Happy....Harvest?

Well, Chris and I decided to create our own family tradition for Halloween night. We've gone back and forth on the dressing up part for a while now, and we don't really want the kids to have all that candy anyways....so we came up with Family Night. We had a few moments of disapointment, but with a few distraction techniques, they soon forgot all about trick-or-treating. We all met at the pumpkin patch and picked out a good sized pumpkin (which they gave us for FREE!) to carve that evening. After a few pictures, we went and got something to eat and headed for home. We carved our pumpkin, roasted up the seeds and then got settled in with a nice bowl of popcorn and watched The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. All 3 girls stayed up for the entire movie. It was a late night, but well worth it. The girls had a great time and we look forward to next year.

Pismo Trip

Well, we finally were able to get away as a family to the coast, thanks to a football game that Fresno Christian was playing in Cambria. What a great excuse to get away for a couple of days. Ericlee and Dorina Gilmore invited us to stay with them at his Grandparents house in Pismo so we took them up on it. Dorina and I took the kids on Thursday afternoon and got settled at the house, while Ericlee and Chris came in the evening after a cross-country meet (Ericlee is the FCS Track Coach). It was a wonderful drive down and the kids loved exploring the new "cabin". Dorina made excellent fish tacos and other goodies (with Addi's help) for us all and we got the kids in the bath and sleeping....ahhh...now we can breathe, right? I guess my body decided to completely let down and I started getting the body aches. Well from the moment that Chris and Ericlee walked through the door I was sick with the flu and bedridden for the entire weekend. We left on Saturday afternoon to get back for another football game Chris had to coach, and I found myself with a full case of strep throat. Thank goodness for family all around us. My dad took me to the walk-in emergency clinic and then I was quaranteened to my room. It wasn't until the following Tuesday that I finally came out and felt well enough to join the living. I'll tell you what, Mommies just aren't allowed to get sick!

Bread Making Day

Dorina and I decided that we should have a bread-making day and try out some of our bread machine recipes. I needed to break in my bread machine anyway and Dorina had some recipes she wanted to share with me. It was a great day, though busy and with many distractions, especially with 2 curious toddlers and a helpful 4 year old at our feet. Addi was a huge help adding ingredients and then helping Aunti Dorina stir the homemade soup she made for lunch. Yum, Yum! We didn't get all the bread made that we had expected, but all in all, it was a very pleasant morning spent with great friends!

Pumpkin Patch

On one of our recent Wednesday outings with Dorina and Meilani Gilmore, we went to the Pumpkin King pumpkin patch. We had a great time making our way through the maze of pumpkins and then through the actual hay maze. Addi aand Tessa each picked out their own mini pumpkin and we left with a few good pictures to remember the day.

Flower Girl Fun!

In the beginning of October, Kamryn, Addi and Tessa were honored to be apart of CJ & Amber Haydock's wedding. They floated down the chilly isle barefoot in these beautiful white gowns. Tessa didn't cooperate and was too shy when it came to...well anything that had to do with the wedding. Kamryn and Addi had a terrific time playing with the 4th flower girl, Victoria, Amber's cousin. All in all, it was a beautiful wedding!

Kamryn turns 6!

Well, our big girl turned 6 this month! We discovered that among the many things she has been able to accomplish, she grew a whole inch in the past month! Our 'little' girl is really growing.

In discussing Kamryn's birthday plans, we started with a list of all the friends she might want to invite. Well, that list was 20 strong! How would be be able to cut that list down? We couldn't. So Chris & I came up with a great idea on how to party with 20 1st graders and make it manageable. Thank goodness we've got connections. We had a sports theme and invited all her friends to the gym at Fresno Christian for games, pizza and cake.

We asked that each friend wear their favorite teams jersey or hat...and most participated. It was fun to see everyone get in on the fun. Chris and I were the 'Party Refs' and we had a jersey made for Kamryn with her number - 6 - on it and her name on the back. I can't believe we didn't get a picture of just her that day! I guess we were a little overwhelmed.

We played soccer, freeze-dance, and tag, then it was time for pizza, presents and cake!

Kamryn also asked for a pumpkin cake...so I did my best.

All in all, we had a great time with family and friends and it was a birthday that even Kamryn's friends were talking about for days after. Happy Birthday Kamryn!

At the Park with the Gilmore's

It was a girls afternoon out for the Schultz' and Gilmore's last Wednesday. We packed a little lunch and ventured out to feed the birds. There were lots of places to explore Oso De Oro park and the little girls had a blast. The birds were very close and very big! I couldn't believe how close Tessa got. Sometimes that girl has no fear.

At the Pa

Cheer Camp!

