the last week we’ve enjoyed life and even had a little down-time.

Our first stop on our adventures in going places.

While in the midst of the hurricane of business, I was at the Breathing Space Bloggers Retreat in Daybreak, I stopped in for a few minutes at the Oopsie Daisy Children’s Boutique. A few minutes turned into almost an hour. I decided that I had to come back here with my little girls.  They love to see lovely things and I love little pleasant events with my little girls.

The merchandise at Oopsie Daisy is unique.  They’re not the things you see everywhere you go.  And, you WON’T find ANY Disney Princess merchandise for sale here.  That alone is refreshing.  Am I the only one who is sick to death of Disney Princess stuff? It’s on the end-cap of every aisle at every store, including the hardware store.  I seriously saw princess stuff at Home Depot the other day.  Give me a break!

They have beautiful handmade clothing and accessories as well as little inventions that might make the act of mothering a little easier.

Her majesty on her royal bunkbed.

Plus, they have the most beautiful children’s furniture and bedding I’ve seen anywhere.  Alyssa felt like the Queen of England on this bed.  I doubt the Q of E sleeps in a bunk bed, but if she did…this would be the one!

Sunny has a lot of friends, most of them however, are stuffed animals like these little Jellycats.

One of the little things I absolutely fell in love with were these Jellycat plush animals.  They were seriously SO SOFT and lovely.  I almost bought myelf a little plush tiger.  It was very soothing to hold, even for an adult.  Let’s just say I know where I’m going to get my next baby shower gift.  Sunny also loved the plush friends.  Can you tell?

Alyssa’s favorite was the book selection.  She found a children’s book about Art Masterpieces from across the ages.  She read the entire thing.  She must have has some of her Dad’s taste for the arts in her.

Alyssa is like a wet sponge. She LOVES information about anything interesting. She was in heaven at this book stop.

It was so fun to watch her devour that book and it’s beautiful pictures.

Part of our Kindergarten curriculum this year has been a program called Fairytale Friday where a parent comes and reads an assigned fairytale to the class.  I struggled to find non-Disney versions of these stories, even at the library.  Oopsie Daisy carries a fantastic selection of compilation books of not only fairy tales, but other children’s classics.  I wished I had known about these books earlier in the school year.  It would have saved me repeated trips to libraries all over the valley. We ended up bringing home two of these classic compilations of stories.  My daughters have since been captivated by the beautiful illustrations as we’ve read the stories.

While we were in Daybreak on SoDa Row, we stopped in had a little Gelato and then played at the park. We had the most delicious fun!

As an extra bonus, we happen to be there when the work crews, for the first time this year, were turning on the splash and play fountains outside the shops.  What was a little harmless splashing and running through the water turned into a completely drenching hour of fun. The girls took little time-outs from the water to lay on the warm cement and dry off a little.

We ended up hanging Sunny’s clothes out the window to dry as we drove home.  She was soaked with fun and water.

I love taking children places.  Hopefully this post illistrates the places you take your kids don’t have to be far away or cost a lot of money.  I’ve found that as long as they’re with you and having a little fun, it doesn’t matter where you are.  By the way, I’m counting this little adventure as #304 on the list.

**I was delighted to partner with Oopsie Daisy for this post, but please know they did not provide any direction with the content of this post.  All the fun we had was of our own accord.

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Introducing SAPPY Saturday!!!!

Posted on May 12, 2012 by

One of my passions is easy listening music.  Yeah, I said it.  I’m THAT cool.

Anyway…I sometimes hear classic songs that make me remember days gone by.  This new category on The Vocal Sokol aims to share some of those classic memories and make you remember your own that go with these songs.

More than just music, these videos are a look behind the music.  A look into whatever decade these songs were made in.  We listen and watch these videos on a regular basis.  It’s really fun.  We laugh a lot and usually end up dancing around the computer monitor.

Here’s the premiere video.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.  For me it makes me think of wandering around the perimeter of my Jr. High School Gym during an after school dance waiting for someone to ask me to dance.  The beat of this song always threw me off though.  I was never sure if it was a slow song or a fast song.  Leave me a comment and tell me your opinion.  Fast or slow?

If you didn’t enter our give away yesterday, please feel free to do so.  Free Cakebites from The Sweet Tooth Fairy are on the line.   You may as well win them.  Also…become a fan on facebook.  We’re trying to ramp up our fans over there.

