My totally COOL cousin!!

This is my cousin Jessica. She's really cool.... on so many levels! She is working down in Antarctica. Yeah, you heard that right. Antarctica!

She went last year and kept us in the loop of what was going on through facebook. This year she has decided to blog.

I love my cousin. I remember bits and pieces or doing things with here growing up. But since we have both grown up it's been fun getting to know her as an adult.

She is a pretty amazing person. This is how I think the story goes... Sometime last year {or the year before} she was perusing Craig's list and came across an opening for "Food Service" down on McMerdo in Antarctica. So like any crazy 20-something she applied for the job. After globe trekking to get there she finally got on the ice.

She was there for 6 months during Antarctica's "summer" before coming home to be a white-water rafting guide {Call me crazy.... but I think she likes adventure..}

Anyway she is back there again and this time she is blogging about it. You can read about her adventures here at Bottom of the Globe, top of the world...

She is a really good writer!! You will enjoy it!

Oh, Tommy.

I was looking through some older pictures and I realize that I have a TON of good pictures... you know good pictures like the ones I can use when he starts dating. Good pictures... like the ones that when he has a wedding video these will most definitely be on it!!

He fell asleep eating chocolate.

He is fixing his bike.... with no pants. {you will see that this is a trend}

We were painting, again with no pants.

Tommy was trying to steal the lightsaber.

This is how he needed to eat his blueberries. He put them on his fork one at a time and then ate them off.

Coloring.... again with no pants. {this is a great shot!}

This is how pumpkins are suppose to be tested.

This poor boy has no butt... nothing stays up.

Again... pantless

Let me explain a bit... he was in a little preforming group and they had a break for dinner. Rather than have him drop food on his white shirt I took it off. It was a good idea in theory. The picture is better!

He never did learn to use the peddles.... did you see the shoes?

He is torturing the ants... it's a boy thing.

Look how little they all are!! Well you can't really see Tommy with his finger up his nose.

Tommy eating a cookie.

Poor boys, he got a helmet stuck on his head.

Dad was playing with him when a rouge wave came up. Tommy got a mouth full of salt water.

Tommy was playing with lotion. It got everywhere!!!

Believe it or not, he tried to get more in there!

See... no pants.

He needed a costume for the day, and this is what I came up with 5 minutes notice. {he's not wearing pants}

I did not put him this way. This is how he fell asleep. I don't think he will ever live this down!

Look at all that blond hair!!!!

What do you go to SeaWorld for?? Shamu right?? Tommy missed the whole thing. Poor boy was just too tired. {I made him wear pants this day}

Tommy is so funny and I always find such funny pictures of him. Love you Tommy!!! Can't wait to show your girlfriends!!

SWAP!!!

You know Mamarazzi right?? Well you should.

She like to host swaps and I love playing! They are so fun. Mamarazzi pairs us up and then I send a box full of fun stuff to my partner and she sends on to me. I have been paired with some great women and have made some great friends.

This time my swap partner was Camie Rae. She is a really cute mom!! She has two boys and a much waited for baby girl.

I have really liked getting to know Camie!

Do you want to see what I got her??
Well.... you'll have to go and see. {actually I did have a picture but some how I deleted it...}

Here is what she got me!!

It was so fun to open my package from Camie! The pretty blue paper was such a good idea. I had a hard time picking a favorite color... I really do like all colors! For this though I picked turquoise.... {and pink and green}

 Look at all the fun stuff!!! A cute vase with some flowers, gum, fun nail polish, post-it notes, wipe off wall stickies, a spatula, chapstick, a cute necklace with matching earrings and bracelets, and my most favorite thing... and apron. I have a love affair with aprons and I love the way this one wraps all the way around!

I was not to happy with the post office though.... not only did the guy wake the baby with how loud he was banging on the door, but the USPS also broke a cute little jar that had vinyl letters that had "Mommy's secret stash" on it and it was filled with candy. 

{this is not the first time that the USPS broke something that someone sent to me.... we are not on good terms the postal service and I}

 I love office supplies!!

The nail polish is sparkly! And the hair stuff she made!

I love swaps! It's just so fun to get a package in the mail when you have no idea what is in it!





Thank you Mamarazzi for another great swap! And thank you Camie for the great box!!!!

There are no dead cats...

So.... we have Netflicks, and I have been staying up late {on the weekends that Steve is gone} and I'll watch some TV. Lately I have been watching Horders. Have you ever seen this show??!!

Really it's quite sad. These people have floor to ceiling stuff! Some is from the person shopping, most things are still in bags. And there are some that it's all garbage! It's really gross.

The really gross ones are the saddest. They have a ton of garbage and usually under the garbage there are dead animals!

I can  kinda understand that. A lot of the things that I have bring back memories, and I feel like if I throw the thing away I will throw away the memory that I have.

I have a tendency to buy stuff to do crafts and then I never do them but then I feel bad about throwing things away because I spent money on it.

I can say that after watching that show I have a desire to clean the house and make sure that my piles are not just under control, but that every thing has a home.

So far I have not come across any dead cats.... and that's a good thing.

Guess Who????

Lets play a game. I like games, do you??

I found a bunch of pictures of the boys, so lucky for you we get to play a guessing game. {*answers are at the end}

1}

2}

3}

4}

5}

6}

7}

8}

9}

10}

13}

14}

How do you think you did? None of them are Benjamin.

It was fun for me to look at all these pictures because I see Benjamin in all of them. I love going back through all the pictures and remembering.

I love being a mom to all 4 of my boys!

Here are the answers. 1}James 2}Tim 3}Tim 4}Tim 5}James 6} Tommy 7}Tommy 8}Tim 9}Tim 10}Steve 11}Steve 12}James

Hurricane Irene

We were ready. We had water and flashlights. We had gone to the library and picked up some extra books to look at. We made sure our 72 hour kits were ready. We had a full tank of gas.

And then we waited. We waited for hurricane Irene. We woke up Friday morning to rain, a lot of rain. And then it stopped. About 3 hours later it was raining again and then.... that was it. The sun came out and the streets dried up.

James had some allowance money that he wanted to spend so of to the book store. {I love that my boys love the book store and the library so much!}

The evening still was still clear so we put dinner on hold and went to the beach.

We were going to walk on the beach but the surf was coming all the way up on shore and there was no room to walk. So we hung out on the ramp that takes us down to the beach.

So much sand was washed up to the ramp.

Look at the waves!!

The boys were still able to have fun

 Do you like Tommy's pirate face?

I decided not to get Benji out of the stroller because he likes to run. And he is heavy. And I can't take pictures if I'm holding him.

Did I mention that at a year he weighted, 27pounds!!! We grow them heavy at our house. {he measured 28 inches...}

 It was fun going out there and seeing what a hurricane can do even miles off the coast.

Mother Nature is awesome!!

This is the other reason I wouldn't let Benji get out. The waves came right up to the ramp!

It was really neat to go out and see the rage of the ocean. It is one powerful force.

I am grateful that Hurricane Irene missed us, but it was a good run through to make sure that we were ready.