Kumquats and such

In mid-June, Lynsey & Colleen drove up from NC, arriving just in time to hop back in the Subaru with me and pick Jessica up from her cross-country trip!! The next morning, Jessica surprised Reagan (who had no idea she was here!) and we took her to school for the day. Child-free on a Friday, we took full advantage, relaxing at home for a couple hours and then going to get our nails done. After our mani/pedis, we drove into Old Town and grabbed lunch at the Columbia Firehouse...one of our favorite spots. Then we hopped back in the car and went to pick up Reagan who was REALLY SURPRISED to see that Colleen & Lynsey had joined the gang!  That afternoon, we just lounged around and waited for Jason to get home from work. While we waited, the girls gave Reagan a bath... That night, we headed back into Old Town, stopped for pictures near the waterfront and then walked to Landini Brothers for a drink...we ended up staying for dinner. Everything was delicious, especially

In mid-May, we started working on letters with Reagan. She's really done a great job with them, but she definitely gets frustrated with herself during the process:) It's cute though and eventually, she always comes back to the table and finishes her worksheets! So far we've done A, B, C & this week we're working on D. And each week, as we move on to a new letter, we review the others and it's awesome to see how much better Reagan has gotten in just a short time! Here are a few pictures from the other day when we went over "A" again...I love how focused she is!

For Easter, Grandma gave Reagan a "Live Butterfly Garden" kit.  We waited until the weather warmed and then ordered the caterpillars. They arrived in a small tupperware with the food already in the bottom. There were four in total, one of which was really tiny! Over the next two weeks, we checked them every day and watched them grow!  These only show them on the first day. They got so much bigger! After they ate enough food and were large enough, they formed chrysalises (or "crystals" as Reagan called them:). The larger ones were formed within a day of each other. The small one took a bit longer, but finally formed a chrysalis, so we moved them into the butterfly habitat. (I failed to take pictures of these steps) About 7-10 more days after the chrysalises first formed, the first butterfly emerged! Over the next few days, the others became butterflies. We put flowers in the bottom of the habitat and sprinkled them with sugar water to feed the butt

A couple Fridays ago it would NOT STOP RAINING! Reagan and I spent the day inside, doing chores, playing, practicing letters, and doing our best not to go crazy! By 4:45, we couldn't take it any longer, so we donned our rain gear, hopped in the car, and drove to Krispy Kreme to celebrate National Doughnut Day! We almost got there too late...the case was practically empty! Luckily the were serving fresh, hot, glazed doughnuts and even better, they were free! It was the only "errand" we ran all day, but it sure was fun!

On Tuesday, June 4th, family, friends and colleagues gathered on the Speaker's Balcony of the Capitol building to witness and celebrate Jason's promotion to major. In total there were nearly 50 people present!!! Reagan dressed in her finest for Daddy's big day! Reagan and Grandma (with GG in the background) posed in front of the Capitol Jason introduced Papa to his boss, Congressman Mac Thornberry Once the ceremony started, Reagan got to hang out with her buddy Jon (also from Daddy's office:) Serving as the event's host, Mac said some wonderful words about Jason - and about his devotion to serving his country - he ended by saying how fitting it was that Jason's promotion ceremony should take place so close to the very spot where presidents are inaugurated  Jason's former Commanding Officer, LtCol Tyler Zagurski, was the presiding officer and also had some great things to say about Jason After the gentlemen spoke, the ord