I had been looking forward to this weekend for pretty much an entire year. Saturday was to be the second annual Amuzing Race, which we participated in last year. The race is a game based on the television show, The Amazing Race, which puts teams of up to 4 people up against each other while racing all over the world (in our case just Rochester) to solve clues and complete challenges. We had such a blast last year that I could not wait to do it again! Mike and I were on a team with friends Eric and Nate and this year we came in 8th place out of 35 teams (last year we were 19th)! The race started out tough with the 4 of us struggling to figure out the presidencies of Polk, Buchanan and Arthur. We then had to take those 3 numbers (11, 15 and 21) and correctly enter them into a combination lock to receive our next clue. We had 15 minutes to figure out their chronological rank without any help and after that time we were (thankfully) able to use any library resource we could get our hands on. After finding the correct numbers in a children's encyclopedia, we were given the next clue and found ourselves racing to Quarry Hill Nature Center where we had to run up a short trail to a recycling center to get our hands on either 5 lbs of aluminum cans or 50 lbs of newspaper. We chose the cans, which we then had to bring to a park shelter, but neither of us knew where it was. After one incorrect guess of Soldiers Field, we stopped by the Running Room where the manager looked up the location on her computer (a totally legal move in the game) and it was near Silver Lake - Three Links Shelter. At the shelter we had to get a stack of newspaper, a stapler, tape and scissors and create a geodesic dome with several newspaper rolls, which actually may have been our most successful challenge - our teamwork was great and we finished long before the other teams who had started before us.
Next we had to take our dome, the cans and the leftover newspaper to another recycling facility to get the next clue. The clue instructed us to go to McQuillan softball fields and find the R.C. Lowe park. When we got to the fields (which fortunately Eric knew the location of), Mike and Eric took off running down a trail following some other racers while Nate and I waited in the car. While we were waiting, Nate got a bad feeling about the situation, so he got out to explore and see what was going on. He walked toward where Mike and Eric had been running and discovered that they missed the check-in point! Since 2 team members have to be present to check-in, he had to call me over. The ladies then gave us another clue which said that 2 team members had to run down to the dog park - in the direction that Mike and Eric went - and the other 2 members had to get in the car and drive to the dog park. So Nate and I ran to the car and tried to quickly find the park before Eric and Mike started to run back. Nate used to take his dog to the park, so it wasn't too hard for us to find. Luckily Mike and Eric were waiting for us there so we were able to check-in and get another clue. The next challenge was to drive to the Target on the north side of town and locate the employee whose picture was in the clue. Only one team member could participate, so I volunteered. When we got to Target, I took off running through the entire store, getting many strange looks from shoppers. I think it took me about 10 minutes to finally find the girl I was looking for and she gave me another clue, which told us to go to a specific address on the northeast side of town. While searching for the house, Nate's driving skills were really put to the test, as we not only had to navigate the streets, but we also were trying to shake another team who were following right on our tail! After receiving the next clue, we had to go back to the library and complete a quiz of tv show theme songs. A moderator played the songs on a computer one by one (with a minute between each one) and teams had to write down their guesses on a sheet of paper. The goal was to get at least 10 correct and have them check your score. If you didn’t get 10 right, they would cross off the next three songs and you would have to wait that long before trying to guess again. While Nate was parking the car, Mike, Eric and I took a stab at trying to guess some songs. By the time Nate had come in, we had about 5 down on our paper, but to be sure that we weren’t docked for too many mistakes, we continued to try to get as many as we could. When we nervously turned in our sheet to be graded, we learned that we actually had 12 correct! Our reward was another clue which instructed us to take the $2.10 that we had been given earlier in the race, buy a roll of paper towels anywhere and bring the roll to the Ronald McDonald House. The only store between the library and the house must have been seeing lots of racers because the guy told Eric right where the paper towels were as soon as he walked in. We brought the towels to the house in exchange for a clue that said that 2 team members had to walk to the St. Marys water tower from the house, which is a short distance but is up a terribly steep hill. Mike and I ran (well, Mike ran – I waddled) up the hill, got the next clue and then ran back down to the car. We had to drive out to Thrivent Financial, which is out on West River Road, and complete a challenge. The challenge was probably one of the most creative activities that I have seen in a long time. We had to use a rubberband that had 4 pieces of string tied to it to lift 6 paper cups into a tower while using only one hand per team member. It took us some time because we knocked over a cup onto the floor twice, but we eventually got it without too many problems. The clue sent us to the Rochester Athletic Club where we had to locate the east door. As it turns out the door we were supposed to use was not actually the eastern-most door, but whatever, Mike and Eric found the correct door and went inside to do the challenge. Again, while Nate and I were waiting in the car, we decided that I should go in and check on them. They didn’t need my help, but it was fun to see the challenge. There was a HUGE pile of library catalog cards strewn about the floor and within the pile somewhere were 2 cards that also had “Team 43 (our team #)” written on them in red ink. As I came in the room, Mike found the first card and not too long after that he found the other.
Next we had to go back to Three Links Shelter, which is almost on the other side of town. At the shelter, we had to do another challenge that involved all 4 of us. This time we had to create an electric current between 3 sets of wires, a light switch, an outlet and a light bulb. I was never so happy to be working with 3 men who are all engineer-minded because I would have been completely lost without them! We successfully completed the challenge pretty quickly and were soon off to the finish line!
It is pretty difficult to surmise how well you are doing while you are playing the game because even though there are always other teams around, they could be the top teams or the bottom teams, you never know. By the time we were headed to the finish line, we were completely unsure of how we had done. We could have been in the top 10 or bottom 10, we had no idea! So we were pleasantly surprised to find out that we were the eighth team to cross the finish line, a huge improvement from last year. We had a great time racing and I know I am already looking forward to next year’s race!!
Amuzing Race Report
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Benjamin Schmitt, track star
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Ah, summertime!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Mike and I ran the Lederhosenlauf 5k at the German American Institute in St. Paul Saturday morning. The race left the GAI on Summit, went down and around the St. Paul Cathedral and then up Selby Ave and back. After the race, we were able to indulge in a German breakfast, which naturally included some fine German beer! It was a beautiful course on a very nice sunny (and warm) day. After the race we took advantage of the time alone to stroll along the shops on Grand Avenue and visit the St. Paul Farmer's Market. We also had an amazing lunch at the Midtown Global Market, which is a favorite place of ours to get wonderful ethnic foods.
Back in Mound that afternoon, we all went down to the lake to do a little fishing on the piers just behind Mom and Dad's house. Benjamin (with help from Mike and Grandpa) caught at least 10 little sunfish and one fairly nice sized bluegill on his fishing pole from Daddy for Christmas. He really loved being close to the water!
