DID WE WIN AGAIN?

Why yes WE did! It's really not a we as in me and Calli but since the gym is called Woodlands Elite they term WE for everything. Over the (very long) weekend (for me who doesn't do mornings) Calli was a part of her two teams that again became National Champions. So this is the third time they have been National Champions in January 2011. Don't ask how...it's just a ploy for someone to make a bunch of money. And at these national championships they are all very original in their awards (as you can probably tell). So guess what Calli walked away with? I know my readers are so smart so I can hear you through the monitor scream "a jacket?" Yes, 2 more jackets and 2 more medals.

These two extra jackets couldn't have come at a better time since the temps are supposed to drop later this week. And while none of them may be warm/heavy enough to keep Calli warm at 17 degree temps by themselves, they might if she wears them.....

ALL!

This is 7 jackets (5 from this year so far and 2 from last year and we lost one in LegoLand this summer so she's short one)

STRANGE?

Isn't this where you keep your gumballs?

In a baseball hat, behind your door, under a blanket?
But don't worry he wasn't wasting them. He also kept his half chewed ones in there too.

HOT STUFF FOR THE DAY

AR points are a big deal in Mrs. Hurst's first grade class. You get AR points by reading your library book or home reader and taking a  test on it. The grade you get determines how many points you get. Mrs. Hurst has rewards for the kids as they reach different levels. I don't know the goals but I do know some of the rewards. So when you hit 10 points (again, not sure if it's 10 or not) you get a piece of candy. When you hit 15 you get a coke at your desk. One point goal lets you wear your socks all day. The one that Colson reached last week was getting to sit at Mrs. Hurst's desk all day. By the time I stopped in at the end of the day to take his picture he had already put all his work away but he was still happy to pose for my picture. He was the second kid in the class to acheive it so we are proud of our stud reader!

SEEING DOUBLE

So this weekend Woodlands Elite dominated (again). Calli's sub team took 1st place out of 8 teams. Calli's home team swept the division beating all level 3 teams of all ages (high point). So they got first out of 22. Note: If you aren't a cheer expert before following my blog, you might soon be.

 
So this weekend we brought home 2 medals (for first place), 2 jackets (for first place) and 1 tshirt (for high point). And wouldn't you know that we won this same jacket last year so we now have three. Her friend told her to wear them all at the same time.

PSALM 23

ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A FIRST GRADER?

The other night Colson and I were at the kitchen bar reviewing his spelling words. Wes was in ear distance sitting on the couch. I said "spell penguins". Colson says "P-E-N-G-U-I-N-S". Great and I sent him off to brush his teeth! After Colson was out of hearing distance Wes says "I didn't know how to spell penguins".

I've said before that Wes is not the best speller. I have also said that I thought Colson was going to follow in his footsteps but since my 7 year old can spell better than his 42 year old daddy there may be hope.

A BIG WIN

Last weekend we went to our first Nationals competition this season and our first out of town competition traveling to Ft. Worth. Nationals is the "jacket" competition. Last year we got so many jackets I felt guilty for all the homeless people that went without. One week before this competition, I received a phone call from one of Calli's coaches. He wanted to know if Calli would double team (be on two teams) for a short while and learn the routine for a level 2 (what she was on last year). One of the girls on the Master Chiefs had broken her arm and can't compete for at least 3 weeks. I had a feeling that Calli would say yes but I had not anticipated the squeals that came when I asked her. "YES, YES, YES" she said as she jumped up and down. Do you think she likes it? So she spent that whole weekend at practices for both teams. 

Fast forward to this past weekend. The National competitions are two day competitions. So they compete on the first day and their scores count for 40% of the total score. They do the exact same thing on the second day and those scores count for 60% of the total scores. It's very common that one of those days are a little off for most teams. It's hard to nail the routine both days.The Master Cheifs, the team she is subbing for had a little rough first day landing them in 4th place out of 8 teams after the first day. The second day they did really good with no major deductions. The final outcome? 3rd place....no jacket.

