On to Christmas!

The holidays were so much fun. It was actually really nice to have the party come to us for both Thanksgiving and Christmas this year! All the Schaacks came into town for Christmas this year and it was a ton of fun! Its been a while since our whole family has been together and been able to just hang out. The last couple times we've all gotten together its been for weddings so there hasn't been time to relax and enjoy each other until after the wedding and then the couple is gone. So it was really fun to hang out with and really get to know my two newest sister-in-laws that I got a year or more ago! And of course it was great to hang out with the rest of my family as well! Before Christmas we were able to go to a Mavs game with my brother Steve and his family, and also Jon's family which is always a good time! :) The kids I think were only interested in the snacks we brought--but I guess you can't really expect much less. :)
I always tend to look forward to Christmas eve more than actual Christmas day, I think mostly because that's when my family usually does all of our Christmas activities. This year was no different. My parents and Lindsey flew in at about 3 pm that day and then we had a really yummy ham dinner with all the good stuff to go with it. After dinner we put on a little nativity act which was a first for most of us Schaacks I think. It was fun though-Mckenzie and Jacob made a pretty cute Mary and Joseph and the rest of us filled in as angels and wisemen and donkeys...:) It was actually a little bit funny. Then the kids got to open their Christmas pajamas. Then we had a big slumber party at Jon and Lisa's that night. We all lined up on air mattresses in their front room, and of course my brothers couldn't hold back on dumb jokes, songs, and sounds to keep us laughing for a little while. It was a good time.
It was fun to watch all the kids on Christmas morning. Although they all seemed to want what the other one had. :) Then we had a yummy breakfast, lots of good food. Lisa outdid herself with Santa pancakes for the kids. They were so cute but all the kids were so sidetracked with all their new stuff they didn't hardly even touch them. :) After that we went to the church for a little family basketball game, and then later that night Robbie and Jess flew in!
After Christmas and when everyone else arrived (on Christmas eve and Christmas night) we were able to do a few more cool things. We all were able to go to the Dallas Temple here (thanks to Lindsey for babysitting!). We had planned on doing a session, but traffic was HORRIBLE on the way so we ended up missing the session and opted to do sealings instead which turned out to be really neat and one of the coolest temple trips I've ever had. We were able to see a lady be sealed to her deceased husband and then also we all got to sit and be sealed for another large family. It was really cool!! It just all worked out so well. It was a really good trip.
Also, Steve and Alli were able to bless their sweet baby girl, Cami, while they were here with everyone. It was fun to be able to see that as well. And then of course we all got to pose for a big family picture. :) always a good time. :)

Just a BIT behind--THANKSGIVING

I debated whether or not to even TRY to get caught up on this blog, and decided it might be fun to reminisce. A few months back we had a really fun Thanksgiving with Russ's side of the family. His parents were in town and Bryan's family came up from Austin to spend a few days. Plus Jared's family is local now also...so it really was a big Jepson party. We started Thanksgiving morning off with a little Turkey Trot that takes place downtown Dallas each year. Unfortunately, because of the little one on the way, I sat this one out with Kenzie and we just cheered on the boys. :) Russ and Bryan both ran the 8 mile and Ben ran the 5K. They all did really well and I was actually really impressed how fast Russ finished considering he only ran about 2 times before to prepare for it. I hate how he can smoke me with such ease, even after I train for months. :) It was good time. The only downer we ran into was that Kenzie ended up with some wet pants, (due to her refusal to go in a porta potty)and you can tell from from the picture she wasn't too happy about it. :)
















Later that day we went to Jared and Christy's for a big yummy dinner, and spent most of the day there. My brother Steve was in town for work and so we ran over to Jon and Lisa's house later that night where he was to say hello to him and visit for a little bit. It really was a fun day.


The day after Thanksgiving we all headed to Six Flags! It was really fun since we had never been there before! The kids loved it and actually I think the dads loved it just as much! It got pretty cold toward the evening, but everyone still had a good time. Mckenzie LOVED all the rides and pretty much was smiling all day!

