Mother and Daughter Night for Activity Days.

This past week I put on an event for my activity days girls and their moms. Since it was mother's day this month we wanted to do something for the moms. So the girls and I decided to do a spa night where the girls would give the moms a mani/pedi.

[To clarify if you don't know what activity days is: It is a program that the LDS church has for the girls that are ages 8-11. It happens twice a month. It is designed to help the girls pass off requirements for their faith in god and also prepare them to go into Young Womens.]

A couple weeks ago we had our activity day be helping the event. The girls help with what to do, gave ideas for food, and helped with making the invites to give to their mom. Some of the ideas they gave me were a little crazy but we tried to do our best to make it as much as we were able to happen.

I wanted to make the primary room feel like they were at a spa/resort but for kid friendly and girly, kinda like a tea party. We had a light dinner of three different salads with rolls and some fruit and veggies for everyone to eat with some lemonade and 'Shirley Temples' (the girls idea) to drink. Katie (my assistant and friend) and I made most of the decorations out of tissue paper. We made pom poms to hang out the tables to act like chandeliers and a tassel banner. They turnout out great. We got pretty much everything for our decor for the room at the dollar store or borrowed things from friends and family. [I have to say that the dollar store has some awesome stuff to help you throw a party, it is the way to go in my opinion especially if you have a low budget and don't mind doing some DIY projects.] Everything turned out amazing and awesome.

 The night went awesome too. When they walked in, I had them fill out a questionnaire about their mom or daughter and themselves. At the end we added put who had the most right and whoever did won a prize. We all eat first than the girls gave their moms their mani/pedi. As they were doing that we also had the girls read a little poem they read, (the girls wrote the poem at the planning activity before.) The moms also were able to paint the girls nails too. The girls really wanted to have a rose peddle or balloon drop for their moms but I couldn't figure out how to do that. So we blow up balloons and put them in the next room. We than had the girls come and get some and than throw them at their mom while saying "I love you!" 

The night turned out so fun and cute. The moms and girls both enjoyed it. I will call this a success. Now we will have to start thinking out a father daughter activity since the girls are already asking to do one.


♥ The Schroeder

Walker is o{fish}ally 2!

Walker is 2! It is crazy to me to think that I have a two year old, that two years ago I gave birth to my little man. I couldn't imagine life without him now. He is always right by my side, wanting me to join him and play with him. He is such a cute little guy and a fun little boy. He is not a baby anymore that is for sure.

Walker's two year old stats:
35 inches tall (60%)
25 pounds (14%)
Says about 25-30 words
Loves fish, ducks, and birds.
Favorite movie : Toy Story.
Loves being outside at the park, beach, or anyplace where he was walk around and explore.
Loves going to grandma and grandpa Schroeder's house and FaceTime with grandma and grandpa Theobald
Loves watching old cartoons like Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse
Loves music. Can tell you what xylophone, violin, drum, and trumpet is.
Knows the colors yellow and blue. learning red and green (can tell you what they are sometimes)
Picky eater but loves breakfast foods and bananas.

To celebrate his birthday we throw a party for him. Since he loves fish we decided to have it be fish themed. I made the invites on photoshop. I love using my creative side to throw parties and create invites for parties or anything. I think the invites turned out way cute.

We wanted the party to have more kids and be mostly family and close friends. It was a great turn out. My mom was able to come for the weekend, which was awesome to be with her and have her there to celebrate with us. I made a banner and some fish for the "aquarium" I wanted to create on a wall. We made the cake look like a fish as well. We did a small lunch like sandwiches, jello, salads and fruit. I also made fish sugar cookies with a little thing of bubbles for a goodie bag. The decor turned out great. I got mostly everything at the dollar store or target (my two go to places for parties) and also did a lot of DIY projects (happy birthday banner, aquarium wall, signs and fish around the party).

