<![CDATA[keithandamie.com - Amie's Blog]]>

<![CDATA[keithandamie.com - Amie's Blog]]>Fri, 17 Jun 2011 19:39:54 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[A future chef?]]>Fri, 17 Jun 2011 18:45:50 -0800http://www.keithandamie.com/1/post/2011/06/a-future-chef.html

Elise has really taken an interest in the kitchen. She always wants to help me cook, and I have to say, she is a fast learner. The other night, I let her make the bread. She was so proud and even put it into the oven - with my help of course. Who knows - maybe years down the road she'll have her own restaurant!

]]><![CDATA[Elise's 4th Birthday weekend]]>Mon, 13 Jun 2011 07:42:01 -0800http://www.keithandamie.com/1/post/2011/06/elises-4th-birthday-weekend.html

Well, our baby girl will be turning 4 this coming Wednesday, June 15. My, how the time has flown by. It feels like yesterday when Keith and I were preparing for the birth of our first little one. Elise has grown up so fast, but we have enjoyed watching her grow, learn, question, and discover. She has always been so creative and imaginative - and it's just so much fun to see!

This weekend, we celebrated this milestone with lots of friends and family. Elise opted for a "Care Bear" Birthday party at the park. Despite the heat, we were fortunate to land a spot at the park under a big Gazebo. The kiddos had a great time, and the adults had nice visits :) All in all - a great morning! That evening, we celebrated with our family at our home and had a more quiet time with dinner and visiting. Elise got lots of nice presents from everyone and is so excited about turning 4. We plan to celebrate, just the four of us, on Wednesday - and take her to the restaurant of her choice :) Thanks to everyone who made Elise's day special :) We love you Elise Marie!

]]><![CDATA[Favorite summertime treat]]>Tue, 07 Jun 2011 09:30:02 -0800http://www.keithandamie.com/1/post/2011/06/favorite-summertime-treat.html

As you can see, one of our favorite summertime treats is ice cream! The kids have been enjoying the cool treat as we try and battle these hot summer days! We went to the park yesterday, and after only 1 hour - we went through 3 water bottles and the kids were soaking wet from sweat - so we came home! Today, so far we have colored, played inside with our toys, listened to fun music throughout the house, and soaked up some much needed AC. Mommy can only take so much heat these days.

]]><![CDATA[Trying to make Daddy feel better]]>Tue, 07 Jun 2011 09:24:13 -0800http://www.keithandamie.com/1/post/2011/06/trying-to-make-daddy-feel-better.html

Keith has been sick, and the kids have been trying their hardest to make Daddy feel better. They have been doing a good job! On Sunday, Elise brought him home some candy after church and Luke keeps asking "Daddy, are you feeling better?" Last night, they both wanted to cook Daddy dinner - so , they did! Here they are mixing up the ingredients for our baked spagetti. It came out great, although Daddy couldn't eat too much since his throat was on fire! But, today Daddy is doing better, back at work, not contagious, and antibiotics are kicking in. Thank goodness the rest of us haven't gotten sick, and our fingers are crossed that it stays that way!

]]><![CDATA[My two detectives]]>Thu, 07 Apr 2011 13:56:30 -0800http://www.keithandamie.com/1/post/2011/04/my-two-detectives.html

Elise and Luke got magnifying glasses from our trip to Marble Falls last weekend. They have spent a lot of time in the backyard seeing what they can find. I've enjoyed watching them.....discovering, learning - it's great!

]]><![CDATA[Elise and Luke\'s fun weekend]]>Mon, 04 Apr 2011 07:08:06 -0800http://www.keithandamie.com/1/post/2011/04/elise-and-lukes-fun-weekend.html

Elise and Luke spent a fun weekend with Nana and Popo in Victoria. In addition to all of the fun they had at their house, Nana and Popo took the kiddos to the bay to ride in the boat. They were all suited up in life jackets and excitement!! They both got turns to "drive the boat" - although Luke told me "Popo wouldn't let me drive by myself!" Too funny! They had many stories to tell about their fun times. When we got home, the four of us collapsed into a 2 hour nap. We were all exhausted but made many memories to last! :)

]]><![CDATA[A place they call Marble Falls]]>Mon, 04 Apr 2011 06:57:18 -0800http://www.keithandamie.com/1/post/2011/04/a-place-they-call-marble-falls.html

Keith and I took a trip this weekend to a place called Marble Falls, TX. I have to admit, I haven't done much traveling in the "hill country", but I plan to do so more often! What a beautiful part of the country. From the hills, to the green grass, to the rivers and lakes, to the "no humidity" weather - it was a beautiful weekend!

