Labor Day Weekend 2019

We had a lot crammed into Labor Day weekend, but it was a lot of fun!  Danny's company offered discounted tickets for Cedar Point - we also had free parking and free lunch/drinks.  The kids had never been to Cedar Point before, but knowing that they're not dare devils, we decided this was an offer we couldn't pass!

Google maps took us the back way into the park - check out this view of Lake Erie!

That Saturday also happened to be the Buckeye's football season opener

We started the day on the bumper cars - the kids loved it

Next up, the Ferris wheel!  Both kids were a little nervous while standing in line.

One of the best things about Cedar Point (aside from having the best coasters around), are the views!

We were up high and could see the whole park!

It sure was windy and chilly up there!

I told Cadence I wouldn't post this picture on Facebook, and I didn't, but I HAVE to include it here. She was beyond nervous about riding her first roller coaster.  I'm actually really surprised she actually sat down.

Squeezing Daddy's arm...

I screwed up & let a couple go in front of us so they could ride with their family, not realizing it was going to throw off our order, so Cadence and Danny rode before Colin & me.  Here's Colin waiting his turn...poor Cadence in the background.

And here they are AFTER!  They both loved it... and wanted to ride again!  But it was getting late and the lines were so long.

Last stop were the old "timey" cars.  The kids drove and had a blast.

We got back home at a decent time after stopping for dinner.  I did a load of laundry, we packed up, and headed to Hamilton the next morning.  After hanging out at Danny's parents' house for the day, we went to Cincinnati for the WEBN Labor Day fireworks.  We always like to get there early and play around.  It had rained earlier in the day, so the cool weather we were expecting was actually warm and muggy!  The kids cooled off in the mist.

A lady took our picture for us - actually, she took several, but watch how the fountain stairs change color!

I mentioned it was humid - with each firework that got shot off, the smoke just lingered.  You couldn't really see any of the fireworks 5 minutes into the show.  A lot of people left.  We stuck it out, though, and toward the end, we could see most of the finale.

Oh, and our poor pup - she was SOOOO sick for a week.  Like, constant diarrhea.  After a trip to the vet and a trip to OSU's emergency vet, she was on the mend.  The vet gave us a probiotic to put on her food and OSU recommended we add Metamucil powder as well.  They also gave her subcutaneous fluid (which I had never seen before) which gave her a huge lump on her back!  There was no evidence of a bowel obstruction, so we just had to wait it out.  We're still not 100% sure what happened - if she ate something outside, or if it was from the week old chicken we added to her food as a treat one day - (I'm thinking the latter) but we're very relieved she's back to her normal self.

First Day of School 2019

This year we have a 4th grader and a 1st grader!  It's hard to believe!  It's also crazy to think that this is the last year that the kids will be in the same school until high school.  The way our district is set up, elementary school is K-4, the intermediate school is 5th and 6th, middle school is 7th & 8th, and high school is 9th-12th.    It will make for some interesting years ahead!  The kids were excited for school to start up and they are both enjoying their classes and teachers.  Colin is blowing us away with his reading and he's now able to add 2 numbers (both with 2 digits) in his head!  Cadence is doing a great job with "story problems" and is so creative!

Colin's class drank "jitter juice" to get rid of their "first day jitters"

Good looking group of kids!

They worked on teamwork and communication with a hula hoop challenge.

His class also made friendship bracelets.  He's got a great teacher!

Colin's class filled up their class marble jar (for good behavior) and voted on a popsicle party.

Our friends had a birthday party at their neighborhood pool the weekend after school started.  We've been to their pool several times, but this was the first year the kids were brave enough to go off the diving boards.  Colin even went down the water slide!  It was so fun watching them try new things!

Cadence got to see her buddy from summer camp.  They made a towel fort.  They're so cute and silly!

Climbin' a Tree

Colin was climbing the Japanese Maple tree in the front yard one day after lacrosse.  I got the fancy camera out again for some practice (and to try to get some cute photos) - enjoy!

Sports Sports Sports

This fall has been a busy, but fun sports season!  We took a break from taekwondo for a couple of months, or we'd have something going on almost every single day of the week.  It's also nice for the kids to be able to focus on just a couple of activities.  Colin is playing flag football and lacrosse for the first time and Cadence is cheering for tackle football.  These are all new sports for the Schuermans, so it's been nice learning and watching our kids learn as well!

During the week, each kid has practice (once a week) and football games are on Saturdays.  One particular Sunday, we had football photos...

...followed by Colin's first lacrosse game...

(Cadence "did" my hair)

...followed by Cadence's cheer photos.  It was quite a hectic morning!

The lacrosse Colin is participating in is "zip" lacrosse through i9 sports.  Each Sunday he has a 30 minute practice followed by a 30 minute game.  Things are slightly different than full-fledged lacrosse and there are no pads or helmets, but the basics of the game are pretty much the same.  To encourage passing, when one of the kids has possession of the ball, they have to pass it at least once before they try to score.

The cheerleaders hold the banner for the football team to run through before each game.

There are only 4 girls on Cadence's cheer squad, but they are doing such a great job!  I love all of their cheers and they don't repeat a single cheer during an entire game.  Some cheers are really cute and make you chuckle!

Colin's slowly learning the game of flag football and his skills are getting better with every game.  It's hard to say if he'll play next fall (or maybe give soccer a try).  We shall see!  

I'm not sure what this pose is, but we'll take it!

Colin was a sportsmanship winner early in the season - he was very proud of his medal.  He tries so hard at each lacrosse game.  It's been a lot of fun!

Danny caught a snake one day in the back yard after lacrosse - eww!

Mom's 60th Birthday Bash

So, I was horrible about capturing moments of my mom's 60th birthday party via photo.  We hosted the party in our back yard, so with all of that busy-ness, it got overlooked.  Our family friend, who is a self-taught photographer, was in attendance, so I did bust out the fancy camera for some pointers.  The following pics are all that I got - sorry, mom.  But I hope you enjoyed your special day and you have memories of that night and the ones that love you very much!

See what I mean?  The photos were more "me playing with the camera" than actually getting good photos of my mom with her closest friends/family. Shame on me!  I always hate bugging people for photos, so this is the best I did. Such a big milestone birthday for my mom, who means so much to me, and I don't have much to show for it!  I know my mom had a good time, though.  I invited people that she didn't expect and it was nice to spend time with everyone.  It was really hot, so the kids took relief in the pool!  We all love my mom so much - she deserved a day celebrating her and what a great person she is.  Love you, Mom!