Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2009

To those of you who are visiting as a result of our family holiday card, welcome!
I will be updating the blog to include photos about Peter's junior high football and basketball season, Emily and my participation in Fiddler on the Roof, Thanksgiving and other fall news. My camera stopped working in November soon after my Halloween post. I had slacked in my postings anyway, but this development really shut me down. I pay respect to both Diana and Ciara who are doing a wonderful job managing their family history and also to Diana who has helped me so much this year with my family blog.
On to the latest news. We have had so much fun this holiday season! One of my happiest memories occurred soon after Bryan and Kevin returned home. I am the room parent for Emily's fifth grade class. Emily really wanted her family to come to the class party, she even asked for it in her prayers! Diana, Bryan and Kevin all helped with both the preparation and the execution of the event. We invited all the students to bring a traditional dish from their family's culture (we sent Muddy Buddies!) to share. The feast was amazing! That reminds me, there are recipes I still need to get! We wrote letters to soldiers in Iraq which will be delivered by an Army chaplain and we hand knotted quilts to be donated to children in the hospital. We played a soft "snowball" game using socks stuffed with plastic grocery sacks. The photos are courtesy of Barbara Jo Taylor who joined in the fun!
Here are some other moments not to be forgotten:

• Hosting Emily's friends for a various playdates, including going to see Christmas lights wearing special glasses;
• Receiving lots of help from everyone with the meal preparation, serving and clean up which never seems to end (favorite new food discovery: my recipe for minestrone soup);
• Baking with Ciara. We taste tested two Snickerdoodle recipes with everyone in the house and the neighborhood. The Martha Stewart recipe beat the Relief Society recipe.
  
• Falling asleep watching Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas--I think it's time to take that one out of the "must see" category
• Ciara and my gingerbread creations--Emily was too busy playing her new Pokeman Platinum game on her DSi to help this year
  
• Bowling with everyone
• Kevin and Bryan watching Steven Segal's reality TV show
• Scientific rootbeer taste test, organized by Lyle
  
• Family talent show: Kevin's amazing song, Ciara's demo of how she entertains toddlers, and Lyle's paper airplane seminar. Diana and Mac sang a duet-they sounded really good together! Peter and Emily presented Christmas violin selections. I must say Bryan touching his tongue to his nose and Dad's demonstration of eye crossing were unexpected treats as well.

I must also mention we were honored to have Grandpa Schofield visit for Christmas. We celebrated his 85th birthday a day early on Saturday by having a pizza dinner with Patricia, Ashley, her boyfriend Christian, and Josh while Grandpa watch the USC/BC football game.
I truly appreciate all of you friends and family who have taken the time to send cards, emails or give a call for the holidays.
Below are posts from the family members. Best wishes for 2010!Lyle - I spent this year learning about the wonders of the oral cavity. NYU College of Dentistry has a demanding program and it takes a considerable effort to excel. My efforts, though, have been rewarded: I'm in the top 5% of my class and just received a $10,000 scholarship for the Spring 2010 semester. I love dentistry and hope my success can continue for this, the most important, semester of my education. Apart from school, I enjoy spending time with my wife Ciara at the gym, at the movies, at NYC's restaurants, and doctoring up our apartment. I hope all the best for you, family and friends, in 2010.
Diana - I love being a full-time mom, spending time with my hubby, blogging obsessively about how adorable I think my kid is, and doing some crafting. One of the things I'm most proud of from 2009 is my weight loss- since having Luke (13 months old) I've lost 50 pounds. This is due, in part, to my new running hobby. I never thought I would actually look forward to running, but I like getting out and pushing myself. In 2010 I'm hoping to finish my student teaching, and finish losing those pesky 10 pounds!
Here is a fictional piece from Bryan:
Bryan - This year, Bryan has unfortunately been sucked into a downward spiral by his involvement in the illegal botany circuit. What started as casually changing Wikipedia entries on well-known plant forms soon led to more and more dangerous activity, and culminated in his arrest on charges of his alleged cross-pollination of flowers in China’s beloved Nanjing Botanical Garden. Having been convicted and sentenced to death by Round-Up injection, Bryan has appealed the decision and awaits a hearing at The People’s Supreme Court. Other than all that, his life has been pretty uneventful. We wish him all the best.
In reality, Bryan had an amazing year, supporting himself in LA with both his catering job and the business writing company he and some friends started. He works very hard at job hunting and helps with anything he can around the house when he comes home to visit. He plays drums with the band Leonine. Bryan and Kevin, who is the band's bass player, share a house with two of Bryan's former UCLA roomates, Mark and Bobby. Bobby's dad, Lee, helped the boys adapt the garage of the house to include room for their band equipment and a bedroom for Kevin.
Hi. This is Kevin. I'd like to be the first to welcome you to The New Year. I'm not sure what it will bring for you, but I think we can confidently say that it will be better than the ruddy year that preceded it. For me, it's going to include a lot of studying, working, filmmaking, and of course, rocking out. And if those don't sound like good prospects for a new year, then I don't know what does. May The Force Be With You, Kevin.
A note from mom about Kevin: I have bragged to everyone I can think of, so I think most of you know Kevin was accepted to and began the Film program at USC in the fall. We received word this month he had straight A's for his first semester! He continues to be vigilant about his health and he's doing fine.

