Tremper Trots

Summer, Summer, Summertime...Part 1

2009-08-25T15:47:00.001-07:00

Part 1 of our summer:
I have posted a bunch of pictures from our summer, June-Aug (this is about all I can do these days!!). Elsie was promoted from preschool, we had a few trips to Fresno to visit family, a trip to Morro Bay with family, a trip to Hume Lake with friends, and some daily trips we took as a family. We had a fun and busy summer. It was nice to have Matt home more also. It is always hard to see the summer coming to a close. But, we are excited to have Elsie start Kindergarten next week, should be an exciting fall!!

Carson being Carson

There were many pictures taken of Carson sleeping in the most random positions...
she had the pillow and bear on top of her

Playing in the mud

l
Toby wanted to get in on the action!

Picnic lunch

We told Elsie when she turned 5 she had to stop sucking her fingers, and if she did we would take her to get her nails done (every time we painted her nails we had to leave it off of her first two that she sucked!!). So, she did it, totally on her own, cold turkey! She got to choose her color and we added a flower to it

Toby sleeping on his stomach for the first time-8months

Little Giants fan!

Elsie's preschool promotion.
Elsie was in charge of leading "zoo-phonics"to the class. I'm not sure if I had mentioned this before, but Elsie was able to have a great preschool experience. She was in a "reverse-integration" preschool in which they streamlined typical functioning kids into a special needs classroom. This way the special needs kids would have leaders and student helpers in their classroom and build relationships with typical kids. And the typical students would learn about compassion and learn about all kinds of people. It was a great program, Elsie did great and loved it.

William joined her

Slippery fish, slippery fish, sliding through the water...

Tuna fish, tuna fish splashing in the water...

a class song

Elsie getting her award from her teacher, Mrs. Patty

Yeah Elsie!

Granny BooBoo came to watch! She took us to Elsie's favorite lunch spot...Subway!

Mrs. Patty and her support staff

Weeks of activities...

2009-06-09T14:56:00.000-07:00

Elsie was able to take another dance class. This time she took it with her friend Kaylin! They had a great time together. They learned tap, ballet, and jazz. They are true ballerina princesses!

I'm not sure why Tobin is crying...maybe because he has a girls hat on!! Sorry Toby, this is only the start of what is to come from your sisters!

Carson got to take a gymnastics class. She has a lot of energy and is pretty fearless, so we thought this would be perfect for her. She actually did a great job doing the class. We are going to sign her up again this fall!

Daddy showing her how to do a pencil roll!

forward roll

spider walk

Toby is FINALLY rolling over! Although he doesn't like being on his tummy for long

The school counselors at Matt's school got a staff appreciation award from the alumni association at WHS

Toby taking his first bites! he hasn't slowed down since...

Elsie giving it a try

Carson REALLY likes to hold Toby...Toby, not so much!

Toby at 6 months

Spring Break 2009

2009-04-16T13:32:00.000-07:00

We spent our Spring Break visiting family and friends in Fresno and San Fransisco. Before we left for our drive up north, we went to an event at church called, Family Jam, which was a big egg hunt for the community. The kids got to ride on the inflatable slide and hunt for eggs. We couldn't leave without grabbing Chick-Fil-A for lunch...yum!

When we got to Fresno, we went straight to Matt's grandma's house to meet up with the rest of the family. His grandparents were celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary.
Uncle Ron and Aunt Mar flew in for the occasion, which we hadn't seen in almost 4 years. It was fun to have the kiddos get to know them.

We ate at Tony Romas with the family and then the next day celebrated their anniversary with a family lunch at a nearby restaurant.

Grandpa was able to come to the celebration and we were all able to share stories and thank yous to the grandparents. We had such a great time with the family.

During the weekend, we stayed at the Panfilios house. We had such a great time together catching up and taking it easy. We ALWAYS love any time we get to spend with the Panfilios and especially Paigie! The girls love her and had so much fun playing together. Matt took Elsie and Carson for a walk to a nearby greenbelt. Elsie was very brave and climed on this tree by herself!! She was very proud.

We met Papa and Todd at the train station to send them off back to SoCal and then we visited with Granny Annie and Papa Jack for the day. The kids loved having time to play with Robbie Dog, dig in the garden, and pick up rolly pollies!

It took Elsie a while to warm up to petting Robbie, but she did it!

Granny Annie loved spending time with the great grandkids!

Elsie and Carson were playing princess and "sleeping" on the floor...I don't think princesses pick their nose!

We then made our way up to San Fransisco and stayed with Uncle Jack for a couple of days. We were also able to spend a lot of time with Uncle Mike and Kieth and see thier gallery. Since Jack had to work, we spent the day in the city visiting some fun sites. We drove down Lombard street and then made our way to Pier 39 where we found this Lefty store, which was pretty cool for
Elsie. We stopped by to see the sea lions. Elsie was not so cooperative about taking a picture with them, so this is as good as they get!

The rest of our afternoon was spent at the Exploritarium near the entrance to the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a HUGE science center. The girls LOVED it! If you are ever in the Bay area you have to go. It targets all ages of people. There are like 450 hands on exhibits that you can explore with in all areas of science. It was a great experience for the girls. We could've spent all day there.
We met up with the uncles for dinner and called it a night!

I, Mishawn, have never been a huge fan of San Fransisco. We had to pay tribute to this Travelodge which greatly encouraged my lack of love for the Bay. After this weekends experience, I am coming around to liking it a bit more!!
We said our goodbyes and off we went back home.

Easter! It wasn't what we expected nor wished for, but we survived it. We were supposed to have a house filled with family and friends and ended up with 2 sick kids (Tobin had a double ear infection and croup and Carson had a never ending runny nose) and my mom and step-dad, Ben (Matt's family was sick as well). We made the most of it though, with dying eggs Sunday morning and then going to church. We decided even though we had to take the kids with us in service, we couldn't miss Easter Sunday! Besides, I had gotten the kids really cute matching outfits, and the tags were already cut out!
When we got home, we went on an Easter egg hunt, watched the Masters, ate a yummy meal, and rested. All in all it was a fun day and the kids had a good time. Here's to many more holidays with sick kids!!

(Tobin had to sleep in his bouncy seat for 3 days because he couldn't breath and had a terrible cough. Poor little guy!)

Carson's Pony Party

2009-03-18T14:45:00.000-07:00

We decided to have a pony party for Carson in honor of her new pony, Lucky! Matt's parents got Lucky for Carson this past Christmas. Now, you might think since we live in such a small space, Lucky might be a small stuffed pony. But, no, actually Lucky is a full fledged life sized pony that you can bounce and ride on! This pony ensures that we get a new house with extra space for Lucky to be ridden to its full potential!
Since Carson is a Valentine's baby, we decided to celebrate Valentine's Day with the girls in the morning and then focus on Carson for the rest of the day. We had her party at our friend's, the Sanborn's, house. They were gracious enough to open their house to us and let us fill it with a lot of kids! The celebration started with the kids making their own stick ponies. Then they could find hidden sheriffs badges in a bowl full of oats, make a foam frame with a horse scene on it, or make a ranch scene with stickers, and of course, ride Lucky!! Everyone got their own bandanna

when they came in so they could be real cowgirls and boys.

Matt led a rousing game of "trainer says" (aka Simon Says), in which the kids went around in a circle either galloping, trotting, jumping, or walking with Matt taking the lead. The kids loved it. They loved it even more when Matt's horse head fell off his stick while galloping around the circle!

