Let it snow!

After an exhausting two days of a sicky Trevor, we woke to a wonderful white blanket of fresh snow. What a gift from our loving wonderful heavenly Father! Have you ever just took a moment to look around?? There are little love notes from Him everywhere!! In an ocean breeze. In a beautiful sunset. In a crisp cool Autumn morning. Everywhere!! And even though our last two days were physically tiring, we did not miss His gift to us this morning. It's just His way to show us that He loves us! ♥

~Elysia~

Megan

Let's just start off by saying "I'M SO PROUD of my Megan!" Meggie performed in her first piano recital yesterday.... and did FANTASTIC! If you don't know her, she's a very shy sweet girl. So, sitting in front of a room FULL of people, and playing a song she's been practicing for two to three weeks... well know that this was a big deal for her! I see her growing up into such a beautiful young lady, and my heart just bursts with pride and love. I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful daughter.

Here is her recital....I hope it comes through.

Love,
Elysia

TRAVEL! TRAVEL! TRAVEL!

We're BACK from Cali! Our trip out was wonderful and I didn't realize just how much I missed everyone until it was time to come home again! I got to see both my brothers which was awesome! And finally got to meet my new SIL in person! And their new baby RJ. He is such a doll! I loved watching him and just spending cuddle time with him. Megan thoroughly enjoyed him too. She definitely wants another little brother or sister. lol. She's so sweet. I kinda agree with her, I'm ready for another one. hehehe. I get the "baby lust" really bad. lol. What can I say? I love kids and have always wanted a BIG family. :0)

Anywho, back to our trip! My Mom had figured out we were coming out, which was a bit of a bummer....she's so hard to surprise! lol. But was so happy we were there! She was even more surprised that Jaron had come too! He hadn't been back since Great Grandma had passed away a few years ago. So, this was extra special. We spent most of our trip visiting, but had the chance to do a few fun things too.

We went to Knott's on Veteran's Day for Mom and Trevor's birthday. That was alot of FUN. Megan went on her first "up-side-down" roller coaster. She was terrified, but lived. hahaha. Trevor chickened out. lol. He says "I'll go next time we're there"...we'll see about that. Josh cried after Bigfoot Rapids. He sat between Jaron and I and got DRENCHED. Poor guy. We both were quite soggy. Seems like every rapid found us. lol. It was a fun day.

On our trip we also went to the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium. That was so neat! We saw all kinds of cool ocean critters.... one of which was a lobster as big as Joshie's torso!! It was GINORMOUS! We also saw: shark, jellyfish, sea anenomes, sea star, urchins, limpets, and all other kinds of unique sea creatures. It sure was a fun day....and educational too. The kids actually got to touch the starfish, limpets (ew!), urchins, and anenomes.

Megan and Michelle touching the sea life.

Some of the sea life...anenomes, sea stars, and a limpet up in the left corner (partially in picture).

All in all, our trip was amazing and fun! We hope to go back in a few months to help my brother move (we're hoping, it's still in the air). So, hopefully we can fit in a few more fun activities while there (like the Getty Museum!).

Well, this is long. And I appreciate you all for reading!

Hugs and God Bless!
~Elysia~

October is in FULL swing!

Well, it's official! Megan is now a Cadette!!! Whoohoo! We had a tiny little ceremony at our local park here last Sunday. She will now be working harder than ever before to earn her patches, badges and awards. But it's all worth it! She's already started on a few badges (or Interest Projects as they call them now). Child Care being the first on her list. I cannot tell you just how proud I am of her. She has pushed herself out of her comfort zone to earn some amazing awards. She's far exceeded what I ever did as a Girl Scout! She is truly an amazing young woman. :0)

This is me "bridging" Megan over to Cadettes. We took her Jr vest off and put on her new Cadette vest.

Megan also earned her Bronze Award!! Which is the HIGHEST award for a Jr Girl Scout. They had to do 25 hours of community service....which our troop/girls went and volunteered at Roice-Hurst Humane Society. They walked, brushed and played with dogs, loved on the kitties, and washed a dog or two also! They also built bird houses to be donated and picked up trash at a local state park. Our girls worked very hard to achieve this award. Good job ladies!


On to other news, soccer is doing well. We are almost done with our season here and are already signed up for our next one! Both Trevor and Megan are doing awesome! Trevor just had his first chance as goalie at our last game in Carbondale! He did great! And really enjoyed himself. I see much improvement in them both! They ROCK!



