Saturday morning, Taylor had her first day at Soccer Bugs!! She is in a small class with other 2-3 year olds, including our friends little guy Aaron. It was quite entertaining watching the kids pop bubbles, act like animals, play red light/green light and then a little bit of kicking a ball around in there. Not as much "soccer" as we were expecting but 45 minutes of running around on a Saturday morning sounds good to us!
Monday, September 20, 2010
What a weekend!!
Saturday morning, Taylor had her first day at Soccer Bugs!! She is in a small class with other 2-3 year olds, including our friends little guy Aaron. It was quite entertaining watching the kids pop bubbles, act like animals, play red light/green light and then a little bit of kicking a ball around in there. Not as much "soccer" as we were expecting but 45 minutes of running around on a Saturday morning sounds good to us!
Monday, September 13, 2010
Back in business
So summer has come and gone. It was so much fun! We were super busy and had something going on almost every weekend since June but I wouldn't take any of it back.....I'll catch up on sleep one day! HA! Dear Crazy.....
What did we do you ask? What didn't we do? We went to the beach twice - once to Duck, NC for our annual trip with Todd & Jac and once to Ocean City for our 3rd annual long weekend with Tom, Angela, Lauren & Antonio. Ben played a lot of golf and Taylor & I spent most weekends at Heather's pool. We went to a carnival, down to National Harbor for Pa John's birthday, Housewarming parties, bowling at King Pinz (new bowling alley in the Burg - go check it out!!), closed out Labor Day at the VA Tech football game and had lots of family time.
I've ran in 7 5K's so far in 2010! Amanda and I have a goal to run 10 in 2010 and we are well on our way to making it happen. Every race has been fun and challenging. This last one on 9/11, I set my personal best time and it's only made me want to go harder and do it again on October 9th! I'll have sissy pushing me along and Amanda waiting at the finish line with my Pumpkin Spice Latte (it's her sister's wedding day so she won't be running this one) so between those two - I'll have the motivation I need.
I'm attaching a link to our Summer pictures. WARNING - there are ALOT of them! So if you feel like looking through them all..... CLICK HERE FOR THE LINK TO SNAPFISH
We've got lots of fun stuff coming up - starting this weekend with Seca & Brian's wedding on Friday and Taylor's first day of soccer on Saturday. Until then.....
Friday, April 9, 2010
It's Spring - no wait....
Monday, March 8, 2010
Picture Links & Recap
February Pictures
Now that that's out of the way - Once again I don't know where to start. One of these days I will remember how hard it is to catch up and start updating more often like I used to.
Spring seems to be right around the corner! I couldn't be happier! If you looked at the picture links you will see a common theme - snow, snow and more snow. It was borderline depressing. Luckily Taylor started to enjoy the white stuff so we could go outside and play in it - there wasn't much else to do. ;0)
I realize February is the shortest month in the year but it flew by quick! Between snow storms, working a few extra shifts at the bar and enjoying Taylor's daily expanding vocabulary - I hardly believed March was here. And with March - you know what that means......I will be buried in college basketball and probably not updating for awhile. Anyone care to place a bet?!?! HA! Dear Crazy!
Hope this finds everyone well!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
The SUN has set
It's official - SUN Microsystems is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oracle. It's been a LONG few months waiting, wondering and searching Google for information of the acquisition and what my future would be. I have to admit - I have made it through quite a few layoffs in my 9 years at SUN and was pretty convinced that my luck had run out. I was wrong - and I couldn't be happier about that fact! I received my offer letter from Oracle yesterday and felt a wave of relief that is barely describable. I'm still not certain what the future holds but I'm looking forward to seeing what Oracle has to offer. It will be a tough task as SUN was an amazing place to work but I suppose since they did it for me - I will give them a chance. ;0)
Monday, January 25, 2010
I'm back....
The weeks since then have been jam packed! We had a date night, Ben's company dinner, a baby shower, Kiara & Amiayah's 3rd & 1st bday party, breakfast with Tucker and most recently a quick trip to Nanny's! I'd like to say things are calming down but it's just getting started. We have more fun stuff coming up - starting this Sunday - Mom's bday! We are heading back down to the Verizon Center this year for another CAPS game! WOOHOO!!
Taylor is growing up faster and faster as each day passes. Her vocabulary is expanding rapidly and she just talks talks talks all the time. Wonder where she got that from! HA! Dear Crazy.....
I never posted a link to our December pics so if you are interested - CLICK HERE!!
Hope this finds everybody well. :)
Monday, December 21, 2009
Snowed in...
Ben decided to shovel in the morning to try to make the process easier in the end. Taylor watched out the window and kept pointing to him so I bundled her all up to take her outside. Once we got out there - she was NOT interested in what Daddy was doing anymore.