Peter - Christmas was really great. I got a pool table from "Santa Claus" and an iPod dock from Mom and Dad. I recently finished playing on the school (7th grade) basketball team. Soon the Hotshots basketball team will start. I'm pretty sure that our team is going to do well. Overall I'd say I've had a pretty fun year.
Mom's two cents about Peter: At age 12, Peter is working very hard in his first year of Junior High. In his first trimester he had all A's except a B in Science. He learned to dress in a shirt and tie on game days for football and basketball. He's got great friends. He played with a travel baseball team in the fall and keeps up his hitting by working with a coach named Richie Kimm who has been a big help. Peter is a self starter; he added doing his own laundry to his chores without mom even asking. He doesn't need prompting to keep up with homework, but with scouts and sports he has had many late nights. He is a Star Scout on track to receive his Life rank in the spring if all goes well. It's a joy to watch him grow up, and it's happening too fast! He enjoys being an uncle to Luke, who is also a big fan of Peter.
From Emily: I have to say, I had a really good Christmas! I got an iPod touch and a bunch of other cool stuff I enjoy. The thing I enjoyed most was having my brothers and sisters with me on Christmas day! I will be sad when they leave. It also makes me sad to think that there is a WHOLE more year until next Christmas! Christmas really is "the most wonderful time of the year"!
And mom says: At age 10, Emily loves her friends and her fifth grade class with Mr. Nichols. She was happy to try life in LA and did well at auditions, but her heart is at home in Granite Bay. She is a great student, just one B like Peter, and has talents in so many areas--swimming, gymnastics, performing arts. She is a terrific aunt and entertains Luke on a regular basis. I'm happy she has become proficient at washing dishes and keeping me company during kitchen clean up this year!

Halloween

At 4:00 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24, I woke with a start and realized if we timed it right, we could make it to Bishop's Pumpkin Farm before our rehearsal for Fiddler on the Roof. Since we'd gotten to bed late the night before, I let Emily sleep as late as I could. I tip toed in to let Peter know what was happening, but as I suspected, he was happy to stay in bed longer rather than come along. We were able to connect with Jordyn Sloan as a companion and off we went. It was our only chance to make it there before Halloween. Although we didn't fit in every activity, we sampled some of their terrific food, took a hay ride to pick pumpkins, petted the animals and played.

Halloween week was a whirlwind, literary. The weather was suitably blustery. Wednesday evening Jordyn and her grandma "Bennie" came with Emily and I to the Disney's Princess on Ice show. We were celebrating both of the Sloan ladies birthdays, which are a day apart. It was dazzling. Jordyn said she wanted to dress in costume the next time we go!

We organized the games for the ward's Trunk or Treat on Thursday evening. Peter had his first school basketball game on Thursday, too, but his team was crushed to our dismay. He took it in stride and just analyzed what he'll need to do to improve.

I was pretty stressed Friday. I was the chief organizer for Emily's class party. However, Peter's coach expected the team to dress in costume for school. I had already performed a miracle and found him a fish costume at the last minute for his Wed. night Mutual party, but this costume was too cumbersome for school. I tore through my costume storage but nothing worked. We finally went with the alternative of wearing orange and black to school, but had to run to Walmart for an orange sweater. The struggle caused Peter to be late for school and put me an hour behind in the party's preparations. After prayers and tears, things came together just in time and thankfully wonderful willing parents showed up to help.

At last Halloween arrived. The Christensens came to show us their little Wild Thing! Emily, as Alice in Wonderland, went trick or treating with Bailey Mamone and some others, Peter amd his fish head with Michael Oldenburg. The usual generous haul of candy was collected. Although I stayed home to pass out treats, I wanted to match Emily and wore the Queen of Hearts costume. I think I liked Jackie in it better, but it was lots of fun to be in character.

