Rempe's Retreat

Where have we been?

2009-12-17T23:00:00.000-08:00

Our last post was July 31! I am not sure what I was doing other than chasing the family around and trying to keep my head above water. It was a lot of fun, that's for sure. I am a hardware transition here with computers and cameras, so I will try to get some pictures posted of the happenings of 2009 soon... maybe a "Year in Review" sort of post. Until then, I just wanted to get a couple of things up here so I can share it with family that is looking for updates on the girls.

I finally fixed my scanner. I was motivated to do so because Lana's drawings have just went through some amazing transition. Where she previously doodled and then experimented with drawing simple faces, now she has more more recognizable drawings with many different techniques. In the past, I have sometimes talked her through some drawings... if she asked how to make a turtle then I might tell her to draw a big circle for the body then add a head, tail, and legs. It is also important to note that she did not receive any help on these drawings and was self-directed. I post two of her drawings from this past week.

The first drawing are "bugs" that she drew... some are happy and some are angry. She seems to enjoy drawing and then deciding what it was after the drawing is complete... instead of drawing a specific object.

The next drawing did not scan as well as I liked, but I love the "person" in the drawing. She even has toes!

It is so amazing to see Lana and all her friends develop! I love how they are all so imaginative! It is a blessing to learn from these children.

Typing before writing!

2009-07-31T14:36:00.000-07:00

Okay, I should have guessed this would be the case with how common computers are now. I can see definite progression with Lana in terms of reading skills: she loves to make up stories and finish the sentences in her books based on memory. As for writing, I haven't spent much time with her practicing this but I just let her draw all of the time. About a month ago, she was playing one of the computer games she likes and she asked me, "where is the 'n'?" I realized that she was playing on the computer when she asked this so I came to see what she was doing. She was typing her name in the prompt! As I got closer, she found the letter 'n' and then finish her name typing the letter 'a' a few too many times. This week, I saw her doing it again. She plays with the case, too. It's funny because she always starts out with lower case and then wants to make the other letters upper case. I am impressed with her typing her name before she can write it!

Back on Track

2009-07-31T09:41:00.000-07:00

Well, I just wanted to comment briefly on my running status. As many of you remember that I started running last July with a goal of running a 5k for the first time ever.
http://rempesretreat.blogspot.com/2008/07/new-challenge-for-amanda.html
As many of you know, I was blessed with pregnancy and had to put that goal on hold. I just wanted to let you all know that I am back! After my c-section on May 20, I receive clearance from the doc to start exercising again. So I started July 6, about a year exactly from when I started running last year! I am happy to say that I was able to accelerate my training program and last night I ran 30 minutes straight without stopping! I believe I had just reached this goal last year when I learned I was pregnant! This is a major accomplishment for me as I was never a good runner (always tried to run too fast and couldn'tbreath properly) even though I've biked and hiked and done aerobics. I am on my way to my first 5k!!!

Natural Finger Paints

2009-07-20T11:44:00.000-07:00

Lana wanted to do some finger painting for arts and crafts the other day. When I checked her paints, they were so old and some were dry and some were just near empty. I did a quick internet search to learn how to make our own finger-paints! Here is the recipe and here are the results:
1 1/2 T cornstarch
1 C water
food color
Just mix the cornstarch and water and cook over a stove until thick (on a low temp). Then add food coloring.
We also make our own play-dough for sculpting. All we do is mix up some flour and water with some food coloring. It's real easy to understand what your kid is playing with when you make it yourself. It's also nice not to worry about them ingesting something nasty when they decide to eat a little play-dough!

The Wild Side

2009-07-05T12:10:00.000-07:00

We have been going to one of the larger county parks for a long time... long before it was a developed county park. My brother learned to drive in it, we fished in it, Justin used to have BB-gun wars in it, and we used to Mountain Bike there as a couple ... now we take our kids there.

I love this park because it still has a wild side that most of the people don't venture into even though the park is much, much busier these days. We frequently have magical encounters there and the animals and plants are abundant. In addition to so many plants that you all could care less about unless you were geeky about it like me, they have wild walnuts, hickory, pecans, blueberries, blackberries and persimmons. It's just such a neat place with so many environments and several favorite spots that I call my "magic places", where I feel so alive and have had some neat experiences with the nature there.

Anyway, we go hiking there frequently but last week we took Lana out to gather some wild blackberries. It was a ton of fun and she really enjoys it. It will be so neat when Daphne is big enough for us to resume our hiking trips there again.

