Take me back....2019

I was really thinking that my last post would really be it...my last post. I just couldn't think of when I might have the time and energy to sit and do another year update. That was until now. The great quarantine of 2020. The last three weeks I have had hours upon hours to put together my photo collages of 2019. It has been fun looking back but kind of sad at the same time. Currently all plans for school, soccer, travel; basically life has been put on hold, with an strange feeling of not knowing how to proceed with pretty much everything. With that said, here is a look back at a pretty cool year for the Schweitzer Fam.

Deck the Halls

Christmas Eve with all the family, pasta dinner, matching pj's, friends, bouncy house, presents galore, yummy deserts, Christmas decorations, festive music, Christmas Service, Jesus Christ, Santa Claus, adorable cousins, not enough sleep, lots of cleanup, the best Holiday yet. 

Texas Trip 2019 

When our favorite Guzman family moved to Texas way back when, we told them we would come visit asap. Well, just about 3ish years later we finally made it. Highlights of our trip included... 

Bishop Nichol as our pilot, Zach's birthday BBQ dinner-delish, the most beautiful fall colors, visiting the Grassy Knoll and JFK Memorial,  Becca eating a bite of protein bar with cashews and spending 2 hours in urgent care because she left her Epi pen at the house, Zach and the chicken dance. 

 Our day at Six Flags, Auntie BJ's shirt "He's with me, how bout dah," so much fun cousin time, Lexi and BJ on the scariest swings ever, Christmas lights and music all through the park, losing Ryker and Natalie for about 10 minutes and freaking out, feeling like a kid again on all the rides. 

 Bike riding with the kids, Texas and its beauty, driving to Magnolia and spending the afternoon at the Silos, and yummy treats. 

 Spending time with the Guzman family including Olie and Rex, freezing cold nighttime bike rides, making Texas dreams and trying to figure out if it would be possible to move there, family pictures, Soccer Hall of Fame, cooking Thanksgiving dinner together, defrosting a frozen turkey, revealing how paranoid of germs I am, Buckee's trip with way too much money spent on gas station treats, laughing harder than we have in the longest time, cherishing our time with our favorite Texans. 

Dad's 60th Birthday

Family, sun, sand, games, food, sunsets, cute baby cousins, the best beach weather ever, celebrating the best Dad and Grandpa ever!

 Halloween and Fall Festivities 

Trunk or treat was ridiculously cold this year and crazy windy. That didn't stop Natalie from having the best time with her friends. Halloween however had gorgeous weather and was a pretty fun night!

 Our traditional pumpkin patch trip with friends this year was the first year that we now had more teenagers than not. These kids have grown up before our eyes.  It is hard to believe that time has passed so quickly! 

 Calico Ghost Town, my big sister, cousins, riding haunted trains, walking through scary mazes, trick or treating and taking lots of pictures with the creepy decorations. 

Homecoming 2019 x2

Maile went to two homecoming dances this year, first to Southwest Tech's and then to Desert Oasis's the next weekend. I will probably be in trouble for posting these pictures but she and her friends all looked fabulous dressed their best. 

Two more teenagers!!

Twins, teenagers, soccer, ice cream cake, Five Guys, school besties, soccer besties, turning 13, staying up all night, most silly girls ever! Happy birthday Lexi and Becca!

 Magical Birthday

Natalie and her Daddy, Disneyland, no lines, rides over and over, dole whip, matching shirts, all the treats, souvenirs galore, texting mommy all the fun, basically the best day ever. 

Camping at Lake Mead

 Wake surfing, cliff jumping, friends, good food, gorgeous views, cool water, great tunes, midnight windstorm, forgotten tent poles, no sleep, sunburns, but seriously the best time ever. 

Duck Creek Weekend

Fresh mountain air, golden hour sunsets, cruising, majestic skies, a little hard work and fun with our friends makes for a great weekend away. 

 First Day of School

High school for Maile. 8th grade for the twins and 4th grade for little miss Natalie. Kids in school means alone time for Mommy! 

