Coronado and Tijuana

To take advantage of the holiday, Spence and I decided to head down to San Diego (I had never been) and soak up some beach time. He suggested we check out Coronado Island because it's GORGEOUS! It really was. I could barely believe how beautiful it was as we drove over the big bridge, and as we admired the cliffs and ocean view and enjoyed the sandy beach once we settled in at the beach.


Later that afternoon we traveled a little farther south, and hit Tijuana, the major border town that has some great souvenir and gift shops. Spencer spoiled me and I came home with a new kitchen dish and some earrings. The shopkeepers were sure passionate about selling us something! Spence's Spanish came in handy when it came to bartering time. It was so fun and relaxing to enjoy the beach and do a little shopping today! :)

Northwest Folklife

Sorry to do two posts in a row, but I am behind after all :)

I just had to say that Folklife, the music festival that happens every year on Memorial Day weekend in Seattle, is awesome! There is free admission, and basically different folk music and dance groups of all different ethnicities convene in Seattle center to showcase their talents. There are also tons of booths selling everything imaginable, from delicious food to artwork to folksy clothes. I went with my friends Zoe and Lauren today, and we saw Scottish bagpipers, some banjo players, African marimba players, Indian Kahtak dancers, Reggae bands, and a whole variety of street musicians and performers. It was amazing! I love seeing all the different types of music and dance out there, not to mention all the crazy sorts of people who attend this festival! Sorry these pictures really aren't that great, one of them is showing the bagpipers and the other is showing an old man, who is the one in the sparkly dress thing, dancing with scarves... (??)

Seeing old friends :)

Last night, Mom and I invited Adrianna Bernal and Maggie Brown over for dinner. They were, of course, good friends of mine in the Mercer Island ward. Although it's been a while since we were all as close as we once were, it was awesome to see them again! They both go to UW now, and all of us are considering health careers (medicine or nursing) so it was really cool to have that in common with them. We found a lot to talk about and we relived a lot of fun memories. I think you can all agree that there's something extra special about meeting up with old friends again. I'm really glad Mom encouraged me in inviting them and that she could make such a delicious dinner for all of us!

Softball

So recently I have participated in a softball league and I have to admit that it's a lot of fun. It's both relaxed but very intense at the same time because you sit around and crack jokes with teammated and people from the other team but at the same time both teams try very hard to win so it's kinda perfect a chilaxed intensity that I really like. Our team is currently in second place with the top four teams making it to the playoffs. Our defense is currently ranked second best in the league but we gotta get the runs and batting average up because we're kinda hurting in that department. I'll keep you guys posted on how it goes. I won't be able to make it to the game tomorrow because it's Grandma's 90th birthday party but hopefully we will stay on pace to making the playoffs.

two Dr Olivers?

I realise that there is only one hope left for another doctor in the family and I think we all know I'm talking about wee Woozie. I doesn't bode well that we have kept hearing about how Grannie has failed to get that long sought after engineer amongst her own grandkids and has had to settle for a "grandson-in-law" as consolation (although I suppose Peter and Hugo could still have a good shot at it). But after seeing how interested little Oliver has been in the human body, who knows maybe there could be two Dr Olivers at some point in the future. A while back we figure he had seen a show on TV or something because he came to Char saying Mommy I have bones all over my body, you have bones and dado and Ben have bones and he explained a bit about what he learned about bones. I think he even impressed Gramps over the weekend with some of the parts of the body and bones that he knew but I thought it was pretty intriguing the other day when he came up to me, hoping to get retribution for Ben had done and said, "Dado, Ben grabbed my neck vertebrae." So maybe give him a bit more time and he'll be on his way to joining Gramps and perhaps Woozie?

The Waltons

The Waltons was a TV show which aired in the 1970's and ran for almost a decade. Set in the 1930's, the drama depicts the struggles of an American family living through the depression. At the end of the first episode of the first season John Boy states: "Those were lean years and for many Americans a harsh and bitter time. On Walton's mountain we were sustained with poems and gingerbread and laughter." I love the simple goodness of their lives and adore the idea of their loving, close family determined to live their lives with integrity, honesty and fairness. Yes, you have to suffer through some bad acting. Yes, you have to sit through some big time cheesiness and at times boring/slow plot development. Yes, it is worth enduring all of that for the gems that are to be found in many an episode.

