Eleni's Tonsil-less!

Eleni had her tonsils and adenoids out a week ago (Tuesday May 5th). Everything went smooth and we were out of there in 4 hours! Laser technology at it's finest I guess? The hardest part was getting her to let us take out her earrings.
She recovered pretty well but the Codeine finally got to her and she lost her appetite and didn't drink much and ended up getting dehydrated with some puking. We quit the codeine and got her dialed back in with some electrolytes and she was back to skipping around and yelling in no time! Pretty amazing actually after hearing some of the horror stories from others. If it wasn't for those down and out dehydrated sessions one would have never known she had the surgery, other than that her voice is slightly higher now with a little softer pitch.

Eleni - Checking the levels.


Bye Mommy & Daddy, off to surgery :(

Smiling in the Step Down after Surgery :)

Marlo is... BUSY! She pretty much likes everything she shouldn't have and thinks telling her no no is funny. Keeps you on your toes that's for sure. She loves exploring outside and gets really mad when it's time to come in.

Easter Egg Hunt

Marlo checking out the new paint job in the entry.

"Bike"

Marlo Turns ONE!

It's hard to believe our little baby girl just turned one!

We had a few people over for her Birthday on Sunday April 5th! Nicole made her a carrot cake which she really liked, but Eleni knowing after watching Nicole shred the carrots asked if somebody could pick out the carrots for her, little miss picky lately... Eleni also kidnapped a Cabbage Patch Kid that Marlo got saying, "This can be both of ours right since Marlo has two?" With a question for an answer back, "When you get a Barbie on your next birthday it will be both of yours right? Of course her answer was "NO!"

Marlo's ONE!

Marlo has pretty much mastered the walking, and her vocabulary is getting bigger too! She's getting pretty good at repeating words, growing up too fast.

Eleni is itching for Summer. She found her summer wardrobe box and I think has pretty much tried it all on by the looks of her room!

MAPLE SYRUP!

I was reading the new Minnesota Conservation Volunteer magazine which had an article about making your own maple syrup. With a few sugar maples in our yard I decided to tap a few trees and see if I could attempt to make my own. It really started to run the middle of last week and this past weekend I boiled down around 10 gallons or so and ended up with more than I thought I would have since the ratio on average is 40:1. The finished project ended right during Marlo's Party, so our guests got to sample the warm syrup on ice-cream. Turned out pretty good. Next year I may attempt it a a larger scale.

Tapping one of two trees.

Boiling down the Sap.

Finished product in a nice amber color.

Out like a Lion....

Well it's almost the end of March.  With the Great Fargo Flood in progress I wish everyone in the FM area the best and am hoping that all the great effort put forward by the community shines in your favor!

Nicole is in Chicago at the "Great Hair Convention"

 actually I'm not sure what it's called but I'm sure it's great!   Her and Jonathan were supposed to fly out of Fargo Friday morning, but with the flood issue, they changed their flight out of Mpls and left Friday at 5:30 am.

While she is gone the girls and I have been busy..well I have been as much as I can when Marlo is napping.  I did a little painting in the garage entry (unknown to N

icole) with hopes of surprising her with my efforts in that department.  Not

 really impressed with how the paint went on, not sure what the deal was, will for sure need another coat but it's the color Nicole and I wanted and I

 think it looks good.  We were planning on continuing it through the half bath and laundry room, but I'll wait until Nicole returns and get her opinion first.  I also built some shelving she's been requesting in one of the front entry closets so got that done today as well, turned out pretty good with Marlo supervising that effort while Eleni was at the movie with her cousins. "Thanks Katie!"

Eleni lost her first tooth on March 16th.  She was pretty excited!  

Marlo the copy cat in the background...

Marlo riding in the garage monitoring Daddy's shelf cutting.

Marlo has pretty much mastered the walking thing. It's crazy watching her tiny petit little thing walk around... mastered it a week before her 1st Birthday!

Lotvola Cup Weekend

Today is the Lotvola Cup Cross Country Ski Race/Tour at Maplelag.

It looks like the weather is going to be a little nicer than last years event.

Clear blue sky, temp at the start are expected to be hovering ar

ound 22 degrees or so.

