We're back

It's a been a long hiatus, but we're back up with the blog. There's a lot going on, so let's get started...

First things first, Robyn came in second for a HUGE screenwriting award called the Goldwyn award. It's given by the Goldwyn Foundation (the G in MGM for you non-Hollywood types) to the best screenplays submitted by students in the UC system. The competition consisted of a lot of great screenwriters, many from Robyn's class, and despite that, Robyn came in second! The results were published in the

Hollywood Reporter: (http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3iac3113c71beb425a7c52d45feb7d21fd)

Variety:
(http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117995207.html?categoryid=1236&cs=1)

and in the UCLA Paper:
(http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/ucla-sweeps-2008-samuel-goldwyn-70952.aspx).

She's been getting lots of calls and emails from agents and managers as a result so this has been a real boost. We're really excited for her and proud of her.

Jack's doing great and is back in school at New World Montessori. He loves it there and has been doing really well in his second year. He's a lot more confident in himself and is really learning a lot. He loves to play all kinds of sports and any kind of car.

Avery continues to grow in size and grow cuter. She's now almost 8 months and is big for her age. She smiles all the time and loves to laugh at big brother Jackie. She's starting to try to talk and also loves to stand up and look around. She's such a happy girl. We are truly blessed to have such great children.

We're still living in the rental house and work on our house is coming along. The walls are up, the rough plumbing and electrical are done, the roof is on, and the windows are in as well. It's looking pretty good!

I'm doing ok as well. I just got back from a trip to Korea and Taiwan and am getting back on LA time. Pomegranate season is in full swing so I've been busy, but things are going well.

More to come. In the meantime, here are some pictures...

Jack & Avery Oct 2008

Big Family Vacation & House Remodel Underway!

Hey all,

It's a been a while since our last post but we've been busy. We've been on a big family vacation, started remodeling the house, and Jack started school again.

The vacation was fantastic. We had both sides of the family spread across two condos in Myrtle Beach, SC for a little over a week. We went to the beach a lot, we ate tons of seafood, the kids played until they dropped everyday, and we had great weather. It was tough for everyone to leave, especially the kids. Apparently, Barrett (my sister Kristen's 3 year old) just put his head down and cried as the went down in the elevator for the last time.

From Myrtle Beach August 2008

When we got back, the house remodel was in full gear. In a little more than a month, they've blasted up all of the concrete in the backyard, built the foundation and floor for the new addition, pretty much torn out the entire interior of the existing house, and done the rough plumbing. Still a long way to go, but it's really fun to watch the progress. I'm sure it won't be as much fun in a few months when it's still going, but we're having a great time for now.

From House Remodel 20080912

We've Moved! At least temporarily...

As many of you know, we've been looking to expand our house, pretty much from the day we bought it. Now, with a second child, the time has come as the house is literally busting at the seems with two adults, two kids, and the two cats. We're adding about 850 square feet onto the back, expanding the kitchen in the process and adding a family room. It's going to be a long process but we are excited that it is finally underway. More pictures to come. In the meantime, we've moved out and are renting a house down the street from ours. The rental house is actually quite a bit bigger than our existing house, so it's been a nice change!

Stuff Going On

Wow, it's been a busy month since my last post! Avery's grown a ton, Jack's been doing lots of activities, Robyn celebrated an usual milestone, Brad had a birthday, and we're jumping in on remodeling the house.

Let's see, first things first, Avery continues to grow at a rapid pace. The best thing though is that she's starting to get more interactive. She likes to smile and pose for mommy and daddy and coos so cutely.

Jack's had a busy summer so far. He's been to summer school (not his favorite place) and also to JAG gym (one of his favorite places). JAG gym is a gymnastic class where the kids run around, climb on things, jump on stuff, in other words, all of his favorite things in one place. He comes home ecstatic, but exhausted. Yeah, it's great! This past week, he's been going to a science camp where's he been building cars, airplanes, marble toys, and doing lots of fun activities.

