Oops, I did it again!

The Schnacks are busy people, people! I know I promised more frequent posts, but, once again I have let everything pile up. Let's see...in the past few weeks we have had Easter, Mommy ran a half marathon, Lexi turned 2, Grandma Mary came to visit, we made a overnight trip to New Orleans, and Gavin had his first T-ball game! Whew, I'm exhausted just thinking about it!

Spring time brings lots of fun activities around here. The weather is great, and there are lots of family festivals. The kids enjoyed several Easter egg hunts as well as some fun Easter activities with our MOMS group. Easter itself was pretty uneventful for us with no family around :-(

I am very proud to announce that I finished my first half marathon (13.1 miles) in 2 hours, 1 minute, and 20 seconds. I placed 36th in my age group of about 150 runners, and 199th overall out of 700 runners. I thought I would be ready to be done with running for a while after it was over, but it just left me pumped up for more!

Up next...Little Miss Alexia is 2!!! Wow, how time flies. We had a little party for her here at the house. Our backyard was turned into "The Minnie Mouse Cupcake House." So appropriate for a little girl who adores both Minnie Mouse and cupcakes!!  The kids decorated "minnie" cupcakes to take home, made bubble art, and played in the back yard. We finally had a party with no rain! A first in the 3 years that we have lived here!

Grandma Mary made her bi-annual trip to see us, and we had so much fun! We made an overnight trip to New Orleans, did some sight seeing, took a carriage tour of the Quarter, went to the zoo, and ate lots of yummy food! Lexi really enjoyed her first beignet, especially the powdered sugar :-) Mommy and Daddy got to go out on the town to visit Bourbon Street, and saw 50 Cent and Robert De Niro! A good time had by all!

Last, but not least, Gavin had his first T-ball game on Saturday. Pure cuteness. Baseball is a little more complex for a 4 year old to grasp than soccer! But, Gavin did great. I was especially impressed by his base running. Most kids didn't understand to run to the next base after the ball was hit, but Gavin did awesome! He was quite speedy, and even slid into home! The poor kid was stuck in left field for the first inning, but still ran into the infield to try to get every ball hit :-)  I think the coach recognized his desire to get the ball (as most kids just watched it go by) and put him at 1st base for the second inning. It took him a few plays to figure out that he had to stay at 1st and not chase after the ball, but he eventually got the hang of it. And he got to chase the ball plenty because the kids are learning to throw every ball they get to first. And at this age, there is no catching going on :-)

Here is a montage of pictures from all of the above craziness. We are not about to slow down, as we are leaving for Wisconsin on Thursday!

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So it's been awhile...

It has been a long, long time since my last blog! We have been so stinkin' busy, I have lost all track of time! Let's see, what is new with the Schnackenberg's?

Oh yes, Greg and I turned 30! Man, I can remember being a teenager and thinking that 30 was OLD! I wasn't going to let the big 3-0 slip by, especially since our birthdays are so close together. However, I knew HE would never go for a big party, so it would have to be a surprise! And what better way to celebrate than to make it an 80s theme in honor of our birth year? Greg was so completely surprised, and was such a good sport! We had so much fun, and it was definitely a night we will never forget. I already posted a lot of pictures from the night on Facebook, so here are just a couple of my favs!



My friend Elizabeth captured us when we walked in and saw everybody waiting for us!

The fact that my mom, sister, and niece came from Wisconsin made the night even more special!



I love this pic! Laura and I singing "I Love Rock and Roll"



I have also been crazy busy with The Cake Momma! I think this is the first week I haven't had an order in almost 2 months. I entered in a Cupcake Competition last weekend, and my vanilla cupcake filled with strawberries, topped with white chocolate buttercream icing won me $100! Here are some of my projects of late. Click on the Cake Momma badge on the left to see the rest of my gallery on my Facebook page.

We went to the St. Patrick's Day parade again this year. Always a good time!

One tired out parade go-er.

We finally got our foundation fixed...YAHOOO!! Now, hopefully Greg will be able to sleep at night. None of his worst fears happened: our floor didn't buckle, and pipes didn't burst. In fact, everything works much better now: the garage door works again, and the dishwasher and shower doors don't stick anymore! Crazy how functional your house can be when it's level!

They poured cement and installed jacking pads to lift the north end of our house 2.5 inches! 

I think we had about 6 gigantic holes.

Damn the Yazoo Clay in Mississippi!!

Let's see, what else? Oh Yeah! Diddle diddle dotty, Lexi's using the potty! I thought she was ready a couple of months ago and started the potty training process. BUT, I was wrong. She had no problem sitting on the potty...she would do that for hours as long as she had a book to read (as you will see in the video)! But, she never tee-teed (southern term). Nope, she would do that in her big girl underwear seconds after she got OFF the potty! I decided that she was too young and said forget it. I started sitting her on the potty again a few weeks ago, and this time it was like magic! It all clicked and she got it. She has been wearing big girl underwear ever since, and has had very few accidents! Yay, no more diapers!!!! Here is a video Greg snuck in and got during our first potty training attempt. Don't mind her totally non matching outfit, that was probably her 3rd or 4th change of pants that day!

Well, I think you are now caught up on life with the Schnacks. I promise I will try to update more often!

Greg Earns Dad of the Year Award, and Gavin the Soccer Stud

Gavin played his first soccer games on Saturday! We were all very excited, yet disappointed because Greg was in California for some training, and was going to miss it. He was due to get back Saturday afternoon, after Gavin's games. Minutes before we were getting ready to head to the field, I glance out the window and saw Greg's car pulling in the driveway! He went straight to the airport after training ended Friday afternoon and pulled an all-nighter at the airport trying to get on a flight that would get him home in time for Gavin's games. Definitely Dad of the Year in our book!