(I must advise though, once Grandma has a stroke in both real life and in the show and then is for some reason brought back onto the show - it does become almost intolerable to sit through the scenes where they are trying their best to include her character but all that happens is that you have to sit there for way too long listening to Grandma trying to grunt out basic vocabulary. I have NO idea what they were thinking there.)

Now

One of the great temptations of our lives is to delay making tough decisions or to think they will be easier in the future. I know from my own experience that difficult decisions only get more difficult as time goes on. The two great gifts Heavenly Father gives to us in mortality are agency and time. If we push everything into the future, we are not using our time in the present in the best way.

I like this quote from President Eyring (quoting Pres. Kimball). "We know from our own experience that President Spencer W. Kimball was right when he wrote, “One of the most serious human defects in all ages is procrastination,” and then he defined it: “an unwillingness to accept personal responsibility now” (The Teachings of Spencer W. Kimball, ed. Edward L. Kimball [1982], 48; emphasis in original). And so Satan works on both our desire to think we have no cause to repent and our desire to push anything unpleasant into the future."

I know all of us will be happier and more effective if we use our time wisely now and let the future take care of itself.

Love to all,
Gramps

My 5k

I have a newfound appreciation for people who have run marathons. I ran a 5k last weekend per Ian's post and, at least to me, it's a long, long way and a marathon is practically 9 times that distance!
I have to say though that it really was great fun, and I ran it with two girls who have completed marathons- one did it in 4h20min and my other friend has run 3 marathons! So while running with them I definitely pushed myself a lot harder than I normally do and it felt amazing.
I think that Ian and I are going to try to run a half marathon this November- it's something I would love to try.

World Cup 2010

After looking at Rico's post earlier in the month it reminded me of this idea that I had earlier that we should do for this upcoming World Cup - a Schneider family world cup pool.
Basically everyone would make their predictions for who is going to advance in the world cup and we could get points for each round as the tournament progresses. I could make up a fairly simple system in the next week or so and have already spoken to mom and dad about the possibility of giving a wee prize out to the winner. And in case people are wondering how I came up with the idea, someone at my college in Oxford did it for the 2006 world cup and I thought it was a pretty good idea. It was also after the first game when we were living in Southampton for the last world cup that both Char and I really got into the world cup and were cheering for England because the entire country is totally mezmerized during the England matches ... we'll never forget the time that we saw England play against Portugal in the knock-out round in 2006. We were travelling through Cornwall at the time and drove to this small, very remote village pub which was packed with die-hard England fans, despite being in the middle of nowhere. England ended up losing that game and everyone in the pub was devastated but it was a moment we'll always remember.
So for 2010 in order to still get a bit of flavour for the world cup both for Char, me and the rest of the family (although I guess Rico will be following regardless) I think it would be good to have a world cup pool this year, more details to follow.

I HATE MORNINGS.

I really do. If you've ever seen me chipper in the morning it can be probably be explained by one of the following:

1) I was on holiday and I'm always happy on holiday

2) I was faking it.

I especially hate THIS morning because Jordan and I were up until 12:30 last night visiting with friends and then up this morning at 6:00 with Oliver and Ben. And because I don't want to deal with the reality of the tired day that lay before me, I've been perusing Mary Oliver's poetry to find a little sunshine to propel me into the pleasant mother my children need me to be today. I think I suceeded in finding a little bit of sunshine and thought I would share it with the rest of you.

Why I Wake Early - Mary Oliver

Hello, sun in my face.

Hello, you who made the morning

and spread it over the fields

and into the faces of the tulips

and the nodding morning glories,

and into the windows of, even, the

miserable and the crotchety –

best preacher that ever was,

dear star, that just happens

to be where you are in the universe

to keep us from ever-darkness,

to ease us with warm touching,

to hold us in the great hands of light –

good morning, good morning, good morning.

Watch, now, how I start the day

in happiness, in kindness.

