Happy 3rd birthday Megan!

Megan had a wonderful 3rd birthday focused on her two favorite things--Minnie Mouse and princesses.  She continues to be a very sweet and funny girl and has started to talk our ears off on a regular basis.

Click below for more photos.

Thanksgiving 2011

We've had a very eventful month culminating in a wonderful celebration of Thanksgiving with Granny and Grandpa including a celebration at Ty's school, a Capitals game (which they won in overtime), a trip to Old Town Alexandria, hikes in the woods, lots of fun around the house, and of course, turkey.

Click here for more.

Halloween 2011

A princess, a pirate (again) and lots of fun. For more, click on the photo.

Making the best of a missed connection

Why stay in the airport for 11 hours when you can drag two kids and two suitcases through the subway and streets of NYC to visit an old favorite destination??

For more, click on the photo above.

Fall fun 2011

One last trip to Cox Farms and some fun at a Nationals game...it's been a good last Fall in VA (if you don't know what I mean by that, give me a call). Click on the photo for more...

Fall firsts

It's been an eventful Fall...here are some of Ty's firsts:

1. First day of Kindergarten


2. First soccer game


3. First Tae Kwon Do belt test


4. First lost tooth

Tyler's 6th birthday

How can he be 6 already??

As sweet and personable as ever, Tyler brings a ton of happiness to our lives. He loves to learn and use new phrases, like "for example" He plays sweetly with Megan (most of the time) and loves to spend time with his friends. He also adores his Dad and wants to be just like him.

He had a wonderful birthday with Granny and Grandpa in town for a Transformers birthday party. Click on the photo above for more pictures.

Sightseeing with Granny and Grandpa

Granny and Grandpa came to visit for Tyler's birthday and had great fun visiting famous sites around VA and DC. Click on the photo above for more.

Summer 2011 camping trip

This summer we decided to head to Shenandoah for our family camping trip. Since we had some time to kill before our campground reservations that started on Friday, we decided to visit Natural Bridge. We had a great time expoloring the amazing natural structure surrounded by hokey (but fun) tourist attractions. We also got to visit some cool caverns. Thanks to Hurricane Irene, we also got to visit the local Lowe's for supplies and decided to change our 2-night camping trip to a day trip (at least we got to see some great views and very tame deer, and hike about 1 mile of the Appalachain Trail.

We filled the rest of the weekend with a fun bowling trip and a campout in the family room (just in case any trees came down on the house) that the kids loved.

All in all, it was a great weekend. For more pictures, click on the photo below.

Summer road trip 2011

We just came back from my favorite trip of the year...a road trip during which we got to visit the Shripka's, Granny and Grandpa, and spend some time with the Burke's and Chernesky's up north.

This year's trip was quite eventful...

If you don't know why Megan's face looks like this, give me a call and I'll explain...(Hint: it involves 3 trips to urgent care centers in MI and WI and one trip to an ER.). Did I mention that Megan is VERY expressive with her face?

Despite the unexpected stomach pains, broken elbow, and severe rash, we really had a wonderful time. For lots of happier pics and a more detailed story of our trip, click on the collage below.

And if you want a laugh, view the video below of Megan and Lily (who is a bit scared of dogs) playing with Seger.

Summer catch up

How did it get to be August already??

Our summer has been packed with a lot of fun, heat, water, friends, and laughs.

Click on the photo below for more pics. Why do our kids already look like they're teenagers?

Tyler's Preschool Graduation

The school that Tyler and Megan attend had a very cute celebration for the "graduating" kids and their parents (funny, I don't remember having a cap and gown at my preschool graduation).

We're very proud of our big boy! Click on the photo above to view more pictures or if you're really interested in the day, view the videos of the performances below.

Happiness

Easter 2011

For more pictures, click on the photo above.

Visit from the Shripka's

Wow...it's been a while! We've certainly had an exciting Spring. It started with a fun visit from the Shripka's who took a very long road trip to spend a few days with us. We had a wonderful time playing and visiting the sites of D.C. For more pictures, click on the photo above.

Irish Dance Party

Tonight we took the kids to our favorite local restaurant, a traditional Irish Pub called the Auld Shebeen, in Old Town Fairfax. Every Friday and Saturday night, they have live traditional Irish music. The kids LOVED it. Little did we know, we'd hear one of Jeff's favorite songs, Whiskey in the Jar.

When we got home, Jeff was inspired to play Ty and Megan the version that he's more familiar with. Here's the dance party that ensued.




About 20 minutes later, this song was Megan's bedtime request (in lieu of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star)...we're in trouble.

Performances

Our kids love to perform. Megan's favorite songs are "You are my sunshine" and "Baa Baa Black Sheep." And, as you'll see below, Ty's very proud to be an American.

Trip to Florida

We just returned from a wonderful short vacation down to Florida with our first trip to Magic Kingdom and a couple of days in Sand Key with Granny and Grandpa. The kids loved Disney World (especially the Buzz Lightyear ride). Of course, they also loved seeing Granny and Grandpa. We got to go mini-golfing, visit the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, and of course, visit Frenchy's and PJs. Ty's favorite part of the trip was a treasure hunt that Grandpa and Granny planned for him. All in all it was a great trip. Enjoy the pictures by clicking on the photo above.

Wintertime Fun

Wow! I'm pretty behind with posting. We've had a great winter (although we're ready for Spring). The weather has been kinder than last year, but we still got two snowfalls with enough snow for the kids to play. We also took a very fun 2-day trip down to the Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg. Enjoy more pictures by clicking here.


Quick update on the kids:

Megan is starting to come out of her shell (although she still needs a few days to warm up to people) and loves to sing, put everything back in its place (e.g., she LOVES to put trash in the garbage can) and is a bit stubborn at times. She still loves Elmo and Mickey Mouse (not Minnie) and loves to imitate her big brother.

Ty is still his social self, quickly making friends with anyone he meets. He just started reading and loves to show off his new skill. He is also usually very caring with Megan, trying to teach her and take care of her whenever he can.

We're looking forward to more fun times as we wrap up winter and journey into spring (how is it already March???).

A new before-dinner activity

This is how the Schmidt family unwinds from a busy day...every night this week.

Forgive the lack of light in the video--but really, isn't that appropriate for a dance party?

Christmas Vacation 2010

We've had a wonderful past week and a half celebrating Christ's birth and taking some much needed time off. We were blessed to have Jeff's parents travel to spend Christmas with us. Jeff and I were both able to take the time off which allowed us to get some sleep (the kids started sleeping until about 7:30 each day!), get some house projects finished (thanks, Jeff!) and spend fun family time together (even including Ty's first trip to the ice rink...which ended about 20 minutes after it started when Ty had a bit of a spill). For more photos, click on the photo above.