Boyfriend Bunco

Every February, the girls in my Bunco group invite the guys to play. We call it "Boyfriend Bunco," but since I don't have one of those ... I just take Dennis! :)It's hard to believe our Bunco group has been going since 2002! Julie, Jenn and I are three that have been around since the beginning ... Sabrena couldn't make it that night, but I guess we're a pretty fun group, because her husband (Screven) came stag. I think Dennis was trying to become his date here!Marc Smith, Beth and Chris Corum, and Lorie Smith ... taking a little "halftime" food and drink break. Marc had his "traveling to Chicago and need to keep warm" winter facial hair look going on!Jenn, Lisa and Kristin were attempting to join our hostess (Ginny - second from left), for a picture, when John and Andy crashed the party. This is their rendition of the "sorority pose" ... in other words, the half-bend, hands-on-the-knees thing girls do when they're posting for a group photo. Now, in order to understand the gifts for the evening, you need a bit of background. A couple years ago, Ginny was hosting a regular night of Bunco (not our February couples night), and she got delayed in South Florida. Her flight was going to be arriving late, so she called John and asked if he would pretty please get everything ready for the night. Having just watched Ginny prepare the house for a get-together they hosted the previous weekend, John knocked it out of the park: setting up tables, cutting azaleas from their yard for the tables, and prepping a full bar (!) for the Bunco gals. When a couple of Ginny's close friends arrived (at her request, to check on John's preparations before everyone came), they thought for sure John was hiding Ginny in a closet, because everything looked so good. Impressive!

But, the really great part came when that evening's prizes were passed out. Ginny hadn't had time to shop before her trip, so she asked John to pick up some nice bottles of wine or gift cards to Starbuck's, etc. But, John decided a trip to Walgreen's would be much more fun ... especially stuff from the "As Seen on TV" aisle. The prizes winners received in their brown grocery bag-wrapping paper - such as whoopie cushions and an oversized remote control - were hysterical to our tipsy crowd (remember we had been served by John the bartender all night. Usually the husbands make themselves scarce when the girls arrive). Ginny has hosted at least once since, and per our request, John is now her appointed prize purchaser. The prizes are always a highlight of the evening: the ShamWow!, Tater Mitts, Aqua Globes! This year, the first prize was a bit racy (to say the least), so Lisa was a bit cautious when opening her "bag." I don't remember what she got, but it, and all of the other gifts were a bit more tame (thank goodness!). Deavin got CaddyShack and some gopher traps... While Jenn won big with a blow-up swimming pool, outdoor patio lights and a box of Coor's Light (classy!)We always have a good time at the Dailey's house. Thanks John and Ginny for hosting a great Boyfriend Bunco!

Welcome 2010!

Dennis and I had a great time at the FSU New Year's Eve Party in Jacksonville ... we rang in 2010 by watching fireworks over the river. And, look who we ran into ...

It's Bobby! I'm actually surprised he was out so late ... considering the big day he had coming up at the Gator Bowl!

Happy Holidays!

Welcome to our blog, or possibly ... welcome back! I guess some of you actually noticed this address on the side of our family holiday letter and took a moment to check out the blog. By the way - this year's holiday letter was completely Dennis' idea ... he can take the credit for our "Schnittker Twittker." But he deserves a big "I told you so" too! Dennis, whom I'll hereafter refer to as The Grinch, told me I shouldn't worry that this blog was out of date, because no one would want to read a holiday letter, then run to our blog for more details/photos about our kids and crazy day-to-day activities. But, you like us ... you really, really like us!

Seriously, thanks for being great friends. We have had a wonderful year (if you are interested, you can check most of it out by searching our archives) and are looking forward to 2010. Do check back over the next few days. Before the new year, I would like to fill in some of the holes on this site. My posts became few and far between after school started this fall, and I never did get the majority of the pictures posted from our fabulous trip out West in July. But, I vow to do so, because this is one of our main forms of staying updated with the friends/family members who are scattered all over the country.

Check back soon...
Happy Holidays!

Mandy

A Magical Day

We'll be having a "meeting of the magic" here tonight! Abby's (snaggle)tooth is out and the Tooth Fairy is expected to make a stop while Abby is sleeping tonight, along with Santa (IF Abby can behave herself today! Excitement is at an all-time high here!) What a busy night it will be around here.

Santa Cow

Gotta love Chick-fil-A! They go all out for the kids ... and today was no different. Santa Cow and his Elf Cow greeted all of the children and gave away free kids meals, and they gave us each a complimentary photo. I love Elf Cow's shirt...

Winter Festival

We all had a fun time at the Tallahassee Winter Festival this past weekend. Missed it last year because we were in Orlando doing Disney. But this year, Orlando came to us. Nanny and Grammy joined us for awhile downtown ... until it got a bit too cold for the ladies! By the way, don't you love it when you ask people to take pictures for you? Where's Tyler in this photo? Look down low... Nice antlers Nanny! The Winter Festival is all about the lights, the run, the parade (which we didn't stay for) ... and the greasy food! But I don't know if I would call Turducken (that's a turkey, wrapped in duck, wrapped in chicken) "Christmas on a Stick!" Seriously!
The Schnittkers (well three of the Schnittkers) prefer good old-fashioned corndogs!
And this is not my favorite picture of the kids (Abby looks like she ate something yucky ... although I know it's just hard to smile with that snaggletooth she's sporting!), but it's fun to see how much bigger the kids have gotten since they took a photo with this mouse at the Winter Festival in 2007. If you check out that link, you'll see that Winter Festival 2007 was the first-ever post on this blog. Hard to believe I've (somewhat) kept it going since then!

Ugly Christmas Sweaters!

Dennis and I went to an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party this past week ... such fun. Several couples planned this to-do, so there were TONS of people in ugly Christmas sweaters. I had originally thought I'd "shop" for a sweater in my mom's closet (she still owns several "festive" sweaters), but that idea didn't go over so well when I brought it up. And, Mom's sweaters really aren't over the top, like many I've seen (and did see on Saturday). So, I got creative ... and shopped at Walgreen's. Those, my friends, are tree skirts ... the $6, Merry Christmas spelled out in glitter special!I truly can't believe Dennis agreed to wear one, but he was quite on board. They kind of looked like Christmas ponchos! Feliz Navidad, right?!? My friend Deavin made her own outfit too, fashioning a felt gift bag into a dress ... and what you're not seeing in this photo is the "Ho, Ho, Ho" that she tacky (appropriately named for this party) glued to her caboose!

Mom should feel good, as many of the couples there did raid their parents closets in search of the perfect outfit. Tami says her mom has a holiday sweater/outfit for each day of December. And this sweater dress is one of the most special, which she WILL wear this year when Tami returns it! I had to take a photo with her, because I think I owned a similar sweater dress at one point in my life! I had grown tired of the tree skirt at this point ... but Dennis kept his on all night (guess he didn't want anyone "seeing up his skirt!"). HEY, wait Dennis! You mean that wasn't a real turtleneck under your outfit?Tricky! In the spirit of a holiday classic, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Dennis channeled Cousin Eddie and sported a dickey! It's novel really ... and you CAN still buy them. You might not be in the mood to wear a full turtleneck, but you can LOOK like you have one on! :) The funny part is people kept asking us where we found a dickey (on ebay?). Please! I got out my sewing scissors and cut up one of the many turtlenecks I no longer wear. There was no way I was going to BUY one! But, I will admit to having WORN a dickey in junior high (the years when we make REALLY bad fashion decisions) because my grandmother had one and I didn't want to swelter in the California heat! I know, I know. Bad choice!