Sunday was Father's Day and Mike wanted to spend the day with his Dad back at the German American Institute for Deutsche Tage, which is an annual festival of music, food and games celebrating German Heritage. We have been going there for many years. We had yet another beautiful sunny day for our time at the festival, which was great. Joe, Jen, AJ and John met us at the fest and Dan and Katie were able to stop by later. I've posted some pictures and videos and from them, you can really tell that we all had a great time. Benjamin and AJ especially liked the German music and the special German trainset, which we literally had to drag AJ away from!! After the festival we went back to Grandma and Grandpa S.'s house for dinner. I have a feeling that Mike had a wonderful Father's Day and I know we all had a great weekend!
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Oh what a busy week and it is only Wednesday!!
Actually, let's start with last week, since I haven't blogged about a few things from way back then. Last Thursday Mike and I along with our friend, Nate, went up to St. Paul for the R.E.M concert at the Excel Energy Center. Benjamin spent some time hanging out and making "special cake" with Grandma Cindy and Grandpa Bert.
The concert was a fun experience. We had been getting some really bad weather reports all day, so we were not sure how the drive up there would be, but it turned out that it was mostly just rain and not much more. When we got to the concert the first opening band, The National, was playing so we decided to wander around a bit before heading up to our seats on the top level. After climbing what seemed like hundreds of stairs, we got up to the 200 level only to find it completely deserted. While walking around one of the center's employees caught up to us and told us that they were reissuing tickets in the lower levels because the concert had not sold as well as they had expected. We were going to get an upgrade! As it turns out, we were given new tickets in the "Treasure Island Club Level" - 2 sections below our original seats. We were pretty pumped! Not only were we closer to the stage, but the club level also has much better concessions. When we found our section, we noticed a small "bar-style" seating area at the back of the section where you could rest your drinks or food on the small bar and sit on bar stools. We found 3 open spots and made ourselves comfortable while waiting for someone to shoo us out of these good seats. No one ever said a word to us, so we were able to sit for the entire concert in these (in our minds) primo seats!
The second opening act was to be Modest Mouse, which is a favorite of mine, even though I am really only familiar with one of their albums and a few of their hit songs. They were a pretty big disappointment though because they only played stuff off of their newest album and refused to play any of their well-known hits. Little did we know, but this was to be a recurring theme all night.
R.E.M. took the stage later and played mostly new songs off of their Accelerate album and also a bunch of songs off of their older albums that never really received any radio play. To be fair, they did play a few big hits, especially during the encore such as Losing My Religion and Fall On Me. Michael Stipe was in great form and as always has this crystal clear voice that never sounds strained or off pitch. Obviously the band is getting a little stale, while still trying to attract new audiences, which is why the concert didn't sell very well. We had a great time though and somehow managed to drive back very late to get home at about 1 am.
On Friday morning Benjamin had his 3 year annual checkup at his pediatrician, which went so well. I was very afraid that he would hate going to the doctor, but he actually exclaimed "That was fun!" as we were leaving, a very good sign. The doctor was very pleased with everything. He is completely average in height and weight and is excelling in his ability to do certain age-specific activities like drawing, speaking, counting, etc. Even his eczema seems to be under control. The doctor is always amazed at how well his skin looks because she can remember back to when he was just a tiny 3 month old covered head to toe with those horrible red rashes. Now he only gets a rash when he's spent a lot of time outside or when we are unable to give him his daily bath. He will have to live with eczema for his whole life, but by keeping up with lotions and baths it is manageable and that is really all we can hope for.
Speaking of Benjamin and his speaking abilities - I have to share 2 of my favorite things that have ever come out of his adorable little mouth. The first was said during a dinner discussion between Benjamin, Mike, me and my Dad. There was no hesitation whatsoever before Benjamin came back with his response.
Mike: "Benjamin, where do big boys go potty?"
Benjamin: "In the shower."
This second funny bit came right after Benjamin did one of his usual wacky performances like putting his spoon up his nose, speaking in tongues, or doing his very best zoo animal impersonation.
Grandma Chris: "Benjamin, WHERE did you come from!?"
Benjamin: "An island."
Our weekend was fairly low key. Mike went on his usual morning run Saturday and we all spent some time outside in between storms. On Sunday we shopped around for some new house numbers now that our siding project is complete. We found some that we liked and I hung them up in the rain just before Mom and Dad A. arrived. They spent Sunday night with us and on Monday Dad left early for a job interview. Benjamin and I were able to spend some nice time relaxing with Mom before she left to meet Dad for their walk-through at the new house. All went perfectly with the closings in both Illinois and Minnesota and as of yesterday morning, they are now officially residents of Minnesota! I spent all of yesterday (Tues) at the new house with them emptying boxes, enjoying the Lake Minnetonka views from their deck and getting acquainted with the neighborhood. They are so excited to finally be settled in and we can’t wait for our first overnight in our new rooms. We will be heading up there Friday for some fishing and bbq. Mike and I are running an interesting race this Saturday in St. Paul. We will be doing the 1st annual Lederhosenlauf 5k at the German American Institute. No, we will not be wearing our lederhosen! But they do promise a German breakfast – and BEER – following the race. Should be interesting!!
Yes, we ALL run.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
It was a big change from last year, when he'd just plant his feet at the start and look around at all of the other runners without ever taking a step. He has 5 more chances to work up to a first place finish and I am sure he will be putting in some extra training on the side now to get to his goal.
John Warren Schmitt
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
We had a nice weekend in Chicago after driving down Friday afternoon. My family threw a going away party for Mom and Dad at Uncle Terry's house Saturday evening and it was a nice chance to get together with family. We hadn't been down to Illinois since November, so we were looking forward to seeing everyone again. Luckily, the weather stayed nice for our entire visit, so we were able to hang out outside at the party. We took up as much time as we could holding and playing with Kelsey, who is now almost 9 months old. Benjamin spent his time playing with toys from Aunt Clarice and Aunt Mary, who surprised him with lots of things to keep him busy. Erin very creatively asked me to be the Matron of Honor at her wedding in March and we were able to oogle over the new shiny rings on Kelly and Erin's fingers!
Mom and Dad officially move into their new home in Minnesota next Tuesday, June 10th. Their movers and packers will complete their job this weekend and then they will come up and spend a night at our house Sunday before their walk-through at the new house on Monday. We are all excited for this big change!!
The siding project on our house is now complete. The workers did the last bit of hammering yesterday afternoon. We think it looks great and are very happy with the result. We are planning to work on the landscaping - or I should say WEEDscaping in the back of the house so it can be done by Benjamin's third birthday party. By the way, the big bash will be on June 28th (which is also Dad's 53rd birthday!!). The party might just turn out to be "The Greatest Show on Earth".....
Memorial Day Weekend
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
The main event of the weekend was the Med City Marathon, which neither of us actually ran. Rather, we parked ourselves right along the race route on a curb with an inspirational sign, sidewalk chalk messages and a carefully prepared cd of peppy songs all to give the runners a boost at around mile 10. Since we both know how important spectators are, we really wanted to make a point to be there for the runners. This race doesn't typically have much spectator support, so we stayed in our spot and cheered every single runner that ran by from the leader to the back of the pack (or as I like to call them - "my people"). After the race, on Sunday, we went over to Peg and Wally's, the former race directors', for a post-race party. Benjamin was the only young child there, but everyone was great with him and he had such a good time. The backyard of their house goes up on a major incline to a pretty big hill and Benjamin occupied himself by repeatedly running up and down it. You can see how hillarious this was in the video. The guy running with him is Rob, a REALLY talented runner and tri-athlete - - Benjamin wore him out!!
We also were able to lounge around our backyard in the beautiful weather with our neighbors, Katie, Jason and Ethan, for a while on Monday. The boys had a great time running between our yards, playing with their toys and outdoor equipment. When the sun started to go down, we moved over to their house for some chicken kabobs and dessert. The two boys played some more and gave us a surprise performance on the sax and trumpet!
We might be crazy, but we have been happily waking up early on weekday mornings since last Wednesday to the sounds of hammers and saws. Our new siding is being installed on the house and it is looking fantastic! They are already done with the garage and the front of the house. It is going to be awesome to have this project done. After its completion, the plan is to move onto the landscaping in the back of the house and a small bit in the front, which have been neglected for years. The house should be in tip top shape just in time for the first snowfall sometime in 5 months!
I can *drive* 13.1 miles!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
It was a running weekend for Familie Schmitt. Friday night, Mike, Jessica and Benjamin all ran in the Stay Out of the Sun Run in Rochester. Jessica and Benjamin walked the 5k and Mike put his efforts into placing second in his age group amongst the 10k runners. It was a nice night for a run!
The following morning we packed up the family truckster and set our bearings on Green Bay. We met up with The Andrew's family, Andy and Jennifer and Dan and Katie. They (a.k.a Team Schmitt) have been training since February to run their very first half Marathon. That afternoon we had lunch and headed out to Lambeau Field for packet pickup and the marathon expo. First time runners not only received participant t-shirts...they also received special first timer runner t-shirts (quite nice perk from the run organizers). Saturday night's race dinner was held at Fratello's Restaurant. Everyone was able to get exactly what they wanted and fill their tanks for the race.
Early Sunday morning Team Schmitt arose early to catch the shuttle to the starting line. The rest of us put our collective minds together on determining the best places see Team Schmitt on the course. The size of marathon and the fact that it is run within the city limits of Green Bay gave us nearly perfect conditions to meet the runners four times including one time inside Lambeau Field. Everyone was able to touch the tundra and cross the finish line happy with their times. Every member of Team Schmitt achieved a personal best! They achieved a feat that less than .17 percent of the U.S. population has ever done! Everyone is very proud!
They spent the rest of the day gingerly walking about and soaking their tired muscles in the water park at the hotel.
Monday we all slept in - went to breakfast and decided to spend a bit of time partaking in a wonderful Wisconsin tradition - a brewery tour! The staff at The Point brewery in Steven's Point Wisconsin set up a special tour for Familie Schmitt.
We spent a lot of time walking around the facility looking at all the bottling equipment and learning all there was to know about the 151 year old brewery. All that running/walking also made us thirsty so we spent a bit of time in the "Friendship Room" sampling their wares ;-)
All in all we had a fabulous weekend and look to the gun at the next starting line!
The circus was in town...
Thursday, May 08, 2008
I have to honestly say though that this circus was pathetic! Maybe they all are, who knows. My Mom tells me that the circus that I went to as a child was certainly the same way, but somehow I remember it as being spectacular! In looking through photos online of the same circus group (George Carden Int'l Circus), I see that we missed out on quite a few acts that they didn't feature in the Rochester show. Just to give you an idea of how pathetic it was: there was only ONE clown - and he didn't even have on a colorful wig!! Sad, sad, sad.
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Touch the Tundra
If anyone is interested in following those of us who are running the Green Bay Half Marathon, you can sign up for text and email alerts here. Our bib numbers are as follows:
- Jessica - 3131
- Jennifer - 3338
- Dan - 5605
- Katie - 5471
Wish us luck!!!!
2 weeks to the big dance
Sunday, May 04, 2008
We made it out to run the Spring Classic 15k in the yucky cold weather yesterday. It was the final big run for Jessica before tackling 13.1 miles in Green Bay. Despite the wind gusts of 25 mph and temperatures of 37 degrees she had a great run and feels quite prepared for the event. Mike also ran the race albeit quite slow. I'm still recovering from Boston and trying to work through a cold. Benjamin had a fun time playing with Ethan next door while we ran. It was a great beginning of a great weekend for all of us!
Baby Shower
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
This weekend was a very exciting one because we finally got to surprise Jen with the mini-shower I'd been planning with Katie and Jennifer. We got a hotel room at the Hyatt in downtown Minneapolis for a night and filled it with baby shower decorations, some of Jen's favorite snacks and lots of gifts for the new little one. Jen thought that we were just going out for a girls-night-dinner, but after the meal we took her to the hotel and surprised her! We had a great time and Jen was very surprised! We also ate at a REALLY good restaurant called Solera. Their tapas were to die for!!
I guess Jen wasn't the only one surprised this weekend, as Mike and I were too. We were asked to be the our new niece/nephew's godparents and we were delighted to accept!
There are so many exciting things happening in both families! While on vacation in New Orleans, Dennis proposed to my cousin Erin and they are planning a January wedding. Mike's brother Andy and Jennifer are also getting married in January and Mike's brother Dan and Katie are saying "I do" in October. Mom and Dad will officially be living in Minnesota in early June. And, of course, our godchild is expected sometime in late May! VERY cool stuff!!