 Cathedral Rock Hike

We Finally made it! Pretty sure we attempted this hike multiple times just to turn around before we reached the peak. This time however, even with some kids still arguing the whole way, we made it to the top! The kids reveled in the reward of their hard work, and some vowed never to do it again. HAHA, I guess hiking is not everyone's thing. 

Lake Day

I grew up going to the lake with my family. In my memory, those were some of the best moments of my life. Lucky for my kids, we have some awesome friends who invited us to spend the day on their boat. Pretty sure my kids had the best day ever because it was for me. 

 San Clemente Camping Trip

Our favorite triplet family, perfect ocean water, playing games, relaxing beachside, waking up to a million ants in our tent, giant spiders in the shower, grilled cane asada and tons of laughs made for an exciting camping trip! 

 Happy Birthday Beach Trip

4 teenage girls, Maile turning 14, lots of treats, beach naps, giant waves, brave girls, Ruby's Diner, and best friends made for the perfect birthday getaway for Maile. 

 Pittsburg Wedding

30 something cousins means lots of weddings on the horizon. I was able to go to Pittsburg for my cute cousin Marissa's wedding. It was hot and humid but I had a blast spending time with my family and exploring the city. 

July 4th Celebrations

 Grandma and Aunt Lezlie Camp for Nat

It has to be tough when Mom and all of your sisters get to go to girls camp again. Grandma and Utah Aunt Lezlie made it better by hosting their own week of awesome fun with cousins. 

 The Greatest Camp

Girls camp, best leaders, awesome girls, mountain cabins, soda stops, Kanarraville Falls, Sand Hallow  lake, Tuacahn, Cedar City Temple, St. George Temple, Pizza Factory and the best midnight dance party ever. 

 Gunlock Falls and Zion

Auntie BJ and Ryker, awesome weather, people with a death wish, slippery rocks, cheese curds, Zion almost empty, lots of laughs, great people watching opportunities and the great outdoors made for a fantastic day trip with our besties. 

Last Day of School

End of an era for Maile as a new 8th grade grad. So many sweet tears shed with all her best friends knowing they were all heading to different schools the next year. Doral has been good to our Maile and we have so many good memories and friends made there. We sure are proud of our 8th grade grad. 

 Final Day at Disney

Best Disney Trip Ever!

Lexi, Becca and Maile had a Disney trip planned for their school so Zach and I decided to take Natalie to Disney at the same time. Our friends met us there and thank goodness they did because they are Disney Pros! Our first day we got a lesson in how to make the most of our Max pass and ride the most rides possible. Day two we were on our own and had fun bumping into our big girls all around the park. The last day we had at Disney Becca and Maile decided to stay with us for one more day while Lexi wanted to stay with her friends and drive back to Vegas. 

 Easter 2019

Soccer, Soccer, Soccer

 Most of our free time is spend at practice, games or team building activities. I am so thankful for our coach and soccer families. They make living that soccer life fun and exciting! Lexi and Becca are getting better each day and have pretty exciting futures ahead of them!

 January Fun

Shopping with cousins, running with my sisters, enjoying our beautiful January weather and babysitting my sweet nephew August pretty much summed up the month of January.

2018 Review

It has been too long since I last posted and and I have too many memories to get down and it feels overwhelming to try to catch up. I decided to re-cap 2018 and start fresh from there. Maybe one day I will have time to fill in the blanks of 2016-2017 but that will have to wait. 

 Rebecca, Alexis and Natalie started playing competitive soccer in the fall of '17 and haven't stopped since. Practice, games and tournaments are where you will find us most of our free time. I love it, Zach is getting used to it. Maile is a good sister fan and the three littles have found their "thing". I will support them as long as they love it.  

 Spring break this past year consisted of lots of outdoor time. We hiked, went to the lake and spent time with family. Best way to enjoy our week off of school. 

 Right before summer hit for Zach we ran down to Laguna Beach and Newport Beach for some family time in the sun. It is always fun when Zach gets to go on adventures with us.

July 4th is always my favorite holiday and this year started with a Breakfast and Parade with our church family. Next we headed to our traditional baseball field in Boulder City to watch the fireworks. Love the Red, White and Blue and patriotism displayed on this day!

