My Sweet Grandmother.

Over the weekend, my grandma passed away.  It is a great loss for all who knew her.

I am grateful in my life to be surrounded by amazing people, and she was certainly one of them.  

I have learned a lot from my grandma, from make-up and clothes to cleaning under my bed.  The rest of my house might not be clean, but under my bed usually is- thanks to my grandma.  That and the bathroom sink (thanks to my mom). 

One thing I have been thinking about my grandma is her varicose veins.  I know that sounds strange, but as a kid when I saw her legs, I never thought those veins were a bad thing.  I always thought it meant that her legs were extra strong.  She was an athlete- she played tennis, golf, and I think everything in between.  I thought those veins showed how hard she had worked.  It wasn't until I was older that I found out people consider them unattractive.  I don't.  

I know that I will see my grandma again, and I hope that I will live my life with as much spunk, determination, and love as my grandma had.

Nothing Says Valentine's Day Like a Black Mamba.

My mom and dad took us to a reptile zoo today.  It was extremely educational, fascinating, and really smelly.

Ben, Thomas and Jack in front of the Black Mamba.

A two headed turtle.

Jack was so brave and held a snake.

Favorite moment:  My dad asked Jack if he wanted to he wanted to look at the spiders, 

Jack held his hand to his eyes, and said "I can see it from here".  So cute.

This guy was my favorite.  

On his tongue was a worm looking thing, and he used it to lure fish in to eat.  

Amazing.  

Nature astounds me.

What is Valentine's Day without a sweet treat?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Thanksgiving.

Palm Springs for Thanksgiving.

It was a dream come true.  My dad was staying in Palm Springs for work, and invited us to spend the day with him.

It was wonderful.  We enjoyed the Thanksgiving Buffet that the hotel was serving- the food was fabulous and the deserts were dreamy.

It was a great Thanksgiving, I didn't have to cook or clean-up, the weather was perfect, and it was wonderful to spend time with my dad.

I asked Jack what his favorite part was, and he said, "when grandpa bought me a toy car and a cookie, and talking to grandpa."

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanks Dad, for letting us spend the day with you!

Grandparents are AWESOME.

My parents came down for almost a week, and we had many adventures.  Tho boys had an amazing time with their grandparents, and I really enjoyed having the extra help.

We ate tacos almost everyday.  We ran out of days before we were able to try all our favorites.

We went for a walk to get a good view of the city.

We went to the San Diego Zoo

A little shopping on Avenida Revolucion. 

I read in a brochure once, that a trip to Tijuana was not complete without a picture with a painted donkey. 

Of course some more REALLY amazing food.

What a great time.  It was awesome to have my parents visit.  Ben and I were even able to go away for a night.  Now, that is what I call a successful trip.

Jack and The Grandparents.

We came down to Virginia a few days before Ben's training began so that we could spend some time with my parents.  They happened to be visiting VA for a retirement ceremony for my pa. 
What a treat for Jack. He was able to spend two days with Grandma and Grandpa.  Jack was in HEAVEN!  He was able to have two loving adults spend every moment paying attention to him.  What a lucky boy.
Boy, were we happy also.  He was such a good kid.  We were able to eat at a restaurant without a major upset for the first time in over a year.  He was so well behaved, I could cry. 
For instance, they came home from the store, and my mom said, what a good boy Jack was, "we told him he could pick out a toy, and he went to one toy, picked it out, and was so happy and content". 
I thought this was great because just two weeks ago, a trip to Walmart had ended in blood, sweat and tears for that very thing.  I had told Jack he could pick out a special toy, and he chose a toy, but kept changing his mind.  Finally, we went with the one in his hands.  As soon as we left the toy aisle, he started crying because he had changed his mind again, and we left with nothing. 
I am glad, though, that he was good for his grandparents, because at least he knows HOW he is supposed to behave even if he doesn't do it for me.

On another note, Ben shaved his head this week.  He gave up the battle of the receding hair line. 

I think it looks great.  He is also growing a goatee, super hot.