Shorty

2009-07-05T12:03:00.000-07:00

I have not liked any haircut I've ever paid for Lana to have, so being a control freak I decided to try cutting her hair myself... I figured it can't be any worse than what I've been paying others to do to her hair. So, the first time, I was right.... it was no worse than what she was getting from hair-cutters but it was not any better either. It was free. This time I stopped by the beauty supply shop and picked up some texturizing shears so I could try giving her hair some "oomf" with a short cut! I think this worked! Here it is....

Look-A-Likes

2009-07-02T07:59:00.000-07:00

It is unbelievable how much Daphne looks like Lana did when she was a baby. The heat is doing a number on Daphne's skin and she has some bad baby acne right now.

Here is a picture of Lana when she was this age, also with the baby acne:

Lana is a great big sister! We've had no problems with her being jealous or acting out in response to having Daphne. Lana occassionally gets in Daphne's toys and tells me she is a baby, but she is super sweet to Daphne and is always ready to help with diapers, pacifiers, blankets, laundry and more.

Beating the Heat!

2009-07-02T07:44:00.000-07:00

So, it's been about six weeks since Daphne joined our family and we are having tons of fun. Dadda and Lana have been keeping busy while Mommy and Daphne rested indoors in the first few weeks... you never know what you're going to find when Daddy's are leading playtime. Here are some shots of one evening when I found them outside with the water hose, spraying each other. Lana was repeating, "Hold still! Do you like it? Do you like it, Dadda?"
The very rotten Dadda, however, ran around the garden boxes so Lana would get the water hose all tied up! They were both soaked!

Our Big Girl!!!!

2009-06-07T06:00:00.001-07:00

Our big girl is now three and celebrates by being a wonderful big sister! Here are some photos from her birthday and birthday celebration with family...

Welcome to the World, Daphne!

2009-05-23T20:44:00.000-07:00

At 8 pounds, 5 ounces and 19 inches, Daphne joined our world on May 20 at 10:08 AM. We will post more pictures of our beautiful girl soon, but here are some of the ones we have from the hospital. She was a scheduled c-section because this pregnancy was already presenting much the way our first did(failing to progress into labor naturally), but we actually were all a little surprised to learn during the operation that she was also breech... so no wonder she wasn't dropping!

Lana was a little cautious at first, but soon was back to normal and it didn't seem that Daphne made her miss a beat from her busy, playful days. Thanks to Nana for taking such good care of Lana while we were in the hospital and for making her feel so comfortable while we were gon

Moving Forward

2009-05-18T13:16:00.001-07:00

Hey all. I have no cute pictures or anything this week, but just wanted to send out an update. We have a c-section scheduled for 10:00 AM Wednesday because I have another baby that is apparantly too big to make it through my pelvic cavity, but we are happy to have her one way or another! We should be up for visitors that day and the next... we will make phone calls to let everyone know when Daphne is born.

I have had a major nesting instinct going on. I have knitted 5 diaper covers, made 4 more slings, sewn a bag and hemmed the edges on some large squares of flannel to use as blankets. I am not sleeping well but my mind is overloaded with all these things so I am getting a lot of crafty things done since most require no more effort than sitting. On the flip side... my poor garden is full of weeds and Justin has been working hard to get things ready at work for his time off in addition to his umpiring many evenings each week. We are exhausted already but know that the next couple of months will be tiring.... but we'll be moving forward and can't wait to meet our little girl!!!

Garden Update

2009-05-05T13:38:00.000-07:00

Here is our garden progress! We have planted the following: In garden #1, we planted potatoes and onions. This garden will have to be phased out as the trees have grown so much since we've lived here. I don't think we can plant here much longer.

So, we expanded Garden #2 and planted broccoli, sweet potatoes, watermelon, cucumbers, and pole beans.

Then, we added four large garden boxes this year. Thanks to Uncle Travis and Justin for building these while I can't help out at all! Justin also single-handedly moved 3200 pounds of dirt into the boxes and we have more to do! We planted tomatoes over here and will be planting our pepper plants soon! I just have to say... if you love tomatoes the best kind is the heirloom Brandywine. It is so tasty!!!

Spring is here!!!

2009-04-23T12:55:00.000-07:00

So much has gone on since the beginning of March and so much more to do!!! Let's talk about outside on this blog. We started all of our spring gardening... including planting onions and potatoes and broccoli. Justin tilled the garden for us and expanded our space and my brother, Travis, came over to help Justin build us some new garden beds which we will be filling with soil this weekend and planting! Lana even has helped with the gardening (and also tasted a dandelion that I washed for her- a little pungent). She's done some heavily supervised pruning, lots of digging, weeding, and planting. In addition to the veggie garden, we've been working on cleaning up flower beds and adding color as well as tons of transplanting of shrubs and trees and plants. I am getting slower and slower as I get closer to the due date for this pregnancy... but I still go out and do a little work most nice days.

