10 things we've been up to....

1. Sipping cocktails out by our totally cool new pool.
2. Watching storms roll in from the front porch, without getting rained on.
3. Enjoying the company of our great friends, the Webb's that visited last weekend.
4. Watching Shane's love of the water grow with swimming lessons, courtsey of the YMCA.
5. Working out of the Mathews office while Rhonda is on maternity leave--it rocks being so close to home!
6. Sweating our kahuna's off with the hot weather....but loving it!
7. Transporting Shane to and from all of the birthday parties he's been invited to--3 in the past 2 weeks!
8. Watching Shane's first black eye heal from one of said birthday parties....don't get me started!
9. Grilling anything and everything we can....fish, beef kabobs, chicken...all with fresh veggies! YUM-O!
10. Enjoying one another and our new home. Not a doubt in our minds that we aren't exactly where we should be!

Josh & Carrie

This past weekend we traveled to Richmond for Joshua Rogers wedding. It was a fabulous weekend, catching up with old friends, meeting new friends and seeing the Rob's old Richmond gang. We don't see these guys and their families as much as we'd like to, as all of our lives have taken us in a few different directions. We were so delighted to be able to be there to celebrate with Josh and Carrie and it was so obvious through it all how in love they are. Rob was a groomsman, so we attended the rehearsal, then the dinner, held at Selba in Carytown--a fabulous dinner and a great time was had by everyone there. The wedding was Saturday at Willow Oaks Country Club (Rob's old stomping grounds, along with Josh, Christian & Adam). The ceremony was on the patio and it was a beautiful day for it. The reception was also at Willow Oaks and was a fun night filled with great food and wine and dancing. We are so happy to have been included in this special weekend and we wish Josh and Carrie all the love and light the world has to offer!


Rob, Adam Carter, Kenny Jones & Christian Kiniry




Josh & Carrie during the ceremony




Rob, me, Christian & Shelly Dutton Simkin (can you believe that she has 5 kids!?!)





Josh & Carrie's first dance



Memorial Day Weekend!

What a fantastic weekend and way to kick off the summertime :) On Friday night, Rebecca came over and we had a birthday dinner for her--Rob cooked up some DELICIOUS Hawaiian luau chicken kabobs with a big array of veggies and served them over brown rice. It was fabulicious! For dessert, I had made a copy cat recipe of the white chocolate molten lava cakes from Chilis-- one of Becca & my faves. It turned out perfect, then I topped it with a little Short Lane vanilla custard ice cream and it was ridiculous!!

Saturday brought a day of finishing up things around the house--The master bath is now 99.9% complete--I have water in my sinks in there now and I had 2 mirrors, however, by the end of the weekend, I only had 1 mirror....story for another time...Rob worked hard all day on Saturday, then after that, he helped me hang a few more items on the walls. The house is really coming together. After a long day of working, we headed to Bavon to have a lobster dinner with Rob's parents & sister. It was wonderful to relax with a glass of wine and have such a fabulous dinner! I had never had a whole lobster before--only just the tails, so it was a real treat and oh so yummy!

Sunday, Rob's old Richmond friend Christian brought his family on down to visit for the night. After we got there, we all packed up and headed to the beach in Bavon and relaxed and let the kids (and adults) play. We returned to Poplar Grove, got the kids showered and fed and ready for bed. We enjoyed a low country boil that was out of this world. Liz had brought a caramel cake that she made that we all had for dessert and it was possibly one of the best cakes I've ever eaten in my life!!! We drank some wine, caught up on what we all had going on, and even made a few late night calls to some of Rob & Christian's other childhood friends...It was a GREAT time and I hope they don't wait as long to visit again! The kids had so much fun and they were all a joy.

The kids enjoyed some mac & cheese Liz made for dinner

Everyone watching Alvin & the Chipmunks in the bonus room

Hadwin....just too cute!!

 

Christian tried to take Ginny down in the water!



Annabelle, Shane & Caroline had a blast at the beach!

After the Kiniry Clan left on Monday, Rob decided it wasn't going to be a boating day, so he headed outside to hook up his ice machine and Shane & I just chilled around the house for most of the day--it was really hot and humid, so we went outside a few times, but for short periods of time. I thought I'd get the house cleaned, but our visitors were such good guests that the house looked exactly the same as it did before they got there :) So, other than washing some sheets and towels, I didn't have many chores for the day.

