Darcy Gets Her Groove Back

 So, my summer is officially over and everyone I am reconnecting with asks "how was your summer?"  I tell them it was great, but when I think back I have a hard time recalling what exactly we did.  After finally upload pictures from 3 different devices, yes I said 3, I realized we did a ton of stuff and had a really great time!  Here are some of our events in no specific order:

 Weddings: Kelly has been like a big sister to Teagan since she was born.  We were so excited to be able to share her day with her.  As you can tell in the picture she is an amazing person and we are so happy for her and Holden!  Brad and I attended to other weddings this summer as well, so there are 3 of our Saturdays there.

 Just hanging around.  I teach about 3 weeks of summer school, so I don't officially start summer until the end of June.  I don't expect anyone to feel sorry for me since I still get about 6 weeks off, but July gets crammed with trips and swim lessons, then its August and birthdays and then back to school.  

 Teagan participated in a golf clinic here in Williamsburg and then 2 tournaments.  She does well and enjoys it so we are excited she wants to do it.  Tate will be right there with her soon enough.  They enjoy going to the driving range on nights I have golf league - there is another activity that I forget about, but am lucky enough to enjoy each week.  It is so good to be able to get out, do something I enjoy (most of the time) and hang out with some great friends while doing it.  Brad and I also golfed in 2 couples tournaments this summer.  Brad played in the Club Championship as well, getting 2nd place and the Pro-Am this past weekend.  

The middle of June marked Linda's birthday.  We always take the kids out to visit and here they are signing "Happy Birthday" to her.  Something we all know she is all smiles about :)  Speaking of time flying by, we can't believe it will be 10 years in December since she left us.  We feel her presence everyday - especially with the kids.  She is definately a huge part of them.

We took our annual Schaefer/Van Zee trip to the Ozarks.  As always it was fun and relaxing while being able to spend some time with everyone.  We were excited to be able to have Jill and her boyfriend Stephan join us this year.  They added to the chaos fun!  Each year it gets less stressful and more relaxing to be in the water.  The kids are becoming better swimmers and understand what they can do to have fun but still be safe.

 Aunt Beth made an appearance a couple of nights this summer.  We don't get to see her as much as we would like, but when she is here she always comes up with something to do with the kids.  This night they were having a jumping and contest, which then turned into Sumo wrestling.  I will spare you those pics :)

 August was filled with about 2 weeks of birthday festivities for the kids.  They each got to choose 1 friend and have a day out.  This is Tate with his buddy Henry.  The enjoyed a morning showing of "The Lorax", lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings, and then playtime at Kent Park.  They had a blast!  I didn't get a picture of Teagan's day, but she had Carlee come along for a manicure/pedicure night complete with supper at Hy-Vee Chinese and then some shopping.  I think they both had a good time.

 We did 2 separate family parties for the kids.  The first was a Friday night at my parent's house.  It was a double duty event since we spent the first hour or so moving some furniture into their new house (post about that sometime in the future)  The second was a Saturday morning in Des Moines with the Schaefer/Van Zee family.  The kids spent time with their cousins Will and Kate while us adults spent a night out.  Then Saturday morning was doughnuts and breakfast pizza.  Now thats a birthday celebration :)

We are gearing up for Hawkeye football season - its right around the corner.  The kids were very lucky to get a birthday gift of jerseys from family friends this year.  And they just happen to have the name and number of our favorite Hawkeye :)

 Last week we took off for St Louis with just the kids.  It was a really great vacation and packed with tons of fun stuff.  Starting with kids meals that turned my entire family in pirates!

 Then a stop in Hannibal, MO at Mark Twain's Caves.  Brad and I both remember going there as kids so we decided we wanted the kids to have the same memories.  They loved it and it was a great addition to the vacation.

 Once in St Louis we went to a Cardinals game - I know, Cubs fans should never walk through those gates, but the stadium is beautiful and we had a great game experience.  So glad we went.

 A visit to the arch and then supper for Teagan's birthday at the Old Spaghetti Factory.