The Lieutenants on the other hand defied the odds and landed two almost flawless routines both days. Their outcome? 1st place out of 4 teams. They beat the second place team in their division by SIX points which is unheard of. They were that good. What was really a major accomplishment is that they place high point in their division. Each team competes against their skill level and their age. So all level 3 teams can do no more than a back tuck and have guidelines on the degree of difficulty in their stunts. Then they divide each level into age groups. So Calli's team is a level 3 and all kids on the team are Youth, between 7 and 13 (or something like that). That's where the 4 teams were...all 4 of those teams were level 3 and a Youth team. When I say they got high point in their division that means they beat all the different age groups within the level 3. So they beat the Jr level 3 kids, the Sr level 3 kids and the Sr. coed level 3 kids. So really they got FIRST out of TWENTY-THREE teams. As their coaches said...that was a huge accomplishment. The crazy part is that the jackets are the exact same as last years. Why would they do that? I told Calli that I was going to sell her old on on Ebay and I got "the look". The $1000 check below is awarded to each high point team. Too bad it doesn't go to the parents.

It was a fun weekend in Ft Worth if I didn't think about the fact that it was a school holiday and I wasn't getting to sleep in. The weather wasn't very nice either but we still ventured down to the Stockyards.  

I (FINALLY) HAVE A NAME

Yes there are many names to this blonde hair, blue eyed thirty something. Mom, wife, friend and some of you may have a not so nice name for me...YOU BETTER NOT! But the sweetest name I hear now a days is Stemanie. Hudson finally has a name for me and I love it! I have tried for the last 2 1/2 years to think of something really creative that coincides with Stephanie but I've had no luck. I concluded that Hudson would have his own cute way of saying my name that would stick 20 years from now. For example when Calli was little Christina was quite a mouthful and all she could get out was Stina. It stuck. We call her Stina.

It's taken a little while for Hudson to form his vocabulary but the last couple of months his mouth has been running and we understand it! The name that comes out when he sees me is Stemanie. I don't really think it will stick. I don't really think that when this adorable little child is 18 he'll be calling me Stemanie. I don't think when my brother in law sees me he'll say "Hey Stemanie" but I'm okay with that. It's so cute coming from Hudson and it's even sweeter HEARING it come from his mouth.

We love this kid! Tonight Calli dressed him up and he looked like a little midget. He thought he looked dope in puffy jacket reciting his numbers in Spanish!

FIELD TRIP

I'm not a big fan of field trips. Usually in Calli's class there are so many "chaperones" that I only end up being in charge of 1 or 2 other kids but they are still not my favorite thing to do. The kids went back to school Tuesday and on Wednesday 5th grade went on a field trip to the Houston Museum of Natural Science. I've admitted I'm not a fan of field trips and museums are my least favorite. When Robyn and I were in the 7th grade we went to Washington DC on a choir trip. While all of the other folks in our group (including the other KIDS) visited the cadillac of museums, some of the Smithsoneans, we sat on a bench outside and people watched. Museums just aren't my thing.

All that said, this trip was fairly good. Of course it helps when you have other friend chaperones. Me, Tracy (Calli's 4th grade teacher) and Beth (the counselor) were in charge of the 11 girls in Mrs. Bodak's class. We toured a little bit of the museum, watched the IMAX on the Hubble and went through the Pirate Exhibit. The IMAX made we want to add one more thing to my bucket list. I don't have a bucket list but if I did I would add watching a space launch. How cool that must be. Of course with President Obando (Colson's name for him) at the reigns, I'm not sure what the space program is doing but watching a launch has got to be so exhilerating.

Lauren, Kenzi, Calli (in the choke hold) and Michaela

The pirate exhibit was quite interesting and cool. The kids loved it and everyone behaved themselves. Of course the reason I go on the field trips is because Calli wants me to. She had a great day so that's really what matters!

COULD IT BE?

After 7 years, 6 months and 9 days, this boy finally lost a tooth.

We have been waiting for this day since he was in Pre-K....sometimes with deep distress and tears. He has wanted to loose a tooth quite badly. And he wanted to remember this day so he decided that writing it on his bed would be a good "keepsake". Part of me wants to make him take this bed to college. I could really play it up....

Colson age 19: Mom, I'm not taking this bed, it's for babies.

Me age I'm not telling: Oh but honey look how sweet it is that you documented the day you lost your first tooth. You never want to forget that do you?

