Driving in the car with Burpy McGee

Hey! Remember how I went on a girls only vacation to Cape Cod for a whole week and I was the youngest person present (which is a good thing)? No? Yeah...probably because I never blog. But here I am blogging about it now for those of you who may have missed my Facebook updates and Tweets while events transpired. And, yes, by "events" I mostly mean "eating food."

Did you not catch the part about it being a girls only vacation? We sat poolside, went to the beach, shopped and ate. And read a lot of books. And crocheted. Because that's how we roll in my family.

So my mom and my sister and I drove up with my mom's cousin, Nancy, and met my Aunt and my cousin's wife, Sherri, at the house. My cousin, Kim, joined us for a couple of days in the middle of the week.

Here we all are at an awesome tea place up the street from my Aunt's house. It's some kind of renovated meat barn that now serves as an art gallery and serves tea parties. It's pretty much amazing. Apparently I like a place that serves dainty tea cakes while I look at location-specific art and giant meat hooks hanging from the ceiling. The thing is, the art is gorgeous and the food is so incredibly tasty...and giant meat hooks! Who doesn't love that?

(and this is where I tell you to please overlook the fact that these are all cell phone pictures. my camera is broken and our life is not properly documented when my camera is broken. end disclaimer.)

Mom and Lauren posing, even though they didn't really want to. How I love them.

L to R: Aunt Sharon, Nancy, Sherri and Kim

Me and my sissie.

Extreme close-up, but the other one is too blurry and gives me three eyes. Which is not a thing that I have. So close-up is what you get.

I didn't get any pictures, but the first day there we all went to brunch and I got to do the one thing I wanted to do on this trip (besides tan and not work), eat delicious Eggs Benedict. Along with a lot of other delicious things, but the Eggs Benedict was divine. And then, Nancy taught me how to make my own AND she put crab meat on them. So my life is pretty much complete.

The second day there (after a day at the beach), I was cooking dinner on the grill (another new skill I learned...but will henceforth claim I did not learn bc I never want to be in charge of grilling things), and I realized how great it was that we all basically did the same things at the same time. We came home, cleaned up, then sat down and picked up a book. I walked into the living room and everyone but me and whoever was in the shower was reading a book. All happily enjoying the peace and quiet of a house free of children. So the week basically went on like that and we were all so happy.

And now a selection of random photos:

The lobster thingy that vibrated when our food was ready at Seafood Sam's.

Eating delish ice cream.

Oh thanks, Forever 21. Thank you so much for this awful mannequin pose. And by awful I mean great.

Dwight K. Shrute.

My mom is awesome. The end.

These statues were every where in this one shopping place we go to. They reminded us too much of a Weeping Angel, so I took a picture and then avoided all the others. This is what happens to you when you watch Doctor Who 75% of the time.

I ate a lobster roll. And it was good.

The Hoho brings presents

Indeed.

Monkey calls Santa "The Hoho." I told Lauren that it sounds slightly inappropriate. Megan says it makes her think of a snack cake delivering presents. Both provide lovely mental images.

Yesterday we got to talk on Skype (best invention ever) so I got to stare at how beautiful Bug is (and how much he's changed in just twoish weeks - the difference is amazing when you don't see them everyday!) and I got to sit and talk to Monkey. Talking to Monkey basically means I just watch him do his thing and listen to whatever he feels like sharing. Sometimes that means nonsense words, sometimes I get a song. Yesterday I got both of those and I got to watch him writing. He wrote my name and said "This is your name, Zizi and you're a famous mom and you're a mom." I have no idea what that really means, but I loved it. I think he also told me at one point he was pretending to be a doctor. I'm guessing he was thinking in terms of writing notes in a folder or on a prescription pad as I'm sure he's seen the doctor do both. He started asking me questions at one point too which was, of course, adorable.

It's amazing how much they've both changed. This is for Lauren's sake that I'm writing this as she sees the boys everyday, but they are different. There were words Monkey was pronouncing much clearer and I even heard a distinct "S" during the alphabet song. Bug's face just looked different. He really is a handsome boy. They both are.

Anyway, I thought I'd share some of that. I miss those boys and my sissie and Wil. Not to mention my mom. Mom and I also had a good talk on the phone Saturday morning that made me stop and appreciate the fact that Mom, Lauren and I truly are more than just family, we're friends. It's an amazing blessing and makes all of this easier and more difficult all at the same time.

For those of you without Facebook

Which I'm pretty sure is none of you, but still. Here's a little more backstory.

