Mizzou Homecoming & ESPN Game Day

This past weekend was MU's Homecoming and also a big day for football in Columbia as ESPN Game Day came to town for the game. They estimated 18,000 people at the Quad for the broadcast. We watched it on TV - it was a little bit calmer. The game was not until 7 - so we started our marathon tailgating around 11. This year was the first time we have gone to the parade. The girls loved it. We came prepared with candy buckets and they made quite a haul.


The girls always love the MU Golden Girls - they would have walked with them if we would have let them.


The band - a little loud for Megan, but she held her own. We snuck up front after the band went by so they could get some goodies. We had these very nice (and loud) MU alumni by us who found it their mission to yell at anyone with candy to give it to the girls. They did well.



Here we are in the front now saying goodbye to Game Day.


We purchased some Tiger ears and a Tiger tail for the truck at the bookstore. The tail actually roars which we didn't know until Abby showed us. She then showed everyone in a 20 ft. radius as well. She was quite social. We to mix the Hawkeye top with the Mizzou bottoms. By the way the Hawks played we maybe should have worn Mizzou.


This is as close as Abby will get to Truman the Tiger. It was a new addition to our tailgate group. In the parade Abby hid behind Suellen when Truman and Baby Truman came by. Megan then attacked the blow up Truman and took it off it's stand so it was done.


Megan was busy making the rounds and eating cheese as usual.

This is her version of washers.

Somehow the kids managed to last all the way until 6:15 when we headed back home for those of us that didn't have tickets. It made for a long night, but worth it. I think we are still recovering.

This weekend is full of Halloween festivities. Parties, bonfires, hayrides, oh and candy.

Plus we will be welcoming a couple new babies this week - a Cowan and a Resnik. We're waiting patiently for their arrivals.

Shryocks Corn Maze

This past Sunday we took a trip with friends out to Shryocks Callaway Farms
This was our pumpkin gathering trip as well. They are already picked so there aren't many photos from that as Tim and I were the judges of what to pick out, the girls just wanted to run around.


Some forced photos as we had everyone dressed up for Halloween photos.


A family shot before the maze.

If you go on the website you can see the design of the corn maze. This years theme was Around the World. There is actually a trivia quest with 8 check points with questions at each check point. As you can see we were being lead by two 3 year olds so we were lucky to find the 2 check points we did. After all that walking it was time to make our way back to the front of the maze.

A little sisterly love at a check point stop.



We did not bring a stroller so Tim had to step up with some transportation for Megan, she was getting a little tired.


Our presidential girls.

We had to have some fun too!

Inside the barn there is a huge gum ball coaster as they call it. You can buy a gumball for $.25 then watch it try to make it's way to the end. From what we saw it usually gets off track so we decided to invest our money in some Tiger Tracks ice cream after trekking around the corn maze.

One last family photo with one of the scare crows.

This weekend is the MU vs. OU game and ESPN game day will be in Columbia MO!! It is going to be an extremely crazy weekend, and it's Homecoming on top of that. I think our attempt to go to the parade will be challenging with the traffic issues, but we'll see how it goes.

Everyone Loves a Parade

This past weekend was Homecoming for North Callaway High School so they have a parade through Auxvasse. Abby's preschool class also had a float in the parade so we got our first taste of Homecoming.


The parade was a long Main Street in Auxvasse so Megan and I walked up from our babysitter's house. I don't know if Megan really had a clue what to expect, but was excited that there were all these people and wanted to be standing with them.


Megan wasn't too fond of the band, but about marched off with the high school cheerleaders! She was clapping along and started walking after them - that's why there is no picture of them as I had to go retrieve her.

The T-Bird Preschool float! Tim and Abby are up front throwing candy.

Abby is trying to throw candy to her friends that were with us from daycare. Just to point out - Tim is in his matching T-bird preschool shirt as well.

It went by pretty quickly - but as Abby said later "It was the best parade ever!"

Applesauce and Mizzou Game

This weekend we actually stayed home.....but were very busy. Typical Schmidt weekend I guess.
One of the Powers family traditions that my Grandma did was to make applesauce every year. She used to do apple butter and some other items as well. I can remember when Andrew, Tony, and I would go out and fill the bushel basket full of apples from her 3 trees, and rotten ones got thrown across the ditch.
This past Christmas my mom bought us a foley mill so we could continue making applesauce. So this Friday evening we made our first attempt at applesauce making - and canning all at the same time.


My little helpers of course. Our apples are boiling and it smelled great!



One last shot before the work.


Our first batch of apples.

Abby helping with the foley mill. She thought it was great that she could look underneath and see that she had made applesauce. She is ready to make it again.

More help, and more applesauce.

Megan had to get in to the grove as well.