I love weekends like this--the perfect blend of family, friends and alone time. It was great and I look forward to a summer filled with days and weekends like this one! So, last night, I woke up thirsty and went to the kitchen to get some tea, I glanced over at Darcy in her crate and this is how she was sleeping....ha!



A big weekend!

So, this past weekend was a big one...Friday night, we enjoyed some steaks cooked on the charcoal with Marty & Nancy--lots of food, lots of wine and lots of laughs! Saturday was mine & Rob's 11th wedding anniversary--So, the three of us headed over to Williamsburg for some shopping and dinner. Shane has discovered that Outback Steakhouse is now one of his favorite places to eat. It was such a great day spent with the two most favorite people in my life. It's hard to believe that I've been married for 11 years. I feel like I should be 22 years old but I'm an old married lady that is someones mom :) I'm lucky that I married my best friend and that after 11 years, I can still say with full confidence that he is truly my best friend. :)

On Sunday, we made a somewhat unexpected trip to Richmond and this is what we came home with:

Meet Darcy Norris--she's a 2 year old black lab that needed a good home, so we've given her just that. I knew that we'd get a dog after we moved to Poplar Grove; I just didn't expect it to happen this quickly. I am glad that it did--she is a sweetheart and is so totally in love with Rob (something I can relate to). Shane is excited about her and I'm excited that he now has a little friend to play outside with. She's been with us for 2 days now and she is such a joy. I know there's many family memories that will have her right in the middle of them in the years to come!

Sunday also brought the groundbreaking for the detached garage at the new house....How did I know that would get started before my house was 100% complete?! I guess that's what you get when you've been with someone for 16 years---you kinda know what's gonna happen before it really happens...There's just a few more things left in the house to be done and I'm sure I'll nag enough that they'll be completed soon--

Along with the digging of the footing came Shane's new found love for dirt....haha!

By the way...Nice outfit, dude....

Mother's Day

What a great day I had yesterday! I'm so lucky to be surrounded by friends and family that care so much about me. My fabulous hubby surprised me on Friday night with my Mothers Day/Anniversary gift.

  

I was so surprised and excited! We spent Friday night, hanging out on the deck sitting on our new furniture. Saturday was spent getting ready for lunch that was at my house on Sunday. Shane & I also headed over to Gloucester for Rappahannock Concrete's 50th anniversary celebration. They had a great turn out and a beautiful day for their celebration.

Sunday was a super fantastic day! My family came over for lunch, where we dined on london broil, white cheddar tarragon potatoes, marinated asparagus and strawberry spinach salad. Paulette made coconut cake and homemade ice cream since we were also celebrating Nancy's birthday. It was a great day!

My Little David Beckham.....

I totally LOVE this pictures. It sums up everything about soccer this year. Of course, we've had the weeks that Shane didn't want to go and didn't want to ever play again, but most of the time--he really enjoyed it. And I have really enjoyed watching him grow and play. All the kids on the team are so much better than they were when they first started. I love to see Shane right up in the middle of things! :)

A New Place to Call Home...

Sorry for my slack blogging lately, we've been busy...moving into our new home! The moving truck came last Thursday at 8am and by noon all of our belongings were at 126 Poplar Grove Lane. Oh so very exciting, yet, so overwhelming! In my little naive mind, I thought the boxes would be gone in a day or two--boy was I wrong--we're one week in and there's still boxes everywhere--not to mention the items that are still in Bavon. I haven't even hung anything on the walls yet. I have high hopes for this weekend though. Tonight, I will head to Bavon with the help of my right arm, Rebecca :) We're going to get the rest of the items out of there and clean. When we get back to Poplar Grove, we're going to contact paper my closet shelves and put together my new ladder shelf. Tomorrow, I will work on unpacking the remaining boxes--my reward for that will be a little girls night at my house on Saturday night. Rob will return from his camping trip on Sunday and he promised to hang some of my stuff on the walls--so hopefully, come Monday it will look more like my home. We are all oh so happy there--Shane has slept in his room every night since we've been there--no arguments come bed time, he just goes right in there and goes on to sleep. I hope to post some pics soon--the master bathroom still isn't all the way complete--it's lacking wall paint and vanities.

Before the movers:

After the movers left: