Monday, June 30, 2008

Vacation 2008 Day #1

Well as many of you know, we just returned home from a fantastic vacation to Cape Cod and Boston, Mass. We were gone for a week and boy was it a busy one. We did and saw so much. I've decided that the best way to blog our trip is one day at a time. So I'll start with day #1. After a long day of packing and 2 hours of sleep we left Lincoln at 5 am to head to Omaha for an early flight. Surprisingly we came very close to missing our flight. We didn't take into account the time it would take to park our cars and take the shuttle to the airport and only allowed 1 hour to drive to the airport. Our house to the airport is more like 1.5 hours, OOPS. So we went through security and checked bags and made it to the gate just in time for the last boarding call, YIKES! This was Coopers first time on an airpane and Katelyn's first time where she was old encough to get what was going on. The kids did fantastic on the plane. Cooper got a bit antsy but all in all did well. Katelyn was fascinated looking out the window at the clouds. Our connecting flight was right on time and again we had just enough time to cross the airport, go to the bathroom, and board the second flight. Upon arriving at the airport my sister Tiffany met us shortly thereafter and we were ecstatic to see her. Tiffany lives near Boston in Taunton, Mass. and inspired this years vacation. We wanted to see her and sightsee and heard that Cape Cod and Boston are beautiful vacation spots. We then took off to get the rental car and off to Cape Cod we went. We vacationed with my sister Misty and her two kids as well. They left with Tiffany for a pit stop in Taunton while Ryan, the kids, and I went ahead to get checked in to the resort. We stayed in Falmouth, Mass which is on the upper cape at a resort called Surfside. We had the Atlantic Ocean and Martha's Vineyard on one side and the Great Pond to the back (both spectacular views). The resort itself was pretty nice although we were a bit disappointed that the jacuzzi tub that was supposed to be in our master bedroom was in, GET THIS, the dining room. ODD! The kitchen was also quite small but considering we spent very little time in the resort it wasn't a huge deal. After checking in and unpacking for the week we took the kids to the beach by the resort to see the ocean for the first time. They were amazed and absolutely fell in love instantly. We hunted sea shells and watched the seagulls for awhile as we waited for the rest of the crew to arrive. Once they showed up we took all the kids swimming at the indoor pool and had a little R&R in the hottub. After swimming, Tiff, Misty, and I went to grab a few groceries to get us by until our larger grocery trip the next day. Let me just say that by the end of the day I was EXHAUSTED!! I don't know how I made it through the day.
Vacation 2008 Day 1

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Professional Pictures

We had pictures taken of the kids professionally since its been a while! The weather didn't cooperate well for the outdoor ones (thanks to the wind) but we got a lot of great indoor shots. I don't know how we will ever pick which ones to get. If you would like to check out the proofs click here:

http://sammonsphotographyproofing.epglab.com/mp_client/pictures.asp

Click on "Neumann" for the event. The password is "cooper" and then scroll down and click neumann kids for all of the proofs.

Happy Father's Day!



Happy Father's Day to the greatest, goofiest, bestest Daddy in the whole wide world!
We Love You! Love Katelyn and Cooper

Our new fence!!

Hip Hip Hooray!! We finally have a fenced in back yard and our dog couldn't be happier. We have been meaning to get this done for a while now. Surprisingly the fence guys did not hit any sprinkler lines which is awesome. Also, you can see in the pictures that they finally put the bike path in next to our lot which is also fantastic news. This lot was full of weeds and bugs. Its still kind of ugly right now until they put the grass in but we are happy to be rid of the weeds. Next step, laying sod on our upper level of the back yard. Fun! Fun!

New Fence

10 years!!

Well, it is official. Ryan and I have been married for 10 years. This is 1/3 of our lives! Unbelievable. We celebrated our 10 year anniversary on Friday the 13th (crazy huh!) My mom was so sweet to babysit for us so we could celebrate. Thursday night Ryan brought home a dozen rozes that were beautiful. I was also given a card with 2000 Wii points so that I can purchase Dr. Mario (my favorite videogame). I woke Friday morning to find a homemade wedding cake made of snack cakes on the table with our wedding servers. Very cute and thoughtful. It made me chuckle. I also was given a beautiful ring with an aquamarine stone in the middle (which just happens to be Ryan's birthstone). My gifts to him were not as romantic. He got a circular saw and a garden gnome (inside joke between us). We went to dinner at Wilderness Ridge which was delicious. Next stop was Bed, Bath, and Beyond where we purchased a new down comforter for our bed. We then went to the movie The Happening. Lets just say, WORST MOVIE EVER! The acting was unbelievably bad. People were actually laughing throughout the movie which was meant to be a scary, suspenseful movie. We went home to relax but plans changed when we arrived to find out that our cat Mali had escaped out the patio door. We spent about 2 hours searching the neighborhood only to find we were chasing the wrong Siamese cat. We gave up, reported her lost, and went to bed. I wasn't able to sleep much b/c we were so worried about her safety. We put food out and thankfully Mali arrived back on our deck early the next morning. We were especially thankful b/c Mali is being treated for a horrible bladder infection and get this *KIDNEY STONES*. For those of you that know me well you also know that I have had my share of kidney stones in the past so I guess its just our luck that our poor kitty would have them too. $400 and an overnight vet stay later our kitty is doing much better. We have to continue giving her special food and a weekly laxative now (she was also severely constipated).

