Happy 5th birthday, Reese Elizabeth!

I cannot believe that my sweet, little gal pal is FIVE today!!  Reese, you make every day a funny adventure; there is never a dull moment with you around!  You are such a sweet, sassy, witty little girl & we love you more than you will ever know!

 

You love playing with dolls, especially your Barbies/Barbie house.  You are so into Scooby Doo the movie, My Little Ponies & dressing up & playing princess.  You're also very happy to sit at a table & color & draw pictures for us.



Since Reese & her BFF, Sammy are only a day apart, we decided to have their party together this past Saturday.  They've been at their school together since they were three months old & since this is their last year before going separate ways to elementary school, it was the perfect time to come together!



We used the picture above for their invitation which turned out so cute.  With faces like those, it's impossible to be anything but cute!

We chose the bowling alley for their party; super easy.  It amazing how much less work it is when you have a party away from home!  No scouring the house, putting together a bunch of food & running around like a crazy person.

 

This is the terrific trio from school... Reese, Alissa & Sammy are connected at the hip!

We separated the gift table & got two different cakes so each girl could still choose their own theme..  Reese chose Tiana from Princess & the Frog & Sammy chose Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  They're so different from each other!

Sadly, minutes after the above picture was taken, a freak accident happened.  I was talking to one of the moms when I heard Cameron hysterically crying.  Cam is one of those tough kids that can take a lot of pain with no reaction, so I knew it was serious.  By the time I ran over to assess the situation, I saw blood pouring out of his mouth.  It was horrifying & scary & I had no idea what happened.  We rushed him into the bathroom and saw that he had severely bit his tongue.  With all the blood, it was hard to determine the severity of the injury.

Mike & I made the decision that we'd take him to the ER to be safe.  Cameron was hysterical in the car from the pain & shock of the situation.  He was terrified that he was going to be admitted to the hospital like he did when he was five.

Luckily they took him right back as soon as we got to the ER.  The doctor determined that his tongue didn't need stitches since it wasn't severed through, but after finally being able to assess the whole situation, we realized he had tripped, fallen onto the bowling ball he had been holding & that caused his tongue biting.  It turned out he had a nasty gash on his chin that needed glue/steri strips closure.  

This poor bubba is getting a Tylenol/Motrin alternation every four hours to manage the pain & is on a mostly all liquid diet.  Unfortunately, a couple of his bottom permanent teeth are a bit loose, so we'll be calling the dentist when they open tomorrow (they're closed Mondays).  What a horrible, freak accident to happen on such a fun day (or ever!)  We basically spent a half hour at Reese's party before bolting to the ER.  Luckily we had plenty of family & friends at the bowling alley to keep the party going & Reese had an absolute blast & barely realized we were gone!

 

 She also got a room makeover that night when we switched Cameron's bed to her room.  We painted her once yellow walls a fushia color a few weeks ago, so we put the final touches together Saturday with the help of my family. 

Friday we went to IKEA & I got her new bedding, these kitty curtains & a few other odds & ends to complete her room.  

My mom & Mike's mom got her the vanity above for her birthday.  Reese is such a girly girl & loves to get into my makeup.  My mom bought Reese her own makeup & she had a blast sitting & putting it on.  The vanity was completely white when we bought it but I painted the drawers pink, added crystal pulls & put princess fabric on the seat.  It's adorable!  I love that her room is finally her style where she can feel like she has her own little oasis!  Happy, happy birthday, to my sweet Reese!

Girl's trip to Lido Key

Well, hello there!  With work being busy, the kids playing baseball & Mike traveling a lot, blogging has certainly fallen to the wayside.  Mike & I always say that we're thankful that I blog since it's such a neat way of capturing memories.  So, I may be a little slow about it, but I'm trying my best to keep up!

 

At the end of August/beginning of September, Kelly, Lauren & I took a long-weekend trip to Lido Key Beach, near Sarasota.  We were all needing to recharge & get away, so it came a the perfect time.

We had an amazingly beautiful two-bedroom suite with a gorgeous, ocean view.  The catch?  Red tide was in FULL swing.  I'm guessing you don't know what red tide is, right?  Well, I had little experience with it too, but it's basically algae blooming which gives the water a nasty, reddish/brown color & gives off "fumes" which make you cough terribly.   

The second we got out of our car at the hotel, we started hacking our heads off.  It's really strange, walking around, watching everyone around you cough continuously; felt like we were all getting the plague.  Our beach bartender said it's the worst he's experienced in the 14 years he's worked in Florida.

Despite the red tide & the noise we had going on from the hotel construction, we had an awesome time & basically just laughed our faces off the entire weekend.

