Christmas Program 2007

Lauren and Alec had their elementary Christmas program tonight. The third graders all have speaking parts and the rest of the grades (K-2nd) assist by singing and looking cute! Lauren said her line like a true up and coming actress! Alec looked so cute singing and dancing in the front row! After we got home, I TRIED to put all three children in front of their beautifully decorated Christmas tree to take some pictures. I now understand why portrait studios are always looking for photographers. Trying to get all three children to stand still and look at the camera was like performing in a circus! Needless to say, I gave up after multiple times of chasing Will back into the picture and reminding Lauren and Alec to keep looking at the camera and NOT at Will! So here are the ones that I got...

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS!

Deck the Halls

Lauren, Alec, and Will helped me put up and decorate our Christmas tree this year. They were so excited to help. We had Christmas music playing and we all worked together. Once the actual tree was put up and the lights were strung, I opened the box of ornaments and let them go at it. When they were finished, I had to move some of the ornaments to the top of the tree (otherwise it may have looked a little bare up there!). They were very proud of their work. We talked about how the cats love to lay under the tree and sleep. Later, I couldn't find Alec....I looked and sure enough, there he was FAST ASLEEP under the Christmas tree! I guess he wanted to see what the cats thought was so cool and then got so relaxed after his long day of work that he succombed to dream land. Adorable!

Lauren is the birthday "bride".

William as "Peter Pan".

Alec as "Captain Hook".

Our Halloween party was a big hit! The kids played games. The adults played games. We all played games together! We carved pumpkins and wore costumes. My backyard even got TP'd thanks to our good friend Brandon. All the fun and games were followed by grilling out and roasting marshmallows by a bonfire. I hope everyone had as much fun as I did. And I hope that everyone comes back next year!

The Great Pumpkin Patch 2007
No School on Monday. Lauren's actual birthday. It is sunny and warm...let's go to the Pumpkin Patch! Ten minutes after we get there....downpour. We run to the barn and wander around shopping for more Halloween decorations (and anyone who has seen our yard knows that we don't need anymore!) until it stops. Luckily it only lasts for about 20 minutes. Back outside to sunny weather and quite a few puddles. William is as drawn to them as any child. We try to get the kids to pose for pictures that we take every year. Does anyone know how hard it is to get 3 kids to all look at the camera and smile at the same time? Umm...I think this is the only picture that even comes close! We went on a wagon ride around the pumpkin patch this year. It was very relaxing. I know that in a few short years Lauren will not want to be seen with her family at a pumpkin patch, so I savored every splash in the puddle and every frustrating attempt to capture their pictures. They just grow up too fast!

Time to Roller Boogie!
Lauren turned 9 this weekend. She decided to have her birthday party at the White Pines Rollerskating Rink. Deja vu. When my sisters and I were little our grandma Barb used to take us there almost every Saturday afternoon. Many birthday parties were had at that place. The same person still owns it. Some things have changed (like the music) and some things are the same (the lights) but it remains a great place to take your family for some fun! Lauren had 13 friends show up and we skated the afternoon away. My grandma Barb (who is 76 years old) came and skated with us. It was like old times watching my grandma skating around that rink. We had a few injuries. The only major one was my sister Liz falling while skating backwards. X-rays show that her tailbone is broken. Not cool. Especially for the girl who used to work and practically live at that skating rink! Lauren had a great time. I can't believe my daughter is 9.

Summer ends....a new adventure begins!

My children have officially been back in school for a whole week now. Last week was too easy with 3 early outs (2 due to extreme heat). Alec is LOVING kindergarten. He is excited to go to school each morning. Lauren is also enjoying 3rd grade. I was a little worried because I had been warned from other parents how much homework she would have this year. So far we are not swamped, but I realize that it is only the beginning of the year. Open House is next Wednesday. I am excited to see their new classrooms and get to know their teachers a little. It can be hard to be a parent that is a teacher. It is especially difficult with Alec because I have taught kindergarten myself.

I am having fun myself. Along with being a parent of three children and a preschool teacher, I have started taking online classes to get an additional teaching certificate. You might be wondering how I am feeling...stressed would be putting it mildly. I actually have conversations with myself while doing homework on the computer about how I must have been crazy when I signed up for this! My children get a kick out of mommy having homework. I'm glad someone is amused. May the new adventure begin!

Wish us all luck in the coming year!

Bud Light Real American Heroes Salutes Mr Golf Ball Washer

What happens when you turn your back on your toddler.....

This is William sitting in the middle of our dining room table. He has his sister's play cell phone. It has lip gloss in it. I guess he is pretty smart - he is putting some of it on his lips!

