Spring happenings

And the running continued....

Teagan had her dance recital early in June.  Here is her group at one of their practices. 

I had the chance to head out with Tate's class to the Children's Museum for a morning.  We had a blast.  Its nice to be able to spend some one-on-one time with the kids.

Tate is officially a preschool graduate and off to Kindergarten next year.  Where did my baby go?

For some reason we never get family pictures taken, but we finally made sure to get one this night.

 The Schaefer/Van Zee clan welcomed our newest edition over Memorial Day weekend.  Ethan Wesley has now evened the boy/girl score at 3 a piece ;)

All these babies showing up has given some of the Schaefer family the itch, but it would take quite a bit of convincing to get this momma to agree.  As much as I complain about always having somewhere to go, it is nice to just pile everyone in and head out.  Not sure about getting back in the habit of having to do some better planning...I have gotten pretty comfortable ;)

Spring is here (right?)

A couple more pictures from the house.  This is what my bedroom looks like everyday - yeah right!

My "new to me" shelf courtesy of my friend Amy D.  We may miss her shop dearly, but it lives on in the homes of many of her friends ;)

A love framing the kids artwork from school and putting it out for different seasons.  There are some that just shouldn't be at the bottom of a memory box.

The kids and I were lucky enough to get to spend a few days in the Ozarks a couple weekends ago with Brad's golf team.  Thanks to amazing hosts we had an awesome time.  The weather wasn't hot by any means, but warm enough to get in some pool time.

It was exactly what we needed to refresh us from winter and get us through to summer.  These 2 had a blast!!

Last weekend was prom and while my kids weren't actuall "in" prom we had to go and check out some of our favorite people.  Here is Tater with his newest idols.  These 3 were absolutely amazing to him while we were in the Ozarks and he now has developed some pretty major "man crushes"!  As a mom I couldn't ask for better role models.

Sadie, Alex and the kiddos.  Sadie had actually babysat the night before and the kids couldn't wait to see her in a dress.  For those of you who don't know Ms. Sadie, she isn't exactly the prom dressing wearing type, but she was beautiful!!

So, as if my kiddos didn't have enough people to look up to, Corbin and Lindsay are pretty much at the top of the list!  They have a blast when the watch them and they both take an interest in all the things my kids are involved in.  We are so lucky to have them and their families around us to help raise them right.

Lindsay stopped by for a pre-prom showing of her dress.  She and Sadie are pretty similar in that we tend to see them in their basketball and softball uniforms instead of dresses.  Love those 2!!

Tate will not say this, but he is in love with Lindsay (and Sadie and Kiley...).  She messes with him and will check him when he is being a bit naughty, which is exactly what he needs.  We will miss her TONS next year after graduation and already have plans to make a weekend trip to watch her play basketball next year. 

You will notice there are no actual golf pictures.  that would be because about 80% of Brad's meets the last 2 weeks have been postponed or cancelled.  Hopefully soon though...very soon.

Easter 2013

Easter 2013 was a fun, busy weekend for the Schaefer house.  It started with a trip to the Easter Bunny...

Teagan had batting practice and had the chance to do both, but decided to not visit the bunny this year.  It may be a sign of things to come, but she was still super pumped about what he brough in her basket, so I think we are good.

Someone who might never grow up and we are ok with that ;)  

Easter hunt at the on the Schaefer side.  That Easter bunny was a tricky hider this year, especially for the older girls.  No worries though...they all got what was left for them (and more)!

Easter egg traditions continue

After sunrise service on Sunday we headed to the Von Ahsen side.  Pictures first and then an Easter egg hunt too.  My goofballs, always posing.

Can't believe how these 4 are growing up.  Way too fast!

Still posing, but at least this picture turned out good.

The rest of the crew

Great Grandma finds these 4 really amusing.  Maybe because she had 6 of her own and now she watches us deal with the shenanigans ;)

Easter egg hunting.  The kids had clues to follow this year.  Here is Tate under the kitchen table.

This girl gets a bit frustarted when things don't come easily to her, so it was interesting making her figure the clues out on her own.

We tried another picture with Great Grandma, this time with Olivia.  Obviously it didn't go so well.

Spring is upon us and in full swing - now if mother nature would just catch-up.  Next post is a mini-spring trip and some pictures of our favorite babysitters all dressed up for prom.  Then maybe if Brad gets some golf meets in I will be able to post some pictures of those.  Until then - think spring everyone!!

I promised I would be back and here I am :)  I actually found the cord I needed to transfer pictures from my phone to our laptop.  That sneaky husband of mine was hiding it!

So back to where I left off...

 Before Christmas Brad and I had the chance to go to Minneapolis for a weekend with some friends.  The night before leaving we had a showing and where else do you go when you can't be in your house...the Pizza Haus of course!  As luck would have it we saw some good friends there, who ended up coming over after and shared in the offer we got on our house that night!  It was pretty exciting!  You have to love a small town.  In this picture is one of our new neighbors, Kylee.  In the backround is Tate's babysitter, Susie and our go-to,2nd Mom, babysitter Kylie.

