Alton Pool Playtime

What does Conley want for his birthday?

2012-01-14T16:50:00.002-06:00

First and last for a looooooong time

2011-10-23T19:26:00.003-06:00

Thanks grandma and grandpa for watching the kids so much when we went for our training runs!

Amy & Cameron completed the St Louis Rock & Roll Marathon on 10/23/2011.

Halloween Costumes

2011-10-17T12:53:00.000-06:00

So what are the kids being for Halloween?

Here's a hint.

2011-10-16T19:00:00.004-06:00

Candy Time is Coming! Candy Time is Coming!

2011-10-09T13:54:00.003-06:00

October Beach Time

2011-10-09T13:07:00.004-06:00

Who could pass up this weekends weather?!? Might very well be the latest we have been out on the river.

2011-10-02T17:28:00.002-06:00

Which one would you want?

2011-09-28T11:38:00.001-06:00

Conley's Photo Day

2011-09-25T19:55:00.003-06:00

2011-09-18T18:40:00.002-06:00

Rhegan definitely had better moments in week2 soccer. She was more aggressive about going after the ball and listening to the coach. She came very very close to scoring a goal a couple of time and I hope she gets the chance by the end of the season.

2011-09-14T19:17:00.002-06:00

Soccer Week 1

2011-09-13T18:39:00.002-06:00

2011-09-05T18:46:00.002-06:00

Mark Twain Video

2011-08-30T06:07:00.002-06:00

Mark Twain 2011

2011-08-29T06:17:00.004-06:00

Shebyville Trip

2011-08-24T06:22:00.002-06:00

River Fun, Adults ONLY!

2011-08-04T12:32:00.008-06:00

So the adults decided to have a day on the river without kids. Look at the fun that we all had. Just like the good old days, except we still have to go home and be mommy and daddy, well some of us did. You others, your time will come!

Todd! Inapproiate!

Todd and Colleen enjoying the water and drinks too!

Dance Mindy Dance!

Steph just relaxing and enjoying the sun

HELLO ladies! Lookin good!

Really....that just happened!

Todd, Cameron and Tom.......Boys being boys, need I say more?!

Fun was had by all and we can't wait to do it again. Grandma and Grandpas we will be calling for sitters real soon!

Cuivre River State Park

2011-07-31T14:06:00.003-06:00

Who wants to go swimming?!?!?!?

Conely & Rhegan just chilling

Rhegan: Conley, that's boring! We need to go out there!

Conley: I'm cool just where I'm at.

Who likes picnics with Daddy? Meeeeeeeeee!

Pool 25

2011-07-30T13:28:00.004-06:00

A Friday evening in pool 25, launching at Timberlake Marina.

Top of Hat

2011-07-24T20:38:00.004-06:00

Today we boarded behind the 242 for the first time. Pretty sure I need a 3-4ft link on the rope but overall not too bad. Having not boarded for over a year I don't think I did too bad especially since I was riding a 134 when I need to be on at least a 142+. Its the only board I have left since my Belmont flew off on the interstate a few years back and my spare liquid force has vanished.

After I took a few pulls and had a few nice jumps, clearing the wake, I had to prove to myself I can still not land a back roll. It did happen years ago, on Carlyle, it all came together and I landed back to back back rolls. Since that time, it has never happened again.

This is a picture of Stpehanie taking a run after my turn.

The group playing a little water volleyball at the top of hat.Peyton, Colleen, and Rhegan.

Mindy, Rhegan, Peyton, Colleen.

Group video.

A scary little thing happened but all is fine now. Rhegan went to jump off the back of the boat to Steph but she was not looking for a second. Rhegan ended up smashing her face on Steph's face and caos followed. Poor Rhegan had two bloody noses and a busted lip. She cried for at least 15-20 minutes and it was not until she blew bloddy snot on me that she finally laughed a bit.

This girl (Rhegan) is a trooper, she was up at 7 today and did not go to bed until 8:30 tonight. She was in a different world but how she went so long and never crashed is beyond me. She had a blast again on the river as did all.

She is fine Stephanie and next time she says she will only jump when you are looking. Thanks for the help cleaning her up and your towel is clean along with all of ours.

Video of the new boat

2011-07-18T22:33:00.005-06:00

We're Back

2011-07-16T21:19:00.005-06:00

Easter at Karenas house

Conley about to launch an egg and it looks like Rhegan is trying to lay one!

Back to the creek its finally warm enough and it was Conleys first time, so Rhegan was showing him the way.

