The Schell Family

We got to celebrate Tom's Birthday with him on December 2nd. As he has of late, once again he requested home made apple pie for dessert. Happy Birthday Daddy!

I really meant to post these pictures much earlier this month and have had them uploaded for weeks now. Somehow December has just slipped by with all the shopping and extra events, it has seemed pretty busy. We decorated our tree for family night the first monday of December. It has been quite to chore this year to teach Wesley not to touch the tree and play with the ornaments. I think after having it around for a month he may have finally at least gotten bored of it.

For Thanksgiving this year we were invited to our friend's, the Boehme's, for dinner. We had a great time eating delicious food, talking, and playing games. The kids had fun running around with each other and watching a movie. Wesley found the doggie door quite the entertainment. Here is a look at our little "doggie". I guess we don't need a real one yet.

Halloween came and went....it is my least favorite holiday so I wasn't sad at all that it is over. These are the few pictures I was able to get of the kids in their costumes before they rushed out the door to go Trick or Treating. Our neighborhood is very busy for Trick or Treating and we wanted to make sure they got some of the treats before they were gone. Our camera was on the fritz so some of these aren't the best pictures, but they will have to do.

On my birthday we took the kids on our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch in Dixon. We have gone every year (as you may have noticed in previous posts), but this was Tom's first year going with us so that made it extra fun. The kids loved feeding the goats, the blow up haunted house, jumping off the hay bales, the corn maze, the wagon ride, and the hay ride. We just enjoyed seeing how much fun they had .

The other day I got an impromptu visit from two really cute superheroes. I just had to take some footage. Amberly said we needed to get them running. Check it out.

Last weekend was our annual ward camp out. This year was even better because Tom was actually here. We went to a campground only 20 minutes away and had a picnic. Then the entertainment for the evening was a Court of Honor (boring) sort of mixed with a youth talent show. Tom stayed the night in a tent with the girls and I brought Wes home to get a good night sleep in my own bed. The girls thought camping in a tent was the best thing ever.

Reili's first day of 2nd grade was last Thursday. I can't believe she is already that old. She was really looking forward to going to school again and seems to be enjoying it. Amberly also started school this week, but it is her second year at preschool and I forgot to get any pictures. Typical...the first child always gets all the pictures. It is nice to be back into a routine again, but the weather doesn't feel school like at all.

I'm finally getting around to posting this. Tom's parents came to visit us at the end of June/first of July. They came during the "I feel so sick and tired" time of the pregnancy, but one day they managed to drag me out of the house and we went to Maramec Springs park and we enjoyed the museum, a nice picnic, and took a walk around the fish farm and fed the fish. It was perfect weather that day and we had a good time. We spent a lot of time just hanging out and the kids loved playing tickle monster with PopPop and reading books with Gamma. Thanks for the visit Mom and Dad!

May brought a birthday, the end of school, and another visit from family.