The End

I asked the girls if they could help Daddy by raking the leaves.  They were happy to help, but in the process, they created a mini "city", with "roads" that led to everything in their imagination.   The lawn didn't get completely raked, but boy, did they have fun!

Every year, my Christmas cactus blooms at the end of October.  It reminds me of my Mom and I am always in awe of the many beautiful blooms.

The girls had Veteran's Day off of school and it was such a lovely day, that we went for a walk on one of the many trails in our neighborhood.  The girls found huge leaves and had fun playing on the tree stumps along the way.

I am grateful that both of my girls love to read.  We came home from the library and shortly thereafter, I found each girl in their own "spot" reading.  Not sure how they chose those "spots, but it worked for them, ha-ha.

After Thanksgiving, we did our annual "search for the perfect Christmas tree" tradition and we were grateful that we got a break in the rain to do it.

When you pick a Christmas tree that is very tall, you have to use a ladder to decorate the top half.  Amelia was happy to help with the high ones.  I preferred to have both feet on the ground and not watch Amelia on the ladder, ha-ha.  I used to be very particular about how and where the ornaments got placed, but this year, I just let the girls decorate along side me and I thought the tree turned out beautifully.

This year, we also continued our tradition of naming something we were grateful for each night at dinner.  This year, the "leaves" turned into flower petals, but we were still thankful. 

Out of the blue, Amelia decided that she wanted to have a tea party.  She made this invitation, and asked me to make enough copies for each person in the family.  When we got to the tea party, she had everything all set up and planned out.  I love that girl's creativity!

The elementary school had their annual Math/ Cocoa Night.  We used a gingerbread man to estimate and measure things around the school . . .

and then they were rewarded with a sugar/gingerbread cookie to frost and decorate, with plenty of hot cocoa on the side.

A friend invited us to join them at the zoo for Zoolights.  The weather was frightful that day with torrential rain and howling wind, but miraculously, the weather cleared just as we got into the zoo, and we had a delightful, but chilly evening with friends.

I enjoy our annual sugar cookies making at Christmas, but I still have to spread out the "joy".  We make the sugar cookies on the 23rd . . . 

 and decorate on the 24th. . . making sure to pick out their favorites to leave for Santa.

Christmas was a quiet and peaceful day, with no obligations, and plenty of time to enjoy new gifts, family, and food. 

And with that, not only does that bring us to the end of the year, but also to the end of this blog.  It's been a good journey and I've had fun sharing our adventures with anyone willing to listen.   But this year I've had a hard time keeping up with the blog and I decided it was time to bring it to a close.  If you're interested in following the Schnell's adventures, you can catch us on Instagram at sharon.schnell. 

That's it in a nut-Schnell.  Happy New Year!

It's Autumn Time

Can it be possible that the girls have already been in school for almost 2 months . . . or that anyone still reads this blog (ha-ha)?  I'm eating my way through the girl's Halloween candy and waiting for laundry to be done before going to bed, so I thought I'd catch up our blog.

A week before school started, I took the girls to Portland for some Mommy/ Daughter time.  They had been complaining that I "hardly did anything with them this summer", so I planned this 2 day trip, just for the fun of it.  We went bowling at a hip restaurant in Portland . . . 

Played tether ball and visited with the Bullocks . . .

Went to one of our favorite parks and joined some friends for dinner.

That night we stayed at the Residence Inn - Portland RiverPlace.  The hotel I used to work in and where I met Ken.  It was fun to be back - to show the girls around the place and introduce them to co-workers who are still there.  Then we headed to OMSI for a day of science and play.

The next weekend, Ken and his band played a gig that the girls and I were able to attend.  I always enjoy it . . . the girls lose interest after 2-3 songs, ha-ha.

And then it was finally time for school to start.  Sophia was beyond excited to be out of Kindergarten and finally into 1st grade . . . although she really wants to be in 2nd ;)

Amelia is looking so grown up as she heads into 3rd grade.  She has a teacher that hands out candy for correct answers - a perfect teacher for Amelia!

On Sept. 15, we headed to Seattle to Safeco Field to hear the Prophet, Russell M. Nelson, speak.  It was packed and we got there just as it was starting, so we had to sit behind the podium (we're in the outfield, turning our head with everyone else to watch on the jumbo screen.)

Regardless of our position, it was a thrill to be in the stadium with 40k+ other church members and to hear the prophet speak directly to us.  The girl's favorite part was riding the light-rail back and forth to the event.