So that didn't last long! Actually - it took me longer to get her dressed than our time outside did! Hmmmmm - not loving the snow? She is her mother's daughter! ;0)
I took my turn shoveling later on that afternoon. It was like Ben had never done it with how much had come down in the time in between. It definitely worked out by the time Sunday rolled around though....we only had a few inches to take care of while some of our neighbors had almost 2 feet. We tried taking Taylor out again that morning but again - she wanted nothing to do with it. I'd like to say maybe next time but I hope there isn't one! HA! Dear Crazy.....
Here are a few more pics from Sunday....
Monday, December 14, 2009
Ho Ho NO!
Monday, December 7, 2009
The Holidays are in full swing....
The next morning was another early one with meeting up with Jac & Mom at the Leesburg Outlets for our yearly Black Friday Shopping. We didn't buy too much but it's always a nice time to get together just us girls. I look forward to when Taylor will join us but that's a few (many) years away still.
We celebrated our second Thanksgiving with Ben's family that evening and it was tons-o-fun as well.
This past weekend started out with family photos! We got some good ones but I just put my favorite one below. The rest will be in my December pics on Snapfish later on this month.

Then it was off for "Christmas in the Burg" down at Nanny's. This is always one of my most favorite weekends. This year was no different! Tons of food, laughs and ELMO!! Doesn't get much better. Here are a few pics......
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Runnin' just as fast as we can......
Taylor wanted to cross the finish line too!
No rest for the weary though - we are signed up for the Landsdowne Turkey Trot 5K on Thanksgiving morning! Woot!
Monday, November 9, 2009
Quick trip to Nanny's
Speaking of Elmo - I'm not exactly sure how/when it started but Taylor has a borderline OBSESSION with him. I kid you not - she will bring a remote over to me while saying "Melmo" with her puppy dog blue eyes. It's hard to say no - especially when you get to see her reaction the first time "melmo" comes on to the TV screen. Just precious! So it looks like we've moved on from Dora and the Wonder Pets......for the moment anyway!
Back to the weekend..... we came home from the burg Saturday night after dinner so we could have Sunday to do things around the house and get ready for the work week. So the trip was short but well worth it!
Last night after dropping off the truck in Tyson's for routine maintenance - we went to Jac & Todd's for dinner. Jac made pulled pork (pulled by yours truly) and she bought Taylor organic Elmo mac n cheese with veggies. She was pretty proud of herself and couldn't wait to show TP when we walked in the door. It was a fun night for all!
That's about all that's going on with us. Hope all is well with everyone!
Monday, November 2, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
Mike & Mike In MY Morning
I'm not going to lie - I'm a little tired now but I would do it again and I plan on it once the Skins are good enough to have another home MNF game so M&M come back! Wishful thinking huh?
Here are a few of my pics.......
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Pumpkinville
This morning, Heather and I decided to get out of the house before the rain came around and took Taylor to Pumpkinville at the Leesburg Animal Park. Once we got through admissions and turned the corner, Taylor saw all of the animals and her face lit up like a Christmas tree!! Cows and sheep and roosters - Oh My!! We walked around and she laughed and pointed and made noises for each individual animal that she recognized. Then we got to a part of the park that we were able to enter an area with animals that we could pet and get face to face with. The pic below is far from flattering but it was the funniest part of the day. Taylor made a beeline for the sheep that was minding his own business - she got as close as she could comfortably get and just stared at him. Then out of nowhere - she (not quietly mind you) screamed" BAAAAAAAA" in the poor things face. I cracked up so she did it a few more times before I felt bad for him. I know what he was thinking.....who is this little girl?? DEAR CRAZY!!
We spent a little over an hour with the animals and sliding down slides. Taylor picked out her own little mini pumpkin at the end. All in all - it was a perfect morning!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Coolest. Mom. EVER!!
Friday, October 16, 2009
NC Weekend
That afternoon -after nap time was over for both Taylor and Jonathan - we walked over to the playground so the kids could run around on a beautiful afternoon. Good times were had by all!
Saturday it was Pumpkin Patch day! We went back to the same one that we visited last year and we had an even better time than before. Over the last few weeks - Taylor has learned different barnyard animal sounds and man did she put them to use that morning! She moo'd at cows - baa'd at sheep and I can't even type out her impression of a rooster but believe me when I tell you it's hilarious!
We all took a hayride (tractor ride was more like it) that went around the whole farm and ended up in the pumpkin patch. Jonathan was so excited to pick out a pumpkin. Taylor was more interested in sitting in the dirt and eating her goldfish! HA! Dear Crazy......
That afternoon was spent playing at the house. Taylor found Jonathan's inflatable hippo that was filled with balls and she had a blast in it.