The sad part is that 12 years from now when he is going to college that's probably what I'll be thinking. Last night when I climbed under his bunk and happened to notice the nice big lettering (in his best handwriting) that he had done the night before I simply thought 'Good grief this kid destroys EVERYTHING!'
It reads....2011 lost toth toth (and a picture of a tooth I think) on dad's brtday.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WES!

42 years ago today, Wes came into this world. Yay for me, Calli and Colson! We love him terribly! Here is a poem that Calli wrote and read to him this morning as he still lay in bed trying to wake up.

It's your birthday daddy
You're turning 42
but it doesn't matter how old you get
I'll always love you

It does not matter how short or tall you are
happy or sad you are
or anything else you've done
I'll love you for who you are
cause you're my daddy, sweet and fun!

Daddy I wrote this poem for you
to tell you how much I love you
You are the best daddy anyone could have
and I'm glad I have YOU!

Happy 42nd Birthday Daddy!
I will always love you!
Love, Calli Grace

A CLOSE TO TWENTY TEN

I create my own Christmas cards each year but I've had trouble figuring out the best place to print them. This year I was referred to a place and was set on doing a 5x7 card with a picture on the front and back and my letter to take up the whole inside with pictures from throughout the year around the letter as a border. I created it and then couldn't get it to print right. The printing place I was using would only let me print on the front and on one part of the inside....no bueno. Anyways, because of my time crunch I went to plan B which nixed my letter. Because the letter is a recap of the year, I thought I'd post it here to serve as a reminder to me. So here goes....

Can the year really be over? My calendar says so but my mind thinks it’s still March. 2010 has been a year full of joy, accomplishments, growth, change and on the go fun. The kids and I went to California this summer, Wes & I went to Vegas and the whole family is headed to Colorado soon. So we’ve definately been making memories in and outside of Texas.

Colson turned 7 this summer and started the 1st grade at the same school that Calli has been at. He finished Kindergarten strong at the private day school he had attended since he was two. As the new school year approached he told me he was ready but I could see the uncomfortableness in his behavior. Including the attempt to avoid school all together by trying to run away the day before school started. He was headed to England to play baseball. Of course after the first few weeks he found that this big school thing is pretty cool. I am thrilled with his accomplishments and involvement. I wasn’t sure if he’d be the class clown or Mr. Studious. To my delight he is the latter. His first grade teacher, a favorite from Calli’s 1st grade year, is A.MAZ.ING and he adores her. He doesn’t want to get into trouble and he’s told me on numerous occassions that he “stays focused on his work.” He tested his skills on the basketball court earlier this year and really liked the nonstop action. He played baseball in the Spring and Fall and even had a little summer stint when he made the All Stars team. He also shot his first deer this year and is nagging Wes to take him back to shoot an 8 point he has his eye on.He’s funny and very loving. He and Wes hang out alot and I love to see that bond. Yet at night he never forgets to pucker up those lips for me and squeezes me up with his hugs.

Calli is becoming a beautiful young lady right before our eyes. Every day I see more and more of me in her so LOOK OUT WORLD! As she walked down the school hall the other day holding my hand I wondered how much longer I have of these days. She’s so sweet, kind and considerate, yet sassy, confident and energetic. She’s still on her competitive cheer team moving up a level from last year and now working on her full. If I would take her to the gym ever day, she would go. She’s a straight A student, part of the National Honor Society for Elementary Students and sings in the 5th grade school choir. She takes piano and is involved in church.She is loving Math and Science this year and as always she’s been blessed with some pretty great teachers.

Wes keeps busy with his CPA practice and his 16 hobbies. Just kidding...he only has 3 big ones. He’s timed it well so that during any given month it is “(fill in the blank) season”. He’s still into horses and roping, a hobby he picked up last year. He fishes, though not as much as he used to, and hunts. He shot his biggest deer ever this year on his lease in Trinity. He feels so blessed (as do I) for a job he loves and with some pretty awesome clients.

And finally I still have my sanity (I think) as I juggle all of our schedules. I still work out regularly and really find it a release to the craziness. I spend lots of time in my car and if you looked in it you wouldn’t doubt that statement. I continue to work for the same company with a terrific schedule that affords me a great deal of flexibility and allows me to interact with some really great people. We all enjoy the family that is so close to us especially the really cute little 2 1/2 year old that we call Hudson who will soon have a baby brother or sister to pester as my sister is expecting again which makes us all a little giddy.