 The next morning we were on our way to Minnesota.  We spent Saturday on the drive and the Sunday at the game (and maybe a local establishment for pre and postgame festivities)  They had a huge snowstorm that day, so my first NFL game was definitely a hit (inside and warm).  It was a Vikings game, but Brad and I decided to stay true to our Chicago Bears.  I am not sure I had watched a Bears game up to this point, but it was kind of fun cheering for the opposing team.

 Whats an outing without Brad and some type of picture op?  He is like a magnet people!!

 Christmas break brought a new tradition of spending the night with my side of the family at my parent's.  Since they are in the new house they now have room for us to stay.  We did an early gift exchange, supper, sleepover, and then an afternoon of sledding.  See the larger image on the right sled?  Thats my mom getting in on the action :)

 Here are the kiddos getting ready for one of their many rides.  It was a great tradition started and so much fun.  Since we all live so close to each other we have never had the opportunity to stay somewhere and then wake up for Christmas.  I am glad we made the decision to start.

 New Year's Eve.  This was the first year we spent the entire night with the kids.  Since they are getting older and so are we (no comments, please) it really isn't high priority to end up at some crazy, busy bar and stay out all night.  We decided all we needed was a place to hangout and get some good times in with good friends.

 Not sure what kind of face Teagan is making here, but she would be made if I included a picture of Tate and not her.

 Here is the group that made it to midnight to celebrate together.  I can believe how old they all are, but it is so much fun to watch them grow-up together!  We officially closed on the house January 15 and took temporary possession on the 9th, so everything moved very quickly.  We were blessed with an amazing moving crew (some of whom caught that nasty flu bug from this winter) and decent weather.  We moved pretty much everything in one day and were able to finish the rest the next. 

 A couple last pictures of the old house.  Empty :(  I did get pretty weepy walking away for the last time.  As excited as I was for the new space and location I realized how much we had done there and all the work we put into it.  We had been there almost 11 years and brought both our babies home there.  We had a share of some pretty rough times, but some really great ones too.

 The livingroom - its crazy how bare things look without furniture or pictures.  I will always look at the spot where we had our chair and rocked the kids so many nights.

 This is the room I am most proud of.  I don't have before pictures, but trust me it was a total transformation.  The family that moved in seems to be a lot like we were.  Just starting out, a little boy, and excited to have a place of their own.  I hope they enjoy it and it brings them as many memories as it did us.

So.......

 since then.  Teagan played on an 3rd grade AAU team.  Coached by Brad of course.  They had 3 tournaments in January and February and some scrimmages.  She is getting WAY to big!

It became tradition to do a funny picture at the end of the day.  And Tate had to be a part of it too - he was the unofficial mascot :)  These girls showed so much improvement in such a short amount of time.  They all have different personalities and skill levels, but I can't wait to continue to be a part of what they do from here

on out.

Teagan is also very lucky to have such a supportive families.  Both sets of grandparents and some aunts were able to make it to a couple of her games and tournaments.  I caught this moment on the way in one afternoon.  He was such a good brother sitting through games that he had definitely earned some one-on-one time with grandma :)

 A little putt-putt and bowling action for Aunt Beth's birthday.

 An added bonus was meeting James Morris, an Iowa football player.  The kids were pretty excited that he knew their buddy Austin :)  

I was lucky to have a couple snow days this year as well.  They came at really good times for me..like when I had a project half done, but couldn't quite get it finished.  Here are a couple sneak peaks of the house:

  The kids have been great through all the craziness and a pretty excited about our new space.  Neither have had any issues sleeping in new rooms or moving about the new house.  Even when they both got sick within 24 hours of moving in.  True story, but hey you take it as it comes, right?

 This is from one of our last snow days together.  I love them when they happen but get a pit in my stomach thinking about the beautiful spring days we will be spending inside to make up for them.  

And this pretty much gets us caught up to real time.  Tate is really getting into his activities for school.  Here he is with his Lorax accessories for Dr. Seuss' birthday.  He is also excited to start spring soccer soon - I don't know where he gets it, but the kid is pretty good.  Teagan continues with piano and dance.  We have a break in sports for awhile, but softball is right around the corner.

Brad starts golf practice this Monday, which means a couple of months of practices and meets.  We are pretty used to it by now and being right on the course should help a little more.  He also directs church choir, usually until Easter and then calls it quits until fall.  We were pretty disappointed when the bond issue for a new gym didn't pass, but he is already back to work on what to try and do different next time.

And I am doing pretty much the same old thing.  My job is keeping me on my toes, but that usually is a good thing.  I fill time with little projects or shopping trips for house stuff.  We are looking forward to some nights away with friends in the near future and already planning summer getaways.  For now, I am enjoying my new fireplace on chilly winter nights and loving the great life I have.