We drove 15 hours from Scottsdale to Austin to spend Christmas with Deb, Ed, Joey, and Mema (who flew in from MI). Here are some highlights of Christmas Day.
Liz, Sam, and I flew to TX for a short weekend to help Deb make the final preparations before the baby arrived. We had a nice time visiting with Deb, Ed, and Mema. Lizzy was still not feeling well and most mornings were spent comforting her, but by afternoon she would feel better.  Aunt "Dub" helps Lizzy makes friends with the neighbor girl.  Lizzy and Sammy enjoy some bongo drum music on the backporch.  Sam's favorite toy on the trip was the dust bucket... He would spend an hour or more just dragging the thing around the backporch!  Sam enjoyed the fall display in his aunt and uncle's front yard.  Lizzy takes a ride on the pony at the outlet mall (50 cents instead of a penny like at Meijers in MI!).  Mema enjoying the fresh air in the front yard.
 Aunt Deb and Uncle ed were here for a week at the end of Aug. Because it overlaps both of their birthdays, we started and ended the week with birthday celebrations - on Tues one for Deb and then Sat for Ed. While here, Ed made sure to enjoy the biking trails, while pregnant Deb spent the days with us (or working - boo). It was nice to have them here, and sad to see them leave. All four of us packed our bags and flew to MI on July 15. Tim stayed for one week where as the kiddos and I stayed for two weeks. For the first weekend Aunt Deb (who is pregnant with a boy due in Dec!) was also in town, and we all went to our cousin Mary's weddiing. Overall, the trip was a nice combination of visiting, "site-seeing," and just relaxing. Social butterflies just like to play!While is K'zoo, we spent a lot of time getting together with friends and family, and just hanging out at Mema's house palying and doing "art projects.". Here are some cute shots of some of these visits. One of Lizzy;s favoriate activities was getting together with (Great)Aunt Miney and Cal and their family. Lizzy especially loved playing with my cousin's 10 year old daughter Taya - too bad they were so busy swimming and playing that I never got a picture!  Mema and Lizzy did many art projects together. Here they are filling small plastic bottles with colored sand. At first they were making quite a mess, but then Lizzy suggested that we pour everything over a bowl to catch the extra sand. Mommy and Mema wondered why we did not think of that???  Sammy did not want to participate. Instead he crawled and around looking for trouble. In other words, I did not get to do too many art projects, instead I just chased him around the house!  Sammy found the tupperward jackpot! Since this was "safe" trouble, I let him play and rested for a while!  Lizzy and Sammy hang out in the "fort" Lizzy built in Mema's living room. This is an activity her scond-cousin Taya taught her, that is now her favorte thing to do!  Picnic at the park with the flokstra side of the family. Here Liz and Sam are actaully resting!  Sammy and second-cousin Cannon at less than a month apart.  Vroom, vroom!  Sam seems to ask, "So where should this load go?" Grandpa Schering wouldl have been so proud!  Lizzy and Ana (my friend Amy's daughter) really enjoyed playing pretend together. Here Lizzy wasa princess (no surprise there!) and Ana was a zebra. Are they fighting over Nemo? I am really confused about which Disney movie this is supposed to be!  We had a nice dinner with (Great)uncle Ed, aunt Lisa, cousins Syliva and Ted. After ward we hung out in the yard - here (great)aunt Lisa poses with the kiddos. This is for you Lisa since you said you are always behind and not infront of the camera! :) Meijer GardensThe six of us (the fam + Aunt "Dub" + Mema) met up with Deb's best friend Maria's family at the gorgeous Meijer Gargen in Grand Rapids, MI. In addition to the grounds there also were some great children playgrounds.    Charles and Mary's weddingDeb and my cousin Mary married Charles on Friday July 16. The bride, the wedding, and the reception were beautiful. Here is a picture of the happy newlymeds along with the Schering cousins who were there.  Kalamazoo Air ZooThe Kalamazoo Air Zoo is a museum of NASA memorabilia, old air craft and other related items. The Air Zoo also contains about 8 different rides and simulations - two of which were suitable for Lizzy..   Lizzy in the play area at the Kalamazoo Air Zoo.  Sammy crawling around in the play area at the Kalamazoo Air Zoo. Gilmore Car MuseumOnly a few miles from Mema's house is the Gilmore Car Museum, a 90-acre park displaying over 200 antique, classic, and collector cars displayed in olds barns. The park also contains an old gas station and a 5 & Diner.       Binder Park ZooOn Tim's last full day in MI Mema had to go into work and Deb had already left, so the four of us were all by ourselves. We packed up the fam and spent the morning at a nice zoo in Battle Creek, MI. The zoo is set in a woods, and the huge trees are everywhere. A highlight of the visit was feeding the girraffes - all four of us took a turn!    Lizzy and Daddy petting "lazy goat."  Sammy pointing to one of the very active prarie dogs.  Sitting on the zoo train.  Sam chillin' in the stroller.