P and P - ABOUT THE 17th TIME ROUND

Rachel and I had the excellent fortune of viewing - yet again - the masterful A & E version of Pride and Prejudice this week past. I must confess that it is my favorite of all such versions and I too most readily state ... the viewing of such is one of my most sought-after pastimes.

Some fave quotes:

She is tolerable, I suppose, but not handsome enough to tempt me

Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted?

I shall never understand why you go through the world determined to be displeased with everything and everyone in it.

And I will never understand why you are always in a rage to approve of everything and everyone that you meet.

Misfortunes, we are told, have been sent to test our fortitude

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

I count it a one of my Mom achievements that I have sons who've watched this with me, not to mention sons who've invited young ladies over to view :)

Ian's Birthday Party

So I know I'm way behind on this, but Ian's birthday celebration this year was really fun. (I figured I had to make up for so many not-so-stellar years) We went bowling with our friends- it's the first time any of us had done it for awhile and it was sooo fun! Afterwards Ian took us to a little pizza place in Abbott Kinney that was fun and yummy and it felt like a bit of an adventure. The next day we had a BBQ party at our friends' place. The food was amazing, Ian grilled up some pizzas and they were so good. The next day, Ian's actual birthday, just he and I went to Disneyland in the afternoon and early evening. It seriously was the BEST birthday weekend. Love you honey!!

Melissa's 5K

So Melissa and a number of her girlfriends ran the Race For Success 5k at Lindsay's alma mater this weekend. I hoofed it up there with the boys, but totally missed her at the finish line as she was done about 10 minutes quicker than we had thought. I felt bummed that I didn't catch her finishing, but the event was nice and the venue was beautiful. We all had a great time. She finished with a 28:18, which was great. Congratulations, Melissa! I'm proud of you. I'll try to get some pictures posted soon.

we are family

so my roommate just got back from her mini mission where she served in one ward that meets behind the temple... so coming from a singles ward where all heads turn if there's a peep and everyone says... 'oh! a baby?' one thing she mentioned was that there were a lot of little kids. she happened to be sitting behind one cute family in particular taht she mentioned to me sheerly because there were a lot of cute little boys in suspenders.... any guesses? she actually told my other roommate about this family first, and Jaela's like, 'oh, that's Lindsay's family.' Yes I am the proud aunt.

Getting ready for the FIFA 2010 World Cup

Ok so I still am 2 posts behind even after I finish this post, but I guess it can help me get out of the hole a little bit. According to this timer on espn, the Fifa 2010 world cup is 19 days and 20 hours away now. My first world cup memories start in France 1998. Since that time I have followed the world cup pretty closely. In the past I have always cheered for Germany mainly because in 1998 Jordan cheered for Germany and because are ancestors are from there and because Canada will probably just make the world cup once before I die. I cheered for Germany in 2002 and in 2006 as well. But this year I am going to commit a horrible sports sin and I am going to change which team I will cheer for. In the world of sports changing the team you cheer for is like committing adultery. Once you choose a team to cheer for in any sport you have to cheer for that team forever. And cheering for another team is like cheating on your original team. Imagine if all the Schneiders started to cheer for the Flames. Exactly. It would be horrible and inconceivable even if we were to live in calgary for 50 years. Starting in 2010 I am going to cheer for Chile in the world cup. Now the last time Chile went to the world cup was in 1998. They don't go too often because they aren't as good as Germany. The likelihood that both Chile and Germany will be in more world cups together won't happen too often. So assuming only Germany is in the world cup in the future I will continue to cheer for Germany, but if both Chile and Germany are in the same world cup, I will cheer for Chile. (It is worth noting that I have a soft spot in my heart for England but including them in this post will make it way too long and complicate things even more so will just leave them alone for now).

I was able to witness during my mission what Chilean soccer is all about. Whenever the national team plays, everything shuts down. I will never cheer for the US soccer team, because the US will never care that much about soccer or about any sport for that matter on a national level. And besides I lived in Chile for two years, I have never lived or even been to Germany so maybe it isn't too blown out of proportion to start cheering for another team in the world cup.

But this world cup is going to be amazing as they always are. Maybe I will write a post later that will be like an "Idiot's guide to the 2010 FIFA world cup" but I don't have the energy for that yet. But for starters it will be in South Africa from June 11 to July 11 and there are 32 countries that will be competing against each other.

