Otter Lake

We spent the past weekend at Otter Lake just outside of Princeton, BC with Ryan's brother Kyle and his family along with their cousin Gord and his family. Reagan was beyond excited to be able to spend the entire weekend with her cousins Brady, Karis, Shaylea, and Chase. Ryan was beyond excited to spend the weekend fishing. Me? I was beyond excited to be back on the water with the sun in the sky!

I can't help but laugh whenever Denise, Kyle's wife, calls this weekend our annual camping trip. She and I have a completely different view of camping... mine involves tents, sleeping bags, lanterns, and a Coleman hot plate stove. Her idea of camping is what we did this weekend. This is a shot of our cabin (complete with Denise standing on the deck) and the view of our dock on the lake from our deck. I'm beginning to think I might like her idea of camping a little better than mine...
Reagan couldn't decide which activity she wanted to do first. Ultimately, she did them all over and over and over again. Her favorites... FISHING and PADDLE BOATING!She made her Daddy quite proud with her immediate fishing abilities. Even though she never actually caught a fish, she could tell you a story to make you think that she caught a whopper. Isn't that one of the biggest traits of a true fisherman anyway?!?!We were a little nervous at first when Reagan insisted on going on the paddle boat with Shaylea all by herself like a big girl. After only just a few minutes, our fears were put to rest when we realized that they were just fine all on their own. Let me tell you, Reagan Marie Knopp thought that she was hot stuff out there on that paddle boat with her older cousin. She was loving her new independence!

And what camping experience would be complete without a campfire and marshmallows? Now, I'm not going to mention any names, but a woman with extremely blonde hair managed to eat over half a bag of marshmallows that the children roasted for her. Thankfully, the blonde woman was the one with the camera, so no one else was able to document the event! Just trust me when I tell you that they were yummy! Oh... I guess that kind-of gives it away that I was the marshmallow monster, huh? Oh well, they were worth it!

The kids weren't the only ones to have a good time over the weekend. I promised everyone that I wouldn't post any incriminating pictures on the web, so I'll just leave you with this one. Sorry boys, I had to do it! It's a little bit blurry, but that could be because by the point in the evening when it was taken, I don't think that I could see straight myself. It probably looked crystal clear to me when I took it!
It was a fabulous family weekend, and I'm already looking forward to the third annual camping trip next year!

Gymnastics Graduation

Reagan has been going to The Little Gym since she was 14 months old. Since that time, she has advanced though their programs from a Bird, to a Beast, to a Super Beast, to a Funny Bug, and now she has graduated as a Giggle Worm! Her final class of the semester was last Friday, and she was so proud to show off all of her skills to both her Daddy and her Mommy!
Reagan is the youngest child to have graduated in her class, as most of the other children are already four or five years old. She is such a little dare-devil, so her age and small size didn't stop her from being able to keep up with the older kids one little bit!

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As you can see from the video above, she has quite the balance on the beam. And, from the video below, you can see that she has no fear when it comes to the high bar!

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I must admit that it was a little bittersweet to watch her receive her certificate and her ribbon. I personally feel that she has outgrown The Little Gym, so she will more than likely be starting lessons at one of the local gymnastics training centers in the Fall. The gym that I am considering for Reagan has already produced two Canadian Olympic Team gymnasts in the last few years, so I know that they are built on a solid reputation! We'll see how Reagan likes it, and just go from there...

I'll leave you with the brief video clip of Reagan accepting her award from Coach Jenn. Her certificate was inscribed with the following:

"This certificate is awarded to Reagan Knopp in recognition of completing the semester in Giggle Worms! Reagan has done an amazing job at keeping up with the older kids in the class. She has such power in her donkey kicks, and it is great to see her practicing landing on her two feet. Her energetic personality is a great addition to the class, and she's always there to help us tell a story! Keep up the great work, Reagan!"

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SIX New Awards! HOLY MOLY!

My goodness, you all sure now how to make a girl feel loved! And spoiled! And famous! And....

Well, you get the idea. I now have a slightly swollen head thanks to the SIX new blog awards that I have received. I'm still fighting with my internet connection while I wait for my super duper new modem to arrive, so I will have to make this a slightly less detailed post that what I would have rather done. You will have to clink on the link for each person that I am passing these awards along to so can find out for yourself just awesome they all are. SERIOUSLY! Start clicking!

