To be 8 and innocent again....

Sam - Dad, do girls play pro football?  Dad - Yes, they play in the LFL.
Sam - Really?? What does LFL stand for?
Dad - Lingerie Football League
Sam - (after few second of silence) Dad, what is lingerie?
Dad - It's girl's underwear
Sam - (speechless) then finally is able to mutter "You mean they seriously play in their underwear?"

Ah, the age of innocence. The look on Sam's face was absolutely priceless. 

I couldn't resist showing him pictures of the girls "uniforms". His only comment was "Mom, that is inappropriate!" (Score one for mom!!)

I think that Sam will stick to playing with the boys!  His team did very well this year, finishing with one loss during the regular season, and then they lost their second game of the year in the playoff championship game.  Still, an amazing season! Dan had a blast coaching Sam's team too - not sure what he will do when he has to sit up in the stands someday with us "regular" folk!!

Sam seemed to really "get" tackle football this year and enjoyed the hard-hitting game. He played defensive end or tackle on defense and center on offense. Being that he sometimes handled the kick-off duties and was on the receiving team for kick-offs, there were some games when he play the whole game without a rest.  His endurance has certainly improved, and he didn't complain once about not getting a rest. So fun to see him so into the game that he didn't realize he was tired or thirsty. My boy is sure growing up! Here are some pics from the season:

We're baaaaackkkkk!

I am not sure that there is still anyone out there checking on our blog - it has been woefully neglected for the past several months! We've had a great Summer and Fall, and I hope to begin blogging again if nothing else to keep a record of our crazy life!  Even if no one else ever sees the blog updates, I have found it to be a great way to remember all the crazy happenings in our life! So here goes...the 7 month catch-up in pictures!!

April was dominated by dance competitions for Kendra's dance team and Sam's First Communion and Sacrament of Reconciliation!

June brought graduation day for my nephews Luke and Tyler, and Kaylie and Kendra's end of year dance shows.  Sam also finished up the year with a fabulous piano recital!  Late June included a wonderful trip for Kendra and I to Daytona, Florida for Dance Nationals. What a wonderful trip to spend 1:1 time with Kendra. Wish I could do that with each of our kids this next year!

As June turned into July, we celebrated family fun in the pool and on local lakes in our boat.  Sam's baseball had a great season ending up in the Championship game for the end of year tourney!

August brought our annual Walker Bay Days 5K race with three generations of the Schmitz Family running in the race!  All four placed in their age groups!

September brought our favorite time of year  - STATE FAIR TIME!!!  We were super lucky this year in that Grandma Schroeder was able to join us for State Fair fun all the way from North Carolina. The kids will never forget their Tilt-a-Whirl ride with Grandma! What a GREAT day we had!!

Before we knew it, September and October rolled around with the start of school, Fall Fun, and Halloween! Kendra spent Halloween morning back at the hospital for her 6th ear surgery - a tympanoplasty to repair a perforated eardrum.

I guess when we look back at all that we've done in the past few months, it is no wonder why we haven't had time to post! It has been a busy time with Dan in school all Summer and Fall, and fulltime work for me, but we have also created someone incredible family memories along the way!

~Ali