Merry Christmas

We had a great Christmas! There were lots of presents, lots of food, and lots of family and we survived it all!

Santa brought the kids a trampoline, they were amazed that he set it up in the house.......so was I!



Many presents...............



Allison had no shortage of goodies to eat!

The kids and their cousin Owen, not sure why JJ looks like he's strangling his sister!

more presents...............

and more.............

and my favorite............fast asleep after a great day!

Disney

Here are a few pics from our Disney trip. The kids had a great time! Alli loved the characters and JJ couldn't get enough of the roller coasters! Ryan and I just tried to keep up!

Alli wasn't the only one who liked Minnie!

She had a deep, meaningful conversation with Cinderella.

JJ eating an ice cream sandwich the size of his head!

It was a great time but it's always good to be home!

Nuestra Boda

In an effort to add a little culture to our lives, tonight we attended a mexican wedding we had been invited to. I had no idea what to expect..........let's just say we were definately the minority! In fact, we were the only people there who didn't speak spanish! At one point Ryan is convinced that they are making fun of us during one of the many speeches but it was all in good fun! Here is a picture of the happy couple, Clara and Fabian.

JJ gave it a thumbs up, he especially liked taping money to the bride, apparently that is the Mexican version of the "dollar dance".

And here is Alli throwing a fit because she didn't want to leave. Guess she didn't mind the language barrier!

Happy Halloween!

The whole group, a princess, Snow White, a witch, 2 Darth Vaders', a pirate, and Luke Skywalker.

Ryan really got into it this year!:)

RIP

A casualty of the high winds this morning. Guess we'll be using the Foreman for awhile!:(

Random

Here are a few random pictures from the past week........................

Mega bubble bath

Alli has fallen asleep on the steps more than once since she started school! She must be too tired to make it up to her room!

Not sure why they are all standing around during the soccer game!

And here is Alli burying Ryan and JJ with every toy she owns. Ahh....never a dull moment!!

School - Part 2

Today was Alli's first day of preschool. She gets to go to the same elementary school that JJ does and she goes 5 days a week just like he does. She even gets to ride the bus. After a minor freak out on my part about putting her on the bus I pulled myself together and she was on her way. After school all I heard was "No school", let's hope that fades by tomorrow morning!

School

Today we sent JJ off to his first day of Kindergarten. I was proud of myself, I didn't shed one tear, of course I also didn't yell Woo-Hoo! to the neighbors as the bus drove off like Ryan did!

Strike!

We took the kids on their first bowling outing this weekend, they had a blast. Here is Alli, the ball only weighed 6 lbs but the poor girl staggered between lanes before finally dropping it in the right lane!

In the end I don't think any of us will be joining the PBA anytime soon!

Camping

This weekend we took the kids to Whitewater Memorial State Park to camp for a couple days. We had a great time, despite the heavy downpour the last night we were there! Best part, I discovered I LOVE camp food!:) Warning: LOTS of pics to follow!

New Summer Hairdo

Alli's new summer haircut! Makes her look so much older!!

Graduation

Last night JJ graduated from preschool. When he walked across the stage to get his 'diploma' for his future employment they anounced that he wanted to be a Chick-fil-A manager. Daddy is so proud!;)

Tomorrow we sign up for kindergarden!

Scooby Dooby Doo!!!

Today we had JJ's birthday party, it was a Scooby Doo theme, very fun! Some nasty theives stole the presents but the kids were able to track them down in no time! It was a great day! And to show-off my wonderful husbands many talents here is the cake that he made for the party. He's such a show-off!:)

Happy Easter and Happy Birthday!

Today we had double reason to celebrate, not only was it the day our Savior rose from the dead but it is also JJ's 5th birthday. We had a great morning at church and then came home to hunt for Easter eggs.

For dinner JJ got to plan the menu, all he wanted was "Doggie Mac" which is macaroni and cheese with cut up hotdogs in it. I threw in some additional Easter favorites because, as good as it sounds, doggie mac just doesn't cut it for Easter dinner!

Birthdays Galore!!

Springtime in the Schmidt house means LOTS of birthdays! This past week we attended 4 birthday parties for various family members. A brief summary, one surprise party, one McDonalds party, one multi-child party (celebrating lots of birthdays with one party), one Star Wars party, and LOTS and LOTS of cake! It was a great, busy, week!

Alli really got into opening her present!

Here is some pin-the-tail-on-Yoda action

And JJ waiting ever so patiently to open his presents