Holiday Adventure

We traveled up north to visit family for the holiday break. The first stop was Matt's mom's house in Salinas.


We drove over to Monterey and went to the "Dennis The Menace" park. They had a great big train that the kids climb on. I didn't get a picture of the kids on the train, but here's the train.


Brandon was dwarfed by the wheels.


Sarah enjoyed the climbing wall.


We walked down to Fisherman's Warf and Cannery Row. On the walk back, Ben decided to run around on the sand at the beach. Of course, he had to get his feet wet. He had a great time running in the surf!


Unfortunately, the rocks can be slippery. Ben fell into the (very cold) water. Brrrr...


I gave him my flannel shirt to try and warm back up.


We then went over to the Tech Museum in San Jose. Here is a picture of the kids on the exhibit where they can build their own bobsled ride.


Friday we visited the kids great grandparents (my grandpa and grandma). Great grandpa had lots of toys for the kids.




Saturday we headed back home. The kids got a picture with their Great Grandpa and Uncle Mark before we left.

Christmas

Ah, Christmas at the Schnittkers... What a day!

Here is the house the kids built... then they demolished it soon after... yummy!

Ben is showing his little brother his candy that they received in their stockings from Santa.

I think Matt is a little tired here... The kids got up early to see that they got.

Brandon is snuggling up with my Grammy (87 years old)...
Everyone had a wonderful day!

Emily, The Little Christmas Tree

For the winter dance festival this year, Emily was in Little Christmas Tree... a very cute dance with the song by Stevie Wonder.

Brandon's Artwork

It doesn't take long for Brandon to get into things...

Here's his latest artwork on the wall with blue crayon!

Halloween

This year, Shannon decided to dress up! Here she is with all of the outdoor decor.


Isn't she lovely!!!


And here are the kids:
Brandon, the lion
Emily, the butterfly
Ben, the dementor
Shannon, the dead bride
Sarah, Supergirl

The Pumpkin Patch

We took the kids to Lombardi Ranch to pick out pumpkins. This is a yearly outing for us.


The kids all picked out pumpkins and had a great time.


They had animals for the kids to see...



...and lot's of photo opportunities.


The kids liked picking out the mini pumpkins as well.


Everyone had a fun time.

Unfortunately this is likely to be the last trip to Lombardi Ranch for us since much of the ranch was destroyed in the recent fires. Very sad. Though, we will always have our memories of this fun place.

A Trip to Disneyland

We took a trip to Disneyland on Saturday. The park was really crowded, but we all had a good time.


Ben got chosen to participate in the Jedi Training show. It was a really good show. The kids got to have a lightsaber duel with either Darth Maul or Darth Vader. Here's Ben dressed up in Jedi Garb.


At the end he got a certificate.


We all dressed in red so that we matched and would stand out as a family. We thought it might make it a little less difficult for the kids to get lost in the crowd.


What we didn't realize is that it was "Gay Day" at Disneyland. Everyone who was there to celebrate Gay Day was also dressed in red. So, we were pretty much surrounded by red shirts. So much for standing out!


Sarah at New Orleans Square.


Emily looking across the water to the Mark Twain steamboat.


Brandon on board the Mark Twain!

Trustworthiness and Trains

Friday, Sarah won an award at her school for trustworthiness. Apparently each teacher picked two students from their classroom and Sarah was one of the two chosen from her class.


After the awards Sarah showed me her classroom.


Sunday we had a house full of Cub Scouts. Ben's Wolf Scout pack came over to see the train set and do some train related activities. Each kid got a chance to drive the trains.

The Cannon at Ft. Tejon

We took a trip up the freeway again to attend another civil war re-enactment at Ft. Tejon. We stayed long enough to watch two separate re-enactments.


We got to see the Cannon!


Sarah, Emily and Sarah's friend pose with the cannon.


Ben and his friends pose with the cannon as well. The boys picked up cap guns at the souvenir shop.


Emily found a pretty bonnet that she liked.


Brandon has a great time as well. He did lots of exploring.


Emily enjoyed seeing the cavalry horse.

Labor Day Weekend Party

The temperatures were in the triple digits this weekend with daytime around 110 degrees. Sunday we had a block party. Since the weather was so warm, we pitched together and rented a giant water slide!

It was quite crowded for a while as all the kids couldn't wait to get their turn.


Matt went down the slide quite a few times. Sarah and Ben thought that was quite funny.


Between trips down the water slide, kids feasted on chips and juice. Here is Emily enjoying the festivities.


The street was full of kids and parents having a good time.


As things started to cool dowin into the high 90's, we started preparing the projector for video games and a movie. Though, the kids continued to play on the slide to many hours after dark. I think the lowest temperature that evening was probably in the 80's.


We have used the screen in years past. We made it from scratch.


Instead of using a modern radio, I pressed my old Fisher 800 into service. It was amazing how well the 45 year old radio performed. Nothing like the warm glow of vacum tubes in a summer evening... ahhh...



When it was dark, we were able to fire up a projector and project the Sony Playstation on the front of the house. The kids (and adults) played Dance Dance Revolution.

We kept the projector going till 1 AM Monday morning with movies.