I realize I am hopelessly behind in filling you in on 2017, but here's what's been going on so far this year:
Dan and Margie rang in the New Year with some friends from LTA. Margie thinks it's going to be her last one one--she just doesn't like staying up that late and wants to start the new year off not feeling so groggy. I guess Dan will have to find someone else to kiss...
On New Year's Day, Margie typically hosts a post-Christmas family brunch, but no one was in town, so we had some vegan friends over instead. We had Margie's homemade vegan sausages and introduced them to her vegan aebleskivers. Margie is still figuring out how to cook the danish donuts just right on her new stove.
On January 6, we celebrated Ukrainian Christmas with some new friends who had both served their missions in Ukraine. Margie was nervous serving them her completely americanized versions of the dishes, but they loved them. They said the flavors definitely brought them back to Ukraine. Woo hoo!
The next day, we finally had our post-Christmas get together. It was a lovely tea.
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| L-R: Brenden Kemper, Meghan Warner, Gene Remmers, Cecile Batchelor, Dan Remmers, John Remmers, Debbie Remmers, Doug Kemper, Lyn Remmers. |
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| Celebrating at Olive Garden |
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| The brownie contest entries. Aunt Debbie made a "brown E". |
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| We had to put candles in the ice cream, since we couldn't put them on the brownies. |
The following Friday, Margie put on the annual Pinewood Derby for her Cub Scouts. Last year she did all the set up but wasn't able to attend, so it was nice to be able to see all the action this year.
The next week, Dan, Margie, and John all attended a required teen driving presentation. I can't believe we're going to have to go through the whole process again!
That week we all went to see Anne of Green Gables at LTA. None of us were involved in the show, but one of Lyn's classmates played Anne and was quite good. It was a cute show.
The next day, Dan and Margie took advantage of a break in the weather and went on an exploratory bike ride. We found a new park we never knew existed! Afterward, we went out to lunch for ethiopian--the kids don't like it too much, so we like to get some when they are not around.
Lyn and Margie wrapped up the month by standing before a judge in juvenile court! It's not what you think--this was a good thing. Lyn received her official driver's license!
February began with Margie and Dan attending a Mardi Gras Mystery Party. It was lots of fun, and while we can't tell you ALL of the details, we can say that neither of us "dunnit". That night the whole family went to see Assasins at Dominion Stage. This show was one of Margie's favorites from college. The cast and crew did a great job!
The next week, Lyn attended "New Beginnings", which is a fireside held for all young girls who are turning 12 this year and their families, to introduce them to the Young Women's program at church. Lyn did not originally have an assignment, so Margie was not worried that she couldn't attend because of Cub Scouts, and Dan stayed home. It turned out, however, that the leaders did not have a speaker for one of the topics, and Lyn felt so strongly that it shouldn't be skipped, that she marched up to the front, took the microphone, and started talking. Everyone in the room was so impressed that she had done that! When Margie showed up at the end of the meeting, people couldn't stop talking about it!
The next day, Dan and Margie took advantage of a break in the weather and went on an exploratory bike ride. We found a new park we never knew existed! Afterward, we went out to lunch for ethiopian--the kids don't like it too much, so we like to get some when they are not around.
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James Marx Veterans Park
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Lyn and Margie wrapped up the month by standing before a judge in juvenile court! It's not what you think--this was a good thing. Lyn received her official driver's license!
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| Watch out Virginia, she's legal! |
February began with Margie and Dan attending a Mardi Gras Mystery Party. It was lots of fun, and while we can't tell you ALL of the details, we can say that neither of us "dunnit". That night the whole family went to see Assasins at Dominion Stage. This show was one of Margie's favorites from college. The cast and crew did a great job!
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| In costume in our various characters. L-R: Rich & Darlene Bates, Dan Remmers, Iwalani White, Margie Remmers, Rob White, Jace & Suzy Quebbeman, Thavee Douangaphaivong; Laurel May in front. |
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| Margie's character was "Alexis DuPre: Pierre's socialite daughter. A southern belle and the reigning "Magnolia Queen" at Dixie University." Dan's character was "Matthew "Gator" Crovitz: A boy from the Bayou who worked his way through law school. He is madly in love with Alexis DuPre." |
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Dan got out his saxophone for the occasion, but we couldn't get him to play it!