Daddy and his little creek monsters

Just the boys

Rhegan just playing around, splish splash

OOPS! and he is down, and wants to stay there

How cute are they :)

Mommy and Rhegan went for a run up our road. It was 0.8 miles and Rhegan was done after the first .2 I would say. But we stuck it out and made it home.

Rhegans FIRST hair cut. And yes if you didnt know she had it done you could not tell!

Slip and slide for the first time on Fathers day weekend. They loved it to say the least.

Bubble bath time!

Long days

2011-03-13T16:05:00.002-06:00

Sorry we have not blogged in a while but it has been busy around the Imming house. We will get some pictures up soon! Stay tuned :)

Because it's true

2011-02-05T11:13:00.004-06:00

If it wasn't for all the whiners at work about when Mizzou loses........

Learning Moments

2011-02-01T14:12:00.004-06:00

The crying kid behind the bedroom door may not just be throwing a temper tantrum. We sent Rhegan to her nap and she kept crying. It never really "escalated" beyond her normal fussiness but when Amy went to check in on her (actually to take a nap with her), I can't imagine the shock she must have felt when our poor little girl was not only crying not to take a nap but also had a horrible nose bleed (she gets that from dad). Amy was great not to over react and I even made jokes with Rhegan about it while getting ready for her bath. It was also the first time I used "bloodstain" on the washer.

So for a additional ammo to anyone wanting to send me on to child services, below you can see I learned that boys like to eat dirt. Period. Maybe its because it looks like crushed Oreo Cookies. The other day Conley made it into my office and attacked the Ficus plant. Below is a snapshot of the results. The part that is not shown, his older sister helped clean up and swept all the dirt under a bookcase. She cleans just like her mom :)

My First Studio Shots

2011-01-02T14:45:00.004-06:00

Winter is here

2010-12-05T21:27:00.004-06:00

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-30T14:53:00.004-06:00

2010-10-25T19:45:00.005-06:00

Underage Driving

2010-10-22T12:24:00.002-06:00

Horsing Around

2010-10-10T21:55:00.002-06:00

The other day we took a ride down to see the horses. The owner of the horses, Mike, is our closest neighbor and a very nice guy. We had really only expected to see the horses from the fence but Mike was out and about and said "let me grab the gate key." So we took the golf cart into the pasteur and once the horses saw Mike, they were all over us. Rhegan was a little timid but in the end, actually sat on Jack for awhile. Jack is the little burro.

Time to catch up

2010-10-03T19:33:00.025-06:00

So its been quite awhile since I posted so that means I need quite a few photos to catch up.

Rhegan and a bubble bath.
The local deer.
The turkey family.
Rhegan's rash coming back from Kentucky.
Prepping the boat for Table Rock
Quite a few pictures from table rock.

Kentucky Lake

2010-07-27T22:53:00.002-06:00

Pump It Up

2010-07-27T05:40:00.004-06:00

2010-07-26T04:58:00.000-06:00

Regardless of standings... still #1 to me.

2010-06-28T05:43:00.001-06:00

Stylin together

2010-06-26T13:17:00.002-06:00

Home, Home on the range

2010-06-13T20:03:00.005-06:00

I put a couple other postings up today (zoo and momma's kids) but this one is my favorite hence the actual script. Today was Amy's idea but you did not find me protesting at the least. We've both been running here and there (not around the square) and she just wanted a "day at home." I've been wanting one of these for a long time and it was nice to finally get one. We really didn't do much around the house but what we did do was wonderful, we enjoyed our house and yard.

The day started with breakfast at Erin's coffee shop in Winfield. We do this quite often but today was even better because Miss Maggie was back from Canada and cooking things up. Sid does alright but he can't compete with Maggie's Ulster Fry. Anyone who has never visited their coffee shop is missing out on a little gem.

After breakfast we headed home and went to work in the yard. I pulled a ton of weeds from the garden and put in the potted tomato and pepper plants. As you can see in some of the pictures Rhegan was happy to help me. After I got those plants in I transplanted a dozen starters (more peppers) into some clay pots. In a couple weeks we'll get those in as well.

I wanted to get some play time in on the tractor but a few busted knuckles because I'm not very good with hydraulic lines yet set me back on that. That's ok, because when I finally figured out my mistakes it started to rain. I didn't miss the opportunity and Rhegan and I went out to play. Amy caught a great picture of us as well as many others. Since we were then wet, what else is there to do but get in the pool! This little $5 yard sale gem has paid for itself many times over. Having daddy plumb a working fountain into it was just a little extra love. Rhegan loves it and given time, I'll probably add on other features.