We had a great time at the party. Walker loves getting his presents but could really care less about opening them himself (maybe that will change next year). We had Casey's dad do some magic tricks for everyone while we ate and talked while the kids played with toys. It was apparently too much fun since Walker decided to take a snooze right as we were singing him happy birthday and bringing out the cake.

Walker dead asleep on Grandma Robin.

Even though Walker might not be able to remember it, I wanted him to be able to know that he is loved and also that your birthday is a special day and you should celebrate it no matter how old you get. It is always fun celebrating a special occasion with family and friends.

On his birthday we went to.. you guessed it... Disneyland! Walker loves going to Disneyland. Robin and Diane joined us for the day. We wanted to do some new things that day and some things that we know he loves. So for the new things we went to Disney Jr. (we have done this before but haven't done it in a long time so it is pretty much a new thing to walker), played some arcade games on the pier and won Walker a dumbo, went on the Mickey's Fun Wheel and met the one and only Captain America (I was speechless when meeting him). We of course did our usuals too, Buzz, Toy Story Mania, Little Mermaid, Winnie the Pooh, and many more. It is always fun going to Disneyland and having explore.

After we went to Disneyland, we went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house to have pancakes and ice cream. Walker was very interested in the fire that was on the candle and wanted to touch it really bad. We told him no and kept taking his hand away while singing to him. He cried but it was his birthday so he could cry if he wanted too, right?

I want to wish Walker a very happy birthday and hope he has a wonderful and awesome year that is filled with many adventures and memories. I hope you, Walker, know that you are loved and that you will always be our little boy no matter how fast you grow up and how big you get. Love you buddy!

♥ The Schroeders

Will you be my Valentine?

We had a two day of valentine celebrations. To start it off we had Walker paint some valentines day cards for his friends and our family. Casey had the day before Valentines day off we went and spent the day as a family at the mall and just relaxing at home. I had activity days that night so when I got home Casey had a surprise for me (flowers, girl scout cookies, and a loving card).

Walker painting his Valentines Day cards | Father and son | The beautiful flowers and amazing cookies Casey got me.

On Valentines Day morning we went to the Ramona Cafe for breakfast. It was yummy. Walker seemed to love it. He loves breakfast food. It was very good. This was our second time going. As you probably can guess, it is just a small diner. I like places like those sometimes because you can take your time and not have to worry. 

That day while Casey was at work I decided that I wanted to go do something with my little valentine. So we went to SeaWorld for the day. It was fun spending some mom and son time. Walker loves fish and water so you could guess that he had the time of his life. It was fun having his lead and go where he wanted to go. It was relaxing and fun. In my opinion, it was a great way to spend the day. 

Walker looking at the penguins. He kept calling them birds.
We also were there watching them for about 30 minutes. He didn't want to leave.

Some of our adventures at SeaWorld.

When Casey got home we went to the Valentines Day dinner that the Young Women in the ward put on. There was a dinner than a dance after. They had babysitting for the kiddos too. It was a great way to end our valentines day celebrations. Until the next Valentines day. :]

♥ The Schroeder

Family Photos 2013

Here are our family photos for the year 2013. We wanted to update our family photo since Walker has grown so much since our last one. It was a little more difficult since all Walker wants to do is walk around and explore. But we did get some good shots of all of us. We took them at Jack's Pound Park in San Marcos. Can't wait to print them and put them up in our apartment. Thanks Aubry and Ricky for taking the photos for us.

 

♥ The Schroeder

What A Great Year 2013 Was!

Note that I am playing catch-up since I haven't blogged for a while.

There was so many things that happened in twenty-thriteen for our family, so I decided to make a little video that sums up the year with pictures. Hope you all enjoy.

To celebrate the new year we didn't do too much. Casey had to work New Years Eve and New Years Day. Walker and I did our normal routine during the day but at night we had a little party of our own. I had a number 14 pizza for dinner. Walker played on his drum before he went to bed to "ring in the new year." And after Walker went to bed Casey and I played Super Mario Brothers until midnight. Than we went to bed. We are pretty crazy partiers if you couldn't tell. It was fun to celebrate 2013 and start a new year with just my little family.

