Christmas in Dallas, Texas

This year we spent Christmas in Dallas, Texas with my brother Jon and his family and my sister Megan and her family. My parents, sister Lindsey and brother Robbie and his wife Jessica also came for Christmas. It was the first time we have all been together in over a year. It was a fun Christmas being all together. This was also the first time Alli and I were able to introduce Cami to all the family on the Schaack side. This is a picture of Cami with her other cousins. The two boys are Jon's kids and the girl is Megan's daughter.



We were fortunate to bless Cami in Dallas with my family. As you can see by the picture she was all smiles.

Cami loved her first Christmas. She was wide awake and happy as can be. 

Grandma Schaack loved holding Cami every minute she could. 

Grandpa Schaack enjoys a little nap with Cami during the Christmas holiday.

Alli is one proud mother with Cami on her blessing day. 

Alli and I with Cami on her blessing day. December 26, 2008.

Catching Up With Life

Cami smiles a lot but this is the only picture we have been able to get on camera. She loves her swing. It has actually been a life saver for us. 

On December 13 I traveled to Stanford with our women's basketball team. We got drilled by 38 points but it was still cool to be on campus and play against the No. 3 team in the country. 

This was at the Fresno State Children Christmas for Cancer Holiday party. The person in the picture with Alli and I is an old friend from Utah, Jeff Reinert who used to coach basketball at UVU. He is now an assistant coach to coach Steve Cleveland at Fresno State. 

Here we are at the Christmas part with the Fresno State mascot, TimeOut. Cami does very good in public and with people. She has already been to three basketball games and has been really good. She may be a daddies girl after all. 

Our Russian Daughter

Alli's mother bought this outfit for Cami. I really like the hat. It makes her look like she is this Russian girl. Cami is growing so quick. She is only six weeks old and wearing 3-6 month clothes. Cami is like her dad in that she loves to just chill and have a good time. 

The first of everything.....

Cami had a very eventful week. She went to her first basketball game and loved it!!! Definitely her daddy's girl. She also went to church for the first time. She did great. I was so glad. I was nervous she would scream in the middle of sacrament or fart really loud when it was completely silent. (wouldn't be the first time) That's for another post :] Good times!!!

Very Blessed!!!

Steve and I have so much to be thankful for. We love being parents and we are so lucky to have our little " Cami Cakes" in our lives. I love being a Mommy. Never thought such a little thing could make us laugh and smile so much. Cami loves her wonderful Daddy. She smiles so much when he is around. I love it!!! 

Growing up!!

It is so true that little babes grow up so quick. Cami is only 2 weeks and she is changing every day. She is such a sweet little girl.  She definitely  likes to keep her Mommy and Daddy awake during the night :} She is wide awake at 3:30 every morning and doesn't like to go back to sleep. She is such a blessing in our lives. We love you little Miss Cami Girl!!!

She loves to ride in the car. 

Our little Cami Girl is growing up way to quick. Everyday she looks different. We sure do love her

A note from the Mama!!!

It is fun to say that I am now part of the tough Mom's Club. Seriously I gained so much more respect for Moms. I think all agree that there is nothing more beautiful or wonderful than holding your baby for the first time. We sure have fallen in love quickly with our little babe. It hasn't even been a week yet but Steve and I can't imagine our life without our Cami Girl. We feel very lucky and very blessed.  She is our little ray of sunshine. I think Steve deserves "Labor Coach of the Year"  He was a huge help and I am really grateful for him. There is so much to LEARN!!!! In fact this is kind of embarrassing Cami had her first Dr. appointment. We get there and we realize we didn't bring her diaper bag. Then to make it worse. A super organized, super experienced Mom walks in. She is fully prepared with her super duper diaper bag. She pulls out the nail clippers, thermometer ,and even those plastic syringes.  First we felt very guilty then we laughed pretty hard. We will get better. ( I sure hope so )  

Steve and I find every second we can to SLEEP!!! 

Yes, we are parents. Alli gave birth to our daughter, Cami Elizabeth Schaack on November 1 at 10:01 a.m. It was a long process as she was induced around 9:30 a.m. on October 31. She was 9 pounds 2.4 ounces and was 21 inches long. We are grateful she and mom are healthy. We are home now and excited to be out of the hospital. We love the dark hair she has. 

