Thanksgiving 2013

We had a wonderful time at Thanksgiving as the Shripka's and Granny and Grandpa all made the trip out to see us.  The kids loved being together, spending time making inventions, posting diagrams of them all the way up our stairs, seeing Longhorns, shooting a bow, launching rockets, climbing on our wall, playing football, and swimming in a pool that was still a little bit too cold.  We had a lot of fun and are so thankful that everyone made the trip.

For more photos, click on the photo below.

Summer "Road" Trip 2013

Once again, we enjoyed a wonderful (air and road) trip Up North and to Palatine to see the Burke's, Chernesky's, Shripka's, and Granny and Grandpa. We had a great time tubing, swimming, hiking, go-karting, mini golfing, and relaxing. The weather was beautiful, too. 

After our time Up North, the Shripka's were nice enough to drive over to Palatine for a day of fun at Granny and Grandpa's house. It was a perfect ending to another very memorable summer trip. For lots of pictures, click the top photo below.

We're so thankful...

...For being able to spend Thanksgiving 2012 with Granny, Grandpa, the Shripka's, Burke's, and Chernesky's.  Though it was a short trip, it was packed with a lot of fun.  Click on the top photo for more.

Starting summer vacation on Sand Key

Jeff picked up Ty at his last day of school and took the kids directly to the airport for a flight to Tampa and a fun weekend with Granny and Grandpa at the condo.  We had beautiful weather, fun times on the beach, a successful fishing trip, and of course, the required trips to Frenchy's on the Beach and PJ's.  For more pics click on the photo below.

Merry Christmas 2011

We had a wonderful Christmas in Palatine!  We got to spend Christmas Eve with the Chernesky's and Burke's at Navy Pier and Christmas with the Schmidt's and Shripka's.  It was a great respite in the middle of our move from Virginia to Texas.  I somehow lost a lot of my pictures (maybe it had to do with packing our lives and driving across the country), but click on the collage below for those that I still have.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

Thanksgiving 2010

Wow-it's been a while since I've updated this. I figured I better talk about Thanksgiving before Christmas is upon us. We had a wonderful trip to Palatine and then on to Kalamazoo.



Click on the photo below for more photos.

Family trip to Florida

A few weeks ago we were able to spend a long weekend with Jeff's entire family on Sand Key. On the way over, the kids and I stopped by JetBlue's training center and gave the kids a full tour, complete with some time in the flight simulators. When we got to the Gulf coast we had beautiful weather and it was a lot of fun to have everyone together (especially the 4 kids 5 and under). And I think Ty finally got over his fear of water (see the video below) . Click on the photo above for lots of pictures (thanks to Andy for the great family pics) or view the video below to see Ty fly.

Tyler flying from Teri Schmidt on Vimeo.

Road trip 2010

Last week we had a wonderful trip to see Granny and Grandpa and then Up North to see all of the Chernesky clan. Ty and Megan had a lot of fun with Granny and Grandpa, playing music, dancing, and playing with all of their toys. Up North, we had amazing weather and were able to do alot of swimming, tubing, and waterskiing. To view all of the pictures, click on the collage above. And enjoy the videos below :).

Peek a Boo--on the water from Teri Schmidt on Vimeo.

Megan the wrecking ball from Teri Schmidt on Vimeo.

Cathy visits!

Two weeks ago, we were treated to a special visit from my sister Cathy, who drove 3 hours from Lynchburg, VA to see us (after flying in from Houston). We had a great time sharing our home and our neighborhood with her. Thanks for making the long trip, Cathy!

A visit from Sue and Kelli

Last weekend we were thrilled to have a visit from Sue and Kelli. We took advantage of the 75 degree and sunny weather and visited the National Zoo, Great Falls National Park, and Clemyjontri Park. For more pictures, click on the collage below.

Granny and Grandpa visit our new home

Last week we were treated to a week-long visit from Granny and Grandpa. As you can see from the pictures, we had a great time during a week that included another show and train ride at Burke Lake Park, a drive-in movie, frozen custard, some fun time in the pool, and much more.

Fun with Granny and Grandpa

Last weekend we were treated to a visit from Granny and Grandpa. We had fun going to the city, hanging out at home, and visiting the Nautical Mile. For more pictures, click here.

The Burke's visit!

Last weekend, we had a great time as Sue, Kelli, and Kevin came to visit us. We had a fun day in the city with visits to the Shake Shack (of course), Madison Square Park, and our first visit to the Times Square Toys R Us (including a ride on the ferris wheel). The next day we played games and went to two parks near our house. We had a lot of fun! For more pictures, click here.

Seeing all of the cousins in one weekend

A couple of weeks ago, Ty and Megan had the opportunity to see all of their cousins on both sides in one weekend. Megan got to meet the Burke's, Chernesky's, and Raney's and Ty basically played nonstop, including going on many "adventures" guided by maps that he made with Kelli and Kaitlyn (see photo below). Thanks to all of the cousins for giving Ty and Megan so much attention. It made it a very happy weekend for them. For more pictures, click here.