Kimber from A Day in the Life of a Girl Named Kimber has recently given me THREE awards! First, I'm passing the One Lovely Blog Award along to:

My Three Bubs

Miller Racing Family
Lady Mama
Our Wonderful, Crazy, Beautiful Life
The Vitt Family
Diary of A Southern Drama Queen

I'm passing the Kreativ Blogger award along to:

Boogers, Screams, Headaches, and Dreams

Confessions of a Semi-Slacker Mom
Five Moms and a Blog
Lou Lou's Views
Lexi Loo & Dylan Too
A Wrinkle In Time

And, I'm passing the Honest Scrap award along to:

Mommy Doesn't Live Here Anymore
Airing My Dirty Laundry, One Sock at a Time
If You Think Round Is Funny
The World According To Me
Short and Sweet
Scary Mommy

Sherri at Boogers, Screams, Headaches, and Dreams gave me the You're A Superstar Blogger award. Thank you Sherri! I'm passing this award along to the following superstars...

Day in the Life of a Girl Named Kimber
The Loves of Jenn
Four and Now More
I'm a REAL LIFE Mom
Martin Manor Happenings
...Pooba...

And finally, Brandi from My Three Bubs AND Jenn from The Loves of Jenn BOTH awarded me with the Friends award. AWWWWWWW... thank you girls! I have to tell you, I love all of the friends that I have made from this blog. I'm passing this award along to my new BFF's!

Scottsville
Dinkypops No More
Domestically Challenged
Still Seeking Sanity
Let Go, Laughing
Forever Folding Laundry

So there you have it. Go check out all of these amazing ladies to see just how truly deserving they are of these awards. And thank you again to Kimber, Sherri, Brandi, and Jenn!

What Will I Do?

My worst fear has come to life... I AM WITHOUT INTERNET! I have suspected that this day was coming as I have been losing my connection dozens of times daily for the last couple of weeks. The Telus tech just confirmed that, yes, my modem has kicked the bucket. AND IT WILL TAKE 5-7 BUSINESS DAYS FOR THEM TO SEND ME A NEW ONE!

What will I do?

Bootleg off the neighbors of course... that's what I'm doing right now! But in all honesty, I'm not very comfortable doing it. Who knows what kind of virus I might pick up or if someone will now be able to hack into my computer from afar. So I may not be around much for the next week or so. I'll try to check in when I can, but if you don't hear from me... you'll know why!

Now, let's just hope that I don't go completely crazy while I'm waiting for the new modem to get here...

Miss Manners

We had tacos for dinner the other night, so I had grated a plate of cheese for us to use as a topping. I turned my head for a only a moment, and little lady Reagan dove in. The kid loves cheese!And yes, I let her continue to eat is this way long enough to go grab my camera and take a picture! Then I proceeded to tell her that I think it is time we schedule an appointment with Miss Manners... do you remember this pic from a few weeks ago of her eating pancake batter?Oh yes, it's time for a lesson in etiquette!

Tinkerbell

Reagan was invited to a birthday party this weekend for our neighbor across the street named Piper who just turned one! We knew ahead of time that it was to be a Tinkerbell themed party, so Reagan wore her Tinkerbell dress. Little did we know that Tink herself was going to be in attendance as well...Reagan was speechless... she was simply in awe. She would not leave Tink's side throughout the party, and thankfully Tinkerbell was a really good sport in that she even got Reagan to eat ALL of her lunch before she could have any birthday cake. Seriously, I think that if Tink had told Reagan to jump that we would have heard Reagan ask her, "How high?" Later that night, Tinkerbell phoned our house to tell Reagan good night and to congratulate her on eating all of her dinner like a big girl. Reagan now thinks that she is the coolest kid in the world because Tinkerbell has her phone number... AND USED IT! (Tink is really the sister of the mother of the little girl who turned one!)
Something tells me that we will be seeing Tinkerbell again at Reagan's birthday party next year. She's already agreed to make a guest appearance if we want her to!

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

"I'm going to marry Mr. Muscles!"

That was the caption of my picture.

I can remember it like it was yesterday. I drew a picture of a man, complete with super huge arm muscles. Once I was finished with my masterpiece, I hung it on our front door. I couldn't have been but six or seven years old, yet I was ready to marry the man of my dreams. Much to my dismay, he was already taken.

By my mother!

My Daddy has always been my super hero. He is THE jack of all trades. He can fix anything that you put in front of him. Seriously! ANYTHING. Absolutely ANYTHING!

His is a teacher. He is a coach. He is handyman. He is a fisherman. He is a plumber. He is a electrician. He is a mechanic. He is gifted. He is amazing!

Those last three words were provided by my husband.

