What we did this Fall

Since the boys birthday we have been busy with the ordinary and not so ordinary.

The boys played soccer for the Fire Dragons and Jaime coached. They took tennis lessons and started going to gymnastics again. We attended the Plano Balloon Festival, we hung out around the house, carved pumpkins, went to the Dallas Symphony, explored the Dallas zoo with friends, and went to carnivals and festivals. My dad visited in October and we got to go to the Texas State Fair twice as well as many other entertaining things. My cousin Kim and aunt Janice arrived in November and we all had tons of fun together being tourists in Dallas. We enjoyed an Uptown food tour, the Dallas Arboretum and Chihuly exhibit, the Sixth Floor Museum, the Gaylord Texan Hotel, the city of Grapevine, and the Historic District. We hung out at home, made Indian headdresses, ate, drank, and played.

Once again, here is a video catch up:

Look Who's 5!!

This year, in the interest of time and sanity, we decided to "outsource" the birthday festivities instead of having it at our house like last year.

On the day of their birth, we had a pancake and sprinkle breakfast followed by 4 hours of games and fun at Chuck E. Cheese. Then we had a Monster celebration with a few friends and family at a place called Bounce U over the weekend. There they bounced, played, glowed in the dark, and ate. We spent tons of time the next day assembling all the Legos they got for presents and then finished out the party weekend at Hawaiian Falls water park. It wasn't totally homemade, but I think the boys still had a blast!!

Happy 5th Birthday Boys!!!

Tenerife Summer 2012

We were lucky enough to go and visit Jaime's family this summer in Tenerife. Of course Lela had our apartment ready for us and filled with the touches of Love only a Grandma can do. As always, she made us feel right at home, and the boys loved being able to run upstairs anytime to visit with her and Lelo and to see if she might be making some bizcocho.

Another cool thing was the fact that a family reunion was also scheduled for this Summer. Cousins, Second Cousins, Aunts, and Uncles all came in from wherever they lived to meet up with all the family in Tenerife. There was quite a crowd. The largest cousin gathering ever assembled from what I'm told. Two weeks flew by faster than one could have imagined. We had a great time hanging out, sight seeing, and visiting with family......and the boys had a blast!! See you again next year!

Almost 5!!!

So, we only have one more week until the boys are officially 5 years old!! Where does the time go?? It seems I just posted a catch up, and here we are 6 months later already.....We've been up to nothing and lots of things. Mostly playing, hanging out, and enjoying. I thought I'd post some of the pictures that jumped out at me from the past 6 months before it's time for a birthday post. So here it is...what we've been up to (more or less) since February.

2011 Dallas Ft. Worth 3-Day - Susan G. Komen

Hard to believe it's almost been 6 years since Mom died of Breast Cancer.......

Trevor and I walked the 3-Day again back in November in her memory. It's our third walk together, and I plan on walking every 5th anniversary of her death until I can't walk anymore.

This year's walk began on a chilly Friday morning at Collin Creek Mall in Plano. The 18-mile route started with an great send off from the kids at Aldridge Elementary, the first of many schools that came out to support the walkers. The day was filled with cheering stations and lots of amazing support from the community, lunch in the park, and a final walk into camp at Brookhaven College where the school baseball team helped walkers carry their gear and set up tents. We enjoyed hot showers, an Italian dinner, a foot massage, and a little fun in camp before heading to bed.

Saturday’s 21-mile route started a little cold but the sun came out and it was perfect walking weather. Again, amazing cheering stations and support (including hot cocoa, wine and cheese, mimosas, candy, stickers, Advil, etc.) from the community. There were nearly two miles of continuous cheering stations after we had lunch with our families at the Hockaday Academy. We walked a little slower, but still made it to camp for dinner, more foot massages, and chatting with fellow walkers.

Our final day of walking began with a quick bus ride to Ursuline Academy. We started our 15-mile walk through some of the most beautiful neighborhoods in Dallas. Then it was onto the Katy Trail and through Historic Downtown Dallas past the American Airlines Center and Pioneer Plaza with the bronze steer. Lunch was at Main Street Garden – what a view of downtown Dallas! The final miles of the route wound through the Deep Ellum Arts District and into the Fair Grounds. Since we were running a little "early," we made a pit stop (along with many walkers) for a snack and some relaxing before heading to closing ceremonies.

The day ended with a celebratory and inspirational Closing Ceremony. All the participants danced and finally raised their shoes to salute the survivors bringing the ceremony to a close. There were 2,800 walkers and 450 crew and volunteers this year who raised $7.1 million for breast cancer research and community-based educational health programming.

After the ceremonies, we joined our families and headed out to enjoy a dinner together before going home to rest and soak our tired feet and bodies.

THANK YOU TO ALL MY SPONSORS!!! I couldn't have done it without you!!

So, until next time........

Anyone out there??