Today was great for all of us. Amy and Conley got their naps in, I got a few things done around the house, but most importantly of all, we hung out as a family and just had fun. The evening finished up with a little BBQ and after this posting I am going to go wrap up the weekend with a jack and cigar on the front porch as I watch the distant storms roll by and listen to the thunder echo.

Momma's kids

2010-06-13T19:57:00.006-06:00

Lions and Tigers and Bears Oh My!

2010-06-13T19:50:00.002-06:00

On May 3rd we headed to the zoo, so did 700 other local kids. This was a day for just the family to head out and spend some time together before Amy headed back to work after her maternity leave.

new logo?

2010-06-09T21:19:00.002-06:00

For Grandma Phelps

2010-05-21T05:25:00.007-06:00

Amy (in the middle) and Krystle (on the right) ran a half marathon in Quincy IL May 8th. Amy was just 12 weeks post Conley and very proud and excited to be running again! Krystle~ thanks for being such a good friend and running this with me. I dont think I could have done it without you! Remember that slow and steady got us to the end of that one ;)

Amy and Krystle with jackie joyner kersee and some olympic volleyball player from the past!

Yes the background does look fake BUT its not. This was taken on our front porch one morning before heading out for the day.

This is one of the better ones, it seems now a days it is a lot harder to get Rhegan to just smile and not make a goofy face while doing so.

This is Cameron working his photography magic. This was taken at 11pm. Those green dots are lighting bugs. There are so many you just wouldnt believe it till you see it. THIS is what country living is all about!

Here is an updated picture of Mr Conley! He is getting so big. Talking a lot, trying to get an word in edge wise around his big sister.

Rhegan on the swing at Aunt Karenas house. Boy is she growing up so fast, it is truely AMAZING!

SLEEP!!! This is something that we are still working on. Conley is still getting up one time in the middle of the night to eat. Unlike his sister who was sleeping thru the night at 12 weeks. We are now at week 14.5 and still counting. I will keep you updated on if I will ever sleep thru the night again! ;)

Big yawns! Big yawns! Such a rough life these babies have, huh?

Now that is one cute baby! Now that cute little boy could bring a smile to anyones face!

Stay tuned for more..............................

2010-04-19T07:02:00.001-06:00

Rhegan and Amy looking for Easter eggs

Gwendalyn at Easter, her and her mommy (Natasha) made a suprise visit! How exciting, we loved meeting that pretty baby!

Gwen and Conley just hanging out

Conley in his scrubs, we will have to find the one of Rhegan in hers when she was a baby and post that too!

Someone loves her DADDY!

Down There (as she likes to call it)

2010-04-01T17:06:00.004-06:00

I'm pretty sure I've created a monster with Rhegan and the creeks by the house. She literally stands by the windows and says "I wanna do down there," pointing to the bridge or backyard creek. Today went down to the covered bridge for a picnic and she got to play on the rocks. She could have stayed there all day but it was time for a nap. Of course, as soon as she got up from her nap, she wanted to go "down there." I guess it beats the monkey house but we are really going to have to keep an eye on her this summer, and next, and next, and next........

Been tooooo long so here are a few new ones

2010-03-24T12:08:00.003-06:00

Playing with Photoshop

2010-02-28T13:12:00.001-06:00

See how easy scrapbooking is Grandma Phelps!

Being the cool big sister

2010-02-26T08:38:00.002-06:00

Here is a quick Friday treat. Walgreens has been having a huge photo sale this week so I have been spending more time getting pictures uploaded there for print rather than here.

Happy Birthday Rhegan!

2010-02-22T13:52:00.004-06:00

Two days later, but it is here. Strange, this year I took a lot of video on Rhegan's birthday instead of the usual stills. I think I only have 3 or 4 total pictures of her for the birthday. But the video is absolutely hilarious and I am glad I chose that instead. I think she will really appreciate it later.

And I though this picture of Rhegan just a few days after coming home would be great to share

Quietnesss

2010-02-18T10:57:00.002-06:00

Quietness does not happen much these days but that is part of family living I suppose. Rhegan definitely has her moments and some of them I could do without. Conley is doing great though. Last night he slept at solid 3.5 hour intervals between feedings. I should have more pictures online by now but I don't. I've spent the last two days cleaning the house and trying to get things organized. Part of that was running some hdmi, component, cat5, and computer lines from the tv over the fireplace. Now that those are finished, I can clean the rest of the house and good the pictures started. Here was the last one I took, yes, Conleyis staged, but Rhegan went down and this is where she chose before I took her to bed.

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T15:11:00.005-06:00

A few sweetheart pictures in honor of Valentine's Day.

