Better Late Than Never

So I'm going to play catch-up here...

In the last six months, the Schneiders packed up and left their very cozy living situation in Hooper and moved into our very first home in Harrisville!!!

One day (not today) I will post inside photos of our home, once we get everything looking decent and pretty, like we want it to look. We're in a nice little cul de sac, with nice neighbors, and a great ward! We also live right around the corner from the Hodges :)

Jema has loved having her freedom to roam around the house and run around the yard!

Can you tell she LOVES the new house?!

So I'd be lying if I said we moved into our home and everything has been peachy-keen...

We've had a few minor issues here and there with the plumbing, keeping up the yard with no sprinkling system, and all else that comes, and is expected, of being a home owner.

BUT... no one explained to us that when we bought a house and move into our new home that we would be properly welcomed by the SKUNK committee!

That's right. You read correctly. On the eve of May 5, Jace's birthday, we had just said our prayers and settled down to bed when we heard a commotion outside and slowly started to smell the most awful of smells. To our dismay, some neighborhood dogs had cornered a skunk right next to our fresh air intake vents! And let's just say that when a skunk is cornered and frightened, it lets out anything BUT fresh air! So to make an awful story short, we were put out for a week while we battled the smell that forced us out of our home with only the clothes on our backs.

Just SOME of the items that reeked of skunk: Mattress, carpets, bedding, sofas, Jace's guitar, all our clothing, inside cabinets and closets.

You get the point. EVERYTHING we owned had a lovely skunky essence! As far as we know, with much sweat and tears, and four months later, the odor is gone. Or maybe we have just become accustomed to the smell...?

So if we see you on the street and you cover your nose and avoid eye contact, we'll understand...

On to happier news... WE'RE PREGO!!! And the best part, we're having a bouncing baby BOY!!! One girl and now, a boy... Jace couldn't be more proud! Our sweet lil' bun in the oven is expected November 30th and his name is Jackson Emery Schneider :) I am currently 23 weeks and the baby is about a foot long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango) for those of you who follow BabyCenter... ha ha!

Jack @ 20 weeks

Oh, and I can't leave out any Jema news... just an update, Jema is CUTER THAN EVER!!! She counts to 10, in English AND Spanish (thanks to the many many episodes of Dora the Explorer), she can sing her ABC's, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and I Am A Child of God (mommy's favorite), all on her own! I am one proud momma! She is running, climbing, talking up a storm, and being super adorable! Jema is already so loving to her baby dolls... she'll rock them, feed them, take them for rides in their stroller, kiss and love them... Jace and I cannot wait to see her in action as a Big "stister" as Jema says ;)

That about sums it up... we moved into a new home, we moved out of our new home, and then back into our new but stinky home, I'm growing a mango in my belly, and Jema is a complete sweetheart :)

And FYI... yes, Jace is STILL in pursuit of Big Foot! Ha ha ha!

I know it took six months to update the blog and it's "better late than never" but "never late is better" ...so I'll try to keep up! Until next time, folks...





10 Things You Should Know...

1. We celebrated Jema's 1st birthday this past November! The theme of the party was One Year Old in a Flash! We had cute invites made by the talented Tiffany Nicholas... we had mini photo shoots with the super talented Shay Larsen... and awesome decor by yours truly and I also put together a time capsule for Jema to open on her 18th birthday, which everyone in attendance lovingly contributed to! We had a blast!  ...Now time to plan Jema's 2nd birthday party! LOL (jk Jace)...

2.  Our ultimate goal is to build a cozy country home, where we can raise our children and grow old, in Hooper, next to Mama and Papa Schneider's house.

3. Jema has finally graduated from crawling to walking... err... staggering like a drunken toddler!

4. Jema has TWELVE chompers!

5. We are debt-FREEE!!! Now it's save save SAVE for a home!!!!!

6. Today Jema went PEE PEE in her POTTY for the 1st time!!! So excited and proud of our lil Jem!!!

7. At 15 months old, Jema's entire vocabulary includes, (but not limited to): apple, baby, car, Da-da, eat, fish, Ba-Pa (short for Grandpa), ball, cat, dance, finished, more, Nana, piggy, bear, cookie, dog, flower, milk, birdie, cow, down, book, teeth, bubbles, knees, eyes, ears, mouth, nose, hair, Gracie, Robin, Dora (the explorer), Carly (as in iCarly), and just recently she started saying Jema, but it sounds more like Dema!

8. Jema can successfully locate her eyes, ears, mouth, and nose! Aaand many other body parts!

9. How to determine whether you are an aggressive driver: tape-record yourself while driving and play back your enraged comments... OR you could simply watch Jace drive on the freeway, and if you find yourself copying any of his behavior... YOU HAVE ROAD RAGE! So beware Utah drivers, if you wish to avoid such behavior, DO NOT cut off my husband, do not tailgate my husband, do not talk on your cell phone while driving next to my husband, do not even LOOK WRONG at my husband while driving next to him! You're welcome! LOVE YOU BABE!!!

10. I couldn't think of a tenth thing you should know about... sooo... I'm just gonna throw it out there that I am going to try really hard to grow out my hair, like SUPER long and if anyone has the pleasure to see me (haha!) please tell me how long my hair is and if I start talking about how I'm tempted to cut it all off, then convince me otherwise!

Some moments from her party... Me, Jace and Jema at the photo booth... Jema's birthday cupcake... And Jema enjoying her scrumptious cake, finger lickin' good!

