And the Bad Blogger of the Year Award Goes To...

by Ang

….me!!! Sorry. I’ve been busy, distracted, planning my move, planning my wedding, cleaning, organizing, working like crazy, and trying to get enough sleep at night to make it through each day.

I thought instead of talking about all of that stuff, I would just post some random thoughts about me. That’s a really good way to get to know someone better, right? So here’s a few glimpses into my thoughts and a few things that you may have not known about me (the good and the bad)

*I am going to miss the Olympics when they’re over. Especially the speed skating.

*On our last two days in Paris, I had the Metro system and stops so totally figured out that I didn’t need the map.

*I have no problem swimming in the ocean, but I refuse to swim in a lake.

*I think my niece is the sweetest little person I know.

*I totally chickened out when I gave my notice that I was moving and stuck a note on my landlady’s door instead of telling her in person. She wrote me a very nice note back and taped it to my mailbox.

*When I get cranky, I soak in a bubble bath which usually helps.

*I complain when I have to park outside at work once a week (instead of in the underground garage).

*When I was younger I played cars in the backyard on the picnic table with my brother. Later that day, I would go in and play with my Barbies. I was a tomboy and also a girly-girl.

*When I was a toddler I started choking on a butterscotch candy.

*When my sister and I were little and stayed with my Grandma for the weekend, she would take us to the grocery store with her and let us each pick out ANY type of cereal we wanted. Then we would get home and she would dump out the boxes into big bowls so we could fish out the toy. It was the BEST.

*I would rather read a non-fiction book than a fiction book. I have three shelves of non-fiction books to one shelf of fiction.

*I love bubble tea and would drink it every day if it weren’t so expensive.

*I love when my fiancé refers to me as 'mama' to our dog. I miss him! (my fiancé and the puppy)

*I am so excited about my bridal shower (see below post). My sister is amazing.

Tonight I’m hanging out with my youngest nephew. We’re going to order in for supper, watch a movie, play, and just have fun! And then tomorrow and Sunday my mom is coming up to help me start going through things and packing. I love my mom. She’s fun and also very helpful. I plan on taking pictures of our progress.

A Break from our Regularly Scheduled Program

By Amy

I thought I would give you a break from Costa Rica. Maybe you are sick of the pictures because...

a) you are jealous (i would be)

b)you hate me because I got to go

c)you think they are boring

d)they make you want to vomit because you can't stand the sunniness of it all.

Whatever the reason...this is your break. Because I do have more to post. So enjoy it while it last.

I am planning my sister's bridal shower. With the help of my lovely friend Meg and my sis-in-law. On Sunday I completed the invites. Not without the help of my mighty sidekick.

Can you guess what our theme is going to be? (:

P.S. I am so sorry if you read this blog and did not get a invite. We really wished we could have invited everyone. But unfortunately I have a lack of funds and a lack of space. ):

P.S.S My sister will blog again at some point. I know you miss her. I miss her. She really wants to. But she is pretty overwhelmed with packing, wedding plans and dreaming about how great this shower is going to be. (:

Costa Rica Days 3 & 4

By Amy

Are you sick of my Costa Rica pictures yet? If you live in the Midwest and are experiencing the most crummiest winter in history....maybe you are sick of hearing about all the sunshine and fun. Or maybe you like to see the sunny skies and the warm water. Either way, it's your choice to look on.....

We spent day three fishing. My sis-in-law got to real in the first catch of the day.

Not to shabby! I think it weighed as much as her!

My friend Meg caught the next one. I think it's a big one!

A huge sail fish!!

My other-sis-in-laws turn.

It's a pretty little tuna!

The following day we took a small boat through a river.

We ended day four with a gorgeous sunset.

Costa Rica Part Two

By Amy

So we arrived on Sunday. These are pictures from Monday. We spent the day fishing and swimming and in the evening we had a very talented, friendly karaoke competition. Guys' vs Girls. Unfortunately I can't post pictures of the inside of the boat so you will just have to trust me that the evening was full of laughs. Because we weren't talented. Or friendly. (:

Bait for the serious fishermen. And fishergirls.

My brother-in-law gets to real in the first bite. What will it be?

A huge Durado! Which was filleted and cooked for our enjoyment.

Me and my sis-in-laws

Me and my honey

Our first course in the evening.....stuffed prawn on a bed of spinach and roasted tomato. YUM.

