Monday, June 3, 2013

It started off as a horse race



In their own words, the Schneiders are "horsey people." They were born with, and cultivated, the equestrian gene. Add that to our proximity to Kentucky, and the Derby is a pretty big deal in these parts. The Schneider Family Derby Party never disappoints. This year we ventured out to Aunt Paula & Uncle Mark's gorgeous (bucolic-defined) home to drink mint julips, wear fancy hats, place our bets, scream "go! go! gooooo!" at the TV, and eat giant derby cookies. There were two added bonuses this year - the positively perfect backyard to run around, chase butterflies, swing on a tire swing and launch rockets plus a trip to visit the girls' horse "cousins" at the barn just down the way. (They'll be taking up residency soon in the backyard barn you'll see pictured below.) I told Paula & Mark that they could sell the use of their property for an hourly rate for photo sessions. You'll see why in a second...


















Bea thought this little guy was a lamb, yelling & pointing "TINY SHEEPY" when she saw him.
















Here are a few more from my phone -


Double-Poo Jump means two wishes ;)



We won $10!

Sweet older cousin Morgan doesn't mind that the little ones copy her every move









The girls are already talking about next year....but we can guarantee it won't take another horse race to get us out to Aunt Paula's house. 


Thursday, May 30, 2013

A tale of two haircuts

This week the girls both got their summer chops! One day at the pool was enough to convince me that this was necessary.  I'm hoping to prevent the crispy, chlorine-induced split ends I used to rock as a kid.  (Ahh, Pinecrest memories.)

If you know much about Josie, you know she has been literally *begging* me for bangs for at least 2 years.  This was in large part due to the fact that her best friend and teacher both have bangs. (Chalk this up as dipping her toe into the perils of girlhood.)  I finally caved, because, well, if the girls wants bangs and is willing to sit still through the inevitable weekly trims, then who am I to stop her?  (Did I not promise myself I'd let my daughters express their little selves however they saw fit?)

So, Josie finally got her bangs...and couldn't be happier!



Bea, who had bangs courtesy of Josie, has finally grown hers out long enough that we can pull them out of her face again. A 2 year old with bangs is a disaster.  Bea really enjoys a good hair wash and blow dry. She's hilarious.


{Special shout-out to "Haircutting Lauren" who has been cutting Schneider hair since long before we had little girls that wanted bangs. We had her last two appointments before she left for maternity leave & we are so excited that she'll be welcoming her sweet boy to the world tomorrow!}


Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Memorial Day Weekend in Moments



Yeah, yeah, yeah I haven't posted much of May yet (including our wonderful, magical Mother's Day weekend or Derby weekend) but I thought I'd drop in a little overview of the super duper holiday weekend we just wrapped up.  It was practically perfect from beginning to end and included a ballet recital, a surprise visit from "Sisis" & AJ, the season's first backyard bonfire, our first day at the neighborhood pool we joined, a trip to Lunken playground, a front yard art project and lots of QT with Grandma & DD.

Sneak peek! Separate ballet post coming soon...

Josie put herself down for a nap! HUH?!

Front yard friends














"All by myself, mama, big girl like JoJo big."













 May the rest of the summer feel just like this: