HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!!!

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

VIETNAM

well i know it's been a couple weeks since my trip, but by popular demand i've decided to get down to posting a few pictures! it's hard to narrow down all the events and pictures down so much, because so much happened! it was really an amazing experience. i got to travel with 44 kids in my class for 10 days and see some awesome sights all over vietnam and cambodia. i really bonded with people in my grade and had a whole new cultural perspective. in our first city, saigon, i learned a lot about the impact the US had on vietnam during the war. there was a lot of gruesome information that was interesting, if disheartening to learn. in our next cities, danang and hoi an, helping the kids at the orphanage was definitely one of the highlights. it was eye opening and so fun to play with them. it was also pretty sad, and i felt even more guilty considering the amazing hotels and resorts we got to stay in. i didn't have too much time to dwell on it though since we moved so fast along to our next destination! we went to hanoi, a northern vietnam city, and went on a cruise in the famous ha long bay, where they have tons of beautiful cliffs rising out of the water. we got to visit a working floating village where people actually live. we even saw some kids rowing home from school. next we moved on to cambodia. seeing angkor wat, the temple ruins in siem reap was another of my favorite experiences. the construction and designs were so intricate and detailed, it was really cool! we were blessed by buddhist monks and saw the sunset from the top of one of the temples. our last stop was the capital, phnom penh, were we saw the killing fields, a remnant of the khmer rouge regime. in one monument, there were piles of human skulls belonging to thousands of executed political prisoners. it was sobering to get a visual image of such a terrible atrocity, but i was glad i could learn about this event that i really hadn't heard of before. that night we had a nice dinner at a delicious restaurant (the food was really delicious for almost the entire trip) and prepared to say goodbye to asia for the time being. i definitely plan on going back to some more countries here, there's so much to see! and the shopping really is amazing :)

HAPPY DAY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY IAN!!

There must not be enough twin things going on in your life Ian - you and Oliver will always be the family (almost) birthday twins!
Since the day we met, you've amazed us with your ability to get where you want to be - whether it's actual places like Oxford, law school or LA - or roles- like being an incredible husband and father. That ties in with your ability to get an idea and make it a reality. Like starting from Omnivore's Dilemma and ending with weekly farm produce deliveries. All in a month. You make things happen.
We know for sure you'll continue with your record of making things happen as you pursue your career and family goals this year
We love you very much and appreciate you being such a wonderful son/brother-in-law, husband and father. Thank you for all the help, support and advice you give. You are truly an incredible example to us with your amazing combo of fabulous ideas, great abilities and hard work. Have a great day and a great year. We know it will have tons of fun and adventure without even leaving home!
Love Oliver and Coleen

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Hey Dad!
Thanks for everything! You are a wonderful Father- the best we could have asked for. I agree with Mom that not only we love you, but everyone who meets you! I still remember being in New York a few summers ago. One of the stake presidency interviewed me for my temple recommend and when I told him where I was from and who my parents were, he knew you guys! He said you helped him through school by letting him paint the garage or something, and that you and Mom were some of the most generous people!

I love you!
Happy Birthday!
Linds

DADDY!!

Happy Birthday Dad!!! 56 years!  It's amazing!  Well I'm so glad you're my dad, Dad.  For all the 18 years that I've been here, you've always supported and been there for me!  Love you lots!  Hope you have a great day :)

BIRTHDAY OJ

You know how we have a birthday tradition to tell the story of "The Day You Were Born?" Well, today I phoned Grandma to get the story of Oliver J Schneider's Actual Birthday. This is what Grandma had to say...
"He was born in the night in Raymond Hospital. It’s been torn down with another building now on its site. I went to the hospital twice with false labor. It wasn’t the best spring that year. There was a lot of cold weather and snowy days. It was so snowy in April that one of the times I went in with false labor was with a horse and sleigh! It wasn’t far to Raymond – only four miles. Anyway, the second labor was always easier than the first so he was born quite well. He was born about 4 AM. He weighted 9 pounds 1 ounce. I was in the hospital for about 5 days after he was born. He was always good. He just ate and slept. Didn’t cry much. My mother had come from the coast to take care of Nancy. "

OJ, Oliver, Ollie - Thank you for being such a wonderful husband and father and grandpa. You are loved not only by your family but basically everyone I've met who knows you. Thank you for all you do for us and especially for your love.
Dad celebrated his 23rd birthday just a few days before we were married. I remember thinking on that birthday, "What will it be like to keep celebrating OJ's birthday with him for the next few decades?" I can only say it's been the best. Happy 56th Birthday! I love you - C

PS-thanks everyone (especially Mom and Dad) for the wonderful birthday celebration and wishes I enjoyed Caleb's birthday song he sure has fabulous coaches

CHRISTMAS ALL OVER AGAIN

So I promised a long time ago that I would post these pictures of Julian and Caleb rocking out. Caleb is a rising star and Julian really knows how to hold down a beat. I also got a few other pictures from Christmas for your amusement.

