It's Me...remember me? I'm BAAACCCKKKK...

Contest FINALISTS at the end of this post! (ONE MORE ADDED Wed) (No, I didn't forget you!) Don't skip to the end....there's a lot of fun stuff in this post! . WOW! It has been forever and a day since I have last written more than three sentences for you all to enjoy! It has been even longer since it took .3 seconds to get online. That WiFi deal while we were on vacation was a MESS!! Frustrating as all get out! SHEESH! . Let's just chat awhile, shall we? Last Sunday morning at 2 am, we shushled (that's a PA dutch term, meaning jiggled or poked) our three sleeping children from their beds and put them in the car to head to the Outer Banks with our 5 bestest friends in the whole world and all their kidlets, too. . After an 8 hour drive, a couple of food stops and too many "pee" stops to count, we arrived at the pretty place I showed you in my last post! Funny enough, it is owned by Penn State Alumni and there was a Nittany Lion welcoming us over the front door! ROAR LIONS ROAR! . We all ran around peeking into rooms and checking out our new digs for the week...here are some pictures for you to feel welcome, too... This place was amazing...3 floors of fun!! 6 bedrooms, 6 1/2 baths, granite counter tops, a gorgeous view of the sound, big screen tvs, pool table, jacuzzi, and the list goes on! 2 kayaks were hanging in the car port so my boys could take a quick jaunt off the dock whenever they pleased! And a SLEEP NUMBER BED for moi! It was a great week! 7 best friends and 7 kidlets co-existed peacefully for all 7 days! We had a blast! The grown up girls got a couple chances to go it a lone and shop while the hubbies took a swing at the Domestic Goddess role...they were very good at it! So good, in fact, that we left a couple times! . I got a call on the second day from our Foster Care Coordinator to tell us that our adoption date is set! Our baby Izaiah will be a TRUE Brownlow on April 9th when we meet in the courtroom to finalize his adoption. We are so excited! It was a great place to get that news, surrounded by friends! . We did a lot of walking, got some Henna tattoos...

This was James, my tattoo artist - he had a very lickable head! NO, I DIDN'T REALLY LICK HIS HEAD! I was thinking of you all and took advantage of what I like to call a "BLOG FODDER OPPORTUNITY"!

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While on this amazingly fun, sometimes borderline pee-your-pants hysterical (after the children went to bed, of course) vacation I had trouble connecting with the house WiFi...but did get on long enough to get an email from a fellow-blogger that she got Dawn, Mimi and I tickets to OPRAH! Yes, go back and read it again, I did say OPRAH!!!!!! So, in a couple weeks, the three of us will actually SEE each other in person! Friends who have never met but who have been forever blessed by the hearts of the others. . I squealed my way through that day, giggling that I would be in Chicago with my BLOG BUDS! We went sight seeing, climbed a lighthouse, shopped, laughed, had a murder mystery (again, after the kidlets were in dreamland)...I was Candy Cotton, lover of resort owner, Coconut Joe (SWATCOP from my comments) but who was secretly in love with Jack Daniels, the bartender (my hubby)! It was so much fun! . One of the highlights came out of my youngest each and every morning...no, not poop! Since when is that a highlight? Sickos! Of the four women that we vacation with, 3 are named Michelle/Michele. So, we go with nicknames to keep the confusion to a minimum...it doesn't take much! So, I am Kemper, another is Goose and then there is Michele and finally, Anne-Marie. My youngest can say "Goose," tries to say Anne-Marie but it comes out "Giggy" and for some reason calls Michele, "Bob!" So, each morning when he woke at 6 or 6:30, he would walk around squawking, "GIGGY, GOOSE, BOB!" Looking for his 3 favorite people in the house (besides Mommy, of course!) BTW, "Giggy" in PA Dutch is another word for Va-jay-jay!! HAHA! Anne-Marie is our children's ministry director so when Izaiah runs across the room squealing "GIGGY!" on Sunday mornings she blushes!! :) . And, ladies....I have to throw this in there just to make you all seeth with jealousy...14 people, 7 days, 3 meals a day...WE LADIES DID NOT COOK ONCE!!!! NOT ONCE!!!! We have rockin' husbands, I tell ya!! And, for me...I didn't do laundry once either, hubby did! WOOFREAKINHOO FOR ME!!! . We sadly headed home before lunch on Saturday. Landed in Chincoteague, VA. Stayed for the night in a great waterfront hotel and did the wild pony/nature center thing the next morning. Arrived in PA just in time for the baby to finish his nap in his own bed and then head to my mom's for Easter Dinner! The kids had off yesterday as part of their Spring Break so that was a bonus as it gave us time to gently EASE back into reality before the alarms went off for school! . Thanks for being patient with me as I promised you a celeb panel of judges, a video blog and the five finalists...ALL of which did NOT happen! So, I am here to redeem myself...I will allow EVERYONE a finalist position...LET THE VOTING BEGIN! . Hmmmmm....Grrrrrr....the linky thingy isn't workin..... http://juliekirbyblog.blogspot.com/2008/03/oh-boy-another-contest.html http://ricetrio.blogspot.com/2008/03/help-me-win-this-contest.html (first photo) http://peach867.blogspot.com/2008/03/contest-entry.html http://multiplemomt.blogspot.com/2008/03/no-mommie-thats-not-poop-oatmeal-cream.html http://shanemerrittfamily.blogspot.com/2008/03/is-it-spring-yet.html http://wilsonscomingoutofthewoodwork5.blogspot.com/2008/03/yippie-reygann-went-poopy-on-potty-oh.html http://ascapecodturns.blogspot.com/2008/03/photo-contest.html http://alanem.blogspot.com/2008/03/phunny-photos.html http://common-place-book.blogspot.com/ (aka *Jane*) - scroll down to "spaghetti kid" photo . NOW REMEMBER...the caption is part of the entry...so take into consideration what makes the photo FUNNY! The best pairing of caption and photo will be our winner! . Invite your friends/bloggers/politicians to vote for your photo on THIS POST!!!

I WILL DO A FRIDAY VIDEO BLOG (instead of Thursday) ANNOUNCING THE WINNER!!