Even though the weather does not show it, summer is just around the corner. Our calendar is already booked up with all sorts of fun events! We are looking forward to so many things. This weekend Mike and I will be running a 15k race in Rochester and we will also be celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary - could it really have been that long!? ;-)
3:28:33
Monday, April 21, 2008
Mike JUST finished the marathon with a finish time of 3:28:33. Benjamin and I and I'm sure many of our loyal readers tracked his time online all morning. We also watched the broadcast of the 2 elite races - very cool. Benjamin was trying to look for Mike very hard and we think we may have seen him, but then I realized that I don't even know what he is wearing!!! I'm sure he'll call later today with details and will be home Tuesday night with pictures. Thanks everyone for your encouragement and support - he did great!
Cold and snowy spring
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Grandma and Grandpa Schmitt came down to Rochester for a while on Saturday and it was nice to see them. On Sunday we stayed home all morning and afternoon and only left the house to go to dinner with the Olsons at the new Sushi Itto (LOVE it!) in town. Then we headed over to Lowe's where we found our new vanity for the upstairs bathroom. We have many home improvement projects coming up and remodeling the bathroom is one of them. We are also residing the entire house and plan to update more of the front yard landscaping. Ahhh, spring cleaning fever has hit our house!!
Mike leaves for Boston on Sunday. We will miss him, but are looking forward to watching the race live on TV. For those of you who want to catch it, it will be broadcast live on Versus at 8:30am CT and replayed at 2:30pm CT. We wish Mike and all of the other runners from Rochester luck on the big race!!!
Flickr now allows you to post videos, so this is our first addition:
Take Me Out to the Ballgame....
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
The next morning we (Jennifer, Andy, Mike, Jessica and Benjamin) met Grandma and Grandpa Andrews at SpoonRiver for breakfast before heading out to the Metrodome (in the rain!) for the Twins game. Though this wasn't Benjamin's first Twins game, it was the first one that he has been to since he's been old enough to get excited for it. As you can see in the photos, he was all decked out in his Twins coat, hat and t-shirt. Mike has been prepping him on the intricacies of the game, so he was ready to cheer for all of his favorite players - it seems as though he likes Joe Mauer the most so far. He absolutely loved looking out for the mascot "T.C." and clapped along to all of the fan songs! We had to leave the game shortly before it ended to get back to Rochester so that Mike could go to a Boston-marathon-prep meeting. The Twins did end up losing to the Royals, but we enjoyed the game anyway! We can’t wait to take Benjamin to another one!
This weekend Mike is running a 20k race in Rochester and Benjamin and I are volunteering at a water stop. We are all very excited!! Hopefully the weather warms up and dries out before then!
This weekend rules...
Saturday, March 29, 2008
I just had to quickly write to say that so far this weekend has been awesome! Right now Benjamin is all snuggled up with Mike on the recliner watching Snow White while I am checking my email, etc. We've had a busy Saturday so far. Mike and I ran the Get Your Rear in Gear 5k, benefitting colon cancer prevention, this morning. Mike came in 7th place overall and 2nd place in his age group! I came in at a respectable (?) 95th out of 130. Benjamin spent some time with one of his best buds, Ethan, our next door neighbor. After the race, we all headed over to Soccer World where Benjamin went to his very first birthday party by himself!! His friend, Amanda, turned 5 and all of the kids enjoyed some games, treats and gift opening. I think he had a good time! He tried to tell us all about it, but could only keep telling us about how he "ran REEEEEALLY fast!" We spent the rest of the day cruising around town and doing errands. It was nice and relaxing and we had so much fun! We really enjoy weekends that are full of seeing family and being busy, but there is something to be said for those weekends where you just get to hang out and do your own thing! This is one of those weekends...and we are loving it!!!!!!
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Spring is supposedly somewhere around the corner, but that is hard to believe since we are under yet another winter storm watch. But our spring fever has been encouraged by other things besides snowy weather. We celebrated Easter amid the bad weather with a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Andrews. Benjamin really enjoyed hunting for his Easter basket. We also hopped over to the neighbors' house (The Posts) for a little neighborhood Egg Hunt (inside, of course).
Baseball season is coming up soon, so Mike has been preparing Benjamin for all of those games on tv and trips up to the Metrodome. He came home with a new fancy baseball tee on Monday night. Benjamin has been in batting practice ever since. I've attached a video of his progress:
I have posted a few new pictures on our flickr site as well, so check them out!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
We had an absolutely amazing time on our trip. We were able to see and do just about everything on the big island, it was great. We had so many adventures. I’ll do my best to describe some of them here.
Because we “bought” our plane tickets by cashing in miles, we had a pretty drawn out itinerary. We flew from Minneapolis to Dallas to San Jose to LA to Kona. We left Minnesota at 9am and didn’t arrive in Hawaii until 11pm (3am CT). Needless to say, we were exhausted but excited when we arrived. We picked up our rental car, a bright blue Chrysler Sebring convertible, and called Jeanne to say that we were on our way to her home in Hilo. If you aren’t familiar with the big island of Hawaii, Hilo is directly on the other side of the island from Kona. There are two options for traveling between the two cities. 1) a nice highway that goes up and around the northern edge of the island through a few small towns or 2) a dilapidated old death trap that is flanked on either side by a volcano called “Saddle Road.” You’ll never guess which one we took! Good old, dependable MapQuest.com told us to take Saddle Road. At midnight. In a rental car we have never driven before. After 15 hours of flights and stopovers. Since it was dark, we didn’t have the opportunity to document this trip with photos, but I feel the need to share our adventure with you. The photo below is a shot of the condition of the road:
After driving the first 15 or so treacherous miles, I decided to pull out our Big Island Revealed guidebook to read about this Saddle Road. Let me quote the book directly, “Rental car companies do not allow their cars to drive on Saddle Road. If you do take Saddle Road and something happens to your car, your Rental Agreement will become null and void.” “Some locals don’t even use the road and you would be a fool to drive Saddle Road at night.” HA! Great. At this point we have only been on the island for one and a half hours and our guidebook is already calling us fools. We knew then that we were in for a very adventurous trip.We made it to the Bayola home safe and sound and in record time, actually. We spent the next couple of days hanging out with our gracious hosts, the Bayolas, along with my cousin Kelly and her boyfriend, Mike. The weather in Hilo was surprisingly dry and warm, just perfect! We visited ‘Akaka Falls and Volcano National Park, which were highlights of the trip for both of us. At Volcano, we were able to hike out over the lava rock fields at night to see the current lava flow from the most recent eruption of Kilauea. It was amazing to sit and watch both creation and destruction happening at once!
