Schuette Family News

One more

2008-06-01T08:08:00.000-07:00

I wanted to post this pic from the last day of school. They performed My Future's so Bright I Gotta Wear Shades. Austin really got into it, as you can see :) This will be my last post until we're in Idaho. Hopefully, the computer withdrawals aren't too bad--LOL!

Thanks!

2008-06-01T07:51:00.000-07:00

I want to thank everyone who came to Brendan's birthday party. It was wonderful to see everyone, although I don't feel like we really got to visit with anyone long enough :( It was a bittersweet day for me knowing that this would be the last "big" family party we'd throw here. I am so glad that so many of you were able to spend the day with us. I hope you know how much we will miss everyone here!

Here's a few of my favorite pics from yesterday (I only took 109).

Birthday Boy

Matthew and Uncle Chuck's musical theater :)

Pinata Time

THis one of Matthew is one of my favorite pictures of the day--love that look on his face!

Cake

Serving up the fun--Thanks Tommy (that would be Big Tommy) and Aunt Bonnie for doing cake and ice cream duty--what a team

And finally--Brendan's favorite gift (for last night anyway, today I'm sure he'll move on to something else)

7 days and counting

2008-05-29T07:56:00.000-07:00

*I copied this off my other blog, so if you read both, sorry for the duplicate*

I still don't think we'll get it all done, but I wanted to pop in with an update. I think things are getting to me. I have to tell this story. Last night I was making dinner and I asked Austin whether we should have corn or mixed veggies. He looked at me with a look that can only be described as pure teenager (even though he's six) and said, "Why don't we have the corn in the fridge that you bought last week" I said, "Thanks Austin, I forgot we had that corn on the cob--great idea." He then said, "Mommy, I don't think your brain is very big when it comes to remembering things." I about lost it. That's the funniest thing I've heard in a while. And yes, with this move, I'm sure I'm losing some brain power--LOL.

It's been a busy week. Starting last Saturday, we had a bust of a yard sale, but did get rid of a lot of stuff (mostly free--lol). While we were doing the sale, we had a load of rock delivered for the front yard. Here's the boys helping Daddy move the rock :)

Tuesday night we went to the Mavericks game (local minor league team). Austin was given an "Outstanding Student" award at the game. He was so cute. He got to go down on the field and say "I am Austin from Mesquite Trails". I was so proud of him.

It was so cold, we ended up leaving in the 4th inning, which Austin was NOT happy about. He kept trying to get us to buy him a snow cone, crazy kid. I might have if it wasn't so darn cold and he hadn't already had a drink, hot dog and popcorn.

Yesterday my BABY turned three! I can't believe he's getting so big. We spent all day running around ordering and buying stuff for Saturday's party. He had a hard time wrapping his mind around that. He kept telling me, "But today is my birthday". So he ended up with a balloon and cupcakes. As you can see, he thoroughly enjoyed the cupcake.

For those of you local, we will see you on Saturday. For the rest of you, hope to see you soon. At least in July if not before then on the Mosteller side :)

Packin Up is hard to do!

2008-05-23T07:27:00.000-07:00

I swear I keep packing and there are boxes everywhere, but it doesn't seem like I'm getting anywhere. Starting today, Mike is off until we move, so that will help. There's just so much to do, it's overwhelming. I just keep trying to take it a box at a time. Tomorrow we're having a garage sale, probably in the rain, so we'll be busy getting things ready for that. Fingers crossed that we sell most of the stuff we want to get rid of.

Anyway, I wanted to share a few pics of the boys I took on Tuesday. Isn't Austin looking so darn grown up?! And yes, they were so thrilled Mommy got out the camera just when we were heading out to go have fun.

Field Trips

2008-05-15T07:39:00.000-07:00

I went on Austin's field trip to Wrightwood on Tuesday and then took Brendan on a field trip to the fire station Wednesday. I'm too lazy to re-post our adventures, but you can check it out on my other blog by clicking here. Been busy trying to get packed and get things done around the house. It is so stressful to move on such short notice--yikes!

Happy Mother's Day!

2008-05-11T07:52:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone has a wonderful day!

Life with boys...

