A Very Merry Christmas Season 2021

What a crazy month December was! I think that 2021 ended the best way possible, full of love, family, friends, and hope.

We had the Blievernicht Christmas at my grandma's, and the kids got to meet Santa for the first time! Brady was all for it and sat on his lap with no qualms. Ashley was a little more hesitant and wouldn't sit on his lap without me. I'm looking forward to seeing what they think of Santa next year as well. 

 

Christmas at Dan and Theresa's involved a bounce house this year, and I think all the kids were really enjoying bouncing and sliding around in there. 

We were royally spoiled with so many gifts, I feel like people were opening presents forever. Brady and Ashley's favorite gift of the night was the Styrofoam that packaged some blocks. They had that stuff EVERYWHERE. I'm so sorry for that messy clean-up Dan and Theresa!

Christmas at my mom and dad's was a little more relaxed (because there are a lot less people ha!), but we were still spoiled rotten. I don't think that anyone but Brayden and Ashley opened a gift that day. If you had a present in front of you, one of them was coming to sit on your lap to open it up, whether you wanted them to or not. It will be fun to watch them open their birthday presents this year!

Our new Christmas Eve tradition is going to my Grandma Wolf's house to celebrate with her, and then we go through the Christmas lights in Effingham on our way home and attend midnight mass at St. Thomas. Last year was cake because the kids slept through the service. This year was little more hectic as they were up for everything this time and little more antsy than we would have liked. But we made it almost all the way through church so I'll call that a success.

Christmas morning was laid back and relaxed at our house. We stayed in jammies all day and enjoyed all the presents left under the tree. A clear winner for presents this year was these stepping stones. The kids like to stand on them and be "tall".

And for non-Christmas updates from December- first up is the house! The forms came off the basement walls and we saw our garage and basement walls and floors complete. The basement got framed up (it will remain unfinished), and we also got a subfloor put on. Eric mentioned that seeing the basement framed up and walking around down there really made the experience seem real. 

Brayden and Ashley enjoyed all the warmer weather that we had in December. We also had lots of rain, which meant lots of puddles. So naturally we spent a lot of time playing outside, in the puddles. And thanks to the build, lots of mud.

When it's been too cold to play outside, we have enjoyed our time indoors as well.

We went to lots of basketball games, where I hardly get to actually watch the game, but one day that will come. For Fresh/Soph games we sit down by the court, but we definitely sit in the balcony for Varsity games- these two need lots of room to roam ha!

 

This month we also met our newest nephew- Austin! He is the cutest little guy, and I'm definitely needing more snuggles in with him soon. 

Bring on a new month and a new year, this Schackmann family is ready for all that is to come!

Holding on to Summer Just as Long as We Can

I swear summer just started and now, poof, it's over. I'm back to work and our summer of fun has officially ended. Don't worry, the fun won't stop, just the summer part. I have done a horrible job of blogging over the summer, so there's lots to catch up on! 

July started with a little fun at Brian and Mara's house for the fourth. The kids were in bed by dark and we enjoyed catching a few fireworks through the trees from their backyard.

We fit in some family pictures with Stacey Hamilton and I am IN LOVE with what she was able to get for us. The twins were less than cooperative, but we ended up with so many great lifestyle photos I might need to buy more frames to hang them all in the house (don't tell Eric!). 

Eric started his new job at Versatech at the end of July, so we spent a lot of time that month going on day dates- including golfing, wineries, the movies, an escape room, and eating out. It was nice to get to hang out just the two of us, plus some friends here and there. 

We spent basically every single moment we could outside, minus the times it was 100 degrees out, and found a love of the playground equipment at the park. We splashed in every puddle that showed up after a rain, moo-ed at the cows across the road, and picked up all the sticks and rocks Brady and Ashley could find. 

We also enjoyed many swims in my mom and dad's pool, and splashing away in the water table. What a refreshing way to cool off in the heat.

And when it was 100 degrees outside, we had plenty of fun playing around inside.

August saw me heading back to work. I'm so lucky to be able to work in a school where I can spend the summers at home with my kids, but it's always tough sending them back to daycare full time so I can go back to work. Their babysitter Amanda had sent me this a week or so ago, and I think it shows why I know my babes are in good hands. They absolutely adore Amanda, so that definitely makes it easier to leave them there with her.

This month the kids' Christmas present arrived- a Nugget! They are a play couch that you can configure many different ways, and these guys really love it. Their favorite configuration is where we make a slide for them to go down. They will climb up and go down about a million times before they get tired of it. 

This summer we also found a new love for the tunnel that Erin had gotten them for Christmas. It had been sitting in the bag in the living room for a while, never being touched. I got it out one hot afternoon, and now they constantly bring the bag to me to open for them to play. I could listen to them giggle forever while they chase each other through that thing. 

And then this weekend we squeezed in probably our last time in the pool before it closes for the year. These guys have loved the water this summer and we are so thankful that my mom and dad have a place we can have some cool fun in the sun. 

I hope you enjoyed that picture overload from July and August. I promise to try to be better about blogging this fall, for your sake and mine ha. Let's bring on the cool weather, football games, pumpkin patches, and finally getting to play outside again!