Ringing in the New Year the Schroeder way.

Now let the new year begin!

♥ The Schroeder

It's That Time of The Year.

I wrote this a while ago but forgot to post it so ignore that it is march now and pretend Christmas and New Years just past. :]

Yup Christmas is Here! And I love this time of year. There is just so much happiness in the air and we all get to focus on the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I was super excited to decorate this year. I did little things hear and there throughout the month. Walker loved playing with our ornaments and beads on the tree so they were on the ground most of the time and the tree was bear. I saw a sign that said "believe" on Pinterest and wanted to do some like it. I loved the saying because it could go both ways of why people celebrate christmas, BELIEVE in Christ and also BELIEVE in Santa. The one I did turn out cute but I still like the one on Pinterest better, so maybe next year I will do it again different. I also made some tags for a our presents under the tree. I loved how they turned out and how it looked without the to and from. I want to do this again next year, so I kept the tags since Walker won't remember. Santa also put tags on our gifts he brought us.

Our home decorations

We sent out Christmas Cards to our family and some close friends. This year I wanted to go all Christmasy and not just use our family photo we took. So we took a picture by the christmas tree and fireplace at Robin and Perry's reading a Christmas story to Walker. I think it turned our great. Here is it for all of those who did not get it. Merry Christmas!

Last Christmas Casey had to work, which was a bummer but it was okay since Walker wasn't super into Christmas since he didn't know and get much and also he was sick.. This year it happened again except Casey had the day off (that is the happy part). Walker was getting over a cold-ish thing that he was fighting since the friday before. He still wasn't feeling super great but he was a great sport.

The week before Christmas my Grandpa went into the hospital so parents and brother, Alex, were able to come and visit him and Walker and I went up there once my Grandpa was out to visit. I always love being close to my parents and being able to visit them often. Like I said Walker and I went up to my Grandpas to visit for the day on Monday, Christmas Adam. We got there about lunch time and than left after dinner. Walker and my mom played in the leaves that were in my Grandpa's backyard. Walker loved having my mom throw the leaves in the air and have them land on him. We also built and huge pile around Walker. My dad and brother got there that night, than we went to Grandpas favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner. I sure do miss spending time with my family and wish more of them lived closer.

Walker playing in all the leaves grandpa Carter saved with my mom.

Earlier on Christmas Eve day Sidney and Scott came down from Idaho and surprised Robin and Perry. That night we had a party over at Robin and Perry's. We made our own pizzas for dinner which was way fun. We also had a white elephant gift exchange with everyone there. Before everyone got there Robin, Walker and I made a Christmas Tree sugar cookie for Santa. Walker loves helping making the dough and putting the sprinkles on.

Waiting for Santa.

We also got to talk to Kyle and Connor. Connor called through Skype at night at 8pm our time. Kyle was going to surprise Connor and try and Skype for a couple minutes during Connors call but got the wrong time. So we were able to talk him some before Connor called. We are going to try and have them call around the same time for Mother's Day so they can talk and see each other. We did get to talk to Connor that night as planned. We talked to him for about an hour and a half. It was way cool seeing him and hearing his stories. Here is Connor's Blog if you want to read his letters. Casey and I left to go home after his call. Christmas morning we woke up at 7 and got to talk to Kyle. It was interesting hearing the differences of how they celebrate Christmas there. Here is Kyle's Blog if you want to read his letters. They are both are doing great! We are excited to see them again on Mother's Day.

Talking to Kyle (top) and Connor (bottom) on Christmas Eve.

Walker was asleep still so we didn't want to wake him up since he still wasn't feeling great. We got to spend the morning as just our family. Casey and I made Egg Nog Waffle French Toast with eggs and bacon. It was way good and we want to make it a tradition for Christmas morning.

Yummy Christmas Breakfast.