Disney Doings, Oct. 2-4

I love the Disney parks. Some of our happiest family vacations have been either Disneyland, Disney World or the Disney Cruise. Peter, Emily, Diana, Luke and I hit the road Thursday morning at 7:30, a bit of a later start than anticipated. I delayed so I could make sure I had given Peter a "heads up" on the information I had learned only the previous evening about 10 p.m.--it would be a big "Gay Days" event in Anaheim while we were there. When Peter woke up, I spoke to him to let him know we didn't have to go if he would feel uneasy. He said he would be OK and would be careful not to say, "That's so gay," then asked, "Do they have Straight Pride events?"

Everyone was terrific on the road, Luke being a better traveler than I expected. It was, however, a long day of driving. We had to drive into Lancaster to pick up Grandpa, then we stopped at two Costco stores in Orange County before finding the discount park passes we were looking for. We arrived at Marriott Residence and the kids enjoyed a dip in the hot tub. We got settled in, then Marv and Mac (who had flown) and Kevin (who had late classes) arrived. Bryan, who had to work, arrived even later, around midnight.

Grandpa began the day Friday by waking Kevin up at 7 murmuring that it would be a very foolish thing to steal his wallet. Kevin wearily helped him find the lost wallet, which was in Grandpa's shoe. After the hotel breakfast, we were on to Disneyland for a full day, with a break for lunch at Mimi's Cafe. By evening, I was exhausted, but anxious to make sure everyone had a good time. I made an Asian Beef dinner that Jackie was able to join us for. We ended up sending Peter, Emily, Jackie and her friend, the lovely Lindsey, and Bryan and Kevin back to the Trick or Treat party. I had hoped Peter would put on a costume, but when he proved unwilling, Bryan assumed the role of the March Hare to match Emily's Alice in Wonderland and Jackie's Queen of Hearts. Emily was one sleepy little character after her long day--I had to help her undress for bed.

At 4 a.m. Saturday morning, Grandpa was banging on our room door. Diana answered it to find him offering a room key for Kevin, who was already asleep in Grandpa's room. Diana could not get back to sleep, so was a bit tired, but we again got out early. Most of us started in the California Adventure Park as it opened, riding the Toy Story Arcade first before the lines got bad. I got a little misty eyed later as I rode Soarin' Over California, thinking about the wonders of God's creations and how blessed I have been to live in beautiful places like California and Hawaii. Diana, Mac, Luke and Bryan had been out to beach that morning to try at little surfing. At lunch, we all met at Goofy's Kitchen to celebrate the birthday people--Emily, Diana, Mac and Kevin. Grandpa got confused at the buffet and was lost from us a couple of times. We are a Goofy family! We did have lots of fun with the characters, though--I even danced a little with Goofy!

As we left Goofy's Kitchen, our group began to go different directions and for a while both Emily and Grandpa were lost. That was frustrating. The parks were crowded in the afternoon. Marv went home for a nap and to start the crock pot dinner I had put together. However, when we arrived home in the evening, the crock pot had only been set to warm so the barbecue beef wasn't cooked. Oh, well. Take-out pizza to the rescue.

Sunday morning after breakfast and got ourselves packed up for the ride home. We had to lash the surf board to the top of the Suburban. Mac had kept it to try riding a little more when Bryan had to leave for work. Good thing Mac and Kevin were both Eagle Scouts--their knots held! Even though it added to our driving time, I'm glad we were able to stop at Bryan and Kevin's place to drop off the surfboard and see the work the boys have done converting the garage into a bedroom for Kevin! The traffic in LA was terrible even on Sunday. We made a stop for lunch and to transfer Grandpa to Uncle David who kindly met us at the intersection of Interstate 5 and Hwy 14. We still had hours and hours to go with a side trip to Oakland to pick up Marv's car from the airport and then a stop and the Sacramento airport for Mac's car. Arriving home, my co-worker Crystal who house sat for us had the house spic and span and the pets all cozy.

Favorite memories: Luke on It's a Small World and The Jungle Cruise. Emily saying more than once that Disneyland was the SECOND happiest place on earth, because home was first. Peter, just wanting to hang out with his brothers and his brother in law. Marv, chatting eagerly with the boys who he doesn't see often enough, also watching and talking football with his dad. Grandpa genuinely seemed to enjoy being along for the trip and I was happy for that. All in all, it was wonderful to have so many of the family members together.

Emmy's Birthday!!!