 

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A Giveaway With Sweet Tooth Fairy Megan Faulkner Brown

Posted on May 11, 2012 by

The Sweet Tooth Fairy.  If you haven’t heard of her or better yet tasted her creations, you really ought to.  I met the Sweet Tooth Fairy when my friend Elise, The Cupcake Activist, brought me some cupcakes from her very first store.

Shortly after my first taste two years ago, I made the 45 minute drive to the store for another cupcake. I was lucky enough then to meet Megan as she came out of the kitchen. It was easy to see she was working hard baking up a storm.  Still, she took time to personally greet and get to know me.  After that, her tasty cupcakes became a target of obsession.

Yummy Cupcakes!

I was thrilled/terrified a few months later when her second store opened up near my home. I wasn’t sure I had will power to keep myself from visiting daily.  Since I am a writer and lover of cupcakes, my friend Elise requested that I review the new store for her cupcake blog. This gave me another chance to get to know Megan and grow an even more dangerous relationship to her treats.

She’s opened 8 more stores since then with more to come!  She’s made dozens television appearances including national appearances on QVC where her cake bites are the top selling food item!

If you’re not impressed yet, direct your attention to the fact that she was not only featured on Cupcake Wars, but WON the contest resulting in an unbelievable amount of national exposure for her and her stores.  Recently she’s been asked back to participate in a Cupcake War of Champions.

Megan is more than just cupcakes.  Before her time as a baker she was a Federal Employee for almost 10 Years working for Utah Congressman Chris Cannon and then Jason Chaffetz.  She’s a model of civic responsibility and highly encourages regular people to become involved in the political process.

Most importantly Megan is a wife to her husband Ethan and mother to four children all under the age of five.  Megan has worked hard over the last several years opening her stores, but still manages to keep her children close.  When she puts in long hours she’s been known to have kids there with her, even sleeping on air mattresses inside the store while she finishes preparing for the stores opening.

Megan is an inspiration to me of taking a dream, developing a talent and sharing it with the world.  More than just baking, she is known for her charity ambitions and is currently working with the Safe to Talk Foundation, It’s a school tip-line aiming to make schools safer by installing an system where anonymous texts can be sent by students to easily report dangerous or destructive behaviors by their peers with our fear of repercussion.

Megan is also one of the most humble successful women I have ever met.  I think she might not realize how famous she is and I certainly don’t think she realizes what a unique talent she has.  I attended a class she taught recently at the Breathing Space Blogger’s Retreat.  Meagan seemed like she felt underqualified as she taught the class and provided tips and tricks in the kitchen.  She acted as if she assumed we all knew what she knew and could do what she does like it was nothing special.  Let me tell you, what she has is a gift and it’s something special.

I am so glad to know Megan and count her as one of my friends.  If you don’t know her I invite you to check out her website or visit one of her stores.  My recommendation is the Strawberry Shortcake or the Dulce de Leche!

The Sweet Tooth Fairy has graciously offered a box of 2 dozen of her FAMOUS Cakebites to one of the readers of this post.  To enter this drawing, leave a comment ON THIS POST about why you want the Cakebites and one lucky winner will be selected from the list of commenters here ON THIS POST.  While you are at it, feel free to “like” The Vocal Sokol on facebook.  It won’t help you win the contest, but it WILL make sure you always recieve a notice of new post and new drawings you can win.

The winner will be randomly selected from the list of commenters and notified next Thursday (May 17).  So be sure to enter before then.  The winner will receive a box shipped directly from Sweet Tooth Fairy headquarters.  Best of luck—Happy Cakebiting!

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Just Because You Can, Doesn’t Mean You Should

Posted on May 9, 2012 by

Don't forget to take time to chillax and watch the sunset once in a while. Remember to take the time to enjoy your life and your family. It's not all about connecting the dots.

I’ve been living my life for the last six weeks like I was the pen in some manic dot-to-dot work sheet.  As soon as I get one dot connected, it’s immediately time to move to the next.  This is NOT the way I want to live.

Living life in a hurry forces you to skip all the little moments that make it all more worthwhile.

All the things I’ve been doing have been important to me and have been good things to be involved in doing.  There have just been too many of them.  My brain is too full.  I’m yelling too much as we hurry out the door and I keep forgetting things.

The straw that broke the camel’s back happened yesterday when I found myself zooming across town to retrieve my daughter’s hair accessory I’d forgotten for her dance class picture.  I had thought about grabbing it earlier in the afternoon, but didn’t because I was frantically busy preparing for my next items on the schedule.