On Sept. 19th, I flew to California to visit 2 hotels.  We flew over Crater Lake National Park.  It was so cool to see it from that angle.

One of the hotels I visited ended up being 5 min. from the Sacramento temple and I had time to not only visit the temple grounds, but to do a session as well.  

It was a wonderful way to end a long day.

The day I got back, I helped at Sophie's field trip to the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge.  It's almost always raining when I go there, but it is still beautiful.  Do you spy all 3 frogs?

My next adventure was to Yakima to visit another hotel.  I didn't want to take the freeway, but following my "shortest route" on GPS put me on a Forest Service road, "not maintained during winter" type road.  Thankfully, it wasn't winter and I made it to where I needed to go . . . and enjoyed beautiful views of Mt. Rainier along the way.

Oct. 13th was our ward's Chili Cook-off.  Ken and a committee were in charge of the event and asked me to get some kids from the Primary to be judges, along with the Bishop and the missionaries.  Sophie loves chili and took her role as judge very seriously.  She was just sad that she couldn't convince the other kids to choose my chili as a winner, ha-ha.

Sophie came home from school one day with a certificate of "Achievement" and told me she got her picture taken and met the Principal with a group of other kids.  Neither one of us can figure out what the "Achievement" was for, but I saw her picture on the wall at school the next time I went to volunteer.  Way to go, Sophie, for whatever you did!

Our ward had a condensed version of a trunk or treat 2 weeks before Halloween for a family in our ward.  Turns out Amelia and her friend were perfect companions for the evening.

I tried to get into the spirit of things by dressing up too.  Thank goodness it didn't rain so that me and my pony didn't get wet.

The girls had a great time gutting and carving their pumpkins.  They did it all by themselves (except for a bit of scraping out on the inside).  I was so impressed.

Sophie turned 7 . . . and this is the only picture I have . . . but isn't it a cute one?  Sophie and her best friend, celebrated Sophie's birthday at Charlie's Safari, and had a great time running around and playing.

Tonight we went to our ward's regular Trunk or Treat.  There were a lot of kids there and I actually ran out of candy.  Amelia had already gone around once and then some, so she started to hand out candy from her bucket to the kids who were still coming.  What an angel!

I've got a sugar rush, the laundry is done, and it's time for bed.  Cheers until next time!

Blueberries, the Fair, and Montana

Our annual tradition is to pick blueberries at Charlotte's Blueberry park in Tacoma.  The berries are small, but plentiful and free.

I have 2 good helpers and after about an hour, we've picked a bag and we're ready to go!

 

It's also become a tradition to attend the SW Washington Fair in Chehalis, WA.  My girls love the carousel. . .

  . . . interactive exhibits. . .

 and cotton candy (which I never buy, but I surprised them this year!).

On the 19th, we hit the road again . . . this time to Montana to visit Ken's Dad.  We always pack lots of entertainment for the car, but I loved it when I turned around and saw this . . .

 and this!  I love that my girls love to read!

Our first day in Montana was cold and rainy, but that didn't stop us from enjoying the world's fastest (or so they say) carousel in Missoula.  I even rode it this time - yee-haa!

And right next door is this awesome playground area . . . and thankfully, the rain stopped long enough for us to enjoy it for awhile.

On Tuesday, we went to a RV park/ campground with Ernie.  The park had cool hiking trails . . .

where we sighted Sasquatch . . . 

 . . . and lots of tree faces.

Ken ended up in "Jail" for making faces at the trees ;)

 We swam in the pool . . . 

and hung out on the porch swing, played games, and relaxed.

I had a lot of work to do while we were in Montana, so while I worked, Ken and Sophie explored Ernie's property and neighboring area from Ernie's side-by-side. . . .

  . . . and Amelia went for a ride in Grandpa's "roadster".

On Thursday, we drove to the Idaho/ Montana border and did the Route of the Hiawatha bike trail -15 miles down an old railroad line, complete with tunnels and trestles.

We had the girls in the Burley trailer because we weren't sure they could bike 15 miles on gravel . . . or be okay in the tunnels on their own bikes (frankly, I wasn't sure I could do it).

The girls didn't mind the height of looking over the edge of the trestles, but it freaked me out seeing them get so close.

Even though Amelia said she would have preferred to have been on her own bike (probably because she saw kids younger than her on their own bikes), it worked out having them in the bike trailer because Sophie wasn't feeling good that day with a fever off and on, with headaches.

It was a fun adventure . . . but next time I need better shocks and fatter tires.  Gravel road is not comfortable to ride on, even when you are going downhill :)