The Grace of Autumn's Face

Fall has arrived!

Behold the changing leaves, and enjoy the crisp breeze.

Let your eyes take in the BURSTS OF COLOR.

Life without love is like a year without summer





 

We kicked off our summer with the Schneider family reunion!
Jace and I helped make this de-lish french toast breakfast!
The family hung out, played games, shared talents...
...One of the games included building penny barges...
...And ashamed to admit, we came in last...
...Yes, Jace is wearing the hat of shame!

For Father's day we played mini golf at Toad's!

Jema loves her daddy! 

Here we have Jema's very first swimming pool!

She was scared at first,

but in no time, we had her splish-splashin' around!



The family at Irma's high school graduation from West High. This girl is so smart, so creative...

...she's really gonna go places! Love you, sister!



Happy 4th o' July!
Here's our pretty pretty princess in her
American flag dress... so patriotic! He he!
Then we have some kisses from her big cousin Ellie
at a family BBQ.

Jace and I kicked off our stay-cation

by bowling at Sparetime with the fam!

Good form, Jace!

Myself, on the other hand...

...pretty sure that ball ended up in the gutter LOL!



This is our day at Hogle Zoo with the family...

I thought Jema would be more fascinated

by the animals than she was...

But we had lots of fun!

Our favorite part was the bird show!

We also had a night for just the two of us on our stay-cation...

Jace and I went to dinner at Chili's, then we watched Transformers 3 at the drive-in...

Wanna know the best part?

Fifteen minutes through the movie,

the truck battery dies...

...and we're left to, painstakingly, listen to the speakers of

the car next to us... so I eventually fell asleep

and left Jace to watch the movie alone...

So romantic! Ha!

My favorite part of the stay-cation

was our Lagoon day!

I've lived in Utah for 5 years now,

and no, I've never been to Lagoon!

But wait! That's not the shocking part...

I was born and bred in California,

and I, Rocio Schneider, have never been to...
the "happiest place on Earth"...

(or so I've heard! Ha ha!)

...Disney Land!

So sad, I know!

Anyway...

...Lagoon was pretty awesome...

My favorite part was all the water rides...

...Jace loved Wicked!

Jema's big cousin, Mia, visited from Cali...
...We attempted to get a nice photo
with some of the other cousins...
...Nope! Not havin' it!

Here's our evening at the Weber County Fair!

Jema loved the petting zoo...

...it was so cute watching her get excited

over the ducks and the goats!

What were Jace and I excited over?!

...the cinnamon churros at the fair! Ha ha!

You know how there's always gotta be that one dirty lil' kid at the playground?!
...Well, that's NOT my kid!
Jema's usually well kept, but here's one of her
messy moments,
...and I love it! LOL
I LOVE this messy face more than she could ever know!
One of my fave pics of the summer!

So, the summer's not nearly over...
...and so far, it has been pretty eventful...
...Full of love, and family fun!

Although, there is something that I've yet to mention...
...Here at the Schneider home,
 it has been the Summer of Bigfoot!

I'll let Jace take this one...

Laugh and mock all you want... he exists... and he was here in Hooper... I HAVE PROOF!

Take a look at this baby!

I was out looking at my parent's field on the west side of their property when there it was... in all it's giant, left foot, five-toedness, glory!  You be the judge, but I have no other explanation for this.

...Now I know what you are thinking...
"But Jace, why would you automatically assume that it is a Bigfoot track?"...
Well, besides the fact that I don't believe some giant barefoot man was tromping through the yard, I have had some previous experience with the Skookum...

...It all started with a trip I took long ago with some friends.  We were on our way home early in the morning,
around 4 AM to be exact, in the Ogden Canyon. We had just made it around one of the canyons perilous curves when out of nowhere jumped the hairiest, meanest, stinkiest Sasquatch... OK, OK, maybe I am exaggerating a bit...
What really happened was... after driving around the canyon curve I saw the large shadow silhouette of a man... head, shoulders, and definitely standing upright. Now you would say... "Oh Jace, that is just some transient making a late night stroll through the canyon!"... Well 99% of the time I would agree with you... but no, my friends... this creature was as tall as, or taller than the road sign it stood next to. And by the time we had turned around and gone back for a second look... this thing was gonzo! I was not the only one who witnessed this either... my friend who was driving swerved to avoid Señor Squatch as he was afraid he would run out in front of us. It was, and continues to be an event in my life for which I have no explanation.

Just recently while at the Weber County Fair, Cio and I had the opportunity to go to a Bigfoot presentation dedicated to the existence of the Skunk Ape. While there, I filled out a card with information on the sighting I had. That was 5 days ago... since then I have received a call or email/text from the Bigfoot expert hosting that event almost every day asking me to give more detail and information. HA HA HA... This guy is hardcore! He even is putting on another presentation at Wolf Mountain on September 3rd... Cio and I fully intend to be in attendance! He may even call me up to tell my story! At any rate... this has definitely been the Summer of Squatch for us! I have even been able to convince Cio of the Foot! It was simple really... just a combination of telling her my experience and watching Finding Bigfoot on the Travel Channel... and bada bing bada boom, she was hooked!



Those are the facts, folks!
BIGFOOT: Bona fide or Bogus???
You tell us...
What do YOU believe?!

Then and Now...



The start of something amazing...




...And so worth it!




Just the two of us.




Two becomes three!




Precious little Jem.




BIG Jem!



Daddy-daughter snuggling.

From snuggling to smiling!



A mommy moment.




Momma's girl.