Summer 2007

Camp Benson 2007
Last Sunday I dropped Lauren off for her week of fun at Camp Benson. This was an emotional experience for me. First of all, a long, long, LONG time ago, I was a camp counselor at that very camp. It was an amazing summer filled with fun, friends, and learning. I loved it so much that I couldn't wait for my daughter to be able to go there! She was very excited and so was I! I knew how much fun she was going to have, the memories that she would make, and the new friends that she would never forget. As we are signing her in, the camp director tells us that she will be in the Yakima cabin. That was MY cabin! I begin to feel the nostalgia. She meets her cabin mates and her counselor. She acts right at home. I realize as I give her hug and move towards the door...I am going to miss this kid like crazy!
So I pick her up this morning and she talks about camp ALL the way home. She tells me how she got the Baby Toad Award for catching so many baby toads. (Imagine that! My daughter catching toads!) She talked about how much she liked canoeing and tubing down the river. But the part I just loved hearing about was how when they walked in the Waukarusa River it was so muddy and gross. But the best part of the story came when she told me how she had to pick leeches off of her feet! Ewww!! Then she calmly explains to her brother that a leech is a blood sucking slimy animal. She is an amazing girl that is always up for a new challenge and a new adventure. She sent us a letter while she was gone. It was so cute and I am going to keep it in a safe place so that I can take it out and read it when she goes off to college. It reads: "Dear mom & dad, This is so much fun and mom please send me a letter. Also I miss you two already. P.S. Love you mom & dad.

Mother of the Year
I'm working on my mother of the year award speech.... Why you may ask? I took Alec to the dr. today because his head still hurts. He has strep throat. Yes. I made my child perform at his dance recital with strep throat. Drugged fully. Way to go mom!

A new look...

Saturday Night Fever

A year of dance class for Lauren and Alec has come to an end. Friday night was the rehearsal. Alec had a fever and a headache. I gave him some Tylenol and we went anyway. I knew that he would be nervous at the actual recital if he had never been on the stage to see what it was like. He was miserable. It was soooo hot in the auditorium and the rehearsal drug on and on and on. By the time it was his turn for his second routine the medication had worn off and he was in a world of hurt. He walked slowly on stage and looked dazed. He was about 5 beats behind everyone else but he made it through. We got home at 10:14.

Onto the actual recital....still running a low grade fever and complaining of a headache, I carefully plan his medication dosage to make sure that it would have plenty of time to kick in right as the recital would start. It worked! He did great and I was so proud of him! His jazz routine was to the "Super Bowl Shuffle" and his tap routine was to the "Final Countdown".

Lauren was beautiful and did a great job with her two routines. Her jazz routine was to "California Girls" and her tap routine was to "Hot, Hot, Hot".

Now we move on to T-ball for Alec and softball for Lauren! We love summer!

The Ladies Man

I am beginning to wonder how much trouble we are going to have with Alec when he hits his teen years. Last year during preschool Alec's teacher said that he was quite the "ladies man". I just figured that since there were only 3 boys and 9 girls in his class that the odds were that he would have many friends that were girls. Yet this year in preschool he has 11 boys and 8 girls and still his teacher tells me that Alec is "popular with the ladies". I smile and laugh...how cute that the little girls think my cutie pie, Alec, is as adorable as I think he is. Right?! He has a particular admirer that during church, will turn around and blow him kisses. This little girl is absolutely ADORABLE and we tease her mother about how someday we might be "In-laws". Well this week we sent out invitations to Alec's birthday party (half of those invited are girls...imagine that!). I get a phone message yesterday saying that his future wife can not attend due to their family going to Florida on vacation. Mom also says that the poor little girl was so distraught that she can not come, that she cried and cried and has now decided that she does not want to go on vacation anymore because she does not want to miss Alec's party! The ladies man strikes again!

Danger Will Schmidt!

Being a parent is a rewarding but difficult experience. You have a baby and they are so sweet and innocent. They grow, and soon they are crawling. The trouble is just beginning! Before you know it they are walking. Suddenly your sweet child has turned into a tornado that destroys every room he enters. But still the trouble has not hit its peak. Yes my friends...Will has hit the climbing stage. A once beautiful fireplace mantel becomes a chin cracking danger zone for my toddler. Warnings do not work. "NO Will", does not work. "OUCH" just makes him smile....until after the 4th or 5th time of climbing up he loses his balance (while trying to get down faster than I can get to him) and smashes his chin, while biting his tongue in the process. Luckily the tongue is a fast healer, but BOY does it bleed! When I saw the blood on his chin, I had an immediate flashback to Lauren at age 2. The emergency room and stitches in the chin are not an experience I care to relive! Thank the good Lord it turned out to be just a bad scrape. Nothing a little wet washcloth and some hugs couldn't fix. He's all better for now. You may be thinking "I bet he learned his lesson!" People, please....don't be silly! He's climbing things now. He's having fun! Let the games begin!

Future Bears player!

Da Bears are in the Super Bowl!

Dan and I had a GREAT time at the Bears game today! The excitement in the stadium before, during and after the game was so electric! We both screamed so much that our throats are raw! It was like being with all of your friends, even though all the people around us were strangers. Everyone was high fiving and hugging each other every time the Bears would score. For a girl who is not too keen on being cold I was having the time of my life! Even though the snow was coming down and it was 29 degrees (23 degrees with the wind chill) I wouldn't have wanted to be ANYWHERE else but at that game! WOW! The Bears are going to Miami! We're in the SUPER BOWL!!!!!!