More Photos

2010-02-12T19:22:00.004-06:00

Rhegan is showing a lot of interest in Conley. However, to help with the transition, grandma and grandpa Phelps are watching Rhegan again today. We can't thank them enough and man did they look tired tonight.

Announcing Conley Thomas

2010-02-12T10:29:00.003-06:00

Conley Thomas joined our family this morning at 8:08

Getting Ready

2010-02-12T06:22:00.004-06:00

Getting near! I'm really just testing everything to make sure I can post some pictures today!!

T Minus 8 days until.....

2010-02-03T12:07:00.004-06:00

We get another one of these??????

Where does she come up with this stuff?

I am horrible. I completely forgot to share this gorgeous child

2010-01-29T11:17:00.002-06:00

Here is a picture of the currently youngest "Imming" bloodline (at least for the Immings that I am concerned about). Gwen(Natasha can fill in the whole spelling) Clementine Imming. Clementine is our dear departed grandmother.
And yes, there were days and days and days of singing "Ohmy darlin''... oh my darlin.... oh my DARLINNNN Clementine..." You get the picture. So below is Gwen, the closest aged cousin of the Imming en route.

The saddest part is I have not even been able to see her. Hopefully we can get to NY or you guys can get home sometime soon. Miss you Sis!

Clearing the mind

2010-01-23T18:18:00.005-06:00

Every now and then I have to get away. Away from houses, jobs, and everything else that establishes our "daily routines." This last weekend I had one of these get aways at Meremac State Park with a few friends. Nothign fancy, a quick two night camp out with a hike on Saturday. We started on the path but soon tired of the "same old same old" and started our own direction. Soon we cam across an old abandoned road and decided to follow that for awhile. While walking it I realized it would make for a real neat picture. I'll probably blow one of them up to a large 16X20 for the house.

Late Christmas Pictures

2010-01-22T08:11:00.004-06:00

Rhegan is in her Christmas dress. Now how did we get her to smile and sit so cute you may ask yourself....WELL....Mini marshmellows! She would smile and then ask for one as a treat for doing it. It worked out for us, good pictures, but sugared up baby after the fact!

By the way, these pictures are done in our livingroom! Cameron is such a good photographer :)

Rhegan's first true sledding

2010-01-11T06:54:00.003-06:00

Da Da playing chase on the sled. Rhegan had an absolute blast going down the hill. I was too until my fat but broke the bottom of the sled on a hidden rock.

This is the part she did not like so much. She just had to do the walking herself ..... the first time... half way up the hill.

Future bobsled champion. Next year we'll put in the banks and final jump.

Belly and Baby

2010-01-04T09:26:00.003-06:00

Amy, Rhegan, and the baby on the way. I think the shots came out fairly good but

Rhegan being... well, Rhegan

2010-01-04T09:23:00.002-06:00

I am sure it is a foreshadow of times to come.

Goodbye Dear Friend

2009-12-16T09:06:00.002-06:00

Sometime around 2 yesterday, perhaps the greatest dog I could ever hope to be the master of was put to rest. I’d lie if I said the decision was tough, it really wasn’t. But it was none-the-less extremely difficult. By this I mean I had to make an ethical decision on whether or not chasing a potential ghost of medical problems could be justified given the medical costs involved. This is a touchy subject for many people but in the end, the looming reality of having to spend at least another $2,000 to just try and figure out what was wrong with Caesar could not be justified.

So on that, let me just say I could have been a better master, much like any of us could be better in the things we do. We will always go through life asking ourselves those "what ifs" and have to live with the clouds they create over us. I thought today would be tough having to look at Caesar’s empty crate but it actually wasn’t. I find peace knowing he is no longer in pain and that he brought joy to everyone he met, even in his last days. One thing is for certain, even given his tendency to dig a few holes, bark late night at rabbits, and pull off his amazing escapes from the back yard at 3 in the morning, he could not have possibly been a better dog.

I really wanted Caesar to be able to enjoy the country life much longer than he did. Seeing him run the fields, dig up mice, and contemplate the run down of passing deer, brought back countless memories of our previous dog King. While some people tend to believe their dogs are meant to be inside lap layers, I am of old school where I want them to be mostly outside, running the fields, drawing on the primitive instinct they all have ingrained in them. Don’t get me wrong, in the recent years Caesar loved his warm crate, but he was just as fast to jump into a freezing cold creek for fun.