2008-05-04T11:52:00.000-07:00

is never boring. Friday I held my open house for CTMH and the boys decided that since Mommy was busy, they could get away with anything they want. Most was typical: being loud, pulling out their toys, etc. However, the kicker happened just as my open house was winding down (or maybe people just had to get out of there when they realized what was going on). All of a sudden, I hear my friend Brandy exclaim, "Boys! I know you aren't supposed to be doing that!" I rush in to find every inch of my kitchen dripping. They had been taking FULL cups of water and throwing them in the air. Even the ceiling was dripping. As any great mom would do I sent them to their rooms (remember I have about 5 guests here at the time) and speed dial Mike crying, "please tell me you are almost home!" Luckily, he was and he brought in the shop vac to clean up. Ugh! Life with boys is never boring. And no, I didn't take any pictures, but here's a few fun ones!

Cowboy Brendan. My open house was a western theme, so I'd brought the hat and boots out for decoration. Brendan instantly latched onto the boots. Believe it or not, they were actually MINE when I was little. My mom had given them to me a while back, but Austin had no interest. Now Brendan can't decide if he wants a cowboy birthday or a Cars birthday. Guess we'd better decide ASAP. By the way, his party will be on Saturday, May 31st--the weekend after Memorial Day.

Yesterday Mike spent the day cleaning out the garage. The boys were helping him. Austin had gotten Brendan all wet, so he came in changed. This is what he thought was an appropriate outfit. No, he wasn't actually riding a bike or skateboard, the helmet was just for looks.

Then apparently, that wasn't good enough so we had to add the goggles too.

And here's Austin because I don't want him left out :)

I'm prepared

2008-04-30T15:46:00.000-07:00

for the Mosteller Reunion this summer. I got this paper and album and figured it would be perfect for the pictures we're sure to take. All I've got to do is add the pictures.

and a few inside pages. There are 24 total.

Grandpa's Birthday

2008-04-30T15:32:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a while since I've updated on here. I didn't take a whole lot of pictures at Grandpa's birthday party, but here's a few. Yes, I know it was a month ago--I'm a little slow :)

This castle was drawn by Austin. I had no idea he could draw like this. I asked him who helped him draw it. He looked at me and said, "Mommy, I did by myself!" Hmmm...probably better than I could draw--LOL!

Knott's Layout

2008-04-13T09:08:00.000-07:00

I shared this on my other blog, but I thought I'd put it here too. I finally scrapped these pictures, which I adore. Austin got excited when he saw the pictures again. Even though he was a little tentative, I think seeing the roundhouse was exciting for him and I know Eric loved it. Looking back at these pictures makes me really anxious for July! I can't wait until the Mosteller clan gets together again :)

Who do they look like?

2008-03-28T16:27:00.000-07:00

THought this was fun. Guess the kiddos are a good combination of both of us :)

Brendan

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Genealogical research - Blank family tree

Austin

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Free family tree - Family tree chart

A recent photo shoot

2008-03-12T14:31:00.001-07:00

I tried to "create" my own studio, but didn't have enough light. The boys had fun though--here's a few of the better shots :)

You can also check here for Medeival Times pictures from a couple weeks ago. Austin wanted to go there for his birthday, so we went. It happened to be the same weekend Sondra got us all tickets to Billy Joel, so it was a crazy weekend!

Austin's 6th Birthday

2008-02-12T08:30:00.000-08:00

Here's some pictures from the party. If anyone else has some, I'd love to see them :)

The Cake

The Birthday Boy! I can't believe he's already six!

What a creative bunch :)

Wii Fun:

Misc. Pics

All tired out!

Another tooth missing

2008-01-15T20:58:00.001-08:00

Austin's lost one of his top teeth and we are loving it. He looks and sounds so darn cute. I just can't believe how fast he's growing up!

Matthew's Second Birthday

2008-01-15T20:52:00.000-08:00

On Sunday we went down to Uncle Chuck and Aunt Lisa's to celebrate Matthew's birthday. He's getting so big! The boys had tons of fun playing with Matthew. It was fun seeing everyone too :)

Grandma Layout

2008-01-01T18:22:00.000-08:00

I am loving this page. I've had this picture on my desk for a while and when I saw these papers and flowers, I had to make a page. I just love this picture of Grandma! I'm thinking of starting a family history album. I want to start with the grandparents and keep going back. Eventually, I want to add a second page with info and fun stories, but I don't know if I'm quite ready for that. Anyway, enjoy!

Merry Christmas

2007-12-27T21:50:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. My house looks like a tornado came through a toy store, but hey the kids have been having a blast. They were very happy with what Santa brought. Here was the seen after the gifts were opened.

We've been completely lazy this week. We did venture out for dinner last night--we went to Outback to celebrate our anniversary--thanks Dad! It's hard to believe we've been married 9 years now--where does the time go?!

