GBS Girls Weekend

This past weekend was our annual "GBS Girls Weekend" down at the Lake of the Ozarks. We had our usual crowd, minus Leann unfortunately - Saskatoon was a little far to go for a weekend trip.

We all arrived Thursday evening and ate at Tres Hombres (oddly enough my request for Mexican if you can believe that! They have the best Queso dip!) Then we went back to the Cowan house to unload our gear, have some more beverages and catch up. Friday morning - fishing was attempted by Greg and Tim only to get rained on. Thankfully the storm passed quickly and we took both our boat and Dave's (or Ashley's boat as the kids say) to Scott's house for the day. The lake was empty so we got to use our boat to tube and ski without any issues. The afternoon was spent at Scott's chilling at the dock, enjoying margaritas, BBQ & friends.
Friday night we had babysitters and the adults got to go to the Trail House for dinner and then Hollywood Dolly's for a revisit of New Years a couple years ago.

Saturday was a cove day - the morning was rained out for any skiing/tubing but we were going to go out at noon one way or another. After a trip back for the anchor - we made it to a new cove suggested by our friends for an afternoon of more beverages and friends and good times. The sun even managed to peak out at us in the afternoon to make it just a little bit warmer.

Sunday (of course the warmest day of the weekend) we had breakfast at Captain Ron's and then the group had to depart for the drives/flights. Since we don't have that long of a drive we got to enjoy some time at the swim dock at the Cowan's house with the Taris family plus Jess/Rob. The sun was out and the water felt very good. Megan even went down the slide multiple times and there were some wave runner rides for the kids to enjoy.

On our trip back to Columbia Tim decided we should eat at Shakespears (and who am I to argue with that?) so we hooked up with the Slenker family for pizza and then ice cream at Shaky's - which is where the photo of the girls comes in to play as they always like to get their picture with the bulldog. It was a nice ending to a great weekend.

Now we just need to catch up on all the laundry, sleep, cleaning, and detoxing from all the food and drinks.




Happy Birthday to my Mom who turned another year older on Saturday. They spent the weekend in Chicago with my two brothers and their wives for some Chi-town fun. However from what I hear Mr. Trump needs to work on the service level at his Tower......better hop to it Donald.

Father's Day Weekend

I hope everyone had a great Father's Day and showered the much deserving Dad's with love and maybe a couple gifts. We spent Father's Day on Mark Twain Lake with Tim's family and had a great time. Didn't get any pictures though - you'll have to ask Pam or Betsy for some photos of the tubing or Theo (pretending) to drive the boat. This was his first time on the boat - he's more of a captain than anything else. The water was a little cold in the cove we swam in - which we figured out last night after wards that it was close to a spring fed area so that's why it was colder. The water was actually warmer in the main channel. After the boating we had a family meal at the Rustic Cabin then headed back to Columbia.


So these photos are from Saturday. Since it was Father's Day weekend - why not do a project with Mom :)


Home Depot was having their monthly Kid's workshop - which we have yet to participate in due to our crazy schedules. So I packed up the kids and headed to Home Depot so we could make our tool boxes. The girls are all outfitted with their "tools" and kits for the tool boxes. I do have to say they are ridiculously cute - I could be biased.


We are almost done with the constructing. I'm trying to help both with the hammering - but still let them do it.



That's where our trusty Home Depot associate Blake comes in to assist so we can get both girls hammering.


Last step is the Ryobi stickers that came with the kit.

Finished - and proud of our work. They also cleaned up their work stations too if you noticed.

The girls also got certificates of completion which they proudly showed their Dad when they got home.

And since we are girls we had to paint our toolboxes.

Saturday afternoon we had a birthday party for the girls, dinner with friends, and then some serious crashing. Sunday was much the same, but well worth it for time with the family on the boat.

Big Cedar Weekend

This past weekend the Schmidt and Cowan families headed down to Ridgedale, MO and Table Rock Lake for a weekend of fun at Big Cedar. We brought our boat down too so there could be some fishing and boating as well. We made it down to Rogersville Thursday evening and spent the night at the Cowan house and then headed out early Friday morning to enjoy the resort.
We did our owner's update while Jenn bravely stayed with the kids in the Kid's room, ate lunch at Devil's Pool, finally got the boat in the water and in the slip (had some technical issues with all the high water and finding a boat ramp that was deep enough), went swimming at the pools, and then took a sunset boat ride. It was a VERY busy day.



Saturday morning Tim and Dave went fishing - so of course we had all the kids and went and played at the park for a while, then decided to attempt to take them to the stables to do a pony ride. Ashley had been very excited about it.


First we had to pick out our Cowgirl Barrel Racer outfits that were part of the package.

Here is Ashley on "Chester". She was all smiles and very excited about the trip.

Megan is watching with a not so happy look on her face.


Here is Abby on her ride with Chester - this is actually the after photo as she was throwing a fit before and didn't want to ride until they started going and she had a great time. Just have to trust mom every now and then.......


This was Megan's close encounter with Chester - no riding actually took place. She wasn't going to do it. So Ashley and Abby got to take another shorter ride since they wanted to and it was easier than waiting to get our money back from Megan freaking out and not wanting to ride.


The girls with Chester.

We all piled back in to the Cowan Yukon XL - yes 4 adults, 4 car seats.

After that we headed out for the afternoon on the boat. Did some skiing, some swimming, and Tim attempted to wakeboard. It didn't exactly work out - so if anyone knows how to wakeboard feel free to let us know because we don't have a clue.

After boating we had to go swimming again. The girls discovered they actually liked the slide at the pool. Megan had been going down it from the first day, you couldn't stop her, she is fearless. Abby and Ashley however took a little longer to figure out they liked it.
We ended the evening with a great dinner at Devil's Pool and the Dad's took the older girls Miniature golfing while the Mom's took the younger ones to bed.

Sunday - enter rain storm. Tim and Dave were smart enough to get the boat out of the water instead of going fishing so they were back home at the cabin before the downpour. Then since they are good husbands, they took the girls (except Allison) and played while Jenn and I got to do a little shopping and be kid free for a couple hours. It was well enjoyed :)

We had a great time and enjoyed having the boat on Table Rock as our last vacation there is the reason we bought the boat.

On Tuesday Tim and I celebrated our 8th Wedding Anniversary - hard to believe I know. It doesn't seem like we have been married that long, and we still remember our wedding day very well and all the activities. Thanks to everyone for the well wishes.

First T-Ball Game

This Monday was our first T-Ball game for Abby and the Yellow/Gold team. Not sure if we actually have a team name yet, we just got the shirts last night as well before the game. Abby is #21 if you couldn't tell, her shirt was a little big so it's tied in the back with a hair tie to keep it from getting in the way. She batted 2nd and played short stop and 2nd base.

To explain the rules of T-ball:
The whole team bats at once.
You run the bases no matter what - just one base at a time until the last batter is up then they, and everyone left of base runs as if it's a home run to clear the bases.
No one is ever out, even if you really are.
Your team gets to bat 3 times.

What really happens at T-ball:
Lots of hugging/talking with the other team as they were in your preschool class and you haven't seen them for a week.
Running all the bases isn't necessary - sometimes 2nd to home is acceptable.
Throwing the ball in the general direction of first is as good as it gets.
Everyone chases ground balls like it's a soccer game.
The pitcher's mound is not a base, but feel free to run to it in-between your jaunt from 2nd to 3rd.



Here she is on deck waiting for her first at bat.


1st at bat - batting right handed this time. Undercut the ball a few times then hit a nice grounder through the infield - which isn't hard to do as most kids just let the ball go by.



2nd at bat - this time we are left handed. She hasn't figured out which is more comfortable. Coach Matt just let's her go with it.


Megan was a good cheerleader and stayed occupied during most of the game and spent some time in the dug out "cheering" the team on while they were in the field. I was just happy she stayed off the field. I heard all to many times "I want to play ball!" I am sure her time will come.

Abby's last at bat - yes she will pose at the on deck spot for you. Always one for the cameras, and this time batted right handed again.

Lining up after the game to "high five" the other team. Abby has the yellow hat on.

Shaking hands with the green team.

Thank goodness for the other coaches that assisted getting the kids through the bases. Sometimes they pay attention, sometimes the don't. When the other kid shows up at your base, then it's time to run.