Once we were done with breakfast as a family we opened up presents. We all made it our great. Walker got lots of new toys that he now loved playing with. He wasn't very interested in ripping the paper off the presents but once he saw what was inside he was all excited! His favorite present that he loved playing with once all of the gifts were open were the $1 slinky stocking stuffer. I love how he loves the little things and makes me want to remember that more often. He sure shows me more than I can express.

Santa Came!!

playing with some of Walker's favorite presents.

Late afternoon we went over to Robin and Perry's for Christmas Dinner and spent the rest of the night with them. Walker opened up his gifts and loved them. Robin and Perry gave him a fish tank with some money to get a fish. (we now have the tank set up and waiting for a week to get some fish but he is loving looking at the tank and saying 'wow'. He sure is going to love it once there are fish are swimming around.) Christmas dinner was delicious!

After dinner, Sidney, Scott, Casey and I played on the Wii U and also some Rock Band. Once Walker noticed that we were hitting drums with sticks that is all he wanted to do. I think we might have a drummer on our hands. (I don't know how to feel about that). He loves to play with all of the instruments he notices and he know what to do with them. I love it but a little nervous of what he can bring to the future.

Future Drummer.

Thursday, Walker and I stayed home and relaxed. Alex was able to come down and spend the night with us. Casey had to work late so Alex and I played Mario Kart and also played with Walker until he got home. We than went to Panda for dinner. Once we got home Walker went to bed and we got to party. When I say party I need become the dream team of Super Mario Brothers 3D. It was great having my brother come down for a night and spend some time with us. We miss living close to him and spending time with him in Utah.

The Dream Team.

The weather during this holiday week has been great! Friday Walker and I joined Robin, Perry, Sidney, and Scott for a small beach trip. It was such a beautiful day. Walker loved playing in the sand with grandma and grandpa. Friday night, Robin watched Walker while Casey and I went to get froyo with Sidney and Scott. Saturday we went to the church camp that is in Ramona with Robin and Perry and played some sports with them as well.

This season has been filled with family and it has been great fun. We are now excited to start the new year and see what it brings us.

♥ The Schroeder

"This is Halloween. This is Halloween."

Its that time of the year where everything gets scary and spooky around the town, Pumpkins are all over and in everything you want to eat and Candy is your now to go snack. ITS HALLOWEEN TIME!!

Since we have moved into our own apartment, I wanted to decorate for the holidays more. I went on a search for good Halloween decorations. I found a few that weren't super scary or based on death and gory. So I decided that I would make some of my own since I have been in this super crafty mood and can. I made a 'trick or treat' banner, 'boo!' banner and some Halloween silhouette pictures to put in frames. It is fun to be inspired and create your own decorations. The best part is that you can personalize them to your color scheme and liking.

Decorations that are around our apartment for the Halloween Season.

This year we went to the Disneyland Mickey Mouse Halloween Party with Casey's family. Summer and her family came up for fall break so they joined us. It was fun to go to Disneyland when it is all decked out in Halloween decorations. All of the main characters were dressed up in their own costumes and the villains of Disney were out and about as well. There was many candy stations that you can go around and get a handful or two of candy. We came home with about 15 pounds of candy. (Hence the reason why candy is now my go to snack. Its everywhere!) The whole family dressed up for the event. Robin, Perry, Grandma, Summer, Glen, and Kasen were characters from Peter Pan (tinkerbell, hook, tick-tock crock, tiger-lily, smee, peter pan). Payton and Lexi were Cinderella and Belle. While Walker was Captain America and Casey and I were Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. A lot of people were dressed up for the event. It was fun seeing all of the costumes that people think of (lots of toy story and princesses).  We went to Disneyland at 3 that afternoon and do some rides with summer's family before the halloween party started. We got to meet some of the Winnie the Pooh Characters with Lexi and Walker while Summer, Glen, Kasen, and Payton went on a ride. Robin, Perry, and Grandma Schroeder joined us around 6 for the party. They closed down the park except for the people that bought tickets for the party. We got to see the halloween fireworks and also the Halloween Costume Party Parade. I liked the parade better but the fireworks were still pretty cool. We were behind a tree that blocked the fireworks so we weren't able to see all of them but did see some. The castle was all lighting up different for the fireworks and we were able to see that. Disney never disappointment on not going all out. I defiantly like going to the Mickey Mouse Halloween Party instead of going out to random peoples homes and get candy, a lot safer and fun in my opinion. I wouldn't mind doing this again next year and the year after that.

