Saturday, April 26, 2008

Happy Birthday Papa



Today is Papa Schmitz's 50th birthday! We can't wait to give you hugs tomorrow when we come for a visit.

Jammin' out with Uncle Danny





Yesterday the kids and I went to Dan and Sarah's house to visit. It was great to see them, especially Braeden. He's changing so much every day, it's unreal. But he's still cute as can be. In case you can't tell, that's Jacob hiding behind the curtains of the sliding glass door:)

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Ryan's first car

Last year, I found this Jeep on a garage sale. I wasn't sure it was worth the $20, but it already had personalized"Ryan" plates on it. So I loaded it up and hauled it home. After buying new batteries, it works great. Ryan loves to drive it, but hasn't actually master the art of steering it. Today he took Jake for a spin. They both loved it! Now our only dilemma is getting Duchess to stop chasing after the wheels!

Our "little" playset





I realized I keep getting these great shots of the kids on the swing set, but some people don't know the story behind our "little" play set...

Last year, Joel's sister Katje (yes spelled with a J) gifted us a very generous Home Depot gift card. The intent was for it to be spent on a play set for the kids. Joel had designed one in his head, and he drew up some plans for it. He explained to me it would be a castle theme, and it would be the coolest on the block! I asked if he thought there would be any money left over on the card when he was done...thinking I might repaint a "big kid theme" in the boys' room if there was. He estimated there might be a hundred bucks give or take. So Bryce, Joel and Paul started construction over Memorial Day weekend. Silly me, I asked if they thought it would be done before the weekend was over. Keep in mind, these guys and my two brothers built, sided, and basically finished our entire garage in less than one weekend, so how hard could a simple swing set be? Oh, how naive I was! Construction was basically completed by labor day weekend, and the staining is still in progress. Of course, this is no ordinary swing set. It has; a wave slide, a twisty slide, a rock wall, a bridge, two castle towers, three swings, a glider, and is finished off with a trap door and a dungeon complete with a fully operating dumbwaiter self closing door. The craftsmanship on this thing is meticulous. Each piece of deck board used for the walls was individually hand grooved to look like brick work, every corner has a finished edge, every opening for a slide or ladder has edging, do I need to go on? I think you get the picture! No matter the length of time it took to build, it is the best swing set I have ever seen (in a back yard) and our kids love it, and so do all their friends! I'm sure there will be many more memories made on it, and we can't wait. Oh, and in case you were wondering, the "big kid theme" repainting.....not even close to happening! Also, if you look closely, you'll see it is taller than my garage!

Friday, April 18, 2008

Puppy dog eyes....



Duchess is a lovey puppy who loves nothing more to sit/wiggle in your lap, that is unless you count how much she loves to lick. She is compulsive with her licking, it's a nervous and happy reflex. We joke about the size of her tongue and it's ability to wet your whole face in a matter of moments. She falls asleep with her tongue hanging out. But, when you look at these pictures, how can you not fall in love? (look closely, they are different)

Celebrating Joel's promotion


After going to the pump it up party, we all went for dinner to celebrate Joel's promotion. Bryce and Sharon met us with Kaleigh (they babysat during the party) and Jaz and her nurse/our friend Suz joined us for dinner at Chili's. We took up two booths, and it was a little crazy, but we were glad for the opportunity to celebrate and dine out as a family...however many we are!

"Pump it Up Party"





This evening we went to a "Pump it Up" facility for an exclusive party for families of children with special needs. We took the boys and Jazmin who is here for the weekend. (it's so nice to have her back) Jazmin is a little apprehensive of fast motion, and as part of her daily therapies, the nurses work to "desensitize" her by playing a little "rough", bouncing her around, etc. She really got her fill tonight, but overall I think she really enjoyed herself. Ryan was a little machine. He had so much fun, and was going non-stop. The kid was amazing at the skill he showed with the obstacle course, and his ability to keep up with the older kids! Jake had a blast, he was a little apprehensive too, but once he got started he was a little firecracker bouncing around everywhere! Pictures were hard to come by due to the fast movement, and slow shutter speed. We did the best we could, and I'll share the ones I can. I have a couple good ones of Jaz, but I can't post them. I guess you'll have to settle for my cute boys instead!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

A promotion

Congratulations to Joel on his promotion to Principle Account Specialist and Intern Supervisor. You deserve it.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Happy Birthday Joel



Today is Joel's 35th birthday. We had a nice family lunch with his parents, and Grandma Pete. His parents took the boys for their first overnight visit since Sharon's hip replacement. Ryan was so excited he stood by the door for roughly 25 minutes talking about leaving, his jacket, riding in Grandpa's truck etc. It's nice to have the house peacefully quiet, but I'm sure by morning we'll be missing them lots. We're going to dinner and a movie tonight, should be fun.

Friday, April 11, 2008

A sad "see-ya later".......

Yesterday Jazmin returned to her original foster parent's home. It was a sad day for us, she's become such a part of the family and a bright spot in our lives. Unfortunately, that's part of being a foster parent-saying good bye to them even if you don't want to. On a brighter note, she is still within a short driving distance-at another loving home, and will be making regular visits on weekends to our home. The social worker said at the meeting yesterday, "some of these kids don't have anyone to love them, and Jazmin has so many, she's a lucky girl".

Thursday, April 10, 2008

A trip to the Zoo







Yesterday we all went to the zoo. When I say we all went, I mean there were 4 adults, 8 kids and 4 double strollers. It was chaos, but a lot of fun. Ryan and Jacob had never been to the MN Zoo before, and both of them really enjoyed it. Jazmin soaked up all the action, and Kaleigh pretty much just slept. I was able to "blur out" the faces of the foster kids, so I could show a few more pictures. So if they look a little funny, that's why.

Saturday, April 5, 2008

More shots of Jacob




To cute not to share!

Dinner at Great Grandma's House


Last night we went for dinner at the boy's great-grandma's appt. It was fun, and tasted good too! Bryce and Sharon were there, which made the kids very happy, they love their grandparents so much.

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Ryan's first trip to the dentist




Ryan, Joel and I all had Dental appts today. I got a clean bill of dental health, Joel has to have some minor work done, and Ryan was AWESOME!! They call this the "happy child" visit. If your kid doesn't stay happy, you don't get billed. Basically it's an introduction to dental appts. They counted his teeth, cleaned them, and then the Dentist came in and gave him a quick check up. The Hygienist said sometimes they don't even get past the counting with kids 2, 3, or even 4 years old. Ryan sat there like a trooper, did everything she asked and earned 3 stickers and a green lion toothbrush for his efforts. She remarked at what a mild laid back child he was.......if she only knew!

Mother Nature's April Fools Joke



The kids went outside to play this morning. You'd never know it was April 1st by the way we had to bundle them to keep them warm and dry. Hopefully this will be the last snow fall we get.

The new house.....





We were able to sneak over to Dan and Sarah's house on Sunday. It's a big beautiful house with a nice backyard. We tried to help unpack a little, not really sure if we actually helped or just make a bigger job for them to do after we left! The boys were exhausted and crashed hard on the way home.