Welcome to Blogging!

Our great friends Jess and Ryan have a new blog... and a new baby coming soon! Congratulations and much love from us!!!

A Few Updates!

So we've been busy! Two weekends ago we had planned to go camping with Chris & Chrissy, Kristi & Cary, and Mike & Megan... unfortunately there was a fire ban so we scrapped our plans and hung out at our house for the weekend. It was so nice to see everyone again! :)

This past weekend, while BJ hung out here, I took off for 'the Bend' with Jessica and Ryan for Jess's baby shower! She's adorable! I can't wait for her baby to come (and to find out if its a baby girl or boy)! It was also great to spend some time with my family before they took off for their NC vacation. :)

Also... yesterday was Kate's birthday!!! Happy 28th babe!

Here's some photos.... Jess and I...



Jess and a camo onesie from her brother Andy (who's overseas)...


Jess's sister Val, her mom Kathy, and Jess...



Julie and Oliver...



Mom and Oliver...

Here's a Tip

Just like not grocery shopping while hungry... buying cookbooks can have the same effect. Sausage pie with onion gravy sounded great yesterday. Today... not so much. :)

Updates coming soon!

Hiya!

So BJ and I have a wonderful weekend with Tim and Erin. We always say this, but we wish so much they lived closer. We had some unexpected fun finding purebred puppies on the side of the road, flattening pennies, rounding up caches, and riding dinosaurs! :) About the puppy... we didn't have a camera, but it pretty much looked like this. In the end, it turned out to be a Great Pyrenees (i.e. one huge dog)! Needless to say, BJ was pretty glad we found the owners. :)

Life update... BJ and I have now tried sushi. BJ bought some fresh from Jungle Jims and surprise surprise, it was actually good! I'm guessing that's because you couldn't really taste the fish under the rice, seaweed (?), other unknown greens, and soy sauce. :)

Here's a little nonsense for your day (in honor of our little road side find, Tim, & Erin). Sound is key... so turn it up. :)

Busy with FUN

Starting (hopefully... are we still on Erin and Tim?) this weekend BJ and/or I will be gone every weekend for a month! Here's our lives in weekend order... 1) Campbellsburg, 2) Indianapolis (just Jessie), 3) Lafayette (go Boilers!), 4) Clifty Falls, and 5) Granger (baby showering... just Jessie)... Whew! :)



This Thursday BJ and I start back up with our (now) high school sophomore group. By the end I'll hopefully won't struggle so much trying to spell sophomore!

More Costa Rica Photos

If you'd like to see more photos from our trip, we've got them all online. :)
http://picasaweb.google.com/mrsjessicamurphy

Lessons from Costa Rica...

1. Rice and beans may sound strange for breakfast... but it's one of the best things about Costa Rica food (even better than rice and beans for dinner).

2. White faced monkeys can't be trusted.

3. Two toed sloths are 3% excrement. (We actually overheard another tour guide stating this fact, because sloths only do number 2 every 2 weeks.)

4. If you're wondering what the weather's like in Costa Rica during rainy season... it's sunny and stormy and beautiful.

Costa Rica Photos

BJ and I got home last night from our ten day trip to Costa Rica with Caravan Tours. We had an awesome time! We spent the trip traveling all over Costa Rica, getting a chance to see a wide range of landscapes (ocean, hills, volcanoes, mountains, rain forests) and animals (monkeys, sloths, huge spiders, poisen dart frogs, scarlet macaws, toucans, coati).

One of our favorite places was Tortuguero (which you can only fly or take a boat to get to), where we stayed in open air cabins in the jungle and were awakened each morning by howler monkeys. This is not one of our videos... but this does give a great idea of what it sounded like in the early morning there. We were able to see a lot of monkeys each day just by walking outside.



Here are some of the white faced monkeys...



Also in Tortuguero (and in Jaco) we were able to see sea turtles come in from the ocean to lay their eggs. We have a video of it from Jaco that we might post later.

In Fortuna we stayed in this hotel with an incredible view of the Arenal Volcano, which is still active.



We could see plumes of ash and smoke coming from the top. At night we took a tour of the volcano to see the hot lava and rocks flowing. It looked like an amazing fireworks show... but the real thing!