After our day of driving, we decided to just stay at the resort the next day. We walked down to the Kings and Queens shops (like outdoor malls) and just lounged around. The next morning we had a kayaking excursion planned, so we were up early for that. We happened to be the only 2 people scheduled to go on the trip that day, which departed right from the resort, so we had our own private tour. The guides took us out into the ocean where we paddled for about a half hour or so to a black sand beach. At the beach we went snorkeling and we saw amazing coral and beautiful tropical fish. It was just like being in the movie, Finding Nemo!Later in our trip we took another driving tour down to South Point, the southern most point of the United States. We also took a tour of the Kona Brewery, where we tasted nearly all of their beers. While shopping in downtown Kona, we asked a storekeeper about a good place to get local sushi and he recommended “You Make the Roll,” which turned out to be our favorite place. It was just a little out-of-sight place tucked away, but it was so good. You can choose any number of ingredients to put into your roll. We went back twice!
Check out all of our trip pictures on Flickr, they turned out great!
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
It has been a while since we updated this site. We just haven't had anything significant to write about lately, though we've definitely been keeping busy! Despite a horrible illness for Benjamin and I, we all survived two acting gigs for me and a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Andrews two weekends ago. The murder mystery went well again, it was so much fun. This past weekend we hosted Grandma and Grandpa Schmitt, who hadn't been down to Rochester in quite some time. Mike and I were able to participate in a race this past Sunday, which Mike had helped to organize. There were two distances at Lace Up Against Breast Cancer: a half marathon and a 5k. Mike braved the cold and snow to complete the entire 13.1 miles (it turned out to be even further than that in the end) and I did the 5k. It was a rough run, but Mike was able to catch up to me just as I was getting close to the finish, so we finished together! That evening we drove up to St. Paul to Andy and Jennifer's house to enjoy a fine German meal in honor of their birthdays. It was nice to see everyone and Benjamin really enjoyed causing trouble with his cousin, AJ! This weekend we will be hosting our annual Academy Awards party. I think it is the 6th party we have hosted; we missed a year because we were in England.
And, of course, Mike and I are counting down the days until we leave for Hawaii. In case you're wondering, it is 8 DAYS! I'm sure we will be adding photos and updates on our trip soon, so check back!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
It has been a while since we wrote here, I know. I actually haven't taken one single picture since the last one was posted on flickr, but we have been keeping busy.
Mike celebrated his 31st birthday on Monday, the 14th. We spent the weekend in the Twin Cities where after we watched the Packers win, Dan and Katie made us all a very tasty (and healthy) meal. Then we all went out to a very cool bar in St. Paul, the Muddy Pig, that serves a whole plethora of good beers. For his actual birthday, we stayed home and played his new present from Benjamin and I - Guitar Hero 80's Encore, which is just a blast!
The previous weekend, we went to see Avenue Q, a very funny and entertaining musical. The tickets were a Christmas present to me from Mike. We had a very fun night away, just the two of us!
We have a busy few weeks ahead of us, full of very exciting things. Mike will be running the Securian Frozen Half Marathon this month and is helping to organize the Lace Up Against Breast Cancer Half Marathon in February. His big news though is that he has once again registered to run the Boston Marathon this year. He is excited to hopefully have better weather this time and to improve his finishing time.
I am once again performing as an actor in a murder mystery as a fundraiser for a local charity. If you live in or near Rochester, I highly recommend buying tickets - it is a very fun event (plus all you can drink wine and all you can eat desserts are included)!!
We will be attending the Twin Cities Food and Wine Experience again this year where one of my personal heroes, Collette Peters (a cake decorator) will be speaking. At the end of February, Mike and I will be jetting off to a much needed relaxing and romantic vacation in Hawaii. It will be our first vacation without Benjamin since before he was born! We are beyond excited!!
So that is what is going on with Familie Schmitt...I'm sure we will be back with more updates soon!!
Christmas 2007
Sunday, January 06, 2008
If this picture doesn't sum up our holiday, I don't know what could. Benjamin absolutely loved Christmas! He (and us right along with him) enjoyed every single moment of it all. I put pictures on flickr from both Christmas and New Years. The three of us spent Christmas Eve in Rochester by going to our church for mass and having a delicious Indian meal at home. Mike read The Night Before Christmas and Benjamin left all of the essentials out for Santa and crew. We were all up around 7:30 Christmas morning for our family present opening. Highlights were Benjamin's new sparkley tricycle, lots of puzzles, Jessica's new running coat, tickets to a musical, a Bento Box for Mike, Candyland, and many other great things! We managed to pack up the family to head up to the Twin Cities soon after opening the very last gift. We enjoyed the Schmitt Christmas at Cindy and Bert's house with all of Mike's brothers and their significant others along with Great Aunt Alice. Andy and Jennifer surprised us all with the announcement of their engagement!! AJ and Benjamin really enjoyed opening up more gifts and we all stuffed ourselves with a delicious meal later that evening.
Our Christmas continued later that week when my parents came up from Chicago with their Hyundai literally stuffed to the seams with even more presents. That Sunday morning we spent a long 4 hours opening all of the gifts and playing with everything we received. The house was quite a mess for days afterward!!
On New Years Eve, Andy and Jennifer came down to go with us to a celebration at a local Spanish-Tapas-style restaurant. The party was a 1920's-themed New Years, so I just had to dress accordingly. We had a really great time and rang in the new year under a balloon drop with our free champage at the restaurant at midnight.
The next morning Jennifer, Mike and I ran the Resolution Run, a 5k put on by the Running Room. The weather was a brutal 1 degree temp with somewhere around a -14 windchill, but we still ran and had a great time!! Jennifer and I even shaved 3 minutes off of our last 5k time! Of course, Mike could have run the race 3 times by the time we got done, but we felt really good about our accomplishment!! And now we have new shiny Running Room jackets to prove it!
It is amazing to think that another holiday is now over and another new year is here! I guess it is time to take down those Christmas decorations and get ready to celebrate Mike's 31st birthday!!!!
Happy 2008 to everyone!!!!!
Two Crazy Reindeers
Sunday, December 16, 2007
We had a lovely weekend. On Saturday we braved the crowds and did a little shopping (and wine tasting) before Joe, Jen and AJ came over for a visit. Benjamin was beside himself to have his best bud in the house!! We went out to eat at a new-ish place in town, Paradise Pete's. If you're reading this and you're local, I highly recommend a visit. After a rocky first couple of months, they have really improved their menu and we had a fabulous meal. The boys came home and played until they practically passed out. Then they both woke up in the morning and did more of the same. They had a great time.
Today we did a little more shopping and even fit in a quick visit with the Santa at our local mall. I must say, he's a pretty authentic Santa and Benjamin was very impressed. We almost had to drag him away!!