Here are some random Christmas pictures. Sadly, I didn't take any Christmas Eve, which makes me really sad since that's when we spent time with family. The first couple are from when we went down to Naples to look at the lights--one of our favorite holiday activities.

Here is Santa--you can see Brendan was only slightly happier than last year--LOL!

These are Christmas Day. The boys got new bathrobes, with their names on them. Yes the Disney store got a big chunk of our Christmas budget with all their good deals on personalized items.

And for all the calls, cards and gifts--THANK YOU!! We are so lucky to be blessed with such a wonderful family!!

Halloween Fun

2007-11-02T10:25:00.000-07:00

Here's the boys in all their trick or treating glory. Don't you love the dirty face?! You'd think their monther would wash them up before sending them out--geesh! No theme this year. They were both going to be Spiderman, but when I went to get the costumes, Brendan fell in love with the James the Train costume. He's such a cute little engineer.

All done--time to enjoy the candy...

Look at that look of concentration...

Pumpkin Carving

2007-11-02T10:19:00.001-07:00

Pumpkin Carving--Mike got to do the honors.

Austin designed his pumpkin

The Tigger came from a pattern
Here they are all lit up (sorry they're a little blurry)

Pumpkin Patch

2007-11-02T10:13:00.000-07:00

THe boys had a blast picking out pumpkins at the pumpkin patch. Even though it was smokey outside, that didn't stop them from running around like crazy. We opted not to do the corn maze because it was nearing dark, and Mike and I didn't have much luck the last time we did a maze--LOL

Shoreline Village

2007-10-10T08:23:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday, we took the boys there to ride the Carousel. Of course, silly us, we only had enough cash for the ride and parking. I was not about to pay $6 to get cash out of the ATM. The carousel was fun, but boy is it a short ride! That's probably for the best though. Brendan wasn't too sure about it.

Since we were already feeling bad about not having money for games and treats, we caved when the boy wanted to walk to the lighthouse. We walked ALL THE WAY AROUND the marina to the other side to the lighthouse. It was a beautiful day, but very warm. The boys did pretty good since it was so hot and a long walk. Austin whined a little on the way back, but I told him no way, it was his idea to go. As you can tell, Mike was a little cranky about it though ;-)

What a crack up

2007-09-17T11:18:00.000-07:00

Brendan must have a lot of Grandpa Mosteller in him. His new passion is cars--no not toy ones (although he love those too). He is obssessed with knowing every type of car we see. It all started with our car--"H-car, Honda". Now he knows "Ford Car", "VW car", truck, and of course, Chevy, pronounced "Shovel car". If we pass one he doesn't know, he says "What that car, Mommy". When I tell him, he says, "ok-yeah". It just makes me laugh!

Life's Journey

2007-09-12T08:18:00.000-07:00

Saw this quote today and had to share. I thought it was beautiful

"Life's journey is circular, it appears. The years don't carry us away from our family...they return us to them." Michael Marriott

Bakeless Cookies

2007-09-10T08:45:00.000-07:00

1 Cube Butter
2C Sugar
1/2 cup milk
Bring to a boil

Add
1 tsp vanilla
3tbsp cocoa ( my mom only uses 1 1/2)
3/4 cup peanut butter
3 cup oats

Spread in pan and refridgerate

Enjoy!

Feeling so blessed...

2007-09-10T08:09:00.000-07:00

After the crazy week we just had. Being around the whole family, even in a time of sadness, makes me realize how lucky we are to have such a wonderful, support system. The kids had such a wonderful time playing together and I loved seeing everyone. I hope we can do this again soon for a happier occasion! Hopefully you all got the pictures I sent through Costco. If you didn't, let me know and I'll re-send them. I'm anxious to see the ones that everyone else took!

I hope everyone made it home ok and without too much drama. I was actually sick yesterday, so Mike, wonderful hubby that he is, did all the laundry (I think we had 6 or 7 loads) and took care of the kids. I'm feeling much better today and ready to get Austin off to school and get some things done around the house.

A friend of mine sent me the most beautiful song yesterday and it brought me to tears after the week we've had because it just rings so true. Time just moves so fast. I hadn't heard it on the radio yet. It's called Don't Blink by Kenny Chesney. Even if you don't like country music, you have to hear the song and watch the video. It's just so true. Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4ySSg4QG8g Warning--grab the kleenex!