Then the kids played horse, horse, pony (aka duck, duck, goose). It was very fun to watch; once someone was tagged, ALL the kids got up and ran around the circle. When the game playing was done Carson enjoyed opening her gifts. When we told her who it was from, she went around to each person and thanked them for their gift and gave it back to them! She didn't quite understand that it was a present from them not to them!! After present time was cake time. As Carson went to blow out her candle, her friend, Caleb, blew it out just before her!! It was very funny. So we lit it again, sang the last part of the song, and she got blow out her candle!!
We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out at home and resting and enjoying Elsie's friend, Kaylin, over for their first sleep over at our house.
The next day, we celebrated Carson's birthday with the family. We had a great day together with yummy enchiladas and more birthday cake and root beer floats! Here are some pictures as we enjoyed our weekend.

Attack of the geese

2009-03-08T21:14:00.000-07:00

We went to La Mirada Reginal Park, AKA: The Duck Park, the other night to feed the ducks and play on the playground. The geese at this park are SO aggressive so we usually steer clear of them. While feeding the other ducks, the geese found us and decided they wanted some bread as well. They started coming faster and faster at us and, well, you'll see...my favorite thing about this that Elsie has unknowingly taken off and is running around behind me...check out her helmet!

In this video, Carson decides to get down and feed the ducks as well. Check out her reaction, or shall I say, non-reaction and listen to Elsie in the background trying to "save" her sister from the attack ducks (While still wearing her helmet!)!

Elsie's starts preschool

2009-03-05T13:37:00.000-08:00

In January, Elsie was given the opportunity to start preschool. This preschool is a little different than the typical one. Our friends at church told us about this reverse integration preschool at the local elementary school. Instead of integrating kids with disabilities into a general education classroom, they take general ed kids and place them in a special education classroom. This way they can be roll models for the other students and learn about diversity and being sensitive to kids that look or act differently. We are so blessed to have Elsie in this program. It will be a great way to ease her into school for this fall.

One day she came home and I was asking about the kids in her class. I mentioned that I saw a girl with a pink helmet on and asked what her name was. She told me her name and then said, " I don't know why she is wearing a helmet and knee pads, she didn't have skates on or anything!"

On another note about Elsie; we went to a BBQ restaurant with some
friends a few weeks back. Elsie was using the handi-wipes to wash her hands. She looked at me and said, "Mom, are there anymore handicap wipes!" She is very PC!!

Marysville love

2009-01-16T14:13:00.000-08:00

DISCLAIMER: I KNOW THIS IS REALLY LAME AND REALLY LATE, BUT I ACTUALLY HAD THIS DONE THE WEEK AFTER WE VISITED SEATTLE AND STRANGELY THE PICTURES TURNED INTO A "CODE". I WANTED TO COME BACK TO THEM AND FIX THEM, BUT TIME HAS GOTTEN AWAY, JUST CLICK ON THE PICTURE "CODE" AND YOU WILL BE ABLE TO VIEW THE PICTURES...SORRY!)

When we heard the Willsons were coming home to the states for 6 weeks we decided we had to come see them. There was no way they could be that close without paying them a visit. Especially after the extenuating circumstances they were coming under, we really wanted to support and encourage them. It was also a great excuse to see Ryan and Sarah Henderson, some of our closest friends. I have to say we were expecting a challenging flying experience with 3 kids in tow now, but it ended up being the BEST traveling experience EVER!!

When we got to the airport, there was NO ONE in line (on a Friday at 4:30!)! The lady who checked us in was so nice. She even helped us carry our baggage to the TSA scanning line. As we headed up to security, we were going to drink our Capri Suns because they were more than 3.4 oz, and the security lady told us that we could bring in juice because of the baby! Even though it was for the girls! They also opened up a line for us at security and helped us load our stuff on the scanning machine.
It didn't end there...our gate was the first one out of the security area so we didn't have to walk far at all. As we got on the plane, in our 3 seats, the stewardests came to greet us very friendly, almost too friendly, and asked how they could help us. As Matt sat down he was sweating profusly after carrying everything, they offered him a drink of water...before we even took off! We then noticed that the plane was empty, so we asked them if we should move to the back. They took Carson and Tobin for us and we all made our way to the back of the plane, 6 seats...yes! The flight was cake! Elsie and Carson did great and Tobin just slept and ate! We were sooo greatful! The rest of the trip was awesome. We had a wonderful time resting, fellowshiping, and laughing. We spent the whole weekend with the Willsons and Hendersons. The kids played great, slept great, and traveled great. On Monday, we had to stop over to SPU and show off Tobin and the girls to the admissions office. We ate Zeek's pizza and then showed the kids the Space Needle and the Seattle Center. Boy do we miss Seattle, we sure do love it.

We got Lunchables for a special treat...don't think we will be getting those again!
Along with a little Dora to keep them occupied.

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Ahhh, the Willsons

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Hanging out with the Wii, Sarah was the kid whisperer...they all gravetated to her and she was very gracious to accept it!

The girls absolutely adored each other, we never saw Elsie or Kara once the whole weekend. They played the entire time without ANY problems.

Pizza time

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Elsie and Kara fell asleep in the same bed one night so we adults could hang out and play some games. Elsie was up for having Kara in bed with her but a little leary about being in a dark room!

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Tobin turned 12 weeks ove the weekend. He is such a doll and a happy baby. We kept joking about what a chill baby he is. Sarah told us we couldn't show new moms this baby becasue it wasn't reality! He would make a little noise and we would say it was his "fussy time"!

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The girls LOVE thier brother...this is why I do not trust Carson!

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Braelyn came to visit us

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Carson had to hold Toby, look at his hat!

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Performing a song for us. The kids also taught Elsie some songs in Chichewa

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When we were about to leave I came to get Elsie ready to go and she burried her face into my stomach crying and saying that she wanted to see them again. She realized that she would not see them agian for a long time and was VERY sad about that thought. She has such a sensitive spirit and as you can see Elsie had a hard time trying to smile for the picture. We ended up saying our goodbye the next moring so Elsie could rest easy that night. We are really going to miss the Willsons.

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Our visit to SPU...good ole Jim Kim

Ahhh SPU

The fountain at the Seattle Center

Eating ice cream at the Seattle Center

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Space Needle

Unitl next time Seattle!

The Last Three Months!

2008-12-01T15:26:00.000-08:00

The last three months have been quite a blur, to say the least. I attempted many times to add pictures to our blog but was ALWAYS interrupted. I actually began this blog post at 1:30 pm and it is now 8:22 pm as I am just getting back to it!! Matt and I keep saying how we truly underestimated how much work 3 kids would be! We definitely are enjoying this time and the funny antics of our kiddos, but boy are we tired! The pictures include Halloween, Tobin growing, Mishawn's boutique, Christmas time, and other random photos. Enjoy!

Can you guess what Matt was for Halloween...?

Elsie and Carson were Emily Elizabeth and Clifford...next year we promise to dress up Carson in a very feminine costume! Elsie was dragging Carson along in the MOPS parade trying to catch up to a friend.

Tobin was T-Bone (Clifford's friend)

Silly Carson dressing up jazzercize!

Tobin at 2 week. The beginning of tormenting by the girls, Elsie put socks on his hands while Carson laid on a slobbery kiss and nearly head-butted Tobin...again!