Gavin LOVES soccer, and I have to admit, I have never been more proud of the kid. He was the most focused, well-behaved kid at his first ever soccer practice on Friday night. When all of the other children where goofing off, Gavin had no part of it. I have never seen him listen so well in his life! He had so much fun at practice, I didn't think he would even sleep that night because of his excitement for his games the next day. And what a day for soccer...74 degrees and sunny!!

Ready to play!

Practicing!

Game time!

Enjoying some fruit between games with his new friend John Dean.

Shaking hands with the other team...a new concept for these boys!



So, I thought I was a competitive person, but we actually saw parents bribing their children to score goals by paying them dollar bills (on the field!) and using candy. These boys are 4! I'm sure it will only get worse as he gets older....

Gavin did a great job (no bribes needed)! He scored the very first goal for his team, and ended up scoring a total of 3 goals, and one own goal :-) Here are some highlights from the games. I would have loved to put the whole video on here...the kids trying to take the game 20 yards off the field, tripping over each other, etc...they are just so cute! You will have to excuse my videographer skills...it turns out it's quite hard to video and watch the game at the same time! Which is why I was filming the grass when Gavin scored his second goal... Also note Grady's mom encouraging Grady to "get the ball" when Gavin had it...Grady and Gavin are teammates! Grady's parents happen to be the ones bribing with candy.

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After Gavin played his two games, his coach asked if he would stay and play another with a team that only had two players show up.  Two girls. Gavin was more than happy to play another game. WOW is there a difference between boys and girls! The first play of the game one of the girls started crying because the other team scored a goal. After that she didn't want anything to do with the game. The other girl didn't even start with an interest...she was at the sideline talking to her mom the whole time. So, it was Gavin against the other team. The poor kid didn't stand a chance, but he played his little heart out none the less. After the game he told me he was sad because the other team kept beating him. My sweet, sweet boy! Greg and I are so incredibly proud of him, and we are all excited to see what the rest of the season brings!

Christmas with the Schnacks

I can't believe Christmas is over! The kids were so fun this year. Especially Gavin. The magic of Christmas is so awesome through a 4-year-old's eyes. He was so concerned that Santa was not going to be able to come to our house because we didn't have any snow for his sleigh to land in. Greg convinced him, however, that the elves put tires on the sleigh to land in places that don't have snow. Once that was straight, I've never seen a child want to go to bed so fast in my life! We were out looking at Christmas lights after Christmas Eve mass, and he kept saying he wanted to go home and get "all nestled in my bed so Santa can come." (We've read The Night Before Christmas several times this season)! We got home, and he didn't even want a bed time story. No time for that. Must go to bed. So cute!

Greg took a couple of days off before Christmas, so we were able to enjoy some fun family time. We went to Natchez, MS to look at some of the old Antebellum homes, do some shopping, and look at lights. We also took the kids to Canton, MS where they have a Victorian Christmas celebration every year. Lots of lights and fun activities for the kids. We had a great time. I am so blessed to have such a great family!

Some of the beautiful homes in Natchez:

I didn't get a very good picture of this one. Too bad, because it was beautiful! And it cost $5 just to drive by and see it!

Being silly at dinner in Natchez! We ate at a place called Biscuits and Blues. Best. Biscuits. Ever.

Christmas in Canton:

Our attempt at a self-portrait after Christmas Eve mass!

Take, I don't know...12? Thanks for ruining this one Greg!

Santa came!!

Our traditional Christmas morning monkey bread!



Look what Santa brought!!!



Lots of Mickey and Minnie for Miss Lexi!

Santa brought Lexi some My Little Pony. Mommy had these when she was little!

Taking pictures with his new camera!

What a mess!!!

Putting together his Lego semi-truck with Daddy.

Our Christmas reindeer!

Our matching Santa PJ's!

 

Our friends the Crain's came over Christmas afternoon. Presley and Gavin enjoyed playing the Mario Kart Wii game that Santa brought!



Merry Christmas!

Sorry it's been so long since my last post! We have been crazy busy around here. We are sad that we won't be able to make it home for Christmas this year, but I have to admit it's kind of nice too. We have been enjoying decorating the house and establishing some of our very own traditions.  One of them being The Elf on the Shelf. For those of you that don't know about the Elf, he is sent from Santa to watch the kids, then he flies back to the North Pole each night to report to Santa if the kids have been naughty or nice that day. He is found in a new spot each morning when he returns.  The kids get to name their Elf, and they can talk to him, but Santa instructed the Elf that he can only listen, not talk back. Also, we cannot touch the Elf, because his magic powers might go away. Our Elf made his first appearance right after Thanksgiving, and Gavin was completely enchanted by the idea right from the start. He named our Elf "Package." (We're still not over the whole UPS man thing). Gavin wakes up each morning searching for Package, and tells him "Good morning" when he finds him. If he starts to act up, all I have to do is mention that Package is watching and he straightens right up. I love Package! Lexi is too young to get the concept, of course, but don't worry; Gavin is quick to tell Package when she is being naughty!

We had our holiday pictures taken at Portrait Innovations again this year. I think they turned out pretty well considering everybody was sick! I almost canceled our appointment due to snot, but thought we'd see how it went. Here are the results!

Here are some I doctored to Photoshop:

And here are some everyday poses we also had done:

A Very Merry Christmas and Love to all!!