Anyone who has ever met my Daddy would agree: he is a SUPER man. He is MY super man, although I share him with my sister. My husband is correct... he is simply amazing!

I am one of those special girls who knows more about football (and most other sports for that matter) than most of the guys out there. My Daddy taught me to be a sports freak!

My Daddy taught me how to change a tire, how to change the oil, how to clean a fish, how to install a ceiling fan, how to run a sprint, how to throw a football, how to cook the perfect steak, and so much more. He taught me how to be strong. He taught me how to be independent. He taught me how to be ME.

I am a woman that is convinced that there is NOTHING that I can not do. My Daddy taught me to think that way. My Daddy taught me to BE that way.

There are many quotes that I have carried with me through my life that my Daddy instilled into my brain. A few of my favorites are...

"Winners never quit, and quitters never win."

"No pain, no gain."

"If you lay with dogs, you will catch fleas."

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

I take no greater joy than to hear from friends and family that my husband is just like my Daddy. I can remember a rare snow storm several years ago in my hometown when my husband (but not my husband at the time) was visiting. We were walking down the snow filled streets together, and passer-by's would call out "Hey Coach Myers!" to my to-be husband. I consider that to be the ultimate compliment to my husband... after all, I have always said that I was going to marry my Daddy!

I love you, Daddy!

And now, my heart just melts every time that I hear Reagan say that she is going to marry HER Daddy! Like mother, like daughter... we know how to pick the best men!

Happy Father's Day to my Daddy, to my husband, and to all the other Father's out there!

600th Post! THE RECIPE

Well folks, this is my 600th post to this blog! I never thought in a million years that when I first started this blog when Reagan was born that it would ever evolve to be what it is today.

In honor of this momentous occasion, I am doing something that I have never done on here before... I am posting a recipe! THE RECIPE for the shrimp boil that I made for my mother-in-law's 60th birthday bash to be exact! And this recipe is complete with pictures...

First, you will need to have a very large pot, basket, and burner. I use the same pot that I use when I deep fry turkeys...Fill the pot about 2/3 full with water, and then add a can of beer to the water along with one bag of Zatarain's Shrimp & Crab boil in a bag AND one and a half bottles of Zatarain's liquid Shrimp & Crab Boil. Allow the water to come to a rolling boil for a full 15 minutes, and then add the RED POTATOES. The smaller the potato the better, or you can cut the potatoes to be about the size of a golf ball. You will need approximately 10 potatoes per person! I usually then add an extra 10 potatoes just to be safe!Allow the potatoes to cook for 10 minutes, and then add the CORN. You will need one and a half ears of fresh corn per person, and you will want to cut the corn to be about 3 to 4 inches in length. The corn will cook for 5 minutes, and then you will need to add the KIELBASA SAUSAGE. I allow about 3/4 of a link of sausage per person. The trick for the sausage is to be sure to cut it on an angle into pieces that are about a 1/4 of an inch thick. The sausage will cook for 6 minutes. After the sausage has cooked for 6 minutes, squeeze in the juice from three lemons that have been halved, and then drop the lemons into the mixture as well.You will then immediately add the final ingredient... THE SHRIMP! I use 1/2 pound of fresh shrimp per person, and I then add an additional extra pound. Once the shrimp is in the water, turn off the heat to the pot. The shrimp will be fully cooked in 2 minutes.Remove the basket of goodies from the pot and allow the water to drain. Warning... your arms may get sore here because the pot has become heavy! Once the water has drained from the basket, dump the entire pot of yummy goodness onto a table that has been covered in layers of newspapers. You'll need some cocktail sauce for the shrimp, and some butter for the corn and potatoes. And you'll need to bring your appetites because this is a super fun and super delicious meal that you just can't get enough of! I hope you enjoy...

Work It Out Wednesday

Sherri over at Boogers, Screams, Headaches, and Dreams has started a weekly workout activity for all of us bloggers to take advantage of and to share in our workout and weight loss progress. I think it is a FABULOUS idea Sherri, so am I gladly playing along this week.

Many of you know that I have been working out like crazy trying to lose weight. If you are new to my blog, you may not be aware of the aggravating plateau that I hit about a month ago despite the fact that I was eating less and working out more than ever before. I made this post desperately asking for advice, and the advice came pouring in! If you haven't read that post before, and you are struggling with weight loss yourself, then you really should read the comments that were left. You can also see the two posts that Makeover Momma dedicated to my fitness and my nutrition! Trust me when I tell you that I have taken much of all that advice and put it to practice... AND IT IS WORKING!