I uploaded a few pictures onto flickr from both today and also the past couple of weeks. We've had a few snowstorms this December already. Our first happened during our last visit to the Twin Cities (see last post), so we weren't home to shovel before the snow was covered with a hearty layer of ice. The pictures of Benjamin in the snow are from the Monday after the storm. Mike came home during his lunch hour so we could shovel out the driveway. We haven't received a significant snowfall recently, but I'm sure there will be more to come.
Good luck to those of you with lots of shopping left!! And in case we don't get back before the holidays...Merry Christmas!!
Brrrrr...
Monday, December 03, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving!
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Cousins
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Mike and I met with Benjamin's head teacher at daycare today for a Parent-Teacher conference. She had nothing but great things to say about him (of course). She is very impressed with his skills, especially his ability to hold conversations with the other (older) kids, which is unusual for his age. Sitting there, at the little table with her, made me think about all of the future school conferences we have to look forward to! Our little guy is growing up, which is hard, but it is also exciting to think about everything ahead of us!
Nutcracker Suite
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
It is an annual tradition of ours to go to the Macy's Auditorium holiday display with Joe, Jen and AJ. We try to go the day it opens, as the lines into the event are usually much much shorter. Last year we had to wait until sometime in December because Benjamin was in the hospital the opening weekend, so we ended up waiting for over an hour to get in. We were much luckier (and healthier) this year! We only stood in line for about 15 minutes this time, it was great! This year's theme is The Nutcracker and the scenes were very neat. The boys are finally at an age where they are interested in these kinds of things and can atleast somewhat appreciate what Christmas is all about. The end of the walk through the displays is a visit with Santa Claus. We were all unsure of how the boys would react to the man in red this year. They both have been talking about sitting on Santa's lap and asking him for presents, but when put face-to-face with the guy, they might just break! Luckily, they were just a little freaked out, but we were able to get them close enough to take a couple of pictures (while sitting on Daddy's laps).
I think the experience calmed Benjamin a bit because he didn't want to leave Santa! Now he is talking about how excited he is for Santa to come to his house, haha.
I recently finished up my 6 week Intermediate Cake Decorating class through Community Education. All of the students had to make a cake for our final class and decorate it in 2.5 hours. I decided to try my hand at a mini-wedding cake.
I am happy with how it turned out, but since I was pretty limited on time and didn't want to spend a bagillion dollars on supplies, it wasn't exactly what I feel I am capable of. Now I'd like to take some more classes on some of the techniques that we only touched on.
Kids say the darndest things
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Two of our new favorite Benjamin stories:
Mike: What is your full name Benjamin?
Benjamin: Benjamin Thomas
Mike: That's right - Benjamin Thomas Schmitt. What is Daddy's full name?
Benjamin: Daddy Thomas Schmitt.
Little did he know how true that was!
(For those of you who don't know, we passed Mike's middle name onto Benjamin when we named him.)
______________________________________________
Last night Mike put Benjamin to bed and comes to sit with me in the living room. Benjamin is making no noise, so we figure that he's fast asleep. A while later Mike gets up to go to the bathroom and when he comes back in to the living room again, I hear a faint little creak in the hallway. I look over and from where I am sitting on the couch, I can see Benjamin's little head peeking from around his bedroom door. I walk over to him and say, "Benjamin, what are you doing up out of bed?!" His reply: "Hide and seek, Mommy?" I just imagined him in his room that whole time, counting and waiting to come out and find us! Too funny!
Trick-or-Treat!
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Halloween was a blast this year!! The day started with a party at Benjamin's daycare in his Multi-Age room. Most of the parents were there and all of the kids had their costumes on. The kids had decorated cookies earlier in the day and they were able to share them with us at the party. We went to The Olsons's for trick-or-treating with Benjamin's buds, Sidney and Reese. Our little cowboy really enjoyed going from house to house to get "MORE CANDY!!!" He never really got the whole "Trick or treat" saying down.
Instead of that, when he'd get up to the door of the houses, he'd say "I want some candy!!" Then after he got his candy, he'd just stand at the door, probably waiting for more. The funny thing was, sometimes the people would give him more! Haha. Looks like he's got his technique down!
This past weekend was quite a busy one for us. On Friday night I performed in a murder mystery fundraiser at the Plummer House mansion which was called Death by Chocolate. I played an anti-chocolate campainer called Hazel Nutt-Whirl. The entire play revolved around a chocolate theme and local restaurants donated chocolate cakes and candies. Participants were able to sample the chocolate and wines while wandering around the house attempting to gather clues to solve the murder. It was a lot of fun, but very exhausting! There are pictures on our flickr account.
Saturday morning we drove down to Illinois for my Grandma's 80th Birthday bash. The party was at a very nice restaurant and it was fun to see everyone. Afterward, Mom and I joined a bunch of family at a casino where nearly everyone brought winnings home. The birthday girl won almost $1,500!!
I also added some various pictures from the past couple of weeks onto our flickr account, including pumpkin carving, so check them out!
Feelin' Hot Hot Hot
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
By now, if you haven't heard about the eventful Chicago Marathon, you must be living under a rock! The weather on Sunday broke all kinds of records for excessive heat and humidity. Hundreds of runners were hospitalized and treated by race medical staff. Around noon, runners who had not reached mile 20 were advised to either stop racing or continue the course by walking because the race had been cancelled. Anyone finishing after that point would receive a medal, but not an official finishing time.
For us, the weekend started off nicely with a visit to the Marathon Expo at McCormick Place for Mike and I and a visit to Sonny Acres (pumpkin patch) for G&G and Benjamin. Mike and I then met his cousin Patti and her friend for a viewing of a new movie, Spirit of the Marathon. The movie was premiering as an entry in the Chicago International Film Festival and thanks to Patti, we were lucky enough to get tickets. The movie was fantastic! I highly recommend watching the preview at Spirit of the Marathon . It is especially enlightening for runners and for anyone who is from or who loves Chicago. The filmmakers really make the city look awesome! Everytime I watch it, I get goosebumps!
We settled in early Saturday evening in anticipation for the race, which got us up very early Sunday morning. There were many reports of how hot and humid it was supposed to be and it was on everyone's mind. Mike was ready to race, but nervous for what may lie ahead of him. We arrived downtown just before 7am and walked with the masses to the start area. Because of his Boston-qualifying time from last year, Mike was able to get a spot in the first preferred start corral, which also gave him access to a preferred gear check...kind of made him feel like a rock star! You could tell by looking around at the other runners that everyone was taking the weather very seriously. After leaving Mike, I headed to approximately mile 1.5, right across from the Chicago Theatre, where I met up with Mom, Dad, Benjamin, Aunt Mary and Uncle Roland. Last year we were able to get on the news because the ABC news studio is right at our spot. This year you could only catch a glimpse of me, Benjamin, Aunt Mary and Uncle Roland waving as the weatherman rolled his green screen down in front of the windows. Even at mile 1.5, you could see that the runners were being affected by the heat.
