At the Train Station

We live close to a place called Vines Botanical Gardens which was recently acquired by our county parks system. We've been out here many times to stroll the gardens. On some Sundays the park operates a large, model train. It's very cool!!! Here are some pictures from a day Mammie and I took Lana this summer.

Here is Lana watching the trains.

This is a picture of one of two towns. This is only part of the town. There is an extensive military depot, an airport, a river, a waterfall and more.

The towns are busy in action. Here some local rescue workers arrive at the scene of a plane crash!

Where did summer go?

We have been very busy for a couple of months and are a little behind on the blog. Here are some picture from our summer...

Playing with the cats: I don't know if you can see it, but Lana was running around the yard with super long string so the cats could chase it. Our male cat, Osiris, is also particularly fond of playing bubbles with Lana. If you didn't know it, all our cats got kicked outside earlier this summer. They are doing well. Of course, our Calico female, Savannah, is not a stranger to the outdoors and loves hunting. She frequently brings us grotesque but thoughtful gifts to the door: birds, squirrels, chipmunks, moles, mice, rabbits, and lizards. She is an expert.

On days that were too hot, we stayed inside to play. Lana started playing dress-up this summer. Here Lana picked out a nice hat for me to wear.

We also enjoyed some time with Mammie and Pops where Lana could play with the fish in the water feature and harass the garden gnomes and fairy. Maybe that's backwards, I think she harassed the fish and played with the magical creatures. Lana loves to make popcorn in Mammies movie-theatre style popcorn maker.

Lana's Big Catch

We have been very very busy the past two months and are a little behind on the blog. We did go fishing a few times this summer and Lana likes it. Here are some pictures including her first catch (which Mommy helped with). Mostly I held the pole and she reeled... even when she didn't need to reel. I would tell her to stop reeling and try to keep her from pulling in the line and then she would tell me to stop and so on and so on.

A New Path

Many of you know that I began running at the beginning of July. I started with only the experience of having ran for one minute consecutively in the past. I never liked it, but necessity to find a sport I can do anywhere, anytime, and with anyone pushed me to look at running again.

I finished week 4 by running with my friend, Julie. Julie is an experienced runner with many years under her belt and I really appreciate her continued support and her hands-on consultation Friday. I learned some good tips!

Today I started my 5th week of running and it's really going better than expected. The daily run schedule for this week inlcudes 2 min of walking amd 8 min of running (times three). So, I ran 24 minutes this morning! I'm really happy. I planned to do my first race in mid-October but I'm thinking that September is possible now.

A Peachy Day in Georgia

We had a great time Friday meeting the newest member of The Royal Family, Wesley. He is absolutely adorable, but we look forward to future visits when he is able to spend more time with us as his schedule was just packed with sleeping and eating this time around!

I think we were able to provide some new-mommy relief though to Andrea with a nice lunch (compliments of Julie) and kid play time for her older son (which may be my specialty). I am looking forward to getting Lana and David more comfortable around each other, but they did very well for not having spent much time together before.

Of course, Elena helped with diplomacy. She's an excellent leader and it seems natural that she should be the firstborn of this group of kids. She's working on additional skills so she can take better care of the young ones. In the pictures below you can see some of her driving techniques, which for "super-fast" driving... she is excellent and controls the road.

Ethan was a big help as seen here.

Lana had a great time with everyone. She loved playing with David's toys and Charlie dog. We topped off the day with a trip to the local orchard for some homemade peach ice cream. There, the kids had a speed walking race and Lana persistently tried to play in the one garden that had a sign specifically barring children.

Thanks to our friends for such a fun day!

A New Challenge for Amanda

Only very few know that I’ve set a goal that is extraordinarily challenging for me: I’m going to run a 3k this fall.

Background: I’m not new to exercise, but I now exercise less than I ever have and I also have had some very bad joint pain since Lana was born. I have to do two things: 1) drink my daily water and 2) regular cardio exercise. I choose running because I can do it no matter where I am, no matter if I have Lana with me or not, and the challenge is serious enough to keep me from being bored.

A Runners Body: My body does not and has never looked like a runner's body. I have my strengths, but it's never been running. Is it how the body was built or how you use it? I’ll just follow a training schedule and see how much I can change.

Starting: Google. I found an article on training for a 3k. The article assumes that one can already run 1.5 miles so, I found another article on running for beginners. I then found some local 3k races and set my goal and schedule!

Progress: The second week included three days of a five minute walk/two minute run repeated three times. This was a stretch for me, but I was surprised that I could do it. I realized that if I stick to the flat paths I can run longer. I was able to succeed in week 2 and even pushed a little further.

Now how will I be able to double the run time to the walk 3/run 4 schedule in week 3?

Triumph!: I was so nervous about Week 3. The run time is twice as long as last week! Just follow the schedule. When I set out Sunday, I struggled a little. I made some mistakes but, with a couple of walking breaks to accomplish the runs, I still made great progress and I wasn’t discouraged because I knew I could do it if I made a couple of changes.