As we close up this year I realize that December flies by faster than any other month of the year. So much to do and so many places to be. I pray that you have a priority of putting Christ in your Christmas! May you realize that what we celebrate every year has changed lives, including ours! May you accept the gift of the baby that was born so long ago before you receive any other gift!
The Schubert Family wishes you A VERY MERRY CHRIST FILLED CHRISTMAS!

DAY 5: AN AWESOME WAY TO FINISH OUT 2010

At least in the adults perspective it was. We spent a few hours of Friday afternoon riding through the National Forest up to the Georgia Pass on snowmobiles. Calli road with me, Colson with Wes. It was absolutely beautiful! Driving on paths through fresh snow and "Christmas trees" capped with snow. It was a blast! We made it up the pass where the wind was blowing the snow and it was freezing....like 30 below. By this time Calli was almost in tears her hands were so cold. She had hand warmers in them but I guess they weren't working. Our hair had frozen, what little part we had exposed and the drippings from our noses were icicles. 

The snowmobiles were 2011 models and brand new, mine had 576 miles on it. As the driver, my hands and feet stayed warm because they had heaters where our feet went and the handlebars were heated. It worked so good, I had to turn mine off for a few minutes because they started to burn through my gloves. Colson was the only kid who loved it. I made the mistake of taking his glove off at the top of the pass because I thought he had snow in it from rolling around in it. Within 5 seconds he was crying because his hands hurt him so bad. He still thought it was really cool. Calli and Carson weren't near as excited but said it was cool. I had to stop Calli from crying because I said her tears would turn to icicles.

This is Colson sitting on the snowmobile....I know it's a little hard to tell since not one ounce of his body is exposed.

It was a great way to ring out the old year and ring in the new. We then closed out the trip with dinner and hitting a few shops in the cute little town. That evening we watched a little football and the kids rang in the new year with some sparkling cider which we bought at Al-Mart.

When we woke the next morning it was -9 degrees and time to head back to warmer weather. I asked Colson if he was ready to get home as he was brushing his teeth. He made this frown and said "Yes, I miss Grammie and Grandma". Sorry Grandpa's...I guess you weren't missed. Calli said she missed Hudson....I did too and I can't wait to see that cute little thing run up to me.

It was a great trip filled with lots of memories. I'm sure we'll head back to colder weather someday but right now we are enjoying the beautiful Texas weather. Although I did get cold at the Texans game today and thought "this is nothing!"

DAY 4: A WINTER WONDERLAND

Don't get me wrong, our entire trip took place on one big Winter Wonderland but Thursday when white airy pieces of things came pouring down from the sky it was awesome! As I mentioned earlier, one of the negatives from being 15 miles from town was that it could hinder our activities because of the drive. We had to cross Hoosier Pass to get to Alma and if you know anything about winter climates, "passes" are usually not the safest to be on. As the weather lady stated when we called the hotline "Hoosier Pass is icy and snow packed with high winds". Folks that doesn't always make for a great combination. But since we were all exhausted from our two days of skiing we were okay with hanging out at the house and enjoying the snow, view and warm cozy fireplace.

Colson woke up crying because he wanted to go skiing again. We headed into town early in hopes to be back by noon when the weather was really going to be bad. Keep in mind we are in the negative temps at this point in our trip. We had to return our skis and I had to hope for the best that someone turned in mine. They didn't. I called the lost and found and reported them missing in case someone turns them in and there is still hope at this point that whoever got mine could return them to the place I rented them when they leave/left Breckenridge. What I'm hoping for at this point is that the place where we rented them is so busy and really not very organized that they'll assume that they checked mine in and not worry about calling me for the money to buy them. I paid in cash so it's not like they have my credit card on file to charge. I feel like I did the right thing in this....which justifies my dislike in paying for the skis.

Anyways, we got back to the house a few minutes after 12 and enjoyed some football, a nap and the sled hill out back. The kids got all bundled up to walk out to the sledding hill. I'm not kidding when I tell you that I would take a step and my leg would sink down until the snow was up to the very top of my thigh. We had to use walking sticks to make our way to the hill and because we weren't used to the altitude (notice I'm not contributing it to how out of shape we are), we were totally out of breath and the hike felt like it was 15 miles. Once we got to the hill we of course had to climb up it. No magic carpet here! We tried to crawl so we wouldn't be so heavy and sink into the snow and then we tried to be fast...again to make us lighter on our feet...or should I say knees. It gave a whole new meaning for those people that say "When I was a kid, I walked two miles in the snow to school".