Megan's #63
Sprinting for the ball...GO MEG!


Here are a few pics of our hikes after some soccer games.....

Old buildings at Sylvan Lake

The Fam at Sylvan Lake
Me and the Hubby at Sylvan Lake
The boys trying not to fall into Sylvan Lake! haha
A HUGE dandylion head at Sylvan Lake

The kids at Rifle Falls....it was raining to boot! lol The extra kid is our friend Paulette.
The top of the falls...looking upstream. So pretty.
The boys under the falls.


So as you can see...we've been mighty busy. Add in homeschooling and work, and you'd have to say we're insanely busy. lol. But we love it and wouldn't have it any other way!

Blessings!!!
~Elysia~

Black Canyon of the Gunnison

We had a blast yesterday!! We had a soccer game in Montrose yesterday and decided since we were down there to check out Black Canyon. All I can say is "WOW!". That place is amazing!!! And it's hidden right there between Montrose and Gunnison. Not far at all. (I think I read it's 15 mi east of Montrose). We were so impressed we're already wanting to go back. The canyon is amazing. And we saw three deer within touching distance of our vehicle on our way out of the park. So my kids got a close up view of them! We also saw a stellar jay, tons of turkey vultures, squirrels and chipmunks. The kids got Jr Ranger booklets from the visitor center and worked on them all afternoon. But missed the chance to turn them in before they closed for the day. We plan on going back soon, so we'll keep them and turn them in then. We learned about different types of rocks (I'm a geek and find that interesting! lol), plants, etc. We even drove down East Portal road....which is intensly steep (16% grade for 5 miles....a 2000' drop in elevation!). But was well worth it. Once we got to the bottom and touched the Gunnison river, we talked to a park ranger and he pointed out a HUGE boulder that had dropped down recently.....he told us it was a 6 1/2 million ton (I think it was ton and not pounds!) boulder that fell some 2000' before landing on the road....it hit so hard it BUCKLED the asphalt and left a HUGE crater! This boulder was two to three times the size of my suburban!!!! The kids LOVED it because they actually got to touch the huge rock! Megan was being all shy and bashful in front of Justin, our ranger. lol. It was cute. On our way out of the canyon we saw our Stellars Jay. it was so gorgeous...and BRIGHT blue! It was an awesome day to say the least. Well, besides being scared out of my mind at the overlooks. Why did God create kids with no sense of fear!?? And a desire to scare the "you know what" outta Mom! hahaha. Poor me. I had a near heart attack several times! lol. Better yet, why do I have to have a fear of heights!!!! I hate that I have it. And I'm trying to work on it. But man! I tell ya. Sometimes it's so bad, I freeze up. Maybe I should do a "zip line" over the canyon. That'll cure me! hahaha.

Well, that was our day. So much fun. If you haven't been....you need to!

Hugs and Love,
Elysia

Wow! Where has August gone??!!

So, I'm sitting here making out my schedule for homeschooling, sports and just plain housekeeping...and I cannot believe that August is almost over already!!! Where has it gone? Soon, the leaves will be changing colors and the temps will be cooler, and we'll be apple picking and pie baking! Oooh, how I LOVE Autumn!!! I thoroughly enjoy the crisp cool air, the crunchy leaves underfoot, and the fact that I can finally bake without the house heating up and "baking" us!! Grand Junction has tons of fruit stands and "pick your own" orchards. We will be taking advantage of the fact that the kids are HOME, by going to one and filling up on apples. We've been blessed at second-run peaches (all free!). I tried my hand at peach freezer jam. Kinda runny, but oh so yummy! My kids raved! Then a good friend of mine that I work with gave me some "beet jelly"....oh my gosh! It was sooooo delicious. Sounds gross, but I told her I'd BUY from her, if she ever made enough to sell!! Even Jaron loved it! (Gotta get that recipe!) I think this year, I'll invest in some canning equipment. I already have some jars that I just bought for jelly....they're way too big for it. But would be awesome for jarring up apple sauce. Yum!!! I just cannot wait!