So, today I set out to run again. I made it! I did it! Thank you, God. I can run four consecutive minutes (a total of 16 minutes today)!

Next week: Walk two and run five.

Always something to see in the garden

There is always something to see in the garden... be it a little bug, a beautiful flower, or a strong tree or rock. I love to be in the garden. Lana seems to enjoy it too. We just want to share some pictures and thoughts of our adventures in the garden.

As this growing season began, we were on the hunt for lady bugs. Lady bugs and their larvae eat tons of pesky aphids. We found a lady bug hanging out on a peony a couple of days then she disappeared. So, we searched for her. We found many lady bugs and what we think are lady bug eggs in our big garden. They seem to like one weed in particular, I guess that's because the aphids like the same weed.

We also planted a veggie garden this year including garlic, tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, pumpkins, squash and many kinds of peppers. Lana has been a great help this year with the harvest and is getting good at identifying what veggies are ready to pick.

We enjoy picking flowers to fill our vase. We like to combine some wonderful smelling herbs with other perrenials. Lana has a great eye for picking pretty flowers. I feel that Lana already has a connection to the earth: rock and soil, water, wood and plant.

Independence Day Blast

We had a fantastic holiday! There is nothing like Chinese fire power to celebrate American Independence from the British! Our friends the Beckmans came over to spend the evening with us. Lana and Bobby had a great time playing in her sand and water table.

All I know is that I will enjoy pictures like these while the kids are young and innocent. It won't be long before Justin is explaining terms and conditions of dates to Lana's boyfriends and also describing the scary details of what may happen if the boy does not agree to the terms and conditions.

Rebecca made a beautiful patriotic treat which we took with us to watch fireworks in Logaville. Thanks to the Goodrows for allowing us to be squatters on their front lawn while they were downtown for a really fantastic fireworks display. The weather was perfect and the kids had a ton of fun. The Hauerts joined us for fireworks. All the kids had fun throwing the snap and pops in the street with Matt & Christy.

Water Bug

Lana loves playing with water, but hasn't been in a pool since last summer. We had tons of fun last Friday with our friends... too much fun that I didn't get many pictures. I spent most of the day in the kid pool with Elena, Bobby and Lana. I had the most fun and was genuinely laughing with the kids as they were playing so well together. I also enjoyed a little bit of time just holding one of the many new babies on the block, Ethan. He was very generous in giving me some smiles, so that made it so exciting. Lana didn't want to spend much time in the water that was too deep to stand in, but we'll wait until she is more comfortable just being in the kid pool before we push that. Thanks to Julie for the invite to swim!!!

Historical Blogging- Jan & Feb 2008

I meant to include so many things since I was pulled into blogging kicking and screaming. Here are some pics from events that I wanted to include in the blog but chose to do other things with my time instead of the blog. From January and February 2008.... and include Lana's trip down the hall to find a red marker, the Frogs exhibit at Fernbank, tea with Bobby, trip to the playground, and random play time.

Last night...

This was taken from an email I sent my Mom today about my evening with Lana last night. I just enjoy her so much and am having a great time with her. This is how our evening went, and in my mind, it was wonderful...

Last night we had a great time. It was just about perfect. She ate really well. In the morning, she saw the watermelon on the table and wanted some, but I told her we’d do it later. So, as soon as we got home, she started asking for it “I want watermelon! There it is! Cut it!!! Cut it!!!”. So, I cut up the watermelon and gave her some, and sat her down to watch Dora while I cut up some more and prepped dinner. She came back in three times for watermelon refills. I said, “did you know mommy ate a watermelon every week I was pregnant with you?” “Yes, “ she responded. She came back for a fourth serving but I convinced her that we were going to eat dinner. So, I took her some black beans, broccoli, and a piece of cheese. She ate a few beans, but demolished the broccoli, eating just the dark green off and leaving “stems” behind. She asked for more… so I gave her the rest of the broccoli I cooked. She then wanted more and I cooked more broccoli to satisfy her.

After she was done eating, we went outside to play. She wanted to paint, so I set up the eisel and watercolors for her outside. I had filled up a bucket with the watermelon rinds and broccoli stems to take back for my compost pile but Lana noticed the watermelon rinds and grabbed one. I told her it was trash and put it back in the bucket. I tried to get her to paint again… she seemed interested, then she went right back to the bucket and pulled out a watermelon rind, turned her back to me so she could “sneak” bites from the rind. I took some pics and laughed so hard at her determination and desire for the watermelon. I told her I couldn’t stand to see her gnaw on the rind trying to get any of the watermelon remains, so I got her a big slice to eat… and she ate it all. She was smiling and laughing and having such a good time.

After the watermelon was done and so was the painting, we played in the backyard for a while. I then decided to give her a special treat because she still wanted to eat something. I made some frozen bananas dipped in chocolate and rolled in coconut (first time I ever did this). She thought it was awesome. She immediately started eating it. After her first taste, she said, “mmm, chocolate”. We sat on the back porch while she went on and on with “Mmm. That’s good. Mmmmm. Mmm. Banana.”