Each year, for the past 4 years, my girlfriends and I put on a boutique. All the products are handmade and it is run the 1st full weekend in November. We always have a lot of fun spending time during the year making things to get ready for this weekend. We set up early on the morning of the boutique. As my mom, Elsie, Tobin, and I were getting ready to leave, Carson came running towards me while I was sitting in the car. As she ran, she tripped on Matt's feet and hit her face, eye area, on the bottom corner of the car door. It was quite a traumatic moment as you can imagine. She ended up splitting her cheek under her eye. Thankfully there were no stitches involved, however, it took the nurse, Matt, and the doctor to hold her down to get the butterfly band aid on it. I am glad I didn't go with them, I certainly wouldn't have been able to handle that. She of course took the band aid off that evening, so we had to keep reminding her to leave it alone. She has a small scar now, that will hopefully go away as she grows. I'm sure this is just the beginning of injuries for Carson.

We had our boutique outside this year, which worked very well. Elsie made something this year as well. She made corn on the cob place card holders for Thanksgiving. She made $50 at .50 cents a piece! Go Elsie!

A visit from Paigey! Oh how we miss our Panfilios!

Tobin, 4 weeks Elsie's last day of ballet

SNOW Day! Our church hosts a community snow day by bringing in a whole bunch of snow for snowball fights as well as sled runs. (I just noticed Elsie cheering on Carson, what a cutie!)

Carson and Desitin...lovely!

Our amazing fish Bosco, who was the same age as Carson. The little guy almost made it to 2 years! I got so sick of the smell of the dirty fish tank that I stuck it on our porch and it froze to death. Whoops!

Elsie and Carson with their gifts at the Taylor reunion.

Tobin at 8 weeks, he is such a sweet smiley baby

Getting and decorating our Christmas tree...

"Put him in a body bag, Johnny!" Johnny's look alike from Karate Kid!

Elsie (and Carson) painted ornaments for the grandparents this Christmas. She had a great time being creative.

Uncle Wayne (as Carson calls our friend Duane) giving gifts to the girls...he scored giving them a Sleeping Beauty barbie and a Little People princess and carriage! The girls were VERY excited!

Elsie has been such a trooper since we have had Tobin. Carson and Tobin take up so much of our time and Elsie is on her own a bit, so we thought it would be fun to take her on a date to see Michael W. Smith at his Christmas concert. It was really good. He had special guest singers Melinda Doolittle and George Huff from American Idol. We had a great time!

Angel breakfast with our MOPS group

My sister Missy and her family were in town for a quick visit over the holidays. We had such a great time visiting with them. We went to In-n-Out and then stopped by a live nativity with goats and a Styrofoam camel. The kids had a great time.

Merry Christmas! All of the kids were sick over the break. We were holed up in our home for 3 weeks straight. Yes, Carson got a pony for Christmas, complements of Granny Boo Boo and Papa. This gift ensures that we need to buy a bigger home! Carson rode Lucky hands free with 102 degree fever. She went crazy on that thing.

Elsie got a princess scooter! Hours of entertainment!

Christmas with the Trempers

Christmas with the Sawyers

Happy Birthday Karen and Mishawn

A visit from the Orchards

Blog finish time: 10:20pm! Goodnight!

Tobin Wesley Tremper

2008-10-24T21:02:00.000-07:00

On the way to the hospital

On Saturday, October 18 we welcomed Tobin Wesley Tremper into our family at 10:34 am! (Tobin is named after Grandma Tremper's maiden name and Wesley is after Matt's Dad's middle name.) Because we had such a difficult delivery with Carson, the doctor recommended that we have a c-section for our next deliveries. So, we were scheduled to come in at 8:00am Saturday morning. Both families pitched in and helped manage the kids and phone calls for the day. By 9:30 everyone was in the waiting room ready to meet the new baby. Matt and I were pretty nervous for the c-section delivery. The idea of surgery and being cut open just didn't appeal to me! We had a lot of people praying for us and were very grateful for that. The nurses prepped me and Matt and then wheeled me into the O.R. to prep me some more. What an intimidating room to be in! Matt came in just as they were finished prepping me and and was able to see the whole birth. He is so facinated with medical things that this was very exciting to him!! As they pulled the baby out, he shouted, " It's a BOY"!! We were both overcome with emotion and so happy that it was a boy. Matt was able to go over right away and see Tobin. He wieghed 8lbs 3oz and measured 22in. The medication was beginning to tire me as I waited to see him, so I was glad they brought him over to me when they did. It was so great to see him for the first time. I just wished I could hold him.

After that, Matt went with him to the nursery to be cleaned up, while I stayed in the recovery room for about an hour. The the seditive in the spinal made me so groggy and tired. I had a really hard time focusing on all the visitors that came to see Tobin. I have no recoloction of many conversations that day!! After the recovery room, they brought me up to my room and then shortly after, Matt came up with Tobin. I finally got to hold my little baby boy. What a relief. He is so precious. It was fun to see what he looked like and compare him to Matt, myself, and the girls.

Our family and friends in the waiting room, Matt in the nursery showing everyone Tobin

Later that afternoon we had many family and friends visitors. The Chappells came to visit us from Fresno and of course the grandparents and uncles were there as well. When the girls saw Tobin, Elsie immediately wanted to hold him and Carson gave him a nice whack on the head and grabbed his hat!! She also gave him a very slobbery kiss after that. The girls really love thier new baby brother and are constantly wanting to know where he is.

The girls meeting Tobin for the first time, This is where Carson spent most of her time in the hospital room-laying on the ground and "skating" on her stomach

The grandparents

We spent about 4 days in the hospital and had many more visitors to keep us busy. The Nelson's even paid us a visit from Seattle! They happened to be in town for the weekend and we were so glad to spend some time with them.

All our visitors

Mishawn was so sad to not be able to partake in her favorite food...El Pollo Loco, instead she ate chicken broth, or was it beef broth, and jello...boohoo

All in all, we had a great experience at the hospital with wonderful nurses and doctors. We are so thankful for all the answered prayers of a smooth delivery and so blessed for a new son to add to our family.

Future Giants Fan

On our way home, Elsie and Carson wrote this for us on our porch to greet us as we arrived

Oak Glen

2008-10-24T20:24:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Picking

Elsie on her first pony ride

A couple of weeks ago we went pumpkin picking at Oak Glen. It was a nice cool day (like 55 degrees-freezing for us SoCal people!!), so we were able to wear cozy jackets and hats. There are many apple farms in this area, but we chose to go to Los Rios Ranch. This is a new tradition that started with our fellowship group, Oasis, from church last year. Our group meets up there (in the San Bernadino Mtns) and picks pumpkins and apples, picnics on yummy bbq tri-tip sandwiches, and buys 5lb apple pies from the country store. It is always a great day of fellowship with friends.

There are moments when we are completely surprised by Elsie. Most of the time she is timid to try anything remotely unfamiliar, but this day, she was ready to brave the pony ride! I told her she better not freak out because we were paying $5 bucks for the ride! She did awesome! She, of course, chose the horse with purple and was very secure riding it. It was fun to see her take a step out of her comfort zone and do something fun like this! The rest of the day was spent picking pumpkins at the patch nearby and having a picnic lunch. We all had such a great time together. We look forward to this every year!

Carson trying to pick up a pumpkin, when success came, she dropped it on the ground nearly splitting it open

Zoe, Elsie, and Carson riding up to the pumpkin patch...needless to say this was a bad idea, there were so many prickles in the ground from the pumpkins, we popped a hole in the tire!

Apple farms

Elsie and Carson Zoe, Elsie, and Isaiah with their pumpkins

Elsie's Firsts

2008-10-13T15:08:00.000-07:00

The beginning of October held a lot of firsts for Elsie, here are a few highlights...

PRESCHOOL: Elsie is now going to a small preschool one day a week for a couple of hours. This is our way of preparing her little by little for kindergarten next year. She loves it. She picked out a puppy folder to put her work in. We will continue this until January and then put her in a 3 day preschool. She already asks when she can go every day like her friend Kaylin! Soon enough!