Here's a few of my favorite pics from this week (ok more than a few--LOL). I love that in the pictures there is so much love and laughter--that's what I want to remember:

Austin's First Day of School

2007-08-15T15:22:00.001-07:00

Austin started school on Monday and what a bittersweet day for mom. He's been in preschool, but it's just not the same. He was so excited and is loving school. I on the other hand, just can't believe he's this old. Brendan took it worst of all. Poor kid asked to go get Austin every 20 minutes that first day. The second day was actually much harder for me. He wanted to take the bus. Let me tell you putting him on that bus and watching him go away was tough. It was much easier for me to walk him into his classroom the first day. Anyway, he's loving school and his teacher is awesome. She does a lot of neat things with the kids and Austin adores her.
Here's a few pics from the first day:

We're back

2007-08-06T08:02:00.000-07:00

We made it back from Idaho. What a fun trip. We got to hang out and relax. We went to the zoo and of course, camping. Brendan was quite taken with it. He tells everyone "camping dar, sleep outside--FUN". They loved sleeping outside and swimming in the lake. Unfortunately with the bad Idaho fires, we weren't allowed to have a campfire, which was kind of sad. Right in our campsite we saw two foxes and tons of squirrels and chipmunks. There was rumored to be a bear in the area too. Oh and when we were driving, we saw a deer. Here are a few of my favorite shots:

This crazy summer...

2007-07-19T16:53:00.000-07:00

These last couple weeks have been crazy! After we got back from Las Vegas, Austin started swim lessons. Sadly, Brendan was on the wait list and didn't get in, so he and I just have to sit for a half an hour every day staring longingly at the pool. He's been pretty good about it, but it's still sad. By the time we finish lessons, play at the park and run errands it's lunch and nap time. I am just exhausted.

Saturday we are leaving to go up to Idaho, so things are pretty crazy trying to get things cleaned and packed. We decided to go camping for part of the time we're up there, so we need to pack our regular stuff, camping stuff, toys and of course scrapping stuff. Good thing we bought the van! I just hope the boys will be good on the drive. We're going to try and do all 14 hours in one day. Pray that we get there safely and still sane :)

I can't wait to get up there. My mom and I have big plans for scrapping and manicures (shhh don't tell Mike!). They just opened an Archivers up there in Boise, so that's definitely on my list. As for Mike and I, we have plans for a few date nights while Grandma has the kiddos. Seeing Harry Potter is definitely on that list. Oh and of course reading it. My copy is being sent to my mom's house, but I'm seriously thinking of going to get a second copy at midnight tomorrow night so I can have it for the drive--LOL!

July 4th Fun

2007-07-09T16:36:00.000-07:00

Well our Independence Day fun started last Saturday when we went out to visit friends and watch the fireworks out at Silver Lakes. The setting was beautiful

we were having fun

but it wasn't to be. After only a few fireworks, the celebration was cancelled :( So the 4th of July found us in Las Vegas, making our own fireworks show in front of Aunty Sossy's house! The kids were a little hesitent, but Brendan hasn't stop talking about it since. "Fireworks, dark, Aunty Sossy's, PABOOM, Fun" He keeps saying this over and over. Too cute!

Hope everyone had a fantastic 4th!

Beach fun

2007-06-21T09:17:00.000-07:00

We took the boys to the beach last weekend and had loads of fun. It was a perfect day. Not too warm with a nice breeze. The boys loved racing in the waves. Brendan had no fear--he just ran straight into the water. Both boys were shivering by the end, but they didn't want to leave. Luckily we could bribe them with a Cold Stone trip on the way to the car. Wait--I don't know how lucky that it--$11 for two cups of ice cream?!?!

Official birthday pictures

2007-06-19T14:30:00.000-07:00

I took the boys over to Kiddie Kandids (the most dangerous place in the world for me to go!) and got pictures done for B's birthday. Both boys did such a great job. Except Austin wouldn't stop kissing Brendan. The photographer was getting irritated, but t ended up being one of my favorite pics. Someday we'll look back when they are teenagers and fighting to this precious moment!

Brendan's 2nd Birthday

2007-06-19T14:22:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my baby is already two! Where does the time go? He's such a fun little boy and so mellow and happy go lucky. He just goes along with what everyone is doing.

We had a great time at Brendan's birthday party. It was so wonderful to have so many people together from all over. Brendan loved the presents (of course, he got lots of help opening them from his big brother!). He wasn't too sure about everyone singing "Happy Birthday" to him. He had this look of panic and confusion--LOL!

Hey everyone

2007-06-19T14:15:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd let you know that I started a bog for the family to keep you up to date on our comings and goings and share pictures and fun stories. I hope you enjoy it.

To start out here's a couple Smith Family photos from Brendan's party when we all got together: