Aaaahhhh, the FALL!!

It's my most favorite time to decorate our home! I love Halloween/Fall decorations. I love the feeling it brings, I LOVE this time of year. October 1st, they all come out - the pumpkins, the leaves, the witches, the black cats, the ghosts....... Then come Thanksgiving decorations - then Christmas. It isn't until the week after Christmas that our home returns to how it looks 9 months of the year. This is so much fun!

Happy Fall,

Happy Halloween,

Happy October!

Making a Chore Not a Chore

Recently, Jack was asked to put his socks away. I was so happy the camera was close after we heard how he decided to go about it...

This just goes to show that children come with their own personalities, cause we all know this isn't something Jack has seen Chip, or anyone else here doing!

A New Stage

We are off to a fantastic school year! So far..... so good.

The weekend before school started, we had a "back to school celebration" with the Millington family. Gayla shared her family tradition with us and made the cutest school bus cake.

I can hardly believe that all four of the kids are in school ALL day!!!

We have an 8th grader (that is still making me pinch myself to see if I really have an 8th grader)...

a 6th grader...


a third grader...

and a first grader...

I clearly remember when Jackson was about one, thinking how far away this time was, when they were all in school - and that it would never come. I mean, really? It's really here?

With new stages of life comes all kinds of new challenges, new joys, new "How am I ever going to do this?" new "I'm scared to death to be a mother" and new "Life is pretty wonderful" times. This truly is a good stage in life, I think. I am enjoying it. I don't know what tomorrow will bring, but today, I am enjoying this stage.

So now it's just Anela and me all day. I am so lucky!

Every day we have cereal together after the kids leave to school.

She always insists on "reading" the box.

I love this girl.

Dad's Outdoor Classroom

Sometimes when you ask a question in our home, you get more than what you bargained for! As it was in this case....

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While watching the Olympic track and field events one night, the kids kept asking why one of the runners always got a head start on the track. "It's not fair to the other runners!" they would say.

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They still didn't quite get it after I tried to explain that it only looked like they were getting a head start. I asked Chip to try and explain it better than I could.

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Oops.

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That's when he pushed pause and said, "Everybody outside!!"

They may have whined and groaned on their way out.... but it ended up being fun,

AND...

they finally understood it perfectly!

The Last Summer Hurrah!

We have made it a family tradition to go to the State Fair every summer as our last "hurrah" before school starts. We have so much fun at the fair!

This year, Kelley, Tyler, and Tyler's brother, Sam met us there and hung out with us for a while. Kelley stuck it out to the end (she is used to us stopping whenever Chip finds someone that he knows) ha ha!!

Chip got caught trying to volunteer Aubrey to be a part of a silly show, so they called him up on stage instead!

The Marines booth was a highlight. Jack gave his all to complete enough pull ups for a water bottle. Hannah surprised everyone who surrounded us by doing the flexed arm hang for the required 70 seconds for a t-shirt. Everyone counted down the last 10 seconds for her as she trembled and used all of her strength - it was just awesome!

Kelley missed not having our sister, Ellen, to ride the fast, scary rides with this year. It took a lot of coaxing, but Aubrey finally agreed to go on "VIPER" with her! She was scared to death and screamed the whole time. Kelley could hardy breath from laughing so hard.

Everyone has their favorite parts and favorite fair foods - we do our best to cover it all. Coming home late with sore feet and empty wallets is always worth the fun we have together at the fair!

Real Gold in Boise!

What an exciting time for Boise! We have our own Gold Medalist and Olympic Champion - cyclist, Kristin Armstrong! Her return from Beijing was quite an event! The airport was packed with people excited to welcome her home and see her gold medal. She was letting all the children hold and touch it, no matter how long it took. She is amazing! Chip took Taylor to experience this awesome occasion.

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The next day, thousands of people showed up downtown to ride one mile with her to the Capital Building where she was presented the keys to the city. Chip took Aubrey this time. He made his way to the front of the pack, (surprise, surprise!) in order to get the most out of the rare opportunity to ride along side Kristin.

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Here she is being interviewed by NBC - can you see Aubrey and Beth and Eden in the background?

Aubs with the Mayor of Boise, Dave Beiter.