SLEEPOVER: Elsie went to a birthday party for her best girl friend, Kaylin. She was so excited when she found out that she would be having a sleepover after the party. She talked about it nearly every day during the weeks leading up to the birthday. She got all packed up with her princess backpack, pillow, and monkey to take with her. They had a blast together and got to watch Little Mermaid in the morning while eating breakfast. She is already asking when Kaylin and her can have another sleep over!!

BALLET: Elsie started a ballet class on Wednesdays for the next 8 weeks. We thought she should have something all for herself as the baby will be coming very soon. She always looks in the TV and watches herself dance and twirl. She gets hacked if she can't wear a dress or skirt that twirls; it's very important! So we thought this would be a fun idea. She went on a Daddy date and got new ballet shoes and a leotard with tights. Everything had to be pink, of course (although she really would have preferred purple, but pink was second on the list!). She did a great job at her first session. The instructor takes the kids in one at a time and sits them in their line. It is a 2 1/2-4 year old class, so Elsie is by far the oldest and tallest! At the end of the session, she got 2 stickers, one for listening and the other for coming. As soon as we got out the door she asked when she could take her shoes off because they hurt her feet. Then in the car, we asked her how she liked it and she said that it hurt her knees because she had to bend them and stretch. She wasn't so sure if she wanted to go back. She is our all-or-nothing kid (like her Daddy!), if it doesn't come easy, then forget it!! Thankfully the following week she was excited to go back. They got to use ribbons!

Swim Lessons

2008-09-05T14:43:00.001-07:00

For the past two weeks Elsie has been going to swim lessons at a community center nearby. Elsie is a bit on the timid side and it would be a push to get her through the 2 weeks. But, we did it!! The first water encounter was a little tough with tears and negotiations with her instructor (this kid could be a lawyer!). But as time went on, she got a little more comfortable with the water and all the skills she was learning. She learned how to do torpedo arms on her front and back, kick with the kick board, use "big arms," and go under water (her least favorite part-her instructor said that she needed a tatoo on her forehead that said, "I don't want to put my face under the water!"). She conquered her fears and went under water 6 times one day and then jumped off the edge of the pool 3 times with going under. We were really proud of her and what she accomplished in her days at the pool. We told her we would go to Chuck E Cheese if she just did her best and listened to her instructor. So, on Friday night, we went to Chuck E Cheese with her best little friend, Isaiah. They had a great time together. Between the 2 of them and Carson, they kept Matt and I busy! Granny Boo Boo and Papa also came for a visit on her last day to see the progress she made. Elsie was very excited to show her "skills" to them. We went to Panera for a nice yummy treat afterwards! Hopefully next year swim lessons will get easier and easier as she becomes more comfortable with the pool.

Elsie's classes were at 8:00 am each morning and it actually was overcast every morning, so it was a little chilly getting in that water. Elsie's instructor, Christina, wore her swim cap to keep her warm, so Elsie wanted to wear one too!! So, Christina let her borrow hers!

Carson found many things to keep herself entertained without jumping into the water herself, including playing on this squirt station!

Chuck E Cheese with Isaiah

Breakfast...

2008-09-05T09:16:00.000-07:00

This morning at breakfast Elsie was telling Carson to say Dadda, Momma, and Elsie (which she has been saying for a long time, but Elsie loves to have Carson mimic her). After saying it a few times over and over again, Carson pointed to herself. Carson can say MANY words and is non-stop chatter, however when it comes to saying her name, she won't do it, just to mess with us! So, Elsie said, "Carson, say Caca (which would be short for Carson-in Elsie's mind), say Caca Carson, Caca!" I was laughing so hard because she had no idea what the real meaning of caca was. Then, of course, Carson decided she could say that and began pointing to herself saying, "Caca"! After I composed myself, I had to tell Elsie that she could not say that word because of what it meant. Which only made her laugh and say it more, which made Carson laugh and say it more as well. Oh well, I guess we know we are true Trempers when conversations revolve around the bowels!

SMILEY and STUCK

2008-09-05T08:46:00.000-07:00

Any time we say "Smiley Carson", she does this...

STUCK...this is how we found Carson one evening as she was jumping on Elsie's bed

Hawaii 08

2008-08-05T15:17:00.000-07:00

Ben, Carolyn, Carson, Mishawn, Matt, Elsie,

Devin, Justin, Tyris, Matt

In the beginning of July my Mom and Step-Dad, Ben, so generously took my brother's family and our family on a trip to Hawaii. We stayed on the big Island, Kona side, for a week of paradise...or so we hoped! We have traveled with the girls many times before, however, the smooth restful trip we were hoping for was intermittently overshadowed by sickness and sleeplessness. Thankfully we had fun spending time with the grandparents and my brother's family, had a great place to stay, and saw some wonderful sites. So, for that, there are no complaints! Here are some pictures of our days on the island:

Day (minus) 1: Carson threw up 2 times that day, both in the car, getting her seat soaked with puke. We washed that seat 2 times and it still smelled. Good thing the next day it would be bagged up on a hot airplane for 8 hours to keep that smell in! Needless to say, we washed it again when we got to Kona.

Day 1: We were nervous Carson would throw up again on the airplane, so we came VERY prepared...with towels, a grocery bag, and a change of clothes for everyone! She made it just fine on the 5 hour flight, and so did Elsie, of course. She got to sit with her cousins and play with them. My Mom and Ben were waiting for us at the airport. We made our way to the condo (our family with my folks and my brother's family in another condo) and went swimming in the pool. This was a nice relaxing evening in which we went to bed around 8:00pm!

View from our condo Our first sunset, looking out our balcony

Elsie learned how to "float" with her floaties

Day 2: 4:45 am...good morning! Let's just say the girls NEVER got accustomed to the time change, so EVERY morning around 5:00 am they both got up...bummer! Good thing we had Boz and our portable DVD player. And Sesame Street came on at 6:00am instead of 7:00am like at home, which was awesome! Matt ended up taking Carson for a walk most mornings on the shore since she is only captivated by Boz for about 20 minutes and is also very loud.

This is the island "graffiti," white coral against
black volcanic rock. It is all along the highways. 6 am in the morning, taking a walk.

We went snorkeling this day at a nearby beach. It was great! The kids played with Grandma in this shallow water area enclosed by rocks. We saw our first turtle swimming in this area as well. We could walk right up to it. It was my first time being so close to a sea turtle. Matt and I snorkeled out past the rocks and saw some really neat fish and coral.

Day 3: We drove to the Northwest part of the island ending up in a town called Hawi. We enjoyed touring a macadamia nut factory and eating the samples; picnic lunch at a beautiful park; eating our daily shave ice; and swimming at a white sands beach. Unfortunately, the evening didn't end so well. We were on our way to take my folks out for dinner as a thank you and Elsie threw up in the car on the way. I think the tiredness, long driving, and hunger all set in at once. So, for our "nice " dinner, everyone else went in while we cleaned the car and then Elsie spent her dinner time laying between two chairs and falling asleep. Not at all the "thank you" we had anticipated!

Day 4: Elsie woke up still not quite herself, so we decided to spend the morning relaxing, then go to a place close by to sight see for a couple of hours. As we were getting ready, Elsie still was not feeling well, so my mom decided she would stay back with her. The rest of us packed up and got ready to go. As we were pulling out of the complex, Carson threw up! Thankfully we could just turn right around, disassemble the car seats AGAIN (3rd time), and then let my mom be on her way with the group while we stayed back with both girls. This was the same day that, while Carson was supposedly napping, she learned to crawl out of her pack-n-play! Once we got her back in, the girls, Matt and I had a restful afternoon napping. I think we all needed it!

