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.

Celebrating 2010

We've decided to change it up a bit this year and take our holiday letter paperless. We've once again been very blessed and decided to take this turn our holiday update into a "thankfulness letter."

We still love our home (especially since Jeff has now completed 3 bathroom remodels, a kitchen remodel, and has moved our laundry room from the first floor to the second). We are both still happy in our jobs and have both been given increased responsiblity this year (with me returning to full time). The kids are happy and healthy and attending a new school which they both seem to love.

Enjoy a glimpse into everything that made us smile this in 2010...

Note: You may need to pause the video on the text slides.