Taylor and Aubrey were both on the live local news here in Boise, and Taylor was in the newspaper the next day. How cool is that?! They will always remember this. They have a pretty cool dad who wanted to be a part of it all to thank for it. He's pretty proud of this picture, taken with the Gold Medal winning bicycle - of course this is the second one taken, since the first one had a little glare in it. Way to go, honey!

A Fun Summer Surprise

It's been almost four years since we have seen Chip's brother, Rob. Since Jack was only two when we left California, he couldn't even remember who Uncle Rob was! So, when we got a surprise phone call from him saying he wanted to come and visit, we were very excited!

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I loved watching him and the kids get to know each other all over again. We all really had a wonderful time. Thank you Rob, for coming to Boise! Actually, Rob helped me realize just why I love Boise as much as I do. Within 10 minutes, we can be at the beautiful river that flows through Boise, we can be on amazing hikes throughout the foothills that make such a pretty view everywhere you go, we can be at a huge lake surrounded by trees and mountains, or at one of several beautiful parks we have here to enjoy. I don't think I knew how much I truly love living here until I saw it through Rob's eyes. I'm so glad I did!

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And who knows.... in hearing how much he loved it here, the next time he comes he just might bring his wonderful wife and son....... for good!! :)

All In Two Day's Work

One thing I have always been quite sure of...

I... DON'T... WANT... A... DOG. Period. Especially now! My youngest is six - he can dress himself, get his own food, buckle his seat belt, clean up most of his messes, and bathe himself. As much as I have enjoyed every stage of childhood so far, finally, I can enjoy my children in a whole new light!

So, why in the heck would I now want to have a creature in my home that will need all of those things done for him?!?!

I don't know exactly how it happened, but these thoughts have slowly, s l o w l y been changing. I must be crazy to admit that even though I KNOW there is a ton of work involved, still I am starting to believe a dog just might be a wonderful addition to our family.

Did I really just say that?

Well, it certainly wasn't overnight that this has come to be.

It was long ago that it all started. We're talkin' years. As the kids have gotten older, their desire for a dog has gotten stronger. At first it was "no way, no how, end of discussion." They knew I was serious. But eventually, they wanted me to know just how serious they were too!

Chip was no help for me, because he would actually love to welcome a dog to the family also. A yellow lab, to be exact. The more they would talk about it, the more the kids wanted to do everything they could to make this happen. And, yes, the more Chip talked about it, the more it made me start to sway...

We had many dinner conversations about a maybe, perhaps, someday dog. It took many days, but even a name was agreed upon. During this time, there just happened to be some people selling 10 yellow lab puppies on a corner here in our neighborhood. Although the kids knew we were no where near ready for one... we made the mistake of giving in and stopping. All six of us held a puppy. Gosh, they were the cutest, sweetest things. The kids couldn't believe their eyes when I picked one up. I must admit, I enjoyed it, and they were absolutely adorable! Couldn't quite accept the dog hair all over my shirt though. That's one thing I don't look forward to one bit. We stayed for a while, and the kids all said goodbye to their favorite. You can only imagine what that did to the desires of the Schultz kids' hearts!!

They really got to work.

Having a 13 and 11 year old means they are going to be creative and sly. Recently, they asked me, "Mom, if we raised every single penny we would need for a puppy and everything that comes with one, then could we get one?" Just the fact that I paused for a moment to think about it sent them squealing in delight. They thought that was a pretty good sign. In fact, they ran with it. Before I knew it, the four of them had schemed quite the plan. All money was being saved, from babysitting, to the nickels in the couch cushions, and it was actually being very well managed. Soon, they had enough for the supplies for a lemonade stand. I gave them my reluctant approval, and the rest is history...

The kids worked the lemonade stand all day Friday and all day Saturday. It was hot. They realized it was a lot harder then they thought it would be. I would be lying if I said they didn't complain a little. But Chip and I were very proud to see how hard the kids were willing to work to make this a success.

And a success it was!

When people find out their two day total.... their jaws drop.

$375.00!!!

They are definitely on their way.

And I believe whenever this does happen,

"Gunner" will be very well loved! (by me too! sshhhhhh)