Day 5: After the previous episodes, we were quite nervous for our big day of traveling around the island. So we came prepared: towels on the backseat, towels in each of their car seats, towels for our laps, a grocery bag, plenty of rags, resolve carpet cleaner, febreeze, and our DVD player, with of course an extra change of clothes for everyone! We were ready! This actually turned out to be the best day of travel. We saw so many beautiful sites on the island . The girls did great!

Girlies with Aunt Tyris Black sands beach

Opening to a lava tube Kilauea Crater in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

We were constantly trying to beat this tour bus
everywhere we went!
Free zoo near Hilo

Rainbow falls-Hilo Matt hiding from the black smoke in Lost

Cousins in the banyan trees-we were all tired at this point!

Day 6: Since Matt and I didn't go to the Place of Refuge due to the sick girls, my mom and Ben stayed back to watch the girls so we could go enjoy it without them. We heard there was great snorkeling at this beach too! After we saw the site, we were able to snorkel in the bay. It was the best snorkeling we have ever experienced. My brother and nephews came along and we all enjoyed the beautiful fish and coral. There were many tide pools as you entered into the water. It was a great place to just sit in the water and enjoy the view. Of course our day was not going to be that easy! We put our electronic key in a Ziploc baggie so it would not get stolen from the beach. When we pulled it out of Matt's pocket we discovered there must have been a hole in the bag, because it was filled with brown water! The key of course did not work and we could not get the car started. So, 1 1/2 hours later, after many phone calls; one in which we could pay a taxi $80 to pick up another key from the airport and bring it to us and then pay an extra $300 to pay for a new key, we talked to the park ranger. He said this had happened many times before and he had a solution for the problem. Apparently when you flush any electronic device with fresh water and then use a bathroom hand dryer to dry it, it works again!! We were very thankful for the ranger to show us this trick! Off we went to quickly get ready for a birthday celebration dinner for Matt at Bubba Gumps!

Place of Refuge-in the bay behind us, is where we found the best snorkeling!

Day 6: We spent our last day shopping in Kona for a few hours in the afternoon to get some gifts and souvenirs. We also had our last, and best, shave ice! We spent the rest of our evening playing games and packing.

This was a medium!

Day 7: Flying home. We prepared ourselves for any puking incidents on the way home as well. We made it safe and sound with a fairly uneventful flight. The girls both slept on the plane for a time, in which we were eternally grateful! Despite battling the "elements" we had a great time with family and saw some wonderful things. We were very happy to have gone on this trip and share it with the family.

Success...both girls asleep! At last!

Good news: Day 8-the girls slept in until 8:30 and 9:00!! Hip hip hurray!

Keep Dreaming...keep, keep dreaming love

2008-07-21T21:26:00.001-07:00

The title of this post might lead one to believe that we have been listening to Ryan Seacrest in the Morning a bit too much lately; but that is not the case. At the end of June, we had our annual Tremper-Panfilio summer getaway. This year, and hopefully many to come, we tent-camped at Hume Lake in Central California. This was a wonderful site to camp as it afforded great surroundings including the lake, hiking trails, and killer milk shakes! Mishawn was in a nostalgic mood all week as she grew up going to Hume Lake as a camper in high school and vacationed with family friends for many summers.

This was our first camping experience with the girls and they did great! Elsie and Carson loved sleeping in the tent (and Elsie in her princess sleeping bag), getting dirty, and eating smores! And of course, Paige was there so it couldn't get any better than that!

Funny stories...

#1 Our camping neighbors thought it would be cool to play static-filled music until the wee hours of the night (2am). Matt was wearing Kleenex in his ears the whole night so he missed most of the noise except when Mishawn struck him in the side to wake up and deal with the inconsiderate neighbors. Due to the muffled noise and dream-state, Matt thought he was hearing a song that went "keep dreaming, keep, keep dreaming love..." He could not place where he had heard this song - High School Musical, maybe? However, we know this song actually says "keep bleeding" by Leona Lewis (Simon Cowell's prodigy - that's what we learn from watching the 5 o'clock breaking news in LA)! Needless to say, Aaron could take it no longer and asked them politely to shut up! Thanks Uncle A!

#2 (Mishawn will retell this one) As we were getting ready to go to the beach one day we all got our bathing suits on in the tent. As Matt began to change, he told Elsie to turn away. I was sitting on the blow up mattress getting my shoes on when all the sudden I heard Matt yell, "Owww"! (Now brace yourself for this one, try not to think about Matt at this point, but instead just any male-this is the best part so I do feel like I must share it!) Since I am sitting, I look up and see Matt falling backwards into the pack-n-play with legs in the air spread eagle...and nude, with everything in full view! I couldn't help but fall over and laugh hysterically (to where I literally nearly peed my pants) for quite some time. Apparently Matt had stepped back onto a flashlight and snapped his ring toe. He was in pain, but I couldn't stop thinking about the "show" I had received and continued to laugh. The rest of the trip was spent with his toe "buddy-taped" and watching it turn black and blue. Of course Matt had to endure some injury on this trip! He is probably the only person I know that can break his toe on a flashlight!

#3 Matt burned his thumb lighting the camping stove and sliced the same thumb with an ax!

Here are some fun pics of our trip!

We are notorious for overpacking!

The girls riding noisily in the backseat. The guys had it easy!! At one point, all 3 girls were yelling, "ahhhhh" as loud as they could!

Our campsite

Elsie's first campfire...what a cutie!!

Elsie's first smore...yum!

Finding Carson half way down the ravine eating a "leaf of three, let it be!"

Hume Lake

Uncle A playing with the little ones

Lamama and Mishawma

After the broken toe incident Matt wasn't able to make it up on this log many times, however Aaron's Fire training came in handy as he stayed balanced for quite some time!

Daddy's girls

Paige actually fell asleep (moaning of course) while they all rocked in the hammock for a while

BFF

Paige turns 10 months!
The infamous broken toe!

Our 1st morning, sometime around 6:00 am!

Puke, Poop... and Father's Day!

2008-06-25T14:49:00.000-07:00

This is how we spent about a week leading up to Father's Day. Amongst Matt being busy with finishing up his school year and spending many evenings house hunting, the stomach flu was not particularly something we were wanting to deal with. But, Carson woke up one morning seeming very fussy and tired. After giving her some breakfast (big mistake) and putting her down for an early nap, it didn't take her long to bring her whole breakfast back up again all over her bed. Of course it was a week day, during pre-graduation craze-in which Matt was working many hours, so our main puke cleaner was gone. I was left to handle it on my own...bummer. Not only did Carson have issues with puking but her other end was cleaning itself out as well. I have never cleaned up so much puke and poop in such few days. Carson proceeded to be sick for the next 5 days, having the same morning routine. Needless to say, it was a nice change to have Carson lay around for those days. I pulled out her mattress on the living room floor and she actually stayed there and laid down all morning. I don't think she ever stops moving other than taking naps and going to sleep. So, for that I was grateful! I'm not sure if any of you are familiar with Boz?? But it is a "friendly" green bear that lives in a tree house in twins, Drew and Gracie's yard. He sings and dances with them and talks about colors and letters and all sorts of characteristics pertaining to God's love. He's a little cheesy if you ask me, but Carson LOVES Boz! It is the only show she will actually watch. So, she spent many hours watching Boz and laying on her mattress. Elsie took full advantage of the TV being on and spent most of her days watching Boz and some other videos we had-she loved that Carson was sick so she could benefit from hours on the couch!!

