This Week at The Remmers

Oops...forgot to write last night--just too much going on!

The week started off pretty slowly.

Nothing exciting on Monday. Tuesday was Lyn's piano lesson. Wednesday we went to Pirate's Cove (still haven't explored those other water parks!). We got there a little late, so Margie called Dan to meet us at a nearby restaurant for dinner. Margie complained (nicely) about her veggie burger and got a $10 gift certificate. Woo hoo! (We're pretty excited because although the burger was tough, the rest of the food was delicious.)

On Thursday we headed up to BWI airport to pick up a special guest--Grandma! Margie's mom had wanted to surprise the kids, and she succeeded! (Margie had a hard time keeping it from the kids, though, and made Carolyn promise that she wouldn't make her do it again.)

On Friday, the kids enjoyed a Pioneer Day activity at a nearby park. In the evening, Margie headed to the last weekend of Oliver. After the show, she went with a few fellow cast members to Silver Diner to wrap some gifts for the crew.

On Saturday, the whole family (including Grandma) was hard at work getting the backyard ready for Lyn's beach birthday party. We cleared out a ton of brush and Dan made two trips to the dump, John earned $10 by collecting pine cones for five cents a piece, and Lyn earned $6 by picking up large rocks of various sizes. The yard looks really nice, and we are grateful to Lyn for providing a reason to get it all cleaned up.

In the afternoon, the family again pulled together to help Margie assemble her own personal cast and crew gifts. As the undertaker's wife, it seemed natural to pick something a little macabre, so she started with some little coffins:


She then added a tombstone card that read, "I hope you're dying..." (on the outside) "...to work together again!" (on the inside). Much thanks to Dan--the "punny" one in the family--for his help with the script!

They turned out really cute and the cast and crew loved them.

After Margie left for her last performance, our friend Jennifer Lyman stopped by to pick up Carolyn to take her to see the show. They both loved it.

Jennifer then took Carolyn home while Margie headed over to the cast party.

On Sunday, we all slept in and then Margie headed back to the theatre for strike. After a few hours, it was all over. It had been a long weekend of hard work, and Margie was pooped! She went straight to bed.

This upcoming week looks to be pretty exciting. Since John never had a birthday party in January, we're celebrating his seven and a HALF birthday at Chuck E. Cheese's tomorrow with a few friends. Then Lyn's birthday party will be on Thursday, followed by her REAL birthday on Friday.

Whew! After this we'll all need a vacation!

P.S. John wants you to know that he got one more star and now only needs one more to get 100! He got it from a 100 coin star in a course called "Snowman's Land."

By the way...

We forgot to mention last night that all of the wish lists have now been updated (some birthdays are getting close!). For your convenience, here are the direct links:

Dan
Margie
Lyn
John

Also, Carolyn asked me whether I am in Gypsy at LTA (because I mentioned I was at a rehearsal on Sunday). The answer is no--I just attend double tech Sunday for each show and give feedback as part of my duties on the Board of Governors.

Have a great week!

This Week at The Remmers

This week started off pretty quiet. Margie is now in performance only on the weekends, so we all actually got to spend some time together in the evening!

On Monday we had fun playing Cadoo--many thanks to whoever gave it to us many years ago!

Tuesday was Lyn's piano lesson. She continues to do well and enjoy playing.

On Wednesday, Margie and the kids went to Pirate's Cove (we thought we were going to spend the summer exploring all the area water parks, but so far we've stuck to our favorite!). In the evening, Margie attended her LTA Board meeting. Lyn went to Activity Day, and she got to paint her toenails. They are very cute!

On Thursday, Margie and the kids went to see a free performance of West Side Story. It was done by some middle and high school kids as the finale of their musical theatre summer camp and was quite good.

On Friday, Margie was back on stage.

On Saturday afternoon we had a fun family picnic at Pohick Bay. The weather was beautiful--sunny, but not too hot, no humidity and no mosquitos. Really, it was just perfect. On the way out of the park, we saw a cute little fawn by the side of the rode. It was too young to know to run away, so we had a nice few minutes talking to it from just a few feet away.

Sunday was a busy day for Margie--her own matinee plus the double tech of Gypsy at LTA. The show is still a little rough, but it's in much better shape than Oliver was a week before we opened, so I think all will be well. The cast is full of very talented people.

