Devestating News:

It breaks my heart to tell you that my cousin's husband Randy passed away today.

(this was taken when they came to visit during his stem cell treatment at Duke...back in March of 08)


He left behind a WONDERFUL loving wife and an 18 month old little boy.

His family is, as you can imagine, is struggling with everything.

This was posted on their blog:
On behalf of Kate, I am very sadly writing to say that Randy passed away peacefully at 1:07pm today. He was surrounded by his loving family holding a picture of his beautiful wife & son. Arrangements are with the Brown Funeral Home in Plattsburgh but are incomplete at this time. I will post the details when they are available.


THIS IS THE LINK TO THEIR BLOG IF YOU WOULD LOKE TO LEAVE HER A COMMENT OF SUPPORT...

I beg you to PLEASE keep his entire family in your prayers, as they are dealing with an unimaginable amount of grief.

Even though we know he is pain free and riding with the angels......we will still miss him.

Ride on Randy....Ride on.

REST IN PEACE Buddy!! We love you!

Rugrat Tag

O.k....it's fairly simple...if you have been tagged, just copy and paste the rules and the questions onto your own blog or post. Then delete answers, and insert the ones you think your child/children would choose. At the end of the post..tag 5 others! ~ Then let them know they have been tagged!~
Sounds easy? Let's go!~

1.) My name(s) is/are: Bug and Drama Mama

2.) My first word was: Mama and Stuck

3.) My favorite food right now is: fried rice and chicken noodle soup or Popo's Soup

4.) My favorite song is: watching you (rodney atkins) and ABC's

5.) My car seat color is: red (safety 1st) and brown (safety first)

6.) My room color is: green and maroon (mommy needs to re-do it)

7.) I love to use this kind of shampoo: Johnson's "Buddies" easy rinse foam shampoo

8.) The thing that can make me the maddest is: when kayla bothers me and getting things taken away from me

9.) My favorite person right now is: Matthew (cousin) and Daddy(such a daddy's girl!)

10.) I like to read this book over and over and over: "Don't let the pigeon drive the bus" and "Ten Little Ladybugs"

11.) My brand of diapers is: I don't wear diapers and Huggies pull ups at night

12.) The cutest thing I say is: " ughhhhh kaykay you make me so crazyyyyy" and "I wubbb oooooo"

13.) My favorite fruit is: mandarin oranges and strawberries

14.) When I get hurt I want: mommy and mommy

15.) I mostly ride around in a: Mini-Van

16.) I go to bed at: 7:30 p.m (both)

17.) I wake up at: 6:00 a.m (both)

18.) My naptime during the day is: I don't take a nap and 11:30-2

19.) My most favorite thing to do is: ride my bike or visit my cousins and be read to, play in water, or eat

20.) My favorite show/movie is: Danger Rangers/Alvin and the Chipmunks and Toy Story/Finding Nemo

Now I tag:
Jess
Katie
Rachel
Lindsay
and
Sheri

Have fun everyone!




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PLUS I have the pictures from my cousin Katie and her visit! It was such a wonderful time, and I really do wish they could make it down more often and for a longer period to visit. But alas, they are extremely busy getting Randy healthy. He has to go in for more tests so PLEASE KEEP THEM IN YOUR PRAYERS!!!! It just takes a second, and the results are miraculous! :) Thank you to those who continue to lift them up...they sure could use it right now. It is so hard for them to be away from their extended family, not to mention they just built a house and had a baby!! So being 5,000 miles away from their normal "comfort zone" is a challenge. I am so proud of them though! Even though things are tough.....Katie and Randy have this outlook that constantly amazes me. I feel so lucky to be a part of their family and their journey!

Anyway...here are the pics (these were taken Sunday!)

Katie and brainy



The boys..Randy, Bug, and Brad


Hehehe...monsters!


His first hammock swing...he liked it at first...and then he wanted mommy!~ (katie)


This boy is getting SO close to walking! :) He used the mower to get around (Katie, you should have taken one of these..since we had 2..AND you forgot the bead thingy)


THIS is what he played with the most though! :)


Chit-chatting~ Sorry for the bad shot


Same day..drama mama changed out of her church dress into her fishing outfit...