We enjoyed the sledding but not near as long as I hoped we would. It was too darn cold. Colson could have stayed out there all day...not that he should have though. And Calli whined after her first trip down the hill that her face was sooooo cold.

That night we enjoyed some good family game night playing Taboo and Pictionary where we laughed much of the night. At one point Wes was trying to get us to say wallpaper and his clue kept going back to "it's in old peoples houses". Colson couldn't understand why Wes wasn't taking dentures for the answer. After the time went off and Wes told us it was wallpaper Colson immediately hollared "There's no way. You must have read that wrong Daddy. It was dentures".

DAY 3: DID WE REALLY FIT ALL OF THIS INTO ONE DAY?

Wednesday evening we had plans in Keystone and since our lift tickets were good for both Keystone or Breckenridge we decided to just spend the whole day their skiing and then continuing with our night plans there. Again, it took us forever to get out the door and make our way to Keystone which is about 15 miles farther from Breckenridge. We didn't have to rent our skis though because we had kept them from the day before. As we unloaded our skis I realized that I had someone else's skis. Somehow in yesterday's craziness, I had picked up the wrong skis...now whether someone else had walked off with mine first I don't know. They were the exact same skis but they had the rental sticker from another company...and they didn't fit my boots...UGH!!! I spent the next hour walking around the little village of Keystone trying to get "my skis" adjusted to fit my boots without getting them taken away from me since they weren't really mine. It was then that I decided I could trade my Gold's Gym membership in and just purchase a pair of ski boots to walk around in. I was in tears from walking so much in those boots. Walking in those boots are never comfortable but my calves hurt from the day before from stopping so much and having to go a little slower with the kids. I had also lost a glove in the trek but I didn't care to retrace my steps to try and find it.

 I had sent everyone else up to the mountain to ski and told them I'd be waiting at the bottom when they got done. I waited for at least 30 minutes and after a text from Jennifer I thought they were at a different lift. So I walked even more trying to get to them. That's when the tears came. I decided to go back to where we had all started and I was just going to ski by myself for the rest of the day. As I walked to a bench to rest before I headed up the mountain, I sat down right next to Calli, Carson and Colson. "Mama!" coming from Calli's mouth never sounded so good! It turned out that Russell had come down with the kids and Carson had finally gotten the hang of it...she had a smile on her face and was ready to go again. Wes had stayed on the mountain with Jennifer as she kept stopping to rest and clinging to trees as she kept telling Wes she couldn't do it. The runs were pretty long which made for good skiing. Here's Jennifer after she finally had gotten off the mountain. I died laughing at her which did not make her happy. I made a run with the kids and had to listen to Colson accuse everyone of running into him on purpose at the few spots we had to "pole" 

Our activities that night included night tubing and dinner at the tip top of the mountain. The tubing was lots of fun! You could tube by yourself or hook on with up to 4 people. Calli and Carson did a lot together and Colson went with me every time. There were 5 lanes and the attendant would ask you "do you want to go straight or spin?" If you said spin he would say "little spin or super spin". Colson's reply every time when asked do you want to go straight or spin? He'd say "super straight". Wes' night was ruined after about the third time when he staed he wanted to go straight and the attendant did a super spin on  him. He thinks he blacked out halfway down and wanted to throw up. He wasn't good until the next morning and he didn't tube any more after that. So you'd tube down and ride the magic carpet up the the top again. It's the lazy man's way of tubing but oh was it good! 

After that we took a second gondola ride up to the very top of the mountainh and ate dinner at a fondue place. We had prepared for a long day on this day and my guess was that Colson would be the biggest bear of us all. I was wrong! Every one else was sorely disappointed in the food and the atmosphere and Colson loved everything! While we were all just eating enough to fill us up so we wouldn't have to drive through Arby's (the only fast food we ever saw), Calli wasn't eating anything because she was worried that the cross contamination of forks and fondue stick on raw meat would make her sick, Colson kept having me cook more and more for him. He wanted to come back every day he enthusiastically exclaimed. At the end when our waitress came to give us our very expensive ticket, Colson stated in his most angelic voice "I like that lady. She never stops smiling". Even the next day as we drove around he blurted out "That was just enough food". "What are you talking about?" I said. He looked at me with a 'why can't you keep up look' and said "Last night. That was just enough food for me and it was delicious. Can we go back?"