Kinda hovering between two different wax types with my selection, but Marlo was helping me get them prepped for todays ski. Should be a little faster conditions this year compared to the fresh snow coming down at the start last year. I guess I'm just hoping to beat my time last year which was my first year doing it with a time of 1:08:04 for the 12k classical ski. Shouldn't be too hard as last year I had no glide for the last half, so with my new ski set up this year I'm feeling confident to finish a little faster.

Marlo helping Dad wax his skis!

Results:

It was a great day on the trails! Fun to ski in weather above ZERO! Race temp was 18-19 degrees with not a cloud in the sky. I got a good start and set my pace a little fast, but after doing that in last years bike race I knew I had to slow that down a bit or I was not going to make it. So I settled down and enjoyed the ski and fast conditions. I was lucky enough to have 4 cheerleaders to meet me at the crossings. Nicole, Eleni, Marlo and Grandma Trish were there which was around the midway point so that shifted the pace a little after seeing my girls and Eleni jumping up and down which was great! I was passed midway by a few high school kids and then found myself skiing solo for the trip down suicide hill and

then bullhead lake loop and throughout the rest of the race about a 1:30 behind the person if front of me and about 2:00 in front of the person behind, so it didn't really feel like a race when I couldn't see anybody to chase or try to pull away from. So coming across the finish with a time of 54:35 - around 14 minutes faster than last year which was good.

photo courtesy of skinnyski.com

Eleni & Dad at the FINISH!

Holidays Recap & Happy 2009!

We all had a nice Holiday break starting with Christmas Eve at Gamma and Gampa Schmitz's.  We were all filled up with a nice meal followed by gifts galore.  The kids all had fun and Uncle Mikey brought over the Wii with some sessions of Guitar Hero followed by Rockband for a full out jam session until midnight.  Fun times.

Chirstmas morning was a special treat in our new house and Marlo's First.  She is a riot, of course the paper was the most fun.  Eleni being that much older and that more animated also a treat.

Marlo Sporting her new hat and bib.. Stylin'

Eleni Discovering her new "dress up" scarf in her stocking

Then it was off to Grandma Trish's for Christmas Day Festivities with Nicole's Sisters and Families.  It was a fun afternoon with crazy kids and presents galore.  Nicole, Kari & Brent and I had a memorable evening with ice cold holiday spirts and miscellaneous tree decorating antics.

Brent and I got in a morning ski at Pickeral Lake trails the next day.

L-R: Marlo, Eleni, Gunnar, Keifer, Ava, Ella & Clara

Eleni adopting her first Webkinz

Eleni recording a new hit on her KidiJamz Recording Studio

Nicole making some 1st of the year tracks at Maplelag - Happy 2009!

Snow & McFarren Christmas

We finally got some snow and it made for a memorable McFarren family Christmas in Park Rapids.   We all gathered at Vacationaire  Lodge in Park Rapids for a weekend of Family celebration.  It was great seeing all my relatives and having all the kids get together for some festive fun.    The Snow came Saturday night and the winds followed causing road closures and no travel advised.  We got to stay an extra night and enjoy each others company and many more beers along with it.  

With the snow piled up Monday morning it was time to head for home.   Not being able to get into our driveway,  my brother Mike made a swing by on plow duty and cleaned us out.  Thanks Mikey!   Record lows follow with -25 below this morning.   With our new ICF constructed home and radiant floor heat we are snug and toasty and loving it!

New iMac & Video Editing

Well we finally are back online at home. We got a new iMac on Saturday and internet was hooked up on Monday. I've been busy editing video from a Dual Sport Motorcycle trip to the Black Hills and back that I went on with some friends this past June. 1400 miles on a Dual Sport.. Now that's an Adventure. They have been on my case to get the video done and now with this new computer I'm finally able to do it. I've got about 20 hours into as of now so hopefully it gets good reviews on it's debut screening.

Flurries in the Air.

Eleni on our "pond" in the back yard.

