The Remmers Family News: This Week at the Remmers'

Well, I thought this had been a relatively quiet week until I started brainstorming everything that went on. It never stops around here!

On Monday, we had little bit more work done on the house. The ceiling in the basement bathroom was crinkled from years of built up moisture, so we had it replaced. Unfortunately, this disturbed a nest of cluster flies, which had been hibernating somewhere in our walls. On Tuesday morning, our poor Korean house guests woke up to three huge flies in their tiny bathroom, and we have been fighting them all week (the flies, not the house guests!), killing more than 6 per day (flies, not house guests). I felt terrible for them (the house guests, not the flies), but there is nothing we can do except wait for them to die out (the flies, not the house guests!).

In better news, also on Monday, we held our annual Pi Party. Nope, that's not a typo. On March 14, nerds around the world celebrate PI (3.14) by eating PIE. We had a HUGE crowd (almost too big for our tiny house!) and it was a lot of fun.

This year there was a special twist!

On Tuesday, Margie was invited to attend a special "parent input" meeting about the International Baccalaureate (IB) Middle Years Program (MYP). This is something our schools are in the middle of implementing, and the official representatives wanted to get a sense of how it is going. Margie was worried that 1) she didn't know enough about the program to offer any good input, and/or 2) she was going to say something that made the school lose points. Ack! But it all turned out fine. Whew!

Later that day, Lyn got her driver's permit!!!! Ack! Here we go on our next adventure...

She's permitted!

On Wednesday, Margie was excited for finally pick up her bike from the shop. She had brought it in several weeks prior for a spring tune up, as well as some much needed repairs. Unfortunately, when she went out on the trail Thursday morning, it was still broken!! ARGH!!! Margie was very upset and convinced Dan to go with her back to the shop and strong arm them into fixing it. Turns out he wasn't needed, though. They gladly made some adjustments, and she was on her way.

Top o' the mornin' to ya! Margie was looking forward to a St. Patrick's Day ride, but found out her bike was still broken the moment she got on it!

Due to the issues with the bike, we weren't able to celebrate St. Patrick's day in style. We feasted on our Colcannon on Saturday instead.

On Friday, we said goodbye to both of our children. Lyn went on a long-promised solo trip out to the Pacific Northwest to visit family. She had been wanting and waiting for this for some time. Her cousin Emily had made the reverse trip a few years ago, and last year we promised Lyn that she could do it, too. Unfortunately, Margie waited too long to buy the tickets last year, and it was cost prohibitive. We are grateful we have such a patient and understanding daughter!

Lyn's first solo transcontinental flight!

John also left on a trip, but his was much shorter, camping with his scout troop.

With both kids gone, Dan and Margie got to go on a little date night. We took the opportunity to visit one of our favorite restaurants, Hawwi (which neither of the kids like), in Old Town. If you are local and enjoy Ethiopian food, check it out!

On Saturday, Dan and Margie went on a little bike ride along Accotink Creek. It was nice to have two working bikes and hang out together, but it was cold! Plus, for some reason, there were dead frogs everywhere. Margie remarked that she thought she might be in Egypt!

After the campout, John headed over to help out with a friend's Eagle Project. He built some furniture and helped out with some organizing projects--both of which he has a lot of experience with(!)--at a local Chamber of Commerce. Meanwhile, Lyn seemed to be having a good time West of the Mississippi.