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.

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?

Feelings about the future

Somehow last night Jeff, Tyler, and I got into a conversation about Ty's future in school. Jeff told Tyler that next year he would start to get homework. The conversation went something like this:

Jeff: "Ty, do you know that next year, not only will you have to work at school, but when you get home you'll have to do your homework before you go out to play?"

Tyler (looking like what Jeff just said was truly absurd): "WHAT????" That's crazy!"

Jeff: "Yep, this is actually the most play time and free time you'll ever have in your life until you're retired. After this year, you'll never have as much time to play. How does that make you feel?"

Tyler: "Tired."

Halloween 2010

We had a great celebration of Halloween this year, complete with our neighborhood party, our annual pumpkin carving (Ty named our double-sided jack-o-lantern after himself again), a school party, and trick-or-treating with about 10 families from the neighborhood. Click on the photo below for more pictures.

Fall fun

A couple of weeks ago, Tyler, Megan, our neighbor, and I went to Cox Farms' fall festival. Just like last year, it was alot of fun. Click the photo above for lots of action pictures from the giant slides, corn maze, and other fun attractions.

Humility?

Here's a conversation between me and Ty from a car ride today:

Tyler: "Mom, I'm really smart. I know half of everything."
Me (not understanding that he meant that he had acquired half of all existing knowledge): "Oh really, what's half of 10?"
Ty: "I don't know, but I know half of everything...when I get to heaven I'll know the other half."

Happy 4th of July 2010

We had a great day last weekend going to the Fairfax parade and fireworks. Ty and Megan also had their first experience with sparklers and kid-friendly "fireworks." For pictures click here or if you need a laugh, watch the video below.

July 4th "fireworks" from Teri Schmidt on Vimeo.

Ah summertime...

Summer around here means wonderful afternoons and evenings out with our neighbors. We live on the end of a long driveway that we share with two families that both have kids. So almost every evening, Ty's first words when he gets home are "Can I go out and play?" Here's a glimpse into our fun...click on the photo for a few more.

Swimming fun from Teri Schmidt on Vimeo.

Big Wheel races from Teri Schmidt on Vimeo.

Oh, how technology has changed our world

Conversation with Ty in the car yesterday afternoon:

Tyler: Mommy, do you know the way to Fairy Tale Land?
Me: Um, no, I'm not really sure how to get there. Do you?
Tyler: No, but I bet the GPS does.

Snow day!

The forecast called for 1 inch of snow today and I was doubtful that we'd get any. Afterall, we live in the "south" now. Boy, was I wrong! The snow started falling (in huge flakes) at 10am and didn't stop until about 5:30pm. Ty was thrilled as winter is his favorite season. For pictures of the snowball fights, snowman building, and hiking and sledding in the woods, click on the photo.

Just like Macy's (okay, not really)

The day after Thanksgiving, Tyler, Megan, and I ventured out to Reston Town Center for their annual Thanksgiving Parade. Although it was a little chilly, we enjoyed seeing the floats, entertainers, and Santa and Mrs. Claus. For more pictures, click on the photo below.

Giving thanks

We are so blessed. Two wonderful kids. A happy, healthy marriage. Families that we enjoy spending time with and miss when we're not with them. Jobs that we like. I really have nothing to complain about.

Recently however, I've noticed that Ty has been complaining more frequently. And as I thought about why he's doing it, I realized that he was learning it from me. No matter how blessed I've been, my complaining has gotten worse over the past couple of years. And as I hear myself tell him that instead of complaining about what he doesn't have he should focus on the good things he does have, I realized that I needed to listen to that advice myself.

So, in this season of giving thanks, we started a new tradition. Inspired by a blog post I found while searching for ideas for decorating kids' rooms, we created a "Giving Thanks" calendar. For the last two weeks at dinnertime, we each said what we were most thankful for that day. Tonight, we read them all at our Thanksgiving dinner. Here's a sample:

• Halloween candy (Tyler)
  
• Hiking in the woods (Me and Tyler)
  
• Playing Pirate ship on the playset (Ty)
  
• A hunting trip (Jeff)


• Megan's hugs (Me)


• Having Daddy home (Me...he's been travelling a lot lately)
  
• Tyler's smile (me)

We hope to continue the tradition throughout the year. Maybe with enough time, Tyler and I can both turn our complaining habit around.

PS: If you want to see more pictures of two of the biggest blessings in our lives enjoying the season, click on the picture above.

Halloween 2009

We had a great Halloween week, including another trip to a pumpkin patch, a neighborhood party, a school party, the annual pumpkin carving, and of course trick-or-treating. Thanks to the Shripka's for helping to show how much of a monkey Megan really is. For pictures of the week and some extras displaying the beautiful fall colors, click on the photo of our happy girl below.

Oktoberfest!

We continue to enjoy the many free activities around our community. Last weekend we had a great time at the Vienna Oktoberfest. There was really good local music (including ACDC played by 50 year olds), a bounce house, slide, Lego station, face painting, and of course brats (with apple sauerkraut) and German beer. Click here for some more photos.

What Ty does during "rest time"

A visit from friends

Last weekend we were treated to a visit from our friends from Indiana who moved down the street from us in New York. We had a great time catching up and spending time together. The kids played great together...Tyler was so excited to see his good friend Reece (and I think Megan may be developing a little crush :) ).

The men took time out for some serious golfing..

...and a train ride.

More fun outings

Have we mentioned we like living in VA? It's so fun to have a new place to visit each day. Two new destinations this week were a huge playground in McLean and a water feature at a local shopping/dining area with some new friends. And yes, Megan finally got to get out of the carrier and have some fun too. Click here for some more photos.

A move milestone for Tyler

Despite the fun that he's been having at our new house, Ty has repeatedly said that he likes NY better than VA. He mentions how he misses our friends, his old school, his old yard, his old room, etc.

Today, it was absolutely beautiful weather (80 degrees and sunny--pretty much how it's been ever since we moved here). Jeff has been in Italy since Tuesday (returning this Thurs.) so I wanted to make sure that Ty had a fun day planned. I saw that as part of their free summer entertainment, the Fairfax County Parks department has an "Art in the Parks" series made up of shows for kids that educate them about music, theater, and art. So, we headed to Burke Lake park, which we've heard people rave about, for the Percussion Duo from the Fairfax Symphony. It was a show in the outside ampitheater about all different kind of percussion instruments, led by a clown. Ty even got to perform on stage.

We followed that show with a ride on the carousel (our big boy went all by himself) and a 10-minute train ride through the woods (much better than the "potty train"). We topped it off with a hike around the lake through the woods, a picnic lunch, and an ice cream cone.

(Click on the collage for all of the pictures and a video of the "performance.")

And wouldn't you know it, as we were walking to the car Ty looked up at me and said, "Mommy, I like Virginia better than NY."

PS: Megan was with us too...it's just hard to take pictures of someone strapped to the front of you.

Our first trip to one of the many parks in Fairfax County

Fairfax County has a ton of diverse parks (most of which are free--something we're not used to coming from Long Island). Last Friday, Ty, Megan, and I journeyed to our first one--Frying Pan Farm. It is a working farm which attempts to preserve a 1920s-1950s farm. Ty enjoyed seeing the animals, including some babies, and really loved the tractor ride around the farm.

We can't wait to explore more of the parks!

For more pictures, click here.