Hello from the long lost Barkocys who by now are sure that no one is diligent enough to check our blog which is updated once in a blue moon :) But to start off the New Year, I have made the resolution to keep our family at least slightly in the loop of technology and changing communication. Maybe... just maybe... people might know what kinds of interesting things we have done if I take the time to update the blog -sigh- well someone has to do it and we all know that parents now-a-days need a little... well... assistance in the world of technology so here I go! Anyway, we were requested to display some pictures from one of our latest endeavors to Yellowstone National Park. I could reach the word limit describing in detail the overwhelming beauty and awesomeness of our vacation, but instead I will let the pictures do that. Instead, I will list the highlights and overall agenda.

We drove to Yellowstone with our small car packed to the brim and a moving trailer hitched to the back and were asked at one point where we were moving too! Even just driving into the park, we were already amazed at the views. Out our windows to one side were sheer cliffs with small rivulets of melting snow which turned into small waterfalls which cascaded down the stone, while to the other side we saw Yellowstone Lake stretching before us. (2nd to bottom)

Not much further down to road, we ran face to face with our first bit of wildlife...literally. The buffalo were right outside the window on the road and we could see the shaggy fur and hear the snorting as they moved slowly across it. (5th down) As we soon learned, where two or more cars were gathered, wildlife was outside the window and a Ranger was not far behind. This was only the first of many other close encounters that we can only say were miraculously lucky to experience. In the next few days, we saw a mountain goat and her kid trotting right beside us as we drove, a plethora of hungry and curious chipmunks and squirrels which we fed from our hands (very bottom), and most amazingly, a grizzly bear and her cubs which moseyed themselves right next to our car. As you can see in the picture two below, the car's shadow falls on them they are so close!

Wildlife was not the only incredible part of the park. The Grand Prismatic Springs (directly below) and the morning glory pool (very top) were my personal favorites because of the vividness of the colors and splendidness of the surroundings. We also saw the bubbling mud pots and Old Faithful (directly above), as well as descended hundreds of steps to the very edge of the lower falls. No words of pictures can describe the feeling of seeing and hearing the water crushing over the edge and falling in a swirl of mist down and down and down right below your feet. It is an experience I will never forget. From the gorgeous sunsets to the breathtaking views, it is a vacation that will stay with all of us forever and a beauty that can never be forgotten.

Fantastic February is here!

Hello all,

Finally someone from our family has gotten on again to update our post. And, surprise surprise, its not the parents! You can pretty much count on the kids to be the most excited about the blog, since we don't have one of our own. :)

Here we are in the beginning of February with our lives still as crazy as ever. Nathan and I have had homework coming out of our ears, but surprisingly, we are doing very well getting it all done, although sometimes we are not the most efficient in doing so.

Mom is continuing to be not only a mother but also a house cleaner, teacher (at home), PT, wife, bus driver, chauffeur, and the list goes on. She is currently planning to go to Colorado to visit her family, leaving Nathan and I home with dad. I don't know how many of you know what that means in our house, but I can assure you it is going to be a week of grilled dinners, cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and a lame attempt to get the kids to eat anything healthy. Ok, maybe I am exaggerating a little, but you get the point.

Nathan is continuing to be a very studious and doing very well in school, though you would never be able to tell from the way he acts at home. He is currently very into hard rock Christian bands such as Skillet and Red and plays this music every day, much to the ear-splitting dismay of the rest of the families:P He just went to the Red concert and thoroughly enjoyed jumping up and screaming the lyrics with the rest of the hard rock fanatics who were there. He is also currently on a basketball team for the Upward League and is improving his boxing out and rebounds every game. His height has also made him quite the star, as he is taller than most of his teammates. Dad is the assistant coach. Despite all of the 10 year old boy obsessions, he is very cuddly and loving towards his mom and dad and loves the night-time family reading that occurs most every night.

Well, I guess that leaves me now... Currently I am playing club volleyball with the Albuquerque Rebels Volleyball club and absolutely loving it. I have inherited my dad's height, making me one of the taller ones in the league. I can proudly say that I am at the net most of the time, enjoying the thrill of spiking the ball back over the net. Another one of my interests is what every 13 year old girl likes to do: Sleepovers! I have learned this year that the most popular and most amusing game to play at a sleepover is truth or dare, especially when you have friends that are very NOT into pop-culture fashion and girlyness. However, I still am not able to wrap my mind around where the name sleepover came from because, as I am sure a lot of you know, sleepovers include just about anything but sleep.

Hope to read your comments soon!

Well, we have entered the 21st century and decided to start a blog, mostly because I would love to share pictures and they don't always go through on e-mail. So, have fun perusing our site. It probably won't change often!

Just an update on our lives...

Kevin and I are entering our 20th year of marriage. OMGosh!!! Can you believe how fast time goes? We are going to spend a weekend away at a Colorado cabin at the beginning of the summer so we can do some hiking, sailing, and R&R. Kevin is still working for Pfizer with a new boss and his old territory. MB is still doing part-time PT work, currently preparing to teach an orthotics guest lecture at the PT school, and will be taking one grad-school class at UNM this spring. It is actually in her field, so she is excited! It will be a research class on Evidence-Based Practice through the PT school. She'll enjoy it while she can because it will be back to education classes in the fall.

Brianna is turning out to be a lovely teenager who has thankfully avoided much of the mid-school drama. She is very smart, works hard in school, loves being with her friends, and beats up on her father whenever she is with him. Deciding to give up harp and stepdance, she has found her passions: volleyball (she is playing club), piano, and singing We are starting to look into high schools... yikes... because she is one year away.

Nathan is one enthusiastic, fun, annoying, musical little brother. He is in the same class as Brianna at the Family School, and is thriving under the iron fist of Gael, his teacher and principal. He can be found listening to Christian hard rock most of the time and/or drumming. He wants to be a drumming priest when he grows up and dreams about having a church in Durango or Aspen, Colorado. When not playing percussion, he is either doing homework, playing sports, or asking for a play date.

We just got back from my grandpa's funeral in Aspen where we had a memorial for both of my grandparents. It is hard to believe these "immortal" people are gone. They were our idols in so many ways: faith, family, fun. Around 30 of us skied together last week in their honor, in fact we did all 4 mountains in Aspen in a day! We so enjoy