Somerset Trip

We made our annual trip to visit the Somersets in Tallahassee over Memorial Day and as usual, a great time was had by all. The kids want us to buy a house in their neighborhood so we can walk to their house.

 

One of our activities for the weekend was a trip to Wakulla Springs State Park. It is of one of the largest and deepest freshwater springs in the world!  It hosts tons of cool wildlife including alligators, turtles, deer, and birds.  We took a boat tour through the spring and  experienced all the nature we could handle.

 

The gators were out in full force during our cruise.

 This is what Abster had to say to the gators!

Jackson was into the reptiles and enjoyed spotting all the hidden animals.

 Swimming is a popular activity that we took part in. Well kind of... the water was cold and only Catie and Naomi actual swam. They did have a super high dive platform that required incredible courage and guts to jump off. Of course, only Steve and Ann displayed those qualities and made the jump...

The "cousins" are all ready for some blueberry picking. 

Against all our wishes, Wendy made a bold move and planned blueberry picking anyway. She made a great call, because we all had a great time and picked enough blueberries to stock every Publix in Tallahassee!

Abby all ready to find some berries. 

What is that in Ann's hand, what an iPhone? What a surprise....

Jackson had to make it a contest to see who could pick the most berries. Of course it was boys against girls!

 Naomi and Catie were bound and determined to win the contest!

Mom and Dad got into the action too.

Pick a berry, eat a berry.....

Jackson and Andrew were in a serious battle to pick the most berries!

Two of us are missing...

 After picking her weight in blueberries, Abster sat down like a mule and would not move. Dad had to crack the whip and carry her part way out.

After all that time picking and posturing over who could pick the most berries, we forgot all about the contest when we checked out! I think we were all too shocked at our combined loot!

Wendy and Josh signed us up for a cooking class that included a bunch of Wendy's "muscle head" friends form her gym. Despite being forced to hang out with a bunch of fitness models, they were actually all very nice and a lot of fun. 

Your eyes are not deceiving you. Yes, that is Ann in a kitchen cooking! She was a master with the knife and peeled the mango like an expert. All the meals that the group made were of the healthy variety, so obviously they were all new to us!

Summer Time Fun

The kids received a butterfly kit toward the end of the school year and had fun watching and learning about metamorphosis! We had fun watching 5 caterpillars mature and change into chrysalises until they finally emerged as butterflies!

Catie attempting to get one final photo on her iTouch before letting the last b-fly go into the wild.

What a looker!

We started the first week of Summer with a play date and brought out the old favorite jumpy house. As usual, it got used for 15 minutes and the kids moved onto something else. Sometimes the idea is more fun than the experience.

Safety first at the Schwartz house. Notice all the kids running with suckers in their mouths! Notice how Catie has the grace of a gazelle as she leaps over the sprinkler.

.....While Abby moves more like a bulldozer as she "jumps" over the sprinkler.

The close of the 2011-2012 school year

 Our annual first/last day of school comparison picture. Catie even randomly wore the same shirt.

 

 Catie was hamming it up before the awards ceremony with her buddy Ben.

First grade with Ms. Schiltz was a big success for Catie. She really enjoyed school and was always a willing student. We are proud of her for achieving the AAA honors award for straight A's and the Spanish award!

Admiring her achievements

 Not to be out done, Jackson received the Principal's honor roll award for all A's, band award and perfect attendance! He worked extremely hard on his studies this year and after a tough transition to a new school he kicked butt!

"I did it dad!"

 

 Jackson is not looking too happy to be wearing this donkey hat as part of a German class song performed at the Awards ceremony...

Since Abby has not hit grade school yet, she kind of gets the shaft this time of year, so Grandma surprised her with one of Mom's dresses from when she was a kid. Abby thought it was so cool to wear her mom's old dress!

Abby's Ballet Recital

Ms. Abigail making her grand entrance for the big Spring recital. We always love the 3 & 4 year old recitals as the girls are so cute and fun to watch perform after months of preparation.

Strike a pose!

Look at me everyone!

Abby and her friends were all proud to have their moment in the spotlight by making the traditional Oak Grove running and jumping over a teddy bear and then stopping to accept their ballet "diploma"! 

Jackson and Catie were riveted by their sister's recital and did not want to miss a second of the action...

Even though we don't think he really watched any of the recital, Jax was very proud of his baby sister.

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.