Kumquats and such

Barbara who?  Well, honestly, I have no idea what her last name is.  All I know is that she is in the digital photography class I'm taking and she's quite possibly one of the most fabulous people I've ever met.  Now I hesitate to estimate her age, but I know she's in the "senior citizen" category because she was thrilled to only pay $5 for the class instead of $70 like the rest of us.  Let's just leave it at "senior citizen." I have only met Barbara twice, but her zest for life is apparent in each and every word that leaves her mouth.  She comes to photography class straight from a tap class that she's taking with her friend Kay.  I know it sounds cheesy, but this woman inspires me to get the most out of each day.  She's a kind soul and I took this picture of her at our last class.  I hope each of you has someone like this in your life.

As the weather cools down, I've been dressing Reagan in long sleeve onsies and pants.  Now let me start by saying this: yes, I know she looks ridiculous.  But, we weren't going anywhere and her jeans (which would have looked great) were in the hamper...so purple sweatpants were the easy solution. For those of you who are totally honest, you'll note that our daughter's hair leaves something to be desired.  She slightly resembles (ok, her hair specifically, not anything else) Kim Jong Il.  Don't believe me, Google it.  So a few people have suggested putting a bow in her hair or on her head to improve the situation. Let's all admit right now:  this bow does NOT improve the situation.  Sure she looks cute, but that's because she's chubby.  It was the first, and last bow she'll wear until she actually has enough hair to put in it! If she was wearing leg warmers, I swear she could do an infomercial for the Thigh Master:)

As I mentioned earlier, we went to Northern Virginia to visit both sides of the family this past weekend.  Incredibly enough, we were able to take not one, but two "4 Generation" pictures!  I'll share more about the trip later, but for now, here are a couple really memorable photos. Grandpa Rick, Great Grandma "Gram" Linda, Jason & Reagan Great Grandpa Ted, Great Grandma Isabel, Grandma Cindi, Jason & Reagan

Watching football with Daddy! Getting bored with football:) One shot in this leg, two in the other! Can't forget our original baby...Tommy is more tired of this rain than any of us!

For anyone watching the weather channel (or living along the mid-Atlantic region), you know that we've had record rainfall in the past couple days.  We used to have a drainage ditch alongside our house, now we have a small river.  Seriously, I could float Reagan down the "river" in her whale bathtub...but Jason won't let me. Ok, back on topic: I have a mild case of cabin fever.  On Tuesday, I baked zucchini bread using the giant zucchini.  Now the recipe calls for 2 cups of shredded zucchini for which it suggests using 3-4 mid-size zucchinis.  My giant zucchini not only yielded 1/4 of its mass for fried zucchini sticks on Monday night, but I used the rest of it to create the required amount of shredded zucchini for my bread!  That's one heck of a vegetable! I started by preheating the oven to 325 and greasing and flouring 2 8x4-in loaf pans.  Then I mixed the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Next, I beat...

As you know, yesterday was Reagan's 2-month appointment where she received 3 shots:(  Jason met us at the hospital where we were "seen" 15 minutes earlier than our 9am appt!  That never happens, right?  Right.  We actually just went back early to get her length/weight (24 1/4 inches, 13.2 pounds) and other vitals...then we waited almost 20 minutes for the nurse practitioner to finally come see Reagan.  No worries, though, we were still on track to make it out of the hospital at a reasonable hour...that is until she said, "Ok, now go take Reagan to the immunization room."  Jason and I look at each other dumbfounded thinking, "What, you mean you don't just take care of that here?!" Turns out, that everyone in Jacksonville was visiting Camp Lejeune Naval Hospital to get shots yesterday. After we signed in and they ushered us to an alternate waiting room due to the max capacity limit being reached in the actual waiting room, Jason decided to go back ...

I went out to the garden to pick a squash and a zucchini for dinner yesterday, and this is what I found: Yup, it's a massive zucchini!  Those squash are normal size, but the zucchini weighed in at 3 3/4 pounds, was 15 inches in length, and had a girth of 12 inches.  I have no idea how this happened, but strongly considered entering it into the local county fair next week. Actual size:  Just a bit smaller than Reagan!