Returning With Honor~

Senior Night!

"Rosie" is on the far left

Senior Night!  Yet another reminder that graduation is sneaking up right behind us.  This was the night that Viewmont High recognized all the senior girls who are on the basketball team.  It also marks their last home game.  I have to admit it was a little sad just knowing that we won't be cheering Rosie on the basketball court anynmore.  But all is not lost.  Are you ready for this announcement???  Viewmont placed 5th in the region and is on their way to state!  This is huge for these girls...especially the seniors...as they've been known as the region underdogs for the last few years.  This is what they've worked so hard for for the last 3 years.  So girls...here's to you!  You did it!  And here's to state this coming week!  You can do it!  We love you!!!!  Love, Your BIGGEST fans!

Oh, my......February????

Let's try this again!  Who would've thought one little year could start out soooo busy!!!!

Elder "Bud" comes home in almost EXACTLY (who's counting minutes????) 4 weeks from today!  He's still doing great, keeping busy, and writes that he's actually terrified to come home.  Ahhhh!  Poor kid!  I'm sure lots of missionaries feel the same way.  Just think, for two years you have your whole life scheduled and planned out....every minute of every day.  And teaching the gospel is your full time job.  Then to come home and be "dumped" right back into life.  All of a sudden all of your structure is turned upside down, you have to get a job, get into college (and find a way to pay for it), and enter back into "real" life.  I can't even imagine!  But it will be GREAT to have him home again!  I guess we better get started on putting his room back together SOON!  Although when we talked to him at Christmas he mentioned going back to Eastern Washington to go to school.  He might not be home for long, but we'll definitely take what we can get.

"Kido" is still loving college and tells us she will never live anywhere other than California again!  You can definitely tell she's got that California blood!  She's doing great in school and she just moved into a new house with her Mom.  There's always a new adventure around the corner when we talk to her (which Mama Kimi thinks isn't quite enough!!  The talking that is...not the new adventures!!  LOL)  She's a tough one to keep up with!  She's always on the go and has such an adventurous spirit.  I think its just about time she ventured this way for a visit though.  We miss ya kido!  :) (and HINT!)

"Rosie" got accepted to Utah State (her school of choice!).  She said it wasn't such a big deal, but she is the first of the kids to receive an actual college acceptance letter, so of course Mom had to make a tiny big deal out of it.  Her other choices are Weber (which she's actually already enrolled in due to taking some CE classes her junior and senior years), and University of Utah (the last choice on BOTH our lists!!!)  The family of one of her best friends is purchasing a home in Logan as they'll have two daughters attending there next year.  Nicki was graciously invited to live with them in the house.  They brought over pictures of it last night.  It's a WAY nice 3 bedroom 2 bath townhouse.  There will be 6 girls living there.  Nicki is so excited she can hardly stand it!  I have no idea how she's going to make it all work, but she's a woman with a plan...so watch out!  And her basketball team is currently ranked 5th in region (region 1), so we're keeping our fingers crossed that this means she can end the year with a play off game at state!  Tomorrow is the last home game, which is typically dubbed "senior's night" where all the seniors on the team get a special tribute.  Yeah, you KNOW I'm gonna cry!  This is just one more step to her becoming an adult, leaving the nest, and living her dreams.  I'm so excited for her!

"Bruce" is just starting a new rugby season.  He's been waiting for this all year!  He's doing great in school this year and sounds like he's become quite the little man on the high school campus.  I guess the girls go for that strong silent type these days, because for such a shy little guy he sure always has a date on the calendar, someone on the phone, or a text jingle going off.  And, yes, 99% of the time it's a girl!  He's having a great year.  I think he's planning on working at Lagoon again this summer, at least until something else comes along.  He's not real excited about it, but we told him these days a job is a job!  I'm sure he'll like it once he actually starts back, which can you believe is in just a few weeks?  Could it be?  Does that mean summer is really just around the corner?  Wow...that little thought was a better perk than an entire case of Diet Pepsi!

