Top Ten Things to Remember from our 10th Wedding Anniversary Trip

While vacationing with Grandma Claussen in the '90s she always insisted on journaling during the trip "so we wouldn't forget". She was so smart as looking back at those journal entries brings back a lot of laughs and treasured memories. Here are the top ten things to remember about our 10th anniversary trip to Jamaica.

10. "Oh my gosh, a security dog was in our room?!" (I misread a note from housekeeping. They wrote: security lok (locked) the safe, but somehow the word "lok" looked like dog.)

9. Beautiful, sunny days everyday and eating breakfast on our balcony many mornings.

8. "Look at that cruise ship out there in the distance," Eric said while walking around the beach the last night of our stay.

"I don't think that's a cruise ship. It looks too small. It's just a boat with lights," I said. 

As it turns out Eric found an online site to track cruise ships in the ocean in real time. Not only was "the boat with lights" a cruise ship, it was the biggest cruise ship in the world!

7. Swinging on the water swings as long as your feet stayed up and your hands didn't get too blistered.

6. The glass bottom boat ride which left me dry heaving in some bushes. (I think I do want to forget that one.)

5. The White Party and dancing until we were sweaty, just like our first date.

4. Chillaxing in the water hammock.

3. Reserving chairs in the morning with Eric's broken sandals and spending the days reading on the beach.

2. Getting updates from Grandma and Grandpa Schulz & Aunt Liz of all the fun things the kids were doing in Glen Ellyn and Chicago.

1. Feeling renewed and refreshed with the guy that I love so so much. The past 10 years have gone by so quickly. In 10 more years Laura will behind the wheel of a car and Sam will have a driver's permit with a changing voice and quite possibly the beginning signs of a mustache. I think we need to hit the slow motion button on this adventure called life. 

Christmas

At the dentist, the hygentist told me she wished her kids were 6 & 4 again at Christmastime. With the cute things the kids said and done at Christmas, I know why...

While looking at Christmas lights on Christmas Eve Laura said, "I kind of have happy tears in my eyes right now.."

On a walk around the neighborhood on Christmas Eve night to look for Santa's reindeer or sleigh tracks, Sam told a neighbor he's asking for a special car for Christmas with a phone...that was news to me!

Sam is an optimist. 

What do you think, Sam?  "Good." 

How do you feel, Sam? "Good." 

How'd you sleep, Sam? "Good."

What can I say, life is good.

Laura woke up at 3am at Grandma's house on Christmas night. I laid with her for a while and she told me that grandma's cat likes her, but by the end of the week he's going to love her. He just needs to get used to her.

I checked out the Berenstain Bears and the Week at Grandma's to get the kids in Grandma Camp mode. Sam would always "read" along at parts in the book that discussed the grandparents being so...old.

Laura got a swimmable mermaid tail from Santa for Christmas. She can't walk in it, but enjoys just laying around the house fanning her tail back and forth. I keep thinking of the movie, Splash.

 

New traditions

I love love, always have and always will. I spotted fresh mistletoe while shopping at Trader Joe's and decided to buy it and hang it up for the holiday. The kids think it's silly and will say, "Uh oh, we're under the mistletoe!" while puckering their lips. I love it!

I've also started a new Thanksgiving tradition this year. I bought a white table cloth and fabric markers. During our family's Thanksgiving meal yesterday I placed the new tablecloth on the table and asked everyone to write down what they're thankful for (Sam had help and said he's thankful for books btw). The plan is to add something new each year and see how their handwriting and gratitude changes over time. ❤️

You'll see the Schulz Living History Farms/Thanksgiving pictures below. 

Thankful

It's that time of year again to celebrate Thanksgiving. We hosted the Schulz family for the annual Living History Farms/Thanksgiving event. We had a great time with the Schulzes and I am truly  thankful for all of them. I did have an epiphany over the course of the weekend and I think it's due to the fact that you don't really realize how much someone else does for you until you try to do it yourself. Hosting guests is a ton of work. The house cleaning, laundry, meal planning, shopping, realizing you didn't get something and going back to the store, dishes, washing bedding, working full time, finding fridge space, encouraging Sam to not pee on the toilet seat, etc. etc. etc.

My epiphany was this: G.G. is a saint! I host Thanksgiving once a year with Chef Eric doing the majority of the cooking and I still feel like I ran an ultra marathon when it's all over. G.G. is constantly hosting people, doing all of the cooking, cleaning, and entertaining, and she seems to love it.

I have a very long thankful list, but today G.G.'s name is written with a glitter pen.

Love notes

Laura has been leaving notes like these around the house lately. I can't imagine loving her more.

Party Time

Sam had his first "friends party" today. We celebrated with a Planes theme party and the biggest hit was the airplane simulation. Each kid got in the "airplane position" on my legs while we blasted a box fan. Then the party goer went through a "cloud" and was hit in the face with a plateful of whipped cream. The pie in the face trick never gets old. I wish I had pictures, but my hands were full of whipped topping. 

Sam and Laura both had breakfast in bed this morning and I have a hunch this is going to turn into a birthday tradition. Who knew waffles in bed could be so thrilling?!

These are the moments I know I'm going to miss when they're grown and away. 

Four

He's four! Sam had a great birthday yesterday that included Eric being his special guest at preschool, going out for lunch with Eric, make your own pizza night, cupcakes, and a birthday gift treasure hunt! 

I will update with more pictures after his Planes party this weekend. He also requested breakfast in bed. Where did my baby go?!

Creativity

I feel like I was born to think out of the box especially when it comes to planning parties. Sometimes my ideas are hits and sometimes my ideas are complete disasters...We're in birthday party planning mode again at our house as Sam is nearing his fourth birthday. We're planning a Planes Party and I thought I'd take some pictures of him in the "airplane" position on the trampoline to have the actual sky in the background for the party invitations. At the last second I thought I'd have him wear his goggles to look like one of the Wright brothers. Well, this is what I got...

God love him!

Six

September:

The crisp autumn air, the crunch of leaves under my feet and the gorgeous sunsets always brings me back to the magical time when we brought home our Baby Laura. 

She's six now and seems to mature more and more everyday. She asks me about my day, is beginning to read and write, loves girl talk, & wears a sleep mask to bed at night! I love her to pieces!

First day of school

Laura is officially a kindergartener! She's three days in and says she loves it. In the past three days she has said the following things which tells me she's listening:

"Raise a quiet hand"

"I can earn an opportunity for a prize"

"Put your bubble in"

Enjoy the first day of school photo shoot!

Sam's a Schulz photographer. There's no doubt about that!

Cousins

The Boyd girls came to spent a couple of days with us. While they visited, I only used paper plates and almost all the meals were eaten on the deck so I had minimal clean up. It was great having the girls over to mix it up a bit during the dog days of summer. Laura loves being in between Maisie and Molly's ages and always positions herself right in the middle of the two girls. She asked me if cousins can be BFFs. I told her cousins make the Best BFFs. ❤️