There's so much more to share but I don't want to just type on and on. We would definitely recommend this tour if anyone is considering a trip to Costa Rica!!

Here in Costa Rica

Hey Everyone! BJ and I are currently at a coffee plantation near San Jose, CR. We have been having an amazing time and will be home tomorrow. We leave bright and early. Miss you all and wish you were here! No time left.

- Jessie and BJ

Strange But True

Cheveon Ford, 21, was arrested in Pensacola, Fla., in July and charged with making false 911 calls; according to authorities, Ford's only explanation was that he had no more minutes on his phone and knew that 911 calls were free. [WFTV (Orlando), 7-25-07]

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In July, a tractor-trailer overturned on Walker Road in Norridgewock, Maine, and its contents of nitrogen-concentrated chicken manure spilled onto rusted cars and the rest of the property of junk dealer Richard White. Days later, "There's stuff still 20 feet up the tree," he said. "It was like a tsunami wave of hot chicken (manure)," he told the Waterville Morning Sentinel. White grumbled that the truck company was slow on the cleanup, probably, he said, because his property is largely junk. "They think I'm a hick and don't matter. But my life didn't smell like this before." And "I hate flies." [Morning Sentinel, 7-31-07]

How To Fold a Fitted Sheet

This is a silly thing to post... but I saw this on another blog and it made me smile. Those durn fitted sheets.

{click me}

Preparing for Costa Rica

Hey all who may read this! We have been pretty busy as of late working and getting ready for our trip to Costa Rica.... only four days left! Last night I bought a cheep wedding band so I can leave my real band and e-ring behind.

Here's a map of our C.R. travels...



It's rainy season so we're all prepared to get drenched. We've got waterproof/resistant shoes, pants and jackets!

Pyow Pyow!

Getting out the Roller Blades...

Yesterday we gained a paved road!!! We can now bike, run, rollerblade, kartwheel down the road! Yippie! This is just stage one. Once more houses are "installed" we'll get another layer of pavement (or asphalt... I'm not sure what it is).



I love the way the road workers still had to wear those bright yellow vests... like some maniac might run them over... out in our coldasac... in the middle of no where... at 10am.



After I took this last photo they went and smoothed it all out. Perdy.

Super Fun Friends...

So this weekend the fabulous Kate and Matt drove all the way down here for a visit! We had a GREAT time with them here, and we miss them already! Here's a few photos. :)




By the way... I got my hair CHOPPED! Eight inches! The girl doing the cutting was nervous to chop off that much. I feel breezy. :)

Super Fun Family...

I have so much to catch up on. Last weekend I went home to South Bend and had an awesome time with my family. I was able to just hang out and relax and it was really nice! I also got some really cute pictures of my sista Julie. She's adorable. :) Mom's here in the background. She's adorable too. :)

Pass Me The ICE!

So it's been pretty hot lately... as you can see today it feels like 105.

And so, it goes without saying (even though I'll say it anyway) that yesterday our air conditioner blew a gasket (or something). I don't know really what blew, but it wasn't cold air. :) With basically no wind the temperature in our house reached 90 degrees yesteday, even with all of the windows open.

Thankfully, we were able to talk to our repair guys last night. The cold air dudes came out this morning and replaced the entire unit!

That's How I Roll...

My New Shirt For Babies... (click to open the shop!) :)

Antiques Roadshow

So today BJ and I were in Louisville for the Antiques Roadshow (and no, Chad, it's not a car show). :) We waited in lines A LOT, but it was a very cool experience just the same. We were able to see a lot of other people's junk, and a lot of other people's cool stuff. :)

One of the things we brought with us was this bank that belonged to BJ's grandfather as a child. You put the penny in William Tell's riffle and it shoots the apple off the boy's head. :) Unbroken value (who broke it is still a mystery in the Murphy family) = $400 - $600. Broken value = $200. :)




We also took a knife from WW2 ($150), another bank ($50 - $75), and an inlaid table ($200 - $250). Needless to say we're not going to be on the show... except maybe in the background of a few shots. :)

I Say It's Art....

BJ thinks it's just wierd. My obsession with the grey cat continues... :)



Mom and Dad... you really need to get one. They're a riot. :)