Things here are busy as usual. Been trying to get my curriculum down (as in, decided on!!) and bought. Who knew that curriculum could cost so much! OUCH! I did NOT look at the prices before deciding to HS. But I'm so happy the kids will be home with me. I miss them when they are at school. I cannot wait to enjoy every minute with them...and watch them grow. :0)

So far soccer has been awesome! We haven't actually played a game yet, but both the kids are really doing well in their practices. Jaron's boss even sponsored our team!! They are paying for new uniforms for all the players!!! What a blessing!!! Trevor is doing extremely well, considering he has NEVER played before. He catches on so quickly....it even surprised Coach! Megan is really hustling this year. We may get her to "2 1/2 gear" this season!!! hahaha. Even the team Mom was impressed by how well she's doing. She's way more aggressive (in a good way).

Well, that's about all that's happening in the Schu' household. Busy with sports, school and work...as usual. Will keep you all posted on any new news!

Hugs and Blessings to all!

Love,
Elysia

Busy Busy!

So, as you know....Megan is working towards her Girl Scout Bronze Award...the highest award a Jr can earn. She has a total of 15 service hours she must complete in her project. Of which there are strict guidelines she must follow...one example is she can't work with animals and then go work at the homeless shelter and count both activities towards her project. Her hours must all be related to "animals". So, yesterday, Megan and I spent the morning volunteering at our local no-kill shelter
( http://roicehursthumanesociety.org ). We walked several dogs and played with TONS of kitties (of all ages). It was a lot of fun. She is now almost done with her service hours!! She MUST get all done by Sept. 5th...because she is bridging up to Cadettes! So far, Megan has 12 hours done! Yay! We plan to go over next week and finish up her hours. :0) So we are very excited to almost be done with that. I cannot tell you just how proud I am of her and her Jr. accomplishments! She has far exceeded what I did as a Jr. And I partially credit that to her best friend, Keely. Keely is an awesome young lady who is very driven and pushes herself. I see her influencing my Megan to do far more then she would have on her own. I believe she's teaching Megan to set goals and achieve them! We're very blessed to have her in our lives. :0) They both are going to be bridging to Cadettes, but will be "Juliettes"....meaning they will not be affiliated with any one troop. This is a new chapter for us, but feel it's the best thing for us at this time. We will be having our hands full with work, homeschool, sports, and scouts. So, being a Juliette will free up some nights a week. I'll post pics/video of Megan bridging on here once we get there. Be sure to check back often for those!

Here is a project Megan did at a council event called "Some'er Sewing".


Here's Megan with her leader, Terri...receiving her badges she'd earned thru the year.

Wow!

Okay, so I just happened to see a gal I "know"'s blog spot and thought this would be an awesome place for family to see what we've been up to. And the fact that I'm super geeky came into play! lol. What can I say. I love technology. lol.

Life here in the Schumacher house is beginning to get crazy busy. I've decided to bring all three kids home to homeschool this year. Daunting??? OH YES!!! But I have an awesome Resource Consultant that is helping me every inch of the way. I've only met with her once so far, but I'm super impressed with what I've seen. I meet again with her on Monday.

On top of that, we have soccer starting and instead of just Megan, I have now added Trevor into the mix. Should be super fun!! They're both on the same Semi-Competitive team...which makes it super easy. Although Trevor has never played before. But he's like his daddy...very athletic, and catches on easily.

We're still doing Girl Scouts this year. But instead of Jr's....my Megan is bridging up to Cadettes. I'm excited for her, yet nervous...it's sooo much more work. She's currently working on her Bronze Award. She had to do several badges and about 15 service hours. She chose to focus on animals. She's already done about 10 of her hours....going and helping at our local no-kill shelter. She plays with the dogs, walks them, brushes them, and sometimes bathes them. It's fun. And she's learning alot about what it takes to be a responsible pet owner. It's awesome to see her grow.

Trevor, these days is all sports. He's so like his daddy. He totally is enjoying summer, playing with friends, going to the skate park, swimming, etc. He and Josh have awesome tans...the envy of most that just burn. lol.

Josh is still my little 'gamer'. Loving his PS2. I have to actually "ground" him from it, or he'd live on it. lol. He's enjoying the summer also with swimming and playing with neighborhood friends.

Jaron just ended his summer softball league, but will be back in a few weeks playing on the fall league. We sure love going and watching him play. He's still working hard at CAPCO...but isn't working at La Quinta anymore. They messed up his hours when we didn't have a vehicle and didn't put it back the way it was. Which is a bummer. He'd been there 5 yrs just at this property...and 7 all together. He and I are currently working on debt-reduction so we can go on family vacations and the like. We are so looking forward to being debt-free by next year!

Well, this is where I end. I believe I've blogged your ears off. lol. Hope all is well out there.

Hugs and I'll blog again!
~E~