Busy few weeks...

Lots has been happening over the past few weeks. Above, Jackson at his awards ceremony at Midvale Elementary. Our little guy made the honor roll, excellence in art, and perfect attendance. He looked quite dapper in his shirt and tie!

Steve's new tri bike!

Here are the kids on Jackson's last day of 1st grade...

Jackson, in front of his school on the last day. He was thrilled because there were no book bags allowed on the last day...

Abster playing with a ball after Catie took over her car.

We headed to Tallahassee, FL over Memorial Day weekend to visit our friends Wendy and Josh. Despite a forecast of rain and storms, the weather turned out to be great! We checked out two different pools which the kids all enjoyed. After much deliberation, Jackson finally tried the slide, and as usual, couldn't get enough of it.

Catie had a blast playing with Naomi or "Sister" as she frequently called her. They were big into the face painting. It took a few hours to get her "lion face" above all washed off.



Jackson started his swim season. We had our first meet last night... I guess this is payback for all the years Grandma and Grandpa Stien spent with us at the pool as kids. The meet went until after 10pm. Jackson swam 3 events, the medley relay, 25 yd free, and 25 yd breaststroke. Above, Jackson and his friend Matt. Two peas in a pod... notice they are both missing the same front tooth!


Here he is, waiting for the breaststroke leg of the medley relay. He actually made the whole 25 yds without getting his hair wet!

And now, the 25 yd freestyle. He was thrilled to win his heat!!

Catie's Ballet Recital

Catie had her first ballet recital last week. It was absolutely priceless!! We were shocked that she wore her costume, which she continued to complain was "itchy," but she soon forgot about it and seemed to enjoy the performance.

Swimless in St. Pete

We took a quick trip to St. Petersburg, FL over the last weekend in April for St. Anthony's Triathlon. This is one of the largest triathlons in the country and is the premier Olympic distance event in the SE, with around 4,500 participants. Grandpa Jim and Grandma Sandye came over from New Smyrna to spend the weekend with us. Actually, we put them to work for two days watching the kids and could not have done this event without them!!

One of the main reasons we chose this event was the ocean swim, something that neither one of us had tried before. Saturday, morning, Ann, Steve and Donovan excitedly made our way to the beach for a practice swim in the ocean. When we got there, it was windy with 3 foot breakers... this was not what we had envisioned! Ann and Donovan took off like two seals on holiday through the waves while Steve was fighting off nerves. After a good quarter mile test swim, even Steve felt ready for the swim on Sunday.

Race morning, Sandye and Jim arrived at our room at 5:30am to watch the still sleeping children while we made our way to the race. We had about a mile walk and half way there, we were informed that the swim was canceled due to high winds and large breakers creating dangerous conditions. "This was a historic decision," said the race director. "This is the first time in 26 years that we have had to do this." JUST OUR LUCK!!!

With the exception of the Pros who still swam, the event was turned into a Duathlon, and everyone tried to make the best of it. All of the participants started off in a line just outside the transition area, sent off 2 seconds apart. We ran into the transition area to our bikes, and started on the 40k bike, followed by a 10k run. We both had decent races, but were disappointed about the canceled swim leg of the race (Ann more so than Steve).

If you watch the attached video of the Pros racing, Ann and Steve are in the front row of the crowd at the 1:20 minute mark. We finally made it on YouTube! I guess that the trip was worthwhile after all!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjRUxiT05VA

Ann on the bike...

Steve finishing strong on the run.

We also managed to fit in a trip to Busch Gardens Saturday afternoon. The kids had a blast walking around the park, looking at the animals and taking in a safari through the "Busch." Below are several pictures of our day there...

Easter and Principal Jackson

We know it has been forever since we've posted pictures! It seems like Easter was ages ago... We had some neighbors over for the 2nd annual Schwartz/Escoffery Easter Egg Hunt. Unfortunately, it was wet and rainy outside, so the egg hunt moved indoors, down in the basement. Here are the kids, anxiously waiting for Mr. Steve and Mr. Rich to finish hiding the eggs.

Off they go!!

Even the Abster got into the hunt and found an egg.

Jackson was very disappointed that we did not have carrots for the Easter Bunny. So, he left an apology note for the Bunny and some Oreos. Here, he is reading the Easter Bunny's reply.

Imagine that... Jackson getting Legos for Easter.

Catie was thrilled with her Lion King stuffed animals, Simba and Nala.

Here's Abby with her new baby...

We mentioned a few posts ago, that Jackson won "Principal for the Day" in the silent auction. He took his role very seriously and dressed the part.

Here he is in his office, getting ready for the busy day. He had a blast! First, he went to several classrooms and helped Ms. Wilson with teacher evaluations. He made sure that "all of the teachers were doing what they were supposed to do" and took notes on the "good things that they did." He then called a fire drill and helped make sure that everyone knew what to do in the case of a real fire. Next, he walked on the school nature trail to make sure it was safe for the kids. Finally, he also enjoyed a special lunch with Principal Wilson in the teacher's lounge.

Grandpa is showing us how to be more frugal, by buzzing Jackson's hair in the front doorway. "Welcome to the Schwartzs everybody, just step over the hair"...nice!

Abster is walking all over the place! However, she is using the Jeff Galloway method for running a marathon. Run several miles then walk a mile, only she is walking ten feet and crawling two feet until she gets to her desination.


Abby got a new buggy, but Jackson and Catie quickly took control of it and pushed each other down the drive..."real fast!" It always amazes us how no one wants to play with their own toys.


We attended the Silent Auction and Family Fun Night at Jackson's school. First, we enjoyed dinner brought in from Bambinelli's. Then, we showed off our dancing skills with some "freestyle" moves Jackson taught us. We had a successful night of bidding on various items at the Silent Auction. The highlight was our winning bid on Principal for a 1/2 day, the best $51 we ever spent! Steve was disappointed when he found out that it is Jackson that gets to be Principal and not himself. Jackson has lots of plans for the school, including no homework, and only "Specials" classes (art and PE).

Jackson out on the dance floor...

Jackson and his friend Josh reading Kung Fu Panda... a door prize from the event. Catie even won a Cinderella book.



Jackson's first grade science project was to choose an animal which they would like to learn about, and make a model of the animal. The choice of animal was a no-brainer for Jackson! Above, a possum made out of a milk carton. Thanks Grandma Moe... She kind of forgot the the students are supposed to do most the work...

Spring is here!

Catie will not wear a swim cap in the pool but likes wear it around the house... go figure.

The kids enjoyed a superhero party at Isaac's house few weeks ago!

Jackson had his friend Ian over to play... It was a gorgeous weekend, 70 degrees and sunny both days, so we were able to spend some time outside. Ian and Jackson are two peas in a pod. Both love possums, and as you can see above, both love to be silly!




Abby is into the Big Wheel just like her brother and sister, only she likes to go backwards...




Unfortunately, Jackson shows not desire to play a "regular" sport like baseball. No worries, because Catie and Abby are picking up the slack.

The Great Blizzard of '09!!

The kids sneaked EVERY pillow in the house into our bedroom (on Steve's watch), and had a blast jumping on them and building forts.

Jumpin' on the bed (again, under Steve's watch)...

Here is our "blizzard"! We have gotten about 4 inches so far, and it is still going strong... The kids could not wait to get outside to play in the snow, but had to wait for Abigail to finish her nap.


"Sam" the Snowman looks kind of feeble but it's understandable for our first snowman ... We had a great time working on our snowman and having an intense snow.