If only Cheney knew how to deal with terrorists this way...

                                                  

If you've ever wondered what the Schacalieu's are up to on a Friday night...well guess no more! Enjoy the video! (make sure you have the sound turned up on your computer)

This video was made in response to Mr. Potato Head being kidnapped from our house during Pie Palooza. Check out our post from November titled "Pie Palooza" for more background info.

Make new friends? Definitely keep the old!

This past weekend our friends Mark & Dina were in NYC for one day only. Jer and I drove up to JFK to pick them up and then we went over to Phin & Carla's for a day of jam-packed fun. They had a one day layover (more like 18 hours) from coming home from a trip to Italy.

When we picked them up, they had 4 HUGE suitcases. We were a bit worried about getting them into the car, but were able to wedge two in the trunk, two in the back, and our queen size blow-up mattress was on my lap. We had to bungee the trunk closed and hoped that no big potholes would send their luggage flying. The luggage also weighed quite a bit due to the huge wheels of asiago and other Italian cheeses they were bringing back. Mmmm, that cheese was yummy!

We haven't seen Mark & Dina in almost a year. The last time was at our wedding, so it was great to see them. Phin had a great day planned of showing them some of the bigger NYC sites, so we went to Grand Central, Central Park, and (our all-time fav) the beer garden. 

The beer garden is this amazing bar that actually has a huge beer garden outside with picnic benches and a stage where bands play. All you can get to eat there is sausages and kraut. Luckily they also have veggie burgers there, so I was able to eat!

It's so great with friends that you don't see or talk to for a while and the minute you see each other again, it's like a day never passed. Those are the real deal! Those are the kind of friends we are really missing out here in CT. You don't really know what you have until it's gone.

Jeremy and I were talking on the way home and realized that we laughed more and harder then we have in a long time. Dina and I almost peed our pants when Jeremy screamed like a girl as a subway train passed loudly.

I just think of my college Broad Street house days when most of these friendships were made and really realize how great we had it. One...it's hard to make friends, two it's really hard to make good friends. I'm not trying to get all depressing...we've made friends, people we go out with and can have a good time with but only one or two may be around in the long run. It's kind of sad. We think we've made a friend and then something happens and true colors are shown. 

It was hard to make friends in SD at first, but eventually it all started fitting together. Although, this was just about the time I had to move to CT. In the end...I would rather have 5-8 amazing friends then people who make me feel awkward or bad about myself. 

This atmosphere is tough for both Jeremy and I because Yale is just a different place. We really feel like fish out of water with most of the people here. Boo hoo, we are such sad sacks. 

Our next awesome friend reunion will be with Laurie and Myles in Vegas. We are going there for my dad's 60th and I'm sure it will be a good time. Viva las Vegas!!

The thing is...you never know who you will meet in your life...sometimes your life will be filled with great people, other times may be a bit lonelier. All Jeremy & I know is that we are glad to have each other right now and can't wait to get back to all of our family and friends on the West Coast. 

Here are some pics from the weekend...

The Beer Garden

Strawberry Fields

Mark & Dina

The twins have arrived!

Here are pictures of Rene's beautiful babies!!!

Say hello to Jackson

and Corinne!

Congratulations to Rene & Doug!! There hand are going to be quite full for quite a while!

Here are their stats from their birday, May 7th:

Jackson- 4lbs, 11oz & 18" long

Corinne- 5lbs, 0.5oz & 18.5" long

Circle of Life

This past weekend Jeremy and I were in California. We got a call Wednesday night from his mom that his grandpa wasn’t doing good and that we needed to come home. His grandpa has been battling cancer and it seems like it is winning the battle over his body.

Jeremy’s brother and his brother’s wife (Corey & Caroline) made the trip out from Boston. When Jeremy’s sister picked us up from the airport it was nice to see each other, but of course we all wished it was under different circumstances.

I’ve never really had to say goodbye to someone I loved before. My grandma died of Alzheimer’s and my memory of her is filled with visits to the home and looking into her eyes which seemed to be begging for help, but her voice was unable to express any of her thoughts. I was close to my grandma as a child, but I was really young when she got sick so my memories of her are mostly of when she was sick.

Jeremy and everyone was holding up as well as possible. I think there is comfort in family and knowing that you are not alone with your feelings. I think that having all of us there perked up his grandfather at times. He made a few jokes and was pretty coherent. He was sleeping most of the time and not eating much. It was tough to see him laying on a bed in the living room, but he did seem as comfortable as possible.

As all of this was going on I was receiving updates on the birth of my best friend’s twin babies. Corrine and Jackson were born on May 7th at 1:42 and 1:43pm. The same night we got the call about Jeremy’s grandpa, I got a call from Rene saying that they were going to be born. It just goes to show you that life and death really is a circle. Mom and babies are happy and healthy, hoping to go home sometime this week.

Even though death is such a hard reality to face it makes you realize how precious life is and that you really have to make the most of your time. Life is too short to stress and worry about all the little things that go wrong or not the way you expect.


Leaving Sacramento and actually saying goodbye was extremely hard, knowing that it may be the last time we get to say goodbye. We are thankful for the time we got to spend with Norman (dubbed by Caroline as “Bullet”) this past weekend. Now, we will just wait for updates from his Mom and hope that he is comfortable.

Here are a couple of quotes that I thought really express my thoughts over the past weekend.

“It's the circle of life, and it moves us all, through despair and hope, through faith and love, 'till we find our place, on the path unwinding” -Elton John


“And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years”.—Abraham Lincoln

Hooray!

My birthday bike is here!!! And Jeremy put it together last night!!! Now, I just need no rain so we can actually go for a ride.