Here is one happy momma. Alli is a tough woman to go through 24 hours of labor. 

Cami is finally home. I think she is going to love riding in the car because when we left the hospital she was crying but the moment we started driving she fell asleep.



Here Grandma Meik is giving Cami her first bath since being home.

One Blissful Year!!

Steve and I just celebrated our first anniversary. We both can't believe how time flies. It is amazing how the lord helps you find that perfect person. I am glad I waited  for someone like Steve. He has made me so HAPPY!!!  We are extremely blessed that our little girl is coming very soon.  (This happened a lot quicker than we thought) We couldn't be more excited or more thrilled. I am a week away from my due date. A lot of things have been going through both of our heads. We  know we have so much to learn . We will do our best  to make her life beautiful  in every-way. Lots of  hugs, plenty of laughs and tons of love :]  This truly has been one blissful year :} 

Pumpkin TIme!!

Thank goodness the fall is finally here for us in Fresno. We always have extremely hot summers so we love it when the temperature drops. It is a beautiful time of year. I think my favorite part is going to all the fall festivals especially the pumpkin patches . We had a fun time !!!!

Steve and and were laughing because all the stems on the pumpkins were  sharp and really hard. We kept imagining if someone was to sit or fall on one and how bad it would hurt. Ouch talk about a stick up the butt!!! Steve had to demonstrate this for me. I was laughing pretty hard. 

Well  I am 38 weeks!! We are excited for our little pumpkin to arrive. By the looks of it she might not be so little after all:] When I picked up this pumpkin it weighed about 8 lbs. There was not much of a difference with the one I am holding and the one that is coming in a couple of weeks. It is fun to think what she will look like, how big she will be , and when she will come. Our bags are packed and we are ready to go!!!!

Gotta love Girlfriends!!!

I really miss Steve when he is traveling with work. I am glad he likes what he does and he is so good at it too!! I am lucky to have wonderful girlfriends that take care of me while he is away. Girlfriends are the best!!!

 This weekend the sisters in the ward threw me a baby shower. So Sweet!!! Our ward is extremely humble and they are all so thoughtful. Many of the ladies  are my grandma's age.Seriously I got a good laugh Steve's and I first Sunday.  Everything had to be repeated in Relief Society. No one could hear. Kind of funny !!! I didn't know how I was going to relate to them.  That changed quickly they befriended me and made me feel  welcome within minutes.  The gospel is a wonderful thing.  Wherever you live or wherever  you go, you will be loved and taken care of. Girlfriends come in all ages. What would  I  do  without them? The picture above is some of my close friends  that made the trip to my baby shower. It was wonderful to see them. 

Deep in the heart of TEXAS!!!

Steve and I are very excited !!! We just booked our plane tickets to go to TEXAS for Christmas. Steve's brother and sisters live there. I also served my mission there too!!! ( See entry below)  We have really missed being around family. Plus Steve's little niece and nephews are the cutest little kiddos ( see picture above) We can't go another Christmas without seeing them. TEXAS or BUST!!! 

Excited to see my PEEPS!!!

Many of you might know that I served my mission in TEXAS!!! Since we are going there for Christmas I get to visit many of  the people I was able to teach. They changed my life forever. When I first got my mission call I told myself I would never fall into the whole TEXAS PRIDE thing. Haha all I can say folks it's Contagious !!! I caught it quick and I fell hard. In fact after I returned home I hung the Texas flag over my bed in my apartment for years. The kindest, friendliest and funniest people I have ever met. I can honestly say on a hourly basis I was cracking up .( I promise I  really did preach the gospel too!!)  They will always have my heart :} I love TEXAS!!!!

Gotta love La Maze!!!!

Steve and I have started some La Maze classes. I guess we aren't the best people to pretend to be serious. This is bad, but we end of laughing really hard for the majority of the class. I think the thing that gets us going is when I have to "Pretend" I am in labor and to have to breathe really heavy.  It has been fun and we are trying to learn as much as we can . I have come to realize that classes that require me to be really serious, I probably shouldn't sign up for. In fact in college my sister and I tried to take a yoga class. I just am not very flexible and both her and I just laughed the whole entire class.  I just  could not get into some of the positions without cracking up .

