News Archive - April 2005

I've seen the office where I will work. It's a casual atmosphere with everyone on a first name basis. I know I'm going to enjoy this change. The base is right on Tampa bay and the views are beautiful.

Cheryl Elected To Board 04/25/05
By John Schmit
This evening, Cheryl was one of three members of the Trovitsky Park Homeowners Association elected to the first Board of Directors. About 200 people were present for the first meeting of the association and Cheryl was one of nine members running for the board. This is a wonderful opportunity for Cheryl to once again get involved with her community. Cheryl looks forward to this new challenge.

New Home Cam Online 04/24/05
By John Schmit
I'd like everyone to check out Wes and Tricia's webcam on our homecam page. They are the newest members of our Family Home Cam Network. Wes and Tricia (and Andrew) live in Rancho Cucamonga, California. Enjoy the views from another family members cam!

Wes and Tricia have also sent pictures and are now added to our picture page! Enjoy!

Albuquerque Golfing 04/24/05
By Roger Schmit
We had a real good time in Albuquerque. Got to golf twice. The hotel pictures were taken outside of one of our rooms that was set up with our traveling bar. We had 18 guys from Milwaukee down there but you could never get them all together at the same time. It was kinda like herding cats. We packed the bar, golf clubs and limo in the back of a 55' semi that one of our members owns and he drove it to New Mexico.

The Ladies Party is an annual event that we have for our unit down at Tripoli. Good food, good libations, good entertainment and good company.

Vacation Fun 04/24/05
By Barbara Lawrence
Dee & I have been having a great weekend. Friday, we went to the movies, Saturday, we went to a winery, to dinner and then to the Pleasant Jamboree (Opry House in Mt. Pleasant) that is really great. This is an avenue for amateurs to possibly be recognized as the next stars. Lee Ann Rimes got her start at this theater before she became popular.

This morning we got up and went to my church (which she really liked), went to my friend Kim's house on the lake and then to lunch at Tall Tree Marina on the lake. Even though both Dee and I feel as if we look 5 ft. wide, at least we have pictures taken together. I am also sending a picture I took of Dee's hair because she never let's it stay naturally curly so I talked her into keeping it this way.

Germany & France 04/21/05
By Heidi Schmit
My vacation to Germany was short and quick. I left Fort Bragg on Monday 11 April, 2005 and arrived Stuttgart Germany on the morning of 12th. Mike picked me up from the airport and we went back to his apartment to drop my stuff off and to just rest from my long trip. We visited many places including the Alps, Luxembourg, and Belgium. The highlight of the trip was Paris, France. I stayed just over a week, but it went by way to fast.

Click here for the rest of the story and click here for the pictures.

Texas Tour 04/20/05
By Barbara Lawrence
We had a great vacation but always either a day late or a day early to see some of the things we wanted to see. Of course, I didn't make any reservations thinking places would be empty this time of year - what a mistake in assuming. I picked Dee up at DFW last Wed. and we went to Applebee's to eat after we had checked in to our hotel - stayed mostly in Comfort Inn Suites.

Click here for the rest of the story.

MGM's FIRST STARGATE CONVENTION 04/19/05
By John Schmit
This past weekend Cheryl and I attended the very first Stargate convention hosted by MGM Studios in Vancouver, Canada. The three day event included talks, interviews, autographs and photo opportunities with the stars and producers of both Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis. The big event of the convention was a first ever tour of the studios and sets where the two shows are produced. The convention was fast paced and filled with activities that kept us busy throughout the weekend.

Click here for the rest of the story.

Weekend Project 04/16/05
By Susie Devries
Thought I'd show you pictures of what I've been up to this weekend. Last year Bill got me a power washer for my birthday. Talk about a nifty 'toy.' Oh man. You can see what it did for the back yard fence. On one side, the fence looks old and worn, on the other side, it looks much better. The power washer is what made it look so nice. And easy, oh man, is it ever easy! If you do not have one, I'd strongly advise getting one. They are so useful, cleans about anything you want clean. I know our fence has not been cleaned in the 3 years that we have lived here, nor have the decks. The deck in front of the garden area is now clean and we put some Thompson's Water seal on it.

The other pictures are just of my back yard, one is the Azalea on the side of our house, which I do nothing to but look at the beautiful flowers! Another picture is of a bud on my new plant. It's called an Angel Trumpet. The flowers are 8-10 inches long and about 8 inches across when opened. As you can see from the picture, the flower is not yet open but is already huge. I have two, one is yellow and the other one is the one that is getting ready to bloom and I think it's a white one. When the flower opens I will send a picture.

