Finding Joy In OUR Journey: 2009

U Might B a ReD nEck iF...

November 27, 2009
You get your lawn mower stuck in the snow while taking it for a spin, and have to have your children push you out,

OR, if you wait until it's completely dark, and totally freezing to hang up your Christmas lights!!!

For the first time ever, we had our very own Thanksgiving...just the 5 of us, all by ourselves. I was worried at first that it might be a little boring and quiet, something that we are unaccustomed to when it comes to the holidays, but it turned out to be rather nice. We even ate in our dinning room for the very first time too--how crazy is that!?

Lexie enjoyed gnawing on the entire turkey leg. Maybe for next years "firsts" we will get dressed and actually use manners...maybe.

cRaZY NiGhtS

Night times around here are not much different than our day times...CrAZy!! Between Jaden's sleepwalking and Night Terrors, Chloe's inability to stay in her own bed, and Maddie's need for midnight potty breaks, sometimes sleep comes only in our daydreams. The other night when I checked on the kids before I went to bed, it came as no surprise to me that Chloe was not in her bed. What was a surprise, however, was when I checked on Lexie I could see her and two little legs, but no Chloe. Somehow, someway, the top half of Chloe's body had fallen off of the bed, and it didn't wake her up...she was literally sleeping on her head!!

(I know this is crazy, and I would never believe it if I hadn't seen it myself!)

Here we go AGAIN!!!

Tonight was Jaden's first game playing in the "big" league. His team is made up of 3rd graders playing in a 4th grade division. You wouldn't think that that much would change in one year, but it has. All dressed down in his Bobcat uniform, proudly wearing the number 3, he was all ready to go...

With two little Cheerleaders in tow!

This is the first season in which his team has played full court, 5 on 5 with 4 quarters, fouls counting against you, and foul shots being shot.

Jaden actually fouled out tonight--and I have to say, I was a little surprised. He's not really one that enjoys watching from the sidelines, so even though he was benched, he was still "in" the game.

Our season didn't quite get the start that we wanted, but a little piece of humble pie never hurt anybody...especially our team!!

oCtoBeR FeSt!!

What a month! Much like for everyone, this has been a crazy month at the Schwab house. Between football games and practices, the start of Jaden's basketball season, and all the extra activities Travis has to attend...who new life could get so crazy. I've been horrible at keeping up with posts so I'll try to fill you in in one big swoop! As I've said before, we have been very blessed over the years to get to know some wonderful young men through coaching basketball. Each year my kids grow quite fond of particular players, and one of the boys from this past season was Bo Dayton. What a wonderful young man. Jaden had actually wanted Bo to baptize him, but because of timing (him leaving on a mission) he wasn't able too. The night Bo left for Salt Lake to enter the MTC he stopped by to take a quick picture with the kiddos...Thanks Bo, this meant the world to us!!!

This month brought lots of sickness to our house. Chloe was diagnosed with Mono (crazy how a 4 year old can get the "kissing" disease, makes you wonder what actually goes on at preschool), followed by a full-on outbreak of the actual Flu; everyone got it except for me...knock on wood. (Here the kids are enjoying some chicken noodle soup with their "throw-up" bowls close at hand.)

Jaden has only been doing Cub Scouts for a couple of months now, since we were gone all summer, and he was so excited to get his Bobcat.

Like most "new" things, he is loving Cub Scouts. He was beaming from ear to ear when I was able to pin his new Bobcat patch on his shirt...I forget it's the simple things in life that make kids so happy!

Of course, you can't have Halloween without carving pumpkins. I personally wouldn't mind skipping this part of the Halloween tradition, I detest the scrapping out of the pumpkin guts and the nasty smell, as well as the mess, but since Travis was correcting the kid's homework...

I did my "Motherly duty" and helped them out.

The kids had a great time, and the pumpkins turned out pretty cute--the only mishap for this year was Chloe's hair catching on fire...not big thing right?!

Like in most schools, the kids were able to wear their Halloween costumes on Friday. After much debate and deliberation, Lexie and Jaden decided to be babies...

and Chloe decided to be a witch.

Halloween day was such a long day for the kids, they were anxious, and crazy, and bouncing off the walls. I tried to help pass the time by making caramel apples...but unfortunately, it doesn't take as long as one would hope!