It was so wonderful to put our to-do lists aside & just be carefree & silly.

The only agenda we had was to hang at the pool, go shopping, eat & drink; not necessarily in that order.  Pretty simple!  We met so many amazing people on our weekend too! Our hotel shuttle driver that would take us to St. Armand's Circle for shopping was the most precious man; I miss Tucker!

Here we are, posing like the mannequins behind us.

 I'm so lucky to have such amazing girlfriends & the opportunity to have taken such an unforgettable trip!!

Happy 8th birthday, Cameron Michael!

Today is one of my most special days, the day my Bubba boy, Cameron was born EIGHT years ago!

Oh, Cameron, what can I say about you on this special day of yours?  There are so many things that come to mind when I think of you!  Passionate, persistent, stubborn, sometimes exhausting, loving, kind, sweet..

I always say that the way you born is so fitting to who you are.  When you decided you were ready to enter the world, you were very dedicated & made it happen very quickly.  There was nothing calm about it!  You're still like that.. when you decide you want or "need" something, you want it right now. Two seconds it too long to wait!  

You still love to hear stories about our time together when you shared my body.  You were constantly in motion & I always felt like I was carrying my best friend with me where ever I went, I was never alone.  You always had the hiccups, especially at night & you loved to stretch & pull the heck out of my already too-short torso!

When you were a baby, if you weren't happy, we all knew about it!  You're still like that today.. very vocal about your likes & dislikes, hence, passionate.  Though there are times I can be impatient with you at the end of a long day, I would never change a thing about you.  So many random times, you'll just say the sweetest things.  "You're so pretty, Mom" "Mom, if I could choose any mom in the world, I would choose you."  Feelings are mutual, sweet kid, I'd never choose another son!

Love this picture above so much.  It was a sweet moment with you & incidentally, I was also 16 weeks pregnant with your sister! Speaking of your sister, we definitely need to work on "that whole thing."  The two of you tend to bicker & fight A LOT.  Causes a lot of inharmonious moments in our days.  But, I know you guys love each other.. I can see it!

Nothing speaks truer to me than the quote from The Night You Were Born (which also makes me weep each time it's read!), "On the night you were born, the the moon smiled with such wonder that the stars peeked in to see you, and the night wind whispered, LIFE WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN. Because there had never been anyone like YOU.. ever in the world."

Our summer vacation

Well, the kids are back in school & our summer vacation to Georgia was about a month & a half ago, but I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures.  Better late than never, I always say!  So, we try to take a family vacation every other year & this year my mom had the brilliant idea to invite Mike's parents along for a fun, old family Schuth/Pernecky getaway.  Or, like my dad likes to say, a Schunecky vacation!

Fourteen of us stayed comfortably at this amazing house on Lake Arrowhead.

As amazing as the house was outside, it was even better inside.  Three stories for plenty of space for our rowdy group!  We basically got to the house & never left, that's how wonderful it was.  There were four water bikes, kayaks, paddle boards & rafts to just float the day away... bliss.

Mike & I have been together 20 years as of June 27th this year, but we've never gone away with both his family & mine.  We have a different situation since my parents moved from Chicago to Florida when I was eighteen.  Mike & I followed about six years later, but our families have been essentially separated other than visits here & there throughout the years.

So many people that I talked to were surprised we were able to harmoniously travel together.  I'm thankful our families get along & ended up having an absolutely fabulous week.  We relaxed, played cards, cooked & everything just fell into place.

The kiddos had a relaxing time too & loved swimming in the lake.  I was a bit worried I'd be skeeved out about lake swimming, but it was awesome & there were no creatures lurking about, thankfully.

Sisters & Reesey!

The gals

The original Pernecky family minus Erika

Unfortunately, Mike's sister, Erika wasn't able to make it since her teaching job already started.

I'm blessed to have such an awesome family! Don't consider them in-laws!

I stumbled upon this picture of me & my sister & could not stop laughing when I saw it.  Two strong personalities!  

The Schuth/Pernecky Family

The whole goofy clan, all 14 of us!

Sweet Jovi & Lenny!  I adore my in-laws!  My father-in-law is truly one of the most fantastic people I have ever met in my life.  He would do anything for anyone without a single complaint ever.  Other than my grandpa, I've never met someone with such a pure, sweet heart.

My parents!

And then there's my sweet brother-in-law, Nick who I met when he was the ripe, old age of twelve!  

Mike & Mel

Oh my, who is this gorgeous couple?!?!?!?

The "kids"

Our week away went far too fast, as it typically does, but I'll never forget it!