Catie Goes to Work

Dad took Catie to "Bring Your Child to Work Day" at DCI Marketing. It was an early morning, but Catie was obviously up for the challenge and excited to catch her flight to MKE!

 It was a busy day for the kids as they quickly were acclimated to the high stress and fast paced environment of retail marketing!

The children were all given business cards based on their submitted future career choices. Anyone surprised by the choice?

Catie and Ava became fast friends and ran around like they owned the place.

She produced some nice artwork for Dad's office.

 Catie was thrilled with the German pancake for dinner at Pandl's in Whitefish Bay. The restaurant looks exactly like it did when dad was her age!

Catie and Grandma Schwartz had a blast hanging out. When you are spoiled and treated like a princess, who wouldn't???

Even though it was a whirlwind two day trip, Catie loved the alone time with dad & grandma and the special attention without her siblings (she did miss Mom though!). As you can see from the picture, she gave all she had and ran out of gas on the way to the airport. All in all a great trip with lifelong memories for father and daughter.

Easter Fun!

Easter is one of the kids favorite holidays not only because it represents Jesus paying the penalty for their sins but all the candy is not so bad either! 

The kids all take coloring their eggs very seriously! Notice the intensity that Abby displays in an effort to get maximum color onto each one of her eggs. She actually had a method to her dunking!

The finished product.

Easter morning, all ready to find their baskets and eggs. They were very patient having to wait until 7 am until they were allowed to go downstairs. Suddenly, Abby figured out how to tell time....

Of course it is always a competition who can find the most eggs. Abby actually held her own with her big siblings. We are very thankful that the Easter Bunny moved to plastic eggs for the hunt... no mess!

Not sure which is nicer, Catie's basket or her lid!

"Found my basket in the closet. I hope it doesn't smell like shoes!"

Reach.....

The Mr. Rich-Mr. Steve annual outdoor Easter egg hunt was a big success as usual. It's over in minutes, and the best part is the kids occupying themselves by hiding the eggs again and again...

Cam supplied the eggs this year and stuffed them all with candy! There were even a few special diamond jewel eggs for the lucky few who found them. I think we have some work to do in 2013 to pull our fair share of the work.

Abby looking like she stole something.

The guys eating all their delicious loot.

Spring Break

 We had a low key Spring Break this year and just kind of "chilled out" as the kids call it. Translated, this means let's sit around and play video games all day.

Our future Veterinarian dressed the part for the day.

Ann volunteered for career day at Midvale Elementary School the week before Spring Break so she could talk to the 4th & 5th graders about the wonders of human brain and recruit future kids for a career in psychiatry.

 Nothing but the best for the Schwartz children! Abby will probably go back to preschool and tell all her friends she got to play in a box for Spring Break....

The Lego king all ready to go!

Legoland opened at Phipps Plaza taking over the entire third floor of the mall. Of course we bought season passes before we ever made our first visit.

Posing before entering...

How many Lego pieces does it take to make an Abigail????

Legoland has two fun rides and the Abster loved the flying Lego cars.

Jackson spent most of his time building different cars to race against his fellow Legoers. The one pictured was his "indestructible" version.

Abby was a Karaoke star! She danced and sang like an old pro. Catie pretended to sing too...

"Abby, hang on for your life!"

 We took the kids to Stone Summit, the largest climbing wall in the USA!  The trip started off as a bust, but after a few nervous minutes a wave of bravery came over all three of them and they suddenly decided they wanted to climb!

"I am not so sure about this.."

 

 While Jackson climbed the highest, Catie climbed and climbed and climbed....

Hello down there!

After a long day of rock climbing, Catie needed to take a break before one final attempt at the wall.

In Memory of my Cousin

 

Cory was a fun, creative, and good person and like most of the Schwartzes, was also quite a character. He was taken from us far too early by a serious bout of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) . He will be missed but never forgotten.

CORY SCHWARTZ Cory Benjamin Schwartz, 31, a television associate producer, of Las Vegas, passed away March 22, 2012. He was born March 18, 1981, in Scottsdale, Ariz., and was a 28-year resident of Nevada. Cory graduated from Durango High School and went on to receive a bachelor's degree in journalism and media studies from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He worked in the television industry in Hollywood, Calif. He held various positions including associate producer for two episodes of the ESPN Films, "30 for 30," produced by Asylum Entertainment. He also held positions with Nash Entertainment for various truTV shows including segment producer and research/production coordinator. In addition, he worked on numerous freelance projects in his field. He was preceded in death by his fraternal grandparents; and his maternal grandfather. He is survived by his parents, John and Rebecca Schwartz; his brother, Adam Schwartz; his maternal grandmother, Norma Sandsnes; aunts; uncles; and cousins. Cory also leaves behind many good friends. 

 Happier times we will always remember.

Busy Times!!!

Jackson proudly displaying one of his many school projects... a dodecahedron!

We have gone from busy, to over committed, to off the deep end with all the activities going on in our household. We realized that on top of work, school and homework the kids have  anywhere from 7 to 12 activities a week! Somehow we manage to get through each week in one piece! It's a good thing Steve does so much of the work around the house!

Abby loves her preschool class and is extremely popular with the little dudes... Several times, she has been the only girl invited to a boys only birthday party! She takes after her mother I guess.

Catie showing off her garden party hat that she made as part of the party. Catie is quite the teachers pet because she figured out that it makes class easier.

After almost three months of band, Jackson had yet to open his trombone and practice at home. That one kind of slipped by mom and dad until the teacher called and said Jackson was failing and currently held chair 7 out of 7!  Oops!! Having no music ability between us, we brought in a secret weapon..."Luther," the trombone teacher. After the first lesson, he tells us that Jax is a natural and will be first chair soon. We thought "yeah right," not from the sound of the strangled duck we heard coming from the basement!  After only three lessons, Jackson's teacher actually told him he was heading for FIRST chair! We shall see, but talk about overcoming bad genes...

Catie and her new guitar prior to her first lesson.

Not to be out done and right after we determined that we were drastically over committed, Catie decided she want to take guitar lessons. Since we can't say no, Catie now has a new guitar and a lesson every Sunday night right after Jackson's Trombone lessons..... We will let you know how it goes.

Catie loves that fact that she has more trophies than Jackson. In fact, it is probably the main reason she chose to play basketball. What a proud moment.

The other reason she played basketball was to hang out with her old friend Isabella. You can see how fond of her she is by the expression on her face.

The Bears

0-8

Their record was fitting for the team name, but they all had a blast and played hard every game. Jackson has some skills, but like his father before him, he needs to gain some weight before he can make more of an impact on the court.

 

The end of season trophy presentation. The coach commented that Jax was always right there asking questions. Surprise surprise.

 

Even with all the activities and homework, we still manage to find  time for a friendly game of "Headbanz"!

Abby showing off her new dress on a beautiful summer-like day. Depending on the day, she is either a girly girl or a total tomboy.

Catie celebrating her buddy Issac's birthday with a delicious cupcake. These two are going to be big trouble in a few years.

Abby making her usual grand entrance into preschool! Some days she walks in without looking back and others she hangs on for dear life.

 

Grandma helping Jackson with his homework. She does a great job with him.  In fact, sometimes so good of a job that the teachers question the work! The nerve...

More fun and games in the basement...

Abby chillin' with her buddies. The girl is a total ham!