Some snow on the ground this morning, wondering when the measurable stuff will arrive?
Got out on the ice fishing last week over the Thanksgiving Holiday. A 24" and 15" walleye were iced with the 24" being release and the 15" to the grease. Eleni made it out with me and it was fun entertaining her as she entertained me with all her silly comments. We got our Christmas Tree up and after a few attempts and getting it stand up straight, I think we finally got it. Eleni was the queen of decorating, she did a good job, but maybe the reason it kept leaning to the one direction is that most of the ornaments ended up in the same spot. Last night she came up to Nicole and I with a Christmas decoration out of the box and said, "Where should we put this bad boy?" I started laughing, she's a nut. Marlo is little miss pissy pants these days. Likes attention and is a busy body. She's getting close to crawling, but has not quite got past the face plants yet. Need to get a video posted of her.
Swinging in the the heart of the Holiday Season. Hope all are doing well, Happy Holidays!

Welcome Hannah Schmitz!

My Brother Mike and Amy and Big brother Brett welcomed a new baby girl yesterday!
Born C-section at 4:35pm at Innovis Hospital in Fargo.

Hannah Elizabeth Schmitz
November 19th, 2008
7lbs 13oz 20.5" long


Welcome little Hannah!

Quick update...

Just a quick update. WE ARE MOVED IN!

We closed on our new home Wednesday November 12 at 2:45pm. That night we unloaded the Semi trailer with the help of a few of my Rhino Hockey Teammates, and got the furnace going. Thursday we had the plumber get the water and floor heat rolling along with getting our new appliances delivered, I spent the day getting the beds set up, trying to locate stuff I needed and changing 14 burnt out light bulbs.
That evening with some help from Nicole's Mom, who did the major cleaning of the bathrooms, woodwork and cabinets and her Sister Katie we got most of the kitchen stuff unpacked and put into what we think will be it's new home. Thanks to everyone for the help!
Eleni and Marlo took to the new place well. Eleni is super excited about her new big room and the fact that she found all of her barbies and stuff that has been packed up for 3 weeks. We then spent our first night there, it was great! I'll try to post some photos once we actually take some.

A Bump in the Road...

The buyer of our house ran into some lender issues and tomorrow's closing had to be pushed back. We are hoping for Friday with all luck. With only enough clothes for 3 days packed and everything we need buried in a semi trailer it better not go past the weekend...........

2 Teeth, Food, Shots, Poop & Moving!

The Schmitz house has been a wild and crazy place the last few weeks.
Marlo, now 6 months popped 2 bottom teeth through in the same day. That mixed with her introduction to squash, carrots and peas has tweaked her stomach and caused some issues. Next came her first shots (we are taking an alternative schedule in the shot world) which she took well but mixed with all the "new stuff happening" next came the prunes. She had a great day yesterday and things started flowing again. We eliminated the solids for a few days trying to get her dialed and we are hoping we are back on track. The night life is another story.... Not much quality sleep happening for Mom, Dad or Marlo. All this plus feeling the stress and change happening with the packing for the big move I'm sure has been felt by both the girls, but we are down to a week til' closing on both places (29th) and I feel we are sitting in pretty good shape.
Last weekend the weather finally cooperated to get some outside stuff accomplished. Saturday I got some painting and trim work done while Nicole mulched some leaves, Sunday Nicole's sister Katie came over and boxed up Eleni's Room and some other rooms and I got the shed and garage loaded up in a covered trailer. Now the garage is our box staging area for the Semi trailer that arrives tomorrow. After Katie and Eric just boxed up their life to move last week, I think Katie got a little excited when packing as she left us only 3 plate 2 bowls and one of each utensil to use for this week so that has been interesting. But we are down to the final days with hopes to have everything in the trailer Sunday. We will then be staying at my parents for a couple of nights as we wait to move in on the 29th. Here's a couple photos of our new Digs.

Eleni Turns 5!

Eleni Celebrated her 5th Birthday Tuesday September 23rd along with Grandma Trish, my Aunt Lynette and my cousin Benny. Happy Belated Birthday for those extended family members. Eleni got her ears pierced and had a little celebration to ring in the big day.

We've got big news! Our house has Sold... We'll there's a purchase agreement on it and closing date is set for October 29th. We also put an offer on a place today that we were interested in, and there were 4 offers tossed at it today, as it was on Foreclosure and ..... They accepted OUR offer! Our closing date is set the same day (Oct. 29th) Looks like we'll be out of our place just in time for Halloween and miss out on Trick or Treat Central. Last year we had 475 kids... (that's just the ones I counted) Crazy! It will be a busy Month....

Colorado Trip

We just got back from a trip out to Fort Collins, Colorado to visit our friends Scott & Jessie and their two boys Brodie (almost 3) and Lachlan (4.5 months). We left Wednesday Sept 10th after work and got into Denver at 8:00pm their time. Scott and Brodie picked us up at the airport for the ride up to Fort Collins. Eleni was excited for the plane ride, not remembering her first time as she was only a little over a year old. She didn't really like looking out the window too much as it made her "dizzy" she said. Marlo thankfully fell asleep and actually slept most of the flight, (odd for little Miss Cat napper.) Thursday was spent letting the kids adjust and with overcast skies we just spent the day relaxing and hanging out. Friday (my Birthday) Nicole, Eleni, Marlo and I went to Old Town for lunch and bummed around town shopping in the misty rain, then it cleared up as we were heading back to Scott and Jessie's and Scott and I went for a bike ride checking out the Fort Collins trail system as the dirt trails we were going to bike were too muddy to ride with the earlier days rain. It was then a night out on the town for the adults to celebrate Jessie and I's birthdays. We all rode bikes downtown and went out for Sushi and drinks. A great time for sure!
Saturday we were slow at getting going from the previous night activities, but once we got rolling we headed up the Poudre River Canyon for a hike. Eleni and Brodie were excited to see the "Snowy Mountains" Those two entertained each other well and after getting home today says she wishes Brodie was her brother and after looking at the pictures on the computer said, "I wish I could jump into the computer and go back there like they do on Blues Clues." But look at the pictures.. who could blam her?
Sunday it was up to Rocky Mountain National Park. With a drive up to 11,000 and some odd feet on Trail Ridge Road, with the kids getting wet playing in some snow and some great photos it was back down to lower and warmer elevations for some more hiking.
Eleni and Brodie did exceptionally well putting on some miles, making it most of the way by them selves before jumping into the packs. This will be the last time I carry Eleni though as she is way too big for it but it sure is a good work out for me. Marlo and Lachlan did really well too riding in their Ergo Baby Carriers with their Mommies.
It was a fun and scenic hike and when we were done it was down to Estes Park for some dinner and ice cream. With the kids sugared up and a full moon coming up over the mountains it was a chattery ride with Eleni and Brodie singing before they hit the wall and crashed as we were heading back to S&J's.
Monday Jessie and Nicole took the kids to the park and with Scott working I rode bike down town, hit up the O'Dell Brewery for a few samples. The New Belgium Brewery is closed on Mondays so I didn't get to wet my taste buds there this time around. . . I guess we'll just have to go back again... Scott and I did a short bike ride on some single track then that evening prior to a great dinner of grilled Salmon, a bonfire, Smores and a hot tub to close out the trip. We had a great time and want to thank Scott, Jessie, Brodie and Lachlan for their great hospitality and like Eleni says, " I want to go back."

Weekend Recap.

Photo courtesy of Skinnyski.com
Windy was the word for the weekend, with a south wind gusting at 30mph for most the weekend our on the water time was cut short but we did get out Saturday for a little while. With summer like temps pushing the near 90 degree mark it was beautiful other than the wind. Wind and Winded was the word at the mountain bike race at Maplelag Sunday. Getting a side ache early on had me at a crawling pace for a majority of the race trying to recover, but I was able to suck it up enough to come in 12th overall out of 37 riders in the Citizen Class and finished 3rd in my age group. I guess the lack of riding for the summer showed and my lack of "setting the pace" experience didn't help either, but over all it was a great time and I'm looking forward to next year with hopefully some better preparation prior to it. Eleni starts her second year of preschool tomorrow and she's excited to get back into it and seeing her teacher. Marlo is continuing to grow and starting to fill out more and more every day. She loves to smile and the majority of the time holds a big grin on her face that melts a Daddy and Mommy's heart.