Quick Catch-Up!

Summer is in full swing and Mark and I are loving every minute of it! We spent the 4th of July week in Emerald Isle, NC with some fun friends from church. Some of the highlights of the trip included: a trip to the NC Aquarium, Sanitary Fish Market, exploring Ft. Macon, a round of golf (this was Mark), fireworks on the beach, some ocean kyaking, and of course plenty of beach time! It was a great time to meet new friends and just relax. Here are a few pics from our week!









































No comment on this one! ;-)

Summer is Here!

So much has happened since my last post, so I will just pick up with the most recent events/news. Mark and I have been pretty busy with work and church stuff recently. Lucky for me, school ended this week and I'm officially on summer vacation. The summer brings much excitement for us this year. Just a few things on the agenda are:

June 29-July 6th Emerald Isle Beachweek with church friends
July 9th: Our 3rd Wedding Anniversary! :-)
July 13-19th--Annual At Lee Family Vacation @ VA Beach
July 24th-27th--Off to NYC for a wedding of one of Mark's College Buddies

Phew! So that's the schedule so far...if we are MIA during those days...now you will know why! I promise to be much more faithful in posting recent blog updates and pics, but for now, here are a few pictures from some recent birthdays/events. Enjoy!




Caleb and Bekah (our twin nephew and niece) on their 3rd b-day...props to my older brother, Rick, on the awesome Barbie and Race Car Cakes he made!











Mark and Ben with Margaret at her JMU graduation in early May...so much fun!













So our friends Scott and Julie have a mini-dachshund named Ozzie, whom I think is hilarious! Well, last week their AC was broken for a few days and Ozzie joined Candy at our house while all of the "parents" were at work. Here are a couple pics for you to see the drastic difference in size between the 2 dogs...I'm seriously considering adopting a mini-dachshund for our next "dog child". ;-)




















We celebrated Isaac's 5th birthday at this sweet gym-type place called Romp and Roll...as you can see, much fun was had by all...especially Isaac!











Erin and I chilling while Isaac opened his gifts...love the little sis!

Mark's 26th Birthday!

This past weekend was a busy one, as we celebrated Mark's 26th birthday with his brother and parents. Mark had a blast golfing and playing baseball with his bro on Friday, followed by a huge meal at a Raleigh landmark, the Angus Barn. I was able to take a few pics at the restaurant...where much food and fun was had by all...enjoy!





As you can see...Mark was pretty excited to go to Angus Barn for his B-day dinner!










Too cute!










Ben's "Fred Flinstone" platter of beef ribs...aka my worst nightmare!











I <3 my hubby! ;-)

Christmas in February

After much anticipation, our nephews and neice finally received their Christmas presents from Uncle Mark and Aunt Kristin. Long story short, due to various medical issues involving various family members, our Christmas present delivery was continually delayed. However, on the weekend of February 24th, I (Kristin) was finally able to make the trip to Lynchburg to deliver the long-awaited gifts...and yes, I had purchased them prior to Christmas. ;-) The visit was full of laughter and memories...some of which were captured in the pics below. Enjoy!





Bekah in her "princess wear"








Caleb showing of his new trains








Isaac cheesing with his new transformer...I can't believe these things are popular again!








Jacob was loving his new transformer too! :-)

Smells like paint!

Well, as I stated in the previous blog, the painting of Casa de LoPresti has begun. First up was the kitchen, which had absolutely no color to its walls. After much time spent (by me of course) analyzing EVERY shade of red imaginable, "luxurious red" was the color of choice for this room. Here are some pics of our new kitchen wall color (sans the final touch-ups). Enjoy!

Here's the before...or should I say "in the process" pic:













And the after....

The Couches Have Landed...

Since we moved into our new home a few months ago, Mark and I have slowly been working on our "home improvement" list. Buying a new couch, as ours was over 13 years old, was ranked pretty high. So, Mark and I ventured out to various furniture stores last Sunday, and finally found the sofa of our dreams. For me, it was squishy and perfect for napping....for Mark, it was very long and deep, perfect for his long legs (to help you with the visual, my feet dangle over the side). Well, we decided to forgoe the usual purchase of a couch and loveseat and decided to buy two couches instead, as the price difference was only $20...and we really wanted as much seating as we could get for entertaining guests in our home. So, this past week, we waited in excitement for the arrival of our 2 new sofas. Today, the truck pulled-up and two guys proceeded to unload 2 massively packaged pieces of furniture. The sofas were unwrapped, the truck left, and Mark and I just stood there staring in awe at the HUGE green sofas. For the next 20 minutes we arranged and re-arranged the living room lay-out, trying to find the best possible layout for our living room. I must say, that it was then that I began to understand why most people buy one couch and one loveseat...2 couches, especially of this design, is quite a bit of furntiture! Mark is in love with the new sofas, but has agreed to look into a possible exchange of one of the sofas for the loveseat. Who would've known buying our first sofa would turn into all this craziness! Update to come soon...but in the meantime enjoy the pics of our oversized sofas...which make all of our previous furniture look miniature! ;-)

P.S.--> Please ignore the hideous paint color on the walls...we're hoping to begin painting this week...another task that was ranked high on our "list."

Oh Wow!

Ok, so I've taken a slight hiatus from blogging...but there is some hope...my wonderful husband bought me a new digital camera for my birthday, so now I am a photographing fool who actually knows how to download and edit my own pics! Yes, miracles can happen! The last few months have been pretty crazy. We moved to our new townhouse the last weekend of October, which is literally in the neighborhood across the street from our old apartment. We're loving our new place, but still have a lot to do to make it our own. If you have facebook, there's a whole album of house pics on my profile page.

The month of November was full of unpacking, work, traveling for holidays, and weddings. My cousin Kate was married November 10th in Ft. Meyers, Florida, and it was an awesome time to hang-out with my mom's side of the family. I've included a few wedding pics for your viewing pleasure. ;-)

The month of December has been pretty busy, with Mark working hard at Apple and Biogen. For my birthday, he took me on a date to the new Melting Pot up the street. This was my second time there and it was sooooo yummy...way too much food...but soooo worth it! We had a great time!

Now, we are finishing up work, shopping, and decorating in anticipation for our Christmas travels. Mark, Candy, and I will spend the majority of the holiday with family in VA and we are so ready to get away! Just gotta make it thru one more week of school!






















Just had to post this pic....documented proof just how much Isaac LOVES his Uncle Mark! :-)