A Week Late - Happy Easter!

I know this is a week late, but Happy Easter from the Schulze's!

October 12, 2015

William in the PR Challenge at the box

September 21, 2015

Insulating the garage. 

Ice Fishing

Took a chance and went ice fishing this past weekend with the family. 


I haven't been ice fishing in YEARS...  But, I did have a fun time even though I didn't catch any of the fish. 


We met up with our Chiropractor and some of her friends on a little lake where the Rainbow Trout were huge!  And they were so fun to try to catch.  William caught two large ones (in addition to the three he had caught the day before!). 

William helping get a fish of the line.

Getting ready to put a waxie on the hook.

The delicious rainbow trout!

Elizabeth's snowman - named Strawberry Shortcake!

Eddie fell asleep on the way to the lake and so he stayed in the truck for the first hour or so and napped while Libby and Grandma Sue build an awesome snowman named Strawberry Shortcake!  Once Eddie woke up, they both had fun with their shovels and looking at all the fish that had been caught. 


It was such a fun afternoon.  Almost makes me want to go again...


And the trout was delicious!

Date Night - Minnesota Wild

William and I were lucky enough to escape on a date to the city the other night and take in a Wild game in St Paul.  I love watching hockey live, so it is always fun when we can get tickets - especially free ones! 


The Wild lost the game, but it was a good game to watch as they did play pretty good.  Plus, hanging out with my husband is fun and I like surprising him with tickets to these events when I am able to. 

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2014 Deer Hunting Season - Success!

William was able to shoot a deer on the 28th this year - in the morning.  So nice to know we will have a freezer full of venison to enjoy over the year!


It was a large buck - would have been a 9 point if it wasn't such a fighter - most of the tines were broken off from fighting!

William showing Edward his buck!  Eddie loved it!

Weekend Photos: November 15 - 16, 2014

We headed into the city on Saturday morning to cheer William on at his Cross Fit gym workout.  It is good to see him having such fun with something like this. 


Needed to do a little shopping for some mittens and snow pants for the kids, but they were hungry, so we headed to lunch first.  Eddie and Dad enjoyed watching some remote control tractors on the phone while we waited for our meal to arrive.  Eddie was enthralled with the tractors!  We didn't find any snow pants and the kids were tired and cranky, so headed back home and will have to look for the rest of the winter gear they need on-line or have William do it after work.


Eddie also helped Dad put the snowmobile hood back together.  He had his little impact wrench up against the plastic and William was happy as can be to have Eddie there "helping" him!

November 15, 2014



Helping Dad with the snowmobile.



Never too early to learn how to put things back together!



Libby wanted to get in on it too, but it was done by the time she made it to the floor!

Fall Fishing

We headed out yesterday afternoon for a short fishing trip on the river.  It was short because it was so very windy, we all got cold. 

Elizabeth practiced her casting skills and William did some fishing too, but none were caught in the short time we were out.  It was so nice to be out on the river, but with the wind whipping up the white caps, it was less than ideal circumstances. 

Eventually, we headed down river to the dam and fished in the calmer area.  Eddie and Libby had a little picnic in the boat with peanut butter sandwiches, but William and I waited to eat until we got home.  We both needed something warm and a bowl of hot soup was the answer!



Elizabeth practicing casting with her fishing pole.



A very happy William out in the boat.

Edward and Mommy in the boat.

They do like each other!

Fall Fun - Playing in the leaves with no reservations.

Excitement over his sister throwing the leaves into the air.

So happy to have an afternoon at the park and river!

2014 Hanson Family Hayride

The hayride this year was a great success.  Lots of fun and great food!  Once again, Marvin & Sheila hosted the family at their farm.  We only needed one hay wagon this year to pull the crew as many of the family couldn't make it due to illness. 

Libby

Eddie and his favorite thing - a tractor!

Eddie and Grandma Sue on the hayride

Amanda, William and Libby on the hayride

Stopping at the family orchard to pick some apples

Grandma Connie teaching Libby and Eddie how to use the apple picker

Libby testing it out.  She did get an apple or two off the tree using it!

Wolf Creek.  This is the spot where William and I were married.

The family farm.  Thanks to Marvin & Sheila for hosting us this year again!  It was one of the best days I have had in a long time!

A Wedding - Bryce and Leah Hanson

Introducing the Happy Couple as Husband and Wife



We were blessed to be a part of a wonderful wedding this past weekend.  My brother, Bryce married the lovely Leah on Saturday, September 27 at our church.  It was a beautiful day (almost 80 degrees!) for a late September afternoon and we were so happy to be part of the ceremony!


William was one of the groomsmen, Elizabeth was the flower girl and Edward was the ring bearer.  They all did a wonderful job!

September 27, 2014

The ring bearer and flower girl.  They kept asking if it was time for cake yet!

Edward and Elizabeth were so excited to do their part in the ceremony, right up until it was time to actually DO the job of walking down the isle - but luckily, the personal attendant was able to bribe them with cake and they happily walked down the isle.  They were so cute.  My heart just exploded with pride and happiness for my children!  Not to mention that I am usually very emotional at weddings anyways, but since I have known the groom since before I can remember, it was even more so than normal!