Cross Country travelling

During our time here in the UK it hasn't been very often that we've travelled from one side of the country to the other in the same day. and we have certainly never travelled from one side of the country in the same day and then back again.

well yesterday that finally happened as I had a major cross country adventure with trains, planes and automobiles from aberdeen to london and then back again all in less than 24 hrs! It was also the result of us bargain hunting to get a good deal on a car and I ended up leaving Aberdeen by plane early Sat morning, landing in Gatwick by 9am and then driving all the way back up to Aberdeen by just past midnight.

It may not have been as exciting as one of jack bauer's timespans of only 24 hrs but there were certainly tense moments - Char and I thinking that the seller was actually in a London drug cartel and was really only after all the cash i brought for the car, me realising after driving for only a short time that the car may not even make it past North London for all i knew, and prego Char dealing with with 3 2yr olds all on her own while i was gone to name a few.


In the end though everything worked out precisely like it would have for Jack Bauer
and i think we did ultimately end up with a real bargain. I didn't have too much time to stop much along the way but it was still an interesting experience covering that much British soil in such a short time.

It amazes me to think how many different cities, languages, accents, battlegrounds, history etc you can cover in just the distance from London to Glasgow and also comparing that with the drive from Edmonton to Cardston which works out to be about the same amount of time!

The Power of Hello

Hey Gang,

Mom heard this on npr's "This I Believe" series. I thought it was great. Just like the scriptures often tell us - small things lead to that which is great. We don't know how much good we can do by simply saying hello. You can hear the entire essay by going to this link:
http://www.thisibelieve.org/dsp_ShowEssay.php?uid=48202

Love to all,
Gramps

When I was about 10 years old, I was walking down the street with my mother. She stopped to speak to Mr. Lee. I was busy trying to bulls-eye the "O" in the stop sign with a rock. I knew I could see Mr. Lee any old time around the neighborhood, so I didn't pay any attention to him.
After we passed Mr. Lee, my mother stopped me and said something that has stuck with me from that day until now. She said, "You let that be the last time you ever walk by somebody and not open up your mouth to speak, because even a dog can wag its tail when it passes you on the street." That phrase sounds simple but it’s been a guidepost for me and the foundation of who I am.... I believe that every person deserves to feel someone acknowledge their presence, no matter how humble they may be or even how important.
I still follow my mother's advice. I speak to everyone I see, no matter where I am. I've learned that speaking to people creates a pathway into their world, and it lets them come into mine, too.
The day you speak to someone who has their head held down and when they lift it up and smile, you realize how powerful it is just to open your mouth and say, "Hello."

Happy Easter Weekend

We had such a great Easter this year! I taught our co-op school on Thursday and we had an Easter egg hunt in the backyard. It was the boys' first one and they were so excited! Then on Saturday we went to an Easter egg hunt at our neighborhood rec. center where we all met up with the Easter Bunny. Julian was terrified of him, but Caleb gave him a high five (that's exactly what happened when they met Santa too!) Then on Sunday we got together for our Annual Easter Dinner with friends from the BYU film program. We love all these people, but we're scattered all over Los Angeles and although we used to see them a lot when we first moved here, we've all got a million kids and it's hard to get together so this is really the only time we get to see them. It's a fun tradition and I will post more fun photos- each of the six families had a baby and so we took a photo of all of them together (all 7) it was too cute.
Happy Easter everyone!

We are FAMILY

Thanks for the fun weekend! Other highlights included skype with the nephews/ grandsons in LA and Aberdeen, and of course the famous Birthday rendition from Caleb!

BIRTHDAY BOY!!

Friday, April 13, 1984 was a very lucky day for Dad and me. It was the day John Peter Schneider arrived to bring laughter, spills, thrills, philosophical insights, spiritual highs, midcourse corrections, nail biting news, high adventure, charm, athletic and academically amazing prowess and mostly lots of love into our lives and the lives of so many many others.
Thank you Nonny, Fudgie, Joan Pedro, Beej for being such an wonderful son, a great brother and an amazing inspiration to all of us Schneiders as you've made such excellent choices in your life.
We've loved having you here on Mercer Island this weekend, along with Linds and Wooz, to celebrate your 25 years of LIFE!! We've loved having you in our lives, period. Along with everyone else we know, we Love You and know that you are off to continuing high adventure and excellence as you continue on the paths you've chosen.

We join the rest of the family who've called and emailed to say Happy Birthday (loved the Happy Birthday Song Caleb!) and say now to you -

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! You are TRULY the best!

We Love You!
Mom and Dad

"Good times, noodle salad"

I think we all had a great time in Portugal thanks to both location and company. I remember stumbling upon the following quote probably close to 10 years ago: "The real voyage of discovery comes not in seeing new landscapes but in having new eyes." Coleen and I were talking about some of the highlights of our trip and amoung the top for both of us included sweet alone time with little Oliver. I never suspected the delights of travel to be trumped by anything else but somehow wonderful mothering moments steal the show. I think spending time with children is like being able to step into a closet to Narnia. They remind you that the simplest of things in life are exciting and amazing and soooo fun; like a bug or some flowers or finding Nemo. So here's to great weather, amazing flowers, beautiful buildings and children to help us remember to enjoy the landscape wherever we find ourselves.