It was a painful last month for Caesar and in the end, our choice was necessary. I’m glad everyone but Amy and I will remember Caesar as the great white beast he was and not the condition of which he passed. I recall the waning days of our original Sheppard, suffering horrible with hip problems. Even though the pain was intense, his eyes and heart said “I’ll keep going.” Looking into Caesars eyes this last week told an entirely different story. They were sad eyes, those of a broken spirit, suffering incredible pain. Every time I looked at him they were begging for me to end the pain somehow. Today I am carrying that pain for him. I know it will pass and the heartache I have today is likely nothing to that he lived with in his last weeks.

I’ll miss you ol’ boy and thank you for the memories.

Visiting Santa

2009-12-07T08:55:00.003-06:00

Saturday morning we tried for the Santa visit. While she was not willing to sit on Santa's lap this year, she did like seeing him, just not on the lap. Overall it was a fun morning and a good day as after we were done with Santa, we went looking for a tree. That in itself is a funny story with plenty of stress as well, but for another day. Here are a couple pictures of visiting Santa.

A late Veterans' Day Photo

2009-12-07T08:48:00.002-06:00

I kept meaning to get this picture up and finally remembered. On Veterans Day I elected to take the day off and play some golf. However, before heading to the course, I took Rhegan to the local memorial for a moment of personal reflection for dad and what was essentially a “shoes dada shoes!” trip for Rhegan . I hope to do this on a regular basis so that she grows up understanding what a great nation it is we live in but also at what price and personal sacrifice it costs us. But this year, it was a moment of thanks for Dada and trip of shoes for my daughter.

Happy Belated Veterans Day!

2009-11-12T12:34:00.003-06:00

I have a couple pictures to share from yesterday but I have to get them off the camera which is currently not with me. I took Rhegan to a veterans' memorial in the morning on my day off.
If you thanked a veteran yesterday then please allow me to thank you.

Daddy's Favorite Girls

2009-11-09T16:45:00.002-06:00

A couple quick pictures of my favorite girls. If you notice, my banner is gone. That was hosted by Geocities and they apparently closed. That really sucks because that was the official host of CCWBA (Clinton Cuunty Wake Board Association), I was a founding member. I had a lot of good pitcures on there I don't know if I can easily find back. I guess that is why I stopped using free hosts (which, of course, the next question then would be why do I even bother with blogspot).
Because it was there at the time and I have many years invested in it. I doubt they would willingingly (or cheaply) just allow me to export every page.

I'm a slacker!

2009-11-04T11:19:00.001-06:00

Our little rock star!

Our litte girl

2009-10-12T19:06:00.001-06:00

Rhegan is home but we can't go anywhere

2009-10-08T07:08:00.003-06:00

After out little adventure last week, Rhegan is finally home and doing much better (except the force feedings of her anitbiotics). I woke up this morning to a very heavy rain and the previous rainy morning snoozed in a little bit. I'm only afforded this luxury since I am watching Rhegan until her wound heals and can go back to day care.

Here is our bridge under fog

Here is our bridge under rainbow

And here is our bridge under water.

It's starting to go down but I guess Amy got out of here on time because shortly after all this started and she would have been stuck.

MRSA is no joke

2009-10-03T19:52:00.002-06:00

Our poor little daughter has a staph infection and it's mrsa. I don't wish this on anyeone. We brought her to the ER this mornign at 5am and she'll be spending the night after a day of more poking, prodding, squeezing, and you name it since she was born. Wish her well and I'll keep you posted. She just passed out on some nice morphine and hopefully her and mom get some rest. It's been a looooong day. Dad could sure use a beer after this one. But all I want is for her to be herself and show us that little attitude we miss.

Some recent pictures

2009-09-21T12:26:00.003-06:00

Being her usual thetrical self

A more modern and cute "Uncle Sam Wants You" approach

A day at the zoo and stopping for a pose.

Dress Up

2009-09-18T14:22:00.002-06:00

Sorry grandpa, you got busted.

Just a couple photos

2009-09-17T08:19:00.001-06:00

Last Post for awhile....

2009-09-05T16:16:00.002-06:00

Just as a heads up, this will probably be one of the last photo upload for awhile. I'm taking the PC to our new house and we don't have Internet access yet. That being the case, I tried to up load a few more pictures since Illinois is getting their butts kicked by Mizzou and they deserve it. Right now I think a good portion of the US high schools could beat IL. They are/were HORRIBLE today. Congrats Mizzou, you guys looked awesome today.

I'll add comments on the pictures later...

Stealing a picture from Todd

2009-08-25T13:34:00.006-06:00

Here is a picture of Rhegan playing in the water at Kentucky Lake.

We are in...

2009-08-19T15:04:00.001-06:00

Just for everyone's info, we are in the house but have no ISP, phone, or cable. I will get some photos up hopefully soon. But RHegan is taking to the house great and we could not be happier for her.

