Christmas In Ashland Oregon

Well, after the fun of getting a new car for Ann, we were not quite ready for my trusty Vue (216,000 miles) to give up the ghost and need a new transmission LESS THAN 1 WEEK AFTER BUYING A NEW CAR!!!!

After the initial gnashing of teeth and the choice between a $6500 new transmission or another new car, we bought a 'previously owned' 2006 Saturn Ion for my new commuter-mobile.

We picked up the Ion on Saturday, packed the Outlook Saturday night, and were on the road by 5:15 Sunday morning!

The drive up was one of the smoothest we have had, and save for a couple of hours of fog in the central valley, the weather was great. We made the best time ever (just over 11 hours) and surprised Art and Doris with our early arrival.

We had a great dinner with Mor-Mor and Far-Far, as well as Ann's godmother Marty and husband Art. The kids tried their best, but were no match for the 11:00pm candlelight service at Doris and Art's church. Jennie slept like a log, and at one point, started snoring! Jacob popped his head up at the end, but for the most part 'slept in heavenly peace' the entire service.

Christmas day was fun for all, with Jennie getting clothes for her American Girl doll Emily, while Ann got to meet her new best friend Julie, the newest American Girl. Julie is from the 1970's and her clothes and overall look remind Ann of when she was a girl. Jacob, the Lego maniac that he is, scored several Lego sets.

The day after Christmas, we were treated to a small snow storm, and Ann, the kids and I went out to play in the white stuff.

A very fun Christmas time was had by all!

Well, the blog site is going kinda slow today, so I'll make sure to put up some pictures in the next day or so.

Blythe Christmas Gathering

The clean up nice, don't they!

Then again, they are OUR kids!

New Car!

We picked up our new Outlook last night - Yea!

Little Big Men

I know it seems like this has turned into the Jacob blog, but...Jacob worked on another movie this past Monday and Tuesday. Little Big Men a comedy described as " Wild behavior forces a pair of energy drink reps (Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott) to enroll in a Big Brother program."

I think the picture says it all. Jacob is with Seann William Scott, who is dressed as an employee of Chipmonk Charlies - yep, 1/2 monk, 1/2...chip?

Boy In the Box

Man, for all the news about a writer's strike, Jacob sure has been busy. After the exciting day on the set with Clint and Angelina, Jacob worked on another move on November 14th called Boy in the Box.

This time, Ann took him to set, and had to drive down to Pasadena for a 5:45 am call time - and the shot Jacob was in took place in a cemetery! Not quite the same experience Jacob had the previous week. For this part, Jacob was a 'look alike' and was actually the last shot of the movie. In his scene, he is running around near a cemetery, pretending to be an airplane. Ann said that he did a great job, and you will defiantly be able to tell that it is Jacob!

Here is Jacob in costume - not quite as involved as last
time!

The cool thing about this shoot for Jacob is that he got his own trailer - with his name on the side!

Jacob's Day on a Clint Eastwood Movie!

Here is a picture of Jacob in costume. He had a blast!

Last night (Thursday) I got a page for a job for Jacob. Normally, I'll call the number and listen to a pre-recorded message describing the job and saying, for example, that they need 10 boys age 8-10. If Ann or I can take the next day off, I'll book the job. This time it was different.

When I got the page, it was to a different number, and when I called, the agent said " Are you calling for Jacob?" Weird....

This time, Jacob had been hand picked because they wanted to use him as a photo double on the movie 'The Changeling ' starring Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich and directed by Clint Eastwood!

We spent the day on the set. Everyone was very nice to Jacob. In fact, at the end of the day, Jacob and I were walking toward Mr. Eastwood so that Jacob could say thank you to him, when Angelina walked up to Jacob and said (I'll paraphrase the conversation:)

Angelina: Hi! thanks for working with me today. You did a great job!

Jacob: Thanks it was fun! I saw your son walk by and I said hi to him.

Angelina: Oh, I wanted him to stay on the set and See Clint's pet bird,
but he wanted to get back and play video games!

Jacob: My dad makes
video games.

(I have been standing off to the side of Jacob - this
is his moment , not mine)

Angelina: (extending her hand to me) Hi,
I'm Angie.

The surreal nature of the moment was lost on Jacob....

Muddy Buddy Pictures

Pre - Race - Looking Good

Only one geek paying attention to the camera!


Still Smiling!


Running to the mud!


Exiting 'the pit'!


Partners in grime.

Muddy Buddy 2007

WOW!!! We just got home from the 2007 Los Angeles Muddy Buddy. And as expected, Teresa kicked my tush! Jacob and Jennie had a bleat doing the Mini-Muddy (and Jennie even 'chicked' her old man!)

David and Teresa show what they're made of...MUD!

I'll put up more pictures on Monday, and write a bit more..but I'll start by top 10 things I learned doing the Muddy Buddy:

#10) All trails seem to go UP!

Jacob and Jennie's 1st 1/2 K

Following in the 'footsteps' of Uncle Cristo, Aunt T , Judy, Warren and Cindy, Jacob and Jennie ran in their first official race - the 2007 Palmdale 1/2 K Fun Run. After getting their numbers, they both got their game faces on, and got ready to RUN!

Check out the concentration of Jacob's face as he is about to get 'chicked' by Jennie!

Both the kids had a great time.

(More pictures will be up by Monday)

Trick or Treat - 2007

Trick or Treat time for the Mad Scientist and the White Mouse was a great success this year. Ann took the kids around our neighborhood before I got home. Once I got into town, we went over to our friends Gooch and Chuck house for a quick stop, then over to Chris and Cindy's house (with Jack too!)

Jacob and Jennie, having worn their costumes a couple of times all ready, really got into their characters.

After gathering a ton of candy, we headed back home to sort out the treats. Jacob has all ready started talking about NEXT year's costumes - he thinks that the family should go as the Peanuts Gang!

Muddy Buddy

After being inspired by our friend Chris , my friend Teresa and I signed up for a silly little race called The Muddy Buddy! The race is on November 4th, so I'll put up some pictures and let you all know how the race went.

Also, the kids have signed up for a 1/2k run on November the 3rd - the day before the Muddy Buddy. I forgot to mention that Jacob and Jennie are doing the ' Mini-Muddy Buddy' .

Halloween Time 2007

Well, we made it! Jamie and Jeremy joined us for a fun filled night of costumes and candy -about 12 1/2 lbs! We had a great time, and the kids looked awesome!

Jennie the lab rat and Jacob the mad scientist!

Halloween Time at California Adventure - This Weekend!

We are getting ready for our second annual Halloween Time trip to Disney' s California Adventure this Friday. Ann was working on Jennie's costume last night - very fun and cute! We finished Jacob's costume over the weekend. Check back next week to see pictures of all of the fun.
To wet your whistle, here is the family from last year's event.

A little video 'Blast from the Past'

I was looking through some old video files, and I came across this little gem:


I just thought you all would all get a kick out of this clip....that, and it will embarrass Jennie!

At the Pumpkin Patch

Last week, we made our annual trek to Lombardi Ranch in Santa Clarita. We picked up about 6 pumpkins, looked around the scarecrow displays, and got blown around by the wind!
The kids were 'kind enough' to pose for a picture.

Welcome to The White's Spot!

Hey everyone! I've set up this blog so that we can keep in touch with family and friends, to share pictures and videos, and let everyone know what is going on in lovely (windy!) Palmdale.

Once I have a better handle on how to work with this site, I'll let you know how YOU can use it as well!