Because Carson was still sick on Father's Day, we decided to stay home as a family and take it easy...again (not like we had any other choice!). Since Matt was home, he got to clean up the puke this time! I probably should have given him the day off, considering Father's Day and all, but he of course was fine with it! We did have a nice breakfast with him and Elsie enjoyed giving him his presents, a basketball and wiffle ball/bat, that she picked out. We also had Matt's dad and brothers join us for lunch, chicken wings...Matt's favorite, and some golf followed by the NBA championship game. So, although maybe not his favorite Father's Day, a memorable one at that...and I'm sure many more to follow. But, it was very nice being together as a family and spending much needed time together.

Purple Party Times 2

2008-05-22T14:24:00.000-07:00

The past two weekends have been a blur. However, amongst the blur we had MANY celebrations! On May 9, Elsie celebrated her 4th birthday! I can't believe she's already 4 and we only have one more year left with her before she goes to kindergarten! She really wanted a purple princess party, but since one of her best friends is a boy, we couldn't let that happen, for his sake! So, we had a purple party. I should mention that 2 weeks before her birthday Elsie asked me if people could not sing to her and if they did she would cover her ears and hide. I asked her why she would do this and she said because it was going to be too loud and she was shy (we have a very sound sensitive daughter-she hears EVERYTHING!). I told her we would sing to her, but we would whisper. She was really preparing herself ahead of time. Anyways, Elsie had a fun time with her friends and their siblings. We had purple chips, koolaid, grapes, and cupcakes of course. Everyone came dressed in purple, even Matt! We played a couple of games, for like 5 minutes (4 year olds do not have much of an attention span), opened presents, and then said goodbye to our friends. Matt bought Elsie a sleeping bag, with a tent, and backpack for her birthday. They went to pick it out together. Of course, he came home with a complete princess camping set (I am so over princesses at this point in my life!). Elsie was very excited. We told her she could sleep in it that evening and that we would have a camp out in the living room. Matt and I slept very uncomfortably on the futon, while Elsie slept very comfortably in her tent (oh the things we do for our little ones!).
Saturday, was quite busy as we made our way down to Costa Mesa for Jack's graduation from Vanguard University. After a ridiculous drive down to the beach (gotta love So Cal traffic), we made it just in time to see the processional. All the grandparents were in town and we were able to celebrate Jack and see him for the first time in 5 months. He is currently serving in Tunisia and supporting a cultural arts center there, along with other various things. He was in town for 2 weeks and has now returned until he comes back for good in December. It was great to see him on his visit. The nieces had a fun time with him too (although, Elsie was a bit freaked out over his graduation regalia and she wouldn't even talk to him!).
Then came Sunday...Mother's Day...Purple Party #2. I read in a magazine once, that a mom had their kids paint a ceramic tile (at a paint place) every year for Mother's Day. Then after they grew up, or collected enough tiles, she framed a mirror out of them. So, I thought I would like to start that tradition. The week previous to Mother's Day, Matt took me and the girls out to paint a tile. We just had them paint a 2 x 2 inch square. I figured if I was going to get one every year from each kid, it would need to be somewhat small. Elsie had such a fun time painting. She got to draw her own design, a heart, and then paint it herself...more or less. Then she helped paint the background of Carson's. And then Carson got to use a round dot sponge and make dots on it! I put their initials on it and dated it and they came back so cute. I can't wait to see them progress every year in what they make and how their artistic abilities grow. While we were there we ended up having Elsie paint a coffee cup for all the grandmas. That was a bit much and took a lot longer than expected!! But, the grandmas loved it and will use it; it is a great memory to have.
We spent another fun day celebrating the moms and grandmas at our house and then on to celebrate Elsie again with purple party #2. She had a fun time opening gifts and again making everyone whisper happy birthday to her. We had a great day with family and were very happy to have the evening to ourselves so we could crash on the couch and watch 3 fabulous hours of Survivor!! Now that is how I like to spend my Mother's Day!!

Here is how we were greeted by Elsie when we came in to sing to her the morning of her birthday. Picture this with a loud "stop" while covering her ears!! What a joyous birthday morning!!

Elsie with all her birthday gear.

Elsie's friends at her party. I love how all of the older siblings are trying to keep their younger sibling in place for the picture, it was quite funny to watch.
(Left to Right: Isaiah, Zoe, Savannah, Kaylin, Trevor, Elsie, Carson, Abby, Megan)

Elsie covering her ears in preparation for the whispered birthday song!

Sleeping in her princess tent. I thought I would spare you from the picture of Matt and I in the futon.

Happy Graduation Uncle Jack!

The brothers: Matt, Jack, Todd, Scott

The family representing

Happy Mother's Day!

3 generations

BBQ at it's best, dogs, burgers, and family

Each year Papa gets the girls a CD of a musical that they will collect throughout the years: this year, Peter Pan and Sound of Music!

Carson and Elsie's painted tile: dots and a heart!

This was taken at 16 weeks (roughly 4 months)

Your Must Have Baby Pictures

2008-05-04T19:44:00.000-07:00

Isn't it funny how we always bust out the camera when our kids are doing something new or silly or unusual? It's natural to want to capture that moment on film to look back on several years later, particularly those "first" moments. Parents (me included) love taking shots of our kids doing something for the first time - first nap, first time in the car seat, first time at home, first bath, first steps, first words (on the video camera), first performance up front, first day of school, and so on. However, there is one baby "first" picture that I can't stand; the first picture of a child eating solid foods. I can't count the number of times I have received an email of a friend's kid whose face is covered with crap. Though I appreciate the thoughtfulness, I am honestly not interested in seeing a young child with bean burrito, rice cereal, and chocolate ice cream all over themselves. This is not cute, this is freaking disgusting. I don't mind future pictures of kids going crazy at their first birthday party with cake everywhere; it's just that first close-up shot of kids covered in organic broccoli-peach-soy-cookie dough baby food that is not endearing. So here is a picture that is always a first and won't make your stomach turn...Carson's first bath time Mohawk! Actually, she probably has had many of these but we never captured it on film. Hope you enjoy these cute, clean, smiling faces!

Ode to the Panfilios

2008-05-02T12:37:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, the Panfilios are one of our closest friends. We used to see them very often when they lived nearby, but since moving to Fresno, our visits have been limited to special occasions. Elsie LOVES Auntie Lala, Uncle A, and Paigie. I cannot emphasis that enough!! Well, for about the past month, every day (not an exaggeration), she has been saying, "we haven't seen Auntie Lala in a LONG time." Or for her birthday party we asked her where she wanted to celebrate and she said, "how about at Auntie Lala's house!" We have been trying to find a time to meet in Bakersfield for the day so Elsie keeps asking, "we need to go to the park to see Paigie, when are we going?" So, all that to say, I couldn't take the sad comments any longer, so I asked if she wanted to make a video for them to see how much she misses them. So, here is the clip we got. Carson is even saying Lala now. It was quite funny to us. So, enjoy our Ode to the Panfilios!!

Sing with us now..."We're having a baby...baby...baby..."

2008-04-13T20:20:00.000-07:00

Tremper baby #3 is due to arrive mid-October!! Mom is feeling pretty good at this point now that we are past the first trimester. Elsie thinks it's going to be a boy; Matt is hoping she is right! We will keep you posted!

Spring Break in Seattle

2008-04-13T19:23:00.000-07:00

Over spring break, we took a short trip up to Seattle to visit friends. We stayed with Jeff and Amorah and their new baby Braelyn. On our way to their house, we ate lunch at Zeek's with friends Dan and Lynnea, then stopped by good ol' SPU to see the campus and connect with old colleagues. Matt answered a few phones calls and even gave a campus tour for old times sake!!!