He just woke up. The position of his fingers is accidental. He refused to cuddle with me and then voluntarily got up, walked over to my friend John and cuddled with him for like 5 minutes.
This boy has a habit of not being able to decide which sister he would like to cuddle with. I almost always lose out in the end, but that's the way it should be. It's fun to watch him go back and forth giggling and smiling at whoever isn't holding him.
This is just such a great face he's making. That would be mid-screech. It was a happy screech at least.
A bathtub in the sink! Mostly because I wasn't paying attention while feeding him and he kicked squash all over himself. Oh well. He loves baths. Isn't he just so pinchable?!
Modeling the legwarmers and getting ready for a nap.
We rolled around for a while with Monkey's towel. He loved being wrapped up in that.
Playing peek a boo and trying to cuteness his way out of a nap. Don't worry, I was strong and he slept for a long time.
This was when we were standing in line for the giant yard sale we went to on Saturday. That hat was too small and it made me laugh. Still, he's so freaking cute!!
Monkey was showing me his hat. He had a good time with Grandma and Papa on Saturday.
And he got a Lightening costume! This is him "riding" the car. haha. He's happier than he looks.
Lauren's awesome yard sale purchase. We took a bunch of photos with it.
The only one i got of him looking at the camera and smiling. It probably would have worked better if i had tried to take the photo before the cookie eating.

We had a nice Sunday as well with a delicious dinner prepared by Lauren and Wil for Christy (she left for Texas, then she's home to Australia). Our friends John and Jacob came and we mostly just sat and enjoyed each other's company. It was a very nice and relaxing (and fun!) day thanks to Lauren and Wil and their adorable boys.

Happy Birthday to The Queen

This post is dedicated to my favoritest Sissie on her 00th birthday. Those were the numbers on her "cake" so that's what I'm sticking with.

I love photos, as you all know, so this is a photo post about our Lauren. I did my best to maintain some chronological order, but remember I wasn't alive for her first ten years so educated guesses will have to do.

I hope you all like this little look back on Lauren's life. I think we can all agree that she is a pretty amazing and fantastic person. Happy Birthday, Sissie.

Look at that kickin' stach. Wow. That's Dad holding Lauren and Donut (I believe). Lauren is a daddy's girl.

Little Lauren riding a scooter.

I didn't scan it, but when Mom went to get Lauren's 6 month photo done, the place really liked it and wanted to use it in their advertising so Mom got a huge copy of it. Of course then she had to pay to have the rest of us photographed the same. Those have been hanging in our house forever. I just like her smile in this one.

This photo makes me feel better. I wasn't the only one who had to wear the pigtails or the crocheted "ribbons." Of course, I had those awesome bangs.

I love how serious she looks. Reminds me of JBug.

She's always been so photogenic. It's that smile!

Early documentation of her love for bags? Look how happy she is to have that!

It's good to know the stach was gone by the time Gordy was born. Lauren is 4 years old here.

I love this picture. Don't know why. It's just cute. Plus, look what a good big sister she is!

Not quite sure of age here...although Gordy looks to be about 2 or 3 so let's say she is about 6 or 7?

We had the best costumes. I am pretty sure I wore all of those as well. We weren't really concerned with matching gender to costume.

This is such a Lauren pose. Love it. Love her.

Yeah. They had girl names as well. Apparently we all really liked to dress up - I'm sure this is all due to Lauren's influence.

School photo.

Christmas at Grandmother and Grandad's. That's Grandad in the background. I like this picture because it kind of looks like me - I can understand why people say we look so much alike when I look at this photo.

10 year old Lauren holding baby me. I wasn't very happy apparently. Lauren hasn't stopped taking care of me since.

Lauren, me and our cousin Kim. It's hard to see her face, but I like that it's the three of us.

Lauren, Mom and me. I'm guessing she's 11 ish. Look at all that feathered hair!

Daddy and his baby doll.

Yeah. I basically put this photo in here because that Santa looks creepy. Blech.

Lauren, Mom and me. 4ish years later (I'm guessing).

Look at those shorts! Tsk Tsk. haha. Lauren, Gram and Kim.

At my Aunt's house in Massachusetts.

Best. Picture. Ever. That is my sister with her Tiki necklace and Billy Idol shirt. And that hair is amazing. I believe they were going to Commander Salamander.

This was labeled "West Side Story Dance Off." Amazing. I'm guessing late middle school/early high school?
They are buying toilet paper to go TP someone's house. This used to happen a lot around here - back when there were not a lot of people in the neighborhoods to call the cops on you. Notice how fancy they all look. I'm guessing the black was for stealth purposes.
Lauren served a mission for the LDS church to Brazil. This looks like the MTC.

One of Lauren's birthday celebrations - 28 or 29 maybe? This is when we fell in love with The Melting Pot.

And here Lauren is a blonde. She still owns that shirt. It's super cute. Like all the clothes she has. This is us on Nantucket.

Heidi's wedding. AWESOME. We took pictures with all the statues.

I love this picture. I love how cute she is and I love how Mommy is looking at her. This was at her bridal party.
The day she got married to Wil. We are both glad he stopped parting his hair like that. ;)

The morning after her wedding. We were getting in our last cuddles before Wil took her off to Texas.

Lauren and Monkey. She's an AMAZING mom.

And beautiful even after a whole day in the hospital. With little Bug.

At her birthday party last Saturday. I love you Sissie. I hope you have a fantastic day.
Hug Kiss.




Some of these photos are courtesy of your bestest pally, Shea. Thank her for the awesomeness that is basically a history of your amazing hair styles. :)