In Case You Were Wondering

Just in case you were wondering what we've been up to the past couple of days...

We've been catching lizards...
We've been bike riding...
We've been eating the World's Largest Sucker...
We've been playing volleyball with our cousin...
We've been eating ice cream...
We've been getting all dressed up to go out to dinner...
We've been kite flying...
What have you been up to?

At The Beach

We’re here! Our relaxing get-away vacation has officially begun!

Reagan was so excited to go and see Momsey and Pops that she was EXTREMLY hyper all day long. I mean, she was all kinds of crazy hyper. She must have asked us a hundred times, “Are we there yet” just on the way to the airport! We flew out of Vancouver Tuesday night, and thankfully Reagan slept on the plane for the entire duration of the flight into Toronto. From there, we hopped a quick flight into Raleigh, NC, where Pops & Momsey were eagerly waiting to pick us up Wednesday morning.

We arrived at our beach house to find Auntie Anna waiting with balloons. It had been almost 18 months since we had seen my sister, so it was a very joyous reunion to say the least! Reagan didn’t leave Anna’s side the rest of the day. It got to the point where I had a hard time telling who was having the most fun playing… Reagan or Anna.
After they were tired of swimming in the waterway, they decided to try their hand at fishing. Ryan had been fishing off of the pier most of the afternoon, and he had yet to have a bite. As soon as Reagan put her line in the water, she caught a fish! She then proceeded to catch fish after fish after fish! Of course, she was practicing the “catch and release” program, so she could have just been catching the same fish over and over again! Ryan now fishes with Reagan’s purple fishing pole because he says that it is the lucky pole!
Pops and Momsey took us all out to eat last night at our favorite eating spot in the world… The Provision Company in Southport. The chili-cheeseburgers were just as good as I remembered them to be, the onion rings were nice and crispy, the crab cakes were delicious, and the beer was ice cold. It was the perfect dinner, especially considering that we went by boat to get there. The boat ride up the waterway to Southport was beautiful. At one point on the way there, I looked over at Ryan and said, “I had forgotten how much I miss being here.” His response back to me, “I could never forget!” Every time we come for a visit, we laugh and talk about buying a place of our own down here. Maybe one day…

This morning, we all slept in to try to make up for the lack of sleep from the plane ride the night before. Reagan slept on a cot in Pops & Momsey’s room, and she slept for almost 14 hours straight! Now if only I could get her to start doing that at home!

I decided to go for a run to work off all the food that I had eaten last night, but I almost died not even a half-mile into my run. It wasn’t all that hot… about 85 degrees… but it was HUMID! I had forgotten how humid it gets down here. My lungs felt like I was trying to run under water. All in all, I ran 1.8 miles on what is normally a 2.5 mile course for me. Needless to say, I did a bit of walking during my run! Hopefully it won’t take me long to re-acclimate to the Southern conditions, because I have a secret goal in mind of trying to out run my dad before we go back home!

Now, I’m off to put on my bikini and to work on my tan. I’ll try to keep updating as much as possible while we are here. But if you don’t here from me, just know that it is probably because we are too busy having FUN!

What You've Been Waiting For!

And it looks even better now that I've figured out EXACTLY how to style it!

Her First Visit to the Salon

By now, y'all are all fully aware that for the past three years, two months and two weeks, I have served as Reagan hair dresser and stylist. I gave her her first haircut when she was 14 months old, and I did a pretty good job if I do say so myself. I have always loved playing with her hair and giving her different styles...
But last week, my a portion of my stylist duties for Reagan came to end. The time had come for Reagan to discover the world of the SALON!

She was so excited to get her hair cut at Mommy's salon, but she was also a bit nervous as we discussed exactly what we were going to do.
Miss Danielle immediately helped her to relax with a little scalp massage! This is always my favorite part of my salon visits...
And then, it was time. I was so proud of my little girl as she sat perfectly still and let Danielle work her magic. Reagan was mesmerized by the whole process... especially since all the girls at the salon were treating her like such a princess. She's already told me that I can no longer cut her hair... only Miss Danielle!
I'm going to make you wait for the pictures of the finished product! A little suspense never hurt anyone, right? Reagan's new "do" will be displayed for the world to see sometime tomorrow... after Momsey & Pops and Auntie Anna see it in person when we arrive in North Carolina!

In the meantime, I'll leave you with one more picture just to tease you a little more...