"Nerm" is doing fantastic.  Things are picking up with school and his headaches seem to be doing better.  We had to start him on Topamax as his migraines were getting a little hard for him to handle on his own.  I was a little apprehensive about it, but it's been a month now and so far he's doing great and tons better than he was.  He's little Mr. Popular at school.  You can't walk down any hall without someone saying hi or stopping him to chat.  He's been quite the little ham in the class plays this year.  His latest play was about the revolution and the Boston Tea Party.  He got to play a British soldier.  At first he wasn't too happy to have to be the bad guy, but he jumped into the role and made the best of it.  I'll post pictures soon!  He's excited for baseball season that's just around the corner.  And his latest subject that he never tires of talking about is wanting to be an EMT and work on the LifeFlight helicopter.  He says he wants to give back.  Ahhhh....okay....another tear!  Where did we get such incredible kids?!!!  They amaze me every day.  What a blessing they are!

That gets you caught up a little on the Schofield family.  Sorry for the long once a month blogging, but at least you're up to date so far for the year!  Oh, and Elder "Buds" homecoming will be March 13th.  We'll let you know the time and the place in a couple weeks, as we were just informed yesterday that our ward boundaries are going to change in 2 weeks.  So stay tuned for the time and place!

Falling Behind Already?

It's mid January and I've already fallen behind 2011!  I'm not sure where the time goes, but it sure goes by fast. Instead of recapping the highlights of our last year, we thought maybe we should just start by recapping our last month.

1.  Christmas Day phone call from Lance.  This has been the highlight of our holidays the last two years.  This year we were able to take turns talking to Elder Lance for nearly 3 hours.  (I had no idea we had been on the phone that long until we actually hung up!)  Needless to say most of our Christmas afternoon was spent on the phone, but what a fantastic way to spend the day.  He sounded so grown up!  He is doing great, shared some fantastic stories and experiences, and has mixed feelings about his mission coming to an end.  He said going on a mission was the best decision he's ever made and he hasn't regretted one second of it.  As of today he comes home in 7 weeks and 5 days!

2.  Hunter had his first date, turned 16, and got his driver's license (yes, in that order).  LOL...and he's already showing signs of being our most "complex" (did you like that choice of word?  haha) teenager so far.  Oh the joys of growing up!  And why can't they stay little forever?  To all you parents out there, 15 - 18 are the TOUGHEST ages...probably for both teen AND parent.  But as we've seen with 3 other teenagers.....THIS TOO SHALL PASS!!!  LOL....definitely one of those times you want time to fly by!  haha!!  I have to say he is a good kid....he's just going through a "growing up" phase :)

3.  Nicki...her life can be summed up into 3 things.....high school senior year, BASKETBALL, and friends.  This was a busy month for her as she tried to juggle a million different things, but she's having a great time  (and last time I checked last week Viewmont was tied for 4th place in their region).

4.  Jordan had a little surgery before the holidays but she recovered quickly and is doing great.  Near as we can tell (and I think she'd let us know if we were wrong) she's loving college and having a great year.  We didn't get to see her over the holidays this year, but hope she comes home soon!  (Just a mild hint if you're reading this kido  ;)

5.  Tanner.....our little "Nerm" has been dealing with severe migraine headaches (sometimes as many as 3 a week).  I never would've thought that a cute and active little 10 year old could get such horrible headaches.  The one thing he probably inherited from his mom...UGH!  We're trying different things to get them under control; the latest being Topamax, which is actually an anti-seizure medication.  We're keeping our fingers crossed that this is the answer.  Poor kid.  Other than that he's doing great!  His "career decision" THIS month is to be an EMT and work on the LifeFlight team (helicopter air ambulance).  This is the team that literally saved his life when he was born and he says he wants to "give back".  That's our Nerm!

6.  We remodeled that downstairs bathroom!  Yeah!!!  Thanks to our great neighbor Brandon (whom we HIGHLY recommend).  Brandon, you're a life saver and it's awesome!!!