Grandtwins 04/12/05
By Susie Devries
Hi Everyone, here are the newest pictures of my Grandtwins. It's so good to have both home and doing so good. Michael weighs 11 pounds, Chloe weighs 12. They are 9 months old.

Welcome Blanche Glaeser and Jumpy 04/12/05
By John Schmit
Everyone is invited to check out the new pictures from Blanche Glaeser. Blanche is John, Roger, and Richard Schmit's mother. She lives with Jumpy Millard in Las Vegas, Nevada. Enjoy the newest additions to our picture page!

New Jobs! 04/11/05
By Tricia Schmit
I now work at Living Spaces Furniture. It's a small company. We only have one store so far, but we do very well. We take in about 4 to 5 million dollars a month. At first I thought that the numbers couldn't be right, but if I myself am selling thousands of dollars worth of furniture and there are 60 other employees, you can imagine then, that the numbers are real.

Wes now works for Soyo Group. His company is known for their motherboards. Now they are expanding to computer peripherals. He is an account manager and works with distributors across the nation.

So finally we are getting back on our feet and we both are enjoying our new jobs.

Moonshadow Gets Steps 04/06/05
By John Schmit
Moonshadow, our cat, has been having difficulties getting into bed at night. This 13 year old cat has arthritis and is very over weight. The surface of the bed is 24 inches off the floor and Moonshadow could no longer jump up that high. Cheryl decided to build Moonshadow a set of stairs to help him get into bed. The steps were painted to match the pedestal Cheryl made for the bed. Moonshadow is real happy with the steps and uses them all the time now.

Other News & Pictures 04/5/05
By Susie Devries
Here are some current pictures of the twins. Chloe was in her Easter Best, while Michael was busy being asleep.

Starting to plant my garden now. I have all my houseplants out front on the deck and have planted some flowers out front also. Can't wait for some to come up, like Lily of the Valley. I know they will, but I get anxious. Nice thing is, once they are established, they are a perennial so come back year after year. Of course each year the spread out a bit more which will be great! I also have 3 Amaryllis coming up out front. My sister, Judie, planted hers outside and they come up year after year. It's colder in Joplin than it is here in the winter so I figured if hers would grow, so would mine. Sure enough they have sprouted! Color me happy.

It's getting nice and warm out so I am outside more than I am inside. This summer I want to take my oldest granddaughter, Angelique, to the Zoo a few times. She will be 2 on June 6, and I know she will enjoy that. I may take the twins also to give Mama a break for the day, since she is pregnant again. Not due until November, but man oh man, are the kids close.

Up North & The Birthday 04/5/05
By Roger Schmit
We got home yesterday from Michigan. What a great week. Matt, Jeanne and the boys were up for the Easter weekend. A great time was had by all. There was still enough snow left for tubing and the weather was perfect, cold in the morning so the snow was good, then it would warm up into the 40s. Aaron didn't care what the weather was, he just wanted to golf. He made a hole in the snow and just had at it.

Saturday afternoon we all colored eggs in anticipation of the large rabbit showing up, he did, later that night. When we were done coloring the eggs we threw the dye out in the snow. The colors looked pretty cool except for the yellow which looked like the bunny had already been there! Check out the pictures.

They all left Sunday afternoon and grandma and I had a nice quiet rest of the week.

We came back [to Milwaukee] Sunday, the 3rd, for Aarons birthday party at Chucky Cheese. A place with 900 screaming kids running around having a great time while there parents try to figure out where they ran off to. Here are some pictures from the party.

Wednesday I'm leaving for Albuquerque for a Shrine convention. In this context the word convention means "Lets drink and go golf" or "Lets golf and go drink". I might have some pictures when I get back if I remember to take some.

Good News! 04/4/05
By Susie Devries
Good news from Little Rock! Baby Michael is finally coming home tomorrow, April 5th! He will be just two days shy of being in the hospital for 2 months. The twins will be 9 months old April 11 and out of that 9 months baby Michael has spent 7 of them in the hospital. This baby has to be a fighter to have endured all he has and is still here.

I will have Angelique and Chloe tonight and part of tomorrow. You all know I am thrilled about that. All the prayers from everyone are deeply appreciated. Thank you so much.

Susie

Movin' On Up... 04/3/05
By Heidi Schmit
Well down for me. I'm in my last week of clearing and checking out here. It's quite a process with all the different departments to get signed off. I turned in all the gear I signed out and now have only the Command to clear. Friday, April 8th, will be my last day on Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Then on Monday, April 11th, I'll be leaving to spend a week with my boyfriend, Mike, in Germany. When I come back I'll be loading up the car and driving down to my new home in Florida. So much stuff going and so exciting. Can't Wait!