So we visited Nana and Pepah Saturday (Easter Eve?) after we decorated eggs. I think Justin had the most fun decorating the eggs. He was like a mad scientist, but Lana was impressed. He went out the next week and bought a couple more egg decorating kits on the after-Easter sales so we could decorate eggs again soon!

Then Sunday we hunted for eggs at our house and at Mammie's. We always find something interesting outside. Last Easter, we had a big, fat toad in our egg hunting path. This year two lizards fell to some sort of torture as Justin caught them and gave them to Lana. Note.... if you squeeze a lizard too hard it will bite you (more like a pinch) as Lana learned the hardway. She now knows better how you hold a lizard behind the head so you don't get bit.

Snow Scam 2009 is NOT a Scam!!!

2009-03-01T19:03:00.001-08:00

Every year I refer to the local weather hype as "Snow Scam Year XXXX", but this year it wasn't hype... we actually got some nice powdery snow that came down all day long. Of course, this is so exciting for kids, so we took some time to play in it and enjoy some special treats of cookies and cocoa. Justin even suited up to grill our pork loin in the snow tonight, which is a good thing because we kept having short power outages during dinner preparations!

Lana made her first snowman and a snow-duck... well, she helped a little, mostly with the face and arms. She ate snow for the first time and drank hot cocoa for the first time! Lots of fun first today! Justin enjoyed making some menacing snowballs and was very kind not to use them against us!

Pregnancy is Going Great

2009-03-01T10:05:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to show how huge I look and to say all is well. I'm tired mostly, but we are healthy and fine. I am starting to get excited about the upcoming birth and we are doing some preparations around the house to get ready. Mostly we need to move Lana to her own room and so the baby can use the nursery. I already put together the crib and we are working to clear our our stuff from the room that Lana will be taking over. Next step is to finish reorganizing and paint.

On another note about my pregnancy. No, I am not having twins! I am getting asked that a lot and I've only gained a net of 10 pounds and this is just how I look when I'm pregnant because I have no torso... the baby has to go somewhere so a giant belly seems to be the best option.

In & Out

2009-02-23T11:13:00.000-08:00

Though the title of this post reminds me of a favorite burger joint that Justin and I enjoyed while he was in the Navy in San Diego, my "in and out" reference is to the weather! This month has had some beautiful days in the high 40's to high 60's and we are trying to enjoy them as much as possible. On those cold days we've had to retreat inside again. We went to the Georgia Aquarium this month and had a great time... it was Lana's first trip there and she liked it very much. She, of course, liked being able to touch things more than look so she enjoyed the touch pool for the sea urchins. Mammie went with us and it is a lot of fun.

On the days it was too cold to play outside, we also enjoyed some art, the loathed "animal rescue" game that Lana has made up, too much tv, puzzles, books, and playing in the tunnels.

When we could go outside, we have mixed in some yardwork... lots of transplanting and pruning and planting of shrubs with Lana digging in the dirt. Everytime I dig a whole to transplant something, she is right there to sit in it and play a game in the dirt. On one day that was particularly nice, we took a picnic outside. Lots of fun! We've also made trips to the playground and the park to go fishing, but all we caught were ducks!

Birthday Cake, Fires, and Games

2009-02-14T20:16:00.000-08:00

I just have to share that Lana is in a strange stage of "organizing" objects. This has consumed most of her play time in the past month now. She loves to "build" piles of seemingly random objects, but she is so particular about how she puts them together. She builds these piles, which she most frequently refers to as "games" or "birthday cakes". She'll eagerly ask us, "Do you want to make a game with me? Do you? Do you?" In addition to calling her creations "games" and "birthday cakes", she has also called a couple "fires" and is into building "spider houses" right now. Here are some pictures of her creations, which may be made anywhere including the floor, sofa, a desk, a chair, the bathtub, a table at IHOP, the kitchen sink, outside, and so on....

Justin likes to say that the creation above looks like something a cat puked-up. Somewhat true, I guess.

She's in the act of building the above game.

This one is in the bathtub.

Bed Bugs and Poopie

2009-02-04T12:48:00.000-08:00

Some of you have heard this story because I could not resist telling it, but I have to put it here in case you haven't heard it plus Lana has caught me on something I say that she has interpreted literally.

Bed Bugs

A few weeks back, we decided to expand upon our nightly "good night" ritual with our daughter, Lana. In addition to the commonly used, "Good night. Sleep tight.", we decided to add "Don't let the bed bugs bite."