Our time with Jeff and Amorah was so relaxing. We hung around the house, took naps, and went for a walk. Carson enjoyed harassing their dog Tally, while Elsie enjoyed playing with Braelyn. On Friday evening, our friends Ryan and Sarah hosted a get together at their new house. Coincidently, our friends Johan and Stacy and their son Gavin were also up from California to visit family in Washington. We both invited friends to come over and hang out for the evening. Far more people arrived than expected which was wonderful. It was fun to catch up with people we had not seen in awhile.

Unfortunately, the end of our trip ended on a sour note. Matt had an incident at the local DQ over a dilly bar which resulted in the entire family being arrested. Luckily, all charges were dropped under the conditions that we were never to return to the DQ again and Matt would stay 20 yards away from the high school worker who screwed up our order.

Thanks to Leonard and Joyce for allowing us to borrow their van. It was a real blessing.

Desperately trying to entertain Carson on the plane for at least five minutes

It snowed every day!

Elsie walking Tally! It was freezing!

Jeff with Carson and Braelyn
Elsie loved Braelyn!

Party time with Seattle friends!

Braelyn, Gavin, and Carson having fun!

Elsie's first, and hopefully last, ride in a police car!

Tired traveling girls!

Floor it, Baby!!!!!!

2008-03-16T20:30:00.001-07:00

Last weekend I went on an "Off-Road Adventure" trip with 15 other guys from church. About 3-4 times a year a group of guys go out to the desert with AWD or 4-wheel drive vehicles to drive crazy, eat manly food, and enjoy time away from reality. I had been invited to come on one of these weekend excursions several times but was never able to make it. Boy was I missing out! It was a blast. Myself and three other guys (Pat, Sam, and Mike) made our way out to the Mojave National Preserve on Friday evening after work to meet up with the rest of the group who had left earlier in the day. We drive in Sam's Jeep (which is 4-wheel drive).

Funny story... we stopped for gas and I said I would pay. So I put my credit card in to pay, while Sam took off the gas tank lid. Then both of us proceeded to do other things (throw the football around, go to the bathroom, etc.). When Sam came back, the lid was still off, so he put it back on thinking I left if for him to do. When I came back, I couldn't find the receipt, but thought Sam had taken it. We all piled back into the Jeep and went on our way. About 15 minutes later down the freeway, Pat noticed the gas gauge was still at half-full. We then realized that neither of us had filled up the tank! Sam thought I had filled it, and I thought Sam had filled it! We were all laughing hysterically when we realized what had happened. Luckily there was another station to fill up at just a few miles down the road. It was a great memory and funny story to tell our wives!

Ok, back to the trip. We made it out to our campsite (we were some where off I-40 many miles past Barstow) around midnight, set up our tents, and crashed. The next morning I awoke to clear blue skies, rocky hills, and quiet! Pat and I made breakfast which included pancakes in a can (picture a whip cream can full of pancake batter), sausage, juice boxes, and fruit (my bananas did not travel well which everyone heard about the whole weekend!). After breakfast we had a short devotional by Mike, packed up, and then got into our vehicles for a journey across bumpy dirt roads in the middle of no where. Of first stop was at "Hole in the Wall." It was a short hike through tight quarters. After our hike we ate a hefty lunch provided by Mike - sub sandwiches, chips, and more fruit. Then it was time for some serious off-roading; and when I mean off-roading, I'm talking about hitting your head on the roof, fish tailing, and getting stuck in the sand! Sam let me drive the Jeep for a few hours in the afternoon and it was quite the adrenaline rush, especially when I had to drive up a sandy hill that a few people got stuck in. I made it though with the help of Mike and Pat yelling at me to floor it! We made it to our final stop at the Kelso sand dunes where we were wind blasted by sand. Pat jacked his back up when he took a dive off the dunes (this is not like the beach). It was funny until we realized he could barely walk or sit. Our camp site was a bit random but we circled the vehicles in small gorge trying to avoid the wind, which ended up being impossible. Everything was drenched in sand including the dinner that Sam made - Carne Asada, veggies, and tortillas. Hey, a little grit never hurt anyone! After some time around the camp fire and a fireworks show, we turned in early. The next morning we packed up quickly so we could get back home for Sunday afternoon commitments. I have to say it was one of the better weekends I've had in a long time. Just pure fun with guys tearing up their vehicles in the middle of no where! When I was driving my red truck the next day, I even thought about how I could turn it into something that could survive an off-road trip. That dream died quickly when I remembered I was driving a 1991 mazda two-wheel drive, four-banger that makes a constant high pitched squeaking sound. I think I'll just stick to being a passenger and substitute driver! Here are some picture
from the weekend.

Our campsite the first night

Yummy...pancakes!

Football time while we waited for other vehicles to catch up

Sam on the "Hole in the Wall" hike

Me, Pat, Sam, and Mike

Backside of the "Hole in the Wall" hike

Lots of wide open spaces

A steep incline in the road that required "flooring it" to ascend with success!

If this truck can't make it, then my truck will NEVER make it!

The Kelso Sand Dunes - a place Pat would like to forget!

"I think I just want to play the microphone"

2008-02-28T15:07:00.000-08:00

As some of you know, Elsie LOVES to sing! Just recently we asked her if she wanted to play the piano or flute when she is old enough. She said, "No, I think I just want to play the microphone!" When asked last year what she wanted to be when she grows up, she said, "I think I just want to be an American Idol!" Some nights she gets a treat and we will let her stay up and watch a couple of the contestants sing on American Idol. Almost every night is spent with Matt and Elsie listening to music on the computer. Her favorite songs right now are, the new Hosanna song, This is the Air I Breath, and Mighty to Save. She sings them non-stop. She really studies the songs and the words. Well, this past Sunday, the preschool group was given the opportunity to sing a song in church. They sang Your Love is Deep, and it had hand motions of course. We thought we would give you a little taste of our American Idol performing on stage with her friends. She sang every word, did every hand motion, and mimicked our friend Teri, who was leading them. At one point she had her head looking up with her mouth wide open shaking her head from side to side as she held the note! Enjoy!

Carson's Dedication

2008-02-28T14:26:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday, Carson was dedicated at our church. We had all the family in tow for the celebration, including Papa Jack and Granny Annie from Fresno. We were honored to have "Papa Ed," my best friends Dad whom I've known since I was 7, dedicate Carson. He dedicated Elsie as well, so it was very nice to have him be a part of this again. As you can tell from some of the pictures, Carson does not do very well at staying in one place for a very long time! She never stopped trying to wiggle herself out of my arms throughout the dedication! It was very entertaining for the congregation. After church we came back home and had a family birthday celebration for Carson. She opened gifts and we had yummy food and cake. She was pretty much done with the gift opening, so she wasn't too thrilled to have her birthday hat on...as you can tell.

Thank you Uncle Mike and Keith for my new dress. It is beautiful!

Thanks Grandma Gigi for my pretty pink hat, everyone else thought I was cute, even though I was burnt out on gift opening!

All About Miss Paige...and Auntie Lala and Uncle A, of course

2008-02-28T10:01:00.001-08:00

During the weekend of Carson's birthday party, we were so excited to have our guests of honor join us...Paige, Auntie Lala, and Uncle A! They were so kind to come down for a visit for Carson's birthday. Auntie Lala and Carson share the same birthday, our two Valentines! We had so much fun getting to see Miss Paige and spending time with Aaron and Laura at Huntington Beach...eating of course!! Elsie LOVES Paige and was so excited to see her and play with her. We got our Panfilio fix and can't wait to see them again soon, hopefully!