Mickey's Halloween Party.

Walker surrounded by 15 pounds of candy and treats = one happy boy!

A tradition we have around Halloween time is go to a pumpkin patch with the family and come home to crave the pumpkin. This year we went to two. We first went to a pumpkin patch that is in Ramona. It was kinda lame and not every exciting. So we decided to go to Bates Nut Farm Pumpkin Patch like we did last year. They always have lots and lots of pumpkins and kid friendly things to do. Robin joined us. Walker seemed to like see and playing with the pumpkins. He liked to knock on the pumpkins and also wipe the hay off them. Silly boy.

Bates Nut Farm Pumpkin Patch.

At Bates Nut Farm they also have some goats that you can feed. Robin got some food for them at the store and we had walker feed him. He seemed to love it! The goats did so well with him. We showed him how to do it a couple times and than he was able to feed the goats on his own by the end. He also loved to pet the goats. We kept on having to remind him to be gentle but like I said the goats were great. It was fun to watch him discover new things and see how much he loves animals.

Walker feeding the Goats at Bates Nut Farm.

We bought a pumpkin at Bates Nut Farm's pumpkin patch. They have them for a great price. This year we wanted to crave our pumpkin into something Walker loves. We were thinking about doing Sorcerer Mickey but the patterns were crazy. So we decided to do something different. We did Woody from Toy Story. We had Walker help us empty the pumpkin. He didn't really care about the seed or 'guts' but he just wanted to put the spoon into the pumpkin and the top of the pumpkin back on. He tried to scrap the sides with the spoon as well. It is fun to see his observant personality come out each time we do something. Casey and I took turns carving the pumpkin. Casey did post of it because I am not super good and didn't want to break it. Our Woody-O-Lantern turned out great! After we carved our pumpkin we watched part of the movie "Nightmare Before Christmas' than the new short movie 'Toy Story of Terror!' They are both great things to watch around this time of year. 

Pumpkin carving and snuggling while watching 'Nightmare Before Christmas'

As long as I can remember my ward has put on a 'trunk or treat' party. This year we were going to able to participate in two! Robin and Perry's ward and our own ward. Robin and Perry's ward had a theme of Peter Pan. When we were deciding what we were going to dress Walker up for Halloween we decided it would be fun to do a Avengers theme with one of our friends. Walker being Captain American and his friend Lucas as Thor. We were planning on going to Robin and Perry's trunk or treat but plans changed and Walker was admitted into the hospital that night. (you can read about it here.) 

Even thought we weren't able to make it to Robin and Perry's Trunk or Treat on Saturday we still had the opportunity to go to ours. Our ward's 'trunk or treat' was on Halloween night! Smart idea if I say so! The kids and still go "trick or treating" in a safe environment. There were a cake walk and some other games the kids could participate in. Walker was still a little young for them but he did go fishing and did the cake walk with Casey. Robin and Perry joined us as well for the night. We walked with walker to all the cars to get some candy. It was funny to see what he would do. Most of the time he just kept on walking or he would watch the person put the candy in his pumpkin and then take it back out or drop his pumpkin and leave it there. It was always fun watching him do this own thing. 

Walking around carrying his pumpkin full of candy. Our Family (Captain America and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D)

Halloween this year was fun. I am excited to think of something creative to do for our costumes next year. I already have some ideas but we will see what happens since Walker will be able to tell me what he would like to be. It is fun dressings matching or coordinating as a family, I think. Hope you all had a Happy Halloween! 

♥ The Schroeder