Good news--John has got two more stars and only needs three more to get 100!

Oliver Review

Our first review:
http://www.showbizradio.net/2009/07/13/review-mcp-oliver/

Hell Week at the Remmers

Well, this week has been pretty exciting around here.

Margie was gone late into the evening each night for tech week, or "hell week," as it's known among the actors. The show opened on Friday and the audience seemed to like it (including Dan, Lyn and John, who were among them), despite some minor catastrophes.

Saturday and Sunday performances also went well--each one getting a little bit better. By closing night we'll be about perfect!

Margie and the kids went to Pirate's Cove only once this week. Dan and the kids went over to his sister Debbie's house today for a combined graduation (Brenden) and birthday (Debbie and Doug) party while Margie was at the matinee.

We're all very excited to be done with detox and back on "normal" food, though we did get John's test results back this week and it turns out that what's causing his skin problems is yeast. So next week we'll start a yeast elimination diet, which, unfortunately, will be even more restrictive and uncomfortable. The good news, however, is that once the yeast is completely out of his system, not only will his skin clear up, but he'll be able to go back to normal food (in about 6 months).

In some sadder news this week, Dan's dad suffered what is sometimes called an "ocular stroke," which has left him blind in one eye. The official name for his condition is "Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy," which you can read more about here. He has had a biopsy of the arteries in his temple to determine whether he has the more serious form of the condition. Please keep him in your prayers.

We are looking forward to a more relaxing week ahead, with perhaps a trip to the beach, before Margie is back on stage on Friday.

We hope you are doing well!

P.S. John wants everyone to know that he now has 91 (out of 150) stars in his Mario DS game!!

This Week at The Remmers

Well, with the exception of the fourth of July, our week wasn't all that exciting. Margie had Oliver rehearsal most evenings (we open next weekend!)and she and the kids went to Pirate's Cove twice. (By the way, did we tell you that a picture of Margie is in the season brochure? Cool!). That's about it. Dan had Friday, July 3 off, but he just changed oil in the car and started some work on his next set (the bathtub in our garage).

For the fourth of July we got up super early to attend the church pancake breakfast--though it was a little sad because due to our 21 day detox (today is Day 17!), we didn't get to eat any pancakes. Margie made it up to the kids by making super healthy spelt/almond pancakes at home for lunch. At the breakfast (which was held at a local park), Lyn rode on her scooter to participate in the children's parade. A friend of ours took a cute picture of her with her decorated scooter, but hasn't sent us a copy yet. We'll be sure to post it when we get it.

After lunch, Margie headed out to do some furniture shopping (looking for a new dining room table set). All the stores were having special holiday markdowns, but she couldn't find exactly what she wanted.

For dinner we had marinated portobello burgers and a special (not quite detox) treat of Red, White, and Blue Terra chips (red sweet potatoes, candy striped beets, and blue potatoes).

After dinner we played a couple rounds of Cranium Family Edition--that was a lot of fun. John wants you to know that he won both games! The hardest challenge was having to draw a clue with your eyes closed.

By then it was time for fireworks. One would think that living here in the Nation's Capital, the 4th of July would be a big deal, but Dan and Margie realized a long time ago that it wasn't really very fun to be out in the heat, humidity, and mosquitoes, so we chose to watch the fireworks on TV--indoors with air conditioning! (We're such wimps.) Our neighbors were also shooting off some fireworks, so Dan took John in the car to drive around and watch them.

Today we had church and Margie had rehearsal. Dan made our dinner, and everyone enjoyed a special, detox treat--goat's milk ice cream! The verdict? Yummy!!!

John also wants you to know that he has defeated two of the bosses (in his Super Mario 64 DS game) and has completed the course for the last one, but he can't destroy him because of his special tricks--being fast, breathing fire, and electric stomps.

Well, that's all our news. We hope you had a great holiday and continue to have a fabulous summer.

Now On Facebook!

It has been many hours, lots of head scratching and hair pulling, but I THINK I've finally figured out how to send updates from this blog to Facebook.

Enjoy!

P.S. If you are on Facebook, but aren't friends with me yet, you'll find me at:
http://www.Facebook.com/margie.remmers