full of thanks.

I had a very exciting Thanksgiving for a lot of reasons. I had so much fun that I am having a hard time getting back to the "real" world. So to make this easier on everyone bullets and pictures will tell the story.

• I arrived in Chicago on Saturday, also known as Leena Ballerina's birthday. I got to meet her new baby Lumpy and then we had an amazing evening celebrating her and how fabulous she is. She is gorgeous, hilarious, smart, adorable, fashionable, sweet, a great dancer, and one of the kindest people I know. It was a pleasure to share in your birthday Kathleen. Can we do that again next year?

• I had a tremendous week filled with my best friends company. This included sleep overs with Misty, wine, food, laughter, amazing conversations... Did I mention this happened like daily?  I tried to savor each moment as it doesn't happen as often as I wish it could. It was a special week. And I left knowing it would happen again. And I am looking forward to it. very soon. (i also found myself talking about moving there a lot. all week long. as did my husband. that makes me happy)

• Fortunately, Matt was able to attend Thanksgiving this year. He flew in to Chicago on Wednesday, which was perfect timing for my birthday. I must say that I has one fabulous birthday this year. I have a feeling it was so special due to the magnificent people I was surrounded by. My twenty-eighth year is off to a great start...

• On Thursday, we traveled from Chicago to Iowa to spend our Thanksgiving with the McQuinn's. It was a great time to catch up with the family and meet that new lil' nephew of ours and be completely entertained with the other little darlings. We celebrated birthdays, a new baby, and gave thanks! 

• It was a pretty great feeling to spend time with McQuinn... (aka my husband). He has worked hard for a long time so I was thankful that he had the opportunity to visit with friends, take naps, and enjoy time with family. 

My Thanksgiving was a perfect reminder of all the things I am thankful for. I hope yours was too.

I am also thankful that this was captured on video. Enjoy. 

happy birthdays.

Matt's mother and my mother share birthdays only a few days apart. (Sarah's mom Ann celebrates, Nov. 23 and Matt's mom Betty celebrates, Nov. 27)  So we would like to wish them both a very happy birthday.

Matt and I both very blessed children to be raised by two such beautiful, compassionate, strong, smart, and amazing women. Someday we hope to take what they have taught us and share it with our children. someday.

Happy Birthday Mom!

Love,

Matt, Sarah, & Bella

nada

hi.

i don't have a lot of updates to share. because the mcquinn's are not currently up to much. we work a lot, but matt works more. we try to keep our house clean, but still manage to scramble or stay up entirely too late cleaning again every time we have a house showing. we try to keep our dog relatively happy. i think it is safe to say that she is happy. 

so in summary, house is still on the market, and mcquinn's still don't have the slightest where they are on to next or when they will go. 

so. I will share with you some past good times and some future ones.

Past

My last post was a happy birthday to my youngest (& only) sister. Although her birthday was on Monday and I was not with her, I did fly out to Tennessee the weekend before to surprise her. My brother Tyler picked me up from the airport and I managed to walk in behind him and "pop out" to surprise her. However, she had been calling me telling me she knew I would be coming but we all did our best to keep it a surprise until the very end.  Another very cool factor to the weekend was that I got to see lots of family. Grandpa and Grandma McGuire from Minnesota were visiting my parents and my Grandpa Clet and Uncle Troy came in on Saturday. The weekend went entirely too fast, but it was pretty special to be around so much loving family during such a special time. My siblings and I definitely had a good time and we are looking forward to the new legal status of all the schoenfelder children. Here are a few pictures of the weekend... 

Please note: I did a horrific job of documenting this weekend and I really think it was because we were having too much fun. I was around good company, eating good food, laughing, playing, and enjoying each moment. I just didn't want to be interrupted by the camera.

(this pretty much sums up my friday night. and saturday morning)



(she's 21. and adorable).

Future

Anxiously anticipating Saturday, November 20. Why, you ask? Well, for many reasons.

1. its the weekend

2. its Kathleen Schroeders birthday

3. and I get to spend it with her

Oh, and it gets even more exciting than that. 

I also get to spend my birthday in Chicago with two of my absolute best friends. 

I had taken the entire week off for thanksgiving months ago and then matt realized his schedule isn't what he thought it would be. So he suggested I take the time and spend it in Chicago ( i love that man). 

However, he still doesn't know what his thanksgiving schedule is. Doesn't know as in doesn't have a plane ticket or a plan about where to go. what to eat. nada. So at this point he could be joining me in chicago getting ready to head to Iowa to spend some quality time with the fam and meet that new adorable nephew or working and hopefully coming home to some interpretation of a thanksgiving feast. harsh. 
Update: Matt and I are both feeling thankful. He will be joining me and many lovely friends on wednesday in chicago and then we will head to our old stompin' grounds, Ankeny, Iowa to spend some time with family and meet that graham-cracker!


See ya in Chicago!

My little sister...

This is my little sister.

She is 21 years old today!

It's a big day and I have a sneaking suspicion she has been waiting for this day for a while now.

Right now, she is ordering alcoholic beverages and proudly showing her ID to anyone who cares to see it.

I am hoping by the end of the night she is yelling phrases like, "It's my birthday." Although in all honesty, that sounds like something I would do, not Aly-oh-so.

Aly-oh-so,
You are oh-so sweet, oh-so hilarious, oh-so gorgeous, oh-so intelligent, oh-so charming, oh-so fashionable, oh-so kind, oh-so hip, oh-so interesting. I am oh-so happy to call you my sister and my friend. (no lie).

I love you little sister.

I wish I could be at the "local establishments" with Aly, the 21 year old tonight, yelling things like, "It's my sister's birthday". But I did have the opportunity to spend a memorable weekend with her, leading up to this momentous event. And I am so looking forward to spending some time with her in the near future. Maybe at one of those "local establishments" she is at tonight.

Happy Birthday Alysa Marie.