Sunday - I have to start this off with saying Jen is the hostess with the mostest!! She and Ian had a set of FREE club level tickets to the Skins vs. Panthers game and she gave up her ticket to me so I could go and see the Skins play!! I tried (honestly I did) to say no and convince her to go but she didn't go for it! She got to spend time with her BFF and I got to go to see my miserable awful football team lose yet another game. Don't get me wrong - I had a fantastic time hanging out with Ian and getting to see Kevin & Katie at their tailgate! And club level seats!?!? Man am I spoiled! ;0)
Ben and Jen took the kids to Monkey Joes - a super fun place with tons of "moon bounce" type contraptions!! Clearly - they loved it!
Later that evening -after the kids went to bed - Jen, Ben and I went out to meet up with Kevin, Katie and all of their friends that were in town for the game.
Monday - sadly the long weekend was coming to an end. We were trying to figure out what to do that morning before we had to get ready to hit the road and I could only think of one thing! STEAK 'N SHAKE!! Obvi - I couldn't be within 20 minutes of one without going! Plus - Taylor had never been so I could not deny her the shoestring fries! YUM-O!! It was everything I remembered and more.
Then it was time to head home but the fun wasn't over quite yet! After we started our journey - we decided to stop in Christiansburg for a quick visit/dinner with some of the Dadiani family friends and Billy! It was so nice to see Suzanne and Michael who are expecting their first baby! It's crazy to think about since Suzanne and I have known each other since we were ity bity little things - we are both going to have kids ages apart about the same as we are! Also - what a BONUS that Billy was so close and was able to join us. I can't begin to tell you how excited Taylor was and believe me when I say - she let everyone in the restaurant know it as soon as she saw her Uncle Billy!
So that's the wrap up of our fabulous weekend! There are soooo many pictures that I couldn't begin to pick a few for this post. If you are interested in taking a look - click HERE!!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Oooops! I did it again.....


The next weekend marked the start of my working every other Sunday at Glory Days for football season. I haven't worked a Football Sunday in years but I was happy to take it on once asked. I get to work with Heather so that just makes it even more fun for us - and the guests (LBH)!
The last weekend - our friend Tony from NC came into town to visit. If you remember a few months back when I solicited all of you for votes for Taylor in the photo contest for best Caniac - Tony was the one that submitted the now famous (in my world) photo. I haven't seen him in years so the visit was much anticipated. He and a few of his friends came over on Saturday for the Hokies game! Taylor - being the flirt that she is - enjoyed having a few more guys in the house to show all of her toys and books too. They were good sports and played along great. Tony didn't come empty handed - he brought Taylor her first Carolina Hurricanes t-shirt to wear while watching hockey with Aunt Heather. It's cute but we all know she is a CAPS fan at heart. Hint hint Uncle Todd - she needs CAPS gear! ;0)
So there you have it - our month of September in a few short paragraphs. I will make every effort to post more often but October is looking crazy - starting with a trip to NC this weekend to see the Eillott's and Kevin & Katie. Looking forward to it!!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Link to August Pictures and Dinner with Petre
Friday, August 28, 2009
2nd Annual OC Trip
We left Thursday evening per my request so we could keep Taylor somewhat on schedule. Oh - and the fact that it would be dark by the time we went over the Bay Bridge had a little to do with it as well. HA! Dear Crazy.....
Friday morning - Lauren, Taylor and I ran some errands while we waited for Tom & Angela to arrive. Once they did - the boys went to play golf and the girls decided to take Taylor to the pool to see how she liked it. A few days before we left - I had bought her an inflatable princess car and it turned out to be the best purchase I've made in a LONG time. She LOVED it - both in and out of the water.
By the time Taylor was done with breakfast there was a strip of sand in between the ocean and the pools of water the tide left behind so we took Taylor down for a walk to check it out. It was just a strange sight but pretty cool at the same time.
Since there wasn't much beach to be had that day - the boys played another round of golf while the girls took advantage of the time and went to some local shops to see what we could find.
Dinner that night was "entertaining"..... I have to back up to Thursday night when we arrived. Once we were unloaded - Ben and Lauren went to the store to grab some essentials for the next day while Antonio and I got Taylor to bed. He went to return the cart that brought all of our stuff up and when he returned he had a look of pure joy on his face!
Antonio: You will never believe what I just saw!!
Kristen: What did you just see?
Antonio: A guy carrying a pizza box THIS BIG (arms almost fully extended)
Kristen: Really? This big huh? (said sarcastically with arms extended)
Antonio: Swear! I gotta order one - I gotta get it before we leave!
So Saturday night we appeased Antonio and ordered our 28 inch pizza with 40 wings for $49! What a deal! About an hour later there was a knock on the door and Lauren was almost taken out by a pizza box! She could barely get it in the door. I couldn't stop laughing long enough to help her! I had to run and get my camera so you could see for yourselves.......
