We've Moved!

O.K., if you've been wondering where the Schells have been...we washed up on a trail, that is Katies Trail about 2 months ago. We moved to the other side of town in October. The kids are adjusted in their new school and I'm getting use to my surroundings (places to shop). Alot has happened since the summer but I thought I'd at least blog about our new location before the year ends. I'll recap in a later blog.

Polynesian Style

Once again mom produced us a new set of Polynesian wear that I had to include on our blog. I think its amazing to see her work. She sews without a pattern! I loved the colors in this material. The boys looked really handsome in their shirt and shorts set. Thanks mom!

Fourth of July

O.K. so it seems I've taken the summer off from our blog. Thought I'd better catch up before the chaos of school starts. For the Fourth of July we went up to my parents in Virginia to celebrate. My nephew and niece, Fletcher and Jocelyn, went with us too! We had a great time with the family as always and there never seems to be enough time to visit. We arrived late Thursday evening. The next day we went to the beach with my brother, Carleton, and his wife, Gracie, who are expecting their first child in January 2010, woohoo! Jessica, Erik and their boys also joined us and we spent a beautiful day enjoying the ocean and cool breeze. The next day was the 4th and we took the kids to the Virginia Zoo in the morning. You would have thought we went to a water park instead of the zoo with all the fun they had in the fountains. Afterwards, we came home to a cook out and games to celebrate the 4th. As always, there was food to feed an army. What I really enjoyed were Alan's grilled scallops. The kids enjoyed playing Tin Can Knock Down, Crazy Bats, Liberty March and making key chains. It got a little crazy with 11 kids in the backyard but they all had a great time. The day ended with glow sticks and fireworks. We joined some neighbors down the street that allowed us to shoot off Erik's aerial fireworks from last year along with theirs on their property next to the lake. It was a great firework show. Sunday, we went to church and headed home. We brought back some caterpillars that dad gave me from his garden. I couldn't believe they survived, well one of the two did, and became a beautiful butterfly. It is an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail. Couldn't find my pictures so I'll have to showcase the second set of butterflies that came with mom on her last visit here in Carolina. Right now I have one in its chrysalis stage.

Memorial Day Fun

It was fun having the Bruning family for the Memorial Day weekend! It has been a tradition to participate in our ward 5 k run in the morning, followed by breakfast. This year, Sefa kept up with his Uncle Erik and Greg and Tua ran together. I chaperoned the 3 musketeers (Pelu, Masi and Tita) who started off strong for the first block and then decided to save their energy for the finish line:) Everyone did great this year! Afterwards we headed off to Greg's parents to cool off in their pool and have a picnic with them. We all had a great time. We thank those who have served honorably and sacrificed much for the freedom we enjoy. We remember Greg's uncle who he is named after, Alan Gregory Flloyd, who died in the Vietnam War. We thank those who have served and are currently serving our country. In our family, Uncle Tom serves in the Army and Uncle Erik serves in the Navy. In the past, Greg's dad served in the Air Force, Uncle Joe served in the Marines and my dad served in the Coast Guard. May God continue to Bless America!

Soccer Season

Finished up with soccer recently with a little farmers tan we got while cheering on our kids on the soccer fields. It has been fun watching them play and we LOVE it, but it's nice to have our weekends back. Pelu really enjoyed himself this year and seemed to learn the game a bit more than just running over people. Sefa plays with his heart and gives his all in the game. This season he played with a mixed age group (8-10) and it has been a challenge to play with the older boys but he held his own. Tua has kept her spirits up and has played well. Her team tied one game and the rest, well....not so good. After trying out for the current soccer organization (TASC) but for an older age group and then a different challenge organization(TWINS), she made both teams but has decided to switch jerseys.

Spring Break 2009

We had a great time at Disney World! It was even better because we got to see our families from Omaha, NE and Rolla, MO. Our trip began with a stop in Palm Coast, FL at Uncle Butch's and Aunt Gail's place (see mini video below). The kids found some bikes in the garage and had a good time exploring the neighborhood with them. It was beautiful weather after driving through hours of rain and the kids were fascinated by the many palm trees. Thank you Uncle Butch and Aunt Gail for letting us use your place in FL.

Then we were off to Orlando and we decided to visit with one of Greg's investigators who joined the church, Deanna, who was also in town. We met her family and had a nice time catching up and getting to know each others families. Her husband, Ron, is an artist who treated our family to a drawing. He drew the kids together and then Greg and I. It was pretty awesome to see him at work and how quickly he got them done. In fact, Greg was really impressed with how well he drew a likeness of him.

The time at Disney World seemed to go by so quickly. I'll always remember the excitement of my kids seeing their cousins again. Even the ones who live in the same town! We could have ended the trip on that magical moment but of course there was much more magic to be enjoyed during the week. We basically hung out together in the mornings or met up with each other during the day at the parks (Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom). Thanks to cell phones, we were able to do so. To summarize the trip, I asked the kids about their favorite times and here are their responses:

Tua: "My favorite time was taking Amberly and Reili on Splash Mountain, even though I didn't

get wet. Oh, and also hearing Tyler scream like a girl on Dinosaur. Love you lots, Tyler!"

Sefa: "My favorite part was riding the rides with my cousins. My favorite rides were Mission

Space, Rock n' Roller Coaster, Expedition Everest."

Pelu: "My favorite time was riding Mission Space and Splash Mountain."

Greg and I both enjoyed our couples date at Downtown Disney with everyone. We were also grateful for the time we had together with family. There were many memories made on this trip and we hope to be able to meet up again....hmmm.

Palm Coast, FL