7.  Kim and the boys were able to attend "The Forgotten Carols".  A family tradition since before we were even an official family!  Nicki had basketball and Den was sick with the flu (not a highlight) so they couldn't go, but Sheryl and Derek went in their place.  And as always it was the perfect way to start the holiday season.

8.  Den and I were able to attend the David Archuletta/Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert.  We were able to score some tickets, although standing in line for 2 hours just to get in left us questioning what all the hype was all about.  However, it was very good and we would definitely go again.  I'm not sure who is scheduled for the concert next year, but we will definitely try to get tickets.

9.  The hustle and bustle of the month.  Not that this was a highlight, but it definitely consumed most of my time.  With Den being sick and the kids all being soooo busy, I felt a little bit alone and a lot overwhelmed.  Even though I SWORE this year I'd have everything done by the end of October so I could sit back and relax.  The reward for my efforts?  (Besides of course my family LOVING, noticing and even acknowledging my efforts.....which I know every mom receives from her family every day...right?  HA HA)  My loving, caring, adorable, can't say enough good things about him husband gave me a new cell phone, Belgian chocolate, and a day at the spa for my birthday!  (All I got him was an iPod so I'm feeling like I really have some making up to do!!!) He's incredible, my bestest friend, and I can't even imagine what life would be without him.  Shmily honey!!!!

10.  On Dec 23rd we took the kids to see the production of "Savior of the World", which definitely ALWAYS puts my life into perspective and helps me focus more on the things that are most important in my life; my relationship with my Savior, my testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and my family.  An incredible lead into Christmas day and the perfect way to start a new year.

So here's to a new year! We have lots coming up on the calendar already with tons to share.  We look forward to sharing our thoughts, stories, and experiences with all of you throughout the year.
Happy 2011!!!!
With love, The Schofield's

Hunter's First Date

If you're one of Hunter's many friends on Facebook, then you've no doubt been watching him count down the days since just about Thanksgiving.  Now most of you probably thought, knowing him as well as you do, that he was counting down the hours till rugby season officially starts.  WRONG!  He's been counting down the days till the high school Christmas dance.....his first date!  Yes, we know it's a little early before he's actually 16 (the officially "dating" age in our home), 17 days to be exact!  But being the loving, understanding, and giving parents that we are (are you reading this kids???) we decided to let him go to the dance.  His date was Kyra and she is absolutely adorable.  They met at youth conference over the summer and became good friends.  I can't believe he's (nearly) 16!!!  And on his first date to boot!  Where does the time go???!!!  I have to say it is fun to have teenagers (well, most of the time!) and I've loved watching them learn and grow.  I just wish it wouldn't have to happen so fast!  And, yes, it is making me feel pretty dang old tonight!  So I'm off to play with "Nerm"!  Good thing we still have him around to keep us young!

He's Coming Home! Let the countdown begin!!!

We just got the news........Elder "Bud" comes home March 7th!!!  Which means his homecoming will mostly likely be March 13th!  So the countdown begins....exactly 15 weeks from today and he'll be home!  I can't believe how quickly the timely has gone by.  I never would've thought that two years could go by so fast.  And the blessings.......I can't even count the blessings we've experienced, seen, and shared.  This will either make our holidays seem like they're lasting a little longer this year (which any other time would be fantastic!  haha) or else they're going to zoom by faster than usual (which in that case there's no way I'll get everything done!)  How thankful we are to have been able to enjoy having a missionary these last two years.  I will miss being a "missionary mom"!  But I think I'm pretty ready to have him home!

Go Vikings - Senior Year!!!

A shout out to "Rosie" for making the Varsity Girl's Basketball team!!!!  Whooooo Yaaaaa!  Talk about blood, sweat, and yes...even some tears (though I'm sure she won't admit that!!!)  I can't believe it's her senior year and this will probably be the last time we get to see her play.  It's going to be a great season!  Go Vikings and here's to #33!!!  Our favorite number!  See you at STATE!