We had a wedding to attend Saturday evening, but during the day we just played tourists in this fun little town. We started our morning with a drive in the hills - looking at the gorgeous homes set up in the hills, and dreaming about our own retirement. We then settled in on a little park and sat by the water just to enjoy nature. SO relaxing! As you can see, it was a perfect weather day.

We then headed to downtown Marble Falls which was full of flowers, boutique shops, and many outdoor areas to sit and enjoy Marble Falls. What an impressive little town :)

We had lunch at Chili's on the water.......nice!!! Just took our time and took it all in.

That evening, we enjoyed a bus ride to the Balcone Springs resort, where the wedding was held. What a beautiful place. We had a great time, made new friends, and just enjoyed an evening to celebrate our friends Lenae and Thomas.

]]><![CDATA[Elise and Luke and green thumbs]]>Fri, 25 Mar 2011 10:04:07 -0800http://www.keithandamie.com/1/post/2011/03/elise-and-luke.html

Elise and Luke have been talking about a garden since last year, so this morning we officially planted our spring 2011 Garden. They were such eager helpers, a little over eager at times, but enjoyable for sure.

A couple of days ago, we got the dirt ready, and Keith bought pavers to close it in. Not only was this to help hold the water in, but hopefully the barrier will keep the kids from digging or playing in the garden. Last year, our garden quickly became a play area and the spot to pick vegetables before they were ready to be picked! So, this year, we have explained what we have to do to make the plants grow so we can cook them. Elise wants to make a tomato soup, so I think she will be totally on board with watering and watching them grow. Luke, on the other hand, will more than likely just want to play in the dirt, but we are going to work on him :)

Working hard

We all took turns doing different jobs. Pouring the Miracle Grow seeds was probably the easiest job, but they watered, and dug too! Elise was a bit worried about getting dirty, and Luke poured Miracle Grow everywhere. But all in all, the planting was a success!

Happy Gardening! Ours contains Roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, Banana peppers, jalapenos, cilantro, and parsley.

]]><![CDATA[Ready to share a room ]]>Mon, 21 Feb 2011 12:42:46 -0800http://www.keithandamie.com/1/post/2011/02/ready-to-share-a-room.htmlThis weekend has been a busy, but productive one for sure! In anticipation of the new baby, we have decided, along with Elise and Luke, that it is time for them to share a room. This has caused great excitement for the two of them. Although Luke has been talking for a week about "sleeping in the toy room", he is still not so sure about the "baby getting his room." I think he will be just fine with it because by the time the baby comes he will not consider his old room to be "his room" anymore.

So everything has been converted. Clothes, beds, toys, blankets, stuffed animals, pictures, EVERYTHING! We officially are done with the move. The last thing left is to paint the walls in their room, but that shouldn't be a big job at all.

So here it is......matching bunk beds and matching bed spreads - one in blue and one in pink!

They slept in their new room last night and are taking naps right now. I think in time it will get easier for them to get to sleep, but for now they like to talk a lot before actually going to sleep. That is the reason we started all of this now, so that when August/September gets here, they will be good and used to it!

They were both such big helps....as you can see, they LOVED helping us move things around.

]]><![CDATA[Back to the Basics]]>Thu, 10 Feb 2011 10:45:03 -0800http://www.keithandamie.com/1/post/2011/02/back-to-the-basics.htmlNeedless to say, we Texans are not used to extremely cold weather. Nor are we used to major power outages. Nor are we used to the simple things in life.........unfortunately :(

Yesterday afternoon, our power went off at 3:30. The temperature outside was below freezing, and the heater is run by electricity! Needless to say, the kids and I were super chilly. I turned on the fireplace, put the kids in blankets on the couch, and curled up next to them with a pile of books! We read books by the fireplace and enjoyed each other so much. By 4:30, we decided to switch gears and get our color books out. Keith came home around 5, and still no electricity. At around 5:15, the power came on! Thank goodness I jumped up and cooked a really fast dinner, b/c by 5:30, power was gone again!!!! We enjoyed our dinner by candlelight, although clean up was a bit more challenging. After dinner, we pulled tons of blankets into the living room and gathered around the fire to stay warm. Keith pulled out his guitar and we had a fun praise and worship session with the kids. Oh how they loved it! At this point, we had decided that we would all sleep in the living room because it would be too cold for the kids in their rooms with no heat. We got their mattresses set up, bunches of blankets, their favorite stuffed animals, and started the bedtime routine. The kids were having a blast! When they were all tucked in around 8:30 - the power returns!!!!!! We decided that we would proceed by moving everyone to their own beds, but I have to say it was fun while it lasted. Just the shear enjoyment of being together......no distractions.....no noise......

Although, I do NOT hope that the power goes out for that long anytime soon, I do have to say I think we all learned a valuable lesson about being still. I will remember last night for a long time to come.

]]>