Happy Birthday Aiden

I can't believe our little boy is 4! Yikes! He is so lively and spirited at this age. He usually knows what he wants and is really starting to be able to get it by himself. I love that he is learning so quickly. He know all of his letters and most of his numbers. That is when he wants to. He is starting to learn to navigate the computer. I think that he is officially a boy. No longer a toddler, long past baby and almost a child. Thanks aiden for making us laugh and keeping us happy!

Boise, Idaho

Since Christopher isn't working we have decided it is time to travel. At least to places that have free accommodations! Thanks Philipp and Amber! Anyway-- we got there and the weather was beautiful. One of the days we went to the boise zoo. i think that it is one of the coolest zoos I have ever been to. The animals are close to you and they are usually pretty active. the tigers were wrestling and the lynx was climbing all over the place! The kids really loved it too. My favorite part was at the Giraffes. There was a giraffe skeleton next to the real giraffes. Aiden says--Look mom nice giraffes (refering to the alive ones) and a scary one!



I had to laugh. And of course we had to put our kids on the statues that they aren't suppose to touch


The rest of the weekend consited of hanging out, lots of rock band, and a tire swing. I think that when we have a yard with a real big tree this will be the first thing that we do. All the kids loved it. Cole, the youngest Schmidt, had to be held back everytime it wasn't his turn. Otherwise he would run in the path of the swing trying to climb on.

Jackson, Wyoming

On saturday we went to Jackson. It is a really cool town in the winter! We went on a sleigh ride on the Elk refuge. It was really pretty. The tour guide let us know that the one group that we were watching had 7500 elk and there are two more groups that are on different parts of the refuge. That is a lot of elk!

I am beginning to believe in Global Warming

The last two days in Castle Rock have been around 65 degrees. 65! I really am starting to think that we are experiencing global warming. Or at least Colorado warming. My friend and I finished packing the basement today. That was great but the downside of that is the fact that we packed all the toys. So my kids had to find alternate ways to play which included Aiden climbing. He decided today to climb on top of our air conditioner step on some random metal, and stand on the wall that surrounds our porch. He then walked on the edge of it to the other side and jumped down. This kid amazes me sometimes. I can't believe the stuff he will do. Here are some pics to document the climb. And a random one of the cute girl we love.

Just Happy

Have you every had the days when you feel happy for no reason? That is the kind of day that i am having today. A lot of things are happening in our family lately that we are worried about. I guess that we finally have to confess to our blog friends that Christopher got laid off three weeks ago. We had heard rumors that it would be happening but we thought that we had awhile. We have since decided to move in with his parents. FUN! We are leaving all of our friends in Castle Rock, my calling (which I love), my family and friends in Westminster/ Fort Collins, and everything that we have established in Castle Rock. No, we don't have any job perspectives that might work out and no we aren't sure what is in our future. Having said all that I am still really grateful and happy for what I do have. i know that there are still many exciting adventures that we will be embarking on in the future. Many of my friends are having some really exciting things in their lives, too. One family might be finally chosen as a adoptive family. One of my friends has been hired in a job that she is sure she will love. Another one of our friends just received a raise in this economy. There are so many blessings that the lord has given to us and to others I don't know why we can't be happy in this world! I love my life, family, children, and this life.

I think I need to watch my mouth...

I don't know about anyone else but my kids pick up everything that Christopher and I say!  Every little expressive word that I have in my vocabulary are starting to pop up in my children's.  For example, walking out of the church on Wednesday my son exclaimed "Its Freakin' cold out here."  Funny, oh yes.  Appropriate for a three year old, NO.  The other day they were quoting my husband.  "Watch out you moron!"  This was used when they were pretending to drive!   I can't seem to stop myself either.  And these aren't the worst of the words if you know what I mean.  

I plead for your help.  Share a story where your child has repeated a not so nice word, or tell me how to cut them out of my vocab!  I would rather hear the stories though...