Gotta love being home.

Well i hope you had a chance to enjoy the video above this post and yes that is a red clown nose i am wearing. It just seemed fitting with this blog. A few nights ago i was hanging out with my nephews and we started making these videos. We all had tears we were laughing so hard so i hope you enjoy. NOW....When people ask me if i love living in Boston i always say but that the one thing i miss most is my family especially my nephews and nieces and so while i have been home i've been trying to get my fill of the cutest kids on earth. I've taken them swimming, bought snow cones, watched movies, played hide and go seek, babysat by watching cartoons, broken up my fair share of sibling fights, and of course laughed and laughed. Life just doesn't get any better. When i first saw my niece madeline she ran straight to me yelled AUNT JO and wouldn't let me put her down for 30 min. This is the same niece that will walk around the house for 20 min having a pretend converstation with me. Then there are my three nephews Preston, London, and Jackson that live in Idaho. I love these boys so much. They are OUT OF CONTROl but the most well behaved kids ever. I always joke that i am going to have my brother craig and his wife april raise my kids because they have done such a great job. for example when we were leaving the swimming pool Preston who is 7 looks at me and says thanks for coming to the pool today, and after my mom made everyone chocolate milkshakes Jackson looks at my mom and says thanks for the milkshakes nana. I love it. My favorite moment was when London and i ran out into the backyard we saw my mom standing by the swingset with a full size ladder and Jackson was standing at the very top. He is 4. London yells at the top of his lungs, "nana what are you doing he is only a child." It was hilarious. This little boy isn't even in kindergarten yet and already he can read most children books and he is the wittiest kid ever i love it. BUT my favorite thing has been to play Rockband on the WII with them. Preston on the guitar, Jackson on the drums, and London and i belting out the lyrics. Its been a blast. I should also mention these boys have the cutest little sister Brooklyn Sophia and they adore her! it reminds me a lot of my 4 older brothers and me.I also want to mention that i have the greatest nieces and nephews in California that i am hoping to see before i head back east. They are the most beautiful kids ever and a total blast.

4 things

Today i realized a few things, 4 to be exact
1. Because marci no longer lives with me i am going to have to break down and buy a digital camera... or any type camera for that matter...
2. Its never a good idea to paint an entire wood playhouse with only a brush and a bucket of paint. Let me just say this it has been over 8 years since the thing has been painted and it will probably be another 8 years before i paint it again but i will be investing in a roller, and a paint pan. The best part about the whole thing is i couldn't reach some parts of the roof so i just left them. This would bug most people but not me. Hey, it looks better then it did. I also realized my parents need a new ladder. I knew there was a problem when i had an escape plan of how to break the least amount of bones if the thing buckled below me. and finally i wish i had a camera to get a picture of me covered in paint. Funny story. My mom didn't know i was painting and thought i was out runnung well needless to say when i walked up onto the deck covered in red paint she panicked and thought i had been attacked. Pretty classic Carol moment.
3. Baseball really is America's pastime and in the past few years i have found a new and bigger place in my heart for it. here is a great link explaining this better. http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=3488077&name=gammons_peter&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fespn%2fblog%2findex%3fentryID%3d3488077%26name%3dgammons_peter
4. Today i got to babysit my niece madeline and nephew Sherman. My niece is beyond cute and for some reason just adores me. Everytime she sees me she yells about Aunt JoAnna and runs straight to me and will give me the biggest hugs. I think it is payback from how her dad my brother teased me without end while i was growing up. Anyway today while i was babysitting i had sherman on half my lap and madeline on the other. The three of us sat there drinking chocolate milk and watching tom and jerry. It was a highlight and made me realize cartoons really are the best babysitting tactic and anyone who doesn't let their kids watch them is straight up crazy. also old school cartoons that i grew up on like tom and jerry is a billion times better then the new ones they have today.

Totally Random

This blog post could be all over the place so try and keep up. Its been a good while since i last blogged and a lot has been going on. First i am currently on the west coast hanging in Idaho its been over 7 months since i have been home and so far its as great as i remembered. Although i will say one nice added addition would be the Red box that is know located at the Maverick Gas station. nothing like killing two birds with one stone huh. But before i got to Idaho i went on the best road trip ever. The highlight was most definitely Niagara Falls. Especially when the two guys that were doing the weeding were right on the edge of the bank. The one guy who was right next to the giant falls had a regular rope wrapped around his waist not even tied tight and his buddy was standing a few feet back with the end of the rope in one of his hands. I will guarantee that when that guy slips and goes over his friend will not be able to save him. Another highlight was stopping in Nebraska. I ate at the most amazing Saloon ever. I knew it was a real winner when a 90 yr old woman walked in called the staff by name, ordered a drink with hard alcohol and then when the waitress walked by she said "The usual Bev?" It was awesome. On top of that the tvs only had country music videos from the early 90's. It was like being apart of the real American dream. I made a pit stop in Utah with my roommate Marci because her family invited me to Lake Powell for the 4th of July. I was sooo excited because i have never been to lake powell. Let me say this all the hype around lake powell is for real. It was beautiful with the rocks, hot everyday, and with the most amazing water. I would say the highlight of this trip is the fact that our entire house boat was COVERED and i do mean COVERED in leopard and Zebra print. I am talking blankets, pillows, lamps, wall hangings, even fabric draped along the top, dishes, towels, it was amazing. The house boat was huge and went by the name of Animal house. I LOVED it.

I have know been home for 3 days and i have been running along a path behind by house it goes along the snake river canyon and right by Shoshone falls. I love this area because i had an experience a few years back when I was sitting on the canyon rim thinking and praying when i had one of those moments when I knew that i was someone special with a god in heaven that knows me by name and loves me. The funny thing is that as much as i love being home i miss Boston like crazy. I never knew that a place so far from home could be so dear to me. I knew i loved the city but i didn't realize i would miss it this much BUT the thing that has struck me the most about being away for a bit is how much i miss the people there. They truly have become my family. I have been blessed on a few occasions to find people in life that change my it, or help me improve, or bring a little more happiness into my life and it seems like heavenly father always knows just the perfect time to put those people in motion so that i can discover them and so that i am then changed for the better.

I also had an experience while i have been home where i was able to run into someone who has probably caused more pain to me then anyone. I haven't seen this person for over 6 years, and it was only by chance that i ran into her downtown. I was shocked, shaking, anxious, and overcome with a feeling that i should approach her and say hello. I talked it over with my mom and she said if you feel like you can do it then do it, so i did, and I am soooo glad that i did. I have worked and worked and worked over the years to try and understand this person, to try and understand her emotions, and actions, and the way she has treated me and my family when at one time i pretty much lived in their house and spent everyday with her daughters. I didn't understand, but i knew that unless i forgave her it would do more damage to me. So that is what i have tried to do for 6 years is forgive her and understand. And yesterday when I saw her and gave her a hug and wished her the best I knew that i had witnessed a small miracle in my life. I was able to forgive her and it is probably the scariest and most happiest thing in my life. Its a lot harder to forgive someone then to just hold a grudge, but it feels a billion times better. ok ok enough of the serious stuff.... Well i better wrap this post up but here is a link to something my friend Jeff showed me... it is the funniest thing i have seen on the web in a long time.... so enjoy!!!! ps sorry this post was a bit long and like i warned from the beginning all over the place.

http://www.cojoweb.com/audio_accident.html YOU WILL NOT REGRET LISTENING TO THIS!!!