 On the last full day of Deb's visit we received the sad news that our 84 year old Oma had passed away. Even though there was some relief that her suffering was over, it was still sad. Deb changed her plans and instead of flying back to TX on Sun she instead flew with Sammy, Lizzy, and I to MI. The kiddos and I spent the week in MI. Much of the time there was spent at either the visitation or funeral at which we saw many family and friends. However, during the week wqe we were also able to see a couple friends. Below are some photos from our week in MI.  Sammy on the plane (we had an empty seat and we all enjoyed the extra space)  Sammy rolled himself under the bed at Mema's house  Uncle Cal with "his girls": Lizzy jumped right up there with his grandaughters Taya and Addy  Lizzy with Ana (the 3 year old daughter of my good friend Amy)
 While everyone enjoyed the zoo it was a bit hot. So we made sure to cool off in the shade with a yummy snow cone.   Aunt "Dub" came to town, so of course the first thing Lizzy wants to do is go to the train park. Oddly enough, this was Deb's first visit to the train park! Considering Lizzy's fascination with the park, I am not sure how Deb was able to put it off for this long....
Deb and Ed visited from Austin, TX. It was so nice to have them here. Lizzy loved hanging out with them and showing off to her Uncle Ed. At the end of their trip here Mema also arrived and we celebrated Christmas as a family a bit early (see an earlier posting for other pictures).  Deb holding Sammy at their condo.  Deb and Lizzy prepare to paly Jenga  Lizzy opening here bath gels (looks like a chemsitry set) while sitting on Deb's lab. Ed and Mema are watching.  Lizzy is excited about her Candy Land game from her Aunt Deb and Uncle Ed.  It seems Mema did well when picking out sweaters for Deb and Ed.
 Sammy resting on Mommy after a long and exhausting birthday.  Sammy proves that his lungs are strong!  First time Tim gets to touch his new son.  Mommy cuddling her boy.  Daddy cuddling his boy.  Lizzy holing Sammy for the first time.  Mema (Chris' mom) flew in from MI and stayed for over two weeks to help with Lizzy and the new baby. Thanks mom!  Aunt Deb flew in from TX to help with Lizzy and see Sammy.  Sammy's inked feet following his footprints.  Chris in Sammy's room on Sun Sep 27, less than 24 hours before Sammy's scheduled arrival.
Lizzy and mommy went to MI for almost a week. The trip went well and we had a nice time visiting everyone, however it was nice to get back home and see Lizzy's daddy. The entire week before the trip Lizzy was very excited, and kept saying "Mema, Dub, coming, soon!" So by the time we got there she was thrilled to see Mema waiting for us in the Kalamazoo airport.  Lizzy "talking" to Mema in the Phoenix airport, telling her we will be there "soon."  Lizzy and Mema spent a lot of time on the floor playing with the many toys Mema had accumulated in anticipation of our visit!  Lizzy did not like the mexican dress mema bought for her while in Texas at Deb and Ed's wedding....  Dub (aka Aunt Deb) and Lizzy check out the ducks and geese at a near-by park .    Lizzy was scared to go down the big slide at the park herself, so she talked each of us (even Mema) to go down with her.  We visited Oma a couple times while in town. She recently returned to her room at the retirement home after a hospital stay. We hada nice visit, plus Lizzy entertained us by doing somersaults on Oma's bed. Lizzy still randomly says "bye-bye omen."  Lizzy in her "pop star" glasses.
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