When I got to the photo shoot and realized my daughter was the only one there without it, I jumped back in the van threw my four-year-old back in and raced across town.  I was not a sane person at this point or a good driver.  I did realize that it simply wasn’t worth it, but I felt absolutely compelled to connect these dots.

I returned to the studio with hair accessory in hand just as they were wrapping up the group photos.  I think she might have been wearing it in the last 3 of 30 photos.

I felt like an idiot for forgetting it and even more like an idiot for my mad dash across town.  I wish I could tell you this was the only time this has happened in the last six weeks, but it isn’t.

I am just really glad that I don’t have an infant right now.  Otherwise I might end up being the person who unknowingly left the child in the hot car after being so busy or absent minded.  I always wondered how this happened.  How could anyone forget their baby?  I think life just taught me how it was possible.  When you’re busy, busy, busy, bad things can happen.

Here’s the solution portion.  I met Dani Lassiter this week for the first time.  If you don’t know her, she is the organizer and producer of events like, The Goldilocks Bike Ride, Oh Sweet Sadie Art and Gift Show, TriathaMOM and various other amazing things to do.  She’s my hero.  I think I might have a big girl crush on her.

I overheard her talking to one of the organizers of Breathing Space Blogger Retreat held last weekend at Daybreak.  I listened as she apologized for pulling out of the Breathing Space Retreat.  She explained that she had a realization that she would be too busy and too overscheduled to accomplish this task.  She left the others to finish up and put on the event.  And the rest of the organizers did a great job without her.

Have you ever felt like you were the only one who could do a certain job?  Or, that you HAD to do something because you said you would and people were counting on you?  It’s okay to change your mind.  That’s what I learned from over hearing this conversation.

I can think of about 15 things I have planned or participated in over the last week where I should have said.  Hey…I’m too busy, I can’t do this.  And the rest world probably would have managed fine without me.

I hope this makes you think about what you’re doing if you’re overscheduled and gives you permission to bow out if it’s too much for you to do, or too much for your family to live through.  We don’t have to live like this.  We do have a choice. Don’t be like me putting lives in danger over a dance class hair accessory.  It simply isn’t worth it.

Please excuse any typos you’ve seen in this post.  I’ve been busy.

Posted in THOUGHTS ON HAPPINESS, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

So You Think Yoga Is For Wimps?

Posted on May 7, 2012 by

At the Breathe Yoga Studio taking an intimate yoga class with five students.

I had the opportunity to take a Yoga class at a ladies only retreat I attended called Breathing Space.  The whole weekend was really wonderful.  Full of Pleasant Events I’m dying to tell you all about.  First on my list to share with you was the Yoga Class at Breathe, a Yoga Studio in SoDa Row in Daybreak.

I have heard people talking about yoga classes and the crazy postures they try to get themselves into.  I’ve also heard people talk about how difficult yoga can be.  This seemed odd, especially since the Wii Fit always complements my yoga performances even though I have no real experience.  Since practicing yoga is #208 on the list, I decided to check it out and have real yoga instructor instead of an electronic one who loves everything I do.

Now that I have actually done yoga I must say that I stand corrected, and my Wii must be full of crap!

First, crazy positions.  For the most part, the positions weren’t all that crazy, but they did require a surprising amount of strength and balance to maintain.  I’ve been taking a weight lifting class twice a week for the last year.  I thought that would give me plenty of strength.  I was wrong though.  I felt like I had the minimum amount of strength it required to hold the postures without falling over.  The reality is I did fall over. A lot.

Performing a nice yoga stretch. Interesting angle for a photo, yes?

 

Second, difficulty.  Now I see what they were talking about.  Yes, Yoga is difficult.  It’s difficult to stand and balance.  It’s not so bad for 15 or 20 minutes, but an hour’s worth of yoga positions will take it out of you.  I admit I started really watching the clock after about 30 minutes.

One position called Crane Pose proved I was a yoga novice.  It was tremendously difficult.  I thought the instructor was crazy if she thought the rest of us could do this.  Just as this crossed my thoughts, I saw the toes of the other class members start to rise into the air.

Here's the Crane Pose. If you can do this I'll give you a dollar.