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The next week, Lyn attended "New Beginnings", which is a fireside held for all young girls who are turning 12 this year and their families, to introduce them to the Young Women's program at church. Lyn did not originally have an assignment, so Margie was not worried that she couldn't attend because of Cub Scouts, and Dan stayed home. It turned out, however, that the leaders did not have a speaker for one of the topics, and Lyn felt so strongly that it shouldn't be skipped, that she marched up to the front, took the microphone, and started talking. Everyone in the room was so impressed that she had done that! When Margie showed up at the end of the meeting, people couldn't stop talking about it!
The following weekend was the One Acts at Edison. It was kind of a sad occasion--Lyn was supposed to assistant direct one of them with the teacher, but he ended up having a stroke over Thanksgiving and was out of commission. Still, we attended and supported the department. Plus, Margie is the Box Office Manager, so she needed to be there anyway.
On February 10, our church held a "Night in Paris" family valentine's dance. It was a lot of fun.
On February 21, Margie hosted the annual Cub Scout Blue & Gold banquet. This year our theme was disability awareness. All of the boys had their dominate hand bandaged up when they first arrived and had to eat dinner like that. Then we had a guest speaker who was blind talk about what tools she uses to get through her day. The boys were enthralled with all the gadgets. After the presentation, everyone learned that the fabric flowers in the centerpieces were actually blindfolds, and they had to eat their dessert blindfolded. It was a great night and everyone had a great time!
Unfortunately, the Blue & Gold coincided with John's band concert. The rest of the family attended that and apparently he did a great job!
And that about wraps up the last two months.
In addition to all of this, Dan has been busy with his two professional set designing gigs--Mystery School and Speech & Debate--as well as his upcoming show at LTA, The Nance.
On February 10, our church held a "Night in Paris" family valentine's dance. It was a lot of fun.
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| Dan and Margie learned to fox trot |
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| Lyn led a group dance. |
On February 21, Margie hosted the annual Cub Scout Blue & Gold banquet. This year our theme was disability awareness. All of the boys had their dominate hand bandaged up when they first arrived and had to eat dinner like that. Then we had a guest speaker who was blind talk about what tools she uses to get through her day. The boys were enthralled with all the gadgets. After the presentation, everyone learned that the fabric flowers in the centerpieces were actually blindfolds, and they had to eat their dessert blindfolded. It was a great night and everyone had a great time!
Unfortunately, the Blue & Gold coincided with John's band concert. The rest of the family attended that and apparently he did a great job!
And that about wraps up the last two months.
In addition to all of this, Dan has been busy with his two professional set designing gigs--Mystery School and Speech & Debate--as well as his upcoming show at LTA, The Nance.
In addition to her regular Cub Scout duties, the boys from the spanish-speaking congregation is again meeting with us, which means Margie is back to working on her spanish so she can communicate with the parents (the boys all speak english, of course). She is now also enjoying a monthly neighborhood Bunco group, and has become active in local politics again, as the county is deciding what to do about drainage problems at our beloved Lake Accotink. And, of course, there is her organizing business, which she has been working super hard at bringing online, only to run into a number of frustrating snags.
In addition to school, Lyn continues to serve as the Laurel president, which mean she plans activities and conducts meetings for girls at church who are 16 and older, and helps plan regional activities for all the youth. She was not involved in the One Acts, as I said, but she is in the ensemble of the spring musical, Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella. Oh! And also this month, she applied to college! She got into her second choice, BYU-Idaho, but she is still waiting to hear about her first choice, which is the main BYU campus in Provo, Utah. She plans to study animation.
And last but not least, John stays busy with school, where he plays in the percussion ensemble. He also continues to take piano, but that may end soon. He just has a few more items left to earn his Eagle Scout, but he does not seem to be in a hurry to finish, much to his mother's chagrin. He was not involved in the One Acts, but plans to work tech for Cinderella.
And that's it for us! We hope you are doing well.
And that's it for us! We hope you are doing well.
