Just another photo dump

Saw the whitehouse. Didn't bother to get out. 

Are you supposed to smile at Arlington Natl Cemetary? 

We saw the guards switch(every 30 min) and the kids were quiet. Not a peep. It was really neat. 

This wasn't even the worst toll we had. Ridiculous. And NY city looked haggard. I would imagine with the 13$ tolls they could clean the streets. Or pick up trash. 

No car DVD player? No problem. All you need is a little ingenuity:) 

Not the most family friendly Holiday Inn express we have stayed at. This was in Stamford, CT. Just FYI. 

We made it! 

Baaaaaacaaaaaaation!

Oh my goodness. This family is on a road  trip. We flew into Seattle, got a rental car, and hit the open road. It's been pretty great so far. The kids have been awesome. Seriously. I'm surprised how well they have all done. Here's a glimpse into it so far. 

This is a "shortcut" we took to save ourselves 40 min. We saw the van in front of us with Washington plates and figured they knew what they were doing. I only suffered a few heart attack moments when our driver got too close to the drop off on my side. Haha

We stopped and saw some friends that moved away from us. Their girl and our Conner are a month apart:) 

Mr B had a great time playing football with his cousins. I'm pretty sure he only took this getup off, to sleep. 

Turf playground floor is basically the BEST thing EVER! I could put baby P down and not worry about her putting anything in her mouth. This was the day I decided I was moving. Purely for the parks. 

The point off of Tubbs hill. 

 Mudgy the moose. This moose is in a storybook and based on an actual moose here in Coeur de lane. 

This is my very special niece that loves taking selfies. Scary selfies. ;) 

Driving through Montana. Beautiful state. I'd like to stay longer next time. 

Nutella snack cup. Enough said. 

First night from a full day of travel. Once they passed out they slept really well. 

We saw Mt Rushmore for the first time for all of us:) Matt went as a child but the story is, all he did was vomit on his Dads head. There wasn't any vomiting, although Conner got a scrape on his leg and was very concerned his leg was going to fall off. 

The song that has this melody was playing in the car and we decided to stop for bathroom breaks and we saw this sign. It gave us a good chuckle:) 

I missed a few state signs but we did make it to SC:) Uncle Matt has snuggled with the youngest baby in the Cat extended family:) We've gone to the lake. The kids have played in the pool.

Conners swim shorts were getting air in them and it was very concerning so he took them off and went nekkid. 

Whew! Picture overload:) There's a Fletcher photoshoot tomorrow and a day at the ocean! And [hopefully] I can get some color on the basically translucent legs that I have! 

boo hoo

Just got home from a vacation in AZ to see my Aunt. It was wonderful. I took the two girls and we had a great time. It was so nice not to have to deal with the "twins" for a week. The sun was wonderful. So very wonderful. I was not ready to come home.

Vacation came and went

Well bloggy friends, this summer started out on the slower side of things but as soon as July hit...WHAM! We went back to New England for a month and it was awesome/insane/tiring/busy/stressful/relaxing/emotional! It was so great seeing family and the few friends that have stayed with me since we moved away. Here's just a snippet of what we did. I've got another one in the works but all of us that take millions of pictures know how consuming it is going through them all. Bare with me:) Normal blogging should commence soon!

Whooooo do you think you arrrrre?

That song takes me back. You remember? Spice girls? Lol...yup...I listened to them. But let's just forget I told you that. Ok? Good.

Back to whatever train of thought I was on, here. Oh! So, it's my birthday. Yup. The big 2-7. I'm not as upset about it today as I've been lately. It seems so easy to tell others that "it's just a number" or "you're not old". But when it's my turn....Oi! To celebrate the momentous occasion the hubs is going to take me out to dinner on a gift card I was given in exchange for some pictures, and a movie. There's also a groupon halibut fishing excursion, but that isn't until August. And yes, it was my idea. I actually enjoy the taste of halibut so I thought it would be fun to catch some. Salmon on the other hand....yuck. How can you live in Alaska and hate salmon, you ask? I don't know:)

Then...there's that pesky half marathon that won't leave me alone. I went on a little sabbatical down to Utah (tons of pictures to come) and had grand plans to take advantage of the higher altitude and train some. Nope. Nothing. So now I am six weeks out, with no organized training, to run 13.1 miles. Ha! Pretty much awesome. So I printed off a 10 week plan and ran my first 3 miles last night. Ran the whole thing and didn't even feel like dying! Running outside is so much better than on the treadmill!

Well, until I get my huge amount of pictures downloaded I will leave you for now. But it's been like months since I've been on so I guess you won't believe me. ;)

it's so FLUFFY!

We had the opportunity to go to the the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center while the family was here. Best part? We got there and it was FREE! I think mostly because it's the off season and was the day right after Thanksgiving? That's what I'll tell myself anyway. It was definitely very cool.

There were tons of Bison and Musk Oxen. We saw a moose with one antler and some baby moose.

It looked pretty sad but I'm sure it wasn't. They really are quite large and cute at this age. Did you know that moose are in the deer family? And you are supposed to run in zig zags if one is chasing you because they get confused. I'm pretty sure I would just mess my pants!

We also got to see some baby bears! Well, they were two, so still young. It was feeding time so they were up next to the fence and I was able to get right in with my beautiful lense!

Isn't he cute?! Even cuter with an electric fence between us;)

After that we continued our drive and got some other really nice shots.

There was a guy trying to climb it, but he left just as I was getting ready to get him in the picture. Boo! Smart little she-devil remembered the water from a previous drive so she said to me "Mommy...waterfall". Yup, a frozen water fall:)

Tomorrow, a slacker mom birthday party...

Where in the world?!

I've decided that each week I am going to pick a travel destination to go to. Just a fun little thing to set my mind to an "easy, carefree" state:) This week I am vacationing in Australia. I love the thought of going here! I think the biggest reason to go is the accent! I loooove a good accent.
I'm going to go to Sydney to start. You can't go to Australia and not see the Opera house!

(source)

After some fine dining and city tourism I'll make my way up the coast to Brisbane. And would you know that this city has a Temple?! So I'll stop and do a session. I'm a beach girl through and through. And since I'm on the coast....guess where I'll spend most of my time? Yea...the beach...naked. No...jk! I won't be naked but my feet will be. I'll find a place to "rent" a horse and ride up and down the beach. Maybe this one,

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In the next or maybe even two I am going to go to Fraser Island. This would be the home of the world's largest sand dune. How neat is that?! I'll will certainly take a few days here. But, apparently there are scavenging dingoes....so best be careful. I'm not sure Cesar Milan's dog "shhhh-ing" will work :)
Next stop: Capricorn caves. In hopes of seeing some kangaroos. I think I'll take a jaunt through some of the city and take in the local life and food. The mangoes are on my list:)
Traveling further north I'll pit stop at Eungella National park. But the highlight of this stop will definitely be Whitesunday Island.

(source)

Oh...the basking in the sun! The snorkeling! I'm so excited! If it is anything like Hawaii(I'm sure it will be better) than I may just stay! No....I can't. I do have responsibilities...don't I? :) Well....I better quit talking and get mentally packing! I've got a serious vacation to take;) Should I pack for you also? Or do you have your destination this week?

Act 2 scene 1,287,453

I told Jen that she needed to move out quicker because my life was "blog worthy" with all the excitement! Yesterday was very interesting. I think our first moment was when Sir pukes alot was getting changed. His mom did it. We bought some cloth diapers at wal-mart to make some burp cloths. And of course the purpose of those is to actually be made to use as diapers. Jen decided she was going to put one on him. She wanted to put one on him and take some pictures but he really needed to be fed. So she fed him. Then she looked down and he had pooped on his cute cloth diaper. So mommy asked for a regular diaper since she had only made one. Diaper came off and while waiting for the other...a fountain arose from the nether regions. After the 20 minute stream and a breather...his mother was blessed with some number 2 action! lol...it was hilarious. :)

The next activity was our trip to Stop & Shop. Grammy, the eldest and I went out to buy some things that we needed at the store. I put the eldest in the shopping cart and his Grammy pushed him. Very typical. So much that I never fear for his safety. Now it's different. Upon our departure I was lagging behind a smidge doing something with my phone. And everyone is aware of the graduated sidewalks that go along the stores and they give you a space to get your cart into the parking lot. Grammy decided to go four-wheeling. I look up and the cart is falling sideways and my son has a terrified look on his face. Slow motion best describes it. lol. So I got to be the savior against his evil grandmother. :) 

Last but clearly the most exciting......I lost my Iphone! We finally made it to the Croc store to get my kiddo some new shoes. So we're there and make a decision on what to get and cash out. Leave, things are dandy. Get home. Start making dinner. Hmmm...so I say to myself, self, where is your cell phone? I use Jen's phone to call mine. No sound...maybe it's on vibrate? Call again...listen real close. Nothing. MIL, where's your phone...maybe I just can't hear the ring tone I've got for Jen. Call...nothing. Flipping fantastic. So I get on the computer and look up the phone number for the Croc store. "Hi, I was just in there and have misplaced my phone and was wondering if it was there"? "The Iphone?, yea it's here". "Ok, I'll be down". Now you have to remember...I'm in the land of everything takes at least a half an hour to get to so the htought of me being so retarded and forgetting my phone is enough to make me beat myself in the head. So....up the stairs I go to inform my sister in law of my brain malfunction and see if she will go with me. -knock knock- on their door. Immediately after that I hear this loud and startled noise come from her room. Why? I'll let you figure it out:) lol. It was a very interesting day:) To end this post I'll share a picture that I took of Jen and sir pukes alot:)

Will the excitement never cease?!

I really should have been writing this whole time with all the crazy things that have gone on. But alas, my energy faileth at the end of the day. I know...how much energy does getting on the computer require? I will tell you...a lot! Not so much physical obviously...but my mental power is lacking. I also need to write down this fact, as to why one should never have children so close together, your brain goes into hyperdrive for brain cells spewing out. I constantly find myself going in circles trying to remember what I was doing or what I was getting. It's insane. 

So, I'm on "vacation". Ha! I think I will be on vacation when I get home:) Don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed my time here. Really,...I'm not just trying to convince myself. What has happened since we entered New England. 

1. my niece was super cranky when we arrived and her Mom just attributed it to schedule change because,well, her daughter doesn't do change well. But she took her to the Dr's for some goopy stuff taht was going on in her eye...turns out she had an ear infection and the start of another one...so on antibiotics she went. Well...since my baby was rather cranky and showed some of the same behavior I decided to take her to the Dr's as well. So off we went to the insta care...and 4 hours later we discover she had a residual double ear infection...so on to antibiotics she went. 

2. The antibiotics she is on gave her some loose bowels. We went to drop off my FIL at the Hartford airport which takes about an hour with traffic. Well on the way back my eldest tells me that his sister pooped in her carseat. I thought he was referring to the time when she was newborn and made a ginormous mess in her seat. So I brushed it off. Drive a few more minutes and I get a whiff of something of the poo nature. Hmmm...so I ask...."son, is there poop in her carseat"? "yes". Great!!!! "and she's got it on her nose". Awesome!!!! All I could do was laugh. Laugh at the insanity. Laugh at the mess I was going to have to clean up. I look back and she's got her legs up in the air and of course they are covered in poo. lol. The luck. 

Ahh...yes. Vacation. My niece, while cute and fuzzy, has the biggest stubborn gene. It's mixed in with being contrary. Poor Jen really lucked out...not only do her kids look like Erick,...they both act like him too. Not saying Erick is a bad person, but his kids don't know how to control their controllable genes yet:) To each our own though. Aside from the baby who hasn't felt good until a few days ago, the eldest has been a pain. He definitely has the mother hen thing down. Which is amusing to me because he's been an only child for 4 years...and I really doubt 9 months of his sister has done it to him. Nature. Weird. 

Fun things you ask? Sure! We went to Mystic Village and bought the BEST Vermont sharp cheddar I've ever had! I'm not one for munching on just cheese...but oh boy did I with this stuff! Also got some tasty Moose tracks fudge which probably has added a pound or two to my butt:) We went to the ocean. It was colder than a witches(fill in the blank). The kids had fun. Jen's girl discovered sand and was rolling around in it like a sports illustrated bikini model...lol. My girl liked picking it up, squishing it in her fingers and then eating it. 

There it goes,...the brain power. So till the time I muster more up,

Meg

Hawaii anyone?

Let's go....

hmmm

Sometimes I just don't know what to "title" my post. I actually hardly ever know a really cute title....it's annoying actually. Random thought I know:) My visit to CT is coming to a close. I leave on Thursday to go home. It has been fun. But I am ready to start "nesting" and gearing up for baby C to come along. I am hurting more too. Last night we were watching a movie and C decided to try and poke my belly button out from the inside...it was a less than pleasant experience:) My groin is really taking a beating this time around too. I know...quit complaining:) I had a nice quick visit up to NH and ME this past week. It was good to see the people I could. Jen and I are going to finish up some crafty things this week before we fly out. I made a thermal receiving blanket this afternoon and she is making one as I type. So enough chit chat...here's some pictures:)

My sister and I

B and grandpa

us in the pool at the C-man

The Savages with us and the great grandkids:)

all the fun:)

Here's a quick update of the fun we've been having. Not going to get too wordy here...the pics are pretty self explanatory. The clothes picture is of the goodies I found at the super cool second hand shop here that Jen talked about:D So till the next time,
Meg

Not much of details here...I went to Joann's and spent A LOT of money...yay..lol! And we took B to the park yesterday. He had fun. He found a leggo man and named it Harold. So now he's got a friend:) LOL...we were at the park and I noticed his shin was swollen...which isn't unusual bc he is a boy and bruises happen. Well I called him over to me and noticed that it was a bug bite. I said "did you get bit on your shin"? He looked at me and said with a quizzical look..."my shit"? (excuse the language!) LOL> MY internal workings first response was to reprimand for swearing but then I realized that it really was a mistake and instead just repeated..."no, your shin" and moved on. It was really funny. Jen and I got a really good laugh over it. Anyway:)




Here's cute L with her Dad. She's got such a cute little quirky smile that she isn't afraid to share. SO this is it for my quick post. Hope all is well everywhere:) Till then,
Meg