We went on to watch Mike at miles 14 and 16. He was way ahead of his predicted pace and looked strong, happy and healthy!
We were hopeful to make it to mile 23 to see him again, but he was running too fast and we missed him. Mom, Dad and Benjamin headed home due to the heat, but I met Mike at the family reunite area.
He finished with a time of 3:13:49...over 10 minutes better than he was even hoping for. He said that he saw many runners go down throughout the latter parts of the race and that he was hot, but it was manageable. We had no idea what was happening throughout the course during those moments. We only found out after we had arrived back at mom and dad's house and started to read newspapers online.
On Monday, we drove up to Milwaukee to see Erin, Dennis and baby Kelsey. Benjamin was soooo excited to see the baby. He had to know where she was at all times..."Where baby Kelsey!?" It was so wonderful to be able to spend time with them and to see their new house. We are looking forward to heading back down to IL and seeing all of my family at the end of this month for Grandma's 80th Birthday extravaganza!!!!
Leo's Ladies
Monday, October 01, 2007
As I mentioned in my previous posting, my friends Samantha and Tina joined me in an event to honor Samantha's son Leo, who died of a rare condition after being born prematurely. We did the Night Lights Beacons for Babies run and walk. I ran the 8k race and they did a 2 mile walk. It was a complete blast, even though the treatment of the walkers wasn't exactly stellar. I finished the race with a P.R. (personal record) and even though I came in last, it felt great! Mike and Benjamin were also at the finish line. Mike brought me flowers and Benjamin presented me with a medal. It was amazing.
On Saturday Mike ran his last long run of his marathon training since the Chicago Marathon is this coming weekend. After that we travelled up to the Twin Cities for a Jenkins (Cindy's Dad's side) family reunion. We were able to see some relatives that we don't see very often and also meet some that we have never met before. Benjamin had lots of fun playing with A.J and some of his "new" cousins. We were also able to spend some fun time with all of Mike's brothers and significant others throughout the weekend as well.
Grandma and Grandpa Andrews are still gallivanting around Europe, but they fly home later this week just in time for us to drive down to Chicago for another exciting marathon weekend!!!
Big race just days ahead
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
I just ran the Women Run the Cities 5K this past Sunday, which is the second race in my series this fall. I actually had no intention of running a race last weekend, but I had Sunday morning open and this race sounded like it would be fun so I registered. It was an all-women's 10 mile and 5k race which benefitted the Anne Bancroft Foundation, a worthy cause. They also gave out some pretty neat technical shirts to all finishers. I improved my time by over 1.5 minutes from my last race, so that was a positive thing for me.
All of this is basically leading up to the big race which is this Friday. I am running the Beacons for Babies Night Lights 8K here in Rochester. This race benefits the March of Dimes, which is a cause close to my heart. My very dear friends Samantha and Tina are participating with me in memory of Samantha's son, Leo, who died after he was born prematurely. Check back here for some pictures of the race and of our fancy homemade shirts! Oh, and wish me luck!!!
Kelsey Marie Ryan
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Mom and Dad have some pictures of the new baby cousin on their flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/beatlebugs2001
New Baby Cousin!
We have a new baby cousin in the family!! My cousin, Erin, gave birth to a baby girl yesterday (9/14) at 7:14am. She is 7 lbs., 15 oz. and just over 20 inches long. Baby, Mommy and Daddy are all doing well. I will post more details and pictures as they become available...
GOT HER GOOD!
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Sunday morning I "ran out to the car" to get a recipe for Mike, who was supposedly making her a special birthday breakfast. Instead, I met all of the party guests out in the parking area outside of my parents' house. My mom was sitting at the kitchen table on her new laptop with her back to the living room and front door, so she didn't see any of the people streaming into the room. She didn't hear us because Mike and I were pretending to fight as we yelled to each other from the kitchen to the living room. Mom turned around to tell us to stop fighting and everyone yelled "Surprise!" I have never seen her so shocked in my whole life. We got her good!!!!
Other than the pajama party, we also visited the Brookfield Zoo, which Benjamin loved. For some reason the highlight for him was seeing the tigers, which he talked about the whole time we were there! Then we went out to the Schnitzelplatz restaurant for an Oktoberfest dinner. After we finished our meal, one of the waiters was walking around dressed as a German woman in a ridiculous costume, handing out beaded necklaces. I wanted to get a necklace so we all waved him over to the table. Little did I know that the necklace was an entry to a competition up in front of the whole restaurant where the band was playing. I had no idea what I was in for and was getting more and more nervous when the waiter came back with a tray of baby bottles...that were filled with BEER! 5 women (I was one of them) and 5 men were going to compete in drinking their baby bottle faster than the others. Not one to disppoint audiences, I gave it my all and ended up the female winner! The waiter came by with our prizes and I was delighted to see that I had won a Schnitzelplatz beer mug and a T-shirt that says, "Happiness is drinking German beer." How perfect! We had a wonderful weekend in Chicago and were so glad to give Mom a fun and surprising 50th birthday!
Running Schmitts
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
As you can see from our flickr photos, Mike's relay race went splendidly. He ran in a team for the Great River Ragnar Relay Race. Mike and the other 11 people on his team ran a total of 198 miles from Lacrosse, WI to St. Paul, MN in just under 34 hours. Just to give you an idea of how grueling this was, Mike ran UP A BLUFF for 7.1 miles at 2:30 AM in the DARK! Very impressive! He compared it to adventure racing and said that he had a blast doing it.
Mike isn't the only Schmitt who ran in a race last weekend. I raced in the MN State Fair Milk Run 5k race on Sunday. Fortunately it was a gorgeous day! The course was much hillier than I had anticipated, but I had an awesome time and ran a great race. My return to the racing world (the last race I ran was back in Sept 2003) has inspired me to keep running and I cannot wait for my next race!
