Bedtime

(The full version of this video is on our YouTube Channel.)

Highlights Of Our Fifth Anniversary Day...

Something went up in our backyard...

Which was the BIGGEST highlight of our day and our week!

The fence we've been waiting for all summer! Now Barkley! can run around without being tied up to a tree.

Maida fell asleep sitting up in her chair while we were making dinner...

Erik made some killer steaks on the grill (and I got a double jogging stroller (pictured below, behind the Hub)...

We had S'mores for dessert!

We also went out to dinner the day after and played "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader," (don't laugh, it's one of our favorite board games!) after the kids went to bed.

Over all it was a very laid-back relaxing weekend at home with the kids.

Five years ago today...

The most perfect place.

The most perfect time.

The most perfect person.

The most perfect start to the rest of my life.

50th Anniversary Party

My parents have been married for 50 years. Can you believe that?!

Last Saturday, on their anniversary, we had a big celebration. We had a big turn out of family and close friends. It was so fun to celebrate the day with cake, punch, and lots of big hugs and laughs.

For pictures of the weekend go to: http://scharrerfamily.shutterfly.com/ where most of them are posted.

(If you missed the party and would like to contribute to a memory book that we are making for my parents, please email me one of your most favorite memories of the couple! I would love for them to hear from everyone. Thank you!)

Just in case I forgot to mention...

(because I didn't want to admit it was true yet!) Skogen has been crawling for about a week now!!!

I had nooooo idea that babies crawled at six months old, so our house was totally unprepared for baby hands! Not only am I having to hurry up and baby proof everything, I'm having to come to terms with the fact that my little baby is growing up!

Maida Raine Loves the Rain

This week we have had a ton of rain. The rain is not only good for our grass, it's good to play in, too! Erik and I both took turns going outside with Maida to play in the "river" at the end of our driveway. Maida's rain jacket is still packed and because she insisted on wearing one, she had to wear one of mine! When we were done playing, we had to force her to go inside out of the rain and get in the shower to warm up. She was having too much fun to stop!

Here is a video to show you how deep the water was getting by the afternoon on Wednesday and how fast the "river" was flowing at the end of the driveway. Maida looks like a little fire hydrant standing there! Since she was wearing my jacket, she wasn't able to move around and splash in the puddles like she usually does.

Daddy's Last Game

The church's softball league, team Nimrods, finally came to an end on Monday night when they got third place in the playoffs. Before the game, while the team was warming up, I took Maida to play at the park. She made friends within a minute of being there and was already holding hands and playing with her three new friends! During the game she kept herself busy playing with all of her buds from church.

We all wore red to cheer the team on.

(My intention was for these pictures to get bigger when you click on them, however I think since my Picasa account is full, they aren't technically loading as "images" - anyone have any advice or knowledge about this?)

Vacation Bible School

Maida loved attending Vacation Bible School at Bumpa and Grandma's church last week. She was the youngest to attend, but did a great job of trying to keep up with all of the older kids.

The theme was "Rodeo Roundup" and Maida was in the "Calf Ropers" group. The whole church building was transformed into the "Double S Ranch."

On Thursday night, they had a little program and invited all of the families to come to the Double S Ranch. I was so excited to see Maida's performance! Her group sang three songs, and when I say, "her group," I mean her group, not her. She was so stubborn and wouldn't sing any of the songs, even though she knows every one of them and sings them around the house everyday. I was very disappointed, however I thought I'd post the video anyway because it cracks me up. Check out the little boy to the far right. He is so cute and made me laugh. The little boy between him and Maida does a pretty sweet Michael Jackson during the "This Little Light of Mine," song. So funny!

Pooped Out

We're all so pooped out from spending the week at Bumpa and Grandma's house!

We had so much fun playing with cousins, meeting new cousins, learning new board games, going swimming, paddle boating, jumping on the trampoline, running around at the cabin on the lake, playing with Grandma's toys, swinging, seeing new babies, riding on the lawnmower with Bumpa, attending Vacation Bible School, petting and chasing the pet ducks, collecting sea shells, jumping off the dock, putting together puzzles, eating lots of Grandma's yummy desserts, and just relaxing.

It was the perfect summer vacation, but we are glad to be home because we are so pooped out.

To view our pictures from our trip, click here: http://scharrerfamily.shutterfly.com/

While at Grandma's house, Maida was able to go play at the park one morning.