Our family.

We were able to snap a couple family portraits after the ceremony during picture taking time and the one above is one of my favorites.  We were all dressed up so nice and since that rarely happens, I knew we had to get a photo of it!


William and Elizabeth sat at the head table during the ceremony and I was able to get a cute photo of the two of them as well.  It was really dark, but using Instagram, I was able to make it a little lighter so you could see their faces.  I love it.

William and Elizabeth at the Head Table.

The New House Saga: Dishwasher & Sump Pump

When we bought the new house, we knew there were going to be issues that came up due to the cleanliness (more the lack thereof) of how the previous homeowners cared for the house. 


Last night, William ended up taking apart the dishwasher to clean out the bottom of it as he could see a little bit of food remnants in it.

A little bit of remnants was not even half the story. 


There was a small chicken bone in there, I kid you not. 


After pulling out the components and taking them outside and power washing them, he put it back together and we ran a load overnight.  Needless to say, the dishes were all spotless this morning. 


Amazing what a little proper maintenance (and even a slight rinsing of the dishes) can do.  I was just ready to cough up the money for a new dishwasher it was so gross.  William specifically told me NOT to look into the dishwasher until he was done cleaning it.  He told me twice, so I knew he was serious!

The dirty dishwasher.  Yuck.



Then there was the sump pump.  I am not quite sure how it would even be possible, but it appears there was a bag of clumping kitty litter dumped in the hole where the sump pump is located.  It stunk.  Bad. 

But after vacuuming out the hole and cycling water through the sump pump again, it is at least clear of the kitty litter mess. 

Makes me stand firm on my stance that the previous owners realized there was some maintenance needed on the house and since they didn't clean or do any maintenance, it was time to sell the house.

So grateful this morning I have a husband who can fix almost anything and WILL DO IT.

A Wonderful Mother's Day Weekend.

I had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend.

Was able to go out for breakfast on Saturday morning and then hit the co-op for some groceries.  It was customer appreciation day, so I received an extra 10% off my purchase (always grateful for discounts!) and they had free samples as well for customers.  Tried a new coffee that we will purchase next time we need some.

I was able to work out in the garden on Saturday afternoon, planting seeds and starting to harden off my plants that will need to go out in a week or so.  It felt good to get out into the dirt.  The spinach and peas I planted a couple weeks ago are starting to come up now, so it will be fun to see how they take off now that it is starting to warm up more during the day.

Sunday morning started off with homemade puffy oven pancakes and bacon, made by William for us prior to leaving for church services.  It tasted so good with a little butter and strawberry jam.  Mother's Day cards and gifts were presented - all beautiful cards and a wonderful mothers necklace that has each child's birthstone on it.  I was so surprised by the gesture - I really wanted a necklace, and it was wonderful to be surprised by the gift.  I cried.  A lot.  William outdid himself on this one.

Church was wonderful and everyone was in such a good mood.  Headed home and put the kids down for quiet time/nap time and I went to the Drive Inn to get sandwiches for lunch for William and I.   Huge burgers and chicken sandwiches along with chili-cheese fries.  A great treat. Yum.

Susan came up for the afternoon to spend time with us and we played outside, watched the movie Frozen (she brought it as a gift for Elizabeth) and grilled out for dinner.  Then headed for an ice cream cone before she left.  It was nice to see her again and now that she is back living in Minnesota, it will be great to see her on a more regular basis.  Plus, the kids have an absolute blast playing with her - I think she may have had a good time too!

After putting the kids to bed, Willoam and I watched some of the hockey game together before I headed to bed.  It felt like a good and productive weekend.  Just wish it could have been about 4 days longer!!!

Eddie's First Twins Game!

We headed into Minneapolis after church yesterday to take in a chilly (okay, downright cold) Twins game.  Even better, we made it to the end of the game, and the Twins won - sweeping the series against the Royals!!!  I told William I would have been happy making it through the 5th inning, but the kids were doing pretty good (with the help of an iphone or two and the LeapPad) so we were able to stay for the whole game.  Libby didn't want to leave when it was time to go - she was having such a fun time. 

 

Needless to say, both kids slept on the way home!  Eddie's first Twins game was a success!

William and Eddie at the game on Sunday!

Having fun at the game!

Schulze Family - April 13, 2014.

Pumpkin Carving

 

Pumpkin carving this year with the kids was a blast.  Especially because I didn't have to do any of it!  William did it all.  I think he had fun with the drill.

Picnic at the park

We headed to the river Sunday after church to meet up with William and have a picnic.

He was out fishing and came in to have sandwiches with us.  

The kids played on the playground and had a blast on the slide!

Eddie looks like a little boy, not a baby anymore!  Libby was too busy playing with some other girls to pose for any pictures!

Heart Melting Happiness

Oh how happy this makes my heart.

She has been such a Momma's girl lately that this scene rarely happens.

I bet his heart is even happier!

Labor Day Weekend

Kids enjoying the beach yesterday.  Today we are in long pants and sweatshirts.

Enjoying the sun and water courtesy of a neighbor who likes to share his toys.

Relaxing around the campfire this morning.

Three generations of Schulze men.