We spent a few hours wandering around the state fair after the race was over while Benjamin was able to hang out with his Grandma and Grandpa Schmitt. Here is a classic Benjamin story: At dinner that night we were trying to teach him Grandma and Grandpa's first names. First, we told him that Grandpa's name is Bert. He said "Grandpa Bert!" just fine. Then we asked him what Grandma's name is and he responded immediately with, "GRANDMA ERNIE!" We got quite a laugh out of that one! I think that now Cindy will forever be known as Grandma Ernie to Benjamin! :-)
Speaking of Bert and Ernie...I took Benjamin to see Sesame Street Live Friday night while Mike was doing his relay race. I went down to the Civic Center to pick up tickets Friday afternoon and thanks to a cancellation, I was able to get FRONT ROW, DEAD CENTER seats for us! It was awesome!! The characters danced right in front of us and even came by and said Hi to Benjamin. He just loved it and is still talking about seeing Elmo!
The Great K.V.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
If you don't know who Kathrine is, she is the first female to ever enter and run the Boston Marathon. She ran it back in 1967 before women were officially allowed to run in the race and at a time when it was believed that women were not capable of running more than 200 meters (2 laps around the track). She was also instrumental in getting the women's marathon recognized as an Olympic sport (though it took a while -- the first time women ran it was at the 1984 Olympics). Kathrine is a spitfire and was incredibly entertaining and very gracious to us for helping her out. Mike had an awesome time sharing his running story with her and just talking the talk with a fellow marathoner. It was a great experience!
Potential?
Okay, its no secret that Mike and I were (are) theatre kids. So I guess it didn't come as a big surprise that Benjamin has really taken to listening to my collection of showtunes in the car. His favorite is Ragtime and he just loves the opening number. He asks to listen to it all of the time and wants it played over and over. We showed off his musical skills to Mom and Dad while driving back to Rochester from the St. Paul Irish Fest this weekend. Dad was able to capture it on film...check it out:
Baby Shower and Kayaks
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Erin's baby shower was a success! Mom and I worked really hard (with help from Cicely and Grandma on various things) on the favors and decorations and they looked fab, if I don't say so myself! The room was just adorable and I think everyone had a great time. I posted the picture of Erin, Cicely and I because who knows when we will get another one of these. There are many other pictures from the event on our flickr site.
Mike and I spent a weekend away this past Saturday and Sunday. As a Christmas present, Mike's parents gave us a gift certificate to a B&B in Sparta, WI. We went down on Saturday and kayaked 4 1/2 hours near there in Ontario, WI on the (appropriately named -- if you know that Dad and I were once in a tribe with this name) Kickapoo River. The water was very shallow due to no recent rain and because the weather was so beautiful, there were all sorts of strange people in canoes out there. But we had a great time and it was nice to get away. Benjamin stayed home with Grandma and Grandpa Schmitt and I think they probably had more fun than they let on about.
Other than those two things, there isn't much going on here. It has been hot and very dry in Rochester, but we don't mind. Mike ran 6 miles of hills tonight in 85 degree weather with some pretty bad humidity, but he said it went really well. There's nothing like a little extreme Minnesota (summer OR winter) weather to prepare you for marathons!
Happy 4th of July! (and other stuff)
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Last weekend I travelled down to Winona to visit friends from college for a fun-filled night. I finally got to see my friend Tina's baby, Eleanor, who is adorable! Tina and Samantha and I went to LaCrosse as a kind of post-baby-celebration. We had a great time. Mike and Benjamin drove down on Sunday and we all were able to hang out for a while.
Earlier in the week we surprised Mike's Mom for her birthday by showing up for dinner...and staying for two nights! While up in the cities, we played with AJ and Benjamin's uncles/aunt and even snuck in a little time away for some drinks and dinner with Joe and Jen.
The 4th was relaxing, we didn't really do very much. Mike ran a 5 mile race in Stewartville that morning and Benjamin and I came out to watch. He did really well despite some pretty bad humidity. Other than that, we just grilled some hot dogs and spent some time watching Benjamin play in his new sandbox from G&G Andrews.
The newest batch of photos also includes some shots of the All Comers Track Meet, which Benjamin has run in twice. The Rochester Track Club puts this event on for kids of all ages. We're still trying to get Benjamin to run the full length of the race by himself, he gets kind of overwhelmed with the whole thing. His favorite part is getting a mark from a marker on his hand at the end (a way for the volunteers to know he got a ribbon), he thinks it makes him very special!
As I said before, we are off to Chicago in just a couple of hours. We are throwing Erin a baby shower on Saturday and all sorts of out of town family will be in. Benjamin can't wait to see his "Great Ahma"!!!
Two
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
The last couple of weeks have been very hectic for all of us. It has taken me that long to put any recent pictures on our photo site, so now there are a lot of new pics there.
Benjamin turned two on the 27th. Mike and I went to his daycare that day to celebrate with all of his friends. We brought party hats and cupcakes for everyone to enjoy. Benjamin was in love with the attention, especially when everyone sang Happy Birthday to him! That night our friends Eric, Reese and Sidney came over to help us celebrate some more. Benjamin was able to eat a second cupcake that night and was popular enough to receive many singing phone calls and one video call as well. We had his birthday party on the following Saturday, the 30th. Family drove all the way in from Illinois and Wisconsin. We had gorgeous weather, Mike made fabulous food, and everyone had a great time! Sunday was a very relaxing day for all of us. Benjamin spent time playing in his new sandbox and using all of his new toys and we just enjoyed sitting out in the yard without feeling like we had 100 things we should be doing. Benjamin is in his new BIG BOY bed, which he just loves. He has been sleeping so well in it, too. It is hard for us to walk into his nursery and not see his crib, he is growing up soo fast.
I also uploaded pictures from father's day. We had a picnic at a lake with Mike's parents, Dan and Jennifer. While I was out of town for a work-related conference, Mike and Benjamin went to a party to say farewell to some of Mike's running friends who are moving back to Norway. Benjamin had fun running all over the house and yard at the party.
The day before father's day was the annual cemetery walk for Rochesterfest, which I like to participate in. This year I not only played a character, but I also wrote my own script for the day. Basically this involves standing on a grave for about 4 hours in god-awful heat, reciting the same 6 minute script over and over to groups of about 20 people. It is grueling, but I love it.
I think that is about it. We are glad to have the month of June be done and gone, as it was a really rough one for both Mike and I. And now we have some exciting things to look forward to in July and beyond: including Erin's baby shower, a weekend away for Mike and I, more camping trips, a huge relay race for Mike, the state fair, and many visits with family and friends.
Amuzing Race
Sunday, June 10, 2007
We once again visited the German American Institute in St. Paul which hosted a Sommerfest on their grounds on Sunday. Some of the Schmitt clan met us out there for German food and drink. Uncle Andy and Jennifer took Benjamin on a horse-drawn carriage ride, which he really enjoyed. We all had a great time sitting outside on a beautiful day, listening to the German bands!