It was quite an entertaining game and the best part was that everyone had a good time. Abby can't wait for her next game. We are very proud of her.

Stephens Lake Park

First of all - I love this park! It's close, clean, and has a lot of things for us to do year round. I noticed Saturday that the fountains were turned on after I got the girls hair cuts. So Sunday afternoon we decided to do a little picnic with the Slenker's and have some fountain fun.


Abby and Megan are trying to convince Lily that the water is fun. She wasn't convinced to start with but then had a great time. Landen was climbing on rocks, he took a little longer to convince.



My girls on the other hand couldn't stay out of the water. Megan did actually have a dress on too to start with but didn't want to get it wet. I wasn't sure if they would actually play that much in the water. We'll be bringing swimsuits next time!


Pretty standard here - Megan was fearless and Abby has water in her eyes. Megan would go in head first right through the fountains.

Enjoying cooling off - unfortunately her diaper weighed about 6 lbs. by now.

Braving another fountain. Abby would sneak through, Megan would charge through - her diaper is about to fall off of her butt, she was as always - entertaining.

We got to spend about an hour playing after we had eaten until the bigger kids showed up and it wasn't as fun to play there so we packed it up and headed back home to get out of the sun. We all got a little bit burnt yesterday, but had a great time.

We survived our storms last night without any issues. We'll see if anything shows up in the next couple of days. Our thoughts and prayers are with Joplin, MO and their recovery.

T-Bird Preschool Program

This past Friday Abby had her T-Bird Preschool Program. It's not officially a graduation as some of the kids still have another year of school as it's for 3 and 4 year olds. So there was a nice gathering at the Auxvasse Elementary school where they sang songs, said the pledge, and got a certificate from their teachers.


This is where they came in to line up. It's the morning and afternoon classes together.


Here is Abby getting her certificate from Mr. P.

Very proud preschooler!

An attempt for a full class photo. What you can't see is Megan standing next to Abby in the photo. You can see her shoes, but not her head in this shot. She decided to sneak in to the photos, which everyone enjoyed. As 5 of the 17 morning class kids go to our daycare they all know Megan quite well.

So just one more week of school until summer break due to our snow make up days. It's hard to believe it's almost Memorial Day weekend.

Rogersville & Allison's Baptism

This past weekend we headed down to Rogersville, MO for the baptism of my Goddaughter, Allison. This was Tim's first trip down to the new Cowan residence as well, and a chance to maybe shoot a turkey......


Megan cannot get enough of babies, especially Allison. She would have held her all weekend if we would have let her. She was very concerned at all times where Allison was and what she was doing. If we were following them in the car somewhere she had to be able to see "babies car".



The other popular item of the weekend was Ashley's 4-wheeler. Now remember I said it was Ashley's...... Here Ashley is getting the reminder of what the buttons do and Abby is learning so she can try.

Abby is ready to go - along with Tim on the kill switch as well. Abby didn't ride it very long, she got scared pretty quickly.

Dave on Ashley's 4-wheeler.



Tim on Ashley's 4-Wheeler (photo by Abby)



Baptism day. The Bishop decided to grace us with his presence for the evening mass and the baptism so it was quick and honor to have him there. Ashley is a little tired if you couldn't tell. Abby and her had "quiet time" watching a movie instead of napping and paid the price during mass.


My newly baptized goddaughter - Allison Joy - and Abby's hand.

Susan was the other godparent for Allison so here is our group shot with some extra kids as well.


Megan gets her turn on the 4-wheeler. Of course it's not on. Jenn's father George pushed her around on it a little bit and she had a great time. When she is a little bit taller she'll be tearing it up I'm sure.


And last but not least - Dave's mother Jayme on Ashley's 4-wheeler.

Megan and Allison - some goodbye loving.

Abby, Allison, and Megan. I think Allison has had enough Schmidt loving for the weekend.

One last hug - and there were some kisses too but those pictures didn't turn out that great. It's rough to be loved Allison....

And as David pointed out while we were there I shouldn't be saying what we're doing next weekend because people might come rob our house. So now you'll just have to wait to see what we are up to. We could be at home, we could be elsewhere, but we'll be busy I'm sure.

See Dave.....I listened.