Welcome to the Scharrer family's real life story! Most of our story is written for, and about, our four kids and the spice they add to our lives. It's our story of happiness, craziness, and sometimes ridiculousness. We've journaled through childbirth, the terrible two's, private school (and our public school experience), an autism diagnosis, medical school, residency, and long-term mission work in Africa.

Now we're following a new adventure, which involves a 45 foot motorcoach, homeschool, and as many ski slopes as we can go down in one year.

For posts from while we were living in Zimbabwe and updates about our future plans in Zimbabwe, please see our mission blog...

www.ourzimbabwejourney.blogspot.com.





25 June 2012

Drive-In Movie

All great intentions of updating the blog went right out the window when Erik decided to do some more traveling on his time off.  He helps with some research, so has to take the only computer we have with him.  After much wining about not being able to blog when he's gone (and being about three months behind on blogging), Erik surprised me with a tablet.  Although it has taken a week for me to finally find an app that may work on this device, I've been rather disappointed in the blogging capabilities of the tablet and have wondered if I should take it back and exchange it for another little laptop.  Well, today is the last true test.  Let's see if this new app will update the blog successfully!
Last week we got to spend some much needed, uninterrupted time with Erik.  One night after all afternoon in the sprinkler and a trip to Dairy Queen, Erik had the great idea of taking the kids to a drive-in movie!  We didn't really know what to expect, but the kids LOVED it!  We showed up a little early, had a picnic, ran around for a while, and then just as it was getting dark, we settled in the back of the Excursion with some blankets and candy for the movies.
First we watched Madagascar 3, which was super cute.  Then the plan was for the kids to fall asleep while Erik and I watched the second movie, Men in Black 3.  Klaasen fell right to sleep and Maida finally passed out after she had seen a few of the aliens, but Skogen stayed awake for the whole movie!  I'm not really sure that he liked the movie, or even paid that much attention.  I think he was just so happy to be with Erik that he wanted to spend every last second he could with him.  It was very cute!
The kids had BLAST at the drive-in and have been begging to go again.  Since the drive-in is closing after this season, we plan to make it a few more times before the summer is over and take some friends with us!  It is so nice to find an activity that the entire family really enjoys!

When we arrived, Maida said, "Wow, that is the BIGGEST TV I have ever seen!!!"

Waiting for the movie to start

Skogen so excited for the night's adventures!

Picnic dinner

Enjoying the movie

06 June 2012

Welcome summer!

We don't have a schedule to follow or any particular place to be at any certian time. We have gotten rid of "bed time," and turned off the morning alarms. Sometimes breakfast is at lunch time and the popcorn we eat while watching an evening movie is considered our dinner.

The back yard has turned into a whole new world where the kids have not only helped with planting our first ever vegetable garden, but they have also discovered secret hideouts behind and underneath our pine trees and in our lilac bushes, aided in the greening of our beautiful (and rapidly growing) grass with their daily use of the sprinkler and kiddie pool, and they have delighted in the fun that their sandbox has brought them (even though they have to suffer through a bath and hair washing every night before bed).

Winter coats have been replaced with tan lines and the snow shovel has been replaced with the lawn mower. The front yard which once held a snowman and sported kids on tobogins, now holds numerous sidewalk chalk drawings and several dried up piles of picked dandelions.

I'm so thankful to be spending the summer with my babies and treasure each day with them. I'm excited to see their transition into summer and appreciate their easy going personalities, which make my love and enjoyment for schedule- free days so much better.


We write to taste life twice, once in the moment and in retrospection.”
~Anais Nin