Emily's 10th birthday party was a blast! Friday after school I was able to go help Mom get ready for the party. Some friends were there early to help, too. Emily and Emily occupied Luke...

...while Mom and I did cleaning and she worked on the cake. Adorable, no? It was patterned after a mad-hatter style cake from Family Fun magazine.


Once everyone was there and all the gear was settled (some of them packed as if they were moving in!), they jumped on the trampoline and swam in the pool.


It started to get dark so we had everyone come in for Watermelonaide, cucumber sandwiches, crudites, bagel bites, and pigs in a blanket.

Emily F. and Allie Jo

Nicky, Jordan, and Lindsay

Emily and Bailey

Holly and Megan

Blow out those candles, birthday girl!

At that point it was imperative that Mac and I left. Luke refused to sleep at my parents with all the commotion (which is totally understandable). I wish I was able to stay for make-overs and the 'project runway' fashion show, but I understand they had plenty of help from Mrs. Benner and one of Mom's visiting teacher's daughters.

I think this is Emily's hair. So sophisticated.

Looking gorgeous, ladies.

More beautiful ladies.

Decked out in their project-runway fashions.

Before and After

I thought I would do a quick post to commemorate a big day in Peter's life. He got his braces on! He told me it hurts a little and that his tongue keeps getting caught on one of the pieces of metal. I told him to give it a couple of weeks and he'll get used to what it feels like.

Before

After


Peter is seriously growing so fast. I remember when he was Luke's size, and it gives me a little pang to know how fast it will goes by.

Happy Birthday Peter!!!

After the last All-Star game of the season, the Schofields had the team over for some pizza and ice cream in celebration of Peter's birthday. First came the jumping on the trampoline...

Next was pool-time and pool-tricks...



Followed by pizza...

and being very, very cool.

Somehow Peter's lizard got to come meet all of his friends.

Last of all they played with the left over sparklers, with very little incident. Only 2 minor burns out of 12 kids. Not too shabby!



The boys were all very fun and polite. They were very cute to watch. Adam, pictured below, had fun teasing the girls by hiding their butterfly net.

In the end the girls got the net back. I asked Emily if she wanted to retake this photo because she had pizza in her mouth. She said no.

Luke slept most of the party and Mac played video games right outside the door to help keep him down. He woke up right around 9:45 and we stayed a few minutes until Dad got home from picking Kevin up from the train station. Stay tuned for more updates- it'll be a fun weekend with Lyle and Kevin home, plus Peter's REAL birthday party (the party previously posted was only the beginning...).

A Visit to Carly's House and a Cha

One reason Emily has been spending time in LA is because of a call back from a casting director named Jenny Treadwell. Jenny asked that prospective talent stay in the LA area for three months. When Emily's agents at KSR found out about this connection, they wanted to make sure Emily met Jenny's partner, Krisha Bullock, who does the actual casting for Nickelodeon shows like iCarly. After being coached by her wonderful new acting coach Dawn Jeffory Nelson on her comedic monologue, Em was granted an interview by Krisha last Friday. After waiting a few minutes, it was determined Krisha would be too busy working with the director of iCarly to see Emily. However, Jenny videotaped Emily to show Krisha later, then took us on a tour of the set, which is closed to the public. Above, Emily is at Carly's apartment door. . .then in her kitchen . . .and sitting on her couch. . .and hanging out in her green room! Jenny even toured us through sets that were being built for a space ship episode that hasn't been shot yet.Jenny, who was as honest as she was kind, made sure Emily understood that this was not an audition for a specific part, and if that opportunity came, she would have to try out like anyone else.
All is well back home in Granite Bay as Peter has been practicing for his All-Star baseball games, which began with a 10-0 victory today. The baseball field literally backs up to Granite Bay High School where Emily was swimming with her team against the Granite Bay Gators, so I could run back and forth and watch them both! Emmy achieved personal best times in breast and butterfly, due in large part to the encouragement she receives from our special coa-cha (this is coach plus a cha, you see), Jackie Vigeant. In addition to being an amazing swimmer, Jackie is both a real princess and a hostess with the most-ess. Although she can be seen as Cinderella, Tinker Bell, Alice in Wonderland and other characters, on this day she was The Little Mermaid, Ariel, and therefore needed to use a dinglehopper to comb her hair.We had the great honor of assisting her with some of her duties at Olivia's Doll House. This was followed by a session with Jackie generously putting up our hair and playing dress up! Emily's doll friends, Samantha (who is seen here resting her broken leg), Nikki and Miley all came for a tea party.