She couldn't quite reach to get the mill all the way around but still have fun just moving it back and forth. I didn't take a picture of the final product. We ended up with 5 quarts of applesauce. We thought it would have been more, but now we know. It actually went quickly and smoothly and all the cans sealed. Not bad for my first attempt.



Saturday was a home game for Mizzou so we headed out to the stadium for some tailgating.

Megan has her own way of conquering bean bags. She was the secret weapon for the college kids.


Our official tailgating photo. It was one way to keep them contained.

At the game. Abby was actually having a great time so I don't know why she was being shy about the photos. She paid attention to the game, cheered for the "ZOU" and informed Tim she was going to be a dance cheerleader when she grows up.

Here's a little halftime tailgating. Megan I think ate from 8-3 constantly. She especially liked this picnic table. We had to drag her away kicking and screaming.

Mizzou ended up winning, so did Iowa so not a bad game. We got home before the rain which was nice. So our after game BBQ ended up being an after game pizza party with BBQ wings.

Updated Megan & Abby Photos

Megan is officially 18 months old (well really almost 19 months by now) so we had some additional photos taken of her. She continues to look very similar to Abby other than their hair. Megan's is still very fine and of course blonder. Her 18 month appointment was fine. She's 95% in height and only 90% in weight and head circumference. We hope she'll be talking a little bit more in the near future. Tim is getting a little tired of hearing Mama.

Our photo "experience" was slightly more challenging than it has ever been and I doubt it will get easier. However with some major zooming in as the photographer had to have a wide lens to have a chance of getting all of Megan in the photo we got a couple good shots.


Megan at 18 months.


Of course we had to have some Abby photos as well. She is 3-1/2 now, and this was her least cheesy pose/smile of them all.

This was one of the better pictures with both of them, even though it looks like Abby is choking Megan. We'll take what we can get!

This was one of the first photos before the craziness started. I thought the flowers matched their dresses nicely.

Enjoy!

Auxvasse Art Festival

This weekend we stayed home to catch up at home and relax a little bit. Saturday there was an art festival in Auxvasse, MO where Abby and Megan go to daycare and Abby goes to preschool so we decided to go participate. Tim had to work on Saturday and Sunday so the girls and I packed up and headed out.

We ended up dragging our babysitter Taunia, her husband, and daughter with us as well - thanks for being troopers!


Our first activity of the day was to make necklaces out of beads. You can see Abby is concentrating and Megan is just happy to be in a chair. Another older girl from the daycare group made a necklace for Megan though so don't worry, she has one too.


Next was a visit to the Alpacas that were brought out. Megan thought they were great, or she was just happy she had a view through the fence - we're not sure.


There was a 3 day old baby alpaca that Megan thought was great. She was bound and determined to touch one of them and eventually got the tail of the Mama Alpaca.

Next stop was leaf painting/stamping table. Abby's pre-school teacher Mr. Pasley was in charge of that table. You painted a leaf for the outer rim then turned it over and used it as a stamp.



Megan managed to get a beach ball, so spent a good amount of the time throwing it, running in to things, and throwing it again. She was entertaining to say the least.


We also had dance shows put on by the junior and senior dance squads for the high school and also this cheer leading group. Abby is in the front row clapping along if you can see her blue shirt. If you couldn't guess she really liked this part.

Our second to last craft was to make a stamp. You put items (buttons, paper, felt, etc) on a tile; painted it; and then stamped it on the paper. Megan had her own version of course.
This is Carmen's stamp that we are taking apart and rolling.

Now she is loading up her "items".

Finished product. The stamping ladies at the table thought she was just the funniest little girl. She was very focused (her Aunt Colleen will be proud).

This weekend we have the wedding of our friends Justin and Suellen in Burlington, IA. The girls are going up to Iowa City for a couple nights so we can have a good time - kid free.

Fall Fun Festival

This past Labor Day weekend the girls and I headed up to Iowa City for some time with my parents, Iowa Football, and the Regina Fall Fun Festival. We ended up going to the festival during the football game so we had no waiting on rides at all, which if you have kids that don't enjoy waiting in line like mine can enjoy that. Unfortunately they weren't tall enough to ride more than this saucer ride, the carousel, and the "Fun House". But that was enough to make them happy.


Megan was actually tall enough to ride this ride by herself with Abby.


They both had a great time.
After our 25 tickets disappeared (very quickly I might add) we played one fishing game. This picture was right before Megan just started pulling the fish out with her hands. You're suppose to fish out one - I'm pretty sure she had 7.

The weather was great and we got to be outside the whole time until the rain hit on Monday. The girls especially enjoyed my parents sliding glass door - great fun to open and shut.

Monday we took the boat out - pretty windy so the lake was rough in the channel, and since we had a cold front the previous week the water was a little chilly too.

This weekend we are actually going to stay home since we have been on the road for a while. Plenty to always do it seems.