Finally it was time to get dressed and ready to go. Jaden decided being a baby wasn't manly enough for him so for Trick-or-Treating he decide to change things up and be a Dallas Cowboy football player.

Even Maddie joined in on the festivities and allowed me to put Chloe's witch hat on her...for a very short second!

We had a great night! The kids got lots of candy, and at 46 degrees, the weather was actually pretty warm!

Does this mean Summer's oVeR??

Well, it's happened. We woke up Monday morning to this. The Weatherman kept saying it was coming but, we didn't believe him...maybe we just didn't want to believe him. Nevertheless, we have had our first snow fall; what a not-so-great way to kick off Spud Harvest!

Of course Lexie and Jaden couldn't hardly wait to get out their snow gear and make some snow men...I sure hope this doesn't last very long, we haven't even had Fall yet!

Undefeated!

Another great year of flag football has come and gone and this year the "Boys" went undefeated. Jaden had a great time, and of course, is very sad to see it all end.

He has had to opportunity to be on the same team with some of his best friends making it that much more enjoyable. Unfortunately, one of his buddies moved after the second game, and Cameron (the boy on his right) will be moving the end of this month.

Jaden was SO eXcIteD to have uncle "Scotty" come up from Utah and watch his game...It meant the world to him!! Thanks Scott!

ThAt'S mY BoY!

Another year of flag football is in full swing, and this year instead of the coaches quarterbacking, the boys get to. Jaden had the night of his young life this past Tuesday, with 4 interceptions and 6 touchdowns--but whose counting...right? Needless to say, he is having a blast, and the fact that he's playing for the "Cowboys" only makes the football season that much better!

Lucky for him he crossed the line before he got caught--his dad STRONGLY encouraged him to run through the end zone, "Don't be Terrell Owens, run hard the entire way...never ease up!"

Pay It Forward fUnRuN!

I know this is crazy, because I am so not a runner, but I'm helping some friends with a Fun Run! Check out the website http://www.payitforwardfunrun.com/ --ALL money donated will be split between Jace Leatham and an Idaho Falls family in an all too similar situation... Come on, tie on those running shoes and run for Jace!!! If you have any questions, just leave me a comment. Thanks so much!

PreSchool Bound--

Chloe has finally started preschool and let me tell you, it's kind of strange being at home by myself...don't get me wrong, I enjoy it; it's just really quiet. She's only gone 2 1/2 hours a day, three days a week, but she LoVeS it, can't you tell?!

Labor Day = Colter Bay!!

Another fun trip to Colter Bay has come and gone...it's quite sad how quickly the time goes when your having a great, relaxing time. This year was much like the years previous...
The "big" boys acted like "little" boys,

Papa Beav tickled and wrestled with the grand kids,

Jaden and Dakota chilled out to some tunes from the I-pod,

the girls painted their nails and toenails,

and the little girls spent lots of time coloring.

As we were leaving the kids noticed these beautiful creatures, so of course, like all tourists, we had to pull over and take some pictures.

We're already looking forward to next year!

Dancing Queen!

School is back and in full swing and that means the return of sports, not that they ever left. Our Cheerleaders held their annual cheer clinic this past week, and the performance was Friday night at our first Football game. Here is Chloe cheering and rocking out to Hannah Montana's "Best of Both Worlds."

Pretty As A Princess

Yesterday Chloe went to her friend Brooklyn's birthday party, and came home dressed in the most adorable "princess" skirt and accessories--I just had to share! My friend Brittney made all the little girls a skirt, and then the girls were able to decorate their own "magic wands" & "crowns."

Brittney, I think you just won the Mom of the year award--we need to hang out more so some of your creative, craftiness will rub off on me!

First Day Of School

It's never a good thing to start off the year running late, but in typical Schwab fashion, we did just that! My kids are "big" kids now. Lexie is in 5th grade and attends the middle school and Jaden is in 3rd grade, so they didn't want me to take them to school on the first day. Unfortunately for them, they missed the school bus so I got to take them after all...Lucky me! (You'll notice the pictures were taken in the car, they didn't want to wait around for pictures and be late--instead they were 15 minutes early; silly kids)

THIS IS THE PLACE!

The weekend that Lexie and my mom flew back from their California adventure, we ended up with a few extra days in Salt Lake so we decided to take the kids to "This Is The Place" Monument. After all, you can't visit Utah as often as we do and never go.