Kamryn and Addi participated in the FCS Cheer Clinic this past month. They thoroughly enjoyed learning cheers and jumping around with thier friends. As much as I thought Addison would enjoy this cheering experience, it was Kamryn who really surprised me. She got totally into each cheer and memorized the words to each cheer. We took plenty of pictures and were so proud of our little girls. Is Fresno Christian Cheer in our future? Oh, and if you are wondering why Kamryn's hair is bright RED, it was a surprise to me too! There was a Kids' Carnival happening at the same time and when I arrived I found out she had visited a booth where they can paint your hair. A couple of other girls visited it too....as you can see. It made for great pictures.

The two cheerleaders in the pictures are some highschoolers that really took to Kamryn and Addi. They became fast friends.

Some Firsts

I just had to share some firsts in our household:

1. Tessa's first hairdo...PIGTAILS! (or 'pink'tails, as Addi likes to say). For any mom out there with little girls, you know what I mean! I was so excited about the fact she let me do it and then she didn't even try to pull them out once. She actually wore them all day. This was such a highlight for me...

2. Also, Tessa is showing interest in using the potty. I can't believe it, she seems so young, but I guess I'll go with it. Her little cousin, Ty Long, is 25 months old and he just started training, so Tessa thinks she must too. Slowly but surely.

3. Kamryn (in the dark navy blue) and Addison are cheering in a football game! The went through 3 days of "Cheer Camp" here at Fresno Christian Schools, and then will be cheering during halftime on Friday night. They are both very excited. Addison wore her special cheer outfit all week. I had no problem picking her out of a crowd.

We are so proud of all our girls!

We did it!

Addison and I have been working very hard over the past month to raise money for her plane ticket to Nebraska. My (Jen's) cousin, Seth Quiring, is getting married in early November in Chicago. He and his bride will be having a reception in Nebraska in late November. I thought this would be a great opportunity for Addison and I to go and visit family. So how did we do it? We set out to collect $200 over a span of 12 weeks, beginning August 1st. It seemed a daunting task, so to keep track, we created a chart to plot our progress. Thanks to family and friends saving thier empty cans and bottles for us, ...and a few football games, we managed to collect the full $200 in the month of August! Addison is elated and looking forward to our plane ride. Now her goal is to collect a little extra to be able to bring some "Nebraska Tshirts" home for the family. Thanks to all you who helped donate your trash....it was definitely our treasure!

First Day of School

Kamryn just started the 1st grade and she is loving it! Her teacher's name is Mrs. Zaremba and is wonderful with the kids. So far our only issue is getting Kamryn to eat her whole lunch at school. Somehow the girl can go a whole day on a tiny bowl of cereal or an apple. All in all, she's a happy kid with energy to boot! Just like her daddy, an energizer bunny!

Chris also started in his new postion as Athletic Director for K - 12th grade. It is a big job and he is busier than ever, but he is loving it! We are looking forward to a great year!

Where we are now...

This is my first time doing something like this. I've seen friends compile thier thoughts and family updates on these sites and have so enjoyed reading up on them, I thought...maybe it is our turn. So here we go:

Hello, to all of you; near and very far away. We are once again at the beginning of another school year. Our summer was eventful and packed with adventures that will remain in our memories forever. Here is a quick recap of our summer and where we are now.

In July we spent one week up at Mono Hot Springs camping. What an unbelievable time. We had never been camping with the girls and so why not dive right in! The scenery was beautiful and the girls loved being dirty....constantly! We did lots of hiking, swimming and eating, it was great! We have definitely chosen our campsite for next year...anyone want to join us?

Then near the end of July we took a couple of days and went north to Santa Cruz. We visited the Santa Cruz Boardwalk, some state parks and had a day at the beach. We stayed at a nice hotel this time and the girls loved swimming in the pool.

As for us as a family, Kamryn is an energetic 5 year old. She is thriving in 1st grade and loves riding the bus. She also loves to sing, and comes home with a new song everyday. She loves to play on the computer and is becoming quite a good reader.

Addison just turned 4 in August and is right on Kamryn's tail about just about everything. She now wants very much to be in school (thank goodness not til next year) and so we have been working on some preschool activities at home.

Addison loves all things pink and twirly. She is a girly-girl. Addison loves to read books and draw pictures for both mommy and daddy.

Tessa will be 2 in December. She can definitely hold her own with her two big sisters. She is talking so much lately and it is cute to hear her try to communicate what she is wanting or seeing. She has taken a huge interest in reading and I can usually find her coming to me, book in hand, with a tap, tap on my leg, "book, book!"

Well, that is us for now. I'll try to keep this page updated with fun stuff. Til next time!