I'm still running, but no where near as much as I was doing before. I've now changed my workouts to a variety of different things to keep my body in a state of constant surprise and shock. My favorites...

Chalean Johnson's Turbo Jam has to be one of the MOST FUN workouts that I have ever done. Seriously! I was laughing while I was sweating to death as I told my husband that I felt more like I was breaking it down at "da club" instead of doing an aerobic workout. It was like a dance party in my living room! I LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! I had so much fun the first time that I did it that I didn't even realize the workout had totally kicked my butt until I was finished and realized that I was drenched in sweat and exhausted!

Yes, I have jumped on the Jillian Michaels bandwagon, and I am doing the 30 Day Shred. I love the workout because I can instantly feel the burn! Her combinations of cardio and strength with upper and lower body workouts at the same time have really kicked my metabolism into high gear. And while I love the fact that the ENTIRE workout is only 20 minutes long, there are some days that I feel like it is not enough for me.

On those days, I also do Debbie Siebers' Slim in 6 program. It is very similar to the 30 Day Shred, however it is a bit easier! I'm currently doing level 2 (of three) on both programs. I would recommend Slim in 6 to someone like Leslie Ruth who finds the 30 Day Shred to be just a little too intense. The Slim in 6 workouts are longer (level 2 is 45 mintues, level 3 is almost an hour) but the workouts again cover both cardio and strength while working the upper and lower body.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is what I am working up to! Chalean Johnson's ChaLean Extreme. This is supposed to the hardest, so I haven't started it yet! My plan is to finish the 30 Day Shred in combination with Slim in 6, and then I will start ChaLean Extreme. It's supposed to be killer, but it's supposed to be amazing as well! I promise to let you know how I do once I get started on it next month.

I have quit paying so much attention to the number of Weight Watchers points that I eat a day, and I am focusing more on eating healthy stuff all the time and more often throughout the day. In all honesty, my diet really hasn't changed all that much... I just quit counting! But with the new workouts, I have lost an additional 2.5 pounds in the last week. That puts me at a total loss of 20 pounds, with just 5-10 more pounds to go!

So, head on over to Sherri's blog to read her Work It Out Wednesday post and then join us in this adventure!

Grandma's 60th Birthday

Today is Ryan's mother's 60th birthday... HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA! His parents were in town visiting from Vernon this weekend, so we had a birthday bash in our backyard to celebrate. We turned it into a luau themed party, and the birthday girl and Grandpa were given the appropriate attire to fit right in! Baby Karis didn't need a special outfit... she is perfect just the way she is!Before the party got into full swing, and before I got busy cooking dinner, I served as the family photographer for the event. I got tons of pictures of everyone, including a lovely family shot of Ryan's brother Kyle and his wife Denise and their two kids Brady and Karis. You have heard many stories about this family on my blog, so now you have faces to put with the names!I also took a very special picture of the birthday girl and her three sons that were in attendance. Her oldest son couldn't make it, but pictured below are (from left to right) Kyle, Ryan, Edie, and Craig.While dinner was cooking (which I will have to devote an entire post to later on this week!) we told Grandma to open her birthday presents. I shouldn't have expected any less from her, but just check out the facial expressions in all of the pictures that follow. And let me make sure that you know that the first picture you will see is of her opening her gift from Reagan... a drawing that had been wadded up into a ball and then wrapped in almost an entire roll of wrapping paper. And yes, that is Christmas wrapping paper. It's all I had! Only an amazing Grandma can get so excited over a gift like that! Her big gift from all of the families was a large frame with pictures that I had taken of all of her grandchildren in matching outfits. Needless to say, she loved it!After all of that fun, we had all worked up an appetite. Grandma had requested that I make my "Shrimp Boil" so that is what she got! The kids were all so shocked and excited when I literally just dumped the entire pot of yummy goodness into the middle of the table and told everyone to dig in! Trust me when I tell you that it was DELICIOUS! I'll have to post the recipe on here when I get the chance, because it is amazing and so much fun!We ended the evening by singing Happy Birthday to Grandma... and Brady had the first bite of cake!Happy Birthday Grandma!

NOTE: The face of grandchild Kaleigh has been blurred out at the request of her mother.

Not Me Monday!

It's that time again! Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama, and if you don't know how to play along, you really should head on over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have NOT been doing this week.

Me? I have NOT once again changed my hair. This does NOT make the third change in less than 6 weeks! No, my husband is NOT copping a feel in the above picture while he makes a wicked little sneer. And if he did do that, I most certainly did NOT enjoy it! (I think he likes the sexy new do!)