The "Second" Wedding

Two weeks after our wedding (see the post below for all the details and pictures!) we got relive the moment all over again. Not the ceremony part of course, but I did get to wear my stunning gown one more time for a beautiful reception that my parents hosted for us in my hometown of Dillon, South Carolina. We realized that it was asking a lot of people to make the trip all the way across the States and then up into Canada for our actual wedding, and we wanted to be able to celebrate with those friends and family who couldn't make the trip. So on Saturday evening, July 26, 2003, we had a party! A BIG party! And like I said, other than the ceremony stuff, we did ALL of it all over again. It was awesome, and I am eternally grateful to my parents for allowing us to have the opportunity to share that experience with all of the Carolina Crew! Not many brides have the chance to do it twice with the one man of their dreams... I am one of the lucky few!

Six Years Ago - A Wedding Story

I woke up that morning, six years ago today, filled with excitement and anticipation. It was my wedding day! July 12, 2003.

My sister, Anna, and my best friend, Toni, had spent the night with me the night before, and we had all three piled into my king size bed sometime late in the evening. It was my last night as a single woman, and I loved being able to spend it with them. We laughed, told stories, had a few drinks, and at some point, we finally went to sleep! While I was in the shower the morning of the wedding, the two girls went out to get me a lavish breakfast... BURGER KING!

After breakfast, we all loaded up into my car to go to the salon for hair and makeup. My other bridesmaid, Elizabeth, met us there at the salon along with my Mom, my Grandmother, and my to-be Mother-in-law. This salon was well known for being the best in the area for wedding day up do's, and they specialized in air-brush makeup, which was the newest thing at that time. We were not disappointed!
Once we were all looking beautiful, it was time to get dressed. I was so excited to put on my wedding gown... it was the most beautiful dress that I had ever seen! And the train... it seemed to just go on forever. I remember my sister thinking that I was going to start getting really nervous around this time, so she made me a special drink that she called "The Hulk." I still to this day am not 100% sure what was in that drink, but it did make me feel all kinds of relaxed and happy! I put on my gown and just stood in my living room basking in the moment of everyone oohing and ahhing. I didn't want my Daddy to see me until I was completely ready, and it was a very special moment when he walked into the room.

Ryan and I had decided to not see each other before the wedding, but I wanted to make the most of my time with the photographers that day. We went ahead to the formal gardens to take some shots with my family, while Ryan was simultaneously taking shots with his family at a different garden.
We didn't just do family shots... we took some fun shots with our bridal party as well.
When Ryan and I were dating, he used a really cheesy pick-up line on me one night that went something along the lines of "I could get lost in your eyes." I teased him endlessly about it, and I even went as far as to buy a really big pair of sunglasses to have on the next time that I picked him up from that airport when he came for a visit. I told him that I needed to make sure that I had my eyes covered so that he didn't get lost! It seemed only appropriate that the girls and I all wore a pair on our wedding day!
And what would the Knopp boys do without hockey? They even play hockey on the golf course!
After only a few minutes of pictures, it started to rain. And I don't mean that it started to drizzle. It was a down-pour unlike anything I had seen in Langley ever before. It was raining like crazy! We ran back to the car as fast as we could. In my big dress, this was no easy thing to do! As a matter of fact, my Dad had rented a super big Expedition just so that he could transport me and my big dress around that day. I climbed into the back through the tailgate and rode in a squat position (a great leg workout I might add) with my dress spread out behind me so that nothing would wrinkle. I look back now I realize what a primadonna bridezilla that I was being. I would die if any of my bride's tried to act that way with me! However, everyone who was with me that day acted as if I was asking for nothing at all... they let me have whatever I wanted!Once we arrived at Newlands, where we were getting married, I quickly began to realize that our plan of getting married outside was not going to happen. I was disappointed, but I decided that I didn't care. I just wanted to walk down the aisle... any aisle... and marry Ryan. So, that is what we did. Newlands moved the ceremony indoors, and everything else went according to plan. My dad walked me down the aisle, and then gave me away to be Ryan's bride.
We had a bit of a laugh as we literally shoved the wedding rings onto each other's hand.
Once we were officially married, we were able to take the rest of the formal pictures as a couple!
Our wedding party was made up of those who we love the most. Pictured here from left to right are: Elizabeth, Toni, Anna, Tiff & Ryan, Kyle, Craig, Reece and Jeremy.
It's a little obvious that we were all A LOT more relaxed once the ceremony was over. It's also a little obvious that even though Ryan was now my husband, he was also still the ladies' man!
And then, the fun really began! It was time for the reception, and everyone had a blast. Ryan and I enjoyed our first dance as a married couple...
My Dad and I showed all the Canadians how to shag like we do in South Carolina...
And Ryan gave me (and the audience) quite the thrill when he removed the garter to toss! Be sure to notice my mom screaming and cheering him on in the background along with all of the bridesmaids!
The bridesmaids weren't the only ones making some noise that night. Here's a great shot of the guys singing the classic "Sweet Caroline"...
This picture of me with my sister is one of my most favorite shots from the evening.
I am amazed that even though we got married over 3500 miles away from where I grew up, I still had many people that made the trip to be with us that day. I will be forever grateful to my parents and my sister, my Grandmother Marie Smith, Toni Branson, Elizabeth Johnson, her son Kaleb & her parents Mickey & Betty Anne Miles, Bobby and Dorothy Zimmerman & their grand-daughter Bailey, Gerald and Jean Reeves, Lorraine and Jenny Hamilton, and Ralph & Lou Sasser.