Here's a video! Take care all!~~~~


TTFN!!~~~~

Trip to the zoo.....

ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY! :)




We have been wanting to plan a trip to the N.C Zoo for some time now....and since the weather HAD been warm and sunny (78 degrees or so each day)....and my cousin Katie and her family (plus Randy's cousin Scott and his wife Steph and son) all talked about going....

we picked Sunday as the best day.

Can we say brrrrrrr.. :)

If you know me at all.....I HATE being cold. (hello,.. MOST of my life was spent in Hawaii)

HOWEVER....the funny thing is, with the company we had....the weather was the LAST thing on my mind! :) We had so much fun.

And with fun....comes LOTS of pictures. (here's your warning in advance) :)

First off..can I just say that I have NEVER in my life seen SO MANY pottery shops in one area....they sure weren't kidding when they posted signs. I think we passed about 150 on our way to the zoo....


We arrive...



and wait for Katie, Randy, brainy (their son), Steph, Scott and little juicy baby to arrive (you'll see why he is called juicy baby shortly) :)


Like I mentioned earlier...it was cold..(about 50F)...so while we waited...we warmed ourselves up..well....BUG stole my hot chocolate and warmed HIMSELF up..the little bugger.





Then we "monkey" around a bit near the entrance...



Bug makes a penny for his collection...


They arrive....


Time check....and we are off...



We have our trusty navigator....Sir Bug...


Drama Mama insisted on walking at first...


Which quickly led to this.....


Daddy's turn...hey Mr navigator.....daddy can't see :) :) This was one of my favorite pictures of the day!


Seals first....(bug, Katie, drama mama, and Brad)


Our "line" :P ....(minus the pink sweater lady LOL)


Little Brainy was teething...


Scott and Randy....these 2 cracked me up! Scott pushed Randy around the entire zoo, and if that wasn't enough....they were "joy" riding up and down the ramps...it was quite the site! :) LOVED it!


These baboons had to be my cousin Katie's favorite thing....she was simply fascinated! :)


They had this really neat mist/smoke tree....the kids loved it.


Drama mama loved the turtles and such...


Checkin out the frogs...


The only thing bad I had to say about the zoo, was the fact that there were't many changing tables.....so...we improvised..


The most positive thng I have to say about the zoo...was how wonderful the "free range" for the animals were....it seemed like we were on a safari at times! (my zoomed in shot)



Steph and her juicy baby...


We stopped to eat..





Juicy baby is eye balling that teether bisquit...it's like he is saying "yo brainy..pass that junks over here"


and we're off again....I won't even tell you what happened at lunch with Katie, Steph, and some random IGNORANT jerk who decided to steal their/our table... let's just move on shall we....


Bug and drama mama playing a game...


Here's a video of him reading the signs....he is SUCH AN AWESOME reader!


Bug being a pilot! :)...


This gorilla cracked me up...just sitting in his tub..


Bug is talking up a STORM to Katie! :) He really took to her.


There were SO many frogs....i totally love them...but now when I see one, I think of Hannah...so....this was for Hannah! :)


Fish anyone?


The color of this bird was INCREDIBLE!


JUICY BABY!! Next time I want to get my hands on him. HE was sooo adorable!


Bug and his blue/purple lollipop he got... since the entire time we were here.. all he wanted to see were the giraffes, and get his face painted so he could be one (they opened a new section so they had face painters there that day)...but not only was the giraffe exhibit CLOSED....we missed the face painters by about 15 min. grrrr...BUT he was awesome!


At the end of the zoo, they offer you a shuttle/tram ride back to the entrance/parking lot...


I DID manage to snag a sleeping and exhausted brainy from his mom, while she held juicy baby, while Steph got the stroller..



The car ride home....kayla was OUT, and bug was seriously fighting it!



The whole time home, and even after we got home....I heard "mom that was the best day ever" and "mom that was a great day" and "mom, thank you for that great zoo"...

YUP BUG, I HAVE TO AGREE...THAT WAS A GREAT DAY!

p.s Katie and Randy have had some wonderful news regarding the blood work they have had done since Randy's transplant of his brother stem cells.....CHECK IT OUT HERE if you are interested!... and drop them a note of encouragement if you can! :)

TTFN!~