Can't we all just get along

2009-07-30T07:02:00.003-06:00

What Rhegan Loves

2009-07-28T21:08:00.003-06:00

Rhegan loves climbing things. She also loves being the center of attention.

Here you see her demonstrating both.

Rhegan loves necklaces. The more the merrier. She can't wear enough.

Rhegan loves water. Water in the tub, sink, lake, river, or on the street.

3 Weeks & Counting

2009-07-26T18:43:00.004-06:00

WE HAVE WATER!!!!!! ALL THE NONSENSE IS OVER!!!!!!!!!!!
Now we really are 3 weeks and counting.

A week had passed since we were at the house and things are moving along greatly. Hopefully tomorrow (Monday) I get good news on the water situation and everything gets even closer to being finalized.

Nothing really noticeably different on the outside other than the debris is cleaned up and grading has been done.

Lights have started to be hung up.

Here you are looking from our foyer into the dining room.

The fireplace in the great room. Today was the first time we got to see it. It have been covered by Tyvek until recently.

Looking down at the fireplace from the balcony.

The kitchen counters have been installed. We went with a different bar height counter to help it stand out over the more neutral kitchen counters.

Another view.

The electrical boxes are significantly cleaned up versus the last time I saw them.
Our hot water heaters are now installed as well. We went with two 40 gallon high efficiencies run in series.

The things she comes up with

2009-07-20T07:50:00.002-06:00

I did not personally witness this and might not even have believed it had it not been for the pictures. Why Rhegan decided she had to climb into the oven is beyond me but the pictures are hilarious. We are extremely blessed as Rhegan has no problem entertaining herself for long periods of time. She goes to bed pretty much on her own and has a great nap schedule. She also loves to mimic daddy. Anytime I have the tools out she watches me and tries to do the same thing. I suppose this could be a bad thing but she seems to know which tools she can play with and which ones are off limits.

Tomato Picking

2009-07-18T08:23:00.002-06:00

Our little daughter loves cherry tomatoes. We have to watch how many she eats because the acid in the skins tend to make her little tush a little red as well. She also like to help pick them in the morning. The only problem is she likes to eat and pick them and dump water and run around the deck and pull on the other plants and just be a handful. But she's fun and we love her.

Update, one more week for water and then...

2009-07-11T14:31:00.004-06:00

After finding out the bad news on the water Friday afternoon I ran out to the house to see what I could find out. Mike was there and gave me the update. A company is coming out Monday to clean the lines one last time. Then, we ould have the tests back by Thursday and the water turned on. I'll believe it when I see it. If this does not work, they are digging us a well. The biggest issue right now is we can't hook up the heating and cooling because the water has to be there to charge the system, which is a geothermal system.

More on that when I find out but the cabinets are going up in the house and the counters have been measured and ordered. All the hardwood is in and the travertine put up in the sunroom. Doors and baseboards are also ready to be put up.

The kitchen. Yes, they are cabinets, I know, very exciting.

Where the kitchen sink and dishwasher will go. That nice empty wall across the room will hold the tv.

The travertine fireplace surround. We wanted to keep the sunroom very "clean and open" so there is no mantle or heavy stone on this side.

This is where all our poop will go (aka septic system)

And what post would be complete without at least one picture of Rhegan.

Strike TWO!

2009-07-10T12:07:00.002-06:00

We just found out the second water line cleaning failed, the tests did not get approved.
We were really hoping this could be put to rest but no luck. I'm going to go find Mr Wilder and tell him its well time. After two failed cleanings, I'm not sure I want water from the old line now.

Rhegan on Parade

2009-07-04T16:51:00.001-06:00

Happy Fourth of July!

2009-07-04T15:11:00.003-06:00

The pillars are on the porch and the first layer of paint is up in the house.

A happy Rhegan

House visit and a dip in the pool

2009-06-28T14:35:00.007-06:00

As of Sunday, 6/28, here is how our house is looking. By the end of this week the pillars should be finished and hopefully the front yard starts to get cleaned up a bit.

The backing for the rock fireplace is up. The thing is going to be huge.
Amy checking out the progress.

Saturday night we watched Caleb so we thought we'd see if they would play nicely together.

On Sunday, we broke out the pool after Rhegan's morning nap. She was having a blast with mom.

One of her many thetrical faces

3 in a row and a nice mix

2009-06-24T23:12:00.008-06:00

Every now and then I just have to show Rhegan being herself, in this case, it's her uncanny desire to walk on all four in grass when barefoot.