It's been six years, and yet it seems like it was just yesterday. I am even more in love with my husband now that I was then, and I didn't think that it was possible to love him anymore then. He is an amazing man, an adoring father, a best friend, and a loving husband. Every day with him is a new adventure... some of them good, and some of them bad. But I wouldn't trade a single day of the last six years because they are what got us here today. Now, I'm just looking forward to what all of our tomorrows will bring.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Last week was a very difficult week for my husband.

I wanted to make jokes and laugh about him selling his car at the beginning of the week... I had even written a blog post in my head about a small piece of his heart dying as he watched a stranger drive away in his baby. I mean, that car really was his baby until Reagan came along, and we had been trying to sell it since shortly after she was born. You may even remember this post from February 2007.

But something happened a couple of days after we sold the car that makes me not want to make jokes about anything right now.

The day after the car sold, Ryan phoned me from his work and told me to start looking for tickets to make a trip to North Carolina to my family's house at the waterway. He said that was what he wanted to do with the money that was left over from selling his car after we paid our outrageous property taxes. I laughed and told him that he was crazy... there was no way we could fit a trip into my busy bridal schedule, and we could use that money to convert his shed into a workshop. Sorry Momsey & Pops... it's not that I didn't want to come see you... I was just for once trying to think practically about a lifetime investment to our house instead of a week of fun with you guys!

The very next day, something horrible happened. I don't feel like my blog is the place to go into any of the details of what my husband experienced, so I will just tell you that he witnessed a hit-and-run accident that is now being investigated as a homicide. You can go to this news link if you wish. Ryan was one of the last people to see this man alive as he tried to help in saving the man's life. The man passed away in Ryan's arms.

Ryan spent that day doing numerous interviews with the police to try to provide as much information as he could to help with catching the criminal. He was mentally, physically, and emotionally drained when he finally made it home. After Reagan went to bed that night, he recounted the events as they happened to me, and I was almost sick to my stomach having to listen to what he witnessed. One of the last things that he said to me that night was that he really wished that we could make the trip to NC because he needed an escape from the images in his head.

I started re-arranging my schedule the next day.

So, hopefully the peaceful views from the waterway and some quality time spent fishing with my Dad will be therapeutic for my hubby. We leave next week for our impromptu trip to what I have always called the most relaxing spot on Earth:
On a lighter note, Reagan was beyond the moon excited when she found out that we were going on a plane ride to see Momsey & Pops!

Not Me Monday!

Don't you just love all of the changes and additions that MckMama has made to Not Me Monday!? From the new logo, to the new MckLinky system, I think she rocks!

Now, onto my confessions...

We did NOT go to the Canada Day celebrations in our hometown on Tuesday June 30, which was a day earlier than the actual holiday itself. And we most certainly did NOT let little Miss Reagan stay up a full 4 hours past her bed time just so she could watch the fireworks and ride all of the rides.And if we had done such a thing, we surely would NOT go back the very next evening to do it all over again for the official holiday celebration!
We did NOT also celebrate Independence Day on July 4th with all of our Canadian neighbors for a little back yard barbeque at our house on Saturday night. And I would NEVER forget to pull out my camera the entire night to document such an occasion!

I am NOT secretly loving the fact that Reagan has slept until 10:00 am for the past 5 days since we have totally wrecked her nighttime schedule with all of our holiday celebrations!

I did NOT tell Reagan that she could eat cupcakes and ice cream for dinner knowing that I wouldn't be home to deal with the overly hyper child since I had a wedding to go work. Sorry Ryan!

I did NOT have to go back to a wedding venue at 2:00 in the morning this past Saturday to try to help locate a missing cake knife! Oh man, the things that I do for my bride's as The Bride's Assistant... I guess that was my punishment for the cupcakes and ice cream!

I am NOT laughing at how my husband's and my vocabulary has changed since Reagan has starting listening and repeating so well. For example, it is now quite common to hear us shout out the expletives "Pickle!" "Sugar!" "Cherry Pits!" or "Fudge!" in place of some other not so child-friendly words.

And finally, I am NOT super excited about a completely unexpected trip down to Carolina in less than two weeks. Details to come...