Grandma Schaumburg's cookies

Some of the cousins that enjoyed the cookies!
Brynn, Jayce, Jackson, Aubrey, Kiersten, Hattie, Leah, Macy & Colby

Growing up there were many things that were a constant. One of those things was my Grandma Schaumburg's sugar cookies. I don't know what it was about them, but you had to eat them! During the holidays when I miss her like crazy, it seemed like the right time to give them a try. Now, I'm not going to lie. I get none of the credit. Having thrown my back out, Mitch took on the tasks of recreating her magical recipe and he did not disappoint. My mom always host a Holiday gathering for the Schaumburgs the weekend after Thanksgiving and I promised some cousins that these cookies would be there. They all said that Mitch nailed it and they tasted just like hers. That warmed my heart. And the girls, especially Leah, who hears all the time how much she looks like Grandma enjoyed being a part of recreating these cookies. Maybe this will have to be our new tradition.

Trimming the Tree 2016

It's that time of year! Every weekend after Thanksgiving we get busy getting ready for Christmas. The girls had been asking for over a week if it was time to put the tree up? They were pretty excited when that day finally arrived!

In the past I've been a little obsessive about my tree. I mean, color coordinated, every detail perfect. But I'm trying to let that go. This year, our friend Cece who lives in Arizona, gave the girls her collection of Disney ornaments. It's a kids dream!!! So of course I had to let them use them. A little silver and gold garland, some silver and gold bulbs along with our newest Disney treasures...and Voila! Of course we used their baby ornaments too. It's not what I would normally do, but I love it, and so do they!

Parent VIsit Day

Every November for American Education Week Mt. Zion School does a parent visit day. On Thursday I got to visit Kiersten's class, and on Friday I got to visit with Leah. The teachers always have such fun activities planned. With Kiersten we made a thankful quilt and also a family tree. We traced each others hands and she cut them out to act like the leaves on the tree. We played skittles math and even did a work sheet with riddles. Later than afternoon when Hattie was done with preschool we went and met up with Bug for lunch...we even brought her a kids meal from Arby's!

Friday afternoon was Leah's turn! Mrs. Swartz had a wonderful activity with trivia from the year 2008...the year most of her students were born. It was fun to try to remember what happened 8 years ago. The kids did a skit to the story of Stone Soup and then they shared what they were thankful for. We also got to see where Leah displayed her veterans, Grandpa Schultz, Grandpa Schaumburg and Grandpa Myerscough in the hallways of her school. What a great time spending the day with my girls in their classrooms.

Welcome Back, Mate!

Once upon a time, many years ago...so really, 22/23 years ago, I had a good friend! Nathan Pene came to Charleston High School on Foreign Exchange. It was the first golf practice of the season, and Coach called me over and asked if I could help get him set up with a set of clubs. And a lifelong friendship began.

Over the course of the last 20 plus years,Nathan has been back to the states to visit me 4 times now. I desperately owe him a visit. And it will happen. But the memories that we've had made over the course of our friendship are truly priceless.

This trip started out with Ellen and I heading to Chicago. The New Zealand Maori All Blacks were playing Rugby at a US Rugby tournament in Chicago so we went up to join Nathan for a game on Friday. He came back down to Central Illinois on Sunday and stayed with us until Tuesday. I can only imagine the fun that would have ensued had his two daughters been able to join him on the trip over. My goal is to go to Auckland for my 40th birthday...we'll see.