Happy Birthday Bosco!!

2008-02-19T22:08:00.001-08:00

In addition to celebrating Carson's 1st Birthday this week, we are also celebrating Bosco's 1st Birthday. Bosco joined our family just a few days after Carson was born courtesy of our friends Derrick and Mary Catheryne Woodward. They bought Elsie two new fish (Bosco and Patches) as a special gift because her first fish, Fish Eyes, had just died. Unfortunately, Patches did not last a week; however, Bosco is a real trooper despite living in stank water most of the time. For his birthday we will be cleaning his tank for the first time since Thanksgiving. Yipeeeeee for Bosco!!!

Carson and Weston's Excellent Adventure

2008-02-19T14:45:00.000-08:00

On Valentine's Day, February 14, Carson celebrated her 1st birthday. We had a combo party with her friend, Weston because he was born the day after Carson. Our friends Paula and Sam asked if we wanted to join them in celebrating together, to spare our friends of having to go to 2 one year parties in a weekend. It was a hiking theme and we had a lot of fun planning all the activities for the party.

We set up tents and sleeping bags at a park nearby.

Sam and Matt led the kids on a "hike" around the park.

First stop, make your own trail mix!

2nd stop, make a rainstorm
3rd stop, put stickers on water bottles
Last stop, dig for bubbles

Now on to the cake! They had mini tent cakes to dig in to. They were so funny trying to figure out what to do with it. It took a while, but they got it! They each tried to feed each other, and of course got messy! The rest of us enjoyed smores! yum!

Elsie quote of the week...

2008-02-13T14:23:00.001-08:00

So, I know we just posted yesterday, but I had to include a couple of quotes from our ever questioning Elsie. They are wide in spectrum, but remember, she is a Tremper!

Why is poop brown?
I, Mishawn, was sitting in the backseat with the girls and Elsie looks over at me and says, "Mommy, why is your tummy so big?" If she only knew how long it takes to get rid of the post-pregnancy "muffin top"!
Do we take the freeway to get to Heaven?
Mommy how can we not hear God? (Which then I told her that we have a feeling if we should be doing a good thing or a bad thing, that is like God talking to us) She replied, Can I talk to Him? Yes, I said, go ahead. "God, how do we get to Heaven? She listened (What did He say?) "Oh, what God? We fly?

"90 degrees under these palm trees..."

2008-02-12T16:41:00.000-08:00

A free nights stay in beautiful Whittier, California if you can name the band who used the title of this blog in one of their songs! Ok, I'll give you a clue - "one time...two times!" Anybody? Unless you were a fan of The Fugees in the mid-to-late nineties, you would never get it, so nobody wins! So why such a random title; well, because it was blazing hot in SoCal this past weekend. It didn't hit 90, but it got close, which called for a trip to the beach. These pictures were taken at Newport Beach, one of our favorite places to play in the sand and take in a beautiful sunset!

Elsie and Carson on the playground

Elsie will be 4 this May

Carson's first experience with sand, needless to say, she loved it and ate it...a lot of it!

They both loved being at the beach, Elsie collected a lot of shells

We went with our good friends, Pat and Teri. We ate at BJ's and then enjoyed a walk around Balboa Island. Balboa bars...yum!

Matt and Elsie rode the merry-go-round together, Matt got in trouble for riding the horse, of course!

Here is a video of Carson eating sand, thankfully we still have yet to see it come out the other end!

Carson's walking...

2008-02-12T16:15:00.000-08:00

Well, Carson is officially walking! Here is a video of her on Feb. 1 taking some of her first consecutive steps. She is now really moving, walking from room to room. I love the wobbly legs with her arms held out. So cute...

Our Daughter Carson

2008-01-28T18:30:00.000-08:00

Our daughter Carson...
Here are some things we NEVER experienced with Elsie that we are now experiencing with Carson:

As I write, let's start off with Falling Backwards off the Couch...and Getting Back on it Again...and Again...
Loud Unexpected Yelps
Looking at us While Tossing Her Food off of Her Tray
Making a Mad Dash to the Bathroom Every Time she Hears the Tub Filling
Waking up Randomly in the Middle of the Night Screaming (this is my favorite-Mishawn)
Having No Fear
And as of late, as you can tell from the pictures below, Climbing on EVERYTHING

Although tiring, Carson is A LOT of fun to have around. She definitely keeps us laughing.

Sickness Strikes...Again!!

2008-01-26T15:15:00.001-08:00

Have you heard the saying, "I am sick and tired of being sick and tired?" I remember my friend Joaquin saying that all the time while he and I were spending hours studying together through graduate school despite being exhausted and overwhelmed. Well, the Tremper family is freaking sick and tired of being sick and tired! Over the holidays, we were passing sickness back and worth to each other. Elsie puked; then Carson puked; then Mishawn almost puked; and then Matt totally puked. Our Christmas was filled with lots of cheer plus plenty of barfing, hacking, pooping, and shivering. Unfortunately, that sickness has cycled back around again. Last weekend, Carson had a 103 degree temperature for a few days, which made for two long sleepless nights comforting her in our bed and in the rocking chair. Then on Tuesday, I came home from work with a 101 degree temperature. After my temperature finally returned to normal two days later, I woke up dizzy and nauseous, barely able to get out of bed. I went to work on Friday, but only lasted half the day. Praise the Lord that Mishawn and Elsie have not been down for the count too...at least not yet! Hopefully this weekend will bring more rest and a return to better health in the Tremper family.

Elsie's Quote of the Day(s)!!

2008-01-17T20:50:00.001-08:00

For those of you who have been around our daughter Elsie over the past couple of years, you know that she is quite the verbal child. She seriously has been talking in complete sentences before she turned two - I'm not joking. Being the little word wiz she is, we often hear some pretty funny and random things coming out of her mouth. Mishawn is around Elsie all day so she usually is the one overhearing such comments. I (matt) usually get a few emails a week at work during the day from Mishawn about what Elsie has said. It's funny stuff. Here are the emails I received...

Monday morning
Hey there, so I am cleaning up right now waiting for Carson to wake up, and Elsie is talking to her “friends” and she is supposedly Mary. And she’s like, "whoa it reeks in here, because Jesus’ poop! Oh my gosh!!"

Wednesday morning
Once again Elsie is talking to her “friend” and she said that she is going to talk in Spanish and she’s like, “bata bata, luga, nana…” and then her “friend said why do you talk in Spanish, and she said oh, why do I talk in Spanish, because I am black. My skin is black, bata bata doda bota!”

What crazy kid!!

Our first "real" posting!

2008-01-12T20:30:00.000-08:00

Since Laura did our first posting over the holiday when I (matt) was taking a nap, I figured it was about time to begin this blogging thing. We had a wonderful Christmas break with family and friends. Loved the time in Fresno with the Panfilios and my grandparents. We were able to spend a day in the mountains up at Big Bear where we tried to find snow, but settled for sledding on mud. Matt was able to get in a round of golf too! Here are some pictures of our holiday.

The girls and Paige!

Big Grandpa and Grandma Gigi with the girls

Papa Santa and Carson

Twin jammies on Christmas morning at Grandma Yoo-Hoo's and Grandad's!

our first post...

2007-12-21T09:56:00.000-08:00

at the "not so gentle" coercion of laura panfilio we have started this blog. in fact, she is the one doing this...but she assures you that we will try to post some-what regularly so that you can see pictures of our family! cheers!