Well this first created some concern with questions about bed bugs. We told her the weren't real so not to create concern (even though they are real). The next few nights, we repeated this new addition to our "good night" ritual and encountered Lana trying to grasp it and put it into words. Then she finally spit out a complete sentence on the matter, "Good night. Sleep tight. Don't let the bugs eat your bed!" I struggled to stop laughing as I lay next to her to get her to sleep.

The next night was even different. She said with great enthusiasm, "Good night. Sleep tight. Don't let the bugs eat your bed or mine!"

The Poop Comes Out

I recently made the mistake of telling Lana to be careful as she was laying on a balloon. "Be careful, Lana. That balloon could pop and scare the poop out of you." She continued to lay on the balloon and I told her again to be careful. She questioned me, "Or the poop will come out?" Two days later, we have the same scenario. I reminder her that the balloon could pop and it would scare her badly. She reminded me, "So the poop will come out."

I guess so.

Not only do I have to be careful to avoid certain words in the English language that are considered vulgar, but now I have to worry about literal translations for some terrible sayings I have.

At the Train Station

2008-10-04T12:54:00.001-07:00

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?

2008-10-04T12:27:00.001-07:00

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

2008-10-04T12:16:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-03T10:38:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-27T06:06:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-22T15:17:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-20T11:57:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-06T20:00:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-06T19:50:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-26T20:31:00.001-07:00

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...

2008-06-26T19:55:00.001-07:00

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.”

Lana's Second Birthday

2008-06-26T19:22:00.000-07:00

We were back at Tribble Mill Park again for Lana's birthday party this year. It was a little humid but the shade of the trees makes that park at least ten degrees more comfortable than in the sunlight. We had so much fun with our friends and family that came out to celebrate with us! We missed our pals that couldn't be there!

We're back...

2008-06-26T19:10:00.001-07:00

Ok, ok. The last blog said we're off to Indiana, but we didn't get lost there. We did come home again. It is such a beautiful place and we like being there. Here are a few pics from our trip. My grandparents live on a beauftiful piece of property along a creek. We stayed at a cabin that they built on their land. Lana had her first experience playing in the creek! We caught a crawdad as well as many rocks and fossils... and she got pretty wet. We also went on a wonderful hike at the bird sanctuary again. Everywhere we looked, the ground was covered in deer tracks. It's an unbelievable place to hike with just a few people there each day. We also did a little fishing even though Justin didn't have the camera with him when he caught the big fish... I am including a little sample.

Off to Indiana....

2008-05-20T20:43:00.000-07:00

We have had a busy week and I didn't get to catch up with everyone to let you know we are going on a trip. We are off for a little trip to visit my (Amanda's) grandparents in Indiana this week. When we get back, we'll be celebrating Lana's second birthday! Happy Memorial Day to all and best wishes to you wrapping up the school year!

See snow, Elmo?

2008-05-10T21:55:00.001-07:00

Ok, this is Amanda now blogging when Justin has been the one to start this fire. So, this is my first time... I need to do some historical blogging; is that against the rules? Let's start with a fun story:

Lana likes her baby dolls and stuffed animals. She took us by surprise when shortly after she started walking, she started holding her babies and rocking them saying, "Sshhh... it's ok". Then the babies started doing everything she did... she put them in the high chair for food, she insisted on diaper changes for her dolls, she wraps them in blankets... they even ride in our hiking backpack. During the winter we had some snow and Lana was taking her dolls to the windows, "See outside?" she would say to them. "See snow, Elmo?" Her little nurturing instincts are wonderful to see and it feels like a reflection of how we care for her. It makes me feel like we've done a good job.

More Lana pics

2008-05-10T21:40:00.001-07:00

Try not to have a heart attack. We've actually posted some pics on the blog. This is what happens when the kid is asleep and we're still up at 1am!

And for those of you wondering, yes, Bobby and Lana took a bath together. It's way too early for me to start thinking about the talk I'll have to give to Bobby when they actually start "dating". This picture will make good blackmail material...

So, we're going to actually update this sucker...

2008-04-02T13:07:00.001-07:00

At some point this weekend. We'll add some pictures and personal writings and stuff to keep you all informed.

Everyone else is doing it!!

2008-03-20T09:12:00.001-07:00

Everyone else is doing it!!

I've tried using that excuse over the years, but have never realized any success in so using. Well, until this moment, that is.

The Rempe's have finally started a blog about the comings and goings of our family. It's mostly a cool way to keep in touch with our friends and relatives, and watch as our families continue to grow and develop.