Enjoying her little rubber ducky.

Not enjoying her floating turtle fountain.

YES! THIS WAS A HORRIBLE IDEA. Rhegan really loved looking through the fireplace at the new house. We have our hands full teaching her this is off limits.

A picture of the house as of today. There are some things we are working on with CMS but not worth going into great detail on the blog. But notice the porch pillars. They are going to look wonderful when complete.

Just a close up of one of the pillars.

If you are an eco geek, here is our main unit of the geothermal unti we are installing. The grid has been put underground outside already.

Morning Visit

2009-06-23T13:01:00.001-06:00

I decided to check on the house this morning and drop off some more ice water for the guys out there. I know they are “big boys” and sure they probably brought enough water, but you can never have enough when the heat index is supposed to be 106. Just since this weekend, they have made a lot of progress on the brickwork for the garage. After talking to the guys, it sounds like all the exterior work is supposed to be done by the end of the week. By end of next week, one coat of paint is supposed to be on the inside and the fireplace rock started. Another notable is the geo thermal pump unit is in the basement, just not installed. I had a few pictures but they are all foggy. I forgot to acclimate my camera before popping the lens cover. The end result was photos of fog.

The next update probably won’t be until Friday or Saturday. We’re going to let them get the exterior knocked out and then get some more pictures.

More on the house

2009-06-20T10:29:00.008-06:00

Saturday morning we decided to head out and see our home. As we first drove up, it did not look like much of the outside had been done going around the back revealed a lot of siding installed. Yes, it is a clay/gray/tan that a lot of people are using these days but it is a color we really enjoy and a nice natural tone. The main thing I love about the house is the prominent 8 inch white trim boards everywhere, which are also vinyl so the exterior is 100% maintenance free.

They also have started the brick work which you can see here. Brick is tough decision with out being able to see it on the house but Amy did a great job picking out the exterior colors.

As usual, Rhegan just can't get enough f the house. She loves running on the porch and picking up everything.

I think all the drywall is hung in the house. I say think because I really didn't look that close. Only a few places have tape and I know there is a lot of taping to do. The ceiling in the great room will not be an easy task.

Here's a picture of part of the creek running through the back yard. It felt like a jungle in the back area today. The humidity was horrible even at 8 am.

Here is one big disappointment. They already have the geothermal lines buried. I really wanted to see where the trenches were and how deep, but all we can see is the land regraded, shown below.

Not a very interesting photo but this is the upstairs unit for the heating/cooling unit. This is a 2 ton unit to cool the bedrooms and hallway area.

There ended up being so many outlets and switches in the house that it requires two boxes to run everything. I suppose this is good because when we go to finish the basement, I'll need plenty of places to put in new breakers.

More house photos

2009-06-16T20:42:00.005-06:00

Note: For those use to coming to the site via http://www.nauticalthugz.com/, I have to pay my hosting bill. Once that is done, that link should work again. Otherwise, just use altonpool.blogspot.com. I set up the auto forward since my domain is registered with the same company so maybe that will work as well until I get my files back.

The house is progressing along nicely. We were told the appliances and lights will all go in on July 21st. The water issue is moving along as well. The new valves are in and inspections passed. Heavy rains have kept them from being sanitized and cleaned the last two days. Hopefully they are tapped by the end of the week, we'll see. The only new issue/question/concern is whether or not all the sound proofing has been installed. We looked into some of the available gaps in the front room ceiling and we don't see it. We left two voice mails and an email to the builder. We should find out what is going on with it tomorrow. But we checked the start sheet, "Sound proofing to be installed in all interior ceilings and walls." IF they did miss it and have to tear down drywall, at least they found out now before mudding and taping.

A front shot of the house.

Here's another outside shot of the house.

The sun room/all seasons room. The ceiling is up and the webbing is installed for the insulation.

I thought this looked kind of neat. This is shot of the insulation between the kitchen and great room.

Looking down from the balcony into the great room.

A couple of our neighbors. The one on the right will hand on my great room wall in a few years and the one on the left will make tasty venison.

Sunday's Share

2009-06-07T14:49:00.003-06:00

Today's first picture is a shot of our "stuff." Behind everything you see are our appliances. Under the couch and past all those bins are the fridge, stove, washer/dryer, and more. Hopefully by the time we need them for the house we'll be able to put this stuff in as well.

This weekend we took Rhegan for her first boat ride. Don't let this cute picture fool you, she hates the life jacket. The only reason I think she is smiling is she simply forgot she had it on.

Once again, don't let the picture fool you. The first 15 minutes at the beach she was pissed as could be. Finally she calmed down and started playing in the water.

Like most kids, they love steering wheels. Here is Rhegan after the boat ride while mommy and daddy clean up and put the boat back. Hopefully it gets easier taking her along because it was a challenge with just the two of us.

And this time last year, what did our little girl look like?

2009-06-06T11:42:00.002-06:00

A few new pictures of the house

This is the see through fireplace. It will be flanked by two french doors and highlighted by can lights. The rock work will run up the wall to the 10 ft ceiling.

Here you can see the wall where the island will be installed.

That's enough, we're off to take Rhegan on the boat for the first time this year.

Broken tooth!

2009-06-02T06:54:00.002-06:00

Rhegan was at daycare on Friday and somehow she chipped her tooth! Jennifer (her sitter) could not figure out how she did it, no crying, no falling, nothing would lead her to think how she did this. So this is what it looked like before the dentist......

AND.....after a long appointment and LOTS and LOTS of crying, it was filed down and this is what it looks like now! The dentist said that she doesnt think that anything will affect her adult tooth but only time will tell. So we will have to wait and see and cross that bridge when it gets here.

While I was chasing Rhegan trying to get the before then after pics I got a chace to take a picture of us.....I think it turned out pretty good!

Rhegan LOVES icey pops so Daddy gave her one after her long appointment. Daddy saves the day again!

Grandma and Grandpa headed to the Cards game last night and we got a quick pic before they left. Of course they couldnt do it without Rhegan! :)

Cute baby, more house!

2009-05-31T09:38:00.002-06:00

Rhegan looked so cute in her little tu-tu! She is such a good baby and for the most part in a great mood. She is also learning so fast, she now has a 10-15 word vocabulary and like her mommy loves to talk.......all the time!

Here is the house with the front porch on and I think that the shingles will be going on soon.

Here is the up close picture.

Rhegan is playing in our new tub! I cant wait to play in it myself ;)

I'm back!

2009-05-26T14:27:00.003-06:00

Well, the group made it safe out of the Boundary Waters. Snow, hail, thunderstorms, freezing cold rain, and sunburns were endured. We had a blast and learned alot about minimizing our camping gear for future trips.

A set of HDR images I put together from the trip. I'll post more at a later time.

A growing house

2009-05-21T19:51:00.003-06:00

So I went and checked out the house with Mom, Dad, and of course Rhegan. I cant wait for Cameron to see the progress when he gets home! It has two stories and lots of walls now.

The back of the house.

Rhegan throwing stuff out the window, that is her little head by the TY in Tyvek!

Now that she is walking, she is into and on everything. Here she is climbing over a board all by herself, she does NOT need anyones help anymore!

More to come when Cameorn takes better pics when he gets home!

Rhegan is RUNNING!

2009-05-19T20:15:00.003-06:00

Rhegan did take her first steps May 5th, just a few steps that is. Well that all changed May 11th when she just let go of the couch and started walking! She is everywhere and into everything. She also likes to go running with Mommy. We are getting ready for a 5 mile run on Sunday. She loves it! She plays with a few toys and naps after a while, it works well for both of us.

Grandma Phelps took this one, look at those big blue eyes!

This is for Aunt Brandy and Uncle Justin. They got her this t-shirt when they were in New York. Here she is sporting the t-shirt and skirt, too cute!

WALLS....YEAH!

2009-05-14T11:09:00.002-06:00

We now have WALLS! I ran out to see the progress and they were working so I didn't bother them and just snapped a few shots. We will get more when we head out there tonight. WALLS....WOOHOO! :)

2009-05-06T17:43:00.005-06:00

House update: Subfloor materials are on site. Installation was suppose to begin on 5/8 but the rain likely kept them off site.

Rhegan tried black berries for the first time and Grandpa decided that peek-a-boo would be fun with purple hands!

Rhegan is having fun driving a friend of grandma and grandpa Phelps (Sam) dune buggy.

Hawaii

2009-04-15T19:54:00.005-06:00

Amy went to Hawaii March 18th thru March 26th. She went to visit her friend Krystle who is stationed in the Navy over there. Yes, she went alone and left Cameron and Rhegan for 8 whole days! While there she ran her 1st ½ marathon in 2:04:25, she was very proud and very sore after it was all done. She is looking forward to this weekend, running the St. Louis GO ½ marathon and trying to beat her time.

Rhegan Easter Pictures

2009-04-15T08:52:00.005-06:00

Collection of misc Easter pictures

Natasha, do you recognize what Rhegan is wearing in the last two pictures?
And please mail me all your fishing gear, I'm headed out camping soon :)