Also a new find (thanks to Gpa and Gma Schaefer & Brett and Jane).  The City Museum.  A collection of tunnels, slides, and everything you can imagine.  The kids had a blast and it was so much fun to watch them explore!  So, thats it - my summer.  I guess you can say we did a couple things :)  I hope to post more about some of these individually.  I am also finishing up my menu planning for August and September while doing calendars for family activities.  This fall looks to be about as eventful as summer.  We wouldn't have it any other way!

My little fish

The kiddos had swim lessons these past couple of weeks.  Here are some pics of them and their wonderful teachers!!  I think Teagan is officially done after this year - she passed the swim test and Tate made huge strides too.

 Backstroke action

 And the doggie paddle

 Teagan's first trip off  the slide

 And Tate's first jump off the board!

 We just got back from a great family trip to the Ozarks.  I hope to get some of those pics from Aunt Becca, who owns an amazing waterproof camera and took some great water pics of the kids. I have also been working on some projects at my parent's new home, so maybe I will get to those soon too :)

Tate's Summer So Far

Summer has been crazy busy so far, but Tate is having a blast in his first year of t-ball.  And he does an AWESOME job!  He listens really well and has even gotten some outs on his own - pretty exciting!  Here are some pics of him in action.

Teagan's Summer So Far

I know that I have been horrible about blogging, but I honestly have no idea where each day goes.  I have been teaching summer school and the kids have games every night between the 2 of them and some Saturday tournaments.  I am going to try and catch-up with other posts (my parent's house, projects, kiddos) when I am officially off for the summer next week.  Until then here are some pics of Teagan's softball filled June.

And one last picture of her field day for school.  She may not have a ton of muscle, but those long legs give her plenty of leverage :)

Spring Cleaning, I mean Catch-up

Yes - I have been horrible about  blogging.  We have been enjoying all the amazing weather and been spending about every moment outside when possible.  So, I am playing catch-up and here it goes.  Teagan danced at Poms Night in February.

 Tate also did a little dancing of his own at preschool prom.  I may have posted this already, but if I did the pics are cute enough to look at twice ;)

 And then Easter weekend...

 A quick visit with the bunny.

 Egg decorating and more Easter fun at Grandpa and Grandma Schaefer's.

 After sunrise (yep 6:30 am people!) we headed out to my parent's and had beautiful weather for a family breakfast...

 and Easter egg hunting.

We had a blast seeing everyone and enjoying today together as a family.  We are truly blessed!!

Being Social

The Schaefer clan has been busy hopping here and there this month.  Between birthday parties, school outings, and sporting events we seem to be on the go (and the sight of my laundry room proves it!)  But we wouldn't change a minute of it.  And it beats doing laundry :)

Teagan on her way to a tea party.  Accessories courtesy of Great Grandma Von Ahsen.

 Teddy Bear Picnic at preschool.  Tate did an awesome job as Papa Bear and we all had a blast with friends!  Just in this picture you can see either a parent or child of someone that we attend school with.  And thats only about half of them.  It is going to be quite the group :)

 Poms Night for Teagan.  She loves performing and getting to hangout with the high school girls.  She was  rock star!!

 Mr. Man all dressed up for preschool prom!  He had a blast dancing and showing off all his moves :)

 The Mommy/Son dance.  Don't let the "cheese" smile fool you - he was all about dancing with Momma!

Tearing up the dance floor with Ms. Tammy and some of his pals.  It will be so much fun to watch them all grow up together!

We have also been attending some high school sporting events to cheer on 2 of our favorite people.

Corbin (on the left) has been making some babysitting appearances at our house and is a total hit!  Hemade it to the state wrestling meet and finished 4th!!  The kids were so proud that they knew him and he is a great role model for them!!  Way to go Corbin!!

And Lindsay - she is awesome with the kids and we have enjoyed watching her and the Lady Raiders this basketball season.  She is a great role model for Teagan and we are cheering for another victory tomorrow night.  We have really enjoyed getting to know her family as well AND she has a sister who is prime babysitting age for my kids - bonus!!

We are very blessed to have had great role models for our kids in terms of babysitters and other high school aged kids that we know.  It can be scary to hear about the negtive things going on with teenagers, but there are some really great kids out there!  If you have a chance, head out to different events they are in with your kids.  It is a great feeling knowing that your son/daughter has someone to look up to.

Have a great week everyone!!