 The picture above is taken at one of my good friends wedding receptions. The street that is was near was called LOVERS LANE kind of fun. I love going to wedding receptions because it makes you think back on when you got married and makes you realize how lucky you are to have found the person that is so perfect for you. You're the best Steve!!!

Let's Hear it for 32 Weeks!!!

I am hitting my 32nd week of Pregnancy !!!  Very exciting for the Love Schaack's . The other night we were at the store and I saw this watermelon. Do you see any resemblance? I couldn't resist Haha Good times :} 

Traveling with the Bulldogs

Incase nobody knew, the first ever college football game was played at Rutgers. I am out here in New Jersey with the Fresno State football team. We play Rutgers Monday afternoon on ESPN.

I was able to see the Princeton campus while out here. It is 261 years old and the most beautiful campus I have been too. I was never smart enough to get into the school (I really never applied) so it was cool to step foot on the campus.

Bringing Sexy Back!!!!

Steve is always making me laugh. I have come to realize that I really think his motto should be " Anything for a Cheap Laugh" He loves to do things to make me and others just crack up. Last night we were shopping for shoes . We found some crazy looking ones. He was a good sport and put them on for me . I just laughed. In fact we went back home , just so we could get the camera. You have to capture moments like this!!!! Life is way to wonderful not to.



Here is my favorite!!! I was laughing so hard I couldn't keep the camera from shaking.




Steve picked some out for me. I swear Micheal Jackson has worn these boots before in one of his music videos. Just had to put my shades on so I would look somewhat cool ( Yeah Right)

What is Baby Schaack up to?

I am going into my 30th week of pregnancy. I can't believe how time flies. Steve and I really enjoy going to our baby appointments. I tend to worry a little to much. It is reassuring when the doctor lets you know that everything is okay. We joke, because we were both big babies. If our little Cami Girl takes after her parents, she is going to be one "healthy little girl".We wouldn't want it any other way :} Some of my primary kids always ask me if I have a basketball in my shirt. It really looks like it!!!

What's the Schaack Man been up to?

Many of you might know that Steve works for Fresno State in the Media Relations Department. He is so good at what he does. He gets to experience a lot of fun things and travel with the teams to all the different games. The only good thing about him being gone is that I get to hear him on the radio. In fact his nickname is the Radio Schaack!! It is so fun to hear his voice. I think when our kids are a little older they will love to hear there daddy's voice and see him on T.V . With college football quickly approaching, (Who doesn't love college football such a fun time of year) Steve has been very busy going to all the practices sometimes two times a day. Soon to all the games home and away!!! Glad he enjoys what he does and is so good at it too!!!

29 weeks and counting !!!(BRING IT ON)

Every time Steve and I go out to eat or go somewhere we are always say how fun and different it is going to be when our little baby girl arrives. We have been seeing little kids in grocery stores,and restaurants sometimes being so sweet and cute. Other times throwing fits, throwing foods, or screaming at the top of their lungs. We always look at each other and say, "Are we really ready for this." We know things might take a little more time and we might not always have those peaceful meals. We are excited for the new adventures and the sleepless nights that await us :} Are lives are about to change BIGTIME!!! So we are going in with the attitude BRING IT ON and we will just have to hold on tight :}

Making Something out of Nothing

So I always tell people that Alli has the ability to make something out of nothing. When I open the cupboards in the kitchen sometimes I say to myself we have nothing to eat. Then I turn around and Alli has made a full course meal. You want chocolate chip cookies but don't have the chocolate chips well have chocolate peanut butter cookies and use hot chocolate mix for your chocolate. They cookies sure taste good. 

Today the craftiness in Alli came out as she made the letters C A M I (what we are going to name our girl) to hang up in our other room. In stead of purchasing wooden block letters at the store she printed a very big letter off the computer and then cut it out and traced the letters onto fancy paper. So what was the fancy paper? Well she took old gift bags and traced the letters over that. Creative, I think so. She then went and lamented the letters and she hung them up in the room. 

