eight random facts

so my friend AK tagged me in her online blogging game of "8 random facts." here's how it goes:

1. you're tagged by a fellow blogger
2. you decide you have nothing better to do than share your oddities with the blogging world
   
3. you come up with 8 random facts about yourself and create a post
   
4. at the end of that post, you tag 8 additional people (8 other blogs) to play the game
5. you tag someone by going to their blog and leaving a comment on the most recent post saying, "tag, you're it!"

so let's see....eight RaNdOm facts about me that you might not know upon the initial meeting....

1. i really, really, really like cows. stuffed cows. cow fabric (my mom made me a cow quilt!). cows by the lang company are my favorite.
2. i cut my hair impulsively. i don't get regular cuts or trims. instead, i cut my hair about 2-3 times a year when i wake up and decide i need a change. sometimes it's a bad idea, sometimes it is a welcome change. today was one of those days.
3. i've never flown before. in august i embark on my initial air travel as i head to see my best friend, myra, in boston. i'm not sure what will make me pee my pants first-- being at the mercy of the winds or seeing my best friend for the first time in over 6 months.
4. i'm a pk. that's right, my daddy is a preacher-man! some of you already know that, but lots of you may not. my dad has been a pastor since i was 10 years old and it's been such a blessing to grow up as a "preacher's kid."
5. i want to have a barn wedding when i grown up. :) my dream wedding has always been country-themed, with my ideal reception location a quaint, old, still-in-good-condition barn! THIS is what i have in mind. :) (photos courtesy of www.fearrington.com)
6. i cannot stand cool-whip! anything with the texture of the nasty, sticky stuff is not my cup of tea either-- peanut butter, reddi whip, whipped frostings-- yuck!
7. i've lost a toenail in every 1/2 marathon i've run to date. granted, it's only two, but they still haven't grown back. the podiatrist said it was because of my shoes, but i like to think of it as a medal of honor for all of my training & hard work. :) (a very big "im sorry!" to everyone out there that i just grossed out!)
8. i've played the violin since i was in 5th grade. i love the beautiful sounds that german wood makes and hope that someday i can pass it down to my little girl.

there ya go! now i have to "tag" eight others. sorry, but i'm not sure if i know eight other people! i'm not quite the blogger as my buddy ak is. :) hope you enjoyed my oddities!

happy 23rd john!

this past friday (6/29) john celebrated his 23rd birthday! i went up thursday afternoon after summer school to spend the weekend celebrating with him. we went to dinner at a little restaurant in downtown culpeper on thursday since we would be on the road friday night. although my seafood wasn't anything to talk about, john's steak was tasty and we had a nice long dinner over a bottle of red wine. a perfect dinner if you ask me!


john went to work on friday from 7-5 while i headed up to leesburg to meet some of my friends for a day of shopping! kristie and melissa, two college buds who were also in my major, met up with me for a fun afternoon of shopping. we shopped til we dropped and then i headed back to culpeper to wait for john as he got off work. once he got home, we packed for the lake and were off once more!

we met kelly (john's sister) and her hubby, kevin, in charlottesville. from there we all piled into kevin's car and headed to smith mountain lake. this was my first visit to the lake so i wasn't sure what to expect. boy was i in for a surprise!

the winstead (john's mom & stepdad) and the tanis (john's aunt deb & uncle dave) families bought the lake house together back in 1996. the beautiful home is filled with family photos of many a weekend spent skiing, relaxing, boating & jumping off the top deck of the deck! the house is situated in a quiet cove off the rather busy lake, the ideal spot for a relaxing weekend away from it all. saturday was a bit overcast, with a rainy afternoon; however, we had a great time enjoying each other's company and simply relaxing. the skies cleared up around 4:00 and we had some more lake time before dinner at mexico viejo, also on the lake. we piled into the boat while captain john drove us to & from the restaurant.

playing on floaties!

sadie, the SML long-jump unofficial champion

the whole gang!

rockin' the boat!

captain john

barbie, kelly & aunt deb

with the birthday boy!

kelly & kevin

aunt deb & uncle dave
(with the yummy margaritas!)

on the dock after supper

sunday we woke up to beautiful sunshine peeping in through the miniblinds. after a hearty, homemade breakfast, we headed out for a morning of skiing and boating.










after lunch we had a little more water time before it was time for kelly, kevin & myself to hit the road again. it was a great weekend spent with the person i love the most and his incredible family. we're heading back for a quick visit again this weekend to celebrate the 4th; i could get used to this! :)

family photo shoot

mom & i thought it would be a great idea to take family pictures on the beach. we told everyone to bring khaki bottoms and white tops for our little photo shoot. the pictures came out GREAT, thanks to our amateur photographer- john pollock! if you want his email, just let me know. :) in all seriousness, we had a great time and these look beautiful. thank you so much john! enjoy!

family vacation 2007

june 15th-june 22nd was our renfrow family vacation! we had a great time at the beach, this year, in frisco, nc. our family has always gone to the outer banks for vacation in years past. however, the flocks of tourists, constant traffic and over-crowded beaches called for a new location this year. after lots of online searching and chatting with neighbors, we decided cape hatteras was our new beach destination. we looked into cottages that would fit the whole family (including our two BIG labs!) in the area and came upon the oceanside "sanfred & sun" in frisco, nc-- about 8 miles north of the ferry to ocracoke island. what a blast! we had BEAUTIFUL, warm weather and incredible company. even john got to visit for a long weekend! apart from the venomous spider that bit me (check out the pics below) it was a vacation for the books. i like to let my pictures speak for me, so enjoy! :)

john and i liked to walk the dogs on the beach at night

kiddies- cover your eyes!

lil wyatt in his adorable swim trunks & matching hat

he loved the sand

joe cool in his shades

the beach wears ya out!

my mom adores him.
and i believe he feels the same way about her, too. :)

look at those cuties in their hats!

wyatt didn't like brown auntie ash. :(

hangin' out in his very own little chair

my boys!

i love these two

monkey see, monkey do!

wyatt loved john!

cute couple if i say so myself :o)

i saved the best for last!
a spider bit my foot as i was walking back to the cottage one afternoon.
it was obviously venomous (or so the doctor said!) and just took some time to reduce back down to normal size. my last few days of the trip were spent inside, on the couch, reading. :( at least i got some fun in the sun in while john was visiting!