Whispers of California Sweetness

On Sunday evening, my brother, John, got engaged to his girlfriend, Mary Koepp. We were all so excited to hear the news on Monday! Lowell and I had talked with John on Sunday about his getting a ring for Mary, but he said he probably wasn’t going to propose until Tuesday when they both weren’t working. You can imagine my surprise when I heard the news on Monday! I guess they went to a super bowl party after they left my parents’ house and he was showing his friends the ring when they convinced him to propose right then so that they could record it. So, he went and found her, dropped a knee and proposed! She said yes, but he didn’t know right away because he blanked out in the anticipation of her answer. Isn’t that just the cutest? :) As of  right now, there still isn’t a date set, but we are all super excited for them both and are anxious to see what is to come.

On Monday, we just hung out. Lowell started in on the list of  things my mom made for him to fix around the house. On one of his trips out, he picked up and brought back some In n Out burger. *yum* Aunt Therese and Trista left in the evening at 5:00. We enjoyed a nice dinner and later a visit with John and his new bride-to-be, Mary, and later Andrew came up with his girlfriend, Sammy. It was nice to just be with the fam and hang out with my brothers and their girls.

Tuesday, we took the girls and drove to Orange County to go to lunch with Fr. Chrysostom. We went to a micro brewery called Oggi’s and had a great time! We always enjoy our time with Father actually. Lots of laughing and story telling. Faith and Felicity did great, no serious complaining about being out and about again, and seemed to like Fr Chrys, too. On the way back up the Hill, we stopped by my dad’s office at Century 21 to see all the people I used to work with and show off my family. It was nice to see those familiar faces and share some stories about what has been going on. We got home around 5:30 and ate a super delicious steak dinner that included salad, potatoes, and some garlic bread.

Yesterday, my really good friend, Erin Hill, was supposed to come up with her four kids to hang out for the afternoon and stay for dinner, but a few of us here threw up the night before so we didn’t want to share the flu. Well, if you can call it that. There aren’t any “sick” symptoms, just a throw up and life goes on business as usual. Anyway, we postponed the get-together until Monday. God willing, we will get to see each other without fear of sicknesses attached to it!

Today, Fr. Jon is coming up to say Mass and then go to dinner at Vince’s Spaghetti for Faith’s birthday. For those of you who don’t know, Fr. Jon Atchley is basically my uncle as he and my dad grew up together. So, we are beginning Faith’s 2nd Birthday celebrations tonight with a spaghetti feast. This afternoon, Mom, Lauren, and Rachel are taking me out for a new wardrobe! I am excited for he outing and hanging out with the girls for a few hours. Tomorrow is Faith’s actual birthday, Lowell is going to make some of his famous brisket and we are having our friends, the Perry’s, up for the evening. We still haven’t nailed all those little details out, but that is the gist of it for now.

The girls are enjoying their Schroeder aunts and uncles. Faith is extremely sensative when it comes to Gloria though! It is rather comical, really, but a little annoying as well. It seems whenever Faith feels that Gloria is headed her way to antagonize, she starts crying, “No, no, no! Daa-Daa! Nooooooo!” She calls Gloria “Daa-Daa”. I love to watch Peter and Paul with the girls, it is probably my favorite part. They are so gentle and sweet with Faith and Felicity, but most especially Felicity. They play peekaboo, a little bit of “goochie, goochie, goo,” and “I’m gonna get yooouuu!” when she is on the floor. Peter always wants to hold her and Paul always has to stop by, give a kiss, and hold her little hand. He is also very sweet about sharing his blanket with Faith when her’s is in the wash. (He has her same blanket but in blue, and is very attached to it.) All the aunties are totally having fun taking Faith down to see the cow, swinging on the swings, and watching movies. Well, Gloria I think is trying to be nice but is just a little too aggressive for Faith’s liking ;)