Mr. Fixit (Well Not Really)

Two nights ago we had a shelf fall off the fall in our kitchen. I tried forever to try and nail the shelf back in the wall and get it to stay but I just couldn't do it. After making numerous holes in the wall Alli and I finally decided to move another picture over the holes where we would have had the shelf and then we just stuffed the shelf in the closet. It wasn't fun. I realized then that whenever Alli and I move out of an apartment and into a house everything needs to be in good shape. If it isn't it might take me a month to fix it. 

In this picture I am rehanging curtains where a nail fell off the wall. Here I actually did something right. 

Steve always makes me laugh. He doesn't have to be Mr. Home Improvement  He already has won me over, Mr Fix it or not. We just laugh at all our attempts to hang things up and put things together. 

28 Weeks and Counting!!!!

Steve and I can't believe that our little baby girl will be here in 2 1/2 months. We are so EXCITED to have her be part of our lives. She is very active and likes to move a lot especially when I am trying to sleep. I can tell she is her daddy's girl. Everytime I eat ice cream or drink cold juice she goes crazy by kicking and wanting more and more. So grateful for this little miracle in our lives. 

One Last Vacation

Well it is one last vacation before Steve gets into the grind of work with a baby girl coming at the end of October and Fresno State football beginning in August. We took a few a few days and headed to LA where we spent time at Venice Beach and saw the broadway play Wicked. It was a quick trip but a lot of fun. The play is incredible. Being in LA in 80 degree weather was much better than being in the triple digits here in Fresno. 

A Visit to the Big Apple

Since getting married back in October Alli and I have been very busy with work. So it was only fitting that for a week (June 3-10) we had the opportunity to not think about work and head off to New York City. We had a great time. It was a week with no stress. 

We arrived late on June 3rd and stayed overnight at a hotel near JFK airport. We got up the next morning and decided to hop on the subway to get our hotel in the city. We eventually made it, two hours later. 

Once we got checked in we wandered around Time Square and then headed off to see the Yankees and Blue Jays. Going to a Yankees game is alot of fun. It was fun to go their in the final year of what will soon be old Yankee Stadium. 

Here is a brief rundown of our trip

June 5

We spent the morning walking around Central Park. After lunch we got in line for tickets for a show that night. We saw the play Mary Poppins. It was alot of fun and we really enjoyed. Before the play we saw someone trying to scale the New York Times building. It was a pretty crazy site. We felt like we were in the movie Spiderman. 

June 6

We got up and head downtown where we walked around Ground Zero and walked through the chapel by the site that has turned into, I guess you could say a memorial. We then headed off to Battery Park were we got on a boat and went out to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Ellis Island was cool. After that it was dinner time and we found the restaurant Serendipity where we had dinner and then we had ice cream at this fun place called Dlyans. A fun part to the day was that we got a phone call saying we won tickets to the David Letterman show on Monday. We were pretty excited about that.

June 7

We went and saw Mamma Mia in the afternoon and then hooked up with my cousin Jenn for dinner at Little Italy. After dinner Jenn introduced us to the best frozen yogart place called Pinkberry. It was to die for. We spent the rest of the evening walking along the water by the Brooklyn Bridge. 

June 8

We went to church in the morning and after that we had lunch at Chelsea Market, one the places where the food network is located. After saying goodbye to Jenn we changed our clothes and just chilled in the city. We tried to stay indoors most of the day because it was so hot.

June 9

We got to go to Letterman. It was very fun and in the evening we ate dinner with some good friends Scott and Kelly Hardy. It was fun to meet up with them in the city. 

June 10

The return to Fresno. It was along day in the airport as our day started with our plane leaving JFK at 1245 p.m. eastern time and arriving in Fresno at 10:30 p.m. pacific time. We did get to visit with Steve's parents during our layover in Salt Lake that was alot of fun. 

Well that is a quick run down of the trip. We had a blast and spent alot of money. 

Here We Are

So Alli and I have entered the world of blogging. We hope this will be another way for everyone to keep up with what is going on in our lives since we are away from so many people.