Not really sure if anyone is still reading our blog, especially since we haven't posted since the end of October!!! Geesh!! I guess since a couple of family members have made comments about no updates, there must be a reader or two out there still checking. Funny because I used to make fun of my friends for "never" posting.......

So, what have we been up to since October? Lots of the same old same old and lots of other fun stuff. Of course, my brother and I walked in the 3-Day (but that's a post in and of itself), we celebrated Turkey Day, we geared up for Christmas and a visit from Lela (Jaime's mom), the boys started gymnastics, we did a few touristy things (Sealife Aquarium, The DMA, Dallas Zoo, Texas Discovery Gardens, The Dallas Symphony, ICE! @ The Gaylord Texan, Medieval Times), celebrated Christmas, rang in the New Year, and had lots of fun around the house - and that's just November and December! So, here's the shortest November/December catch up I could manage...........

The Month of Pumpkins!!

October was a busy month and full of fall fun and pumpkins as can be expected.

We enjoyed some welcome rain, spent time with family, visited a few pumpkin patches, enjoyed a Halloween concert at the Morton Meyerson Symphony Center, spent a day with friends at the Dallas Arboretum, played at home, carved pumpkins, went to the farmers market, celebrated fire safety month, attended a workshop at the Dallas Museum of Art, celebrated my 40th birthday, attended a community festival, enjoyed cooler weather, and, of course, went trick-or-treating. So, as has become usual, here is a recap of our October - hope you enjoy!!

The State Fair of Texas!!

We lucked out and got to attend the State Fair of Texas with some of our family this year. The Fair is a totally different experience when visiting with young people, but it's still one of my favorites.

This year was the 125th anniversary the Texas State Fair, and it seems to get better and more expensive every time we attend. Despite having to take out a second mortgage to pay for everything, we still managed to have loads of fun, stay up too late, see KC & the Sunshine Band, and eat plenty State Fair food. The boys LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it.

September

A look back at our September........

Ahoy Mateys!! Our Pirate Party!!

Here it is, the long awaited pirate birthday party video!!

Despite my reservations about hosting a party with 35 guests in 106 degree weather at our house, it actually turned out pretty well (at least that's what I think). We had loads of activities and games, many of which we never even had time for, and plenty of food. We got to dress like pirates, create telescopes, engage in sword fights, walk the plank, earn gold doubloons, pop cannonballs, hunt for treasure, eat cake, make messes, and have lots of other fun.We even got to eat a delicious and beautiful strawberry treasure chest cake and plenty of yummy pirate banana cupcakes all lovingly baked and designed by my good friend Erin. Thank you Aunt Erin!!!!

I think the kiddos and even a few adults had a good time. Happy 4th Boys! Enjoy the video:

A Day with Trev & Family

My brother Trevor is in transition from one job to another and found himself with a few days off. He mentioned wanting to stop by and see our house before he starts training next week, and somehow that quickly turned into all of us going to Hawaiian Falls together. What Fun!!

Molly, Trev and the kids are season ticket holders and wanted to check out a different location as a little day-stay-cation before Trev starts working again and the kids head back to school. How lucky that they not only invited us, but they had free buddy passes as well. They picked the Roanoke location which is the newest park and looked like it had some pretty cool rides. It was a compact and totally fun place. We spent the day sliding, climbing, riding the waves, floating (flying) around the lazy river, getting soaked, eating, and mostly staying cool.

Even though the days are still over 100 degree mark, most of the places to cool off are closing down during the weekdays and will be closed for the season after Labor Day weekend.  How nice that we got to finish out the "Summer" with some of the Schreier's. They never did get to come by and see the house, but I guess that's okay since they'll be here next weekend for the boys 4th birthday party ;o)

Because of all the water, I wasn't able to get many photos or videos, but here's a compilation of what we did get:

Tyson's 5th Birthday

Tyson insisted on having an outdoor horse riding party in the middle of August. So, Molly found a camp with lots of activities, including horseback riding, and set the date. The party was scheduled for the morning hours in the hope that we might escape the record breaking temperatures just a bit.....

What an excellent birthday surprise when the Metroplex woke up to RAIN this morning!! Just enough to cool everything off for a comfortable and fun birthday celebration. As a matter of fact, the temperature never rose above 90 degrees today!! What a treat since the rest of the week should be right back up around the 107 mark. I think all the kiddos really enjoyed being outside helping Tyson celebrate his 5th birthday.

Swimming!!

After seeing one of our previous videos, Landri and Avery decided they wanted to check out the Coppell Aquatic Center with us. So they came over yesterday, we packed up the cooler, and we all headed out for some summer fun at the pool. The kids had a great time jumping, climbing, leaping, sliding, and swimming. We almost didn't notice it was 107 degrees.....almost. Afterward, we headed back to the house for some rest and dinner before saying goodbye. It was a great day and we hope they come out and join us again soon.