Robyn went to an unusual event a few weeks ago: the five year anniversary of The Room. The Room was a movie that Robyn did when we first moved to LA and she was building her resume and demo reel. Everything surrounding the movie from the director to the script to the production of it was hysterical. The problem is, the writer/director/producer/star actor thought it was a serious drama. Anyway, the movie is so hilariously bad, that it's developed a cult following and is still shown the last Friday of every month. People really get into it: they dress up as characters in the movie, they yell out the lines, they act out the scenes as the movie is playing, and they throw stuff at the screen. Anyway, the five year anniversary was in June so Robyn went with a group of UCLA friends. Because the movie has such feverish fans and she really didn't want to be recognized, she had to go in costume. At the end of the movie, several people wanted her autograph and number of them wanted to have their pictures taken with her. Really funny stuff. A link to the pictures is below.

Robyn @ The Room 5 Year Anniversary Screening

We've also started planning for the big remodel: looking at hardwood floors, appliances, windows, doors, faucets, tubs, showers, etc. Wow, it's amazing how many different kinds of toilets there are, not to mention floors, tiles, hardwood floors, and other stuff. Anyway, we start in a few weeks and have rented a house down the street to live in while the work is going. Being close by will be great for keeping up with what's going on and having a backyard.

Well, I think I've rambled on long enough. Guess that's what happens when you only post once a month.

Robyn's Graduation

On Friday, Robyn officially finished her MFA in screenwriting from UCLA with a graduation ceremony that was outside on a spectacular LA afternoon. Robyn's parents were here and both Jack and Avery went as well. Knowing how hard it has been to juggle the classes, meetings and writing with being a mother, we were all so proud to watch her walk across that stage and get her degree.

Avery slept through most of the ceremony and Jack had a hard time finding Robyn among all of the black robes and ended up playing with his cars or climbing on trees behind the audience, but both kids were great. After graduation, we went to a reception were Robyn got to see a lot of her friends as well as several who graduated last her but were there to help celebrate. All in all, it was a fantastic day! Below are pictures of day and weekend.

Robyn's UCLA Graduation

Brad & Jack at the Dodgers Game

Jack & I went to a Dodgers - Cubs game on Sunday afternoon. We had great seats thanks to our neighbor Tim and we had a blast. I told Jack that we could get a hat or shirt or whatever he wanted, but we when stopped at the gift shop on the way into the stadium, the only thing he wanted was cars. Fortunately, they had special Dodgers cars and he thought those we're great. With those and a kid-sized Dodger hat we were on our way. We played a lot with his cars, got popcorn and ice cream in a hat, and watched a few innings of the game. He got so excited every time the batter hit the ball and he cheered when everyone else did regardless of whether the Dodgers or Cubs got a hit. In fairness to him, I think I cheered for both teams too since I'm a Cubs fan but we were at a Dodgers game. Jack ended up not wanting to leave and we stayed until the middle of the 9th inning. Here are a few pictures:

Avery Grows, Robyn Wins

Avery continues to grow at a rapid pace. At her two month checkup, she checked in at 12 lb. 4 oz and 23 1/2 inches long. That means she's grown almost 6 pounds and 4 inches in only 2 months! She's shot up from 17th percentile to 85 percentile in two months and at this pace, she'll be the biggest three month old around. Needless to say, the doctor was very happy with her progress and said she's doing great! She's super sweet and loves napping in her pink vibrating chair and trying to talk to Mommy, Jackie, and Daddy.

Robyn found out some great news this week. Her script, "The Dog Conspiracy" which is a family comedy, won two awards this week. The first is called Oliver's Prize and is awarded to the best family or kid oriented film. The second one is the National Association of Theater Owners Fellowship in Film and is given by the faculty at UCLA for both an individual script as well as overall great performance in the classroom. It's one of the bigger awards UCLA gives so she's really excited.

Robyn also has a couple of big events this week. The first is the Screenwriters Showcase which is Monday night. At this event, the students and faculty celebrate another good year and showcase a few scripts. It's always fun, most of Robyn's classmates are there, and then there's a big party afterward. The big event though is graduation, which is Friday afternoon. It's hard to believe that three years have past, but they have, and Robyn officially earns her MFA on Friday. She's worked really hard for it and has somehow managed to do it while having one toddler and being pregnant with Avery. Jack, Avery, and I are all very proud of her!

Below are links to some new pictures.

Memorial Day 2008

Avery & Jack, End of May, Early June 2008