I desperately scrambled to accomplish the pose, but was NOT successful.  The instructor gave me a foam block to rest my head on.  After receiving the cheat, I was able to perform this pose for about 2 seconds.  Now, a day and a half later my shoulders are SO SORE.  I can only guess it’s from the pressure I put on my shoulders during my many attempts to “Crane” myself.

Speaking of soreness, my whole body is sore today!  I didn’t see this coming.  I am a fairly active person and I didn’t think a bunch of slow stretching would be hard on me, but it was.

The last part of the class was my favorite.  Relaxation.  I had a Hypnobirth with my second child and because of that, I got really good at relaxation techniques. As the instructor talked us through the relaxation, I very quickly reverted back to my hypno-relaxations. It felt VERY good.

Lying on the floor with our eyes closed, the instructor misted us with an essential oil fragrance as she softly spoke. I really thought I was in heaven.  All the effort of the strenuous class was worth it for what I am claiming was the five most relaxing minutes of my life.  It was incredible.  I’d do it all again just for that.  I want to go to there again.  It was SOOOOOO nice!

On of the ladies in the class brought this happy baby boy who cooed and play and made the most delightful baby noises until he gave into the calming influences of the yoga happening all around him.

I’m glad I tried Yoga.  Even though it was difficult and I felt a little awkward, I can see how people get addicted to it.  My body felt so good the rest of the day.  I felt like I moved so fluidly all day.  I felt very bendy and good.

If you get a chance to try yoga, say YES!

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Steve Sokol–The Wikipedia Page

Posted on May 4, 2012 by

This is intended to the Steve Sokol Wikipedia page.  He’s my husband and is mentioned a lot in these posts, so he deserves his own reference page, even if it’s not actually on Wikipedia. Now, whenever he is discussed there will be a page to link to.

Sokol with his wife and daughters at Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park.

Steve Sokol (born 1976) is a husband, father, CPA, CIA, CFE, cyclist, racquetballer, and golfer.   He is known for his love for his wife and daughters and excitement for outdoor family recreating.  Also admired for his professional abilities to manage tasks in an orderly and on-time manner.

Early Life Sokol was gifted from an early age with determination and tenacity.  He spent most of early pre-teen years through high school and college skiing with his friend Ben.  Also despite his innate abilities to be careful still managed to set his neighbors bush and nearly the whole house on fire while setting off fireworks with Ben.

Career Sokol graduated from BYU with a Masters in Accounting.  He then moved to Southern California and took a job with Public Accounting Firm Ernst and Young which he LOVED.  Upon meeting what would be his woman, moved back to Utah and took what turned out to be a disappointing job with Zions Bank.   Fortunately several years later he began working with Intermountain Healthcare which has turned out to be a very satisfying career move.

Personal Life Steve met his wife Kristin through an on-line dating site early in 2004.  Sokol was then living in California while his wife lived in Utah.  The two corresponded via e-mails and phone calls for several weeks before they met in person.  Sokol planned an unbelievably romantic first date in Santa Monica, CA which is where his future wife Kristin fell head-over-heels in love with him.

Kristin and Steve after 7 years of marriage.

The pair continued to communicate and visit each other but quickly decided that the long distance relationship was too hard.  They got married just 6 months and one day after meeting.  Luckily neither one turned out to be psycho.  They don’t recommend rushing into marriage, but say that it happened to work out for them (whew).

Just 15 months after their wedding their first child was born.  This proved to be a rough event in their lives.  Injury, illness, weight gain, and depression took hold in the life of his wife.  Sokol being the incredible person his is managed to help and direct his wife to find and apply good coping techniques, medical intervention and support which helped her to overcome the challenges related to being a new mom.  Six years later, the family, including his wife is thriving and has never been happier.

Authors Note  I think Steve is the greatest man that has ever lived.  He has given me everything.  I often say that he is the wind beneath my wings and the money behind my debit card.  He’s been the momentum behind anything awesome I’ve done in the last 8 years.  Here are the best words I can use to describe Steve: kind, adventurous, ambitious, careful, discrete, and knowledgeable.

I have always been a happy person, but I never knew straight up joy until I met Steve.  I can’t believe I’ve only known him for 8 years.  It seems like we have enjoyed a lifetime of love and happiness.  He won’t fight with me.  It’s almost impossible to be mad at him.  What can I say?…We’re lovers, not fighters.   Together we’ve enjoyed nearly 8 years of hand holding and countless bowls of ice cream on the couch after the kids go to bed (shh don’t tell them).

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