Kumquats and such

Nearly three years ago, we arrived in Jacksonville, NC and Jason took command of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines. He proudly led this amazing group of young men through two deployments and too many training exercises to count. And while he will not miss all the late night/weekend phone calls about Marines getting into trouble, he will definitely miss his time as a company commander. If you ask any Marine officer, current or former, they will tell you that being a captain in command of a company is by far the greatest job you will ever have. Jason was blessed to experience not only his two and a half years with Charlie Company, but a year with Alpha Company at Marine Barracks Washington! Recently, we were lucky to attend his Change of Command ceremony. Here are a few pictures from the event: The company formed up and waiting for the ceremony to begin. The company first sergeant delivering the guidon to Jason.  Reading the relief order. Passing th...

During the first weekend of June, we were lucky enough to be able to leave Reagan and Tommy with Grandma and Grandpa yet again and head off for some "kid-free" adventures! Jason was celebrating his 10 year reunion at The University of Virginia. We arrived in Charlottesville in the early afternoon on Friday and immediately settled into our hotel: After that, we hopped in the car and headed to the Corner where we grabbed some lunch and then visited the  Ragged Mountain Running Shop  where Jason worked when he attended the University. We ate at a place called Take It Away and the sandwiches were ridiculously awesome: They all this crack sauce and now I totally know why:) Jason with the shop owner As you can see in the picture above, it was raining cats and dogs, so we hung out in the running shop for quite some time! When it finally slowed down, we made a break for it and ran to the car. We drove back to the hotel to change and meet up with Cody an...

A while ago, Reagan and I went over to play with her friend, Chloe. Chloe's mom, Katie, is fabulous. She does an amazing job of keeping her daughter engaged in activities that are not only fun, but an opportunity for learning and skill progression. That day, the girls spent about 45 minutes playing with colored spaghetti noodles. Well, Reagan played with them and then ate them:) I asked Katie where she had gotten such a great idea, and she turned me on to this great website called Play At Home Mom LLC . This site is FULL of amazing, inexpensive ideas to stay actively engaged with your child/children. So, one Sunday afternoon, while Reagan napped, I got to work on making some colored rice. Here's the breakdown: 1. Supplies: White vinegar (or rubbing alcohol), sandwich bags, food coloring, rice (I got the cheapest bags - 1 pound for $1) 2. Mix the dye - 1 1/2 tsp vinegar and 15 drops of food coloring 3. Add 1 cup of rice to the dye 4. Mix rice by mushing ...