Ill leave it to Bono's voiceover to get you excited about the world cup by going to this link this one is only a minute long:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXlBSlyU8xY

¡ Vamos Chile!

Joining in on the Hockey Playoffs

Thanks to my handy iphone it has been really easy to follow sports and to know when teams are playing and stuff. So this past week I have been able to watch parts of some hockey games. The basketball playoffs have been pretty boring so far and I also have realized that I don't like basketball as much as I used to. The other day though I was thinking that alot of the games in the hockey playoffs the last couple weeks haven't been really close. I was thinking it was time for a close hockey game if I wanted to keep my interest in the playoffs since I don't really like any team that is still left. It was as if the hockey gods heard me. So yesterday I was able to watch the third period and overtime of a good fought out blackhawks-sharks game. I didn't really care who won, I just wanted to see a good game and that was what I got. Thanks hockey gods.

Boating season is here!!

One of the traditional rites of spring is to pull the old Raider out of mothballs, shake off the mildew, and send it skimming across the glass of Lake Washington. This year there were only the three of us to partake of this tradition, but we had a wonderful time. And that includes Coleen who took the photos. As always, we ended up at Ivar's for fish and chips. Now we just need it to get a little warmer so we can jump off the boat for a swim.

Ah summer, you're almost here!

A Beautiful Day

It was a beautiful day in LA on Sunday - Lindsay graduated!

Congratulations Linds. You will be such a wonderful teacher.

Just a few of our favorite photos.....

Happy Star Wars Day!!!!

"May the Fourth be with you!" Cheesy, but today basically is recognized as National Star Wars Day for this reason.

Thought I would commemorate this day since we all love Star Wars so much!

NHL Playoffs

So mid April to June is a very exciting time in Canada because of the hockey playoffs. Even when the Edmonton Oilers don't make the playoffs people become obsessed. One will constantly hear the hockey playoffs from the radio when driving in cars, people will skip out of church meetings to see the exciting series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the underdog Montreal Canadiens being spurred on by their unbelievably stand on his head goaltender Jaroslav Halak. It is exciting to watch hockey because of the unbelievable grit and heart that you see some of the players exhibit like one player who got hit in the mouth with an opposing player's stick skated over to the bench and while the trainer was assessing the damage this player reached into his mouth and pulled out one of his teeth. He stopped the bleeding and then was out on the ice for his next shift. The intensity and the determination of the players when time is running down and they are still seeking for the tying goal is the most exciting and just doesn't quite compare to NBA or NFL or even March Madness (MLB playoffs gets close but still doesn't quite get there either) in this writer's humble opinion.

Here's a list of suggestions to fully enjoy a good playoff game
1) disconnect the phone and turn off all cell phones
2) be sure to learn the player's names and vocally abuse them everytime they make a bad play ie) For the Canadiens I like to pick on Bergeron a short defensive men who is prone to always give the puck away (similar to what hecklers do at minor league baseball games)
3) Make fun of the commentators as well ie) Pierre McGuire (I think he has a man crush on Dion Phaneuf)
4) Select a good group of 4-8 people to watch the game with don't want a group that's too big or too small
5) Girls can ruin the occasion but not always so if they don't like hockey and find themselves rolling their eyes alot and generally not enjoying themselves they should withdraw and take their negative vibes with them they shouldn't pretend and should go shopping or something instead (no offense to those women who actually enjoy hockey)
6) At some point in your life try to watch an Oilers game or a playoff hockey game with one Spencer Eliot Young. His ability to analyze the game put's Bob Cole, Kevin Weekes, Kelly Hrudey and especially Pierre McGuire to shame, his ability to heckle players is unparalleled as he sometimes goes out of his way to research players personal lives to make his heckling and insults particularly poignant and jarring
7) Join a fantasy hockey league to learn more about who good and surprise players are and to see how they do in the playoffs.
8) If not sure who to cheer for cheer for the Canadian teams (luckily this doesn't involve having to cheer for the Flames this year) as they almost always become the underdogs and the last time a Canadian team won was almost 20 years ago.

Alright I gotta go