10th Anniversary

June 11 storms

Well, everyone living in Lincoln experienced the crazy storms last week. I think this is the first time I ever was actually terrified and certain that a tornado was about to drop from the sky and blow us away. The clouds were unbelievable early in the evening. It was almost as though they weren't real. Here are some pics we captured. We also snapped some lightning shots later that night.

June 11 Storms

Preschool Graduation Party

One of the families of a classmate in Katie's preschool class planned a huge party for the preschoolers out on their acreage. The original party date had to be changed due to rain but the party finally took place on June 7th. The party was an absolute blast. Their were multiple playrooms set up throughout the house for the kids, tons of fantastic food and drinks, horseback rides, a pinata, and dessert to top of the evening. Fun was definitely had by all! Luckily the weather, despite the ominous clouds in the background, stayed dry and sunny for us!

Preschool Party

Dance Recital

Katelyn had her 2nd annual dance recital for Club Kicks on June 1st. It took place at Irving Middle School and let me just tell you no air conditioning for 2 hours. YIKES! The girls did great and we were so proud of Katelyn. She was the loudest one in her group and impressed us by how much she has grown in her dance/cheer abilities over the past year. She has now decided that she would like to try ballet as well so we'll try a couple classes and see if she likes it. She is not really a girlie girl so I have a hard time seeing her doing ballet but we'll certainly let her try it. They did not allow pictures during the recital but here are some shots afterwards. She got flowers from Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa Schroeder, and her cousin Alyssa. Ryan's parents unfortunately missed the recital due to his Dad being hospitalized. He is home now and is feeling better but please keep him in your prayers as he recovers from a blood clot in his lung.

Dance Recital

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

First ponytail!

Well the first one that Katelyn wasn't screaming and yanking off of her head. We found out on Saturday that Katelyn needed to have her sides pulled up in a pony tail for her dance recital on Sunday so we did a practice run Sat. afternoon. For those of you that know Katelyn she is NOT a girly girl and does not tolerate ribbons and bows and all the things that Mommies want to put on their little girls. But, since she knew that she had to do it for her recital she took it in stride. Once I pulled her hair up and tied a ribbon in it she LOVED it! Now she wants one everyday. I couldn't be more excited b/c she looks adorable with all her curls.

First pony tail!

My Preschool Graduate

My little baby is a graduate!! Katelyn had her preschool graduation ceremony from Messiah on May 21st. Sorry it has taken so long to post. We started out the evening going out to dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Schroeder at Grisanti's which the kids actually enjoyed a lot. Katelyn brought her books that she had made throughout the year to show all of us. She had a alphabet book, a shapes and colors book, and a book all about her. We also got to check out her school yearbook (can u believe we already are buying yearbooks!). We presented her with a gift which she was ecstatic about. It was a tin with really nice watercolors, a matching bin for her colors, and some watercolor books. She loves painting and drawing! After dinner we went to church to the ceremony which was adorable. All her classmates in their little paper made graduation caps. Cute! Cute! Cute! They were all presented a diploma from their teacher and then they performed their song from the school operetta from a few weeks ago. There was a slide show in the church prior to the start of the ceremony that wa so fun to watch. They then had a reception in the gym following with cake, ice cream, and punch. DELICIOUS! It was all decorated and lots of fun. All of her classmates were running around searching for one another to take pictures together. Only about 6 of her 17 classmates are returning to Messiah for Kindergarten :( so it was kind of sad. Grandma and Grandpa Neumann met us at the church for the ceremony and got a huge kick out of watching with us. Cooper kept Grandma very entertained as well! You will see in the pictures several pics of Katelyn and her little friend Caleb. Katelyn and Caleb have been best buds for the last two years. They are attached at the hip and are so adorable to watch. They hold hands and never leave each others side. We are so bummed that Caleb will not be returning to Messiah for school however he does go to church there so they will still see each other. Katelyn has been very sad about this. There are also pics of her with her friends Katie and Grace. We were supposed to be attending a party for the graduates the following Sat. at one of her classmates homes but it unfortunately got rained out. However, this Sat. is the raindate so we are looking forward to the party where they have planned pony rides, games, and lots of food for the kids.

Preschool Graduation