I think everyone preferred skiing at Keystone but I preferred Breckenridge. Chalk it up to the 12 miles I walked in some very uncomfortable boots that left a bad taste in my mouth. Who knows? My analysis of skiing is a comparison to childbirth. You forget how much work it is until you go again. But at the end of the day it's all worth it.

BRECKENRIDGE DAY 1 & 2: I...CAN'T....CATCH...MY....BREATH!

Earlier this year, Jennifer Cecil said she wanted to go skiing and asked if I'd plan a trip for all of us. She had to plead and beg but I finally gave in and did (J/K...I love vacations!) So the long awaited (especially by the kids) trip had finally come. We landed in Denver Monday afternoon and made the 2 hour treck to Breckenridge. The house we were staying in was about 15 miles outside of Breckenridge in Alma home of the famous Al-Mart. Okay so it's not famous but it's all they had. There wasn't even a gas station in Alma. We picked the house because it was secluded on 10 acres and we thought the guys would like that since they are really opposed to crowds of people and Breckenridge is a very touristy town. The Irish Rose (our house) had a sledding hill out back (more on that later) and was really perfect for us. We wished it had something bigger than Queen beds but who are we to complain. The negative which I didn't really think about was that the weather got bad a couple of days which made the drive to Breckenridge dangerous. We also had to shovel our car out of the snow which had we been staying at some condos, would have been done for us (I think). The worst part about it was that we had no internet access. We couldn't even get cell service. All 4 adults are IPhone junkies but somehow we survived. We roughed it like the old days-HA! These were some of the views from our house. Disgustingly beautiful!

On Tuesday we didn't race to get up...we are on vacation after all. But by the time we got dressed, which we determined was the hardest part of living up there, made it into Breckenridge, figured out where to park, caught the bus, rented skis, bought our lift tickets and made it up the mountain it was almost 1:00. We were already exhausted and we hadn't even made it down the mountain. Breckenridge is one of the highest spots if not the highest spot in Colorado to ski. This made for headaches and severe shortness of breath. Factor in that some of us were out of shape and you've got exhaustion! This is the only picture I got from the two days of skiing. This was us waiting at the bus stop.

Calli and Colson had been skiing three years ago when Calli was 7 and Colson was 4. We went to Rio Dosa and I got them an hour or two private lesson and they were good to go. They both did great then but I wasn't sure if it would come back to them. Of course it did. They went down without a fall the first trip. Russel had skied before but Jennifer, who will be 40 in 3 weeks, and Carson, who is the same age as Calli, had never been. Since Breckenridge is a much fancier place than Rio Dosa, private lessons at $700 a piece were not an option. They could have done a class for almost $200 but it was all day. We had only planned to ski 2 days so I talked them out of lessons saying that we could teach them.

If I had had any breath left in me, I would have been laughing until I was crying as Carson and Jennifer were both having meltdowns at the very top of the mountain. They had fallen after getting off the lift and were sliding down a small slope and couldn't get back up. Then Colson stopped to help and he fell as he was standing there and he too started sliding. I wasn't much help in pulling them up and they were both having such severe meltdowns that they weren't hearing my instructions on how to get up on their own. Once we got everyone up and rested for a few minutes we started down the mountain. Carson was crying most of the way down and Jennifer just kept saying she couldn't do this. Russel ended up staying with them as Wes and I went with our kids because they were speeding down the mountain. By the time Jennifer and Carson got down the mountain I think they were ready to pack their bags and take the next flight home. Russel and I wouldn't let Carson quit. I knew she would get it.

Colson called the EMT skiers that would rescue people who were hurt and bring them down the mountain "the people with yellow packages". If you were hurt they would put you on a flat board on skis and bundle you up with this yellow tarp looking thing. So Jennifer kept saying that she was going to be coming down the mountain in one of those yellow packages.

It was a fun day but again very exhausting. The sun was out though so it made for a great day of skiing because it wasn't too cold.