Kumquats and such

For someone who's allergic to shellfish, I sure spend a lot of time at a Crab House:)  This time, it was a trip with great friends visiting from 29 Palms!  They were stationed in Jacksonville before we all met in Georgia and they loved it here.  Buddy's was one of their favorite places, so we had to go visit for (what I'm told is the greatest) crabby shrimp dip and fried shrimp basket.  It was a beautiful day and after lunch we went down on the beach to let the kiddos play.  Joe (their almost 2-year old) had a fabulous time getting soaked playing in the ocean. Rich and Fightin' Joe McKenzie Serious Joe face How beautiful does this day look?!! Happy McKenzie Family:) This kid isn't afraid of anything! "But Dad, I'm not ready to get out!" Seriously handsome!  What a great kid! One of the local sky rats found a treat...a fish head!  Yuck!

Ok, after typing the title, I realize it sounds kind of morbid.  Forgive me, but I'm lacking creativity right now.  What it was supposed to imply is that we need ways to remember Jason while he's deployed.  Some people post pictures, maps, etc to talk about the deployed family member and show where they are.  That doesn't quite work for a 9-month old.  Other people buy "daddy dolls" (cloth dolls with pictures of the deployed person imposed on them), but they are kind of expensive, so we haven't done that yet.  Instead, we decided to make some home movies of Reagan and her daddy doing normal, everyday activities...reading, bath time, getting ready for bed. On Monday night, we watched it for the first time and Reagan loved it!  We also have video of Grandma and Grandpa reading to Miss Reagan so she can remember them too.  The idea came from our wonderful home visiting nurse, Wendy.  I'm so pleased with it!

For nearly three wonderful years (June 2006-Jan 2009), I lived in or close to Washington D.C. and had ready access to any and all types of food.  I cruised Eastern Market for fresh cuts of meat, veggies, and flowers.  I could walk to Harris Teeter or drive a short distance to Trader Joe's or Whole Foods to pick up all varieties of delicious treats. Then I moved to Jacksonville.  A place where a beef tenderloin is no where to be found - stores don't carry them for fear of theft (although I have no idea how someone would steal such a thing).  A town where I get strange looks for asking if the clerk knows where I could find polenta as if I made up such a food.  So for the past year and a half, whenever we wanted something besides ground beef and a head of iceberg lettuce, we've ventured to Wilmington to visit one of the three Harris Teeter's in a 5 mile radius.  Well NO MORE!  A Harris Teeter has come to Hampstead, just a short 25-30 minute drive south....

On Saturday, 14 May, an organization called Hope for the Warriors  hosted the 6th annual Run for the Warriors event.  This consisted of a half marathon, 10k, 5k, and 1 mile fun run/walk around Jacksonville, NC.  The event was well run (no pun intended) and my friend Alexis Steele headed up the volunteers who did a phenomenal job.  The course was well mapped and marked and there were plenty of aid stations with water, Gatorade, and Jolly Ranchers!  At 0700, a group of wounded warriors and other motivators started the half marathon.  Following at 0740, the 10k runners took off.  And 10 minutes after that, the 5k group went.  I have no idea when the 1 mile run/walk happened, but I'm sure it went off seamlessly. My friend, Michelle Sullivan, and I did several 5ks last year when our husbands were deployed and had a blast.  This year, as the fellas are gone again, we decided to start with a bang, so we opted for the 10k.  I pushed Reagan in...

Apparently my baby doesn't realize that's just a phrase... As I told my sister, a "good" mother would probably have raced over to clean her up...not this gal, I had to get pictures first!  Ended up running inside to attempt to get her to drink out of a cup and wash her mouth out.  It was a tough task though...babies don't know how to spit (unless performing Skinner monster:)

On Monday morning, following the baptism, Jason said a sad goodbye to his mom, dad, and brother.  Unlike the usual goodbyes (that always bring tears from Mil:), this one was tougher because they were saying goodbye for 7 months.  And on Thursday at 0100, Reagan and I took Jason to his office to say our farewells.  He has left for his fourth deployment .  As difficult as it was for him to leave last January, knowing he would miss the birth of his first child, I cannot fathom how much worse this one was as he hugged and kissed his daughter for the last time on Thursday morning.  And even though I hated to see him leave (although we didn't actually stay to see the buses pull away this time...in our small effort to keep Reagan on somewhat of a schedule), I know he and his company are well prepared for this deployment.  We will probably not hear from him as often as we did during the MEU deployment, but whenever we do, I will pass along the updates.  ...

On Saturday, 7 May 2011, Reagan was baptized at St. Paul UMC.  The day started with the service at 9am in the beautiful chapel.  Reagan wore a gorgeous baptism gown (given to her by Grandma & Grandpa) from the Irish store.  It was a short ceremony and Reagan rivaled Pastor Wayne for attention by chattering throughout the entire thing!  Once that was complete, everyone headed to Grandma & Grandpa's house for an amazing brunch.  Cindi had done a month's worth of planning and had help from many different people.  The decorations were perfect and the food was delicious.  Uncle Kevin made a gorgeous fruit salad and served it from a carved watermelon, Aunt Sheri provided her famous ham biscuits, Aunt Steph (even though she was working) sent two huge dishes of hashbrown casserole, Aunt Lori brought a tasty ham and egg casserole and brought pepper jelly too!  Aunt Terry brought way too many bags of fabulous chocolate, and Barbara Turner finished o...