VERDICT

Ok...the verdict is in!

ITS A GIRL!!

We feel so excited and lucky to get another girl! It will be so fun for Kenzie to have a lil sister to play with! And of course it will be much more cost efficient for us to be able to get a little more use out of all the girly stuff. :) (I know I'm cheap.) Russ will have to take one more round of princesses--so hopefully he won't get too sick of all the pink! He rolls so good with it all though and I know this next little girl will love him just as much as Kenzie! We just feel really blessed to have another baby on the way!

HERE IT GOES....

Ok Friends....here it goes.


This may be old news for some of you family and locals, but new for the rest I think.
We're expecting a 2nd child! I'm 17 weeks along now and can say -now that I think I am past all the nausea/vomiting- that we couldn't be more excited!! I've been afraid to post anything because I didn't want to jinx it or something. :) (silly I know) But I felt the baby's first little kicks on Sunday this week and all seems to be going well now. We will find out if its a little boy or girl in 3 weeks from today and I am getting a little anxious for that. :) Our due date is May 12, which is great timing for Russ and his schooling. He HOPEFULLY will be winding down a little and will be able to help out a little more.
Anyway...just thought we'd let you in on our good news! We are super excited!

( This ultrasound pic was taken at 12 weeks. )

Halloween Fun!

The PUMPKIN PATCH

The pumpkin patch is always one of our favorite halloween destinations, and this year didn't prove wrong. Mckenzie took a little more interest in the attractions at the pumpkin patch this year rather than just riding in a wagon looking at hundreds of beautiful, orange pumpkins...which turned out to have both pros and cons.

Pros:

-now we also are spared of looking at hundreds of beautiful, orange pumpkins one by one

-we get to do fun things too like ride on trains pulled by tractors

-no more pulling wagons through dirt, hay, and grass...crowds of people..

Cons:

-now we get to stand in line for 30 minutes to ride the fun train pulled by the tractor.

-much more hay/dirt stuck in pants and shoes

-dealing with the bounce house departure drama

It really was a good time and its fun to see their interests change from year to year and watch them grow!

TRUNK OR TREAT

Its been fun to go to a couple "trunk or treats" and see all Mckenzie's cute friends dressed up. (not the best picture I know, but we were just happy they all stood next to each other long enough to snap a picture).

It was especially fun to see her with her cute cousins Jacob and Caleb this halloween since their costumes all coordinated this year... Tinkerbell, Peter Pan, and Captain Hook!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

It was a fun halloween night last night. We went trick-or-treating with our friends Jeremy, Vanessa, Brendan, and Tanner. Their boys sure were cute in their hunting outfits...lucky for us--they were equipped to scare away all the spooky halloween ghosts and goblins!

A Trip to the Zoo

Last weekend was Russ's first weekend home in a LONG time...so we wanted a little bit of a change of scenery. We didn't make it too far though--but we decided that a trip to the zoo would mix things up a bit. We hadn't been for a good 1 and 1/2 years...which makes Kenz barely 1 last we went. It was a beautiful day and we had a really good time. We even splurged an extra couple bucks to ride the train this time around and Mckenzie couldn't have been happier. :)

Nothing like a shot of elephant bums. :)

First Haircut!

Its been a while since we posted...so we've got a little bit to catch up on. A few weeks ago we took Kenzie to get her first ever haircut. We decided after 2 1/2 years it was definitely time. And Mckenzie was as excited as ever to get one. We were kind of surprised...we didn't even think she knew what a haircut was... but she sure did love it. We took her to a little kids cuts place because I was unsure of how hard this task was going to be..but really the hardest part of it all--was just waiting for her turn. Especially since the kids get to sit in little airplanes while they get their hairuct- it was a little hard for her to sit on the sidelines. Once we got past that part--she was all smiles!

As you can see, she was a little put out that she had to wait.





















Here's the before shot.