Am I NOT currently feeling like an 80 year old woman because I lost my mind and decided to show off in my back yard for my niece. I am NOT at all impressed and proud of myself for proving that I've still got a gymnastics skill or two up my sleeve as the 6 second video will show you below...

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I do NOT feel like a bit of a photo master for capturing my Reagan mid-flight as she was jumping around trying to imitate Mommy!
And no, my daughter is NOT like me at all and she most certainly is NOT a little daredevil as well!

And finally, my nephew Brady does NOT think that I am the coolest auntie in the whole wide world because I told him to just take a bite out of Grandma's birthday cake just so I could get the cute picture. Oh yeah, I am a rock star in that boy's eyes!
That's it for me! What have you NOT been up to?

Pajama Party

Ryan is out of town for the night, so Reagan and I decided to have a pajama party! Well, I decided to do it and explained the whole process to Reagan, and then she agreed that it would be a fun idea. She has been anxiously awaiting the PAJAMA PARTY all day long... I lost count of the number of times that she asked me if we were really going to eat popcorn in bed tonight! But before we could get to our fun night, we had to have a fun day first.

Denise, Brady & Karis came over to spend the day playing in the back yard with us. Reagan loves her cousins so much, and I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am to have a sister-in-law that is also a friend. We played, we laughed, we relaxed, and we ate a fabulous dinner. Once they left to go home, Reagan and I started our preparations for our own little party. She took the fastest bath that I think is humanly possible, and then she ran into my bedroom and jumped up onto the bed. "It's time for popcorn, Mommy!" she said. So, true to my word, I brought up a big bowl of popcorn to eat in bed while we snuggled up together to watch a movie. We didn't even make it to the halfway point of the movie before we started getting really silly. We were tickling each other, laughing, singing songs, and dancing on my bed. At some point we hopped off of the bed and started playing dress up with all of my jewelry. She finally gave up and fell asleep just a short while ago... almost 3 hours past her normal bedtime.

I have to tell you, tonight was one of the most fun nights that I have had. My sides are hurting from laughing, and my cheeks are hurting from smiling so much. But my heart feels no pain at all. It is just full!

New Friends

One of the many things that made the move to Canada difficult for me was the fact that I would have to say goodbye to not just my family in South Carolina, but also my friends. When I first moved here, I really didn't know anyone besides Ryan and his family. I had met a few of his friends a couple of times before I moved, but I was pretty much starting over in the friendship department. Since that time, I have become friends with a handful of girls that I wouldn't trade for the world. But I have learned to never pass up the opportunity to make a new friend. Today, Reagan and I were fortunate enough to BOTH make a new friend.

Tiff from Still Seeking Sanity lives only just a few minutes south of the US/CAN border, so she and I planned to get together and meet IRL the next time that I went down to do a little shopping. Today was that day. Reagan and I loaded into the truck this morning to venture down across the border. Of course, last night my husband Ryan started expressing his opinions about my decision to meet Tiff and her family. I can't help but wonder if he has been secretly been hanging out with Sara (who has a paranoia of an ax murderer attacking her during her sleep) because he started asking me how I was so sure that this person I was going to meet wasn't really a serial killer just posing as a mother of four! I ignored him, and continued with my plans!

I had shown Reagan pictures of all of Tiff's children, and I think that she was just as excited as I was to meet the crew. As soon as we pulled into her driveway, Reagan was trying to unbuckle her car seat and climb out the door. She ran to meet the adorable Emma who was standing at the gate to welcome us and then ran into the house to meet the boys and to play. Tiff and I hugged and immediately started chatting as if we were old friends. Honestly, to an outsider, no one would have had a clue that we had all just met! Tiff took a picture (being the truly awesome blogger that she is!) to document the occasion. Being the slacker that I am, I forgot to take my camera! Thank you Tiff for sending this to me...
After visiting at their house, we loaded the kids into our respective cars and headed off for the mall. Because, as any of the local Canadian moms here will tell you, you simply CAN NOT cross the border into the States without making a trip to Target. That would just simply be wrong. I somehow managed to leave Target with only buying 2 new beach towels and 2 cute little sundresses that were all on clearance. Tiff had a good laugh at me while I was desperately trying to find my diet peanut butter, but I was unsuccessful. (If anyone knows a store that sells the stuff... LET ME KNOW!) If not, Tiff I'm ordering it online and having it shipped to your house to get next time because they don't ship to Canada. And yes, there will be many more visits with Tiff and her family!