Just the girls....

Next up: Tuesday's adventures.

Back from FantasyLand

By Amy

On Saturday morning we left hot, beautiful, humid Costa Rica and around early evening arrived home to cloudy skies, freezing temps and snow. It was difficult to get off the plane to say the least. But alas, my kids and a foot of mail awaited me. Instead of going into a whole bunch of details as to what we did, I'll just share some pictures instead. First a little background. My boss owns a boat. A big boat. I think I have mentioned before how generous she is. Well, she allowed me to not only use her boat but to bring along a few friends and family with me. I'm still baffled that we were given this trip. Enough babbling.......picture time!

Our first stop was at a little place on a mountain for breakfast.

On the way to the boat we stopped at a river and saw these big boys.

On our way to the big boat. Hubby and I, my sis-in-law and hubby.

My two brother-in-laws canoeing.

My friend Meg, my sis-in-law and me. Look at those white legs!

My hubby and his siblings.

Appetizers the first night. See the tiny little black and red "beads"? Caviar.

My beautiful sis-in-law and her handsome hubby.

Dessert: Pineapple Sorbet

And this was all on the first day! More pictures coming soon!

Colorado Springs

by Ang

This week I am busy taking care of my nephews. They’re good boys though and we’re having fun! Here’s a look at my trip to Colorado Springs this past weekend. It was so much fun and went WAY too fast (as most trips do).

We went to Garden of the Gods, which is a park with very unusual and steep rock formations. There’s about a mile and a half of paved trail through the park that we walked on. It was a beautiful, not-too-cold sunny day.

A little history (from Wikipedia, because they can explain it much better than I can):

The outstanding geologic features of the park are the ancient sedimentary beds of red, blue, purple, and white sandstones, conglomerates and limestone that were deposited horizontally, but have now been tilted vertically and faulted by the immense mountain building forces caused by the uplift of the Pikes Peak massif. Evidence of past ages; ancient seas, eroded remains of ancestral mountain ranges, alluvial fans, sandy beaches and great sand dune fields can be read in the rocks. The name Colorado is said to come from the color of the sandstone. There are many fossils to be seen: marine forms, plant fossils, and some dinosaur fossils.
The hogbacks, so named because they resemble the backs and spines of a pig, are ridges of sandstone whose layers are tilted. Instead of lying horizontally, some layers are even vertically oriented. Each hogback can range up to several hundred feet long, and the tallest (called North Gateway Rock) rises to a height of 320 feet (98 m) tall. A notable rock feature on this hogback, the Kissing Camels, appears to be two very large camels sitting face to face with their lips touching.

So there you have it. It’s a really beautiful place:

This is the look I get every time I ask him to smile:

I miss him.

Garden of the Gods was really the only 'touristy' thing we did. The rest of the time we spent relaxing and hanging out with friends. It was nice!

I was sad at the airport, so I bought a book to distract myself:

I wanted to brush up on my Civil War history. Yes, I am a nerd.

Off

by Ang

Tomorrow I'm leaving for a long weekend to see my fiance. (I love calling him that!)

I promise that Amy and I don't plan our vacations at the same time on purpose. The last two have just worked out that way! They always seem to overlap.

Anyways, I may be able to post while I'm gone, or I may not. But I'll post for sure when I get back! I get to have a lot of nephew time and that is ALWAYS fun! Who knows, maybe I'll convince one of them to blog! (I bet they will - they always have interesting things to say!)

Hugs & kisses & all that good stuff!

Cousins

By Amy

I never would have dreamed that my 8 year old would love his nine month old cousin so much. It's almost.....annoying. That sounds mean. But sometimes he is just so.....in her face. And although she doesn't find it annoying, I do. Most of the time though, he is perfectly content to let her feel his face, pull his hair, and grab his ears. It's really very sweet.

I didn't really take a whole lot of pictures on Saturday night when I was watching little miss A. I was to busy watching her little personality. She has two bottom teeth now and cutting more. She wanted to chew all night long.

Look what a big girl she is!

I told her to stop growing and she just smiled at me.

I don't think she will listen to me. (: On another note, this week is going to get crazy on me. I only have five more days to get my stuff together and get organized for Costa Rica. So I'll be signing off the blog for awhile. It's up to my sissy to keep things going. She is going to have her hands full with my kids so posts may be few. I'll be back on the 13th!