The rest of July

So, as much as I didn't think I liked these "catch up" posts and videos....I suppose it's really the best way when I only have a couple photos of everything. I mean, how interesting is a post about our trip to the movies with only a photo or two?? Or a post about another trip to Lowe's to attend their build and grow workshops? I think it's way more fun to see a re-cap of everything instead, what do you think?

Anyhow, we've been mostly trying to stay indoors during our 100 degree plus temperatures. We did venture out to two different aquatic centers, we went over to my friend's house for kid swim day, we explored the local farmer's market, and we built and filled our sandbox. The rest of the month was spent indoors enjoying Lowe's Build and Grow projects, swimming lessons, library visits, indoor play spaces, roller skating, story time theater, hanging out at home, hanging out with family, and our first "full length" movie theater movie: Winnie the Pooh. The boys did great overall, but thought we had to wait too long before the movie started. Good thing we got the giant bucket of popcorn to keep them busy, and they finished the entire thing!! So, without further ado...here is our "The Rest of July" video:

Our 4th of July

OK, so it's the 13th of July, but things seem to be running a little behind around here lately. We had a great 4th of July weekend hanging out with Trav and Trev and their families. We had a BBQ and some small fireworks on Saturday (there was a burn ban in Midlothian this year), then we hit the Ft. Worth Science Museum on Sunday followed by tasty Mexican food, then it was "pool" time and house work on Monday the 4th capped off by a great festival featuring the Grand Funk Railroad and fireworks in Flower Mound. Unfortunately my camera ran out of batteries Saturday evening and then wasn't functioning properly the rest of the weekend, so I only snapped a few pictures and videos...Still, here's what we got:

Water, Water & More Water!!!

Our Memorial Day weekend was filled with lots of water activities and BBQ!! First we were invited to a Wacky Water Party where the boys played tons of fun games, ate yummy food and snacks, and got totally wet. Next we headed over to another friends house for delicious fajitas and swimming. Then we hosted Trav and the girls at our apartment pool for MORE swimming and more BBQ. Needless to say it was a weekend spent in our swimsuits!!! Too much fun!

Mother's Day Weekend

Here we are....my 4th year celebrating Mother's Day as a mommy.

This year my friend Cass organized a Saturday morning picnic at the amazing Celebration Park in Allen. Several families joined in, and the kids had a blast running through the spray park and playground.

On Sunday, Jaime and I took the kiddos to Mayfest in Ft. Worth. We enjoyed fun activities, good bands, and tasty food. Our favorite stations though were the free ones put on by Tom Thumb and the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife. Once again, it was a great Mommy's Day weekend.

The Greatest Generation

How fortunate for us to have taken that unexpected road trip to WI earlier this month. How fortunate for us that we got to spend one last week with my grandpa. How fortunate for us that we were there to help celebrate his 86th birthday. How fortunate for us to have had Robert L. Schreier in our lives for as long as we did. How fortunate for us to have known him.......

On April 20th 2011, we lost another member of our greatest generation, my Papa. He was the kindest, the silliest, the truest, and the most generous and patient person I've ever known. He was outgoing and fun and always had a story to share, a hand to lend, or a corny joke to tell. He was my hero, and I'll miss him beyond words.

God saw the road was getting rough,

The hills were hard to climb.

He gently closed those loving eyes

And whispered "Peace be thine,"

The weary hours, the days of pain,

The sleepless nights are passed.

The ever-patient worn out frame

Has found sweet rest at last.

God saw you were getting weary

So he did what He thought best;

He came and stood beside you

And whispered, "Come and rest!"

You bade no one a last farewell,

Not even a good-bye,

You were gone before we knew it

And only God knows why.

~ taken from the funeral card

Avery's Birthday

Avery turned five years old earlier this month. Wow, I can't believe that many years have passed already. We headed out to Trav's on a Saturday and helped her celebrate on Sunday. It was a great party complete with a bounce house, horses, BBQ by Trav, a pinata, a Tinkerbell cake, and a very happy and tired girl. Happy Birthday Avery!!!

An Unexpected Road Trip

In less than 3 hours we found ourselves in the car making the 16+ hour journey to Wisconsin for an unexpected road trip. We thought we were heading up to see my grandfather one last time before attending his funeral later in the week. Two days after we arrived, things took a 360 degree turn and he started getting better slowly but surely. He is now in rehab trying to make his way back to his apartment in an assisted living community.

Although it didn't start out under the best circumstances, it ended up being a great trip. We had been meaning to get up to Wisconsin to visit, but we were waiting for Jaime to find a job and have a start date to finalize the plans. I guess we needed a little push to head up. We spent just over a week hanging out with my grandpa in the hospital, helping him celebrate his 86th birthday, and visiting with family. Now we are back in Dallas and prepping for a move into a furnished temporary apartment and getting ready for Jaime to start his new job in just over a week. More on all that sometime soon....