Upon arrival to the park, Maida decided that she was going to go down the very tallest slide there, but when she got to the top of the slide, she was afraid to go down, despite Grandma's coaching at the bottom.

So, with no other options available, she decided to climb back down the ladder.

On the way back down, as she was struggling to hang on, she angrily proclaimed, "I'm really getting sick of this."

It's so funny to hear the phrases she picks up. "Holy cow," "Monkey brother," "What's your problem?" "Okie dokie," and "Allllllriiiiight," are some of my other favorites.

Summertime at Bumpa and Grandma's

Most people pay big bucks to have a vacation like this...

but we're lucky to have as long as we want here...

for a payment plan that includes as many hugs and kisses that we can give...

which, thank goodness, is something that we can afford!

Storms

Last week we had some pretty bad storms go through. One night the thunder got so loud that I was afraid Maida or Skogen would wake up and be scared. So, we got them out of bed and brought them into the living room where we had set up a bed for us all to sleep on so we could be close. We woke Maida up to listen to the thunder and she was afraid at first, but after snuggling with Daddy, she felt much better. In the morning, she ran to the door and looked outside to see if she could see the "big big torm".

A couple days later we had another bad storm come and the tornado sirens went off. We all went down into the basement for protection.

Special Visitors

On Friday for lunch, we met up with one of Erik's old friends from York College. Nicole, her husband Brandon, and two sons Hayden and Tylen, along with her sister, met us at TGI Friday's. It was really fun to catch up with them and see Maida around another two-year-old. The time went by way too quickly and we forgot to take any pictures.

On Friday afternoon, my friend Allison came to visit us! It was so good to see her and meet her new little baby, Connor, for the first time. Connor is just a few weeks younger than Skogen; and Caitlin, Allison's daughter, is just a few weeks older than Maida. We have matching families! It's hard to believe that just about a year ago, we stopped by Allison's house to visit. Her and I were both pregnant then! I never imagined when we met at Oklahoma Christian about seven years ago, that we'd both be living in Minnesota and raising kids together someday. It is so great to have someone else going through the same thing at the same time and fun to pick out all the similarities between our children.

On Saturday, my friend, Kristin, came for a short visit. We had a great time going out to lunch and then coming home and chatting. We first met when I worked at PIE, before having Maida. I have really missed her over the past two years while we lived in Duluth. I can't wait to hang out with her more now that we live closer. Maida and Skogen absolutely adore her!

After looking at about 45 houses in three days, the house we finally bought was not my favorite house or my first choice. Several of the houses that I really liked were sold out right under us or ended up not accepting our loan type. At the time it seemed like such a bummer to receive the news that we couldn't purchase a house that we really wanted, but now that I look back, I can see that God was working in the whole process. I know this because after our neighborhood block party on Tuesday night, I'm confident that we live in the best neighborhood in the best city (I'll also admit the the house isn't all that bad either!).

We were able to meet a good majority of the neighbors at the party and found out that we have some couples our age living really close! We were also able to find some kids for Maida to have playdates with, and maybe some potential babysitters.

Some of the events of the evening included:

-a pot luck picnic-

-Bingo (which I won the very first game of!)-

-paper airplane flying contest-

-shoe kicking contest-

-water balloon toss (Erik and I got second place)-

-parachute games-

-fireworks-

-tattoos-

-toys for the kids to take home-

-a visit from the chief of police and mayor-

-a firetruck for the kids to sit in and climb on-

-a police car for the kids to look at and play in-

-and lots of music and laughter-

We had the best time.

On a completely separate note, I think I'm finally realizing what a sponge kids are. It is amazing how much Maida can learn in a day. She takes in all that she can.

The other night Maida didn't want to go to bed and was kicking and screaming, "No, I don't wanna go to bed."

Erik sat down with her and told her that Jesus' Father requested that He do something that He didn't want to do (die on the cross), and that He said to His Father, "Dad, I really really don't want to do that, but if you tell me to, then I will."

He then got the Bible out and read her Luke 22:42.

So, tonight Erik was gone studying and I told Maida that it was time to get ready for bed. She whined a little bit and said, "I don't want to go to bed."

I told her that sometimes we have to do things that we don't want to do.

She then told me, "Mommy, I really really don't want to go to bed, but Jesus told his daddy that I don't want to, but then he went to bed."

SO CUTE.