Summer time is girls camp time and this year I got to be a tent Mom again for Lexi and Becca's first year at camp. Exhausting, spiritual and fulfilling are some words to describe our week at camp. 

 Shortly after camp we teamed up with our favorite traveling Texans, Ryker and BJ and headed to Park City. Aunt Lezlie, Uncle Kevin, and "the boys" gracious as ever, took us in for a few days. We ate good food, kayaked, paddle boarded, swam, and celebrated Maile's 13th birthday at the lake. We rented a wave runner and had a blast on the water. (well some of us, a few of us were a little scared). 

 Let's take a minute to talk about a small obsession we have acquired this past year. It all started with a recommendation from a friend. She reported not being able to stop listening to the Hamilton soundtrack and I am always game for new music. One afternoon I started playing it while we were driving and that music took hold of Natalie and held on tight as she became quite obsessed. So much so that I knew I had to take her to see the play when it came to the Smith Center here in Vegas. Tickets were not cheap or easy to obtain but I managed to score some cheaper seats on offerup. It was a magical night but we were sad Daddy and sisters didn't get to go with us. Well, they all decided they loved Hamilton just as much and needed to go too. The plan was that just Daddy and Big girls would go, but then of course Zach surprised Natalie and I with tickets to go again. I loved  it even more the second time. It really is that good. The best part is the interest it sparked in my girls to learn more about our founding fathers and the creation of our country. Win, win. 

 We had a busy and fun summer. We always enjoy time with friends and family. 

 At the end of August Zach and I took a trip to Dayton, Ohio for the wedding of my cousin Andreis. It was a great wedding and Zach got to meet all the midwest part of my family. It was also a good opportunity for us to spend some hubby/wifey alone time together. 

 Labor Day weekend we decided to head up to the mountains to celebrate Rebecca, Alexis and Natalie's birthdays. Best part of the trip was to have my big girls teach me how to set up our tent. I was pretty impressed, they helped me set up the whole camp while Daddy was still working. For the rest of the weekend friends and family made their way up to spend some time with us. It was a great way to celebrate our special September birthday girls. 

 October was a fun month. In between soccer games, school performances and tournaments we managed to hit up the pumpkin patch and corn maze in Moapa. Natalie starred at Eliza Schyler for Halloween and I realized the big girls are just not that into dressing up anymore. We celebrated the newest addition to our family, little August who came just in time for the holidays. 

 November marked the end of an era. Zach's 30's came crashing to an end and he turned 40 on the 22nd. To celebrate what a hot and handsome 40 year old he is, we traveled to Cedar City for some fun with friends and family. We laughed our way through the weekend and I know Zach had a great time.  It was the perfect start to the decade ahead! 

 There is no better way to spend Thanksgiving then surrounded by family. I love when the cousins get to spend days on end together. Park City was hit with the most beautiful snowstorm and the kids played in the snow every second we let them. I held baby August every second my sister would let me. It was a great trip!

Christmas time felt extra magical this year. It we really had a good holiday and the highlight was Zach's Dad spending the week with us after Christmas. Zach is just content when his Dad is around. Overall, 2018 was one of the busiest, most exhexhausing years yet. I am just plain tired and still trying to recover but as I look back at all the pictures of the year, I wouldn't have had changed anything for our family. It was a great year!!

First Camping Trip Ever

Camping is something I did with my family a few times when I was a kid. I remember it as being a ton of fun. For years we had talked about taking our kids camping but never really made any plans until last summer. We went around the middle of August to Yankee Meadow campsite right outside of Parowan, Utah. We went with friends who had a little more experience camping and we learned a lot from them. We also had a blast! The weather was nice, just a lot of cold at night but overall it was perfect camping weather. We had fun setting up camp, playing card games, goofing off, relaxing and eating good camping food. Setting up, taking down and everything in between is quite a bit of work but it sure was worth it. Highlight of our summer for sure.

 Best part of the trip was sitting around the campfire relaxing and having fun.

Grossest water ever. Craziest kids ever to get in the gross water. The boys came out covered in little leeches. 

Such a good time. I love camping and it will be something we do as a family for years to come.