I have to tell you, Tiff's children are AMAZING! I can not believe how well behaved they all were. Emma is the oldest and she turns 5 next week, Grant and Ben are her twin boys that are two, and baby Drew is five months old. Tiff never had to raise her voice to them, she never had to ask them more than once to do something, they stayed close to us at all times in the mall, they sat STILL and ate all their lunch without having to beg them to do it... they were little angels compared to my wild child Reagan. I am hoping that some of Emma's good behavior wore off on Reagan today, and I'm hoping that Tiff doesn't think that Reagan is a bad influence on her kids because Reagan is already begging to go see Emma again! The girls were so cute together... talking, holding hands, dancing. Reagan started crying when it was time to say goodbye, and she cried even harder when she saw their van turn to go home while we continued straight ahead to go North.

So, today was a very good day! It was the first of what I am sure will be many play dates for both the kids and the moms! And, it was hopefully the first of many friends that I have met while blogging that I will finally meet In Real Life!

WATCH OUT! HERE I COME!

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Look who can ride her big girl bike all by herself!

Thursday Random Ramblings

Brooke from Dinkypops No More does a random ramblings post every Thursday to clear all of the jumbled thoughts out of her head. I feel like I have neglected my blog this week, so I have lots of little things to tell you about... a random ramblings post is just the type of thing I need to get it all out there for you!

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My bone scan results came back as negative, which is GREAT news for me! No breaks or fractures were found, so I have been cleared to go back to running. YAHOO! Only, I tried running the other day, and my foot started bothering me again after only a mile. My doctor has referred me to KINTEC Footlabs for them to do an in-depth analysis of my running style and gait to determine what is causing the pain. From the sounds of it, orthotics may be in my future! YUCK!

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The main reason that I have neglected my computer this week is due to the giant bright glowing orb in our clear blue sky. That's right folks, we have officially declared it to be summertime at the Knopp house. Reagan and I have lived in our bathing suits for over a week now, and we have no desire to go back to regular clothing any time in the near future. We've been playing in the kiddie pools, eating popsicles, working on our tans, and working in our yard. I must say that I am extremely impressed with how our backyard is looking this year. A few more plants and hanging baskets, and it will be the island oasis escape that I can relaxingly retreat to all summer long!

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We ventured down the street to the local outdoor pool over the weekend, and it was the perfect way to cool down after a long hot day. And I can not even begin to describe how much Reagan loved it. I seriously thought her eyes were going to pop right out of her head because she was so excited. It was almost as if you could see the happy energy exploding from her body as she jumped into the pool over and over and over and over again. Let me tell you, she was like a little rocket when she would go down the big slide. She would literally launch herself halfway across the pool when she hit the bottom of it! Needless to say, the child loves the water and she has NO FEAR at all. I'm considering buying a family pass this year because she loves it so much!

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I nearly had a heart attack when I checked our mail the other day. Our property tax notice was delivered, and it was over $1200 higher than what we paid last year! After a thorough inspection and comparison to last year's notice, I discovered that the bulk of the increase was from water consumption and sewer charges. I keep waiting on my husband to tell me that it is all because I wash his jeans when they are only a little bit dirty instead of a whole lot dirty! I expected the water portion of our taxes to go up slightly due to the hot tub that we purchased last Fall, and due to the irrigation system that Ryan installed last summer. But I was shocked by the amount of increase. I plan to go to City Hall later this week or early next week to have them do a detailed inspection of our bill. I'm praying that they find an error of some sort or that the magic fairy comes and somehow lowers our taxes overnight!

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As I mentioned earlier, I have neglected my blog this week. Despite what many of you may be thinking, I have NOT neglected your blogs! I have been keeping up with the close to 60 blogs that I follow, I just have not been leaving many comments this week. If you follow my blog regularly, then you are already aware of the comment that my sweet little Reagan gave me last week. If you don't know what I am talking about, just scroll down to the Not Me Monday post below and you will see Reagan's remark at the end! I took that to mean that maybe I was spending just a little too much time on the computer, and that I needed to cut back. So, I've been doing speed reading to stay in the loop! I do enjoy leaving comments and interacting with all of you, so I think that I am going to start blogging in the evening instead of in the morning. That way, I'll be able to spend quality time with my favorite girl all day long, AND I will have something good to do in the evening while Ryan watches his poker, tattoo, motorcycle, handyman, and crabbing shows that I can't stand!

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And finally, what is a random ramblings post without a random picture of my beautiful girl?!