Kumquats and such

A few weeks ago, I received an email from Pandora  asking me to fill out a survey and in return, they would send me a bracelet with 1 glass bead.  I was skeptical, but hey, what did I have to lose?  So I filled it out and what do you know, three weeks later this came in the mail: Definitely my style, and my first true Pandora bead!  Turns out the internet isn't totally ridden with scams!  

You all saw the amazing kitchen in yesterday's post, and now you can see little miss Reagan actually playing with it.  She absolutely loves all the drawers and doors on it, and of course, she loves the little telephone that sits on the countertop.  The oven & microwave even have buttons that make noise!  She can't quite reach the microwave yet, but I'm sure that will only be a matter of time and a couple more inches. Perfect size...I'll have her doing dishes in no time. Hmm...what's in here? Very focused in the kitchen, just like Daddy! Sporting her Justin Bieber look, Reagan shows off her new kitchen! And Lynsey & Brian , gave Reagan a new bike helmet (to go with the gift we're getting her).  It fits perfectly and Reagan toted it around all afternoon and evening.  Can't wait to get some use out of it once we get her a bike seat! Yay for my new helmet!  Thanks Lynsey, Brian & Mason! It's kind of like a purse:)

When Reagan wakes up today, she's going to be thrilled...at her very first 1st birthday gift from Grandma & Grandpa!  We're heading up to VA to celebrate, but knowing I always have limited space when I travel, Grandma had it shipped to the house early.  Since Reagan won't even know it's her birthday, I thought it would be ok to assemble ahead of time:) As always, Grandma got the best kitchen available! Lots of parts & pieces...wish Jason was here to do the assembly work:) Final product, complete with pots & pans, dishes & silverware! Thanks Grandma & Grandpa for an awesome gift!  We'll get some pictures of our "little chef" soon.  Can't wait to see you in a week!  Love you both so very much.

On Wednesday morning, after a lovely stay with Lynsey & Brian, we got into the car once again and drove the short distance to Raleigh to see Colleen, Keith & Max.  Jessica & Sean have been raving about Souplantation , so we stopped there for lunch.  It lived up to the hype and I ate way too much!  After that, we arrived at Colleen & Keith's house.  They were both still at work and Max was at "school," so we decided to take a trip to their neighborhood pool.  After a brief swim, I suggested that we do a crossfit workout that included swimming, so we did!  It was 5 pushups, 20 air squats, and a 30m swim across the pool (repeat 5 times).    When we finished, Jessica and Sean decided it wasn't enough of a workout, so we added 5 minutes of constant handstands (against a wall) or flutter kicks...no breaks!  Jessica and I went first while Sean watched Reagan and kept time.  I haven't done handstands in years, so I was compl...

On Tuesday, we embarked on our longest drive yet...from Charlottesville to Winston-Salem (almost 5 hours)!  It was a rough drive as we were all quite sore from our lake adventures, but we endured.  We were heading to see Lynsey & Brian's new house!  I had seen it on a previous trip to Winston, but it was before they actually closed, so it was still full of the previous owner's furniture and I was excited to see how they decorated.  It is absolutely gorgeous!  And they've already done a ton of work to the place, adding an extra wall, putting up a fence, filling it with beautiful furniture (to include a handmade GORGEOUS dining room table with chairs and a bench made by Brian's father), and have plans to do even more.  Jessica and Sean slept in the playroom, while Reagan and I got to spend the night in the bedroom in the downstairs apartment.  Brian's parents, Jim & Doris, were in town to help with some of the house/deck renovations and they sle...

On July 4th, we celebrated in style!  First, Jessica, Sean, Justin, Reagan and I participated in a local 5k around the lake's golf course.  Perk #1, it was free.  Perk #2, it helped burn off all those extra calories I consumed because we were on vacation and we ate everything and anything we saw!  Everyone did well, Sean finished first of our group, with Justin close behind.  Jessica won our age group, and Reagan and I brought up the rear.   Team Progenex representing Justin & Sean pre-race After the race, Justin & Alicia had to leave, so we headed back to the house to let them pack.  Once we said our goodbyes, Rich, Haley, Liam, Jessica, Sean, Reagan and I loaded up the boat and headed out for some more knee boarding and tubing.  Haley got some great pictures of this with Rich's camera, but I haven't gotten those yet.   When we finished an exhausting couple hours of fun, I left Reagan in the capable hands of Sean & Haley for ...

On Saturday morning, we woke up and packed the car.  Then we headed west to Charlottesville, where we were meeting Sean's dad at Lake Monticello.  The drive was about 3 hours and we were delighted to get out of the car and hop into the lake!  We were greeted by Rich, Maureen, Haley, & Liam plus Licorice, Maggie, Ringo, Sadie, & Riley (the 5 Mulder dogs!).  Tommy was somewhat well behaved with all of them, but I was cautious after his run in with another dog earlier this year, so he pretty much kept to himself in our room.  Liam was kind enough to give Reagan, Tommy and I his room for the trip and we were grateful. We got a snack, and then quickly made our way down to the water.  After a swim, or rather, a float on the inner tubes (so Reagan could participate), Jessica, Haley, Reagan and I went for a long walk.  Then we went in for a delicious dinner.  Following dinner, we hopped on the pontoon boat for a nice ride around the lake.  ...